Nov. 30, 2009

Center Valley, Pa. - With final exams looming for each school, the eight Patriot League men's basketball teams have plenty of action ahead with 13 midweek games. Eight of those contests will come at home, with five of the six teams in action on Monday playing on their home floor. Navy's Chris Harris and Lehigh's C.J. McCollum earn Patriot League/Anaconda Player and Rookie of the Week honors, respectively.

Patriot League Men's Basketball Release - 11.30.09

Patriot League/Anaconda Player of the Week (Nov. 23-29)

Chris Harris, Navy Sr., G, 6'2, 185, Mechanicsville, Va./Fork Union
Navy's Chris Harris put up one of the best individual scoring performances in recent Patriot League history, as the senior guard scored 37 points in the Mids' 87-70 win over Towson on Tuesday. He was 11-for-21 from the field and 12-for-12 at the line in the game. Harris' outing was the highest point total for a Patriot League player since Holy Cross' Kevin Hamilton scored 38 on Dec. 19, 2005 against Chattanooga, and matched former teammate Greg Sprink's total against Bucknell in a triple-overtime game in the 2008 quarterfinals as the only other 37-point effort since that date. No Navy player has scored more than 37 since Michael Heary notched 38 against Holy Cross on Jan. 29, 1997. It is the eighth-highest total in the nation this year, and makes Harris one of just 10 Navy players with two 30-point games in his career. Harris leads the League with 20.0 points per game after also scoring 17 points in Navy's 65-56 overtime loss to Mt. St. Mary's on Saturday. Harris set a Navy record in that contest by stretching his streak of consecutive free throws to 37 before he missed later in the game, passing the record of 34 set by Matt Sladky in the 1996-97 season. Harris earns his first Anaconda Player of the Week award this season, and the second of his career.

Patriot League/Anaconda Rookie of the Week (Nov. 23-29)

C.J. McCollum, Lehigh Fr., G, 6'2, 165, Canton, Ohio/Glen Oak
McCollum continued the outstanding start to his career and led the Mountain Hawks to a pair of victories, scoring 15 points in an 86-74 win over Monmouth on Monday and totaling 20 while hitting 10-of-10 foul shots in a 76-67 triumph at St. Francis (Pa.) on Wednesday. McCollum is fourth in the Patriot League with 16.4 points per game, and has recorded a double-figure scoring total in the first five games of his collegiate career. He leads Lehigh in scoring as well as field goals, free throws and three-pointers made. McCollum is averaging 19.0 ppg when he is in the starting lineup, and Lehigh is 3-0 since his insertion in the starting five. McCollum wins the Ancaonda Rookie of the Week award for the second straight time.

Honorable Mention Performances Last Week

Jared Mintz, Lafayette Jr., F, 6'8, 240, Toronto, Canada/Vaughn Academy
Mintz averaged 17 points and seven rebounds in two Lafayette games last week, making 11-of-14 shots from both the floor and the line.

Kyle Roemer, Colgate Sr., G/F, 6'3, 214, Martinez, Calif./De La Salle
Roemer averaged 20.6 points while shooting 55 percent from the field and also hauled in 4.6 rebounds per contest in three Colgate games last week.

Cleveland Richard, Army Sr.., F, 6'4, 196, Houston, Texas/Spring Westfield
Richard led Army to wins over both Harvard and Yale last week, averaging 15 points, four rebounds and three assists in the two games.

Patriot League Notebook

Busy Week Ahead for Patriot League Squads
With final exams looming for each school, the eight Patriot League men's basketball teams have plenty of action ahead with 13 midweek games. Eight of those contests will come at home, with five of the six teams in action on Monday playing on their home floor. Lafayette, Lehigh, Holy Cross, Navy and Army all play home games, with Colgate on the road at No. 10/9 Syracuse. Army takes a four-game win streak into its game, while Lehigh has won three in a row. American has the only action on Tuesday as it takes on Howard, while Bucknell hosts Cornell and Holy Cross plays its second game of the week when it visits Brown on Wednesday. Lafayette, Lehigh, Army and Colgate all play their second game of the midweek portion on Thursday, with the Raiders on their home court against Maine.

Army Wins Fourth Game In a Row
Army is off to its best start in more than 25 years under first-year Head Coach Zach Spiker, as the Black Knights defeated Yale, 64-48, on Saturday for their fourth straight win. It is the first time the program has ever won four in a row in November, and Army is 4-1 overall for the first time since the 1983-84 season. The four-game win streak is the longest since a six-game stretch in the 2006-07 season. Bucknell earned its fourth win of the season on Saturday, too, with the Bison knocking off Wagner, 85-61. Lafayette, Navy, Colgate, Holy Cross and American all fell. The Leopards had their three-game win streak come to an end at No. 18/19 Georgetown, while the Raiders, Crusaders and Eagles remained winless.

Three Teams Have Matched Non-League Success
Bucknell, Army and Lafayette have all equaled or exceeded last year's non-League win totals. The Bison notched their fourth win of the year after a 3-12 non-League mark last year when they beat Wagner, 85-61, on Saturday. They are 2-2 in true road games after a 1-15 road mark last year. Lafayette is at 4-2 in non-League games after going 4-11 last year, while Army is 4-1 after a 4-10 non-League record last season. Each squad has already recorded at least a three-game win streak.

On The Other Side
The three teams who have combined to play in the last two Patriot League title games are all still in search of their first victory. Defending Patriot League champion American recently completed a five-game homestand without a win, and the 0-7 Eagles will try again on their home court when they play Howard on Tuesday. Holy Cross is at 0-6 heading into a home game against Marist on Monday and trip to Brown on Wednesday, while Colgate has an 0-5 mark and plays at No. 10/9 Syracuse on Monday before hosting Maine on Thursday.

Mintz Doesn't Miss
Lafayette's Jared Mintz has possessed the golden touch from the field and the line this season. He is leading the Patriot League by hitting 69.1 percent of his shots (38-of-55), including 28-of-33 in the past four games. He is seventh in the League in free throw percentage at 86.5 (32-of-37). Mintz is third in the Patriot League with 18.2 points per game, and is leading a Lafayette offense that is first in the Patriot League in scoring (76.3 ppg) and field goal percentage (50.0)

Lehigh's Hall Joins an Exclusive Club
Lehigh senior guard Marquis Hall already has a list of Patriot League honors in his career: Rookie of the Year, Scholar-Athlete of the Year and a pair of All-League nods are pretty nice in three seasons. Now he has hit a statistical milestone that only a handful of Patriot Leaguers have obtained. He went over 400 career assists on Nov. 18 against Quinnipiac, and now has a total of 418. Hall is 10th in Patriot League history in career assists, and one of only four players in League history with at least 1,100 points and 400 assists. Hall has 1,199 career points, 46th in League annals. He has already posted 10 assists three times in Lehigh's first five games, and leads the League with 7.8 per game. Hall was named the League's Preseason Player of the Year, and is also a candidate for the Lowe's Senior CLASS award.

Patriot League On the Tube
Three Patriot League teams will make television appearances in the next week, including a pair for Navy. Colgate starts the action on the tube when it takes on No. 10/9 Syracuse on Monday in a game that will be streamed on ESPN360. American hosts Howard on Tuesday in an RCN telecast. Navy will appear on television twice over the weekend, hosting Penn on CBS College Sports Network on Friday and taking on George Washington on Sunday on MASN in the BB & T Classic in Washington, D.C.

Seeing Flashes of Red....Again and Again
Comparative scoring is not the best way to determine the strength of teams, but in the first two weeks of the year Patriot League followers got to see how half of the League stacked up against one opponent. American, Lafayette, Bucknell and Lehigh all faced the St. Francis (Pa.) Red Flash in the first two weeks, and put up a 3-1 record in the matchups. Lehigh and Lafayette notched road victories, while Bucknell earned a home win. Each squad won by nine points or more. American was the only loser of the matchup, falling in the season opener on Nov. 13.

Northeast Rivals
The matchups with St. Francis (Pa.) are just part of a busy schedule against Northeast Conference opponents. The leagues have already faced off 15 times, with the Patriot League holding a 9-6 advantage in the meetings. Two more matchups will be played on Monday. Patriot League teams have a 17-30 record overall in non-League play.

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.

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 have dropped their first seven games of the season after falling, 65-58, at Maryland-Eastern Shore on Saturday...American used a 23-8 run to turn a 12-point deficit into a three-point lead with 7:45 to play, but Maryland-Eastern Shore countered with a 20-10 surge to close out the game for the seven-point win...Stephen Lumpkins led the team with 15 points, and also pulled down nine rebounds...Lumpkins averaged 12.3 points and 7.7 rebounds in American's three games last week, and also recorded multiple blocks in each contest...He leads the Patriot League in rebounding and blocked shots...American tries again for its first win of the season when it hosts Howard on Tuesday on RCN...American won at Howard, 65-63, last year.

Army The Black Knights are off to their best start in more than 25 years after defeating Yale, 64-48, at home on Saturday...They moved to 4-1 on the season, the best start for the program since the 1983-84 campaign...Army has won four straight games in November for the first time, and the streak is the longest since a six-game stretch in 2006-07...It has already matched last year's non-League win total...The Black Knights led from start to finish against Yale, putting up an advantage of 32-24 in each half on the way to the 16-point win..Cleveland Richard led Army with 18 points in the game, and also pulled down five rebounds...Richard averaged 15.0 points in Army's victories over Harvard and Yale last week...He has started 45 straight games, and scored in double figures in four of the first five this season...The Black Knights have defeated Ivy League opponents in their last three games...They are 3-0 at home this season, and have won four straight and eight of the last nine at Christl Arena...Army has enjoyed the rebounding advantage three times in the first five games after only outrebounding five teams in 30 games last year...The Black Knights have kept their last four opponents to less than 60 points...Army continues its three-game homestand when it takes on Bryant on Monday, then goes back out on the road to Buffalo on Thursday...Army won at Bryant, 59-48, last year.

Bucknell The Bison got back in the win column in resounding fashion, scoring 20 consecutive points early in the second half to pull away for an 85-61 win at Wagner...Bucknell led 39-35 at the break and held a 42-40 advantage when it went on the 20-point surge to put the game away...Bucknell has four non-League wins after posting a 3-12 record last year, and two true road wins after a 1-15 mark in road contests last year....Freshman Bryson Johnson led the way with a career-high 19 points, while Darryl Shazier had 17 with eight assists and Bryan Cohen scored 16 points...The Bison made 10-of-21 three-pointers, and 21-of-24 foul shots...Bucknell held Wagner to 3-for-26 from beyond the arc...Bucknell returns home for just the second time this year when it plays Cornell on Wednesday...Bucknell leads the all-time series, 23-22, though Cornell won, 75-64 at home last year.

Colgate The Raiders narrowly missed their first win of the season, as St. Francis (N.Y.) hit a shot at the buzzer to spoil Colgate's home opener and send the Raiders to 0-5 on the season with a 66-65 loss...Colgate led by as many as 16 points in the first half, and still held a 53-40 lead before St. Francis (N.Y.) went on a 21-6 run to take a 61-59 advantage...Colgate went up, 65-64, on a Mitch Rolls free throw with 19 seconds left, and fouled twice to force an inbounds pass with 3.2 seconds left...The Raider defense forced a tough corner jump shot, but St. Francis (N.Y.) guard Ricky Cadell hit it at the buzzer to deal Colgate a defeat...Yaw Gyawu scored 22 points for the Raiders, while Kyle Roemer tallied 18...Roemer is second in the Patriot League with 18.4 ppg, while Gyawu stands fifth with 15.8 ppg...Roemer averaged 20.6 ppg and 4.6 rpg while shooting 55 percent from the field in Colgate's three games last week...Colgate will have two chances for its first win of the year in midweek games, going to No. 10/9 Syracuse on Monday and hosting Maine on Thursday...The contest with the Orange is on ESPN360...Colgate is playing the Orange for the 162nd time, with Syracuse holding a 116-45 series lead, including an 86-51 win last year...Maine leads the series with the Raiders, 18-4, with a 67-56 win last year.

Holy Cross The Crusaders fell to 0-6 on the season with a 64-54 loss at Western Michigan on Saturday...Sophomore Mike Cavataio produced his first-career double-double with 15 points and 12 rebounds...Cavataio has 25 rebounds in the past two games after a career-high 13 against UNLV on Wednesday...He made all 10 of his foul shots last week, and is 16-for-16 at the line this season...The Crusaders trailed by two points with just under 12 minutes to play, but Western Michigan scored seven straight points and Holy Cross never got closer than four the rest of the way...Holy Cross will have two chances for its first win of the year this week, facing Marist at home on Monday and traveling to Brown on Wednesday...The Crusaders trail Marist, 2-1, in all-time matchups, but won the last meeting on Nov. 28, 2004 at home...Holy Cross leads Brown, 42-17, all time, but lost at home to the Bears, 62-57, last year.

Lafayette The Leopards saw their three-game win streak come to an end with a 97-64 loss at No. 18/19 Georgetown on Saturday...Despite the loss, junior forward Jared Mintz produced another strong game...Mintz went 5-for-7 from the floor and 5-for-6 from the line and made his first three-pointer of the season in a 16-point effort...He is the Patriot League's third-leading scorer with 18.2 ppg, and leads the League by making 69.1 percent of his shots...Mintz has made 28-of-33 shots in the past four games, and has led Lafayette in scoring in five of six contests this year...Jim Mower scored 12 points against Georgetown...The Leopards were within two points with 8:41 left in the first half, but Georgetown closed the period with a 20-6 run to pull away...Lafayette played Georgetown for the first time in 30 years and a ranked foe for the first time since February 2006...The Leopards have two games this week, hosting St. Peter's on Monday and visiting La Salle on Thursday...Lafayette leads St. Peter's, 6-5, in all-time matchups, but trails La Salle, 32-11.

Lehigh The Mountain Hawks have won three straight games and moved above .500 on the season after knocking off Monmouth, 86-74, at home on Monday and defeating St. Francis (Pa.), 76-67, on the road on Wednesday...Lehigh is 3-2 after an 0-2 start...Freshman C.J. McCollum led the scoring effort in both games, totaling 15 points against Monmouth and 20 against St. Francis (Pa.)...Marquis Hall has recorded 10 assists three times in the past four games...Hall leads the Patriot League with 7.8 assists per game, and is 10th in League annals with 418 career helpers...Lehigh returns to action on Monday when it hosts Stony Brook, and also takes the floor on Thursday when it visits Columbia...Lehigh leads the all-time series with Stony Brook, 4-2, despite a 71-50 loss on the road last year...Columbia leads Lehigh, 21-13, all-time, though the Mountain Hawks won, 73-59, at home last year.

Navy The Mids rallied to force overtime against Mt. St. Mary's, but could not hit a field goal in the extra session and fell, 65-56, at home on Saturday...Navy trailed most of the way, but sent the game to overtime on a pair of free throws by Romeo Garcia with 22 seconds to play in regulation...Navy scored the final six points of regulation to send it to overtime...Mt. St. Mary's tallied the first six of OT, and was 8-for-10 at the foul line in the extra session...Chris Harris led Navy with 17 points, while Mark Veazey scored 12 and Jordan Sugars totaled 11...Navy made fewer than three three-pointers for the first time in 139 games, and just the second time in Head Coach Billy Lange's tenure...Harris set the school record for consecutive made free throws at 37, though his streak ended in the extra session...Harris and Sugars combined for 61 points against Towson on Tuesday, the highest for a Navy duo since David Robinson and Carl Leibert combined for 63 against Michigan in the 1987 NCAA Tournament...It was also the highest total in Alumni Hall history...Harris leads the Patriot League with 20.0 ppg, and has scored in double figures in each game this season...Sugars is shooting 59.5 percent from the field (25-of-42) and 60.9 percent (14-of-23) from three-point range in the last five games...The Mids continue their four-game homestand against Quinnipiac on Monday...The teams are meeting for the first time.