Nov. 16, 2009

Center Valley, Pa. - Lafayette, Bucknell and Navy all recorded victories on the first weekend of the Patriot League men's basketball season, and two of the winners had a standout player honored with a weekly award on Monday. Navy sophomore guard Jordan Sugars is the Patriot League Anaconda Player of the Week, while Bucknell freshman guard Bryson Johnson is the Anaconda Rookie of the Week.

Patriot League Men's Basketball Release - 11.16.09

Patriot League Anaconda Player of the Week (Nov. 13-15)

Jordan Sugars, Navy So, G, 6'3, 210, Winchester, Va./Millbrook
Sugars had a pair of strong games in Navy's first two contests of the season over the weekend, including a 16-point, 16-rebound effort in a loss to Radford on Friday. He recorded career highs in points (16), rebounds (16), field goals (six) and three-pointers (three) in the game as Navy fell, 76-65. The 16 rebounds were the most for a Navy player since Jan. 12, 2005, and the second most ever for a Navy player 6-foot-3 or shorter It was also the 10th-best rebounding performance in the country this year and most for a player 6-foot-4 or shorter. Sugars also played a key role in Navy's 79-76 win at Longwood on Sunday, tallying 14 points on 6-of-7 shooting and pulling down eight rebounds in the game. He averaged 15.0 ppg, 12.0 rpg and 1.0 spg in the two games, while shooting 48.0 percent from the field and 36.4 percent from three-point range. Sugars ranks fifth in the Patriot League in scoring and leads the way in rebounding after the opening weekend. Sugars earns his first career weekly award.

Patriot League Anaconda Rookie of the Week (Nov. 13-15)

Bryson Johnson, Bucknell Fr., G, 6'1, 180, Pictou, Nova Scotia/St. David Catholic
Johnson played well in two of Bucknell's three games over the weekend at the World Vision Invitational, with 18 points in his collegiate debut against Mercer on Friday and 11 in a Bison victory over Bryant on Sunday. In the season-opening loss against Mercer, Johnson canned 6-of-10 three-pointers and scored 18 points as the Bison fell, 89-80. He led the team in scoring, and the 18 points were tied for third-most by a Bucknell freshman on opening night. After being held scoreless in Saturday's loss to Providence, Johnson came back with 11 points while hitting 3-of-8 three-pointers in a 59-56 win over Bryant on Sunday. Johnson also pulled down five rebounds in the game. He hit two three-pointers in an 18-second span to build a two-point lead to eight in the first half. He averaged 9.7 points and 2.7 rebounds in the three games, while connecting on 9-of-22 three-pointers.

Honorable Mention Performances Last Week

Bryan Cohen, Bucknell So., G, 6'5, 198, Huntingdon Valley, Pa./Abington Friends
Cohen averaged 15.3 ppg and 4.7 rpg in three games at the World Vision Invitational in Providence, helping the Bison to a 1-2 record.

Jared Mintz, Lafayette Jr., F, 6'8, 240, Tornto, Canada/Vaughn Academy
Mintz tallied a double-double with 20 points and 10 rebounds in Lafayette's 81-72 win over Wagner on Friday, and had 12 points in a loss to Sacred Heart on Sunday.

Andrew Keister, Holy Cross Jr., F, 6'9, 235, Galloway, N.J./Absegami
Keister had 22 points, the second-highest total in his career, and eight rebounds in Holy Cross' loss to Harvard on Friday.

Marquis Hall, Lehigh Sr., G, 6'0, 170, Portland, Ore./Jefferson
Hall recorded 14 points, seven rebounds and six assists, leading Lehigh in each category, in the Mountain Hawks' 65-53 loss at Richmond on Friday.

Patriot League Notebook

Three Teams Win on Opening Weekend
Lafayette, Bucknell and Navy all picked up victories on the first weekend of the 2009-10 men's basketball season. The Leopards took down Wagner, 81-72, on Friday night at home to open the season with a victory. The Bison suffered a pair of losses to Mercer and Providence at the World Vision Invitational before beating Bryant, 59-56, on Sunday for their first victory. Navy notched a 1-1 record on the road, losing at Radford on Friday before beating Longwood, 79-76, on Sunday. American, Army, Holy Cross and Lehigh all fell in their season-opening games.

Raiders Begin Season in Storrs
Colgate is the only Patriot League team that has yet to step on the court, but the Raiders will change that when they play in the Dick's Sporting Goods NIT Season Tip-Off on Monday and Tuesday. The Raiders have a daunting challenge in their first game, as they take on No. 12 Connecticut, the host school, at 9 p.m. in an ESPNU-televised contest. Colgate will then play Hofstra or Yale on Tuesday. Every other Patriot League team will play at least once during the middle of the week, with American and Lehigh joining the Raiders with a pair of games. The Eagles open a five-game homestand against Albany on Monday and also face Mount St. Mary's on Wednesday. They will raise the 2008-09 Patriot League Championship banner in the home opener. Lehigh has a challenging task at Rider on Monday, then opens its home schedule against Quinnipiac on Wednesday. Army and Navy will also play home openers, with the Black Knights facing Long Island on Tuesday and the Mids playing Buffalo on Thursday. Holy Cross has a tough test at St. Joseph's on Tuesday, while Bucknell visits Delaware on Wednesday and Lafayette is at St. Francis (Pa.) on Thursday.

Patriot League On CBS College Sports
The Patriot League home for men's basketball coverage moves to the CBS College Sports Network in 2010, with 12 men's games on the slate including a pair from the Patriot League Tournament. The schedule featues regular-season games on Thursday night and Sunday afternoon, as well as the final Saturday of the regular-season. On the final two weekends (Feb. 21 and 27) a "Flex Game" schedule is in place where the televised contest will not be announced until a later date. One Patriot League quarterfinal game will be shown on March 3 at 7 p.m., while a semifinal contest will be televised on March 7 at 8 p.m. CBS College Sports Network is available through cable operators as well as on DIRECTV Channel 613 and Dish Network Channel 152. The Patriot League Championship remains on ESPN2 and will be played on March 12 at 4:45 p.m.

Lehigh's Hall Hopes to Add to Accolades
Lehigh senior Marquis Hall has received at least one honor from the Patriot League in each of his first three seasons, and hopes to continue that trend in 2009-10. Hall was named the 2007 Patriot League Rookie of the Year and to the League's All-Rookie Team as a freshman. In 2007-08, he claimed Second-Team All-League honors, and last year he doubled up again by earning the League's Scholar-Athlete of the Year honor as well as First-Team All-League status. Hall is already in the Patriot League record book in two categories: points (49th, 1,165) and assists (11th, 385). He was named the League's Preseason Player of the Year, and is also a candidate for the Lowe's Senior CLASS award.

Tough Schedule in 2009-10
The Patriot League will take on a challenging non-League slate in the 2009-10 season that includes plenty of games against returning tournament teams. There are six games against teams that made the 2009 NCAA Tournament, including Navy's opening matchup with Radford on Friday and Colgate's trips to Final Four participant Connecticut and Sweet 16 entrant Syracuse. Patriot League teams will also play eight games against squads that made the postseason National Invitation Tournament (NIT) last year. Defending Patriot League champion American has three of those contests, as the Eagles will visit last year's NIT champion, Penn State, on Dec. 21 and go to Georgetown on Dec. 5 and Florida on Dec. 28. The 2009-10 schedule also contains plenty of games against foes from surrounding conferences in the region. Patriot League teams will play a heavy dose of games against the Northeast Conference and Ivy League, with 24 matchups against the NEC and 20 versus the Ivies. The schedule includes 11 games against both the Atlantic 10 Conference and America East as well as nine against the Big East and MAAC.

2010 Patriot League Tournament
The Patriot League Tournament will once again be played on campus sites. The quarterfinals are set for March 3, the semifinals will take place on March 7 and the Patriot League Championship will be decided on Friday, March 12. American will look for its third straight title.

American Goes For a Third
American will try to become just the second Patriot League school to win three consecutive Tournament titles this year. Only Holy Cross (2001-03) has pulled off the feat before. The Eagles will have to do it with a new cast, however, as all five starters and eight letterwinners are gone from last year's title team.

New Boss at Holy Cross, Army
After 10-year Head Coach Ralph Willard departed in June, Holy Cross turned to a first-time candidate to fill the posiion. The Crusaders hired Sean Kearney to take over as the 15th head coach in program history on July 3. Kearney enters his first collegiate head coaching position after spending the past nine years as an assistant at Notre Dame. Kearney is not be the only new head coach in the Patriot League, as Army hired Zach Spiker to take over as its head coach on Oct. 3. Spiker, 33, spent the previous five seasons as an assistant at Cornell and is also in his first collegiate head coaching position.

Fran's The Man
While four Patriot League teams have seen their head coaching position change hands in the past three years, Fran O'Hanlon has remained constant at Lafayette. And now, O'Hanlon becomes the first Patriot League coach to enter a 15th season as he guides the Leopards in 2009-10. O'Hanlon is seven games shy of coaching more games than any other Patriot League coach, and just two contests away from setting the mark for League games. His 195 wins as a Patriot League coach are second all-time, and his 91 League wins stand fourth. O'Hanlon is not the only veteran of the group, as Colgate's Emmett Davis enters his 12th season in Hamilton and American's Jeff Jones is in his 10th with the Eagles, and ninth in the Patriot League.

Carr, Mercer Moving On
Former American guards Garrison Carr and Derrick Mercer took the Patriot League by storm in winning the past two titles, and now each player has a chance to further his career professionally. Both guards were picked in the NBDL draft recently, with Mercer going in the fourth round to the Erie Bayhawks and Carr in the seventh to the Albuquerque Thunderbirds.

Plenty Of Coverage on League Website
The Patriot League is expanding its men's basketball coverage on the League website. The League has already provided a page with video and audio interviews from Media Day as well as preseason articles from around the country. The composite schedule will include all live stat, audio and video links for games throughout the season, and a recap with links to school box scores and recaps will be provided after each night of games.

Keep Track of the Patriot League Through Social Media
In addition to visiting www.patriotleague.org, League fans and followers have plenty of new ways to stay updated and involved during the 2009-10 season and beyond. The Patriot League has accounts on Facebook and Twitter, and has now started a blog to give more information on the action on the field. All three accounts are accessible through the multimedia link at the right-hand sidebar on the front page of www.patriotleague.org.

Team Notebooks

American The Eagles opened their 2009-10 season with a 65-61 loss at St. Francis (Pa.) on Friday night...American had an 11-point halftime lead, but could not hold on...Riley Grafft recorded career highs with 14 points and six rebounds...He made 7-of-10 field goal attempts...Daniel Munoz made his collegiate debut as American's starting point guard, and tallied six points and four assists...He had an assist to tie the score with 1:06 left and cut the American defict to one with 37 seconds to play before the Eagles fell...American now returns home for a five-game homestand, and will face Albany on Monday and Mount St. Mary's on Wednesday...The Eagles will raise their 2008-09 Patriot League Championship banner against Albany...American lost at home to Mount St. Mary's, 57-52, last season.

Army The Black Knights dropped a high-scoring affair in Head Coach Zach Spiker's first game, as they were outscored by VMI, 93-86, on Friday...The Black Knights' 86 points in the loss at VMI was the best offensive output versus a Division I opponent in regulation since a 95-89 loss to Navy on Jan. 24, 2001...It was the most points in an Army loss since an 88-86 double-overtime defeat at Albany on Feb. 3, 2001 and the highest scoring total in a regulation loss since the game versus the Mids..Army started five seniors in the season opener, including the 41st straight start for Cleveland Richard and the 34th for Marcus Nelson...It was the first time in at least 31 years that the Black Knights had five seniors comprise the entire starting lineup...Tyrell Thompson led the team with 14 points, making 6-of-7 shots...Cleveland Richard also had 14 points, his sixth-straight double-digit performance going back to last year...Nelson and Julian Simmons had 13 points, while Josh Miller added 12...It was the first time since the Navy game in 2001 that Army had at least five players score 10 points or more...Jeremy Hence totaled nine points and a career-high nine rebounds...Army shot 56 percent in the game, but was hurt by 34 turnovers...Army plays its home opener against Long Island on Tuesday...The Black Knights lost the matchup on the road, 78-68, last season.

Bucknell The Bison opened the season with a 1-2 record at the World Vision Invitational in Providence, knocking off Bryant, 59-56, on Sunday after dropping games to Mercer on Friday and Providence on Saturday...Sophomore Bryan Cohen had a strong weekend, averaging 15.3 ppg and 4.7 rpg in the three games...He made 15-of-32 shots from the field, including 9-of-14 from three-point range...He scored 35 of his 46 points in the second half, and earned All-Tournament team honors for his performance...After the Bison had their 20-point lead trimmed to three against Bryant, Cohen took a charge and then hit a three-pointer and a jumper on consecutive possessions to push Bucknell's lead back to eight and help seal the win...Bryson Johnson opened his collegiate career with 18 points in the loss to Mercer, going 6-for-10 from three-point range...The 18 points were tied for third-most by a Bucknell freshman on opening night...He hit three treys and scored 11 points in the win over Bryant...Darryl Shazier had 17 points against Mercer and 12 against Providence, and in 108 minutes of game action he had 14 assists with only two turnovers...Freshman Joe Willman had 21 points and 15 rebounds over the three games...Another freshman, Mike Muscala, had a team-high 12 points in the win over Bryant...Bucknell stays on the road to take on Delaware on Wednesday before opening its home schedule against St. Francis (Pa.) on Saturday...The Bison lost at home against Delaware, 81-68, in an ESPNU BracketBusters matchup in February...Bucknell does lead the all-time series, 51-34.

Colgate The Raiders will open the season Monday, when they play at Final Four participant Connecticut in the first game of the Dick's Sporting Goods NIT Season Tip-Off...The Raiders will face either Hofstra or Yale on Tuesday, then play two games against opponents to be determined on Nov. 23 and 24 or Nov. 25 and 27...The Raiders bring back Kyle Roemer, a 2008 Second-Team All-League pick who missed last season due to injury...The Raiders were picked to finish fifth in the League's preseason poll.

Holy Cross The Crusaders opened the Sean Kearney era with a loss at home, falling to Harvard, 87-77, on Friday...Andrew Keister led the team with 22 points and eight rebounds in the game, making 8-of-13 shots and 6-of-7 at the free throw line...The 22 points scored were the second-highest total of Keister's collegiate career...The teams were tied, 49-49, with 12 minutes to play before Harvard went on a 10-0 run to take control for good...Sophomores R.J. Evans and Devin Brown each had 12 points, while Mike Cavataio had 11 points, five assists and three rebounds in his Crusader debut...Holy Cross lost its season opener for the first time since the 2002-2003 season...Holy Cross is back in action at St. Joseph's on Tuesday...The Crusaders beat the Hawks, 73-69, in overtime at home last year and 71-66 on the road on Dec. 4, 2007...Holy Cross does still trail the all-time series, 3-2.

Lafayette The Leopards kicked off the 2009-10 campaign with an 81-72 win at home against Wagner on Friday, but fell to 1-1 with a loss at another Northeast Conference opponent, Sacred Heart, on Sunday...Jared Mintz had 20 points and 10 rebounds in the win over Wagner, making 6-of-10 field goals and all eight free throw attempts...It was his third-career double-double...Mintz came back with 12 points in the loss to Sacred Heart, and made all four of his free throw attempts in that game...Ryan Willen had 15 points in the win over Wagner, while Jeff Kari had 14 and Jim Mower contributed 12...The Leopards trailed by as many as 10 points in the second half against Wagner, and did not take the lead until 2:48 remained...Lafayette put together a 12-2 run to close the game to earn the win...The big run went the other way on Sunday, as Sacred Heart used a 14-2 spurt to break open a tie game midway through the second half and pull away for the win...Willen led Lafayette with 14 points...The Leopards continue a three-game road trip when they visit St. Francis (Pa.) on Thursday...The teams are facing off for the first time.

Lehigh The Mountain Hawks dropped their season opener at Richmond, 65-53, on Friday night...Patriot League Preseason Player of the Year Marquis Hall tallied 14 points, seven rebounds and six assists in the loss, leading Lehigh in each category...C.J. McCollum chipped in 12 points in his collegiate debut...Lehigh was tied with less than 12 minutes to go against the Spiders, who are picked to finish third in the Atlantic 10...The Mountain Hawks continue a tough start to the season when they visit Rider on Monday, then play their home opener on Wednesday against Qunnipiac...Rider won at No. 18 Mississippi State, 88-74, to open its season on Friday, and also defeated the Mountain Hawks by one point in Bethlehem last year...Rider leads the all-time series, 30-20, and the Mountain Hawks have not beaten the Broncs since 1989...Lehigh has never beaten Quinnipiac in two meetings.

Navy The Mids notched a 1-1 record on the road to start the year, defeating Longwood, 79-76, on Sunday after falling to defending Big South champion Radford, 76-65, on Friday...Jordan Sugars had a pair of big efforts, with 16 points and 16 rebounds in the loss to Radford and 14 points and eight boards in the win over Longwood...Sugars made 6-of-7 shots in the victory...The marks against Radford were both career highs...The 16 rebounds were the most for a Navy player since Matt Fannin had 19 against American on Jan. 12, 2005...His 16 rebounds were the second most for a Navy player 6-foot-3 or shorter (Hassan Booker - 17 vs. Lehigh on Feb. 8, 1998) and the most for a player 6-foot-4 or shorter in the NCAA this season...Navy is at 1-1 for the fourth straight season, and fifth time in Billy Lange's six years...Romeo Garcia scored 13 points against Radford and 16 against Longwood, surpassing his career high each time...O.J. Avworo also had a career-high 16 points against Longwood, while Mark Veazey tied a career high with four blocks...Navy led with two minutes to go against Radford, but gave up a 14-2 run to close the game...Chris Harris now has 206 career three-pointers, second to Greg Sprink's 237 in Navy history...Navy plays its home opener against Buffalo on Thursday...The all-time series is tied, 1-1, and the teams are meeting for the first time since 2001.