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Tuesday, December 04, 2007
Lafayette in a romp
(Originally posted Mon. at 10:46 p.m, links added at 7:23 a.m.)
Don't look now, but the team with the second-best record in the league is probably not who you might expect. Lafayette is 5-2 and on a four-game win streak after blasting the New jersey Institute of Technology, 81-56.

Some great game notes lifted straight from the Lafayette official version:
  • Every player who was dressed for the Leopards scored at least one field goal.
  • The last time the Leopards won four-straight was during the 2003-04 campaign when they rattled off seven-straight from Jan.10-Feb. 1 during a season in which they finished with an 18-10 overall record.
  • The last time Lafayette started 5-2 was in the 1999-2000 campaign, a season in which the Leopards earned their second-consecutive NCAA Tournament berth.
  • The last time Lafayette had a 20-plus point win was in an 82-61 win over Army on Jan. 25, 2006.
  • The 15 steals were a season-high and the most by a Patriot League team this season, surpassing Navy's 14 against Longwood earlier in the year.
  • The 19 first half points by NJIT were the fewest scored in any half by a Lafayette opponent this season while the 41 first half points scored by the Leopards were the most in an opening half this season.
  • Jeff Kari's five steals were a career-high.
  • Freshman Ben Wheeler made his first appearance of the season, playing 20 minutes and finishing with two points, two rebounds and two assists.
  • Lafayette shot 52.4 percent (11-of-21) from three-point range, the team's highest percentage of the season
    • NJIT led 2-0, then got blown to Phillipsburg by the Leopards, who pieced together a pair of 13-point runs in the first half, leading by as many as 22. which is where the margin stood at the break. Lafayette quickly built the lead to 35 points, and cruised home, giving the entire bench a nice run. The only guy to play less than 14 minutes was starting point Andrew Brown, who sat down with 9 points after playing 7 minutes

    The skeptics will say they'd be far more impressed if those numbers came against better opposition. Still in its Division I infancy, NJIT is admittedly a weak, 0-9 side.

    But it is the kind of game Lafayette had to scratch and claw through for wins a year or two ago. Now, a seasoned bunch of upperclassmen, and the first infusions of scholarship talent has Lafayette looking stronger than some expected.

    Sure all four wins in the streak came at home, and aside from UMBC, none came against particularly tough foes. It's still four straight, something Lafayette hasn't managed in a long while. The UMBC win is legit and they breezed in the other three.

    They have what look to be winnable games on the upcoming eight-game road swing leading up to a conference opener at home against Holy Cross. If Lafayette keeps playing well, that could suddenly be one of the season's big games.

    Lafayette is 5-2. A split on the trip is optimistic, but doable. It probably will take winning four out of five against Towson, Mt. St. Mary's, Columbia, Princeton and Robert Morris. The stretch opens Wednesday at Rutgers. Games at Pittsburgh and Mississippi State leave little margin for error in the other five.

    It should be fun to watch Fran O'Hanlon's team if they are starting to turn the corner

    Box Box score } Morning Call | Express-Times

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    Published at 7:23 AM by Hoop Time.
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