Feb. 20, 2009

Center Valley, Pa. - First-place in the Patriot League is on the line when Holy Cross visits American in Washington, D.C. on Saturday afternoon. The other Patriot League contests are nationally televised, with Army at Navy on CBS on Saturday and Lafayette at Lehigh on ESPNU on Sunday. Bucknell and Colgate play non-League games, with the Bison hosting Delaware in an ESPNU BracketBusters contest.

Patriot League Men's Basketball Release - 2.20.09

Patriot League Notebook

Showdown for First Place In Washington

The two biggest rivalries in the Patriot League are on national television over the weekend, but the highlight of the slate comes in Washington, D.C. as Holy Cross visits American with first place on the line. The Crusaders enter the contest at 9-2, one game behind the Eagles at 10-1. Holy Cross won the first meeting between the schools in Worcester on Jan. 24. Both teams have clinched a home game in the quarterfinals of the Patriot League Tournament, with the Eagles assured of finishing no lower than the No. 2 seed.

The other League contests can have a significant impact on which two teams join Holy Cross and American as hosts in the Patriot League Quarterfinals. Navy and Lehigh are in the driver's seat for those positions right now, and can strengthen their chances with a win over their archrival. The third-place Mids host Army on Saturday at 1 p.m. in a CBS telecast, while the Mountain Hawks host Lafayette in the Patriot League's final ESPNU outing on Sunday at Noon.

Bucknell and Colgate play non-League contests, with the Bison hosting Delaware in an ESPNU BracketBusters game and the Raiders visiting Longwood.

Crusaders and Eagles Win Again Wednesday

Holy Cross and American each recorded victories in Wednesday's night Patriot League men's basketball action, setting up a showdown for first place in Washington on Saturday. The Crusaders rallied for a 74-69 win at home over Navy, while the Eagles continued to roll by winning their seventh straight game with a 58-36 triumph at Army. Lehigh moved up to fourth place by knocking off Colgate, 49-40, while Lafayette edged Bucknell, 71-68.

American maintained first place in the standings by pushing its record to 10-1, while the second-place Crusaders enter the weekend matchup at Bender Arena with a 9-2 record.

Navy held on to third place with a 6-5 mark, with Lehigh moving up to 5-6 in fourth. Colgate (5-7) and Army (4-7) are still on the heels of the Mountain Hawks, with Lafayette (3-8) moving ahead of Bucknell (3-9) for seventh place.

Patriot League ESPNU Schedule Wraps up In Lehigh Valley

The final appearance for the Patriot League on ESPNU comes on Sunday afternoon from Bethlehem, Pa. as local rivals Lafayette and Lehigh square off. Both squads are making their first ESPNU televised contest in Patriot League play, as each League team had at least one game on the network this season. It is one of two national television appearances over the weekend, as Army visits Navy in a CBS telecast on Saturday afternoon.

Bucknell Represents Patriot League In BracketBusters

Bucknell will play host to Delaware of the Colonial Athletic Association in the seventh annual ESPNU BracketBusters event on Saturday at 2 p.m. The Bison will represent the Patriot League in the event for the fourth straight season, and will take on an opponent from the CAA for the third year in a row. Bucknell fell at Old Dominion, 65-55, last season after knocking off Towson, 73-63, in Lewisburg in 2007. Bucknell also lost a 65-61, double overtime thriller at Northern Iowa in a nationally televised game on ESPN2 in 2006.

Eagles, Crusaders Clinch Quarterfinal Home Game

American and Holy Cross will be playing at home to begin the Patriot League Tournament on March 4. Each squad has clinched home court for at least the quarterfinal round, with the Eagles guaranteed to finish no lower than second in the final standings and host a potential semifinal contest at well. Holy Cross is guaranteed of at least the No. 3 seed, and can lock up at least the No. 2 with another win or a Navy loss. American has now captured a top four seed in each of its eight Patriot League seasons, while Holy Cross has done so for seven of the past nine campaigns. American will host the quarterfinals for the third year in a row, while Holy Cross hosts for the fourth time in the last five seasons.

American Continues to Roll

American has established itself as one of the nation's top road teams this year, and now it can also add the title of one of the hottest teams in the country. The Eagles have won seven consecutive contests, tied for the seventh-longest streak nationally. American is 10-6 on the road, and 5-1 away from Bender Arena in Patriot League action. They are tied for the national lead and one of only five teams in the country with 10 road wins. American's 10-1 Patriot League mark is its best record in any conference since going 11-0 in the East Coast Conference in the 1980-81 season. With their recent hot stretch, the Eagles re-entered the CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major top 25 on Monday at the No. 24 position.

Doing It With Defense

Strong defense has been a calling card for a number of Patriot League teams, and Lehigh and American each emphasized that point on Wednesday. The Mountain Hawks held Colgate to 40 points on 26.5 percent shooting, while the Eagles limited Army to 36 points on 27.1 percent shooting. Lehigh is one of the top15 teams in the country in field goal percentage defense, while American is in the top 15 in scoring defense as it allows only 58.4 points per game. Army, Navy, Holy Cross and Bucknell are all nationally-ranked in at least one defensive category.

Patriot League Trends

The 17 series that have been completed in Patriot League action have featured an almost equal number of splits (9) and sweeps (8)...Home teams are 29-16 in Patriot League games...Only Navy (70.0) is averaging more than 70 points in League contests...No player is averaging more than 16 per game in League action...The highest single-game mark for any player is 28 points, achieved by Navy's Chris Harris, American's Garrison Carr and Brian Gilmore, and Army's Cleveland Richard.

Exclusive Company For Patriot League Guards

Four of the five active 1,000-point scorers are also among the top assist men in Patriot League annals. Navy's Kaleo Kina, Lafayette's Andrew Brown, American's Derrick Mercer and Lehigh's Marquis Hall are all part of a group of only 14 players in Patriot League history to record at least 1,000 career points and 300 career assists. Kina has even more prestige to his numbers, as he is one of three Patriot Leaguers with at least 1,300 points, 400 rebounds, 300 assists and 150 steals in a career. Kina joins Lafayette's Brian Ehlers (1996-00) and Holy Cross' Kevin Hamilton (2002-06) as players to accomplish the statistical feat.

This and That

Bucknell leads all teams in the country with six overtime games this year, holding a 2-4 record...Lehigh junior guard Marquis Hall is on the nominee list for the Bob Cousy Award, presented to the top guard in college basketball, and was an ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District selection...Navy's nine-game home winning streak to open the season wsa the second-longest in school history...American opened Patriot League play at 3-0 for the first time in school history...Navy earned its first-ever spot in the College.Insider.com top 25 on Jan. 12...Navy (11) and Lehigh (10) each won double-digit games in non-League play...Lehigh's Matt Szalachowksi is one of 30 candidates for the 2008-09 Lowe's Senior CLASS Award, presented to a student-athlete based on classroom, character, community and competition...American's Derrick Mercer and Garrison Carr are the first set of Eagle teammates to both have over 1,000 career points in the same season since 1996...Army has already had 12 different players score in double figures this season...Navy senior guard Kaleo Kina became the fifth student-athlete in Patriot League history to earn three consecutive Player of the Week awards on Dec. 15. Kina was also one of four finalists for CollegeHoops.net Mid-Major Player of the Week honors on the same week...After posting a 2-1 record from Dec. 1-7, Navy was honored as the Mid-Major Team of the Week by Jeff Goodman in the FoxSports.com Weekly Wrap. The Mids had improved to 7-2 at the time...Navy has the best single-game shooting performance in the nation. The Mids' connected on 71.4 percent of their shots (25-for-35) in a 78-65 win over UT-San Antonio on Dec. 2....Lehigh's 76-71 win over Rutgers on Nov. 26 was the first for the Mountain Hawks against a Big East team in their Patriot League history, and first for the Patriot League against the Big East since 2005.

Patriot League All-Access Returns in 2009

Watch the majority of Patriot League Men's and Women's Basketball regular-season League and tournament games on high-speed Broadband on the Patriot League All-Access package. For $9.95 a month, this cutting-edge technology takes you from your seat to the sideline with multi-camera coverage.

2009 Patriot League Tournament

The 2009 Patriot League Men's Basketball Tournament will once again be played at campus sites, with the quarterfinals on March 4, semifinals on March 8 and Patriot League Championship on ESPN2 at 4:45 p.m. on March 13. All games will be played at the site of the higher seed, with American and Holy Cross already set as two of the hosts for the quarterfinal round.

Patriot League Games

Army (8-17, 4-7 PL) at Navy (17-9, 6-5 PL), Saturday, 1 p.m.
Alumni Hall; Annapolis, Md. TV: CBS
Series: Navy, 67-42 Streak: Army, One Win
Last Meeting: Army, 76-71 (1.25.09) Last Navy Win: 71-63 (2.23.08)

Military academies Army and Navy renew their competitive rivalry on Saturday in Annapolis in a CBS telecast...Third-place Navy will try to improve on its 6-5 League record, while sixth-place Army comes in at 4-7 and looking to stay in the hunt for a top four seed...The teams have alternated victories for the last 11 contests, including a 76-71 Army victory in the first meeting at West Point on Jan. 25...They have split the season series for five years in a row, with Navy winning the second matchup each time...Saturday's matchup is designated as the Star Game between the schools, which Navy has won six straight times...Army posted a 69-67 victory in last year's matchup in Annapolis, and has won three of the last five meetings at Navy...The Black Knights are going for their first season sweep of the series since 1992....Navy has a 67-42 lead in the all-time series, and a 26-8 edge in regular-season Patriot League games..

Army The Black Knights dropped their home finale on Wednesday, falling to American, 58-34...Army slipped to sixth place in the League standings with a 4-7 mark...It snapped a four-game home winning streak, and was Army's sixth straight loss to American...The Black Knights fell behind early and could not recover...They trailed, 33-14, at halftime, scoring their fewest points in a half this season...Josh Miller had seven points for the Black Knights, who recorded their lowest shooting percentage of the season at 27.1 percent...Army plays its final three regular-season games on the road, beginning with a trip to rival Navy in a CBS telecast on Saturday afternoon...They are trying to sweep Navy for the first time since 1992.

Navy The Mids had a double-digit lead in the second half, but could not hold on in a 74-69 loss at Holy Cross on Wednesday...Navy fell three games behind the second-place Crusaders, and is still in third place in the Patriot League with a 6-5 record...It ended a three-game series win streak over Holy Cross as the teams split the series for the first time since 1996...Navy was ahead, 48-36, early in the second half before the Crusaders came back...The Mids cut their deficit to 70-69 with one minute to play, but Holy Cross hit four foul shots down the stretch to put the game away...Three players did the bulk of the scoring for Navy, with 17 points for Adam Teague and Chris Harris and 16 for Kaleo Kina...Kina also dished out eight assists and moved into the top 10 in League annals with 379 assists...Navy made 14-of-26 shots in the first half, but hit just 10-of-34 after the break...The Mids forced 20 turnovers but could not overcome the tough shooting night...Navy returns home to face rival Army on Saturday at 1 p.m...It is the Star Game matchup between the schools, which Navy has won for five seasons in a row.

Holy Cross (14-12, 9-2 PL) at American (18-7, 10-1 PL), Saturday, 2 p.m.
Bender Arena; Washington, D.C.
Series: Holy Cross, 15-5 Streak: Holy Cross, One Win
Last Meeting: Holy Cross, 71-62 (1.24.09) Last American Win: 62-60 (3.5.08)

The top spot in the Patriot League is on the line when first-place American hosts second-place Holy Cross on Saturday afternoon in Washington...The Eagles have a 10-1 mark in the League, while the Crusaders are a game back at 9-2...Holy Cross won the first meeting between the schools, 71-62, in Worcester on Jan. 24, and would clinch the head-to-head tiebreaker with American with a victory...The teams are facing off at Bender Arena for the first time since American came back for a 62-60 victory in last year's Patriot League quarterfinals on March 5...The Eagles went on to win the League title...Holy Cross did record a 66-64 win in last year's regular-season matchup at Bender Arena as the teams split the season series...That was the last of eight straight wins in the series for Holy Cross, but American has won two of the three meetings since...Four of the last five matchups have been decided by 10 points or less, with three of those coming by a two-point final...Holy Cross leads the all-time series, 15-5, and is up, 11-4, in regular-season League games.

Holy Cross The Crusaders got back on the winning track with a come from behind, 74-69, victory at home against Navy on Wednesday...Holy Cross solidifed its spot in second place in the League standings, one game behind first-place American...The Crusaders split the season series with Navy for the first time since 1996...Holy Cross completed its three-game homestand with a 2-1 record, and improved to 5-1 at the Hart Center in Patriot League play...Trailing by 12 in the second half, the Crusaders got back into the game with an 11-2 run...They eventually went ahead on an R.J. Evans layup, and made key plays down the stretch after leading, 70-69, with one minute to play...Alex Vander Baan hit a pair of free throws with 26 seconds left to push the lead to three, and Colin Cunningham stole an inbounds pass with 16 seconds to play to set up Andrew Beinert's pair of free throws to put the game away...R.J. Evans led the Crusaders with 17 points, all in the second half, and six rebounds...Evans made 8-of-12 shots in the game...Cunningham had 12 points and six rebounds, while Andrew Keister had 10 points and six boards...The Crusaders connected on 57.4 percent (27-of-47) of their shots, including a 14-for-23 effort in the second half...Holy Cross begins a two-game road trip with the showdown for first place at American on Saturday...The Crusaders would tie American for first place and clinch no worse than the No. 2 seed in the Patriot League Tournament with a win.

American The Eagles played another outstanding defensive game in a 58-36 win at Army on Wednesday...First-place American won its seventh straight game and 13th in the last 14 outings, and improved to 10-1 in Patriot League play...The seven-game winning streak is tied for eighth-longest nationally...The Eagles have clinched one of the top two seeds in the Patriot League Tournament...They beat Army for the sixth consecutive time...They held Army to under 40 points for the second time this season, after a 58-34 win on Feb. 4...The Eagles limited Army to 27.1 percent shooting (13-of-48) from the field, with the Black Knights shooting just 5-of-22 in the first half as American ran out to a 33-14 lead at the break...The Eagles closed the first half with a 19-4 run to take control, and led by at least 15 points throughout the second half....American held a 37-25 advantage on the boards, and had an efficient game on offense with 49 percent (24-of-49) shooting...Derrick Mercer led the way with 17 points, while Garrison Carr chipped in with 13...The Eagles held a Patriot League opponent to under 60 points for the fifth consecutive game, and kept a third straight foe to 50 points or less...American has a 10-6 road record, and is one of five teams in the country with at least 10 road wins...The Eagles are 5-1 on the road in Patriot League action...American will try to push its home and overall winning streak to eight games when it plays Holy Cross on Saturday...The Eagles have a 12-game home streak against Patriot League opponents.

Lafayette (7-19, 3-8 PL) at Lehigh (15-10, 5-6 PL), Sunday, Noon
Stabler Arena; Bethlehem, Pa. TV: ESPNU
Series: Lafayette, 136-73 Streak: Lehigh, One Win
Last Meeting: Lehigh, 60-57 (1.24.09) Last Lafayette Win: 78-60 (2.23.08)

The Patriot League's two teams from the Lehigh Valley meet up in Bethlehem when Lafayette visits Lehigh in an ESPNU-televised contest on Sunday at Noon...The Mountain Hawks come into the contest in fourth place in the Patriot League with a 5-6 record, while the Leopards are 3-8 in League action...Lehigh earned a 60-57 win at Lafayette in the first meeting on Jan. 24, snapping a five-game winning streak for the home team in the series...They have split the series for two straight years, with Lehigh last sweeping the contests in 2006...The teams are playing for the 210th time, with Lafayette leading the all-time series, 136-73...The Leopards have a 19-18 lead in regular-season Patriot League games.

Lafayette The Leopards ended an eight-game losing streak, which included seven Patriot League defeats, with a 71-68 win at home over Bucknell on Wednesday...Lafayette jumped the Bison in the League standings, moving to seventh place with a 3-8 mark...The Leopards beat the Bison at home for the second year in a row, and split the season matchups with Bucknell for the second straight year...The Leopards held a 53-37 lead with 10:30 to go, but saw Bucknell get it all the way down to 69-66 with 12 seconds left. After the Bison cut it to one with three seconds left, Lafayette's Ryan Willen responded with a pair of free throws with two seconds to go to put the game away...Willen posted a career-high 20 points and seven rebounds, while Andrew Brown and Michael Gruner each tallied 16. The Leopards forced 18 Bucknell turnovers while committing only 12 of their own....Lafayette plays its final road contest of the regular season at archrival Lehigh on Sunday afternoon on ESPNU...The Leopards are trying to gain a split of the season matchups with Lehigh for the third year in a row.

Lehigh The Mountain Hawks moved back into fourth place in the Patriot League with a 49-40 win at home against Colgate on Wednesday...Lehigh has a 5-6 record in the League, a half-game ahead of the Raiders and a game ahead of Army for the final spot that would host a Patriot League quarterfinal game...Lehigh split the season series with Colgate for the second year in a row....The Mountain Hawks did it largely with defense, limiting Colgate to 26.5 percent shooting (13-of-49) that included a 5-for-25 showing in the second half...Lehigh held a small lead throughout most of the game, and was up just 39-36 with 6:08 to play...The Mountain Hawks then proceeded to score the next seven points and hold Colgate scoreless until 30 seconds remained to notch the 49-40 win...Marquis Hall led all scorers in the game with 16 points for Lehigh, while also recording five rebounds and four steals...Zahir Carrington just missed a double-double with nine points and 13 boards, as the Mountain Hawks held a 42-37 rebounding advantage...Lehigh shot just 18-for-49 from the field, and was able to overcome a 10-for-24 effort at the foul line...The Mountain Hawks conclude their home schedule when they play local rival Lafayette on Sunday in an ESPNU telecast...Lehigh is 8-4 at Stabler Arena, and 3-3 at home against Patriot League competition.

Team Notebooks

Bucknell (6-20, 3-9 PL) The Bison concluded their road schedule with a 71-68 loss at Lafayette on Wednesday...Bucknell fell behind the Leopards in the standings, dropping to eighth place with a 3-9 League mark...The Bison split the season series with the Leopards for the second year in a row, with each of the losses coming in Easton...Bucknell nearly rallied from a 16-point deficit with 10:30 to go...The Bison came all the way back to close the gap to 69-66 with 12 seconds to go, and brought it to 69-68 with three seconds left...Lafayette nailed a pair of free throws to seal the win...Four Bucknell players tallied double-digit point totals, with 20 for Patrick Behan, 16 for Justin Castleberry, 15 for Bryan Cohen and 10 for Darryl Shazier...The Bison got back into the game by shooting 60 percent in the second half, but were hurt by a 25 percent shooting effort in the first half as they trailed by 10 at the break...Bucknell plays its remaining three regular-season games at home, beginning with an ESPNU BracketBusters matchup against Delaware on Saturday afternoon...Bucknell has a 51-33 advantage in the all-time series with Delaware, with the teams meeting for the first time since 1996...Bucknell is 1-2 all-time in BracketBusters contests, and 1-1 against Colonial Athletic Association opponents.

Colgate (9-16, 5-7 PL) The Raiders fell for the second straight time on Wednesday, losing at Lehigh, 49-40...With the loss Colgate fell behind the Mountain Hawks in the League standings, dropping to fifth place with a 5-7 mark...The teams split the season series for the second year in a row...The Raiders struggled to score points, shooting 26.5 percent (13-of-49) in the contest and making only 5-of-25 shots in the second half...The Raiders trailed by just three points with 6:08 to play, but were held scoreless for the next five and a half minutes as Lehigh pulled away...Two players scored in double figures for Colgate, with 13 points for Mike Venezia and 10 for Yaw Gyawu. The Raiders coonceted on just 5-of-18 three-point shots as they once again played without leading rebounder and shot blocker Alex Woodhouse...Colgate plays its final non-League contest of the year when it visits Longwood on Saturday...The Raiders are 4-5 in non-League road games...It is the first-ever matchup with Longwood.