Nov. 28, 2008
Center Valley, Pa. - Patriot League men's basketball teams all enjoyed days away from game action on Thursday and Friday, but the schedule kicks back up on Saturday with the busiest day of the season so far. Seven of the eight teams take the court on Saturday, with three squads putting impressive starts and streaks on the line. American, Navy and Lehigh are all 4-1 through the first five games, with the Eagles and Mids both holding four-game win streaks. American puts its streak on the line when it completes a four-game road trip at Fairfield, while Navy goes for its fifth win in a row at home against Radford. Lehigh comes off its win at Rutgers on Wednesday when it travels to Dartmouth on Saturday. The Mountain Hawks are looking for their third win in a row.
Patriot League Men's Basketball Release - 11.28.08 
In other Saturday action, Bucknell tries to win its second game in a row when it hosts Wagner; Colgate goes for a 3-1 record when it hosts UC Riverside; Holy Cross tries to break a three-game losing streak when it visits Loyola (Ill.); and Army attempts to end its four-game losing skid with a game at Harvard. Lafayette is back on the court on Sunday, completing the weekend schedule of games when it visits Central Connecticut State.
Patriot League Notebook
Lehigh, American and Navy all at 4-1
Three Patriot League teams are off to very impressive starts to the year, as Lehigh, American and Navy all enter the weekend's action with 4-1 records. The Mountain Hawks are off to their best start since the 1980-81 season after winning a pair of games earlier in the week, including a 76-71 win at Rutgers for their first victory over a Big East opponent since the inception of the Patriot League in 1990. American and Navy have both won four consecutive games after dropping their season openers. The Eagles are 4-1 for the first time since the 1999-00 season, and have won their first three games of a four-game road trip. Navy has a 4-1 mark for the second time in the last three years, with a perfect 3-0 record at Alumni Hall.
Little Men are Big For Patriot League Schools
Four of the five members on the preseason All-Patriot League team stand under 6-feet tall, and all four are showing that the little guys can do plenty of big things. Lehigh junior guard Marquis Hall had a 28-point, 15-rebound, five-assist effort in a 76-71 victory at Rutgers on Wednesday, and is in the top five in the Patriot League in points, assists, steals and rebounds. The 5-foot-11 Hall is fifth in the League with 6.6 rebounds per game. Lafayette's Andrew Brown is the active League leader with 1,105 points, while American's Derric Mercer is the active leader and places ninth in League history with 402 assists. Patriot League Preseason Player of the Year Garrison Carr leads the League with 20.4 ppg, and the senior from American has already hit 21 three-pointers. The lone preseason All-League member that stands above 6-foot tall, 6-foot-2 Navy junior Chris Harris, is second to Carr with 19.0 ppg this year.
Overtime Again.....And Again
Patriot League teams are getting familiar with overtime, and nobody more so than Bucknell. The Bison earned a double-overtime, 83-82, victory over Old Dominion on Tuesday for their first win of the season, and their first in three overtime games. Bucknell has played a school-record three straight overtime games, just one off the NCAA record. Patriot League teams are already 3-3 in overtime this season, which includes Navy's triple overtime win over William & Mary, Army's loss to Quinnipiac and Holy Cross's win over St. Joseph's in addition to Bucknell's contest.
A Few Good Streaks, A Few Bad Streaks
American and Navy are the hottest teams in the Patriot League, with both squads winning four games in a row after losing their season opener. Lehigh isn't far behind with wins in its past two contests. But Army, Lafayette and Holy Cross have gone the other way of late. The Black Knights have dropped their last four contests after winning their season opener, while the Leopards and Crusaders have lost three in a row after starting 2-0.
American to No. 17 In College Insider.Com Mid-Major Top 25
With a strong start to the season, Patriot League defending champion American jumped six spots to No. 17 in the most recent CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major top 25 released on Monday. Colgate moved into the receiving votes category of the rankings.
Common Opponents
Patriot League teams have already played multiple games against six different opponents, and the contests have delivered mixed results. Army and Colgate both own a win over Dartmouth, with the Black Knights triumphing at home and the Raiders on the road. American and Navy both knocked off Howard, with the Eagles winning on the road and the Mids at home. American and Lafayette each have victories over Stony Brook, as the Eagles won on the road and the Leopards triumphed at home. American and Lehigh hold home victories over St. Francis (Pa.), but Bucknell lost the matchup on the road. The results were not as good against Rider or Brown, as the Broncs came to the Lehigh Valley and beat both Lehigh and Lafayette last week and the Bears have wins over Holy Cross and Army.
Team Notebooks
American The Eagles won their fourth consecutive game and improved to 4-1 on the season with a 56-53 win at Stony Brook on Tuesday...The Eagles are at 4-1 for the first time since the 1999-2000 season...American has won the first three games of its four-game road trip...The Eagles beat Stony Brook for the second year in a row...Two players scored their career highs in the game, as sophomore Nick Hendra notched 16 points and senior Frane Markusovic scored 13...Hendra also pulled down a career-high six rebounds...Garrison Carr sunk a pair of free throws with 13 seconds left for American's final points, and Stony Brook missed a three on the other end as time expired...Carr scored 10 points in the game, and continues to lead the Patriot League with 20.4 ppg for the year...Carr is up to 941 career points, while Derrick Mercer has 949...American visits Fairfield on Saturday to complete its four-game road trip...The Eagles lost to Fairfield, 60-52, last season in Washington...American leads the all-time series, 8-5...With a win, American will be one game short of matching the 6-1 start of the 1989-90 squad.
Army The Black Knights suffered a fourth consecutive loss and fell to 1-4 on the season with an 80-73 defeat at Brown on Wednesday...They lost to the Bears for the second year in a row...Army has already played three games against Ivy League opponents, with a 1-2 record in the contest thus far...They are in the midst of a stretch of three consecutive games against Ivy League teams, which concludes at Harvard on Saturday...The Black Knights have already lost at home to Princeton and at Brown in the three-game Ivy swing...Brown used a 9-0 run to break a tie game with less than four minutes to play...Freshman guard Julian Simmons had a career-high 18 points for the Black Knights...Army's four-game losing skid is its longest since the 2006-07 season...Army is 15-7 all-time against Harvard.
Bucknell The Bison earned their first victory of the season with an 83-82 triumph in double overtime over Old Dominion on Tuesday...It was also the first victory at Bucknell for first-year Head Coach Dave Paulsen...Bucknell has played three consecutive overtime games for the first time in school history...It is one game off the NCAA record of four consecutive overtime contests...Senior guard Justin Castelberry had a career-high 31 points in the game, the highest total for a Patriot League player so far this season...Castleberry hit the game-winning shot with 15 seconds left in the double overtime session...Darryl Shazier just missed Bucknell's first-ever triple-double, finishing with 14 points, nine rebounds and nine assists in the contest...All of the marks were career highs for the sophomore...Shazier leads all Patriot League players with 6.0 assists per game this season...Patrick Behan had 16 points and eight rebounds, while reigning Patriot League Rookie of the Week Bryan Cohen recorded 21 points and nine rebounds...The game featured 21 lead changes, eight of which came in the two overtime periods...The Bison had 15 assists and a season-low 11 turnovers...Bucknell also hit on 46.4 percent of its shots from the field and 12-of-15 free throws...Bucknell plays another home contest on Saturday, taking on Wagner...Bucknell has not defeated Wagner since 1984, and trails the all-time series, 5-3, to the Seahawks...Bucknell lost at Wagner, 64-55, last season...Wagner is 3-1 on the season, but the lone loss came at home against Lafayette, 73-67, on Nov. 14.
Colgate The Raiders lost their home opener, 54-50 to Kennesaw State on Wednesday...It was Colgate's first loss of the season after starting off 2-0 on the road...Mike Venezia led the Raiders with 13 points, while freshman Yaw Gyawu chipped in with 11...Venezia also had a career-high seven rebounds...The Raiders made just 39 percent of their shots from the field, and committed 20 turnovers...Alex Woodhouse had eight points, six rebounds and three blocks...Woodhouse leads the Patriot League with 3.0 blocks per game, and is 12th on the League's all-time list with 116 blocks...Colgate is back at home against UC Riverside on Saturday...It is the second all-time meeting between the schools, with Colgate claiming a 59-56 win on the road in the 2006-07 season.
Holy Cross The Crusaders dropped their third consecutive game with a 69-59 loss at Harvard on Tuesday...Holy Cross has fallen to 2-3 overall after a 2-0 start to the year...Senior Greg McCarthy led the Crusaders with a career-high 18 points and eight rebounds in the contest...Holy Cross led by as many as 11 points in the first half, but Harvard responded with a 16-0 run...The Crusaders came back to hold a 51-49 lead in the second half, but Harvard used an 11-1 run to take the lead for good...Eric Meister had 10 points and 11 rebounds for his second double-double of the season...Freshman R.J. Evans had 10 points, eight rebounds, four assists and three steals...Holy Cross travels to Loyola (Ill.) on Saturday...Holy Cross leads the all-time series, 4-1, but the teams have not met since Loyola (Ill.) claimed a victory in 1985.
Lafayette The Leopards lost for the third straight time, falling at Colorado, 73-59, on Tuesday...Lafayette has lost three straight games after a 2-0 start...Senior Andrew Brown led the Leopards with 13 points in an appearance in his home state...Lafayette cut its deficit to three points early in the second half, but would get no closer...Jared Mintz also scored in double figures, finishing with 10 points...The Leopards shot just 35 percent in the game and committed 20 turnovers...Lafayette is back on the court at Central Connecticut State on Sunday...The Leopards are 2-0 in the all-time series, with a 71-54 victory at home.
Lehigh Lehigh earned a pair of victories earlier in the week, taking down St. Francis (Pa.), 61-56, at home on Monday before winning at Rutgers, 76-71, on Wednesday...The Mountain Hawks improve to 4-1 for the first time since the 1980-81 season...It was Lehigh's first win over a Big East opponent since the inception of the Patriot League in 1990...It was the first victory for a Patriot League team over a Big East opponent since Bucknell beat DePaul, 57-52, on Dec. 3, 2005...It snapped a 20-game losing streak for Patriot League teams against Big East foes...The win was also the first over a BCS-level opponent since American beat Maryland, 67-59, on Dec. 22, 2007...Marquis Hall led Lehigh with an outstanding performance, scoring 28 points with a career-high 15 rebounds and five assists...It was his first double-digit rebound game...Hall had 18 points in the second half, including a stretch of 12 consecutive Mountain Hawk points...Lehigh took the lead for good in a back-and-forth second half on a pair of free throws by Zahir Carrington with 1:35 left to go up, 70-69...Hall made it a 72-69 game on an off-balance jumper with 50 seconds to go, and added two free throws for a 74-69 edge with 35 seconds left...Matt Szalachowski added a free throw to seal the win...It was Lehigh's first win over Rutgers since 1967...Carrington had 15 points, while Dave Buchberger added 12...The Mountain Hawks committed only eight turnovers...Buchberger had a game-high 15 points in the win over St. Francis (Pa.) on Monday...The victory completed a 2-1 homestand for the Mountain Hawks...The Mountain Hawks visit Dartmouth on Saturday...Lehigh holds a 5-2 advantage in the all-time series...Colgate and Army have both knocked off the Big Green this season.
Navy The Mids earned thier fourth consecutive win with a 76-51 triumph over Maryland Eastern Shore on Tuesday...They are at 4-1 for the second time in the last three seasons...It was the first of a three-game homestand for the Mids, who have won five straight home games against non-League opponents...Chris Harris connnected on seven three-pointers and led the way with 21 points in the game...Harris scored 18 points during a 32-8 Navy run that turned a two-point deficit into a 53-31 lead with 12:37 to play...He had three three-pointers in the last 1:59 of the first half to start the run, and three more in the first seven minutes of the second half...Adam Teague had 14 points in the game, and Kaleo Kina added 11...Ten players scored for the Mids...Navy plays at home against Radford on Saturday...The Mids are trying to start 5-1 for the first time since 1998-99, a team that got off to a 6-1 start...Navy will go for its 150th all-time win at Alumni Hall in that contest...The Mids have a record of 149-87 all-time at Alumni Hall...It is the first meeting between Navy and Radford.
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