Dec. 1, 2008
Center Valley, Pa. - Lehigh and Navy both improved their records to 5-1 on Saturday, giving each school its best start in quite some time. Basketball fans from around the country will have a chance to see both Lehigh and Navy attempt to extend their streaks on television this week, and will also have the opportunity to see American and Colgate play live. Navy's Kaleo Kina and Army's Julian Simmons were named Patriot League/Anaconda Men's Basketball Players of the Week for their performances.
Patriot League Men's Basketball Release - 12.1.08 
Patriot League Anaconda Player of the Week (Nov. 24-30)
Kaleo Kina, Navy Sr., G, 6'4, 210, Phoenix, Ariz./Trevor Browne
Kina led Navy to a pair of victories last week to claim his first career Anaconda Player of the Week award. After scoring 11 points with six rebounds and three assists in Navy's win over Maryland Eastern Shore on Tuesday, Kina erupted for a career-high 30 points with several big shots in the Mids' 73-71 overtime victory over Radford
on Saturday. He scored 20 points in the second half against Radford, and then scored six of Navy's 10 points in overtime. Kina nailed a three-pointer to give Navy a two-point lead with 40 seconds left in regulation, and hit another big three to push the Mids' lead from one to four with 21 seconds left in overtime. Kina also converted a three-point play to cut Navy's deficit to two with 1:30 left in regulation. Kina had six
rebounds in the game, and averaged 20.5 points, 6.0 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 2.5 steals in Navy's two victories last week. Kina's three steals against Radford made him the 20th Patriot Leaguer with 150 career steals, and his 1,094 career points are 50th on the League's all-time list. Kina needs just six assists to become the seventh player in League history with 1,000 points, 300 assists and 150 steals in his career. Kina receives his
second overall weekly honor after a Rookie of the Week award in the 2005-06 campaign.
Patriot League Anaconda Rookie of the Week (Nov. 24-30)
Julian Simmons, Army Fr., G, 6'0, 185, Katy, Texas/Cinco Ranch (USMAPS)
Simmons had a huge effort in Army's loss to Brown on Wednesday to receive his first Anaconda Rookie of the Week honor. The freshman guard from Katy, Texas was Army's top scorer with a career-high 18 points in the 80-73 loss to the Bears. Simmons nailed four three-pointers on his way to the best single-game scoring effort for an Army player this season. He scored five of his 18 in the final minute
when he single-handedly cut an 8-point deficit to three with a three-pointer and then a steal and basket off the ensuing inbounds pass. It was the first double-digit game by an Army freshman since Chris Walker had 23 points against VMI in 2006-07. Simmons is Army's fourth-leading scorer for the season at 6.7 points per game, and his 40 points are already more than the entire Army freshman class scored in 2007-08. He added two points and three rebounds at Harvard on Saturday and finished with averages of 10 points and two rebounds in Army's two games last week.
Patriot League Notebook
Lehigh, Navy Improve to 5-1
Lehigh and Navy both improved their records to 5-1 on Saturday, giving each school its best start in quite some time. The Mountain Hawks completed a 3-0 week with a 73-60 victory at Dartmouth. Lehigh is off to its best start since the 1980-81 campaign. Navy earned its fifth consecutive victory when it knocked off Radford, 73-71, at home in overtime. The Mids are 5-1 for the first time since the 1998-99 season, and have won five consecutive non-League games for the first time since 1999-00. The other Patriot League squads were not as lucky, as all six lost over the weekend.
Patriot League With Plenty of TV Exposure This Week
Basketball fans from around the country will have a chance to see both Lehigh and Navy attempt to extend their streaks on television this week, and will also have the opportunity to see American and Colgate play live. The week's television schedule starts off with two games on Monday, as Colgate visits No. 20 Syracuse on Time Warner Sports and American hosts Mount St. Mary's on the Mid-Atlantic Sports Network (MASN). Lehigh's home contest with St. Joseph's will be shown live on Service Electric 2 Sports and Fox College Sports Atlantic on Tuesday night. The live action returns to MASN over the weekend, as American visits No. 18 Georgetown on Saturday afternoon and Navy plays Virginia Tech in the BB & T Classic in Washington, D.C. on Sunday.
Three Ranked Teams, Major Conference Foes on Slate
A few Patriot League teams will face their toughest tests of the season this week, with three ranked opponents and plenty of major tests in an action-packed week of games. Colgate opens up the competition against top 25 teams when it takes on No. 20 Syracuse on Monday. American and Bucknell face their top 25 tests, as the Eagles are at No. 18 Georgetown and the Bison visit No. 17 Wake Forest on Saturday. Navy takes on Virginia Tech out of the ACC, while Lehigh faces St. Joseph's and Bucknell travels to La Salle of the Atlantic 10. Navy, Holy Cross and Colgate each play three games this week, while American, Lehigh and Bucknell play twice.
Beating the Big East
Lehigh's 76-71 victory at Rutgers on Wednesday was a significant triumph for both the Mountain Hawks and the Patriot League. It was Lehigh's first win over a Big East opponent since the inception of the Patriot League in 1990, and its first over Rutgers since 1967. 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. The win snapped a 20-game losing streak for Patriot League teams against Big East foes. Lehigh's triumph was also the first over a BCS-level opponent since American beat Maryland, 67-59, on Dec. 22, 2007.
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 assists and rebounds, where the 5-foot-11 Hall is second in the League with 6.5 rebounds per game. Lafayette's Andrew Brown is the active League leader with 1,121 points, while American's Derrick Mercer is the active leader and places ninth in League history with 404 assists. Patriot League Preseason Player of the Year Garrison Carr leads the League with 20.2 ppg, and the senior from American has already hit 23 three-pointers. Carr (960) and Mercer (959) are the next players set to join Brown in the 1,000-point club.
A Few Good Streaks, A Few Bad Streaks
Navy and Lehigh each have an impressive win streak going, as the Mids have claimed five straight non-League games for the first time since the 1999-00 campaign and the Mountain Hawks have won their last three contests. But Army, Lafayette and Holy Cross have gone the other way of late. The Black Knights have dropped their last five contests after winning their season opener, while the Leopards and Crusaders have each lost four in a row after starting 2-0.
Overtime Again.....And Again
Patriot League teams are getting familiar with overtime, with Bucknell and Navy as the two main participants in the extra session thus far. 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 played a school-record three straight overtime games, just one off the NCAA record, before Saturday's loss to Wagner. Navy has won twice in the extra session to extend its five-game winning streak, as the Mids scored a 102-99 triple overtime win at William & Mary on Nov. 22 and a 73-71 triumph in the extra session against Radford on Nov. 29. That the Bison and Mids are playing so many overtime games is fitting after the two squared off in the first-ever triple overtime contest in League history in the Bison's 87-86 win in last year's Patriot League quarterfinals. Patriot League teams are already 4-3 in overtime this season, which also includes Army's loss to Quinnipiac and Holy Cross' win over St. Joseph's.
Common Opponents
Patriot League teams have already played multiple games against nine different
opponents, and the contests have delivered mixed results. The best success has come against Dartmouth, as Army, Colgate and Lehigh all own victories over the Big Green. 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. Colgate won but Lafayette lost against Central Connecticut State, while the Leopards won and Bucknell lost against Wagner. The results were not as good against Rider, Brown or Harvard, as the Broncs beat both Lehigh and Lafayette and the Bears and Crimson both have wins over Holy Cross and Army.
Team Notebooks
American The Eagles had their four-game winning streak snapped with a 82-73 loss at Fairfield on Saturday...American had started the season 4-1 for the first time since 1999-00 before Saturday's defeat..Garrison Carr led the Eagles with 19 points, and is up to 960 points for his career...Carr leads the Patriot League with 20.2 points per game this season...Derrick Mercer is just one point behind Carr in career scoring with 959 points...Brian Gilmore had 16 points in the game for American...The Eagles were up, 61-60, with 5:44 left, but Fairfield went on a 14-3 run from that point to pull away...The loss gave American a 3-1 record on its completed four-game road trip...The Eagles scored wins over Howard, Jacksonville and Stony Brook on the trip...American returns to Bender Arena for just its second home game of the season when it takes on Mount St. Mary's on Monday...The game will be televised live on MASN at 9 p.m....The Eagles will look to extend their current eight-game home winning streak, which dates back to Feb. 10 of last season...A victory would make American 5-2 for only the second time since 1989-90...The 2004-05 season was the other time the Eagles hit that mark...American leads the all-time series with Mount St. Mary's, 31-25...That includes a 66-45 triumph on the road last season...American plays another game on MASN on Saturday, as the Eagles travel to No. 18 Georgetown.
Army The Black Knights lost their fifth consecutive game and dropped to 1-5 on the year with a 66-54 loss at Harvard on Saturday...Four of those last five games were on the road...Army also ends a streak of three consecutive games against Ivy League opponents, where the Black Knights fell to Princeton, Brown and Harvard...Cleveland Richard led Army in points (16), rebounds (6), assists (6) and steals (4) in the game...He has hit double figures in scoring in five of Army's six games, with the 16 against Harvard as his career high...Freshman Julian Simmons has 40 points this season, which is already more than Army's entire freshmen class had a year ago...Army returns home to face Presbyterian on Monday, ending a stretch of seven games in 17 days to start the year...The teams won on each other's home court last year in the only two contests in series history...Army will have a week off from game action after Monday.
Bucknell The Bison dropped to 1-4 with a 83-79 home loss to Wagner on Saturday...It ended a stretch of three consecutive overtime games for Bucknell, which set a school record and was one off the NCAA mark...Patrick Behan had a career-high 27 points in the loss, hitting 11-of-19 shots and all four of his free throws...It was nine points better than his previous career high...G.W. Boon doubled his career high with 24 points in the game...Justin Castleberry tied a career high with five steals in the game...Castleberry leads the Patriot League with 2.6 steals per game this season...Darryl Shazier had a career-high 14 points in each of Bucknell's contests last week, and tallied 15 total assists against Old Dominion and Wagner...Shazier leads the Patriot League with six assists per game this season...The Bison have a challenging week coming up, with a road game at La Salle on Tuesday followed by a tilt at No. 17 Wake Forest on Saturday...The Bison trail the all-time series with La Salle, 15-4, but scored a 67-66 win at home in the final seconds last year.
Colgate The Raiders dropped their second consecutive home game on Saturday, falling to UC Riverside, 54-44...Colgate has dropped to 2-2 on the year after winning its first two contests on the road...Freshman Anthony Hill had a team-high nine points for the Raiders, while Mike Venezia and Yaw Gyawu each added seven...Colgate opens up a busy week at No. 20 Syracuse on Monday in a game televised by Time Warner Sports...The Raiders are 45-115 all-time against the Orange, with an 87-59 loss at Syracuse last year...Colgate returns home to face New Hampshire on Wednesday and Harvard on Saturday to conclude its non-League home slate...The Raiders trail the all-time series with New Hampshire, 16-12, but did score a 49-46 win on the road against the Wildcats last season.
Holy Cross The Crusaders lost for the fourth consecutive outing, dropping to 2-4 on the season with a 58-53 loss at Loyola (Ill.) on Saturday...Greg McCarthy had the top two point totals of his career last week, with a career-high 18 against Harvard followed by 13 against Loyola (Ill.)...Colin Cunningham matched McCarthy with 13 points against Loyola (Ill.), while also pulling down seven rebounds...The Crusaders were within one point in the final minute against the Ramblers, but Loyola made all of its free throw attempts in the final 30 seconds to secure the win...Holy Cross returns home from its three-game road trip to take on Fairfield on Monday...The Crusaders lead the all-time series, 21-15, including a 67-54 victory at Fairfield last season...Holy Cross completes a busy week by visiting Yale on Wednesday and hosting Western Michigan on Saturday...The Crusaders are 35-28 all-time against Yale, with a 60-39 win at home last year...They will be facing Western Michigan for the first time since 1991.
Lafayette The Leopards fell to 2-4 on the season with their fourth consecutive defeat as they lost at Central Connecticut State, 82-78, on Sunday...Jeff Kari scored a career-high 23 points in the game, and did not commit a turnover in 34 minutes of action...Andrew Brown had 16 points in the game, while Jared Mintz added 11...Lafayette rallied from a 14-point deficit to take the lead early in the second half, and was still tied with 2:19 remaining...Lafayette committed a season-low 13 turnovers in the game...The Leopards have dropped the first two games of their four-game road trip...The road swing continues when Lafayette visits Hartford on Thursday...The teams are meeting for the first time...Former Lafayette assistant coaches Drew Dawson and Elliott Broadnax are currently on the Hartford staff.
Lehigh Lehigh improved to 5-1 on the season with a 73-60 win at Dartmouth on Saturday...The Mountain Hawks are 3-0 on the road, which also included a win at Rutgers on Wednesday...Lehigh's win made the Patriot League a perfect 3-0 against Dartmouth this season...It was the Mountain Hawks' third win in a row, with all of the victories coming last week...Zahir Carrington led all scorers with 15 points in the game, and also registered a career-high 14 rebounds for the second double-double in his career...Dave Buchberger had 11 points in the game...Prentice Small recorded a career-high nine assists, while the Mountain Hawks blocked a season-best six shots...Lehigh opened up a 13-point halftime advantage, and led by as many as 17 in the second half...Marquis Hall had another solid floor game with six rebounds and two assists to go with his eight points...He did not commit a turnover for the second straight game...Hall averaged 14.6 points and 8.3 rebounds in Lehigh's three wins last week, boosted by a 28-point, 15-rebound performance in the Mountain Hawks' 76-71 win at Rutgers on Wednesday...The Mountain Hawks try to move to 6-1 on the year when they host St. Joseph's on Tuesday...The game can be seen on SE2 Sports and Fox College Sports Atlantic...Lehigh has never defeated St. Joseph's, trailing the all-time series, 12-0...The teams have not met since 1981...Lehigh is at Stony Brook on Friday.
Navy The Mids improved to 5-1 for the first time since the 1998-99 season with a 73-71 win in overtime against Radford on Saturday...Navy has won five consecutive contests after dropping its season opener, and holds a perfect 4-0 record at Alumni Hall this season...Navy recorded its 150th all-time win at Alumni Hall on Saturday...It was Navy's second overtime win of the year, after knocking off William & Mary, 102-99, in triple overtime on Nov. 22...Kaleo Kina had a career-high 30 points in the victory...Kina scored 26 points in the second half and overtime to lead Navy to the win...He hit a pair of key three-pointers, one that gave Navy a late two-point lead in regulation and another that pushed the Navy lead from one to four with 21 seconds left in overtime...Navy has it longest non-League winning streak since the 1999-2000 season...Its six straight non-League home wins are also the longest since that year...Navy is 4-0 at home for the second time in three years...The Mids will try to go to 5-0 at home for the first time since 1998-99 and keep their streaks intact when they host UT-San Antonio on Tuesday...The Mids lost the only all-time meeting between the schools, 77-67, on the road last season...Navy continues play later in the week when it visits Penn on Friday and takes on Virginia Tech in the BB & T Classic in Washington on Sunday.
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