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Wednesday, January 31, 2007
Bucknell forward Donald Brown will have x-rays this afternoon on the wrist he injured in Tuesday's win at Colgate.
Brown's injury occurred when he was fouled by Colgate's Kyle Chones while going to the hoop during the second half of Bucknell's 56-53 win.
The extent of the injury is not yet known. Bucknell sports information director Jon Terry said Brown's wrist was "pretty sore after the game" and that the Bison star would have it x-rayed this afternoon. Terry said he believed the x-rays are primarily precautionary, but he has not gotten yet gotten a report from the trainers on Brown's status.
According to Terry, Chones appeared to be trying to knock the ball out of Brown's hand on the play. Chones got some of the ball, along with Brown's wrist.
"It was a hard foul, but I wouldn't call it dirty," Terry said.
We will update with a further report on the extent of Brown's injury when it becomes available.
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Brown's injury occurred when he was fouled by Colgate's Kyle Chones while going to the hoop during the second half of Bucknell's 56-53 win.
The extent of the injury is not yet known. Bucknell sports information director Jon Terry said Brown's wrist was "pretty sore after the game" and that the Bison star would have it x-rayed this afternoon. Terry said he believed the x-rays are primarily precautionary, but he has not gotten yet gotten a report from the trainers on Brown's status.
According to Terry, Chones appeared to be trying to knock the ball out of Brown's hand on the play. Chones got some of the ball, along with Brown's wrist.
"It was a hard foul, but I wouldn't call it dirty," Terry said.
We will update with a further report on the extent of Brown's injury when it becomes available.
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The Eagles travel to Worcester hoping to get back to .500 in the league by avenging an overtime loss to Holy Cross 11 days ago.
Chances are AU has been kicking itself over its missed opportunity since that loss. The Eagles did almost everything they needed to win in regulation, shutting down Keith Simmons, holding the Crusaders under 40 percent shooting and shooting 50 percent from the field themselves.
But American did not rebound, didn't take care of the ball and did not have an answer for Tim Clifford, who finished with 19 points and 9 rebounds
In that game, American had the benefit of feeding off what was called the largest crowd in Bender Arena history (in reality, it was not quite as big as the crowd for the HC-AU championship game in 2002). In this one it will have to contend with a hostile crowd in the Hart Center, where Holy Cross is 8-0 this season and riding a 12-game home win streak dating to last season. Since the 2000-2001 season, the Crusaders are 40-5 in Hart, including 5 wins in 6 games against American.
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Chances are AU has been kicking itself over its missed opportunity since that loss. The Eagles did almost everything they needed to win in regulation, shutting down Keith Simmons, holding the Crusaders under 40 percent shooting and shooting 50 percent from the field themselves.
But American did not rebound, didn't take care of the ball and did not have an answer for Tim Clifford, who finished with 19 points and 9 rebounds
In that game, American had the benefit of feeding off what was called the largest crowd in Bender Arena history (in reality, it was not quite as big as the crowd for the HC-AU championship game in 2002). In this one it will have to contend with a hostile crowd in the Hart Center, where Holy Cross is 8-0 this season and riding a 12-game home win streak dating to last season. Since the 2000-2001 season, the Crusaders are 40-5 in Hart, including 5 wins in 6 games against American.
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Dwon 17-2 at the start of the game, Bucknell rallied for a big lead, then held on for a 56-53 win at Colgate.
Colgate opened the game with a 7-0 run and hit 6 of the first 7 shots, thrilling the announced crowd of 523 as it built a 15-point lead in the first six minutes of the game. While the Raiders were (dare we say Red) hot, Bucknell was ice cold and out of sync, going 1 for 6 with 5 turnovers on its first 11 possessions.
The Bison settled in after that, pulling to within 4 late in the half before Willie Morse hit a Colgate three to make it 26-19 at the break.
Colgate was still up 8 after a Jon Simon three with 16:52 to play. Then Jason Vegotsky hit a three-pointer to spark a 16-0 Bucknell run that was capped by another Vegotsky trey 6:29 later.
The Bison pushed the lead to 13, where it was after an Abe Badmus layup made it 50-37 with 5:57 to play. That was the last Bucknell field goal until the final seconds, when Stephen Tyree broke free for a layup off an inbounds play after Simon (22 points) hit his sixth three-pointer of teh game to cut Bucknell's lead to 54-53 with 5.2 seconds left.
Mcnaughton led Bucknell with 12 points and 9 rebounds. Badmus also had 12 for the Bison.
Colgate finished the game 19 of 42 from the field (45.2 percent), 9 of 18 from the arc. It was the third straight game Colgate shot better than 40 percent after failing to reach that threshold in 9 of 11 games prior to this stretch.
Bucknell shot 43.2 percent from the field (19 of 44), 4 of 15 from three-point range. The Bison, who outscored the Raiders 20-6 in the paint, held a 31-25 edge on the boards, including a 10-5 advantage on the offensive glass.
The inside strength paid off at the foul line, too. Bucknell made 21 trips to the stripe, knocking down 14. Colgate only shot 10 free throws, making 6.
Box score | Daily Item
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Colgate opened the game with a 7-0 run and hit 6 of the first 7 shots, thrilling the announced crowd of 523 as it built a 15-point lead in the first six minutes of the game. While the Raiders were (dare we say Red) hot, Bucknell was ice cold and out of sync, going 1 for 6 with 5 turnovers on its first 11 possessions.
The Bison settled in after that, pulling to within 4 late in the half before Willie Morse hit a Colgate three to make it 26-19 at the break.
Colgate was still up 8 after a Jon Simon three with 16:52 to play. Then Jason Vegotsky hit a three-pointer to spark a 16-0 Bucknell run that was capped by another Vegotsky trey 6:29 later.
The Bison pushed the lead to 13, where it was after an Abe Badmus layup made it 50-37 with 5:57 to play. That was the last Bucknell field goal until the final seconds, when Stephen Tyree broke free for a layup off an inbounds play after Simon (22 points) hit his sixth three-pointer of teh game to cut Bucknell's lead to 54-53 with 5.2 seconds left.
Mcnaughton led Bucknell with 12 points and 9 rebounds. Badmus also had 12 for the Bison.
Colgate finished the game 19 of 42 from the field (45.2 percent), 9 of 18 from the arc. It was the third straight game Colgate shot better than 40 percent after failing to reach that threshold in 9 of 11 games prior to this stretch.
Bucknell shot 43.2 percent from the field (19 of 44), 4 of 15 from three-point range. The Bison, who outscored the Raiders 20-6 in the paint, held a 31-25 edge on the boards, including a 10-5 advantage on the offensive glass.
The inside strength paid off at the foul line, too. Bucknell made 21 trips to the stripe, knocking down 14. Colgate only shot 10 free throws, making 6.
Box score | Daily Item
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Tuesday, January 30, 2007
Bucknell will entertain old East Coast Conference rival Towson while Colgate will be at Marist in the ESPN BracketBusters.
For the Bison and the Tigers, it is a return to the 1980s, when the two were both members of the now-defunct East Coast Conference. The two have met 23 times, most recently in 1992 (an 85-72 Bucknell win in old Davis Gym), with the Bison holding a 15-8 edge in the series.
Towson is currently 11-11 overall, 5-6 in the tough Colonial Athletic Conference, with a Ken Pomeroy RPI calculated at 155.
The two have played one common opponent -- George Mason, which beat Towson 73-44 at Mason and lost to Bucknell 60-57 in the BB&T Classic in Washington D.C.
While the game is hardly the exciting matchup Bucknell drew last season when it played at Northern Iowa in one of the BracketBusters televised games, it does bring with it the promise of a Baltimore area game next season when the Bison make the return trip to Towson. That area is a hotbed for Bucknell alums, who used to give the Bison close to a homecourt advantage for ECC Tournament games played at the Towson Center.
Colgate will be on the road for its BracketBusters contest, playing in Poughkeepsie against the Red Foxes of Marist. Colgate's RPI of 271 will hardly benefit Marist, which is currently 15-6 overall, 8-3 in the MAAC, with an RPI of 128.
The lone common opponent of the two is Canisius, which beat Colgate (78-73) in Hamilton and lost in Poughkeepsie (80-73).
The two would have one more common opponent in Bucknell had the Bison not laid an egg against Central Arkansas in the first round of Marist's holiday tournament, preventing what would had been a much-anticipated matchup in the final.
A Bucknell-Marist matchup in the BracketBusters would certainly be more attractive than either of the scheduled games, but both schools were preordained as host teams for the event.
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For the Bison and the Tigers, it is a return to the 1980s, when the two were both members of the now-defunct East Coast Conference. The two have met 23 times, most recently in 1992 (an 85-72 Bucknell win in old Davis Gym), with the Bison holding a 15-8 edge in the series.
Towson is currently 11-11 overall, 5-6 in the tough Colonial Athletic Conference, with a Ken Pomeroy RPI calculated at 155.
The two have played one common opponent -- George Mason, which beat Towson 73-44 at Mason and lost to Bucknell 60-57 in the BB&T Classic in Washington D.C.
While the game is hardly the exciting matchup Bucknell drew last season when it played at Northern Iowa in one of the BracketBusters televised games, it does bring with it the promise of a Baltimore area game next season when the Bison make the return trip to Towson. That area is a hotbed for Bucknell alums, who used to give the Bison close to a homecourt advantage for ECC Tournament games played at the Towson Center.
Colgate will be on the road for its BracketBusters contest, playing in Poughkeepsie against the Red Foxes of Marist. Colgate's RPI of 271 will hardly benefit Marist, which is currently 15-6 overall, 8-3 in the MAAC, with an RPI of 128.
The lone common opponent of the two is Canisius, which beat Colgate (78-73) in Hamilton and lost in Poughkeepsie (80-73).
The two would have one more common opponent in Bucknell had the Bison not laid an egg against Central Arkansas in the first round of Marist's holiday tournament, preventing what would had been a much-anticipated matchup in the final.
A Bucknell-Marist matchup in the BracketBusters would certainly be more attractive than either of the scheduled games, but both schools were preordained as host teams for the event.
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There are two things Bucknell can count on when they meet Colgate tonight in Hamilton: (matchup) Snow and a small crowd.
A week ago we'd have added Colgate shooting poorly to that list. That was before the Raiders surprised the heck out of everybody by knocking down 53.7 percent of their on the road at Navy.
Odds still favor an off night. That was the only game (against a Division I foe) Colgate shot over 50 percent since Dec. 2. It's a feat they have accomplished just four times all season. It seems far more likely Colgate will shoot under 40 percent, something they have done in 9 of their past 13 games.
Even after the outburst at Navy, the Raiders remain the league's worst offensive team (last in scoring and field goal percentage).
That does not bode well against Bucknell, which is the league's top defense (first in scoring and field goal percentage defense.)
These two just played 10 days ago in Lewisburg, with Bucknell holding Colgate to 36 points in a 50-36 win.
A week ago you'd also have said you could count on Bucknell getting little, if any, offensive production from point guard Abe Badmus. But Badmus broke out of a season-long slump in two games last week, suddenly finding both range and confidence in his jumper. Badmus hit a pair (out of four) of three-pointers against Lehigh and followed that with a three for three at the arc night against Army. When that happens, Bucknell becomes a very scary offensive team.
If the Bison get production on the perimeter, it makes it even harder to stop Donald Brown and Chris McNaughton inside.
Despite all the factors that seem to point to Bucknell, the Bison still need to be sure to avoid the Hamilton trap. (Read Ralph Willard's thoughts on Hamilton -- scroll down to his Jan. 25 entry). Just ask Holy Cross, which needed a Keith Simmons three with 20 seconds to go to pull out a 58-55 win at Colgate last week.
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A week ago we'd have added Colgate shooting poorly to that list. That was before the Raiders surprised the heck out of everybody by knocking down 53.7 percent of their on the road at Navy.
Odds still favor an off night. That was the only game (against a Division I foe) Colgate shot over 50 percent since Dec. 2. It's a feat they have accomplished just four times all season. It seems far more likely Colgate will shoot under 40 percent, something they have done in 9 of their past 13 games.
Even after the outburst at Navy, the Raiders remain the league's worst offensive team (last in scoring and field goal percentage).
That does not bode well against Bucknell, which is the league's top defense (first in scoring and field goal percentage defense.)
These two just played 10 days ago in Lewisburg, with Bucknell holding Colgate to 36 points in a 50-36 win.
A week ago you'd also have said you could count on Bucknell getting little, if any, offensive production from point guard Abe Badmus. But Badmus broke out of a season-long slump in two games last week, suddenly finding both range and confidence in his jumper. Badmus hit a pair (out of four) of three-pointers against Lehigh and followed that with a three for three at the arc night against Army. When that happens, Bucknell becomes a very scary offensive team.
If the Bison get production on the perimeter, it makes it even harder to stop Donald Brown and Chris McNaughton inside.
Despite all the factors that seem to point to Bucknell, the Bison still need to be sure to avoid the Hamilton trap. (Read Ralph Willard's thoughts on Hamilton -- scroll down to his Jan. 25 entry). Just ask Holy Cross, which needed a Keith Simmons three with 20 seconds to go to pull out a 58-55 win at Colgate last week.
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(Updated with additional links at 7:09 a.m.)
The Crusaders will travel to Hempstead, Long Island to meet the Pride in the ESPN BracketBusters. Holy Cross is the only Patriot League team to get a televised game during the two-day BracketBusters event. Matchups for Bucknell and Colgate will be announced tomorrow.
Hofstra is currently 15-6, ranked No. 10 in the latest Mid-Major Top 25 poll with an RPI of 66 heading ibefore losing Monday night at Delaware, according to Ken Pomeroy's calculations. They are 9-2 in the Colonial Athletic Conference, their other loss coming at Northeastern.
HC, No. 17 in the Mid-Major poll, is 16-6 with a Pomeroy RPI of 69. The Crusaders and Hofstra have played four common opponents. Both were 3-1 in those games when the pairing was announced. Hofstra is now 3-2 after losing 72-68 Monday night at Delaware in their second conference meeting with the Blue Hens. According to Realtime RPI, the Pride dropped to No. 79 with the loss to Delaware.
Both lost at Syracuse. Hofstra beat Siena (84-80) at Siena and has home wins over Delaware (75-50) and William and Mary (77-69). Holy Cross beat Delaware on a neutral floor (49-47) and beat Siena (65-57) and W&M (66-57) at the Hart Center.
The game is set for Saturday, Feb 17 at a time to be determined. Game times and which ESPN network will carry the game will be announced Feb. 5. Six of the thirteen televised games -- including one of two set for Friday night -- will be shown on ESPN2. Five will be on ESPNU, including the other Friday night game. The other two will be Webcast on ESPN 360.
BracketBusters Web site
Pride falls in trap (Newsday)
Kyle Whelliston's BracketBusters first look
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The Crusaders will travel to Hempstead, Long Island to meet the Pride in the ESPN BracketBusters. Holy Cross is the only Patriot League team to get a televised game during the two-day BracketBusters event. Matchups for Bucknell and Colgate will be announced tomorrow.
Hofstra is currently 15-6, ranked No. 10 in the latest Mid-Major Top 25 poll with an RPI of 66 heading ibefore losing Monday night at Delaware, according to Ken Pomeroy's calculations. They are 9-2 in the Colonial Athletic Conference, their other loss coming at Northeastern.
HC, No. 17 in the Mid-Major poll, is 16-6 with a Pomeroy RPI of 69. The Crusaders and Hofstra have played four common opponents. Both were 3-1 in those games when the pairing was announced. Hofstra is now 3-2 after losing 72-68 Monday night at Delaware in their second conference meeting with the Blue Hens. According to Realtime RPI, the Pride dropped to No. 79 with the loss to Delaware.
Both lost at Syracuse. Hofstra beat Siena (84-80) at Siena and has home wins over Delaware (75-50) and William and Mary (77-69). Holy Cross beat Delaware on a neutral floor (49-47) and beat Siena (65-57) and W&M (66-57) at the Hart Center.
The game is set for Saturday, Feb 17 at a time to be determined. Game times and which ESPN network will carry the game will be announced Feb. 5. Six of the thirteen televised games -- including one of two set for Friday night -- will be shown on ESPN2. Five will be on ESPNU, including the other Friday night game. The other two will be Webcast on ESPN 360.
Labels: HC
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Monday, January 29, 2007
Monday's poll news, plus the latest from Ralph Willard.
Holy Cross moves up four spots to No. 17 in this week's College Insider.com Mid-Major poll. Bucknell also reappears in the others receiving votes category with 16 points, good for an unofficial No. 36 spot.
Again this week, no Patriot League teams garnered any votes in either of the major Top 25 polls.
In his latest post on CoachRalph.com. HC coach Ralph Willard recaps the Lehigh game and responds to a few e-mail questions, including one asking his thoughts on Internet message boards.
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Holy Cross moves up four spots to No. 17 in this week's College Insider.com Mid-Major poll. Bucknell also reappears in the others receiving votes category with 16 points, good for an unofficial No. 36 spot.
Again this week, no Patriot League teams garnered any votes in either of the major Top 25 polls.
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Sunday, January 28, 2007
(Updated with game story and links at 9:47 a.m.)
Army is better than it used to be, but it made little difference Saturday night at Bucknell.
By CHRIS A. COUROGEN
There is an old joke, variously attributed to Kinky Friedman or Jerry Jeff Walker, that goes something like this: A guy walks into a bar, hits on a cowboy's girlfriend and the next thing he knows he is laying in the parking lot surrounded by the half-dozen cowboys who kicked his ass. The guy looks up through the one eye he can still open and says, "You guys ain't so tough. I got beat up a lot worse by some bikers up in Austin."
That might have been the way Jim Crews looked at this year's Bucknell Bison Saturday night after they thrashed his Army ballclub 74-49 in as thorough a whooping as the league has seen all season. After all, Crews was Army's coach back in 2004 when they came to Lewisburg and left on the short end of a 75-25 final.
This one was closer on the scoreboard, but to many of the 4,110 on hand for Young Alumni Night in Sojka Pavilion, it was a Yogi Berra moment -- deja vu all over again. After the game, Crews didn't mention that 2004 debacle. But his opening comment in the postgame press conference pretty much summed things up.: "From my standpoint, it really looked like (Bucknell) played well."
Playing without head coach Pat Flannery, who was back home in Pottsville for his father's funeral, the Bison came out strong for the second game in a row, putting this one away shortly after the first media timeout.
Bucknell spotted the Black Knights a 2-0 lead when Donald Brown turned it over on the Bison's first possession and Kenny Brewer made a layup at the other end. Then Abe Badmus hit the first of his three three-pointers and the rout was on.
At the beginning of the week, Badmus was 10 for 34 (29.3 percent) on the season from the arc. After going 5 for 7 in the wins over Lehigh and Army, his three-point field goal percentage has leaped to 36.6 percent. In the process, he has made Bucknell's whole offense a whole lot better.
When Badmus is hitting from the perimeter, "That's not good," said Crews, supplying an opponent's perspective.
For most of the season, Badmus' shooting woes have led teams to play off him, allowing more help down low on guys like Chris McNaughton and Donald Brown and limiting Badmus' opportunities to penetrate, where he is as dangerous as any player in the league.
"(Badmus) can get inside the core of the defense. Then if he stretches you out with those shots . . . We never thought he was a bad shooter, but you can't take everything away when they've got five guys out there that can do some things," Crews said. "We gambled and we lost that gamble."
Big time.
Badmus first trey sparked an 18-2 Bucknell run that gave the Bison a double-digit lead in a hurry. When he hit his third three-pointer, giving Bucknell a 24-6 lead with 9:09 to go in the first half, it cued a chant of "Abe's got more points" from the Sojka Pscyhos behind the south basket.
"They went in, I don't know what to say," said Badmus afterward. "I've been getting in the gym a little extra and it is really paying off."
Bison assistant coach Nate Davis, who ran the show in Flannery's absence, said the coaches knew all along Badmus was capable of shooting better than he had.
"We never got down on him. We kept encouraging him," Davis said. "We've been preaching to him not to shoot because they are daring you to. Shoot it because you want to."
The three-pointers were big for Badmus, but they were far from his only contribution. He also dished out four assists and made three steals while generally disrupting Army's offensive flow all night. Badmus brought the crowd to its feet early when he stole an inbounds pass after a Donald Brown free throw and made an acrobatic save to get the ball out to John Griffin at the top of the arc, where Griffin drained a three to give the Bison an early 11-4 lead.
Badmus was not the only thing the Bison faithful had to get excited about.
Against the Patriot League's top-ranked defense -- an Army team ranked No. 25 in the nation in field goal percentage defense coming in -- the Bison knocked down 15 of their 23 shots (65.2 percent) in the first half, including 7 of 10 from the arc and a pair of monstrous one-handed breakaway jams by Donald Brown, the second putting the Bison up 43-15 at the half.
"We shot the ball well and executed our offense extremely well," Davis said.
Army's 15 first-half points were not a record low in Sojka. That was set back in that 2004 game when the Black KNights only scored 9 points in the first half. The Black Knights 26.1 percent (6 of 23) shooting in the half also failed to threaten the ineptitude of that 2004 team, which made only 8 field goals that entire game (on 45 shots, 17.2 percent), but it was easily Army's worst offensive half of the season.
"Our focus and effort the start of the game was fantastic," said Davis, who admitted about all he had to do to coach the team on this night was "sit back and watch them go."
The Bison did not end up breaking any records, though their 57.1 percent shooting for the game and their 52.9 percent shooting from the arc were both season highs. hard to tell how those numbers might have ended up had Davis not substituted so liberally. Ten of the 12 Bison in uniform saw action in the first half. All 12 played in the second half. None of the Bison starters played more than 27 minutes and freshman Zach Evans, who played the final 2:13 of the game, was the only Bison to play less than 8.
McNaughton, who finished with 11 points on 4 for 6 shooting, left the game for good with just under 8 minutes to go. Brown, who finished with 12 points (4 of 5 from the field), 8 rebounds and 4 steals, followed McNaughton to the bench with almost six minutes still on the clock. By the 5:23 mark, with Bucknell up by 35 points after a pair of Jason Vegotsky (12 points) free throws, all five Bison starters were done for the night.
Jarrell Brown led Army with 14 points, none of which came when the game was in doubt. Brown's first bucket of the game came with 2:06 to go in the first half. By then the Bison were already ahead by 27 points. Matt Bell also reachd double figures with 11 points on 3 of 9 shooting from the floor.
The victory, Bucknell's 31st straight home win in conference play, was the Bison's fourth in a row and their eighth in their last nine outings. The Bison, who are now 12-4 since opening the season with four straight losses, enter the second half of league play solidly in second place, one game behind first place Holy Cross, which will visit Sojka in two weeks.
Box score | Post game audio (Jim Crews, Nathan Davis, Abe Badmus, Stephen Tyree) | BU photo gallery | Daily Item
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Army is better than it used to be, but it made little difference Saturday night at Bucknell.
By CHRIS A. COUROGEN
There is an old joke, variously attributed to Kinky Friedman or Jerry Jeff Walker, that goes something like this: A guy walks into a bar, hits on a cowboy's girlfriend and the next thing he knows he is laying in the parking lot surrounded by the half-dozen cowboys who kicked his ass. The guy looks up through the one eye he can still open and says, "You guys ain't so tough. I got beat up a lot worse by some bikers up in Austin."
That might have been the way Jim Crews looked at this year's Bucknell Bison Saturday night after they thrashed his Army ballclub 74-49 in as thorough a whooping as the league has seen all season. After all, Crews was Army's coach back in 2004 when they came to Lewisburg and left on the short end of a 75-25 final.
This one was closer on the scoreboard, but to many of the 4,110 on hand for Young Alumni Night in Sojka Pavilion, it was a Yogi Berra moment -- deja vu all over again. After the game, Crews didn't mention that 2004 debacle. But his opening comment in the postgame press conference pretty much summed things up.: "From my standpoint, it really looked like (Bucknell) played well."
Playing without head coach Pat Flannery, who was back home in Pottsville for his father's funeral, the Bison came out strong for the second game in a row, putting this one away shortly after the first media timeout.
Bucknell spotted the Black Knights a 2-0 lead when Donald Brown turned it over on the Bison's first possession and Kenny Brewer made a layup at the other end. Then Abe Badmus hit the first of his three three-pointers and the rout was on.
At the beginning of the week, Badmus was 10 for 34 (29.3 percent) on the season from the arc. After going 5 for 7 in the wins over Lehigh and Army, his three-point field goal percentage has leaped to 36.6 percent. In the process, he has made Bucknell's whole offense a whole lot better.
When Badmus is hitting from the perimeter, "That's not good," said Crews, supplying an opponent's perspective.
For most of the season, Badmus' shooting woes have led teams to play off him, allowing more help down low on guys like Chris McNaughton and Donald Brown and limiting Badmus' opportunities to penetrate, where he is as dangerous as any player in the league.
"(Badmus) can get inside the core of the defense. Then if he stretches you out with those shots . . . We never thought he was a bad shooter, but you can't take everything away when they've got five guys out there that can do some things," Crews said. "We gambled and we lost that gamble."
Big time.
Badmus first trey sparked an 18-2 Bucknell run that gave the Bison a double-digit lead in a hurry. When he hit his third three-pointer, giving Bucknell a 24-6 lead with 9:09 to go in the first half, it cued a chant of "Abe's got more points" from the Sojka Pscyhos behind the south basket.
"They went in, I don't know what to say," said Badmus afterward. "I've been getting in the gym a little extra and it is really paying off."
Bison assistant coach Nate Davis, who ran the show in Flannery's absence, said the coaches knew all along Badmus was capable of shooting better than he had.
"We never got down on him. We kept encouraging him," Davis said. "We've been preaching to him not to shoot because they are daring you to. Shoot it because you want to."
The three-pointers were big for Badmus, but they were far from his only contribution. He also dished out four assists and made three steals while generally disrupting Army's offensive flow all night. Badmus brought the crowd to its feet early when he stole an inbounds pass after a Donald Brown free throw and made an acrobatic save to get the ball out to John Griffin at the top of the arc, where Griffin drained a three to give the Bison an early 11-4 lead.
Badmus was not the only thing the Bison faithful had to get excited about.
Against the Patriot League's top-ranked defense -- an Army team ranked No. 25 in the nation in field goal percentage defense coming in -- the Bison knocked down 15 of their 23 shots (65.2 percent) in the first half, including 7 of 10 from the arc and a pair of monstrous one-handed breakaway jams by Donald Brown, the second putting the Bison up 43-15 at the half.
"We shot the ball well and executed our offense extremely well," Davis said.
Army's 15 first-half points were not a record low in Sojka. That was set back in that 2004 game when the Black KNights only scored 9 points in the first half. The Black Knights 26.1 percent (6 of 23) shooting in the half also failed to threaten the ineptitude of that 2004 team, which made only 8 field goals that entire game (on 45 shots, 17.2 percent), but it was easily Army's worst offensive half of the season.
"Our focus and effort the start of the game was fantastic," said Davis, who admitted about all he had to do to coach the team on this night was "sit back and watch them go."
The Bison did not end up breaking any records, though their 57.1 percent shooting for the game and their 52.9 percent shooting from the arc were both season highs. hard to tell how those numbers might have ended up had Davis not substituted so liberally. Ten of the 12 Bison in uniform saw action in the first half. All 12 played in the second half. None of the Bison starters played more than 27 minutes and freshman Zach Evans, who played the final 2:13 of the game, was the only Bison to play less than 8.
McNaughton, who finished with 11 points on 4 for 6 shooting, left the game for good with just under 8 minutes to go. Brown, who finished with 12 points (4 of 5 from the field), 8 rebounds and 4 steals, followed McNaughton to the bench with almost six minutes still on the clock. By the 5:23 mark, with Bucknell up by 35 points after a pair of Jason Vegotsky (12 points) free throws, all five Bison starters were done for the night.
Jarrell Brown led Army with 14 points, none of which came when the game was in doubt. Brown's first bucket of the game came with 2:06 to go in the first half. By then the Bison were already ahead by 27 points. Matt Bell also reachd double figures with 11 points on 3 of 9 shooting from the floor.
The victory, Bucknell's 31st straight home win in conference play, was the Bison's fourth in a row and their eighth in their last nine outings. The Bison, who are now 12-4 since opening the season with four straight losses, enter the second half of league play solidly in second place, one game behind first place Holy Cross, which will visit Sojka in two weeks.
Box score | Post game audio (Jim Crews, Nathan Davis, Abe Badmus, Stephen Tyree) | BU photo gallery | Daily Item
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(Updated with links at 9:43 am)The Leopards likes to live by the three. Saturday it was their demise.
Andre Ingram rained threes on the Leopards, draining 6 from the arc en route to a 23-point afternoon.
Ingram's effort was part of a 10-trey afternoon for AU, which shot 44.8 percent (26 of 58) from the field, 10 of 22 outside the arc.
The Eagles also got a big game inside from Travis Lay, who came off the bench for a 15-point, 10-rebound double-double. Lay's rebounding was a key to American's 37-27 edge on the boards. Three of Lay's rebounds were on the offensive glass, where AU had a 10-2 edge.
Lafayette, which lives and dies by the jump shot, was just 20 of 47 from the field (42.6 percent), 7 of 22 from the arc. Andrew Brown and Matt Betley each had 12 points for Lafayette, but they were a combined 3 for 13 from the arc.
The Leopards were up 25-24 after a pair of Jesper Andersson free throws with 2:58 to go in the first half. AU responded with an 8-3 run to close the half up 32-28 and never trailed after the break. Lafayette got within one on an Andre Hines jumper with 14:39 to play before American pulled away.
The win, American's second in a row, puts the Eagles (11-10 overall, 3-4 Patriot) back above .500 and back in contention for one of the four homecourt first round games.
Lafayette (8-14, 2-5) drops into a tie with Colgate, one game ahead of last-place Navy.
Box score | Morning Call | Express-Times
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Andre Ingram rained threes on the Leopards, draining 6 from the arc en route to a 23-point afternoon.
Ingram's effort was part of a 10-trey afternoon for AU, which shot 44.8 percent (26 of 58) from the field, 10 of 22 outside the arc.
The Eagles also got a big game inside from Travis Lay, who came off the bench for a 15-point, 10-rebound double-double. Lay's rebounding was a key to American's 37-27 edge on the boards. Three of Lay's rebounds were on the offensive glass, where AU had a 10-2 edge.
Lafayette, which lives and dies by the jump shot, was just 20 of 47 from the field (42.6 percent), 7 of 22 from the arc. Andrew Brown and Matt Betley each had 12 points for Lafayette, but they were a combined 3 for 13 from the arc.
The Leopards were up 25-24 after a pair of Jesper Andersson free throws with 2:58 to go in the first half. AU responded with an 8-3 run to close the half up 32-28 and never trailed after the break. Lafayette got within one on an Andre Hines jumper with 14:39 to play before American pulled away.
The win, American's second in a row, puts the Eagles (11-10 overall, 3-4 Patriot) back above .500 and back in contention for one of the four homecourt first round games.
Lafayette (8-14, 2-5) drops into a tie with Colgate, one game ahead of last-place Navy.
Box score | Morning Call | Express-Times
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Saturday, January 27, 2007
For one afternoon in Annapolis, the Raiders looked like the team most folks expected them to be. Of course the "other" Raiders have played so bad this season, all it did was lift them out of a tie for last place.
Kyle Chones was the only Raider in double figures, finishing with 13. But Colgate (7-13 overall, 2-5 Patriot) got 31 points from its bench and shot 53.7 percent from the field, beating Navy 66-58 in the Mids' Alumni Hall.
It was the first time Colgate shot 50 percent or better against a Division I team since a Dec. 2 loss to Harvard. The Raiders came in having shot better than 40 percent just three times in their past 12 games, ranked No. 294 out of 325 Division I teams nationally in field goal percentage.
Adding insult to Navy's injury, the Raiders delivered the spanking without Kendall Chones and Alex Woodhouse, both of whom missed the game due to unspecified illness.
Greg Sprink had 23 points on 9 of 14 shooting for Navy (11-11, 1-6), which has now lost four in a row and eight of its last 10 after a promising 9-3 start. The Mids shot 19 of 47 (40.4 percent) from the field. Take away Sprink and the rest of the Navy team shot 30.3 percent from the field.
Box score
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Kyle Chones was the only Raider in double figures, finishing with 13. But Colgate (7-13 overall, 2-5 Patriot) got 31 points from its bench and shot 53.7 percent from the field, beating Navy 66-58 in the Mids' Alumni Hall.
It was the first time Colgate shot 50 percent or better against a Division I team since a Dec. 2 loss to Harvard. The Raiders came in having shot better than 40 percent just three times in their past 12 games, ranked No. 294 out of 325 Division I teams nationally in field goal percentage.
Adding insult to Navy's injury, the Raiders delivered the spanking without Kendall Chones and Alex Woodhouse, both of whom missed the game due to unspecified illness.
Greg Sprink had 23 points on 9 of 14 shooting for Navy (11-11, 1-6), which has now lost four in a row and eight of its last 10 after a promising 9-3 start. The Mids shot 19 of 47 (40.4 percent) from the field. Take away Sprink and the rest of the Navy team shot 30.3 percent from the field.
Box score
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After a few weeks of ties up and down the Patriot League standings, things will shake out a little today.
For the first time all season, somebody will be alone at the bottom. Last place will be decided in Annapolis, where Navy hosts Colgate in a battle of 1-5 teams (matchup). Meanwhile, American visits Lafayette in a matchup of a pair of 2-4 clubs (matchup).
The winner of the AU-LC game could find itself suddenly tied for the all-important fourth spot in the standings, pending the outcome of tonight's Army at Bucknell matchup. A Bucknell win would leave Army tied with that AU-LC winner for the number four spot -- a spot magnified in importance this season by the league's higher seed homecourt playoffs system that has replaced the league's post-season tournament to determine the conference championship and what will likely be just one bid to the NCAA Tournament.
That Army-Bucknell game is the spotlight contest of the day. Army, coming off a loss at Lafayette on Wednesday after three-straight wins in West Point, needs bounce-back win to stay above .500 and even with Lehigh for third place in the standings. A loss and suddenly, despite their strong start in conference play, the Black Knights are back to battling just to stay out of the second division.
For Bucknell, the story is pretty simple. Win their 31st straight home conference game and keep pace one game behind Holy Cross, which has yet to visit Sojka this season.
In Easton, Lafayette will look to shoot its way past an American team that looked like a contender early in the season, but found itself needing a win over Navy Wednesday to stay out of the cellar. Conventional wisdom would tell you American's big, deep frontcourt should be a tremendous edge for the Eagles. But aside from up and down Brayden Billbe, production from those big guys have been mediocre at best.
If Lafayette can lure AU's gunners into a shootout, it could be another long bus ride home for American, which is 0-3 on the road in league play.
In Annapolis, Billy Lange's young Midshipmen badly need a win to stem the bleeding. After a promising 9-3 start, Navy has dropped 7 of its last 9, including its last three. Colgate, which has lost five straight and eight of its last 9, could be the first aid Navy needs. The Raiders rank 314th (out of 325) nationally in scoring and 294th in field goal percentage (40.3 percent).
Of course Bavy is just above Colgate in the league rankings for field goal percentage (41.5 percent, 263 nationally). Two areas where Navy has a big edge are at the foul line and behind the arc. Navy ranks 9th nationally in free throw percentage (76.1 percent, tops in the league); Colgate is last in the league at 69.5 percent (140 nationally). Navy is second in the league and No. 25 in the nation in three-pointers per game (8.4 per); Colgate is last in the league and 316 out of 325 nationally with 4.2 per game.
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For the first time all season, somebody will be alone at the bottom. Last place will be decided in Annapolis, where Navy hosts Colgate in a battle of 1-5 teams (matchup). Meanwhile, American visits Lafayette in a matchup of a pair of 2-4 clubs (matchup).
The winner of the AU-LC game could find itself suddenly tied for the all-important fourth spot in the standings, pending the outcome of tonight's Army at Bucknell matchup. A Bucknell win would leave Army tied with that AU-LC winner for the number four spot -- a spot magnified in importance this season by the league's higher seed homecourt playoffs system that has replaced the league's post-season tournament to determine the conference championship and what will likely be just one bid to the NCAA Tournament.
That Army-Bucknell game is the spotlight contest of the day. Army, coming off a loss at Lafayette on Wednesday after three-straight wins in West Point, needs bounce-back win to stay above .500 and even with Lehigh for third place in the standings. A loss and suddenly, despite their strong start in conference play, the Black Knights are back to battling just to stay out of the second division.
For Bucknell, the story is pretty simple. Win their 31st straight home conference game and keep pace one game behind Holy Cross, which has yet to visit Sojka this season.
In Easton, Lafayette will look to shoot its way past an American team that looked like a contender early in the season, but found itself needing a win over Navy Wednesday to stay out of the cellar. Conventional wisdom would tell you American's big, deep frontcourt should be a tremendous edge for the Eagles. But aside from up and down Brayden Billbe, production from those big guys have been mediocre at best.
If Lafayette can lure AU's gunners into a shootout, it could be another long bus ride home for American, which is 0-3 on the road in league play.
In Annapolis, Billy Lange's young Midshipmen badly need a win to stem the bleeding. After a promising 9-3 start, Navy has dropped 7 of its last 9, including its last three. Colgate, which has lost five straight and eight of its last 9, could be the first aid Navy needs. The Raiders rank 314th (out of 325) nationally in scoring and 294th in field goal percentage (40.3 percent).
Of course Bavy is just above Colgate in the league rankings for field goal percentage (41.5 percent, 263 nationally). Two areas where Navy has a big edge are at the foul line and behind the arc. Navy ranks 9th nationally in free throw percentage (76.1 percent, tops in the league); Colgate is last in the league at 69.5 percent (140 nationally). Navy is second in the league and No. 25 in the nation in three-pointers per game (8.4 per); Colgate is last in the league and 316 out of 325 nationally with 4.2 per game.
Labels: Army, AU, BU, CU, Laf, Navy, previews
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Holy Cross continued Lehigh's road woes last night in Worcester.
For the 11th time in 11 trips to the Hart Center, Lehigh bussed home empty handed after a 64-53 loss at Holy Cross last night. It was also the Mountain Hawks 11th loss in 12 games on the road this season.
It was too much Torey Thomas in this one. The Crusaders' senior point scored 18 points, including the 1,000th of his career, dished out 8 assists, made 7 steals and pulled down 6 rebounds. Had Holy Cross been on the road, he might have driven the bus home, too.
Thomas also had a lot to do with Marquis Hall's off night. Lehigh's standout freshman did manage 11 points, but it took him 14 shots (4 of 14) and the usually on-target from the arc Hall was just 1 of 5 on three-point tries.
Lehigh managed to hang with the Crusaders early, even leading 10-9 after about 12 minutes of play. And despite Holy Cross building double digit leads in each half, the hawks were within 3 at 54-51 late in the game. But Holy Cross closed with a 10-2 run to improve to 16-6 overall, 7-0 in the league.
Lehigh (9-14, 4-3) was led by Jose Olivero, who finished with 18 points on 5 of 14 shooting from the field. Phil Anderson added 10 for the Hawks.
Anderson and the rest of Lehigh's big men did a nice job defensively on HC center Tim Clifford. Clifford finished with 12 points and 9 rebounds, but like Hall and Olivero, it took him a lot of shots to reach double figures. Clifford was 5 of 16 from the field.
Keith Simmons added 16 points and 6 rebounds for HC.
Neither team shot it well. Lehigh was 17 for 48 (35.4 percent) from the field; Holy Cross went 21 for 57 (36.8 percent). The biggest difference was Lehigh's 20 turnovers, 11 the result of HC steals.
Box score | Telegram & Gazette
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For the 11th time in 11 trips to the Hart Center, Lehigh bussed home empty handed after a 64-53 loss at Holy Cross last night. It was also the Mountain Hawks 11th loss in 12 games on the road this season.
It was too much Torey Thomas in this one. The Crusaders' senior point scored 18 points, including the 1,000th of his career, dished out 8 assists, made 7 steals and pulled down 6 rebounds. Had Holy Cross been on the road, he might have driven the bus home, too.
Thomas also had a lot to do with Marquis Hall's off night. Lehigh's standout freshman did manage 11 points, but it took him 14 shots (4 of 14) and the usually on-target from the arc Hall was just 1 of 5 on three-point tries.
Lehigh managed to hang with the Crusaders early, even leading 10-9 after about 12 minutes of play. And despite Holy Cross building double digit leads in each half, the hawks were within 3 at 54-51 late in the game. But Holy Cross closed with a 10-2 run to improve to 16-6 overall, 7-0 in the league.
Lehigh (9-14, 4-3) was led by Jose Olivero, who finished with 18 points on 5 of 14 shooting from the field. Phil Anderson added 10 for the Hawks.
Anderson and the rest of Lehigh's big men did a nice job defensively on HC center Tim Clifford. Clifford finished with 12 points and 9 rebounds, but like Hall and Olivero, it took him a lot of shots to reach double figures. Clifford was 5 of 16 from the field.
Keith Simmons added 16 points and 6 rebounds for HC.
Neither team shot it well. Lehigh was 17 for 48 (35.4 percent) from the field; Holy Cross went 21 for 57 (36.8 percent). The biggest difference was Lehigh's 20 turnovers, 11 the result of HC steals.
Box score | Telegram & Gazette
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Friday, January 26, 2007
Want to know which Bucknell players provide the most value to the Bison when they are on the floor? Eric at Bucknell has a way of looking at the box score that goes beyond the usual categories like points, rebounds and assists.
Folks on the Bucknell message boards know Eric at Bucknell from posts. For those who don't visit those forums, a quick bit of background: Eric is not actually at Bucknell anymore. He is now a grad student at Penn State. A math wiz with too much time on his hands, he spends much of that free time breaking down the numbers to come up with interesting statistical looks at the game.
One of his projects this season has been an ongoing tally of Bucknell players' plus-minus numbers.
Basically, this is how it works: Points scored by and against Bucknell while each player is on the floor are calculated to determine each player's plus-minus ratio. That part works just like the traditional hockey stat.
Then Eric took those numbers further, calculating the minutes each player played and turning that into 40-minute averages.
It is far from a perfect system. Given the amount of zone and help defense Bucknell employs, the combination on the floor impacts the number of points scored when a player is in the game. The defensive numbers probably would have more validity if Bucknell played more straight man-to-man, though even then, a weak defender among the starting five, for example, would negatively impact the defensive numbers for the other four starters.
Eric is planning to do some calculations in the future that look at different player combinations.
A lesser flaw is the position-by=position breakdown for each player, since Eric is forced to make assumptions what spot a player is at based on the combination in the game at the time. The most glaring example of that is Abe Badmus, whom Eric has assumed has played the point whenever he is in the game, though in reality, there have been times when he has actually played the wing, especially in combination with John Griffin. For the most part the position designations are probably pretty close. We just think the totals for some players are likely more valid than the position breakdowns
Despite those flaws, Eric's calculations do offer some interesting insight into the Bison's performance and Pat Flannery's rotation decisions. For example, Justin Castleberry's plus-2.7 probably helps explain why he has taken a lot of the minutes that went to Rob Thomas (minus-7.5) earlier in the season.
We will update these again as Eric provides them, assuming we can figure out an easier way to translate his spreadsheets into Web-compatible content. If someone wants to do the computations for other teams (and can place them into a convenient html table instead of a spread sheet), send them along and we will post them, too.
Click here to view Eric's Plus-Minus Calculations
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Folks on the Bucknell message boards know Eric at Bucknell from posts. For those who don't visit those forums, a quick bit of background: Eric is not actually at Bucknell anymore. He is now a grad student at Penn State. A math wiz with too much time on his hands, he spends much of that free time breaking down the numbers to come up with interesting statistical looks at the game.
One of his projects this season has been an ongoing tally of Bucknell players' plus-minus numbers.
Basically, this is how it works: Points scored by and against Bucknell while each player is on the floor are calculated to determine each player's plus-minus ratio. That part works just like the traditional hockey stat.
Then Eric took those numbers further, calculating the minutes each player played and turning that into 40-minute averages.
It is far from a perfect system. Given the amount of zone and help defense Bucknell employs, the combination on the floor impacts the number of points scored when a player is in the game. The defensive numbers probably would have more validity if Bucknell played more straight man-to-man, though even then, a weak defender among the starting five, for example, would negatively impact the defensive numbers for the other four starters.
Eric is planning to do some calculations in the future that look at different player combinations.
A lesser flaw is the position-by=position breakdown for each player, since Eric is forced to make assumptions what spot a player is at based on the combination in the game at the time. The most glaring example of that is Abe Badmus, whom Eric has assumed has played the point whenever he is in the game, though in reality, there have been times when he has actually played the wing, especially in combination with John Griffin. For the most part the position designations are probably pretty close. We just think the totals for some players are likely more valid than the position breakdowns
Despite those flaws, Eric's calculations do offer some interesting insight into the Bison's performance and Pat Flannery's rotation decisions. For example, Justin Castleberry's plus-2.7 probably helps explain why he has taken a lot of the minutes that went to Rob Thomas (minus-7.5) earlier in the season.
We will update these again as Eric provides them, assuming we can figure out an easier way to translate his spreadsheets into Web-compatible content. If someone wants to do the computations for other teams (and can place them into a convenient html table instead of a spread sheet), send them along and we will post them, too.
Labels: BU
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There is news about next season's scheduling hidden in the the latest post on CoachRalph.com.
While recapping Holy Cross' overtime win at American, Ralph Willard dropped in a bit of previously unannounced news. Lamenting the lack of gym time for practice and a walk-through at American, Willard wrote:
Obhviously it also makes it a little easier for visiting teams to find gym time on the road, too.
The downside is fewer fans and less media coverage for the women. When they play doubleheaders, the women's teams often benefit down the stretch from a crowd swelled by early arrivals for the men's nightcap. Assignment editors are also far more likely to have a writer cover the women's game if they are already going to be there for the men's game than they are to send someone to cover a women's game alone.
It also is hell on the sports information and game management folks, who have to host twice as many dates.
ELSEWHERE ON THE WEB:
David Jones of The Patriot-News takes a look at Bucknell forward Donald brown's emergence as a force in the league his senior season.
The Morning Call's Stephen Miller looks at Lehigh's road woes and tosses in other notes from the Lehigh Valley in his column today.
Jerry Stackhouse disses the Patriot League in a story about the Dallas Mavericks' loss last night to the Chicago Bulls.
Some Kyle Whelliston wannabe named Max Waxman writes about a visit to Lafayette's Kirby Sports Center as part of CSTV.com's Hoops Odyssey. It's the first of two Patriot League venues they will visit as they try to capture the magic of Kyle's infamous 100-games project.
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While recapping Holy Cross' overtime win at American, Ralph Willard dropped in a bit of previously unannounced news. Lamenting the lack of gym time for practice and a walk-through at American, Willard wrote:
Thank God this will change next year and we will go in opposite directions next year, like every other league in America.The league tried that a couple years back. It got mixed reviews. While the men's coaches liked having a fixed start time that was not subject to shifting if the women's games ran late.
Obhviously it also makes it a little easier for visiting teams to find gym time on the road, too.
The downside is fewer fans and less media coverage for the women. When they play doubleheaders, the women's teams often benefit down the stretch from a crowd swelled by early arrivals for the men's nightcap. Assignment editors are also far more likely to have a writer cover the women's game if they are already going to be there for the men's game than they are to send someone to cover a women's game alone.
It also is hell on the sports information and game management folks, who have to host twice as many dates.
ELSEWHERE ON THE WEB:
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Remember Bill Raynor and Sal Mentesana? Raynor coached at Holy Cross prior to Ralph Willard. Mentesana was Billy Taylor's predecessor at Lehigh.
Raynor is still coaching hoops; he heads the program at someplace called Mass bay Community College. Mentesana is on the side of a milk carton, at least as far as a quick Google on his name is concerned.
Sal was a clothes horse, better known for his success in those best dressed coaches playoffs than the success of his teams at Lehigh. Likewise, there is a reason Raynor is now coaching at a community college. Raynor took over for George Blaney and after two winning seasons, went into a three-straight losing seasons spiral that ended with his firing. Mentesana took over a horrible program at Lehigh and arguably made it worse, barely winning 25 percent of his games in six seasons.
You might wonder: Why the history lesson? What does this have to do with tonight's Lehigh at Holy Cross game? (9 p.m., ESPNU -- Harrisburg area fans can catch it at Damon's off I-81 at Progress Ave.)
Good question. Simple answer: just to give you a little perspective on how this series has gone over the years, especially in games played in Worcester. Over the years, these two have met 21 times in the Hart Center. Lehigh has won but three of those 21 games.
Raynor and Mentesana? They were the coaches the last time Lehigh won in Worcester. That was back in the 1997-98 seasons. Lehigh's Mountain Hawk mascot was still in diapers Want more perspective? Lehigh senior Jose Olivero and Holy Cross senior Keith Simmons would have been in seventh grade the last time the Mountain Hawks won there.
Since then, Holy Cross has won 10 in a row over Lehigh in Worcester, including tournament wins there the last two seasons. That underscores the importance of this game from Lehigh's perspective. With two league losses already, for Lehigh to have a realistic chance of gaining the regular season title and the homecourt advantage throughout the playoffs, they must win tonight.
Win here, and win out -- not totally unrealistic since Lehigh will have the two teams it has lost to, Army and Bucknell, and Holy Cross all at home in Stabler Arena in the second half of the conference schedule. The Mountain Hawks have lost just once in Stabler this season, and that came at the last second on a disputed call. Add the expected return of center Jason Mgebroff and Lehigh's second half prospects look even brighter.
Lose here, and the Mountain Hawks almost certainly will need a lot of help to get to the top of the Patriot League heap. Even if it holds serve in Stabler the second go-round, three losses would mean they need two others to knock off Holy Cross. Realistically, one of those two could come when Holy Cross is at Bucknell. But that would mean Lehigh needs somebody else to beat the Bison.
Sure there is a strong possibility, maybe even a probability, that one of the top two will stumble elsewhere on the road - just look how tough it was for Holy Cross to get past the gang-that-can't-shoot-straight in Hamilton Tuesday night. But the Mountain Hawks are no lock on the road, either. They already lost at Army and have just one win outside of Stabler all season.
While we are dealing in reality here, we should probably mention that breaking that 10-game losing streak in Worcester tonight might not be impossible, but no sane person would put money on the Hawks without being spotted significant points.
With Mgebroff out, the formula for beating Lehigh is pretty obvious. Cut off the headband and the body dies too. Bucknell was the latest team to shut down Jose Olivero, holding him to 9 points Tuesday night. It was the fourth time Olivero has been held below double figures this season. The Hawks are 0-4 in those games.
Marquis Hall is having a splendid freshman season, but he is not the kind of guy who can carry a team. Not yet, anyhow. Kyle Neptune is also capable of putting up nice numbers. But Olivero is the engine that drives the Lehigh machine, and without Mgebroff's inside presence, that is not enough -- not against teams with legitimate big men.
Skinny Phil Anderson has done a decent job playing out of position in Mgebroff's absence. But Anderson has struggled against teams with true centers, and Holy Cross' Tim Clifford is as true a center as there is in the league. Clifford might not be as quick as Bucknell's Chris McNaughton, but he is probably even more a nightmare matchup for Anderson, given his sheer size and strength.
Lehigh has a guy big enough to matchup with Clifford in 7-foot sophomore John Gourlay. But Gourlay is still very raw, and no match for Clifford. The over-under on Gourlay fouling out if he plays against Clifford is probably less than 10 minutes.
Holy Cross' depth up front does not stop with Clifford. Even if Clifford gets in foul trouble himself, sophomore Greg McCarthy and freshman Eric Meister both would still give the Crusaders and edge in the post.
That inside dominance will make it awfully tough for Olivero to get off -- especially against the Crusaders zone, which makes getting to the basket mighty tough. Olivero shoots just 30 percent from three-point range.
Lehigh's best hope probably lies in turning it into a low-scoring defensive struggle. If the Hawks can keep it close enough to have a shot at stealing it at the end, they could pull off the upset.
That is not beyond the realm of possibility. As well as Holy Cross has played, they have had a knack for letting folks either stick around, or get back into games. Three of HC's last four wins were by 5 points or less, including one in overtime -- the Saders' third OT win of the season.
Is an upset possible? Definitely. Is it likely? Probably not.
Matchup | Morning Call
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Raynor is still coaching hoops; he heads the program at someplace called Mass bay Community College. Mentesana is on the side of a milk carton, at least as far as a quick Google on his name is concerned.
Sal was a clothes horse, better known for his success in those best dressed coaches playoffs than the success of his teams at Lehigh. Likewise, there is a reason Raynor is now coaching at a community college. Raynor took over for George Blaney and after two winning seasons, went into a three-straight losing seasons spiral that ended with his firing. Mentesana took over a horrible program at Lehigh and arguably made it worse, barely winning 25 percent of his games in six seasons.
You might wonder: Why the history lesson? What does this have to do with tonight's Lehigh at Holy Cross game? (9 p.m., ESPNU -- Harrisburg area fans can catch it at Damon's off I-81 at Progress Ave.)
Good question. Simple answer: just to give you a little perspective on how this series has gone over the years, especially in games played in Worcester. Over the years, these two have met 21 times in the Hart Center. Lehigh has won but three of those 21 games.
Raynor and Mentesana? They were the coaches the last time Lehigh won in Worcester. That was back in the 1997-98 seasons. Lehigh's Mountain Hawk mascot was still in diapers Want more perspective? Lehigh senior Jose Olivero and Holy Cross senior Keith Simmons would have been in seventh grade the last time the Mountain Hawks won there.
Since then, Holy Cross has won 10 in a row over Lehigh in Worcester, including tournament wins there the last two seasons. That underscores the importance of this game from Lehigh's perspective. With two league losses already, for Lehigh to have a realistic chance of gaining the regular season title and the homecourt advantage throughout the playoffs, they must win tonight.
Win here, and win out -- not totally unrealistic since Lehigh will have the two teams it has lost to, Army and Bucknell, and Holy Cross all at home in Stabler Arena in the second half of the conference schedule. The Mountain Hawks have lost just once in Stabler this season, and that came at the last second on a disputed call. Add the expected return of center Jason Mgebroff and Lehigh's second half prospects look even brighter.
Lose here, and the Mountain Hawks almost certainly will need a lot of help to get to the top of the Patriot League heap. Even if it holds serve in Stabler the second go-round, three losses would mean they need two others to knock off Holy Cross. Realistically, one of those two could come when Holy Cross is at Bucknell. But that would mean Lehigh needs somebody else to beat the Bison.
Sure there is a strong possibility, maybe even a probability, that one of the top two will stumble elsewhere on the road - just look how tough it was for Holy Cross to get past the gang-that-can't-shoot-straight in Hamilton Tuesday night. But the Mountain Hawks are no lock on the road, either. They already lost at Army and have just one win outside of Stabler all season.
While we are dealing in reality here, we should probably mention that breaking that 10-game losing streak in Worcester tonight might not be impossible, but no sane person would put money on the Hawks without being spotted significant points.
With Mgebroff out, the formula for beating Lehigh is pretty obvious. Cut off the headband and the body dies too. Bucknell was the latest team to shut down Jose Olivero, holding him to 9 points Tuesday night. It was the fourth time Olivero has been held below double figures this season. The Hawks are 0-4 in those games.
Marquis Hall is having a splendid freshman season, but he is not the kind of guy who can carry a team. Not yet, anyhow. Kyle Neptune is also capable of putting up nice numbers. But Olivero is the engine that drives the Lehigh machine, and without Mgebroff's inside presence, that is not enough -- not against teams with legitimate big men.
Skinny Phil Anderson has done a decent job playing out of position in Mgebroff's absence. But Anderson has struggled against teams with true centers, and Holy Cross' Tim Clifford is as true a center as there is in the league. Clifford might not be as quick as Bucknell's Chris McNaughton, but he is probably even more a nightmare matchup for Anderson, given his sheer size and strength.
Lehigh has a guy big enough to matchup with Clifford in 7-foot sophomore John Gourlay. But Gourlay is still very raw, and no match for Clifford. The over-under on Gourlay fouling out if he plays against Clifford is probably less than 10 minutes.
Holy Cross' depth up front does not stop with Clifford. Even if Clifford gets in foul trouble himself, sophomore Greg McCarthy and freshman Eric Meister both would still give the Crusaders and edge in the post.
That inside dominance will make it awfully tough for Olivero to get off -- especially against the Crusaders zone, which makes getting to the basket mighty tough. Olivero shoots just 30 percent from three-point range.
Lehigh's best hope probably lies in turning it into a low-scoring defensive struggle. If the Hawks can keep it close enough to have a shot at stealing it at the end, they could pull off the upset.
That is not beyond the realm of possibility. As well as Holy Cross has played, they have had a knack for letting folks either stick around, or get back into games. Three of HC's last four wins were by 5 points or less, including one in overtime -- the Saders' third OT win of the season.
Is an upset possible? Definitely. Is it likely? Probably not.
Matchup | Morning Call
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Thursday, January 25, 2007
There are reasons American and Navy were tied for last in the league heading into last night's game.
One of those was on full display during the Eagles 55-46 win over the Midshipmen in Bender Arena.
The two teams combined to go 30 of 99 (30.3 percent) from the floor in a game decided at the foul line.
American was not exactly stellar at the charity stripe, shooting just 60 percent from the line. But the Eagles (18 of 30) got to the stripe 18 more times than Navy, negating the Mids 11 of 12 performance.
Take either team off the line and put a defender on them and the results differed dramatically. American was 16 for 53 (30.2 percent) from the field, 5 of 22 from three-point range. Navy shot 14 for 46 (30.4 percent) from the field, 7 of 24 at the arc.
Andre Ingram led the Eagles with 18 points and 9 rebounds. Brayden Billbe added 11 points off the bench.
Greg Sprink was the only Mid in double figures, finishing with 16 points and 9 boards.
Billbe was one of three usual starters benched at the beginning of this one. Looking for better matchups against Navy's perimeter-oriented offense, Jeff Jones inserted Arvydas Eitutavicius, 6-5 soph Jordan Nichols and little used 6-5 senior Sekou Lewis -- who had played in only 9 of the first 19 games, averaging 2.7 minutes -- into the starting five. Out of the lineup were Billbe, Linas Lekavicius and Travis Lay. It was the first time all season and the second time in two seasons Billbe and Lekavicius did not start.
Box score | Wash. Post
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One of those was on full display during the Eagles 55-46 win over the Midshipmen in Bender Arena.
The two teams combined to go 30 of 99 (30.3 percent) from the floor in a game decided at the foul line.
American was not exactly stellar at the charity stripe, shooting just 60 percent from the line. But the Eagles (18 of 30) got to the stripe 18 more times than Navy, negating the Mids 11 of 12 performance.
Take either team off the line and put a defender on them and the results differed dramatically. American was 16 for 53 (30.2 percent) from the field, 5 of 22 from three-point range. Navy shot 14 for 46 (30.4 percent) from the field, 7 of 24 at the arc.
Andre Ingram led the Eagles with 18 points and 9 rebounds. Brayden Billbe added 11 points off the bench.
Greg Sprink was the only Mid in double figures, finishing with 16 points and 9 boards.
Billbe was one of three usual starters benched at the beginning of this one. Looking for better matchups against Navy's perimeter-oriented offense, Jeff Jones inserted Arvydas Eitutavicius, 6-5 soph Jordan Nichols and little used 6-5 senior Sekou Lewis -- who had played in only 9 of the first 19 games, averaging 2.7 minutes -- into the starting five. Out of the lineup were Billbe, Linas Lekavicius and Travis Lay. It was the first time all season and the second time in two seasons Billbe and Lekavicius did not start.
Box score | Wash. Post
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Paul Cummins hit six three-pointers en route to a career-high 22 points as Lafayette put and end to Army's three-game win streak,
Cummins, a 6-2 junior from Kildare, Ireland, hit his first trey 1:47 into the game, putting Lafayette ahead 6-5. The Leopards never trailed after that.
Army managed to pull even early in the second half on back-to-back buckets by Jarrell Brown, who finished with 18 points for the Black Knights. Lafayette went back up 26 seconds later on a pair of free throws by Everest Schmidt (11 points). Schmidt's foul shots sparked an 8-1 Leopards' run. Army never got within a possession after that.
Matt Bell led Army (13-8 overall, 3-3 Patriot) with 23 points.
Andrew Brown added 17 for Lafayette, which shot 56.1 percent (23 of 41) from the field, 10 of 18 (55.6 percent) from the three-point arc.
Army actually had more field goals than the Leopards, going 28 for 58 (48.3 percent) from the field, 8 for 24 on three-pointers. But Army only went to the foul line 8 times all night, making 4. Lehigh was 20 for 28 at the line.
The Leopards also outrebounded the Knights 31-23.
Army's road trip continues Saturday at Bucknell. Lafayette will host American Saturday with fifth place in the league standings on the line.
Box score | Laf. photo gallery | Express-Times | Morning Call
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Cummins, a 6-2 junior from Kildare, Ireland, hit his first trey 1:47 into the game, putting Lafayette ahead 6-5. The Leopards never trailed after that.
Army managed to pull even early in the second half on back-to-back buckets by Jarrell Brown, who finished with 18 points for the Black Knights. Lafayette went back up 26 seconds later on a pair of free throws by Everest Schmidt (11 points). Schmidt's foul shots sparked an 8-1 Leopards' run. Army never got within a possession after that.
Matt Bell led Army (13-8 overall, 3-3 Patriot) with 23 points.
Andrew Brown added 17 for Lafayette, which shot 56.1 percent (23 of 41) from the field, 10 of 18 (55.6 percent) from the three-point arc.
Army actually had more field goals than the Leopards, going 28 for 58 (48.3 percent) from the field, 8 for 24 on three-pointers. But Army only went to the foul line 8 times all night, making 4. Lehigh was 20 for 28 at the line.
The Leopards also outrebounded the Knights 31-23.
Army's road trip continues Saturday at Bucknell. Lafayette will host American Saturday with fifth place in the league standings on the line.
Box score | Laf. photo gallery | Express-Times | Morning Call
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Wednesday, January 24, 2007
(Includes bonus links)
After last night's twofer Tuesday, two more on tap tonight in the Patriot League. The headliner is Army, leaving West Point for the first time in two weeks to visit the hard luck Leopards of Lafayette.
Army has a chance to claim a share of third place when it visits Easton tonight (matchup). The Black Knights, coming off three-straight wins at home, would actually have a tiebreaker edge over Lehigh for the number three seed if they win in Kirby, thanks to a win over the Mountain Hawks.
It won't be easy. Army is 2-6 on the road this season. Lafayette is just 3-5 at home, but those losses include games against Holy Cross and Bucknell, both of which the Leopards managed to hang in all the way to the end.
Lafayette can play with anybody in the league when its shots are falling and unlike Holy Cross or Bucknell, Army won't present the Leopards with a huge mismatch in the frontcourt.
Meanwhile, down in the Nation's Capital, somebody will emerge from the cellar when 1-4 American hosts 1-4 Navy (matchup).
BONUS LINKS:
Morse keeps shooting (Centre Daily Times)
We knew Holy Cross star Torey Thomas when . . . (Slam)
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After last night's twofer Tuesday, two more on tap tonight in the Patriot League. The headliner is Army, leaving West Point for the first time in two weeks to visit the hard luck Leopards of Lafayette.
Army has a chance to claim a share of third place when it visits Easton tonight (matchup). The Black Knights, coming off three-straight wins at home, would actually have a tiebreaker edge over Lehigh for the number three seed if they win in Kirby, thanks to a win over the Mountain Hawks.
It won't be easy. Army is 2-6 on the road this season. Lafayette is just 3-5 at home, but those losses include games against Holy Cross and Bucknell, both of which the Leopards managed to hang in all the way to the end.
Lafayette can play with anybody in the league when its shots are falling and unlike Holy Cross or Bucknell, Army won't present the Leopards with a huge mismatch in the frontcourt.
Meanwhile, down in the Nation's Capital, somebody will emerge from the cellar when 1-4 American hosts 1-4 Navy (matchup).
BONUS LINKS:
Labels: AU, Laf, Navy, previews
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(Originally posted Tuesday, 10:12 p.m., updated with links at 7:21 a.m.)
Bucknell took over sole possession of second place with an impressive win in Sojka.
By CHRIS A. COUROGEN
Maybe next time. Maybe with a healthy Jason Mgebroff. Maybe in their own barn.
Not here, though; not this night. Not in Sojka Pavilion, where Bucknell has now won 30 straight league games. Not with the Bison raining threes and dominating the inside like they were dressed in leather and carrying whips. Not with Jose Olivero struggling to score and Kyle Neptune struggling to even find iron.
Lehigh might yet prove to be a contender in the Patriot League; there is a lot of ball yet to be played. But on this Tuesday night in Lewisburg, the Mountain Hawks didn't even look like pretenders, losing 62-44 to a Bucknell team that was, in a word, dominant..
It was a game that was close for about five minutes. Then Bucknell broke it open with a 14-2 run and never looked back. The Bison hit six threes in the first half -- four in the first 10 minutes while they built a solid lead they would hold all night. By the half that lead was 16 points, and would have been worse if the Bison had shot better than 50 percent at the foul line.
"We just came out stagnant," said freshman point guard Marquis Hall, whose 18 points were the lone bright spot for the Mountain Hawks (9-13 overall, 4-2 Patriot), who have now lost 10 of 11 on the road this season. "They just wanted it more than us the first half and it showed."
It showed on the scoreboard, where Bucknell had a 37-21 advantage at the intermission, and in the box score. Bucknell shot 57.1 percent (12 of 21) in the first half, 6 of 10 from the three-point arc, and held Lehigh to 8 for 26 (30.8 percent) shooting, 3 of 11 three-point tries.
The first half dominance was particularly evident in Chris McNaughton's line. The 6-11 senior started Bucknell's scoring with a free throw on the Bison's first possession and kept it up the entire half, posting 12 of his 15 points in the first half. McNaughton added 11 rebounds for his first double-double of the season.
It was vintage McNaughton; the kind of performance expected when the coaches and sports information directors around the league voted him the preseason player of the year The big German did it with power, throwing down a pair of thunderous dunks, the first on a nifty spin move that left Lehigh's Phil Anderson picking up his shorts, the second on an equally pretty feed from Donald Brown.
McNaughton also did it with finesse, stepping outside the arc to knock down a key three during that decisive early run. All told, McNaughton was 5 for 7 from the field. In his spare time he helped limited the three-man combination Lehigh tried at center to 8 points on 3 for 9 shooting with four turnovers. The only fault in his game was a 4 for 8 performance at the foul line.
"I'm playing with a little more intensity than some of the games earlier in the season," said McNaughton.
Brown was nearly as dominant, also scoring 15 points, 12 in the second half when Lehigh started sending more defenders at McNaughton. The 6-6 senior from Long Island also added 7 boards, 3 assists, a block and 3 steals to his line.
"We're seniors. We're counting games. There are not a whole lot left. We don't want to leave anything out there," McNaughton said.
Bucknell's third senior, Abe Badmus, also had a stellar night, hitting a pair of threes en route to 9 points and playing shut-down defense on Lehigh standout Jose Olivero, who spent much of the night listening to derisive chants of "airball, airball" from the Bucknell student section.
Olivero, who came in as the league's third-leading scorer, averaging 16.2 points per game finished with 9 points after going 4 for 15 from the floor, 1 of 5 at the arc.
"Abe Badmus is a great defender," said Lehigh coach Billy Taylor, who credited the job Badmus did early on Olivero with taking his star out of the game the rest of the night.
"(Olivero) forced a couple early, got out of rhythm, and never got into the low, even when he had open looks," said Taylor. "Same for Kyle Neptune."
Actually, it was worse for Neptune, who was 0 for his first 11 before finally making his only field goal of the game with 6:23 to go and the game already pretty much decided. It was that kind of night for Lehigh, which finished the game 17 of 54 (31.5 percent) from the field. Take away Hall's 6 for 12 showing and it would have been even uglier. The rest of the Hawks were 11 of 42 (26.1 percent), 1 for 13 from the arc.
"We came out and played with a good sense of urgency. The kids were into it from the get-go. Defensively we set the tone early," Bucknell coach Pat Flannery said.
Lehigh had a brief moment of glory at the start of the second half, taking advantage of some easy misses by Bucknell and some opportune bounces on the offensive glass to put together a 7-0 spurt, cutting the Bucknell lead to 27-28. That was the Mountain Hawks last -- and really, only -- hurrah.
Pat Flannery called a quick timeout, then the Bison came out and reestablished the double-digit margin with a Donald Brown layin that started an 8-0 run.
"Coach said 'O.K., that was their turn, now it is our turn again," McNaughton said.
The two teams will meet again Feb. 21 at Lehigh, where the Mountain Hawks are just a disputed call and a few seconds from being unbeaten. Maybe then it will be Lehigh's turn. But round one in Lewisburg was all Bucknell.
Box score | Postgame audio (Marquis Hall, Billy Taylor, Flannery-McNaughton-Brown) | BU photo gallery | Patriot-News |Daily Item | Sun-Gazette | Morning Call
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Bucknell took over sole possession of second place with an impressive win in Sojka.
By CHRIS A. COUROGEN
Maybe next time. Maybe with a healthy Jason Mgebroff. Maybe in their own barn.
Not here, though; not this night. Not in Sojka Pavilion, where Bucknell has now won 30 straight league games. Not with the Bison raining threes and dominating the inside like they were dressed in leather and carrying whips. Not with Jose Olivero struggling to score and Kyle Neptune struggling to even find iron.
Lehigh might yet prove to be a contender in the Patriot League; there is a lot of ball yet to be played. But on this Tuesday night in Lewisburg, the Mountain Hawks didn't even look like pretenders, losing 62-44 to a Bucknell team that was, in a word, dominant..
It was a game that was close for about five minutes. Then Bucknell broke it open with a 14-2 run and never looked back. The Bison hit six threes in the first half -- four in the first 10 minutes while they built a solid lead they would hold all night. By the half that lead was 16 points, and would have been worse if the Bison had shot better than 50 percent at the foul line.
"We just came out stagnant," said freshman point guard Marquis Hall, whose 18 points were the lone bright spot for the Mountain Hawks (9-13 overall, 4-2 Patriot), who have now lost 10 of 11 on the road this season. "They just wanted it more than us the first half and it showed."
It showed on the scoreboard, where Bucknell had a 37-21 advantage at the intermission, and in the box score. Bucknell shot 57.1 percent (12 of 21) in the first half, 6 of 10 from the three-point arc, and held Lehigh to 8 for 26 (30.8 percent) shooting, 3 of 11 three-point tries.
The first half dominance was particularly evident in Chris McNaughton's line. The 6-11 senior started Bucknell's scoring with a free throw on the Bison's first possession and kept it up the entire half, posting 12 of his 15 points in the first half. McNaughton added 11 rebounds for his first double-double of the season.
It was vintage McNaughton; the kind of performance expected when the coaches and sports information directors around the league voted him the preseason player of the year The big German did it with power, throwing down a pair of thunderous dunks, the first on a nifty spin move that left Lehigh's Phil Anderson picking up his shorts, the second on an equally pretty feed from Donald Brown.
McNaughton also did it with finesse, stepping outside the arc to knock down a key three during that decisive early run. All told, McNaughton was 5 for 7 from the field. In his spare time he helped limited the three-man combination Lehigh tried at center to 8 points on 3 for 9 shooting with four turnovers. The only fault in his game was a 4 for 8 performance at the foul line.
"I'm playing with a little more intensity than some of the games earlier in the season," said McNaughton.
Brown was nearly as dominant, also scoring 15 points, 12 in the second half when Lehigh started sending more defenders at McNaughton. The 6-6 senior from Long Island also added 7 boards, 3 assists, a block and 3 steals to his line.
"We're seniors. We're counting games. There are not a whole lot left. We don't want to leave anything out there," McNaughton said.
Bucknell's third senior, Abe Badmus, also had a stellar night, hitting a pair of threes en route to 9 points and playing shut-down defense on Lehigh standout Jose Olivero, who spent much of the night listening to derisive chants of "airball, airball" from the Bucknell student section.
Olivero, who came in as the league's third-leading scorer, averaging 16.2 points per game finished with 9 points after going 4 for 15 from the floor, 1 of 5 at the arc.
"Abe Badmus is a great defender," said Lehigh coach Billy Taylor, who credited the job Badmus did early on Olivero with taking his star out of the game the rest of the night.
"(Olivero) forced a couple early, got out of rhythm, and never got into the low, even when he had open looks," said Taylor. "Same for Kyle Neptune."
Actually, it was worse for Neptune, who was 0 for his first 11 before finally making his only field goal of the game with 6:23 to go and the game already pretty much decided. It was that kind of night for Lehigh, which finished the game 17 of 54 (31.5 percent) from the field. Take away Hall's 6 for 12 showing and it would have been even uglier. The rest of the Hawks were 11 of 42 (26.1 percent), 1 for 13 from the arc.
"We came out and played with a good sense of urgency. The kids were into it from the get-go. Defensively we set the tone early," Bucknell coach Pat Flannery said.
Lehigh had a brief moment of glory at the start of the second half, taking advantage of some easy misses by Bucknell and some opportune bounces on the offensive glass to put together a 7-0 spurt, cutting the Bucknell lead to 27-28. That was the Mountain Hawks last -- and really, only -- hurrah.
Pat Flannery called a quick timeout, then the Bison came out and reestablished the double-digit margin with a Donald Brown layin that started an 8-0 run.
"Coach said 'O.K., that was their turn, now it is our turn again," McNaughton said.
The two teams will meet again Feb. 21 at Lehigh, where the Mountain Hawks are just a disputed call and a few seconds from being unbeaten. Maybe then it will be Lehigh's turn. But round one in Lewisburg was all Bucknell.
Box score | Postgame audio (Marquis Hall, Billy Taylor, Flannery-McNaughton-Brown) | BU photo gallery | Patriot-News |Daily Item | Sun-Gazette | Morning Call
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Crusaders escape with a win to stay atop the league standings.
In a game that featured 12 ties and 11 lead changes, Keith Simmons hit a three-pointer with 20 seconds left to give Holy Cross a 58-55 come-from-behind win over Colgate in front of an announced crowd of 543 in frigid Hamilton.
Simmons' game-winner capped a HC comeback from a deficit as big as 10 points in the second half. Colgate was up 47-37 after a Daniel Waddy free throw with 10:49 to play. Holy Cross responded with a 12-0 run to take a 49-47 lead with 5:31 left. There were 4 lead changes and 4 ties from that point on.
The temperatures outside were nearly equalled by the frigid shooting inside Cotterell Court. Holy Cross went 19 of 48 (39.6 percent) from the field, falling below 40 percent from the field for the third game in a row.
Colgate, which had shot above 40 percent just twice in 11 games coming in, managed to hit 17 of 40 from the field (42.5 percent), including 8 of 16 from the three-point arc. But the Raiders turned the ball over 16 times and Holy Cross had 10 offensive rebounds, which led to 12 second chance points. Colgate had just 5 offensive boards and scored only 3 points off those.
The result, Holy Cross had 8 more attempted shots than Colgate and two more makes.
Simmons finished with 16 points, a team-high 7 rebounds and 4 steals. Tim Clifford added 18 and Torey Thomas had 11 for HC, which improved to 15-6 overall, 6-0 in league play.
Jon Simon led Colgate with 22 points, including 5 three-pointers. No other Colgate player reached double figures.
Box score | Telegram & Gazette
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In a game that featured 12 ties and 11 lead changes, Keith Simmons hit a three-pointer with 20 seconds left to give Holy Cross a 58-55 come-from-behind win over Colgate in front of an announced crowd of 543 in frigid Hamilton.
Simmons' game-winner capped a HC comeback from a deficit as big as 10 points in the second half. Colgate was up 47-37 after a Daniel Waddy free throw with 10:49 to play. Holy Cross responded with a 12-0 run to take a 49-47 lead with 5:31 left. There were 4 lead changes and 4 ties from that point on.
The temperatures outside were nearly equalled by the frigid shooting inside Cotterell Court. Holy Cross went 19 of 48 (39.6 percent) from the field, falling below 40 percent from the field for the third game in a row.
Colgate, which had shot above 40 percent just twice in 11 games coming in, managed to hit 17 of 40 from the field (42.5 percent), including 8 of 16 from the three-point arc. But the Raiders turned the ball over 16 times and Holy Cross had 10 offensive rebounds, which led to 12 second chance points. Colgate had just 5 offensive boards and scored only 3 points off those.
The result, Holy Cross had 8 more attempted shots than Colgate and two more makes.
Simmons finished with 16 points, a team-high 7 rebounds and 4 steals. Tim Clifford added 18 and Torey Thomas had 11 for HC, which improved to 15-6 overall, 6-0 in league play.
Jon Simon led Colgate with 22 points, including 5 three-pointers. No other Colgate player reached double figures.
Box score | Telegram & Gazette
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Tuesday, January 23, 2007
The two teams currently tied for second in the league standings meet tonight in Lewisburg while the team they are chasing tries to avoid a trap in snowy Hamilton.
Most fans around the league, at least those who don't bleed Brown and Yellow, would probably tell you Bucknell is the favorite tonight against Lehigh (matchup) -- especially at home in Sojka Pavilion, where the Bison have won 29 straight league games.
Those Lehigh fans would ask, with good reason, why? Take a look at the league's team statistics. You'll have a tough time finding categories where Bucknell ranks ahead of the Mountain Hawks. Lehigh tops the league in scoring offense, field goal percentage and rebounding margin and ranks second in field goal percentage defense.
Bucknell is fourth in scoring defense, seventh in scoring offense, seventh in field goal percentage defense, seventh at both ends of the floor in three-point shooting.
So what makes the Bison the favorite? Bucknell fans might say those stats are skewed by the Bison's tough out of conference schedule. But guess what -- while it did not look as strong on paper prior to the start of the season, the strength of Lehigh's non-conference schedule ranks second in the league (No. 147 nationally), just behind Holy Cross (142). Bucknell (189) is third in the league in that category.
Still, until Lehigh beats Bucknell or Holy Cross on the road, it just is not going to get the respect of the rest of the league's followers. That has been the Mountain Hawks downfall in recent years. The Hawks have not won at Holy Cross since 1998. Their recent history at Bucknell is a little better. Lehigh spoiled the opening of Sojka Pavilion in 2003 with a 60-56 win. But that was the year before Bucknell began offering scholarships.
For Lehigh to move beyond the esoteric world of number crunchers and stats freak and gain mainstream respect as a legitimate contender, it needs to establish superiority of the floor, not the stats sheet. And it needs to win some games on the road.
Thus far that has been tough for the Mountain Hawks. While Lehigh is within a few seconds and a disputed call of being perfect in Stabler Arena, it is also just a win at Navy away from being winless outside of its own concrete shed.
They keys here are the usual ones for both teams. Bucknell needs to exploit what should be a big advantage close to the basket, especially with Lehigh's Jason Mgebroff still sidelined by a stress fracture in his leg. Mgebroff is expected to miss another two to three weeks.
In his stead, sophomore Phil Anderson has been a capable fill-in, but he has yet to face a frontline the quality of Bucknell's. If Chris McNaughton stays out of foul trouble -- anything but a given this season -- the trio of McNaughton, Donald Brown and Darren Mastropaolo give Bucknell a huge edge up front.
Lehigh needs to get Jose Olivero going. The Mountain Hawks leading scorer has been held to single digits three times this season, including two of Lehigh's last three road games. The Mountain Hawks are 0-3 when Olivero does not reach double figures.
Looking for a key matchup -- try the point, where Lehigh's super frosh Marquis Hall meets Bucknell senior Abe Badmus. Hall is averaging 10 ppg and comes in off a 24-point showing against Lafayette. Badmus is one of the league's top defenders when he stays out of foul trouble (like McNaughton, that has been a challenge). Badmus has never been a big offensive threat, but two of the three games in which he has scored 15 or more in his career have come against Lehigh.
Holy Cross at Colgate (matchup) -- Forget how bad Colgate has been shooting the ball. Forget the Raiders are last in the league and Holy Cross first. The temperature outside Cotterell Court will be in the mid-teens. The attendance inside won't be a whole lot higher. Neither will be the mathematical odds of Colgate winning this game, but therein lies the makings of a classic trap game.
The challenge for Holy Cross, which has had trouble staying focused through entire games, is more mental than physical. Coming off an OT win in front of a packed Bender Arena, heading into a big ESPNU matchup Friday with Lehigh, the Crusaders need to find a way to get themselves up for this one if they want to stay alone atop the standings.
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Most fans around the league, at least those who don't bleed Brown and Yellow, would probably tell you Bucknell is the favorite tonight against Lehigh (matchup) -- especially at home in Sojka Pavilion, where the Bison have won 29 straight league games.
Those Lehigh fans would ask, with good reason, why? Take a look at the league's team statistics. You'll have a tough time finding categories where Bucknell ranks ahead of the Mountain Hawks. Lehigh tops the league in scoring offense, field goal percentage and rebounding margin and ranks second in field goal percentage defense.
Bucknell is fourth in scoring defense, seventh in scoring offense, seventh in field goal percentage defense, seventh at both ends of the floor in three-point shooting.
So what makes the Bison the favorite? Bucknell fans might say those stats are skewed by the Bison's tough out of conference schedule. But guess what -- while it did not look as strong on paper prior to the start of the season, the strength of Lehigh's non-conference schedule ranks second in the league (No. 147 nationally), just behind Holy Cross (142). Bucknell (189) is third in the league in that category.
Still, until Lehigh beats Bucknell or Holy Cross on the road, it just is not going to get the respect of the rest of the league's followers. That has been the Mountain Hawks downfall in recent years. The Hawks have not won at Holy Cross since 1998. Their recent history at Bucknell is a little better. Lehigh spoiled the opening of Sojka Pavilion in 2003 with a 60-56 win. But that was the year before Bucknell began offering scholarships.
For Lehigh to move beyond the esoteric world of number crunchers and stats freak and gain mainstream respect as a legitimate contender, it needs to establish superiority of the floor, not the stats sheet. And it needs to win some games on the road.
Thus far that has been tough for the Mountain Hawks. While Lehigh is within a few seconds and a disputed call of being perfect in Stabler Arena, it is also just a win at Navy away from being winless outside of its own concrete shed.
They keys here are the usual ones for both teams. Bucknell needs to exploit what should be a big advantage close to the basket, especially with Lehigh's Jason Mgebroff still sidelined by a stress fracture in his leg. Mgebroff is expected to miss another two to three weeks.
In his stead, sophomore Phil Anderson has been a capable fill-in, but he has yet to face a frontline the quality of Bucknell's. If Chris McNaughton stays out of foul trouble -- anything but a given this season -- the trio of McNaughton, Donald Brown and Darren Mastropaolo give Bucknell a huge edge up front.
Lehigh needs to get Jose Olivero going. The Mountain Hawks leading scorer has been held to single digits three times this season, including two of Lehigh's last three road games. The Mountain Hawks are 0-3 when Olivero does not reach double figures.
Looking for a key matchup -- try the point, where Lehigh's super frosh Marquis Hall meets Bucknell senior Abe Badmus. Hall is averaging 10 ppg and comes in off a 24-point showing against Lafayette. Badmus is one of the league's top defenders when he stays out of foul trouble (like McNaughton, that has been a challenge). Badmus has never been a big offensive threat, but two of the three games in which he has scored 15 or more in his career have come against Lehigh.
Holy Cross at Colgate (matchup) -- Forget how bad Colgate has been shooting the ball. Forget the Raiders are last in the league and Holy Cross first. The temperature outside Cotterell Court will be in the mid-teens. The attendance inside won't be a whole lot higher. Neither will be the mathematical odds of Colgate winning this game, but therein lies the makings of a classic trap game.
The challenge for Holy Cross, which has had trouble staying focused through entire games, is more mental than physical. Coming off an OT win in front of a packed Bender Arena, heading into a big ESPNU matchup Friday with Lehigh, the Crusaders need to find a way to get themselves up for this one if they want to stay alone atop the standings.
Labels: BU, CU, HC, Leh, previews
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Monday, January 22, 2007
The latest poll news, plus a Monday afternoon readaround.
The latest CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top 25 is out. Holy Cross up three spots to No. 21. Bucknell, which had 5 votes last week, drops completely off of the others receiving votes list.
As has been the case for several weeks now, no Patriot League teams received votes in either of the major Top 25 polls.
While you are at CollegeInsider.com checking out the Mid-Major poll, take a glance at the proposed new coaches RPI. You can view it side by side with the current RPI here, and get an explanation of how it differs from the current formula here.
BONUS LINKS:
Thomas gets to the point for HC (Boston Herald)
>li> Div. 1 schools pursue win-win deal for New England (Boston Herald)
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The latest CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top 25 is out. Holy Cross up three spots to No. 21. Bucknell, which had 5 votes last week, drops completely off of the others receiving votes list.
As has been the case for several weeks now, no Patriot League teams received votes in either of the major Top 25 polls.
While you are at CollegeInsider.com checking out the Mid-Major poll, take a glance at the proposed new coaches RPI. You can view it side by side with the current RPI here, and get an explanation of how it differs from the current formula here.
BONUS LINKS:
>li> Div. 1 schools pursue win-win deal for New England (Boston Herald)
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| Jim Crews donned desert fatigues for the Navy game. Read about it here and see the Times Herald-Record's photo gallery. |
Army did not get much offense Sunday afternoon in Christl Arena. Only Matt Bell (16 points, 3 three-pointers) reached double figures for the Black Knights, who shot 39.2 percent (20 of 51) from the field. But the way they defended, they didn't need much.
Holding Navy to 28.6 percent shooting from the field, Army improved to 3-2 in league play, gaining a two-game advantage in the race for the fourth, and final, home game slot in the postseason Patriot League Tournament.
Navy hit just 16 of 56 shots from the field. Over half of those shots (29) were three-point tries. Only six of those treys found their mark.
Greg Sprink led all scorers with 19 points, on 6 for 16 shooting. Sprink was 3 for 9 from the arc, the biggest miss coming at the buzzer with a chance to tie after Bell left the door open by missing the first of two free throws with 4.5 second to go.
Sprink took the inbounds pass, dribbled the length of the floor and had a good look from 25-feet out on the left side. But his attempt to send the game to overtime rimmed out, giving Army the win in the first meeting of the season between the two for the fourth season in a row.
Sprink's missed three capped a half in which Navy made just 7 of 31 shots from teh field (22.6 percent).
Navy killed Corban Bates once again came up big against the Midshipmen. Bates scored 6 of his 8 points on back-to-back possessions, both after coming up with key offensive rebounds. The first led to an old-fashioned three-point play on a putback and a foul shot that put the Black Knights on top for good. The second was a new-fangled three-ball after another offensive rebound, giving Army a 47-43 lead with 4:09 to play.
The Midshipmen got within two three times down the stretch, the last time on a Sprink trey with 6 seconds left that made it 52-50, Army. That proved to be Navy's only field goal in the last 5:02 of the game.
The win, Army's third in a row (all at home), ups the Black Knights record to 13-7 overall. It's the first time Army has won 13 games since the 1986-87 season. Navy has now dropped 6 of its last 8 since starting the season 9-3.
The crowd of 3,904 was the largest for an Army home game since 5,125 showed up for a Feb. 28, 2004 Navy game and was literally more than 10 times the size of the crowd that showed up earlier in the week (390) for a win over American.
Army closes out the first half of the conference schedule with two games this week on the road -- Wednesday at Lafayette and Saturday at Bucknell. Navy is at American Wednesday, then hosts Colgate Saturday.
Box score | AP | Times Herald-Record (gamer) | Times-Herald Record (column) | T H-R Photo gallery
BONUS LINK: Billy Lange verbatim (interview from Basketball U., done before the Army game)
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Sunday, January 21, 2007
Army-Navy takes on added importance this season
In recent seasons, games between Army and Navy have rarely had anything other than bragging rights at stake. Occasionally these games have determined which team finishes out of last place, but rarely has anyone given any thought to the postseason seeding consequences of a game between the academies.
That changes here. For the first time since the 1996-97 season, the two academies both go into today's game (Noon, ESPNU - Sirius 107) with winning records. While neither is likely to ultimately challenge for the conference title, both are very much in the hunt for a top four seeding and first round game at home in the league tournament.
If early season form holds, there is at least one spot in the upper division of the league standings up for grabs. There could be more. Lehigh is currently tied for third with Bucknell, but the Mountain Hawks have struggled on the road and are at Bucknell and at Holy Cross next week. Bucknell plays five of its last seven in the league on the road.
Army, which beat Lehigh in West Point already, currently has a slight leg up on the rest of the league for the fourth spot. A win here gives the Black Knights a 3-2 league record and two games up on the four one-win teams at the bottom of the league.
Navy is one of those one-win teams. The Midshipmen have scuffled since starting the season 9-3, and sorely need a win to, pardon the pun, right their ship. Despite their slow conference start, a win at Army would put the Mids in a tie for that fourth home-game spot, with a significant edge in the head-to-head tiebreaker since the Black Knights must visit Annapolis in the second half of the conference season.
The two teams are fairly evenly matched. Each boasts a pair of high scoring wingers -- Navy's Greg Sprink and Kaleo Kina, Army's Jarrell Brown and Matt Bell. Each has a first-year guy in the post -- Army's Chris Walker, Navy's Trey Stanton. Both have veteran point guards -- Navy junior Corey Johnson, Army senior Marcus Nelson.
The game is at West Point, in what should be decent sized crowd (for a change) in Christl Arena. Not that it necessarily will make a difference. Last season the two split, each winning on the other's floor.
Matchup | Times Herald-Record | The Examiner
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In recent seasons, games between Army and Navy have rarely had anything other than bragging rights at stake. Occasionally these games have determined which team finishes out of last place, but rarely has anyone given any thought to the postseason seeding consequences of a game between the academies.
That changes here. For the first time since the 1996-97 season, the two academies both go into today's game (Noon, ESPNU - Sirius 107) with winning records. While neither is likely to ultimately challenge for the conference title, both are very much in the hunt for a top four seeding and first round game at home in the league tournament.
If early season form holds, there is at least one spot in the upper division of the league standings up for grabs. There could be more. Lehigh is currently tied for third with Bucknell, but the Mountain Hawks have struggled on the road and are at Bucknell and at Holy Cross next week. Bucknell plays five of its last seven in the league on the road.
Army, which beat Lehigh in West Point already, currently has a slight leg up on the rest of the league for the fourth spot. A win here gives the Black Knights a 3-2 league record and two games up on the four one-win teams at the bottom of the league.
Navy is one of those one-win teams. The Midshipmen have scuffled since starting the season 9-3, and sorely need a win to, pardon the pun, right their ship. Despite their slow conference start, a win at Army would put the Mids in a tie for that fourth home-game spot, with a significant edge in the head-to-head tiebreaker since the Black Knights must visit Annapolis in the second half of the conference season.
The two teams are fairly evenly matched. Each boasts a pair of high scoring wingers -- Navy's Greg Sprink and Kaleo Kina, Army's Jarrell Brown and Matt Bell. Each has a first-year guy in the post -- Army's Chris Walker, Navy's Trey Stanton. Both have veteran point guards -- Navy junior Corey Johnson, Army senior Marcus Nelson.
The game is at West Point, in what should be decent sized crowd (for a change) in Christl Arena. Not that it necessarily will make a difference. Last season the two split, each winning on the other's floor.
Matchup | Times Herald-Record | The Examiner
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Bison's inside attack, its own cold shooting, more than Colgate can handle (Updated with links at 7:55 a.m.)
By ERIC THOMAS
Special to Hoop Time
For the first 4:56 of live game action, nothing but frustration could be found on the face of Bucknell head coach Pat Flannery.
The Bison sideline boss watched his team play careless, turnovers, shots weren't falling, good looks were all around, but nothing was dropping.
The Bison faced an early 6-0 hole, which might not look like much, but when you have more turnovers than field goal attempts in that stretch, it feels deeper than it really is.
But, Bucknell did what Bucknell has had to do a lot of lately, rally from behind.
Key three pointers by Abe Badmus and Jason Vegotsky fueled a late first half charge, and the inside play of Chris McNaughton and Donald Brown was too much in the second half as the Bison defeated Colgate 50-36 at Sojka Pavilion Saturday afternoon.
It was Bucknell's 29th consecutive home win, and the fifth straight over the Raiders. More importantly, the Bison picked up their 10th and kept pace one game back of Holy Cross in the league standings at 4-1.
Oh, and don't forget about that Bison defense either. Bucknell held Colgate scoreless for a seven minute stretch of the first half.
It wasn't just the seven minute stretch that frustrated Raiders head coach Emmett Davis, it was the entire late first half and second half performance; Repeated looks late that didn't fall, turnovers, being out-rebounded by the Bison,
"Bucknell got to the ball quicker," said Davis. "I thought they did that throughout the second half. They were just quicker to the loose balls and we didn't shoot the ball from three or anywhere for that matter very well. When you shoot the ball that poorly and you score that number of points its hard to beat anybody."
McNaughton had only three field goal attempts in the first half, but finally ended the early drought when he connected in the paint on a beautiful pass from Brown. It was the start of something big. Over half of Bucknell's 50 points came in the paint.
Colgate's Daniel Waddy responded by giving the Red Raiders the lead at 12-10 with 4:46 to play, but Badmus connected from deep the next trip down the floor for the Bison to give them lead they would hold the rest of the way.
A minute later, Vegotsky, hit from the right wing to extend the lead, and then on the next Bison possession hit his only other basket, a three-pointer from the left wing for a 19-14 lead with 2:38 to play in the first half.
"What we started doing was rebounding a little bit better and we got ourselves going a little bit," Flannery said.
The Bison defense clamped down on Colgate in the second half, holding them to 6-of-17 shooting and overall held the Raiders to a dismal 26-percent for the game. Colgate also went 0-14 from the arch for the contest.
"I thought we did a real good job defensively," said Flannery. "I thought the big difference as the game went along, the things they were doing to Donald Brown, he really showed a lot of maturity tonight and really did a great job adjusting to the way they were playing him. Chris has really been playing well and hard and I really like what our upper classmen did tonight."
The Bison immediately went to McNaughton to start the second half and that started a stretch of 16 points in the paint in 15 minutes. All other Bison points in that stretch came via the free throw line because of the position Brown, McNaughton and reserve forward Darren Mastropaolo had inside against a lesser Raiders interior defense.
"I just relied on my teammates because I knew they were capable of making plays and I just let the game come to me," Brown said.
McNaughton acknowledged that it was tough inside, but repeatedly, he was able to seal on the baseline or in the lane and beat his man to the bucket for high percentage shots.
"They have some pretty physical guys in there trying to play me one-on-one. It's always tough playing Colgate, you know it's going to be a physical game," McNaughton said. "I think we just have to do a good job of playing physical ourselves, I think we can play physical."
Flannery should be pleased with the play of his underclassmen as well. He put a rotation on the floor that consisted of Justin Castleberry, Stephen Tyree and Patrick Behan early in the first half. Castleberry struggled, but Tyree and Behan combined 2-of-4 shooting and played 18 minutes. Tyree's tip-in off a Brown miss gave the Bison a 23-16 first half lead and caused the near sellout crowd to erupt for the freshman.
"Certainly, defensively we weren't giving them a lot of looks," Flannery said. "Offensively the right guys got the ball."
McNaughton led the Bison with 12, Brown added 11 and six rebounds. Kendall Chones led Colgate with nine.
Notes: The Bison held the rebound advantage 35-21. . .Colgate as a team had just five assists and turned the ball over 13 times. John Griffin did not have an assist and had one turnover. . . he is among the national leaders in assist-to-turnover ratio . . . the 36 points allowed by the Bison were the fewest since January 18th of last season when they gave up 32 to Lafayette . . . Jon Simon, who hit eight 3-pointers against Lehigh was held to 2-of-11 shooting and was 0-of-5 from the arch . . . It was the ninth time in 11 games Colgate failed to shoot 40 percent from the floor . . . Colgate's Willie Morse was a DNP in front of a crowd that included early arrivals for a high school nightcap between his alma mater State College and a Hazleton team coached by BU grad Mike Joseph . . . Morse sat after missing most of the past week's practices with the flu
Box score | Photo Gallery | Daily Item
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By ERIC THOMAS
Special to Hoop Time
For the first 4:56 of live game action, nothing but frustration could be found on the face of Bucknell head coach Pat Flannery.
The Bison sideline boss watched his team play careless, turnovers, shots weren't falling, good looks were all around, but nothing was dropping.
The Bison faced an early 6-0 hole, which might not look like much, but when you have more turnovers than field goal attempts in that stretch, it feels deeper than it really is.
But, Bucknell did what Bucknell has had to do a lot of lately, rally from behind.
Key three pointers by Abe Badmus and Jason Vegotsky fueled a late first half charge, and the inside play of Chris McNaughton and Donald Brown was too much in the second half as the Bison defeated Colgate 50-36 at Sojka Pavilion Saturday afternoon.
It was Bucknell's 29th consecutive home win, and the fifth straight over the Raiders. More importantly, the Bison picked up their 10th and kept pace one game back of Holy Cross in the league standings at 4-1.
Oh, and don't forget about that Bison defense either. Bucknell held Colgate scoreless for a seven minute stretch of the first half.
It wasn't just the seven minute stretch that frustrated Raiders head coach Emmett Davis, it was the entire late first half and second half performance; Repeated looks late that didn't fall, turnovers, being out-rebounded by the Bison,
"Bucknell got to the ball quicker," said Davis. "I thought they did that throughout the second half. They were just quicker to the loose balls and we didn't shoot the ball from three or anywhere for that matter very well. When you shoot the ball that poorly and you score that number of points its hard to beat anybody."
McNaughton had only three field goal attempts in the first half, but finally ended the early drought when he connected in the paint on a beautiful pass from Brown. It was the start of something big. Over half of Bucknell's 50 points came in the paint.
Colgate's Daniel Waddy responded by giving the Red Raiders the lead at 12-10 with 4:46 to play, but Badmus connected from deep the next trip down the floor for the Bison to give them lead they would hold the rest of the way.
A minute later, Vegotsky, hit from the right wing to extend the lead, and then on the next Bison possession hit his only other basket, a three-pointer from the left wing for a 19-14 lead with 2:38 to play in the first half.
"What we started doing was rebounding a little bit better and we got ourselves going a little bit," Flannery said.
The Bison defense clamped down on Colgate in the second half, holding them to 6-of-17 shooting and overall held the Raiders to a dismal 26-percent for the game. Colgate also went 0-14 from the arch for the contest.
"I thought we did a real good job defensively," said Flannery. "I thought the big difference as the game went along, the things they were doing to Donald Brown, he really showed a lot of maturity tonight and really did a great job adjusting to the way they were playing him. Chris has really been playing well and hard and I really like what our upper classmen did tonight."
The Bison immediately went to McNaughton to start the second half and that started a stretch of 16 points in the paint in 15 minutes. All other Bison points in that stretch came via the free throw line because of the position Brown, McNaughton and reserve forward Darren Mastropaolo had inside against a lesser Raiders interior defense.
"I just relied on my teammates because I knew they were capable of making plays and I just let the game come to me," Brown said.
McNaughton acknowledged that it was tough inside, but repeatedly, he was able to seal on the baseline or in the lane and beat his man to the bucket for high percentage shots.
"They have some pretty physical guys in there trying to play me one-on-one. It's always tough playing Colgate, you know it's going to be a physical game," McNaughton said. "I think we just have to do a good job of playing physical ourselves, I think we can play physical."
Flannery should be pleased with the play of his underclassmen as well. He put a rotation on the floor that consisted of Justin Castleberry, Stephen Tyree and Patrick Behan early in the first half. Castleberry struggled, but Tyree and Behan combined 2-of-4 shooting and played 18 minutes. Tyree's tip-in off a Brown miss gave the Bison a 23-16 first half lead and caused the near sellout crowd to erupt for the freshman.
"Certainly, defensively we weren't giving them a lot of looks," Flannery said. "Offensively the right guys got the ball."
McNaughton led the Bison with 12, Brown added 11 and six rebounds. Kendall Chones led Colgate with nine.
Notes: The Bison held the rebound advantage 35-21. . .Colgate as a team had just five assists and turned the ball over 13 times. John Griffin did not have an assist and had one turnover. . . he is among the national leaders in assist-to-turnover ratio . . . the 36 points allowed by the Bison were the fewest since January 18th of last season when they gave up 32 to Lafayette . . . Jon Simon, who hit eight 3-pointers against Lehigh was held to 2-of-11 shooting and was 0-of-5 from the arch . . . It was the ninth time in 11 games Colgate failed to shoot 40 percent from the floor . . . Colgate's Willie Morse was a DNP in front of a crowd that included early arrivals for a high school nightcap between his alma mater State College and a Hazleton team coached by BU grad Mike Joseph . . . Morse sat after missing most of the past week's practices with the flu
Box score | Photo Gallery | Daily Item
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Lafayette's second half rally falls short in Stabler. (Updated with links at 7:52 a.m.)
Marquis Hall led four Lehigh players in double figures as the Mountain Hawks (9-12 overall, 4-1 Patriot) survived a second-half barrage of Lafayette three-pointers for a 77-69 win to stay tied with Bucknell for second in the league.
Jose Olivero added 16 points for the Hawks. Kyle Neptune had 12 and Bryan White was one rebound shy of a double-double with 13 points and 9 boards. Lehigh's four of a kind was nearly trumped by Lafayette ace Andrew Brown, who poured in a career-high 30 points in a valiant, but losing effort.
Lafayette seemed out of the game at the half, after shooting 6 for 24 (25 percent) from the field to fall behind 37-21 at the break. The Leopards seemed even more out of it when Lehigh's lead swelled to 18 on an Olivero three-pointer with 16:25 to go in the game.
Then the Lafayette threes started to fall -- nine of them in all during the Leopards methodical march back into the game. The ninth of the nine came from Brown and cut the Lehigh lead to just 3 points with 1:39 to play. But the Leopards went cold down the stretch, making just 1 of their final 5 three-point tries while Hall and White combined to go 12 for 12 from the foul line in the final 1:19 to turn back Lafayette's upset bid.
Lehigh, which is at Bucknell Tuesday in a battle for sole possession of second place, won for the eight time in nine home games this season. The win was Lehigh's third in a row over Lafayette, the longest win streak by either of the two archrivals since the 2000-2001 season.
Box score | Morning Call (gamer) | Morning Call (column)
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Marquis Hall led four Lehigh players in double figures as the Mountain Hawks (9-12 overall, 4-1 Patriot) survived a second-half barrage of Lafayette three-pointers for a 77-69 win to stay tied with Bucknell for second in the league.
Jose Olivero added 16 points for the Hawks. Kyle Neptune had 12 and Bryan White was one rebound shy of a double-double with 13 points and 9 boards. Lehigh's four of a kind was nearly trumped by Lafayette ace Andrew Brown, who poured in a career-high 30 points in a valiant, but losing effort.
Lafayette seemed out of the game at the half, after shooting 6 for 24 (25 percent) from the field to fall behind 37-21 at the break. The Leopards seemed even more out of it when Lehigh's lead swelled to 18 on an Olivero three-pointer with 16:25 to go in the game.
Then the Lafayette threes started to fall -- nine of them in all during the Leopards methodical march back into the game. The ninth of the nine came from Brown and cut the Lehigh lead to just 3 points with 1:39 to play. But the Leopards went cold down the stretch, making just 1 of their final 5 three-point tries while Hall and White combined to go 12 for 12 from the foul line in the final 1:19 to turn back Lafayette's upset bid.
Lehigh, which is at Bucknell Tuesday in a battle for sole possession of second place, won for the eight time in nine home games this season. The win was Lehigh's third in a row over Lafayette, the longest win streak by either of the two archrivals since the 2000-2001 season.
Box score | Morning Call (gamer) | Morning Call (column)
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Saturday, January 20, 2007
Steals, rebounds and Tim Clifford helped the 'Saders overcome a tough shooting night to stay unbeaten in league play.
By CHRIS A. COUROGEN
There are no style points in the standings, just wins and losses. Which suits Holy Cross just fine, because the Crusaders would not have picked up many style points yesterday at American, but they did pick up a key W with a 69-64 overtime victory in front of the largest crowd ever to witness a basketball game in AU's Bender Arena.
"Sometimes the numbers don't tell the true story," said Tim Clifford, who led Holy Cross (14-6 overall, 5-0 Patriot) with 19 points and 9 rebounds.
Clifford was right. Most of the numbers did seem to favor American (9-10, 1-4), aside from those on the scoreboard when the final buzzer sounded. That was especially true of the first 40 minutes, when American hit 50 percent of its shots, held HC to under 40 percent shooting from the floor, had more than twice as many three-pointers (7-3) than the Crusaders and two more free throws.
Suffice to say it was not a game Holy Cross coach Ralph Willard wants to spend a lot of time watching over again on tape. Winning ugly is still winning. On the road, in front of a raucous crowd of 4,775 fans -- mostly rowdy students drawn by the promise of free T-shirts and free food, escaping with your grasp of first place in the league standings still intact is all that matters.
"Winning on the road is a bear. Anytime you can steal one and come away with a victory, you put it in the left-hand column. You don't even look at it," said Willard. "You learn from it, but you don't even look at it."
How Holy Cross was even in the game, let alone ahead the entire second half until Arvydas Eitutavicius tied it with two free throws with 25 second to go in regulation could easily bewilder anyone who didn't look beyond the offensive numbers. If that same casual fan had even a little knowledge of the Holy Cross roster, they'd have been even more befuddled. After all, who'd have thought the Crusaders could still be in a game when Keith Simmons and Torey Thomas were a combined 7 for 21 through 40 minutes.
Simmons, the Patriot League's leading scorer, who has reached double figures in every HC game this season, eventually did it again, finishing with 14 points after going 6 for 6 at the foul line in the overtime. Thomas, who had reached double figures in five straight games coming into this one, didn't score in the OT and finished with 9.
"On the score sheet it looked like we shouldn't even be in it. But we rebounded and did all the little things that don't show up on the scorecard," thomas said.
Slide over to the far right of their lines in the box score, and you'll find some of those little things that told a large part of the story in the Crusaders' seventh straight win. The backcourt pair came in ranked 1-2 in the league in steals and did nothing to lessen that ranking, combining for 10 (5 each) of Holy Cross' 15 thefts as a team.
"Even though they shot the ball very well against us from a percentage standpoint, the steals made a big difference in this basketball game," said Holy Cross coach Ralph Willard
All told, Holy Cross forced 21 American turnovers. Between the turnovers, and 12-4 edge on the offensive boards, the Crusaders managed to cobble together enough extra possessions to make up for the poor shooting night.
Including the extra session, Holy Cross shot 39.7 percent from the field. A 1 for 8 overtime period dropped American's final field goal percentage to 43.8 percent, a deceptively low number given the Eagles 20 of 40 effort in regulation. But despite shooting four percentage points lower then AU, the Crusaders actually made more buckets, hitting 24 of 62 to American's 21 of 48 effort.
Clifford's play was a big key. The 6-10 junior dominated inside, especially in the second half and in the overtime, when he never left the floor after being limited to 10 minutes in the first half due to foul trouble. Led by Clifford's efforts, the Crusaders dominated inside, outscoring AU 38-14 in the paint. That was enough to offset the 49 combined points of American's guard trio of Derrick Mercer (11 points), Andre Ingram (14) and Eitutavicius, who led all scorers with 24 points.
Eitutavicius gave the Crusaders fits all night, going 7 for 12 from the field, including four treys, and 6 for 6 at the foul line. During an 11-minute stretch of the second half, the 6-2 senior from Lithuania singlehandedly kept American in the game, scoring 14 of the Eagles' 18 points during that stretch.
That kept AU close enough to be in position to take advantage of a big defensive stop and a missed free throw by Thomas to send the game to OT. The stop came with Holy Cross up 58-54, in possession of the ball after a Pat Doherty steal. Coming out of a timeout, the Crusaders put the ball in Thomas' hands with 10 seconds on the shot clock and 45 ticks on the game clock.
Thomas' jumper came up short and he was whistled for a foul trying to steal the rebound from Ingram. Ingram hit both free throws to make it a two-point game, Thomas had another chance to put the game out of reach when he was fouled on the inbounds play, but he missed the front end of the one-and-one, allowing Eitutavicius to send it to overtime with a pair of free throws at the other end.
The Crusaders had a chance to pull it out in regulation, but Doherty's long three-pointer with 3.3 seconds to go was an air ball.
In the overtime, Holy Cross jumper out to a 4-point lead on free throws by Clifford and Simmons and never let American overcome that advantage, hitting 9 of 10 foul shots in the extra session while holding AU to 1 for 8 shooting from the floor in overtime.
Holy Cross will be at Colgate Tuesday before returning home for a nationally televised tussle Friday night with Lehigh (9 p.m., ESPNU).
Box score | Postgame audio (Clifford, Thomas, Willard, Jones)
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By CHRIS A. COUROGEN
There are no style points in the standings, just wins and losses. Which suits Holy Cross just fine, because the Crusaders would not have picked up many style points yesterday at American, but they did pick up a key W with a 69-64 overtime victory in front of the largest crowd ever to witness a basketball game in AU's Bender Arena.
"Sometimes the numbers don't tell the true story," said Tim Clifford, who led Holy Cross (14-6 overall, 5-0 Patriot) with 19 points and 9 rebounds.
Clifford was right. Most of the numbers did seem to favor American (9-10, 1-4), aside from those on the scoreboard when the final buzzer sounded. That was especially true of the first 40 minutes, when American hit 50 percent of its shots, held HC to under 40 percent shooting from the floor, had more than twice as many three-pointers (7-3) than the Crusaders and two more free throws.
Suffice to say it was not a game Holy Cross coach Ralph Willard wants to spend a lot of time watching over again on tape. Winning ugly is still winning. On the road, in front of a raucous crowd of 4,775 fans -- mostly rowdy students drawn by the promise of free T-shirts and free food, escaping with your grasp of first place in the league standings still intact is all that matters.
"Winning on the road is a bear. Anytime you can steal one and come away with a victory, you put it in the left-hand column. You don't even look at it," said Willard. "You learn from it, but you don't even look at it."
How Holy Cross was even in the game, let alone ahead the entire second half until Arvydas Eitutavicius tied it with two free throws with 25 second to go in regulation could easily bewilder anyone who didn't look beyond the offensive numbers. If that same casual fan had even a little knowledge of the Holy Cross roster, they'd have been even more befuddled. After all, who'd have thought the Crusaders could still be in a game when Keith Simmons and Torey Thomas were a combined 7 for 21 through 40 minutes.
Simmons, the Patriot League's leading scorer, who has reached double figures in every HC game this season, eventually did it again, finishing with 14 points after going 6 for 6 at the foul line in the overtime. Thomas, who had reached double figures in five straight games coming into this one, didn't score in the OT and finished with 9.
"On the score sheet it looked like we shouldn't even be in it. But we rebounded and did all the little things that don't show up on the scorecard," thomas said.
Slide over to the far right of their lines in the box score, and you'll find some of those little things that told a large part of the story in the Crusaders' seventh straight win. The backcourt pair came in ranked 1-2 in the league in steals and did nothing to lessen that ranking, combining for 10 (5 each) of Holy Cross' 15 thefts as a team.
"Even though they shot the ball very well against us from a percentage standpoint, the steals made a big difference in this basketball game," said Holy Cross coach Ralph Willard
All told, Holy Cross forced 21 American turnovers. Between the turnovers, and 12-4 edge on the offensive boards, the Crusaders managed to cobble together enough extra possessions to make up for the poor shooting night.
Including the extra session, Holy Cross shot 39.7 percent from the field. A 1 for 8 overtime period dropped American's final field goal percentage to 43.8 percent, a deceptively low number given the Eagles 20 of 40 effort in regulation. But despite shooting four percentage points lower then AU, the Crusaders actually made more buckets, hitting 24 of 62 to American's 21 of 48 effort.
Clifford's play was a big key. The 6-10 junior dominated inside, especially in the second half and in the overtime, when he never left the floor after being limited to 10 minutes in the first half due to foul trouble. Led by Clifford's efforts, the Crusaders dominated inside, outscoring AU 38-14 in the paint. That was enough to offset the 49 combined points of American's guard trio of Derrick Mercer (11 points), Andre Ingram (14) and Eitutavicius, who led all scorers with 24 points.
Eitutavicius gave the Crusaders fits all night, going 7 for 12 from the field, including four treys, and 6 for 6 at the foul line. During an 11-minute stretch of the second half, the 6-2 senior from Lithuania singlehandedly kept American in the game, scoring 14 of the Eagles' 18 points during that stretch.
That kept AU close enough to be in position to take advantage of a big defensive stop and a missed free throw by Thomas to send the game to OT. The stop came with Holy Cross up 58-54, in possession of the ball after a Pat Doherty steal. Coming out of a timeout, the Crusaders put the ball in Thomas' hands with 10 seconds on the shot clock and 45 ticks on the game clock.
Thomas' jumper came up short and he was whistled for a foul trying to steal the rebound from Ingram. Ingram hit both free throws to make it a two-point game, Thomas had another chance to put the game out of reach when he was fouled on the inbounds play, but he missed the front end of the one-and-one, allowing Eitutavicius to send it to overtime with a pair of free throws at the other end.
The Crusaders had a chance to pull it out in regulation, but Doherty's long three-pointer with 3.3 seconds to go was an air ball.
In the overtime, Holy Cross jumper out to a 4-point lead on free throws by Clifford and Simmons and never let American overcome that advantage, hitting 9 of 10 foul shots in the extra session while holding AU to 1 for 8 shooting from the floor in overtime.
Holy Cross will be at Colgate Tuesday before returning home for a nationally televised tussle Friday night with Lehigh (9 p.m., ESPNU).
Box score | Postgame audio (Clifford, Thomas, Willard, Jones)
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With Army-Navy on hold until Sunday, there are just three games on tap today, all involving matchups between the early season haves and early season have-nots.
Colgate at Bucknell ESPNU, Sirius 123 (matchup) -- Bucknell's 23-game league win streak came to an end last week in Worcester. Their 28-game streak of league wins at home is still intact.
Colgate is the worst shooting team in the league, barely hitting over 40 percent on the season (40.9). Normally you would not think of Sojka Pavilion as a good place for a team that shoots poorly to visit. But here is one of the most surprising stats of the season: Bucknell ranks next to last in the league in field goal percentage defense (44.3 percent).
The biggest concern for Bucknell is Colgate's Jon Simon, who went off for 28 points Wednesday at Lehigh. Simon's 8 three-pointers kept the Raiders in that game right to the end. The Bison have had a knack for letting teams hits enough threes to stick around.
Expect a few more folks cheering Colgate than normal. Raiders guard Willie Morse is from State College H.S., 45 minutes out Route 45 from Lewisburg. The State College H.S. team will take on Hazleton -- coached by Bucknell grad Mike Joseph -- in Sojka following the BU-CU game.
Holy Cross at American (matchup) -- Holy Cross returns to the road after a three-game homestand, looking to solidify its hold on first place. The Crusaders are on a roll, having won six in a row -- including a 4-0 start in league play -- and seven of their last eight.
American is hoping a return to Bender will stop the bleeding. After a 7-2 start, AU has gone 2-7 in its last 9 games, including a 1-3 start in league play. Despite their struggles, the Eagles are still 6-0 at home this season.
Two years ago, HC's Tim Clifford had his coming out party at Bender with a 13-point, 13-rebound double-double in a short-notice first start after Nate Lufkin rolled an ankle at Navy two days earlier. Clifford followed that up with a 27-point effort against AU in Worcester last season that still stands as his career-high.
If Clifford is going to have a big scoring day against AU this afternoon, it probably will come at the free throw line. American has a boatload of frontcourt players and Jeff Jones will probably throw them all at Clifford in an effort to keep him in check.
What Jones doesn't have is anybody who can match up with Keith Simmons (who in the league does?). The best AU can hope for in the backcourt is to get enough scoring from Andre Ingram and Arvydas Eitutavicius to even Simmons out.
Lafayette at Lehigh (matchup) -- The league's highest scoring offense hosts the league's worst scoring defense in a meeting of the two archrivals from the Lehigh Valley.
Lehigh needs a win to keep pace with Bucknell for second place in the league standings. Lafayette is currently tied with Navy, American and Colgate for last place -- all at 1-3. Stabler Arena is not the place you want to visit needing a win. The Mountain Hawks are 7-1 at home and just a second or two and a questionable whistle from being unbeaten there.
In their own building, the Leopards have shown the ability to shoot enough threes to hang with two of the league's best. To get a win here, they will need to show they can do it on the road and that they can maintain it for 40 minutes -- something they were unable to do at home against HC and Bucknell.
Talk about Lehigh personnel usually starts with Jose Olivero. But Marquis Hall and Kyle Neptune are also three-point threats, capable of shredding Lafayette's zone from the perimeter if their shots are falling. Inside, Skinny Phil (Anderson) has scored in double figures three straight games and has the kind of matchup against Lafayette's undersized front line to do it a fourth time here.
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Colgate at Bucknell ESPNU, Sirius 123 (matchup) -- Bucknell's 23-game league win streak came to an end last week in Worcester. Their 28-game streak of league wins at home is still intact.
Colgate is the worst shooting team in the league, barely hitting over 40 percent on the season (40.9). Normally you would not think of Sojka Pavilion as a good place for a team that shoots poorly to visit. But here is one of the most surprising stats of the season: Bucknell ranks next to last in the league in field goal percentage defense (44.3 percent).
The biggest concern for Bucknell is Colgate's Jon Simon, who went off for 28 points Wednesday at Lehigh. Simon's 8 three-pointers kept the Raiders in that game right to the end. The Bison have had a knack for letting teams hits enough threes to stick around.
Expect a few more folks cheering Colgate than normal. Raiders guard Willie Morse is from State College H.S., 45 minutes out Route 45 from Lewisburg. The State College H.S. team will take on Hazleton -- coached by Bucknell grad Mike Joseph -- in Sojka following the BU-CU game.
Holy Cross at American (matchup) -- Holy Cross returns to the road after a three-game homestand, looking to solidify its hold on first place. The Crusaders are on a roll, having won six in a row -- including a 4-0 start in league play -- and seven of their last eight.
American is hoping a return to Bender will stop the bleeding. After a 7-2 start, AU has gone 2-7 in its last 9 games, including a 1-3 start in league play. Despite their struggles, the Eagles are still 6-0 at home this season.
Two years ago, HC's Tim Clifford had his coming out party at Bender with a 13-point, 13-rebound double-double in a short-notice first start after Nate Lufkin rolled an ankle at Navy two days earlier. Clifford followed that up with a 27-point effort against AU in Worcester last season that still stands as his career-high.
If Clifford is going to have a big scoring day against AU this afternoon, it probably will come at the free throw line. American has a boatload of frontcourt players and Jeff Jones will probably throw them all at Clifford in an effort to keep him in check.
What Jones doesn't have is anybody who can match up with Keith Simmons (who in the league does?). The best AU can hope for in the backcourt is to get enough scoring from Andre Ingram and Arvydas Eitutavicius to even Simmons out.
Lafayette at Lehigh (matchup) -- The league's highest scoring offense hosts the league's worst scoring defense in a meeting of the two archrivals from the Lehigh Valley.
Lehigh needs a win to keep pace with Bucknell for second place in the league standings. Lafayette is currently tied with Navy, American and Colgate for last place -- all at 1-3. Stabler Arena is not the place you want to visit needing a win. The Mountain Hawks are 7-1 at home and just a second or two and a questionable whistle from being unbeaten there.
In their own building, the Leopards have shown the ability to shoot enough threes to hang with two of the league's best. To get a win here, they will need to show they can do it on the road and that they can maintain it for 40 minutes -- something they were unable to do at home against HC and Bucknell.
Talk about Lehigh personnel usually starts with Jose Olivero. But Marquis Hall and Kyle Neptune are also three-point threats, capable of shredding Lafayette's zone from the perimeter if their shots are falling. Inside, Skinny Phil (Anderson) has scored in double figures three straight games and has the kind of matchup against Lafayette's undersized front line to do it a fourth time here.
Labels: AU, BU, CU, HC, Laf, Leh, previews
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Friday, January 19, 2007
The latest news and columns from around the league:
Andre Williams, the Lehigh beat writer for the Morning Call, sets the stage for Saturday's big Lafayette at Lehigh rivalry game with a column profiling Mountain Hawks seniors Jose Olivero and Kyle Neptune.
Bucknell guard Justin Castleberry has become a key ingredient for the Bison, providing a much-needed offensive spark off the bench. In his weekly hoops column, Tom Housenick of The Daily Item takes a closer look at the sophomore from Archbishop Spalding.
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Thursday, January 18, 2007
Holy Cross overcame a 28-percent first half shooting effort to trounce Navy 61-42.
The Crusaders were up just 1 point, 20-19, at the intermission, after going 7 for 25 from the field the first 20 minutes. The second half was a different story, for HC anyhow. Holy Cross opened the half with an 11-0 run and never looked back, hitting 14 of 21 (66.7 percent) from the field in the second half to win going away.
Defense was a constant for the Crusaders in both halves.No Navy player managed to reach double figures, Correction: Adam Teague scored 17 for the Mids. Navy's leading scorer, Greg Sprink, was held to 8 points -- less than half his 16.6 ppg average. Navy 911-8 overall, 1-3 Patriot) was 15 of 47 (31.9 percent) from the field.
Keith Simmons led Holy Cross with 22 points, his fourth 20-point effort in HC's past five games. Alex Vander Baan added 13 and Torey Thomas had 10 for the Crusaders (13-6, 4-0). The win was the sixth in a row for HC, which heads to American Saturday after going 3-0 in their three-game homestand.
Box score | Telegram & Gazette
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The Crusaders were up just 1 point, 20-19, at the intermission, after going 7 for 25 from the field the first 20 minutes. The second half was a different story, for HC anyhow. Holy Cross opened the half with an 11-0 run and never looked back, hitting 14 of 21 (66.7 percent) from the field in the second half to win going away.
Defense was a constant for the Crusaders in both halves.
Keith Simmons led Holy Cross with 22 points, his fourth 20-point effort in HC's past five games. Alex Vander Baan added 13 and Torey Thomas had 10 for the Crusaders (13-6, 4-0). The win was the sixth in a row for HC, which heads to American Saturday after going 3-0 in their three-game homestand.
Box score | Telegram & Gazette
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Jon Simon was 8 for 11 from the three-point arc, but it was not enough to lift Colgate over the Mountain Hawks.
Simon's 28-point night included a 35-footer at the buzzer. But it was rendered meaningless by a Jose Olivero free throw with 1.1 seconds to play that gave Lehigh a 4-point cushion.
Lehigh's 60-59 win was its seventh in eight home games this season and its seventh in a row at home in league play, dating to last season.
Kendall Chones added 12 points for the Raiders, who shot over 40 percent (21 of 49 - 42.9 percent) for just the second time in 10 games. The loss was the sixth in the last seven games for Colgate (6-11 overall, 1-3 Patriot).
Olivero lead Lehigh with 20 points. Kyle Neptune added 11 and Skinny Phil Anderson added 10. It was Anderson's third straight double-figures effort.
Neither team shot particularly well at the free throw line. Colgate was 8 for 16 at the stripe; Lehigh 11 for 18. But Olivero, who was 9 for 11 at the line, made the one that mattered most.
Box score | Express-Times | Morning Call
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Simon's 28-point night included a 35-footer at the buzzer. But it was rendered meaningless by a Jose Olivero free throw with 1.1 seconds to play that gave Lehigh a 4-point cushion.
Lehigh's 60-59 win was its seventh in eight home games this season and its seventh in a row at home in league play, dating to last season.
Kendall Chones added 12 points for the Raiders, who shot over 40 percent (21 of 49 - 42.9 percent) for just the second time in 10 games. The loss was the sixth in the last seven games for Colgate (6-11 overall, 1-3 Patriot).
Olivero lead Lehigh with 20 points. Kyle Neptune added 11 and Skinny Phil Anderson added 10. It was Anderson's third straight double-figures effort.
Neither team shot particularly well at the free throw line. Colgate was 8 for 16 at the stripe; Lehigh 11 for 18. But Olivero, who was 9 for 11 at the line, made the one that mattered most.
Box score | Express-Times | Morning Call
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Army's 60-55 win over American gave it back-to-back Patriot League wins for the first time since the 2000-2001 season.
It was Army's first win over AU in 43 years and gave the Black Knights (12-7 overall, 2-2 Patriot) 12 wins in a season for the first time since the 1986-87 season.
American led by 6 at the half, but faded after the intermission. Army started the half with an 11-3 run and broke it open with a 9-2 run that started with a Marcus Nelson dunk at the 3:37 mark. The Black Knights held on by canning 13 of 14 free throws in the final 1:24.
Jarrell Brown led Army with 19 points. Matt Bell added 17 and Cory Sinning had 10.
Arvydas Eitutavicius had 17 points and a team-high 7 rebounds for American (9-9, 1-3), which has now dropped 7 of its last 9 games. Andre Ingram added 10.
Both teams shot under 40 percent for the game (AU 18 of 47 - 38.3 percent; Army 18 of 48 - 37.5 percent), with American holding a 7-3 edge in three-pointers. But the Eagles were a horrid 12 of 22 (54.5 percent) at the foul line while Army went 21 of 30 at the stripe.
American also turned the ball over 20 times. But the most telling stat was the combined line of the Brayden Billbe and Paulius Joneliunas, who scored a total of 1 point between them. Billbe played just 14 scoreless minutes before fouling out.Box score | AP
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It was Army's first win over AU in 43 years and gave the Black Knights (12-7 overall, 2-2 Patriot) 12 wins in a season for the first time since the 1986-87 season.
American led by 6 at the half, but faded after the intermission. Army started the half with an 11-3 run and broke it open with a 9-2 run that started with a Marcus Nelson dunk at the 3:37 mark. The Black Knights held on by canning 13 of 14 free throws in the final 1:24.
Jarrell Brown led Army with 19 points. Matt Bell added 17 and Cory Sinning had 10.
Arvydas Eitutavicius had 17 points and a team-high 7 rebounds for American (9-9, 1-3), which has now dropped 7 of its last 9 games. Andre Ingram added 10.
Both teams shot under 40 percent for the game (AU 18 of 47 - 38.3 percent; Army 18 of 48 - 37.5 percent), with American holding a 7-3 edge in three-pointers. But the Eagles were a horrid 12 of 22 (54.5 percent) at the foul line while Army went 21 of 30 at the stripe.
American also turned the ball over 20 times. But the most telling stat was the combined line of the Brayden Billbe and Paulius Joneliunas, who scored a total of 1 point between them. Billbe played just 14 scoreless minutes before fouling out.Box score | AP
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Bucknell needed to be perfect at the foul line down the stretch to get past Lafayette.
They were, making 14 of 14 in the final 2:57 of a 67-61 win in Easton. The Bison's last field goal came on a John Griffin jumper with 5:31 to play. But they took full advantage of their free throw opportunities, especially in the final 1:09 of the game, when they took the lead on a pair by Donald Brown (19 points, 7 rebounds) and held it by putting the ball in the hands of Griffin (11 points) and Jason Vegotsky (18), who combined to go 10 for 10 at the stripe in the final 47 seconds.
Lafayette (7-12 overall, 1-3 Patriot) blitzed the Bison early, holding Bucknell (9-8, 3-1) without a field goal the first 6:08 of the game while taking an early 10-1 lead. The Leopards maintained the lead well into the second half, thanks in no small part to hot three-point shooting. Lafayette hit 9 of the first 18 treys it shot, including 4 by Andrew Brown (14 points). Six different players connected from the arc for the 'Pards, but Matt Betley (11) was the only one who did so after the first 5 minutes of the second half. Lafayette was 1 for 7 from three-point range the last 15 minutes.
Bucknell took its first lead on a Vegotsky three at the 11:48 mark, but never was able to pull away. There were four lead changes and four ties from there, the last tie at 55-55 before Brown's free throws, which came on an over the back call on Betley that the Lafayette beat writers say was a questionable call at best.
The Bison won despite being outscored from the field. Both teams made 21 field goals, Bucknell's coming on 50 shots (42 percent), while Lafayette was 21 of 47 (44.7 percent). The Leopards had 10 treys; Bucknell has 6. But Bucknell had a 39-23 edge on the boards, including 16 offensive rebounds, and shot 27 free throws (making 19) while Lafayette was 9 of 13 at the line.
The two teams had nearly as many turnovers as field goals, combining for 39 -- 20 by Bucknell.
Box score | Daily Item | Express-Times | Morning Call (gamer) | Morning Call (column)
BONUS LINK: Boon also scores with grade points (Huntsville Times)
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They were, making 14 of 14 in the final 2:57 of a 67-61 win in Easton. The Bison's last field goal came on a John Griffin jumper with 5:31 to play. But they took full advantage of their free throw opportunities, especially in the final 1:09 of the game, when they took the lead on a pair by Donald Brown (19 points, 7 rebounds) and held it by putting the ball in the hands of Griffin (11 points) and Jason Vegotsky (18), who combined to go 10 for 10 at the stripe in the final 47 seconds.
Lafayette (7-12 overall, 1-3 Patriot) blitzed the Bison early, holding Bucknell (9-8, 3-1) without a field goal the first 6:08 of the game while taking an early 10-1 lead. The Leopards maintained the lead well into the second half, thanks in no small part to hot three-point shooting. Lafayette hit 9 of the first 18 treys it shot, including 4 by Andrew Brown (14 points). Six different players connected from the arc for the 'Pards, but Matt Betley (11) was the only one who did so after the first 5 minutes of the second half. Lafayette was 1 for 7 from three-point range the last 15 minutes.
Bucknell took its first lead on a Vegotsky three at the 11:48 mark, but never was able to pull away. There were four lead changes and four ties from there, the last tie at 55-55 before Brown's free throws, which came on an over the back call on Betley that the Lafayette beat writers say was a questionable call at best.
The Bison won despite being outscored from the field. Both teams made 21 field goals, Bucknell's coming on 50 shots (42 percent), while Lafayette was 21 of 47 (44.7 percent). The Leopards had 10 treys; Bucknell has 6. But Bucknell had a 39-23 edge on the boards, including 16 offensive rebounds, and shot 27 free throws (making 19) while Lafayette was 9 of 13 at the line.
The two teams had nearly as many turnovers as field goals, combining for 39 -- 20 by Bucknell.
Box score | Daily Item | Express-Times | Morning Call (gamer) | Morning Call (column)
BONUS LINK: Boon also scores with grade points (Huntsville Times)
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Wednesday, January 17, 2007
An old-fashioned full slate of Wednesday night games are on tap tonight.Bucknall at Lafayette (matchup)-- Bucknell would like nothing better than to start a new league win streak after having its 23-game run end at Holy Cross. It won't be as easy to do that as some might expect. The Bison have a tremendous edge inside, but Lafayette probably won't play a lick of man defense and its zone can make it tough to take advantage of that edge in the post. That is especially so if Bucknell can't knock down a enough threes to force the Leopards to guard the perimieter.
On the other hand, Lafayette is one of the league's best perimeter shooting teams and Bucknell has had trouble defending the three in each of its three league games thus far. There won't be many, if any, easy road games in this league and if the threes are falling for the Leopards, this could be an upset.Daily Item preview
American at Army (matchup)-- The Black Knights are full of confidence after their win over Lehigh Saturday. They will need to play a similar game to beat American for the first time since the Eagles joined the league. That means finding offense from places besides Jarrell Brown and Matt Bell, shutting down Andre Ingram the way they shut down Jose Olivero and keeping Chris Walker out of foul trouble.
For American, which entered the season with realistic hopes of being a contender in the league, a win here is pretty much required if they want to regain that status. The Eagles cannot afford to fall to 1-3 in league play with Holy Cross on tap Saturday. The area where AU should have an edge is in the frontcourt. That edge will magnify if they can put Walker on the bench with foul problems. The trouble is, though American ought to have a real advantage around the basket with its deep, and big, front line, that has been an area that has been inconsistent and underperforming for the Eagles all season. Army hoops on the rise (Lawrence (Kans.) Journal-World)
Navy at Holy Cross (matchup)-- Like every other team in the league, Navy has no match for Keith Simmons. Like most, it also has no match for Tim Clifford. Navy's hopes for an upset probably depend on two things -- getting incredibly hot from the arc and hoping the Crusaders have a post-Bucknell letdown.
Given the way HC plays defense, the former is not likely. Given HC's tendancy to lose focus when it gets ahead in games, it is not beyond the realm of possibility they could have a mental lapse in this situation. There is, though, a very wide gap here between possible and probable -- especially in Worcester.
Colgate at Lehigh (matchup)-- The Mountain Hawks are less than a second away from being unbeaten at home. The Raiders are only a few seconds removed from being winless in the league. Don't expect it to be easy for the Mountain Hawks -- not much has been this season. But Colgate has trouble shooting against weak defenses in cozy barns. In Stabler, which has never been known as a great place for visiting teams to shoot, against a Lehigh team that emphasizes defense, the Raiders struggles from the field aren't likely to be cured tonight. It won't be any surprise if this one is determined at the foul line, and jump-shooting Colgate seldom wins those kinds of battles. It's not that the Raiders can't shoot free throws. They just don't seem to get many opportunities to go to the line. That is not likely to change on the road -- especially not in Stabler.
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On the other hand, Lafayette is one of the league's best perimeter shooting teams and Bucknell has had trouble defending the three in each of its three league games thus far. There won't be many, if any, easy road games in this league and if the threes are falling for the Leopards, this could be an upset.
American at Army (matchup)-- The Black Knights are full of confidence after their win over Lehigh Saturday. They will need to play a similar game to beat American for the first time since the Eagles joined the league. That means finding offense from places besides Jarrell Brown and Matt Bell, shutting down Andre Ingram the way they shut down Jose Olivero and keeping Chris Walker out of foul trouble.
For American, which entered the season with realistic hopes of being a contender in the league, a win here is pretty much required if they want to regain that status. The Eagles cannot afford to fall to 1-3 in league play with Holy Cross on tap Saturday. The area where AU should have an edge is in the frontcourt. That edge will magnify if they can put Walker on the bench with foul problems. The trouble is, though American ought to have a real advantage around the basket with its deep, and big, front line, that has been an area that has been inconsistent and underperforming for the Eagles all season.
Navy at Holy Cross (matchup)-- Like every other team in the league, Navy has no match for Keith Simmons. Like most, it also has no match for Tim Clifford. Navy's hopes for an upset probably depend on two things -- getting incredibly hot from the arc and hoping the Crusaders have a post-Bucknell letdown.
Given the way HC plays defense, the former is not likely. Given HC's tendancy to lose focus when it gets ahead in games, it is not beyond the realm of possibility they could have a mental lapse in this situation. There is, though, a very wide gap here between possible and probable -- especially in Worcester.
Colgate at Lehigh (matchup)-- The Mountain Hawks are less than a second away from being unbeaten at home. The Raiders are only a few seconds removed from being winless in the league. Don't expect it to be easy for the Mountain Hawks -- not much has been this season. But Colgate has trouble shooting against weak defenses in cozy barns. In Stabler, which has never been known as a great place for visiting teams to shoot, against a Lehigh team that emphasizes defense, the Raiders struggles from the field aren't likely to be cured tonight. It won't be any surprise if this one is determined at the foul line, and jump-shooting Colgate seldom wins those kinds of battles. It's not that the Raiders can't shoot free throws. They just don't seem to get many opportunities to go to the line. That is not likely to change on the road -- especially not in Stabler.
Labels: Army, AU, BU, CU, HC, Laf, Leh, Navy, previews
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Monday, January 15, 2007
Holy Cross has returned to the Mid-Major Top 25 following a 2-0 week that included wins over Army and Bucknell.
The Crusaders check in at No. 24 in this week's poll. Bucknell still is in the others receiving votes, with 5 votes, good for an unofficial No. 36 ranking.
No votes for any Patriot League teams in the two major polls.
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The Crusaders check in at No. 24 in this week's poll. Bucknell still is in the others receiving votes, with 5 votes, good for an unofficial No. 36 ranking.
No votes for any Patriot League teams in the two major polls.
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Sunday, January 14, 2007
Not everything is fun and game stories.
In other news from around the league:
Bucknell looking up at Holy Cross after Friday's loss (Daily Item) -- Bison beat guy Tom Housenick apparently killed time waiting for Saturday's women's game in his Worcester hotel room (actually, he stayed in Auburn) pounding out some extras from Friday night's game.
Scuffling Bison giving hope to Patriot rivals (Express-Times) -- Executive sports editor Ed Laubach doesn't cover games like he did back in the day when we were new to all this. Laubach leaves that to guys like Corky Blake these days, but he still keeps a finger on the pulse of the Patriot League
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In other news from around the league:
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Win over Lehigh gives cadets something to cheer
By CHRIS A. COUROGEN
There are reasons why Army plays its home games in front of crowds that average under 600 per game.
Put West Point into the destination field on Mapquest and unless your starting point is Highland Falls, N.Y., the directions that pop up say "Can't get there from here."
It's a beautiful place, filled with impressive old granite buildings, perched on a cliff above the Hudson River valley. But getting there from the outside world requires a perilous trek over Bear Mountain. Thank God we're having a mild winter. The first hint of snow -- even flurries -- would be enough to make any rational person turn back.
Army beat writer Ken MicMillan of the Times Herald-Record says Army needs to do a better job marketing the team.
A good first step would be finding an arena reachable without the aid of sherpas and playing home games there. A stop-gap measure might be at least placing a sign or two on campus with an arrow pointing towards Christl Arena.
Christl itself is a nice enough building. Although it shares a lot of the raw, industrial warehouse traits of Lehigh's Stabler Arena, the steeper slope of the empty seats makes it seem more intimate; the bright yellow paint on the huge ventilation tubes in the ceiling make it seem brighter.
The cement block and concrete design of the place gives it the acoustical ambience of a construction site. It is not the place you want to see a concert, but if they could fill the place even halfway full, it would be a loud, intimidating place for opposing teams to vist.
But they don't fill it half full. Matter of fact, the Black Knights don't even draw half that. The place holds over 5,000. Army's average crowd is a little over 500.
Of course prior to this season, there hasn't exactly been a lot to give fans a reason to make the trip. Just look at the banners, or lack thereof, hanging in Christl. There are five, total -- just one for a championship, and that is for last year's women's team. The two on the men's end of the floor tout ECAC regional appearances in the 1970s and NIT invites, only two of which came more recent than the Summer of Love, none since 1978.
The crowd for Saturday's Lehigh game was a little bigger than usual. It wasn't at the tip, but about seven minutes in a bunch of cadets filed in , filling most of the small bleachers behind each basket. A cadet with a clipboard under his arm and a lot of stripes on that arm explained they were late because they had to go through inspection. The ones who are here are on "hours," he explained. It's a disciplinary thing.
At halftime I asked another cadet what he did to get in trouble.
"I missed a class sir," he replied.
He chuckled when I asked if missing two classes meant having to stay for the women's game.
Actually, those misbehaved cadets did stay for the women's game. Matter of fact, they seem more fired up for that one than the men's game. From Army's first basket they are jumping around, acting excited, making noise. Maybe it's the byproduct of the Army men's 64-59 win over Lehigh in the first game of the men's-women's double-dip.
After all, despite their polite demeanor when they first filed in, by the end of the game they had been whipped into a frenzy by the Black Knights' first Patriot League win over a team not named Navy since 2004. It was Army's first league win at home in over two seasons and snapped an 11-game league losing streak.
Maybe all that enthusiasm for the women's game was the product of the way the Black Knights managed to hang tough down the stretch, making enough big defensive plays to overcome missing 6 of 14 free throws in the final 2:20. Actually, the excitement that was lacking most of the game -- even though Army took the lead for good with 8:42 to go in the first half -- really started to build when Mashall Jackson and Jarrell Brown hit back to back three-pointers after Lehigh cut the Army lead to 48-45 late in the game.
"Marshall made some big plays. Jarrell did. We had a whole slew of guys make big plays," said Army coach Jim Crews.
That is the difference between this Army team, which improved to 11-7 overall, 2-1 in the league, and the Army teams in Crews' first four seasons that never won more than six games.
"The previous years, we didn't have an all around team," said Brown, who led all scorers with 18 points. "We weren't balanced."
The arrival of 6-8 freshman center Chris Walker was a big part of that. Walker, who starts and shares time with 6-7 sophomore Doug Williams, gives Army a presence in the post that 6-11 senior Jimmy Sewell never managed to provide in three seasons of declining playing time.
Walker only scored 2 points and missed some bunnies he'd love to have back. But after being in foul trouble in Army's first two league games -- an overtime loss at Colgate and a loss at Holy Cross -- Walker managed to stay on the floor against Lehigh, picking up just one foul. Walker spent most of his 25 minutes setting screen after bone-jarring screen, helping free Army's perimeter folks, who took advantage by knocking down 9 of 16 three-pointers. Walker also helped set the tone on the offensive glass, pulling down three of Army's 15 offensive rebounds.
"That was the number one thing on my list -- play fundamental defense and don't do anything stupid," Walker said.
Those offensive boards were huge since the Black Knights needed every shot they could get. Army only shot 17 for 55 (30.9 percent) from the field. But between the offensive rebounding and 22 Lehigh turnovers -- including 17 steals, the most by an Army team in at least two seasons -- Army had enough extra possessions to overcome that cold shooting. It didn't hurt that Army hit nine treys (on 16 tries). The 32 trips to the foul line (21 made) didn't hurt either.
Army's balance extended beyond Walker's presence in the paint. Everybody knows brown and Matt Bell (11 points) are going to score for the Black Knights. Lehigh probably did not expect the offense generated by seniors Jackson and Cory Sinning. Sinning, who has averaged less than 5 points per game over the course of his career and less than 3 per game this season, had three of Army's nine treys, finishing with a season-high 11 points.
Sinning has shown the ability to score before. Twice in his career he has posted 20 point games. Jackson's four three-pointers and 14-points -- both career highs -- came out of the blue. Jackson not only has barely been a 30 percent shooter for his career, but he'd only taken two three-pointers all season.
Toss in a team defensive effort that held Jose Olivero to a 2 for 6, 7-point afternoon and you have the makings of the Mountain Hawks first loss in league play and their first on-court loss to Army since 2002. Marquis Hall had an impressive -- 8 for 9, career-best 21-points -- showing to keep Lehigh in the game and Phil Anderson added a career-high 14, including a pair of step-out threes. But the crowd, swelled to 1,295 -- more than double Army's average -- by the punishment detail still went home happy.
Army stays home for its next two, hosting American Wednesday and archrival Navy next Sunday. It seems strange to type this -- but the matchups with American look pretty good for the Black Knights, especially if Walker can stay out of foul trouble. Win that one and put on a decent show for what should be a big crowd of cadets for the Navy game, and who knows what might happen.
West Point is starved for a winner. The PL women's hoops title last season was the biggest thing to happen to the old fortress above the Hudson since the football team went to the Poulan Weedeater Bowl in 1996. Aside from the women beating Holy Cross in that league championship game, the last time Army won anything of significance in a major sport was the 1985 Peach Bowl.
A winning hoops team might just start drawing decent crowds. There is not much else for the students to do and global warming has helped keep the mountain trails that lead to West Point passable. They used to say Army would win in hoops when hell freezes over. Maybe what they really meant was when Bear Mountain thaws.
Is Army ready to challenge for the league title? Let's not get carried away. One step at a time, as the saying goes. Lehigh has had trouble on the road all season and the Mountain Hawks played without senior center Jason Mgebroff, who would have been an entirely different matchup for Walker than Anderson of any of the two others (John Gourlay and Zahir Carrington) Billy Taylor played in the post.
Still for a team that has gone through the amount of losing Army has the past four seasons, knocking off Lehigh was a pretty big step.
Box score | Postgame audio (with Jim Crews, Jarell Brown, Marshall Jackson, Chris Walker and Lehigh guard Jose Olivero) | Times Herald-Record
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By CHRIS A. COUROGEN
There are reasons why Army plays its home games in front of crowds that average under 600 per game.
Put West Point into the destination field on Mapquest and unless your starting point is Highland Falls, N.Y., the directions that pop up say "Can't get there from here."
It's a beautiful place, filled with impressive old granite buildings, perched on a cliff above the Hudson River valley. But getting there from the outside world requires a perilous trek over Bear Mountain. Thank God we're having a mild winter. The first hint of snow -- even flurries -- would be enough to make any rational person turn back.
Army beat writer Ken MicMillan of the Times Herald-Record says Army needs to do a better job marketing the team.
A good first step would be finding an arena reachable without the aid of sherpas and playing home games there. A stop-gap measure might be at least placing a sign or two on campus with an arrow pointing towards Christl Arena.
Christl itself is a nice enough building. Although it shares a lot of the raw, industrial warehouse traits of Lehigh's Stabler Arena, the steeper slope of the empty seats makes it seem more intimate; the bright yellow paint on the huge ventilation tubes in the ceiling make it seem brighter.
The cement block and concrete design of the place gives it the acoustical ambience of a construction site. It is not the place you want to see a concert, but if they could fill the place even halfway full, it would be a loud, intimidating place for opposing teams to vist.
But they don't fill it half full. Matter of fact, the Black Knights don't even draw half that. The place holds over 5,000. Army's average crowd is a little over 500.
Of course prior to this season, there hasn't exactly been a lot to give fans a reason to make the trip. Just look at the banners, or lack thereof, hanging in Christl. There are five, total -- just one for a championship, and that is for last year's women's team. The two on the men's end of the floor tout ECAC regional appearances in the 1970s and NIT invites, only two of which came more recent than the Summer of Love, none since 1978.
The crowd for Saturday's Lehigh game was a little bigger than usual. It wasn't at the tip, but about seven minutes in a bunch of cadets filed in , filling most of the small bleachers behind each basket. A cadet with a clipboard under his arm and a lot of stripes on that arm explained they were late because they had to go through inspection. The ones who are here are on "hours," he explained. It's a disciplinary thing.
At halftime I asked another cadet what he did to get in trouble.
"I missed a class sir," he replied.
He chuckled when I asked if missing two classes meant having to stay for the women's game.
Actually, those misbehaved cadets did stay for the women's game. Matter of fact, they seem more fired up for that one than the men's game. From Army's first basket they are jumping around, acting excited, making noise. Maybe it's the byproduct of the Army men's 64-59 win over Lehigh in the first game of the men's-women's double-dip.
After all, despite their polite demeanor when they first filed in, by the end of the game they had been whipped into a frenzy by the Black Knights' first Patriot League win over a team not named Navy since 2004. It was Army's first league win at home in over two seasons and snapped an 11-game league losing streak.
Maybe all that enthusiasm for the women's game was the product of the way the Black Knights managed to hang tough down the stretch, making enough big defensive plays to overcome missing 6 of 14 free throws in the final 2:20. Actually, the excitement that was lacking most of the game -- even though Army took the lead for good with 8:42 to go in the first half -- really started to build when Mashall Jackson and Jarrell Brown hit back to back three-pointers after Lehigh cut the Army lead to 48-45 late in the game.
"Marshall made some big plays. Jarrell did. We had a whole slew of guys make big plays," said Army coach Jim Crews.
That is the difference between this Army team, which improved to 11-7 overall, 2-1 in the league, and the Army teams in Crews' first four seasons that never won more than six games.
"The previous years, we didn't have an all around team," said Brown, who led all scorers with 18 points. "We weren't balanced."
The arrival of 6-8 freshman center Chris Walker was a big part of that. Walker, who starts and shares time with 6-7 sophomore Doug Williams, gives Army a presence in the post that 6-11 senior Jimmy Sewell never managed to provide in three seasons of declining playing time.
Walker only scored 2 points and missed some bunnies he'd love to have back. But after being in foul trouble in Army's first two league games -- an overtime loss at Colgate and a loss at Holy Cross -- Walker managed to stay on the floor against Lehigh, picking up just one foul. Walker spent most of his 25 minutes setting screen after bone-jarring screen, helping free Army's perimeter folks, who took advantage by knocking down 9 of 16 three-pointers. Walker also helped set the tone on the offensive glass, pulling down three of Army's 15 offensive rebounds.
"That was the number one thing on my list -- play fundamental defense and don't do anything stupid," Walker said.
Those offensive boards were huge since the Black Knights needed every shot they could get. Army only shot 17 for 55 (30.9 percent) from the field. But between the offensive rebounding and 22 Lehigh turnovers -- including 17 steals, the most by an Army team in at least two seasons -- Army had enough extra possessions to overcome that cold shooting. It didn't hurt that Army hit nine treys (on 16 tries). The 32 trips to the foul line (21 made) didn't hurt either.
Army's balance extended beyond Walker's presence in the paint. Everybody knows brown and Matt Bell (11 points) are going to score for the Black Knights. Lehigh probably did not expect the offense generated by seniors Jackson and Cory Sinning. Sinning, who has averaged less than 5 points per game over the course of his career and less than 3 per game this season, had three of Army's nine treys, finishing with a season-high 11 points.
Sinning has shown the ability to score before. Twice in his career he has posted 20 point games. Jackson's four three-pointers and 14-points -- both career highs -- came out of the blue. Jackson not only has barely been a 30 percent shooter for his career, but he'd only taken two three-pointers all season.
Toss in a team defensive effort that held Jose Olivero to a 2 for 6, 7-point afternoon and you have the makings of the Mountain Hawks first loss in league play and their first on-court loss to Army since 2002. Marquis Hall had an impressive -- 8 for 9, career-best 21-points -- showing to keep Lehigh in the game and Phil Anderson added a career-high 14, including a pair of step-out threes. But the crowd, swelled to 1,295 -- more than double Army's average -- by the punishment detail still went home happy.
Army stays home for its next two, hosting American Wednesday and archrival Navy next Sunday. It seems strange to type this -- but the matchups with American look pretty good for the Black Knights, especially if Walker can stay out of foul trouble. Win that one and put on a decent show for what should be a big crowd of cadets for the Navy game, and who knows what might happen.
West Point is starved for a winner. The PL women's hoops title last season was the biggest thing to happen to the old fortress above the Hudson since the football team went to the Poulan Weedeater Bowl in 1996. Aside from the women beating Holy Cross in that league championship game, the last time Army won anything of significance in a major sport was the 1985 Peach Bowl.
A winning hoops team might just start drawing decent crowds. There is not much else for the students to do and global warming has helped keep the mountain trails that lead to West Point passable. They used to say Army would win in hoops when hell freezes over. Maybe what they really meant was when Bear Mountain thaws.
Is Army ready to challenge for the league title? Let's not get carried away. One step at a time, as the saying goes. Lehigh has had trouble on the road all season and the Mountain Hawks played without senior center Jason Mgebroff, who would have been an entirely different matchup for Walker than Anderson of any of the two others (John Gourlay and Zahir Carrington) Billy Taylor played in the post.
Still for a team that has gone through the amount of losing Army has the past four seasons, knocking off Lehigh was a pretty big step.
Box score | Postgame audio (with Jim Crews, Jarell Brown, Marshall Jackson, Chris Walker and Lehigh guard Jose Olivero) | Times Herald-Record
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It was a balmy 65 degress out Saturday in Annapolis, but it was much colder inside Alumni Hall.
Two teams that live and die by the jump shot hooked up in Annapolis and neither distinguished itself from the field. But Navy got to the foul line 25 times and made 20 to beat Lafayette 60-44.
Coming in, the two teams were No. 1 and No. 2 in the league in three-pointers made per game. You would not have known it watching this game. Lafayette was 5 for 25 from the arc, part of an overall 16 for 52 (30.8 percent) effort that would have looked even worse if not for Matt Betley's 8 for 12 night.
Take Betley, who finished with a 19-point, 12-rebound double double, out of the equation and Lafayette was 8 for 40 (20 percent) from the field. Betley also shot half of Lafayette's 14 free throws, making 3 of his 7. Lafayette was 7 of 14 as a team.
Navy was barely better from the field -- 17 of 54 (34 percent), 6 of 20 at the arc. But in addition to their free throw shooting, the Mids forced 24 Lafayette turnovers.
Greg Sprink led the Midshipmen with 23 points, thanks to a 10 for 10 night at the charity stripe. Adam Teague was also in double figures with 10 points for Navy (11-7 overall, 1-2 PL).
The only place in the box score Lafayette (7-11, 1-2) had an edge was in rebounding (40-37).
It gets no easier for either team. Lafayette hosts Bucknell Wednesday while Navy will be at Holy Cross.
Box score | AP | Annapolis Capital
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Two teams that live and die by the jump shot hooked up in Annapolis and neither distinguished itself from the field. But Navy got to the foul line 25 times and made 20 to beat Lafayette 60-44.
Coming in, the two teams were No. 1 and No. 2 in the league in three-pointers made per game. You would not have known it watching this game. Lafayette was 5 for 25 from the arc, part of an overall 16 for 52 (30.8 percent) effort that would have looked even worse if not for Matt Betley's 8 for 12 night.
Take Betley, who finished with a 19-point, 12-rebound double double, out of the equation and Lafayette was 8 for 40 (20 percent) from the field. Betley also shot half of Lafayette's 14 free throws, making 3 of his 7. Lafayette was 7 of 14 as a team.
Navy was barely better from the field -- 17 of 54 (34 percent), 6 of 20 at the arc. But in addition to their free throw shooting, the Mids forced 24 Lafayette turnovers.
Greg Sprink led the Midshipmen with 23 points, thanks to a 10 for 10 night at the charity stripe. Adam Teague was also in double figures with 10 points for Navy (11-7 overall, 1-2 PL).
The only place in the box score Lafayette (7-11, 1-2) had an edge was in rebounding (40-37).
It gets no easier for either team. Lafayette hosts Bucknell Wednesday while Navy will be at Holy Cross.
Box score | AP | Annapolis Capital
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Three new starters in 70-48 loss at American couldn't change the fact the Raiders can't shoot.
Colgate coach Emmett Davis started Trevaron Vinson (12 points), Willie Morse and freshman ben Johnson in an attempt to find someone other than Kendall Chones (16 points) and Jon Simon to put the ball in the basket. It only gave the Raiders more of the same. Colgate made just 5 field goals in the first half en route to another ugly shooting performance, finishing 14 of 48 (29.2 percent), with 2 treys on 9 tries from the arc. It was the eighth time in nine games Colgate shot below 40 percent from the field.
This one effectively ended in the first half, when American used a 12-0 run to break open a 13-10 game. The Eagles lead was never below 11 after that.
Andre Ingram's 24-points led 11 AU players who scored and tied his season high. The Eagles were no offensive juggernaut, going 27 of 62 (43.5 percent from the field. But Au turned it over just 8 times, dished out 19 assists (5 for Derrick Mercer) and outrebounded Colgate 43-32, including a 12-7 edge on offensive boards.
It's just the second W in the last eight games and the first conference win of the season for AU (9-8 overall, 1-2 PL), which opened league play with two road games. Colgate (6-10, 1-2) lost for the fifth time in six games.
Box score | AP
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Colgate coach Emmett Davis started Trevaron Vinson (12 points), Willie Morse and freshman ben Johnson in an attempt to find someone other than Kendall Chones (16 points) and Jon Simon to put the ball in the basket. It only gave the Raiders more of the same. Colgate made just 5 field goals in the first half en route to another ugly shooting performance, finishing 14 of 48 (29.2 percent), with 2 treys on 9 tries from the arc. It was the eighth time in nine games Colgate shot below 40 percent from the field.
This one effectively ended in the first half, when American used a 12-0 run to break open a 13-10 game. The Eagles lead was never below 11 after that.
Andre Ingram's 24-points led 11 AU players who scored and tied his season high. The Eagles were no offensive juggernaut, going 27 of 62 (43.5 percent from the field. But Au turned it over just 8 times, dished out 19 assists (5 for Derrick Mercer) and outrebounded Colgate 43-32, including a 12-7 edge on offensive boards.
It's just the second W in the last eight games and the first conference win of the season for AU (9-8 overall, 1-2 PL), which opened league play with two road games. Colgate (6-10, 1-2) lost for the fifth time in six games.
Box score | AP
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Saturday, January 13, 2007
Three games on tap today. We'll be at West Point, getting our first look at Army when it hosts Lehigh (matchup). The Black Knights' strong start has come nearly to a halt with five losses in the Black Knights' last six games, including an 0-2 start -- both on the road -- in league play.
Army (10-7) badly needs a win at home in Christl to regain some of the momentum of its 9-2 start. Lehigh (7-11) finally won a road game -- its first of the season -- at Navy Wednesday. The Mountain Hawks win here and suddenly their horrid start is an object looking smaller in the rear view mirror.
Army's Jarrell Brown and Lehigh's Jose Olivero are two of the league's top offensive forces, but the key to this one will probably be in the paint, where Army's burly freshman Chris Walker will match up with a Lehigh frontline that is still without Jason Mgebroff. Skinny Phil Anderson has played well enough to keep the Hawks from getting dominated inside in Mgebroff's absence. Here he could have a chance to do even more if Walker can't stay out of the foul trouble that has plagued him in recent games.
Also on tap today: Lafayette looks to improve to 2-1 in conference play at Navy (matchup), which is still looking for its first league win. Whoever hits the most jumpers wins.
American, reeling after two straight losses to open league play and six setbacks in its last seven, tries to get back on track when it hosts Colgate's gang that can't shoot straight (matchup). Colgate has lost four of its last five and has shot over 40 percent once in its last eight games.
BONUS LINK:
Hometown Hero: Donald Brown (Newsday)
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Army (10-7) badly needs a win at home in Christl to regain some of the momentum of its 9-2 start. Lehigh (7-11) finally won a road game -- its first of the season -- at Navy Wednesday. The Mountain Hawks win here and suddenly their horrid start is an object looking smaller in the rear view mirror.
Army's Jarrell Brown and Lehigh's Jose Olivero are two of the league's top offensive forces, but the key to this one will probably be in the paint, where Army's burly freshman Chris Walker will match up with a Lehigh frontline that is still without Jason Mgebroff. Skinny Phil Anderson has played well enough to keep the Hawks from getting dominated inside in Mgebroff's absence. Here he could have a chance to do even more if Walker can't stay out of the foul trouble that has plagued him in recent games.
Also on tap today: Lafayette looks to improve to 2-1 in conference play at Navy (matchup), which is still looking for its first league win. Whoever hits the most jumpers wins.
American, reeling after two straight losses to open league play and six setbacks in its last seven, tries to get back on track when it hosts Colgate's gang that can't shoot straight (matchup). Colgate has lost four of its last five and has shot over 40 percent once in its last eight games.
BONUS LINK:
Labels: Army, AU, CU, Laf, Leh, Navy, previews
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Friday, January 12, 2007
Holy Cross built a big lead, then held off Bucknell's rally to get the win.
By CHRIS A. COUROGEN
It would be easy to point to Keith Simmons' line in the box score as the numbers that made the difference in Holy Cross' 65-60 win over Bucknell Friday night.
Easy, but not entirely valid.
Have no doubt, Simmons was the best player on the Hart Center floor on this night. And he was absolutely a huge factor in the Crusaders (12-6 overall, 3-0 Patriot League) snapping the Bison's 23-game Patriot League win streak. But it was Simmons' misses that had a lot to do with the outcome.
In the end, the biggest difference in this five-point game was Holy Cross' 12 second chance points. Not coincidentally, that was double the six points Bucknell (8-8, 2-1) scored following offensive rebounds. And most of the putbacks came on missed shots by Simmons and Torey Thomas, who simply were too quick on the perimeter for Bucknell's guards, especially with Abe Badmus again in foul trouble.
Time and time again the Hc pair would beat Bucknell defenders off the dribble, sometimes finishing, sometimes ending up at the foul line -- especially Simmons, who was 12 for 13 at the stripe. But what killed Bucknell weren't the makes, it was the misses. Often Bucknell's big men did a pretty fair job of coming to help and stopping the penetration. Inevitably it seemed when that happened, the Holy Cross guy they left underneath came up with the offensive board and an easy put back.
Thomas finished with 13 points and 5 assists, often kicking the ball out off penetration. Simmons led all scorers with 22 points.
"Those two kids were making basketball plays," said Bucknell coach Pat Flannery.
But the guys that put the nails in the coffin of Bucknell's conference win streak were HC center Tim Clifford, who scored all 13 of his points in the second half, and Eric Meister, who came off the bench with Clifford in foul trouble to score 6 key points, mostly on those putbacks.
"When we beat somebody off the dribble . . . someone has to step up and it creates an offensive rebound opportunity," said Simmons.
That quickness was something Holy Cross thought coming in it could take advantage of, and for most of the game, that was what they did.
"They have some different personnel (than last year). Their guards are a little smaller, a little less athletic. That was something we wanted to exploit," Simmons said.
"We tried to exploit it by going to the basket and getting (Bucknell center Chris) McNaughton in foul trouble," added Thomas.
That part of the plan worked, too. McNaughton picked up two fouls by the midway point of the first half and finished with four in just 22 minutes of action. Between keeping him off the floor, and keeping the ball out of his hands when he was on the floor, Holy Cross was able to turn the league's top center into a non-factor. McNaughton didn't have a shot in the first half and finished with just 4 points on 2 of 4 shooting.
"If you want to stop a great player, the best way to do it is to keep him from touching the ball," Clifford said.
The Crusaders did that with a combination of double teams and tremendous ball pressure on Bucknell's guards, usually applied by Simmons and Thomas.
"For a large part of the game we were able to take away McNaughton," Willard said. "We rolled the dice going in. We had to take something away."
In other words, the Crusaders decided to take away the inside, daring Bucknell to beat them from the perimeter. It worked for three quarters of the game, and by then HC had a 13-point lead that it was able to ride despite some turnovers and missed free throws that led to a furious Bucknell comeback.
Trailing 59-46 with 6:40 to play, Bucknell pulled to within 611-60 on a pair of Justin Castleberry free throws with 57 seconds to play. The Bison had a chance to tie or take the lead when thomas missed the back end of a two shot foul with 33 seconds left. But nobody boxed out Alex Vander Baan, who grabbed the offensive board, resulting in a Simmons free throw and a 3-point HC lead.
Bucknell still had a chance, with the ball and 29 seconds to go. But John Griffin missed a three to tie, and after McNaughton got the offensive board, Badmus was fouled and missed the front end of a one-and-one. Thomas rebounded the miss, was fouled, and sealed the game with two free throws with 8 seconds left.
"We box out there at the end of the game and we get a shot. I'd have loved to have the opportunity for one shot down one," Flannery said.
While the win puts Holy Cross in the driver's seat for now, Thomas was realistic about what this game means in the long run.
"We still have to go down there, and beat them in the playoffs. It's just one game," Thomas said.
Round two of what many expect to be a three-round fight will be Feb. 9 in Bucknell's Sojka Pavilion.
Box score | Postgame audio with HC players Keith Simmons, Torey Thomas, Tim Clifford and coaches Ralph Willard and Pat Flannery | Gameblog | Daily Item | Telegram & Gazette (gamer) | Telegram & Gazette (sidebar)
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By CHRIS A. COUROGEN
It would be easy to point to Keith Simmons' line in the box score as the numbers that made the difference in Holy Cross' 65-60 win over Bucknell Friday night.
Easy, but not entirely valid.
Have no doubt, Simmons was the best player on the Hart Center floor on this night. And he was absolutely a huge factor in the Crusaders (12-6 overall, 3-0 Patriot League) snapping the Bison's 23-game Patriot League win streak. But it was Simmons' misses that had a lot to do with the outcome.
In the end, the biggest difference in this five-point game was Holy Cross' 12 second chance points. Not coincidentally, that was double the six points Bucknell (8-8, 2-1) scored following offensive rebounds. And most of the putbacks came on missed shots by Simmons and Torey Thomas, who simply were too quick on the perimeter for Bucknell's guards, especially with Abe Badmus again in foul trouble.
Time and time again the Hc pair would beat Bucknell defenders off the dribble, sometimes finishing, sometimes ending up at the foul line -- especially Simmons, who was 12 for 13 at the stripe. But what killed Bucknell weren't the makes, it was the misses. Often Bucknell's big men did a pretty fair job of coming to help and stopping the penetration. Inevitably it seemed when that happened, the Holy Cross guy they left underneath came up with the offensive board and an easy put back.
Thomas finished with 13 points and 5 assists, often kicking the ball out off penetration. Simmons led all scorers with 22 points.
"Those two kids were making basketball plays," said Bucknell coach Pat Flannery.
But the guys that put the nails in the coffin of Bucknell's conference win streak were HC center Tim Clifford, who scored all 13 of his points in the second half, and Eric Meister, who came off the bench with Clifford in foul trouble to score 6 key points, mostly on those putbacks.
"When we beat somebody off the dribble . . . someone has to step up and it creates an offensive rebound opportunity," said Simmons.
That quickness was something Holy Cross thought coming in it could take advantage of, and for most of the game, that was what they did.
"They have some different personnel (than last year). Their guards are a little smaller, a little less athletic. That was something we wanted to exploit," Simmons said.
"We tried to exploit it by going to the basket and getting (Bucknell center Chris) McNaughton in foul trouble," added Thomas.
That part of the plan worked, too. McNaughton picked up two fouls by the midway point of the first half and finished with four in just 22 minutes of action. Between keeping him off the floor, and keeping the ball out of his hands when he was on the floor, Holy Cross was able to turn the league's top center into a non-factor. McNaughton didn't have a shot in the first half and finished with just 4 points on 2 of 4 shooting.
"If you want to stop a great player, the best way to do it is to keep him from touching the ball," Clifford said.
The Crusaders did that with a combination of double teams and tremendous ball pressure on Bucknell's guards, usually applied by Simmons and Thomas.
"For a large part of the game we were able to take away McNaughton," Willard said. "We rolled the dice going in. We had to take something away."
In other words, the Crusaders decided to take away the inside, daring Bucknell to beat them from the perimeter. It worked for three quarters of the game, and by then HC had a 13-point lead that it was able to ride despite some turnovers and missed free throws that led to a furious Bucknell comeback.
Trailing 59-46 with 6:40 to play, Bucknell pulled to within 611-60 on a pair of Justin Castleberry free throws with 57 seconds to play. The Bison had a chance to tie or take the lead when thomas missed the back end of a two shot foul with 33 seconds left. But nobody boxed out Alex Vander Baan, who grabbed the offensive board, resulting in a Simmons free throw and a 3-point HC lead.
Bucknell still had a chance, with the ball and 29 seconds to go. But John Griffin missed a three to tie, and after McNaughton got the offensive board, Badmus was fouled and missed the front end of a one-and-one. Thomas rebounded the miss, was fouled, and sealed the game with two free throws with 8 seconds left.
"We box out there at the end of the game and we get a shot. I'd have loved to have the opportunity for one shot down one," Flannery said.
While the win puts Holy Cross in the driver's seat for now, Thomas was realistic about what this game means in the long run.
"We still have to go down there, and beat them in the playoffs. It's just one game," Thomas said.
Round two of what many expect to be a three-round fight will be Feb. 9 in Bucknell's Sojka Pavilion.
Box score | Postgame audio with HC players Keith Simmons, Torey Thomas, Tim Clifford and coaches Ralph Willard and Pat Flannery | Gameblog | Daily Item | Telegram & Gazette (gamer) | Telegram & Gazette (sidebar)
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No gameblog was planned tonight, but we will file notes as the situation warrants the notes seem to be turning into one.
PREGAME
With about an hour to tip, Holy Cross sophomore Lawrence Dixon walked on to the Hart Center floor in uniform, wearing a brace on his left knee. Dixon shook hands with high school teammate Justin Castleberry of Bucknell, then joined the Crusaders warming up at the other end of the floor. There is no mention in the HC game notes, but it looks as if he could give it a go.
The 6-5 swingman also dressed for the Army game Tuesday but did not play. We will try to track down an update on his status for tonight before the game. HC radio guy Bob Fouracre said he does not expect him to play, citing a report from the HC trainer a few days ago. But Fouracre said he had not gotten an update since then
Dixon has not played since the loss at Duke on Dec. 6 due to lingering problems with that knee, which was surgically repaired in the preseason.
20 minutes until tip -- DIXON UPDATE: Ralph Willard says Dixon will not play. He had a cortisone shot in his knee, but it did not "take" Ralph said. He could be available for one or two possessions if HC "absolutely needs him" Willard said, but that is not likely.
Three minutes til tip -- a decent, but not great crowd on hand. The lower level fairly full, upper level has lots of empty seats. A small, but so far loud bunch of students at the end by the HC bench greeted the Bison with the traditional "Bucknell Sucks" chant when they retook the floor just prior to the player intros.
The HC pep band ought to make Bucknell feel right at home. Very similar in size and sound to the Bucknell band. The cheerleaders advantage goes to Bucknell by a margin of 14-4. Also a decent number of orange clad BU fans on hand, including a fan bus from Lewisburg.
First timeout at 15:49 -- HC up 5-0. Bucknell 0 for 3 with three turnovers so far. HC missed its first two and had two TOs on its first four possessions, then Torey Thomas hit a three and Simmons followed with a leaner after a BU turnover.
Abe Badmus picked up his first personal at the 17:25 mark. Only other foul just happened, Kyle Cruze giving Griffin a break by fouling him while shooting a shot that had no chance of making over the hands of Tim Clifford. Griffin made one of two.
Bucknell's first subs they go big with Brown to the three and Mastropaolo and McNaughton up front.
Doherty checks in and drains a three for an 8-1 lead. At the other end, Tim Clifford gets his first foul, sending Donald brown to the line where he hit both shots. Shortly thereafter Chris McNaughton gets his first foul, battling Simmons, for a rebound. Simmons makes both shots.
Bucknell's first FG a Justin Castleberry foul line banker at the 13:09 mark. Doherty hits a three at the other end, followed by a Castleberry three for Bucknell. With 12:32 to go in the half it is 13-8, HC up by 5.
Badmus gets his second foul at the 12:17 mark, trying to help on Clifford after Mastropaolo had to come out to cut off Simmons after he beat Vegotsky off a screen up top.
Forget the earlier crowd comments. Late arrivals have Hart nearly full. Not SRO, but not many seats left.
Both teams will play the last 8:26 of the half without their starting centers. McNaughton got his second personal at the 9:08 mark on an offensive hook call that was questionable at best. Clifford's second a little more obvious trying to stop a Brown dunk.
One official, Fran Connolly (we'll check the spelling of that last name) has been absolutely horrible so far -- both ways as the B*** S*** chants after Cruze's second foul attest.
Without a stats monitor or live stats to check, it's just a guess. But HC has to be shooting awfully well. At least it seems that way. Simmons in double figures already after a long NBA range three, Doherty with two treys for 6 points and Thomas has 5. Castleberry helping Bucknell's offense with 7 (and a chance to make it 8 on an and-one with 2:45 to go in the half (HC 27, Bucknell 22)
HC 31, BUCKNELL 25 -- HALFTIME
A halftime box confirms those suspicions. HC shot 12 of 25 (48 percent) in the first half -- 5 of 9 from the arc. Bucknell was 8 for 18 (44.4 percent), 3 of 9 (33.3 percent) on threes. Bucknell 6 of 7 at the foul line, HC 2 for 2.
Bucknell with 8 first half turnovers; Holy Cross just 5. Rebounds are even 10-10.
Simmons leads all scorers with 10 on 3 for 7 shooting -- 2 of 3 at the arc. Eric Meister with 6 points off the bench a pleasant surprise for HC with Clifford in foul trouble.
For Bucknell, Brown and Castleberry each with 8. Griffin is 1 for 5 from the field. McNaughton has not taken a shot in the 8 minutes he played before getting his second foul.
Clifford 0 for 3 for HC.
SECOND HALF
Tough start for BU, great start for HC ... Brown's reverse layup blocked by Simmons, triggering a break that Thomas finishes with a three. At the other end, Clifford has all hand, no ball on a McNaughton jumper, but no call.
Clifford with back to back buckets stretching the HC lead to 38-27. McNaughton with his third at the other end, apparently an illegal screen call. A few minutes later, Clifford a moving screen on Badmus in front of the same official, no call.
Don't get this wrong -- the officials are not why Bucknell is behind. But they have been terribly inconsistent.
Clifford's third an equally horrible moving screen call that looked more like a hold on Brown trying to get past him. Another call by Connolly (the ones in the immediate previous post were a different official). Clifford and McNaughton both with three personals. Clifford with 4 points, McNaughton just the one blocked/hacked miss. us far the two big men have really not been a factor. 15:58 to play, HC 38, BU 27
15:38 McNaughton finally scores -- but misses the and-one on Vander Baan's third foul.
Painfully obvious that Vegotsky cannot guard Simmons, but aside from a few minutes of the first half, Flannery has not gone for the obvious switch of playing Brown on Simmons, with Mastropaolo and McNaughton together up front. Every time Vegotsky, or anyone else for BU, gets beaten on dribble penetration, even if Simmons (or Thomas) miss, with the Bison bigs needing to come help, the offensive putback is there for HC. 13:04 to go -- HC 40, BU 35
Another mystery call gives brown a three-point play, The blocking call on Doherty seemed well before the shot, but the officials counted the bucket and sent him to the line. No wonder the HC kids chant BS.
Clifford asserting himself more in the second half, a turnaround J from 8 feet gives him 8. McNaughton at the other end for his second bucket after a shotless first half.
11:58 to play -- HC 42, BU 38
Does Flannery have a laptop over there? We no sooner post about the Brown-McN-Mast lineup than he goes that way. It is a shorterm look though, when Brown gets his third personal shortly after.
Bucknell closed to within 4 at 42-38, but Hc responded with an 8-0 run to push the lead back to double digits. HC 50, BU 40 9:47 to go.
Brown's fourth personal on a Clifford putback. Again after an offensive board when McNaughton comes to help on dribble penetration. The inability of Bucknell to stop Simmons and Thomas off the dribble is the difference in this game. HC 53, BU 43 7:33 to play
Stranger things have happened, but a Bucknell comeback would be a shocker at this point. Holy Cross simply exposes all the Bison's weaknesses ... their zone is taking away Bucknell's inside game and the Bison are not (and have not much of the season) shooting well enough to take advantage of the zone -- especially with Thomas and Simmons pressuring the shooters in the matchup. With the ball pressure, Bucknell can't even find its interior guys to try to go inside. At the other end, the same guys -- Simmons and Thomas, are too quick for the Bucknell duo of Griffin and Vegotsky. 7:16 to play, HC 57, BU 43
6:40 to go, McNaughton on Simmons on the perimeter gets his fourth personal. Simmons makes both -- he is now 12 for 12 at the line -- 20 points.
Bucknell takes advantage of two turnovers for a quick four points, the last two on a Brown dunk. Willard calls a quick To try stopping it before it gets going. HC up 59-50 with 4:22 to play.
These clowns in stripes even miss the call when someone grabs a jersey so blatant it can be seen from the top row of the bleachers. Not mentioning who on who because they have at least been consistently bad both ways. But these guys stink on ice.
Brown fouls out after nobody boxes out Vander Baan when Thomas misses the second of two missed free throws with 2:53 to play. Brown went for the block and got all arm. A call so obvious these guys could not miss it.
Vander Baan makes the second of two, at the other end, Behan sets a nice screen for Vegotsky, who hits a three to make it 60-53, HC, with 2:44 remaining.
After team fouls were 6-6 with around 11 and a half minutes to go. Since then, HC has not picked up a foul. Bucknell is well over the 10-foul limit.
No sooner do we say this one seems out of reach, than Bucknell makes some stops, HC misses some free throws and suddenly it is HC 61, BU 58 with 1:12 to go.
Beginning to think if we say it is dark out, the sun will rise. Clifford with his fourth with 57.9 to go, Castleberry hits two for a one point game.
Bodies flying ... whistles swallowed. What a night.
It is impossible to describe the last 40 seconds without seeming to whine about the officiating from a Bucknell standpoint. Bottom line is, the refs may have hurt their comeback effort with horrid calls, but Holy Cross's outstanding play put bucknell in the position of needing a comeback. For the first 16 minutes, The 'Saders built a big lead and were able to hang on from there.
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PREGAME
The 6-5 swingman also dressed for the Army game Tuesday but did not play. We will try to track down an update on his status for tonight before the game. HC radio guy Bob Fouracre said he does not expect him to play, citing a report from the HC trainer a few days ago. But Fouracre said he had not gotten an update since then
Dixon has not played since the loss at Duke on Dec. 6 due to lingering problems with that knee, which was surgically repaired in the preseason.
The HC pep band ought to make Bucknell feel right at home. Very similar in size and sound to the Bucknell band. The cheerleaders advantage goes to Bucknell by a margin of 14-4. Also a decent number of orange clad BU fans on hand, including a fan bus from Lewisburg.
Abe Badmus picked up his first personal at the 17:25 mark. Only other foul just happened, Kyle Cruze giving Griffin a break by fouling him while shooting a shot that had no chance of making over the hands of Tim Clifford. Griffin made one of two.
One official, Fran Connolly (we'll check the spelling of that last name) has been absolutely horrible so far -- both ways as the B*** S*** chants after Cruze's second foul attest.
HC 31, BUCKNELL 25 -- HALFTIME
A halftime box confirms those suspicions. HC shot 12 of 25 (48 percent) in the first half -- 5 of 9 from the arc. Bucknell was 8 for 18 (44.4 percent), 3 of 9 (33.3 percent) on threes. Bucknell 6 of 7 at the foul line, HC 2 for 2.
Bucknell with 8 first half turnovers; Holy Cross just 5. Rebounds are even 10-10.
Simmons leads all scorers with 10 on 3 for 7 shooting -- 2 of 3 at the arc. Eric Meister with 6 points off the bench a pleasant surprise for HC with Clifford in foul trouble.
For Bucknell, Brown and Castleberry each with 8. Griffin is 1 for 5 from the field. McNaughton has not taken a shot in the 8 minutes he played before getting his second foul.
Clifford 0 for 3 for HC.
SECOND HALF
Don't get this wrong -- the officials are not why Bucknell is behind. But they have been terribly inconsistent.
11:58 to play -- HC 42, BU 38
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It's round one of what has become the league's top rivalry tonight in Worcester; the two teams that own four of the last five league titles in the debut of the Patriot League's new ESPNU package.
As has become the norm over the last few years, this one is expected to be a dandy. Holy Cross has the better overall record, coming in at 11-6. Bucknell, which had a rough 0-4 start against some very tough competition, has battled back to 8-7. Factor in the fact the Bison had only two home games in the non-conference part of the schedule, and any edge of Holy Cross' better record seems pretty slight.
Both come in riding four-game win streaks. Both are off to 2-0 starts in league play.Both return a lot of familiar faces from the teams that met in the conference tournament title game the past two seasons. The two have met six times in the past two seasons, with Bucknell holding a 5-1 edge in that span, including wins in the last four.
That means nothing tonight. Although a lot of faces are the same, these are two very different teams. Kevin Hamilton is playing pro ball in Poland; Charles Lee in Israel. In their absence, Keith Simmons and Donald Brown have emerged as two of the top players in the league.
Both are matchup nightmares. Bucknell doesn't have a guard who can handle Simmons (17.8 ppg), who, at 6-5, is a real force to be reckoned with. Simmons can beat you off the dribble, and has the capability to rain threes. He is also a ferocious rebounder (5.8 rpg) and a tenacious defender.
Brown poses different, but similar, problems for HC. Brown's 11.5 ppg average is not impressive as a raw number. But after being held in singe digits in three of BU's first four games, Brown started coming into his own when he left the three spot for the four. In his last four games, Brown has averaging 16 ppg over Bucknell's last four games. He will be more than a handful for Holy Cross' Alex Vander Baan if the 'Saders are forced to play man-to-man.
The way these two teams play defense, though, individual matchups tend to get minimized. Both play a lot of zone, be it Bucknell's matchup or Holy Cross' variety of 2-3 packages, which start out in a straight 2-3 and switch to matchup midway through a possession. The Crusaders also sprinkle in some 1-3-1 from time to time. Both teams also give their big men a lot of help down low, whether it comes from the other side of the paint or from guards digging down.
One key for Bucknell will be the perimeter shooting of John Griffin and Jason Vegotsky. Both have struggled a little of late and rare has been the game were both were on at the same time. The Bison don't have to hit 11 threes like they did against Xavier. But they probably will need more than the 2.5 threes they have averaged in their first two PL games.
On the other hand, if Simmons gets going from the arc, and gets some help outside from Torey Thomas and Pat Doherty -- or even Kyle Cruze, who can't be ignored (just look at the LaSalle box), it could be a long night for the Bison.
Another key for both teams will be keeping their big men out of foul trouble. That is especially true for Holy Cross, which suffers a big drop off at the post when Tim Clifford leaves the floor. Clifford is averaging 10.1 points per game and his 6-10, 279-pound frame provides an imposing defensive presence in the middle - when he is there. His 29 blocked shots lead the league. The problem has been, Clifford has not been there nearly as much as Ralph Willard would like. The big junior has been averaging 3.94 fouls per game and has fouled out six times.
Fouls have been a problem for Bucknell's Chris McNaughton, too. The preseason PL Player of the Year, who has been playing more aggressively on offense of late, will command a lot of attention when he is on the floor. You don't need an elephant's memory to recall what McNaughton did in the Hart Center two seasons back in the league championship final. McNaughton has averaged 12 ppg against Holy Cross over the first three years of his career. But like Clifford, he needs to be on the floor, not sitting next to Pat Flannery on the bench, to make an impact. McNaughton's foul troubles have not been as bad statistically as Clifford's (3 fouls per game, 1 disqualification). But those numbers don't tell the whole story. A more telling stat might be McNaughton's 26.8 minutes per game.
Bucknell point guard Abe Badmus has also struggled to stay out of foul trouble at times. The defensive drop-off from Badmus to anybody who comes off the bench in his stead is considerable. Slowing Torey Thomas (12.7 ppg) will be tough enough with Badmus on the floor.
In theory, the starting lineups are pretty even. With Simmons and Thomas, Holy Cross has an edge in the backcourt. McNaughton and Brown do the same for Bucknell up front. Bucknell does have a significant edge in depth. The Bison bring Darren Mastropaolo, a two-year starter, off the bench to spell Brown and McNaughton. Rob Thomas and Justin Castleberry are the first two subs in the backcourt. All three are capable of scoring. Mastropaolo is actually a defensive upgrade when he plays the five in place of McNaughton.
Pat Doherty has returned after missing six games with a broken hand, giving Holy Cross much-needed help in the backccourt. In addition to allowing Thomas an occasional breather at the point, Doherty is a sniper on the arc and a tough defender on the perimeter. Eric Meister is a solid frontcourt player, but he is just a freshman. Not quick enough to guard Brown and not big enough to stop McNaughton, HC is in trouble if he has to play a lot of minutes. Ditto for Greg McCarthy, who has made great strides as a sophomore, but has yet to show the ability to defend a post man of McNaughton's caliber. Colin Cunningham has given the Crusaders minutes, but not a lot else, on the wing.
Chances are very little will be determined by the outcome of this one. These two have again separated themselves from the rest of the league and barring an upset come tournament time, are likely to settle nothing until the second Friday in March. That said, a Bucknell win here would give the Bison a leg up in their quest to three-peat since tonight's game is in Worcester. If Bucknell wins, Holy Cross almost has to win in Lewisburg on Feb. 9 to have a shot at the homecourt edge throughout this year's league tournament, which in reality is more a playoff than a tournament.
NOTABLE: Bucknell has won six of the last seven between the two ... before that, HC won five of the previous six . . . Most surprising pre-game stat: Bucknell has a 9-8 edge all-time in games played at the Hart Center . . . Or maybe not -- that number came from the HC game notes, Bucknell's notes say the two are even at 9-9 in Hart . . . Bucknell is 11-11 all-time in hart when you include league tournament games against foes other than HC . . . HC is 5-0 at Hart this season and has not lost a league game there since losing to Bucknell on Feb. 11 of last year . . . HC has won 9 in a row in Hart since then . . . The Crusaders have only lost at home to league opponents twice in the past two seasons . . . Bucknell has both those wins, the other coming in the 2005 title game . . . Bucknell is 6-2 since Flannery switched his starting lineup, moving Brown to the four and inserting Vegotsky on the wing (with Mastropaolo, a two-year starter, now coming off the bench) . . . The Bison are 8-3 since Thanksgiving weekend . . . Holy Cross is 6-5 in its last 11, a span that includes 9 games away from Worcester . . . A Bucknell win would be the Bison's 24th in a row against league teams and the school's 1,200th all-time
Matchup | HC notes (pdf) | BU notes (pdf) | Telegram & Gazette | Daily Item
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As has become the norm over the last few years, this one is expected to be a dandy. Holy Cross has the better overall record, coming in at 11-6. Bucknell, which had a rough 0-4 start against some very tough competition, has battled back to 8-7. Factor in the fact the Bison had only two home games in the non-conference part of the schedule, and any edge of Holy Cross' better record seems pretty slight.
Both come in riding four-game win streaks. Both are off to 2-0 starts in league play.Both return a lot of familiar faces from the teams that met in the conference tournament title game the past two seasons. The two have met six times in the past two seasons, with Bucknell holding a 5-1 edge in that span, including wins in the last four.
That means nothing tonight. Although a lot of faces are the same, these are two very different teams. Kevin Hamilton is playing pro ball in Poland; Charles Lee in Israel. In their absence, Keith Simmons and Donald Brown have emerged as two of the top players in the league.
Both are matchup nightmares. Bucknell doesn't have a guard who can handle Simmons (17.8 ppg), who, at 6-5, is a real force to be reckoned with. Simmons can beat you off the dribble, and has the capability to rain threes. He is also a ferocious rebounder (5.8 rpg) and a tenacious defender.
Brown poses different, but similar, problems for HC. Brown's 11.5 ppg average is not impressive as a raw number. But after being held in singe digits in three of BU's first four games, Brown started coming into his own when he left the three spot for the four. In his last four games, Brown has averaging 16 ppg over Bucknell's last four games. He will be more than a handful for Holy Cross' Alex Vander Baan if the 'Saders are forced to play man-to-man.
The way these two teams play defense, though, individual matchups tend to get minimized. Both play a lot of zone, be it Bucknell's matchup or Holy Cross' variety of 2-3 packages, which start out in a straight 2-3 and switch to matchup midway through a possession. The Crusaders also sprinkle in some 1-3-1 from time to time. Both teams also give their big men a lot of help down low, whether it comes from the other side of the paint or from guards digging down.
One key for Bucknell will be the perimeter shooting of John Griffin and Jason Vegotsky. Both have struggled a little of late and rare has been the game were both were on at the same time. The Bison don't have to hit 11 threes like they did against Xavier. But they probably will need more than the 2.5 threes they have averaged in their first two PL games.
On the other hand, if Simmons gets going from the arc, and gets some help outside from Torey Thomas and Pat Doherty -- or even Kyle Cruze, who can't be ignored (just look at the LaSalle box), it could be a long night for the Bison.
Another key for both teams will be keeping their big men out of foul trouble. That is especially true for Holy Cross, which suffers a big drop off at the post when Tim Clifford leaves the floor. Clifford is averaging 10.1 points per game and his 6-10, 279-pound frame provides an imposing defensive presence in the middle - when he is there. His 29 blocked shots lead the league. The problem has been, Clifford has not been there nearly as much as Ralph Willard would like. The big junior has been averaging 3.94 fouls per game and has fouled out six times.
Fouls have been a problem for Bucknell's Chris McNaughton, too. The preseason PL Player of the Year, who has been playing more aggressively on offense of late, will command a lot of attention when he is on the floor. You don't need an elephant's memory to recall what McNaughton did in the Hart Center two seasons back in the league championship final. McNaughton has averaged 12 ppg against Holy Cross over the first three years of his career. But like Clifford, he needs to be on the floor, not sitting next to Pat Flannery on the bench, to make an impact. McNaughton's foul troubles have not been as bad statistically as Clifford's (3 fouls per game, 1 disqualification). But those numbers don't tell the whole story. A more telling stat might be McNaughton's 26.8 minutes per game.
Bucknell point guard Abe Badmus has also struggled to stay out of foul trouble at times. The defensive drop-off from Badmus to anybody who comes off the bench in his stead is considerable. Slowing Torey Thomas (12.7 ppg) will be tough enough with Badmus on the floor.
In theory, the starting lineups are pretty even. With Simmons and Thomas, Holy Cross has an edge in the backcourt. McNaughton and Brown do the same for Bucknell up front. Bucknell does have a significant edge in depth. The Bison bring Darren Mastropaolo, a two-year starter, off the bench to spell Brown and McNaughton. Rob Thomas and Justin Castleberry are the first two subs in the backcourt. All three are capable of scoring. Mastropaolo is actually a defensive upgrade when he plays the five in place of McNaughton.
Pat Doherty has returned after missing six games with a broken hand, giving Holy Cross much-needed help in the backccourt. In addition to allowing Thomas an occasional breather at the point, Doherty is a sniper on the arc and a tough defender on the perimeter. Eric Meister is a solid frontcourt player, but he is just a freshman. Not quick enough to guard Brown and not big enough to stop McNaughton, HC is in trouble if he has to play a lot of minutes. Ditto for Greg McCarthy, who has made great strides as a sophomore, but has yet to show the ability to defend a post man of McNaughton's caliber. Colin Cunningham has given the Crusaders minutes, but not a lot else, on the wing.
Chances are very little will be determined by the outcome of this one. These two have again separated themselves from the rest of the league and barring an upset come tournament time, are likely to settle nothing until the second Friday in March. That said, a Bucknell win here would give the Bison a leg up in their quest to three-peat since tonight's game is in Worcester. If Bucknell wins, Holy Cross almost has to win in Lewisburg on Feb. 9 to have a shot at the homecourt edge throughout this year's league tournament, which in reality is more a playoff than a tournament.
NOTABLE: Bucknell has won six of the last seven between the two ... before that, HC won five of the previous six . . . Most surprising pre-game stat: Bucknell has a 9-8 edge all-time in games played at the Hart Center . . . Or maybe not -- that number came from the HC game notes, Bucknell's notes say the two are even at 9-9 in Hart . . . Bucknell is 11-11 all-time in hart when you include league tournament games against foes other than HC . . . HC is 5-0 at Hart this season and has not lost a league game there since losing to Bucknell on Feb. 11 of last year . . . HC has won 9 in a row in Hart since then . . . The Crusaders have only lost at home to league opponents twice in the past two seasons . . . Bucknell has both those wins, the other coming in the 2005 title game . . . Bucknell is 6-2 since Flannery switched his starting lineup, moving Brown to the four and inserting Vegotsky on the wing (with Mastropaolo, a two-year starter, now coming off the bench) . . . The Bison are 8-3 since Thanksgiving weekend . . . Holy Cross is 6-5 in its last 11, a span that includes 9 games away from Worcester . . . A Bucknell win would be the Bison's 24th in a row against league teams and the school's 1,200th all-time
Matchup | HC notes (pdf) | BU notes (pdf) | Telegram & Gazette | Daily Item
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Thursday, January 11, 2007
The cure for Lehigh's road woes proved to be a visit to the shores of the Chesapeake Bay.
After 11 straight losses outside of breezy Stabler Arena this season, Lehigh (7-11 overall, 2-0 Patriot) picked up its first road win of the season last night, a 71-61 win at Navy. The win ends a road losing streak of 14 games dating to last season.
The Mountain Hawks did it by combining their customary tough defense with a page from Navy's offensive playbook, knocking down 10 three-points (on 20 tries) while holding Navy to 40.8 percent shooting (20 of 49) from the field.
Kyle Neptune (17 points) had four of the Lehigh treys. Jose Olivero (17) and Marquis Hall (13) each added three. "Skinny Phil" Anderson added 10. Bryan White added 8 and pulled down 7 rebounds.
Kaleo Kina was the only guy in double figures for the Mids (10-7, 0-2). Greg Sprink, who played only 6 minutes in the first half due to foul trouble, was held to 9. It was just the third time this season Sprink failed to reach double figures.
Box score | AP
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After 11 straight losses outside of breezy Stabler Arena this season, Lehigh (7-11 overall, 2-0 Patriot) picked up its first road win of the season last night, a 71-61 win at Navy. The win ends a road losing streak of 14 games dating to last season.
The Mountain Hawks did it by combining their customary tough defense with a page from Navy's offensive playbook, knocking down 10 three-points (on 20 tries) while holding Navy to 40.8 percent shooting (20 of 49) from the field.
Kyle Neptune (17 points) had four of the Lehigh treys. Jose Olivero (17) and Marquis Hall (13) each added three. "Skinny Phil" Anderson added 10. Bryan White added 8 and pulled down 7 rebounds.
Kaleo Kina was the only guy in double figures for the Mids (10-7, 0-2). Greg Sprink, who played only 6 minutes in the first half due to foul trouble, was held to 9. It was just the third time this season Sprink failed to reach double figures.
Box score | AP
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The gang that can't shoot straight hosted the gang that couldn't miss last night in Hamilton. The outcome was predictable.
When another team comes into your gym and knocks down 63.9 percent (23 of 36) of its shots, you're going to have a tough time satisfying your 521 fans, which is exactly what happened in Lafayette's 71-65 win at Colgate last night.
The Leopards started with a 13-0 run and led by 15 after shooting 71.4 (15 of 21) percent from the field in the first half and held that margin well into the second half before Colgate chipped away to get back into the game. The Raiders pulled to within 2 (65-63) with 40 seconds left, but Lafayette hit their free throws down the stretch to hold off the charge.
Colgate came out of the gate colder than a Hamilton night, going 8 for 28 (28.6 percent) from the field the first half -- 1 of 8 (7.7 percent) from the arc. The Raiders finished 21 of 54 (38.9 percent) from the field, 5 of 22 (22.7 percent) from the arc. It was the seventh time in eight games the Raiders shot under 40 percent.
Bilal Abdullah led Lafayette with 16. Everest Schmidt (12) and Ted Detmer (11) also reached double figures for the Leopards (7-10 overall, 1-1 Patriot).
Jon Simon led Colgate (6-9, 1-1) with 24. Kendall Chones added 13 and had 6 rebounds. Colgate outrebounded the 'Pards 31-23, including 19 offensive boards, which kept them in the game.
Box score | AP
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When another team comes into your gym and knocks down 63.9 percent (23 of 36) of its shots, you're going to have a tough time satisfying your 521 fans, which is exactly what happened in Lafayette's 71-65 win at Colgate last night.
The Leopards started with a 13-0 run and led by 15 after shooting 71.4 (15 of 21) percent from the field in the first half and held that margin well into the second half before Colgate chipped away to get back into the game. The Raiders pulled to within 2 (65-63) with 40 seconds left, but Lafayette hit their free throws down the stretch to hold off the charge.
Colgate came out of the gate colder than a Hamilton night, going 8 for 28 (28.6 percent) from the field the first half -- 1 of 8 (7.7 percent) from the arc. The Raiders finished 21 of 54 (38.9 percent) from the field, 5 of 22 (22.7 percent) from the arc. It was the seventh time in eight games the Raiders shot under 40 percent.
Bilal Abdullah led Lafayette with 16. Everest Schmidt (12) and Ted Detmer (11) also reached double figures for the Leopards (7-10 overall, 1-1 Patriot).
Jon Simon led Colgate (6-9, 1-1) with 24. Kendall Chones added 13 and had 6 rebounds. Colgate outrebounded the 'Pards 31-23, including 19 offensive boards, which kept them in the game.
Box score | AP
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Army had no match for the Holy Cross star last night
Keith Simmons scored 18 points, grabbed 7 rebounds, made 4 steals and dished off three assists to lead holy Cross to a 66-42 win over visiting Army.
Torey Thomas added 16 points and Tim Clifford was also in double figures with 10. But it was the Crusaders defense, as usual, that was the key to the win.
Army didn't shoot the ball poorly, hitting 45.5 percent (15 of 33) from the field. But between 23 Army turnovers and a 27-17 Holy Cross advantage on the boards, the Black Knights took 13 less shots than Holy Cross, which hit 22 (47.8 percent).
Holy Cross had 11 offensive rebounds, leading to a 12-2 edge in second chance points.
Box score | Telegram & Gazette
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Keith Simmons scored 18 points, grabbed 7 rebounds, made 4 steals and dished off three assists to lead holy Cross to a 66-42 win over visiting Army.
Torey Thomas added 16 points and Tim Clifford was also in double figures with 10. But it was the Crusaders defense, as usual, that was the key to the win.
Army didn't shoot the ball poorly, hitting 45.5 percent (15 of 33) from the field. But between 23 Army turnovers and a 27-17 Holy Cross advantage on the boards, the Black Knights took 13 less shots than Holy Cross, which hit 22 (47.8 percent).
Holy Cross had 11 offensive rebounds, leading to a 12-2 edge in second chance points.
Box score | Telegram & Gazette
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Bucknell's league win streak now at 23, 28 straight league wins in Sojka.By Chris A. Courogen
Fans love the three-pointer. Next to the dunk, there is probably nothing that gets a crowd more excited than when some sniper starts firing away from outside the arc -- the longer, the better.
Had American been back home when the Eagles began raining treys in Bucknell's Sojka Pavilion last night, the Blue Crew would have been whipping itself into a frenzy. Even a small crowd in Bender would have generated a deafening roar as Garrison Carr, Arvydas Eitutavicius and Andre Ingram took turns dropping three-point bombs over Bucknell defenders scurrying to get a hand in their face, not that it seemed to matter once those three got dialed in.
It was an impressive display; seven three-points -- a games worth for most teams -- in one half, 10 total for the game. But it was a display of futility in a 66-60 loss to Bucknell.American went 10 for 22 from the arc -- 7 of 14 after intermission. The Eagles made more threes than Bucknell shot.
The Bison only made three treys. They only shot nine.
Yet in the end, you could argue that the two Jason Vegotsky made during an 8-0 Bucknell run at the start of the second half had far more to do with the final outcome then all 10 American made, and you'd get no debate from Jeff Jones. Bucknell's frontcourt types were already taking advantage of American; after those two three-pointers by Vegotsky that inside edge turned into paint domination.
"We were getting more help in the paint prior to Vegotsky knocking down the two threes," said Jones. "That spread things out."
Nobody took more advantage than Bison junior Darren Mastropaolo, who came off the bench to score 9 of his 11 points in the second half against an American frontline that, simply put, was overmatched.
That much was apparent at the start of the game, when Bison center Chris McNaughton exploited Jones' decision to try to guard him with one guy. Left alone against AU's 6-10 Brayden Billbe, Mcnaughton scored 7 of Bucknell's first 9 points. If McNaughton had managed to stay out of foul trouble, the big German might have had a shot at bettering his career-high (29 vs. Villanova last season). As it was, the 6-11 senior ended the night with a team-high 16 points, despite playing only 16 minutes.
McNaughton picked up his second personal with 5:29 to go in the first half and sat down the rest of the half. He sat down again less than three minutes into the second half after a cheap third foul on what appeared to be routine post defense. McNaughton returned with 10:56 to play and a little over two minutes later had his fourth personal and another seat on the bench.
But it wasn't American that took advantage of the two-time all-conference pick's absence. It was Mastropaolo. McNaughton had barely found a towel after picking up his fourth when Mastropaolo posted up AU's Cornelio Guibunda, drawing a foul that led to two points from the foul line.
Jones quickly yanked Guibunda in favor of 6-11 Paulius Joneliunas. It made little difference. After a missed three by Derrick Mercer at the other end, Mastropaolo beat Joneliunas like a rented mule. Mastropaolo finished the night 3 for 4 from the field, 5 of 8 at the line, reducing McNaughton's foul trouble to an afterthought.
"If you look at the stat sheet, the guy whose numbers that jump out at you is Mastropaolo," said Jones.
"If he plays like that. I can sit on the bench all day and we will be fine," McNaughton said.
Not to be outdone by the M and M's, Donald Brown also had another fine night for Bucknell, scoring 14 points, yanking 8 boards and for good measure, adding 4 assists and 4 steals.
Any discussion of how McNaughton, Mastropaolo and Brown performed has to include a mention of their defense. The three were like Sherwin Williams -- they owned the paint. Just look at the box score: McNaughton, Mastropaolo and Brown combined for 41 points and 13 rebounds. American ran six guys in and out of the game against them -- Billbe, Joneliunas, Guibunda, Travis Lay, Brian Gilmore and Jordan Nichols. Added together they managed 8 points and 11 boards.
That helps explain why AU hit so many threes. Unable to get anything going inside, Jones inserted went with a three-guard look much of teh second half, inserting three-point specialist Carr and the Lithuanian scoring machine Eitutavicius alongside Ingram.
"We did make a conscious effort to go with Garrison Carr to have three shooters in there," Jones said. "They played a lot of matchup and they were giving us fits."
The three-point shooting kept American in the game. After Bucknell held the Eagles scoreless the first 5:24 of the second half, building a 10-point, 37-27 lead, Carr (14 points) stopped the bleeding with back to back threes -- one from NBA range with the shot clock buzzing as the ball dropped through the net. Eitutavicius (game-high 18) had three of his four treys in the second half and Ingram (10) also had a pair after the break. Of 11 field goals the Eagles connected on in the half, 7 came from outside the arc.
American was 10 for 22 (45.5 percent) outside the semicircle; the Eagles were just 12 of 30 (40 percent) inside.
Bucknell finished the game 20 for 39 (51.3 percent) from the field, and their inside attack was rewarded with 29 trips to the foul line, where they made 23, including 10 by John Griffin, who scored all his points from the line. Griffin was 6 for 6 in the final 30 seconds when American was fouling repeatedly in a desperate attempt to extend the game.
The win was Bucknell's 23rd straight in Patriot League play, their 28th straight league win in Sojka Pavilion. Along with Holy Cross' win over Army last night, it sets up the much-anticipated macthup between the two teams that have dominated the league the past two seasons. Bucknell will be at Holy Cross for Friday night's debut of the league's new ESPNU television package.
Box score | Postgame audio (American coach Jeff Jones; Bucknell coach Pat Flannery and players Chris McNaughton and Donald Brown) | Game notebook | Daily Item
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Fans love the three-pointer. Next to the dunk, there is probably nothing that gets a crowd more excited than when some sniper starts firing away from outside the arc -- the longer, the better.
Had American been back home when the Eagles began raining treys in Bucknell's Sojka Pavilion last night, the Blue Crew would have been whipping itself into a frenzy. Even a small crowd in Bender would have generated a deafening roar as Garrison Carr, Arvydas Eitutavicius and Andre Ingram took turns dropping three-point bombs over Bucknell defenders scurrying to get a hand in their face, not that it seemed to matter once those three got dialed in.
It was an impressive display; seven three-points -- a games worth for most teams -- in one half, 10 total for the game. But it was a display of futility in a 66-60 loss to Bucknell.American went 10 for 22 from the arc -- 7 of 14 after intermission. The Eagles made more threes than Bucknell shot.
The Bison only made three treys. They only shot nine.
Yet in the end, you could argue that the two Jason Vegotsky made during an 8-0 Bucknell run at the start of the second half had far more to do with the final outcome then all 10 American made, and you'd get no debate from Jeff Jones. Bucknell's frontcourt types were already taking advantage of American; after those two three-pointers by Vegotsky that inside edge turned into paint domination.
"We were getting more help in the paint prior to Vegotsky knocking down the two threes," said Jones. "That spread things out."
Nobody took more advantage than Bison junior Darren Mastropaolo, who came off the bench to score 9 of his 11 points in the second half against an American frontline that, simply put, was overmatched.
That much was apparent at the start of the game, when Bison center Chris McNaughton exploited Jones' decision to try to guard him with one guy. Left alone against AU's 6-10 Brayden Billbe, Mcnaughton scored 7 of Bucknell's first 9 points. If McNaughton had managed to stay out of foul trouble, the big German might have had a shot at bettering his career-high (29 vs. Villanova last season). As it was, the 6-11 senior ended the night with a team-high 16 points, despite playing only 16 minutes.
McNaughton picked up his second personal with 5:29 to go in the first half and sat down the rest of the half. He sat down again less than three minutes into the second half after a cheap third foul on what appeared to be routine post defense. McNaughton returned with 10:56 to play and a little over two minutes later had his fourth personal and another seat on the bench.
But it wasn't American that took advantage of the two-time all-conference pick's absence. It was Mastropaolo. McNaughton had barely found a towel after picking up his fourth when Mastropaolo posted up AU's Cornelio Guibunda, drawing a foul that led to two points from the foul line.
Jones quickly yanked Guibunda in favor of 6-11 Paulius Joneliunas. It made little difference. After a missed three by Derrick Mercer at the other end, Mastropaolo beat Joneliunas like a rented mule. Mastropaolo finished the night 3 for 4 from the field, 5 of 8 at the line, reducing McNaughton's foul trouble to an afterthought.
"If you look at the stat sheet, the guy whose numbers that jump out at you is Mastropaolo," said Jones.
"If he plays like that. I can sit on the bench all day and we will be fine," McNaughton said.
Not to be outdone by the M and M's, Donald Brown also had another fine night for Bucknell, scoring 14 points, yanking 8 boards and for good measure, adding 4 assists and 4 steals.
Any discussion of how McNaughton, Mastropaolo and Brown performed has to include a mention of their defense. The three were like Sherwin Williams -- they owned the paint. Just look at the box score: McNaughton, Mastropaolo and Brown combined for 41 points and 13 rebounds. American ran six guys in and out of the game against them -- Billbe, Joneliunas, Guibunda, Travis Lay, Brian Gilmore and Jordan Nichols. Added together they managed 8 points and 11 boards.
That helps explain why AU hit so many threes. Unable to get anything going inside, Jones inserted went with a three-guard look much of teh second half, inserting three-point specialist Carr and the Lithuanian scoring machine Eitutavicius alongside Ingram.
"We did make a conscious effort to go with Garrison Carr to have three shooters in there," Jones said. "They played a lot of matchup and they were giving us fits."
The three-point shooting kept American in the game. After Bucknell held the Eagles scoreless the first 5:24 of the second half, building a 10-point, 37-27 lead, Carr (14 points) stopped the bleeding with back to back threes -- one from NBA range with the shot clock buzzing as the ball dropped through the net. Eitutavicius (game-high 18) had three of his four treys in the second half and Ingram (10) also had a pair after the break. Of 11 field goals the Eagles connected on in the half, 7 came from outside the arc.
American was 10 for 22 (45.5 percent) outside the semicircle; the Eagles were just 12 of 30 (40 percent) inside.
Bucknell finished the game 20 for 39 (51.3 percent) from the field, and their inside attack was rewarded with 29 trips to the foul line, where they made 23, including 10 by John Griffin, who scored all his points from the line. Griffin was 6 for 6 in the final 30 seconds when American was fouling repeatedly in a desperate attempt to extend the game.
The win was Bucknell's 23rd straight in Patriot League play, their 28th straight league win in Sojka Pavilion. Along with Holy Cross' win over Army last night, it sets up the much-anticipated macthup between the two teams that have dominated the league the past two seasons. Bucknell will be at Holy Cross for Friday night's debut of the league's new ESPNU television package.
Box score | Postgame audio (American coach Jeff Jones; Bucknell coach Pat Flannery and players Chris McNaughton and Donald Brown) | Game notebook | Daily Item
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Tuesday, January 09, 2007
Notes from Sojka Pavilion, Where Bucknell stayed unbeaten at home in 28 straight league games with a 66-60 win.
It's a decent crowd in Sojka Pavilion, but nowhere near a full house. Empty seats in the students sections at either end are understandable with the students on break. But the seats on either side of the court are supposed to be sold out, yet across the way, behind the player benches, it's no better than 70 percent full, and that may be a generous estimate.
The game is being played with an old-fashioned two-man officiating crew. The third official's day job is in law enforcement in the Washington D.C. area and he was detained by a court appearance.
Andre Ingram has never shot well against Bucknell, so he must have been seeing the ghost of Charles Lee when he missed his first three shots from the field. He came back to hit his next two and is 2 for 5 at the half.
Chris McNaughton was hot early, going 4 for 7 (9 points) before sitting down after he drew his second personal with 5:28 to go in the half. Jeff Jones elected to try having Brayden Billbe guard McNaughton on his own and McNaughton responded by scoring 7 of Bucknell's first 9 points.
The two teams traded buckets and the lead early before Au used a 10-2 run to take an 18-11 lead. Bucknell responded with 7 unanswered points to tie it at 18 and eventually pulled ahead, taking a 28-24 edge when Jason Vegotsky hit a three late. Arvydas Eitutavicius made it a one-point game at the half when he buried a three after shoving off his defender, John Griffin, with a forearm shiver that would make an NFL star proud. To Griffin's visible astonishment, there was no call.
HALFTIME STATS:
Bucknell -- 11 of 22 from the field (50 percent), 1 of 4 from three-point range, 5 of 7 at the foul line
American -- 11 of 26 from the field (42.3 percent), 3 of 8 (37.5 percent) from the arc, 2 for 2 at the charity stripe
Turnovers: Bucknell 4, American 6
Rebounds: American 15 (4 offensive), Bucknell 10 (0 offensive)
High scorers: Bucknell -- McNaughton 9, Brown 8; American -- Eitutavicius 6, Garrison Carr 5
SECOND HALF
You know that coaches' cliche about the first five minutes of the second half? American did not score during that span. Through the first 8:22 of the half, AU was 2 for 10. Guys not named Garrison Carr were 0 for 8. Carr's two threes, one a long buzzer-beater, kept AU from being blown out in that span.
Ingram started the second half the way he started the first, going 0 for 2 before sitting down for a long stretch while Jones went with a tiny backcourt of Carr and Mercer, who might measure 6-feet combined if you put one on the other's shoulders. Ingram heated up when he returned, though, hitting two straight threes.
McNaughton's third foul, at the 17:03 mark, laughable compared to the stuff AU is getting away with defending him. McNaughton whistled for an elbow on the back of Paulius Joneliunnas -- pretty much standard post defense -- on an inbounds play. That bad call became bigger when McNaughton picked up his fourth with 8:31 left on a questionable illegal screen call away from the ball. At that point, team fouls were 7 for AU, 4 for Bucknell, but the two called on McNaughton were far more significcant than the seven spread among a host of Eagles.
It would have hurt Bucknell more if not for the play of Darren Mastropaolo, who used a variety of post moves to make Joneliunas look like ... umm . .. err, well, like Joneliunas. Mastropaolo hit three of his first four shots and had a dandy hook shot wiped out by a traveling call that had Pat Flannery reacting like ... umm ... err .. like Pat Flannery.
Of AU's first nine field goals in the second half, six came from the arc -- two by Mercer, two by Eitutavicius and the two by Ingram.
Defensive play of the game: With 1:57 to go, Mastropaolo went to the line for two shots, but missed both. AU got the rebound, but Vegotzky snuck in to knock the ball off Carr out of bounds, giving Bucknell another possession. McNaughton, who returned on the inbounds play as Flannery went offense-defense with him and Mastropaolo, made it count by beating Billbe for an easy bucket and a 56-51 lead.
McNaughton made it 58-51 on a hook shot over Billbe Bucknell's next trip up the floor, turning the final minute into a free throw shooting contest.
Griffin reached double figures without making a field goal. Griffin was 0 for 4 from the field, 0 for 3 on three-point tries, but 10 for 10 from the foul line, including 6 for 6 in the final 30 seconds.
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HALFTIME STATS:
Bucknell -- 11 of 22 from the field (50 percent), 1 of 4 from three-point range, 5 of 7 at the foul line
American -- 11 of 26 from the field (42.3 percent), 3 of 8 (37.5 percent) from the arc, 2 for 2 at the charity stripe
Turnovers: Bucknell 4, American 6
Rebounds: American 15 (4 offensive), Bucknell 10 (0 offensive)
High scorers: Bucknell -- McNaughton 9, Brown 8; American -- Eitutavicius 6, Garrison Carr 5
SECOND HALF
It would have hurt Bucknell more if not for the play of Darren Mastropaolo, who used a variety of post moves to make Joneliunas look like ... umm . .. err, well, like Joneliunas. Mastropaolo hit three of his first four shots and had a dandy hook shot wiped out by a traveling call that had Pat Flannery reacting like ... umm ... err .. like Pat Flannery.
McNaughton made it 58-51 on a hook shot over Billbe Bucknell's next trip up the floor, turning the final minute into a free throw shooting contest.
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You could probably count the number of Tuesday night conference games in league history on one hand. Maybe, two. Maybe even a few more. We're not going to try digging through records to tell an exact number, but we know there have not been many.
Since its inception as a basketball conference in 1990, the Patriot League has been primarily a Wednesday-Saturday league. Sure there was that brief flirtation with the Ivy-like Friday-Sunday itinerary, but Tuesdays have seldom been a night for league games.
That changes a little this season, thanks to the league's new Friday night WWLISU telecasts. To give the teams in those TV matchups two days of preparation, what would have been Wednesday night games involving those teams have been moved up a day.
Since Bucknell is at Holy Cross in this week's highly anticipated debut of the ESPNU league game of the week, that means the Bison and Crusaders each play tonight.
Both are at home, Bucknell hosting American (matchup) and Holy Cross entertaining Army (matchup).
It would be crazy to call the second league game of the season a must-win, but for all four teams, in a way it is. Conventional wisdom has it teams hoping to wina conference crown must hold serve at home. For BU and HC, the implication is obvious.
Veteran-laden American has title hopes, too. It also already has one loss after laying a sub-30 percent shooting egg at Lehigh. Even though the Eagles first two games are on the road, an 0-2 start is hardly the path to a championship.
Army is also on the road for the second straight game, and also looking for a first league win. While nobody expects the Black Knights to be a title contender, a lot of folks, especially in West Point, have hopes of moving up from its customary spot at the bottom of the league. An 0-2 start in the conference (along with 5 losses in 6 games) might result in significant damage to the confidence Army built with its 9-2 start.
American-Bucknell preview (Daily Item)
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Since its inception as a basketball conference in 1990, the Patriot League has been primarily a Wednesday-Saturday league. Sure there was that brief flirtation with the Ivy-like Friday-Sunday itinerary, but Tuesdays have seldom been a night for league games.
That changes a little this season, thanks to the league's new Friday night WWLISU telecasts. To give the teams in those TV matchups two days of preparation, what would have been Wednesday night games involving those teams have been moved up a day.
Since Bucknell is at Holy Cross in this week's highly anticipated debut of the ESPNU league game of the week, that means the Bison and Crusaders each play tonight.
Both are at home, Bucknell hosting American (matchup) and Holy Cross entertaining Army (matchup).
It would be crazy to call the second league game of the season a must-win, but for all four teams, in a way it is. Conventional wisdom has it teams hoping to wina conference crown must hold serve at home. For BU and HC, the implication is obvious.
Veteran-laden American has title hopes, too. It also already has one loss after laying a sub-30 percent shooting egg at Lehigh. Even though the Eagles first two games are on the road, an 0-2 start is hardly the path to a championship.
Army is also on the road for the second straight game, and also looking for a first league win. While nobody expects the Black Knights to be a title contender, a lot of folks, especially in West Point, have hopes of moving up from its customary spot at the bottom of the league. An 0-2 start in the conference (along with 5 losses in 6 games) might result in significant damage to the confidence Army built with its 9-2 start.
Labels: Army, AU, BU, HC, previews
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Monday, January 08, 2007
The Patriot League is not represented in this week's polls. In the Mid-Major Top 25, Holy Cross, Bucknell and Army are listed in the others receiving votes category. Hc has 18 votes, one more than Bucknell. Army received 5 votes this week.
No votes for any Patriot teams in either of the major top 25 polls.
BONUS LINK: Be sure to read Ralph Willard's account of Holy Cross' trip to Lafayette on CoachRalph.com. Never a dull moment.
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No votes for any Patriot teams in either of the major top 25 polls.
BONUS LINK: Be sure to read Ralph Willard's account of Holy Cross' trip to Lafayette on CoachRalph.com. Never a dull moment.
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Sunday, January 07, 2007
Offense, not defense, is the difference as HC opens league play with a road win in Easton. (Originally posted Sat. at 7:31 p.m., updated with additional links)
By CHRIS A. COUROGEN
For the past few weeks, Holy Cross has been making a living off its zone defense. Whether it was the 2-3, a variation thereof, or a 1-3-1, for the most part it seemed to be effective on two fronts. The zone held opponents' offenses in check and saved the legs of guys like Torey Thomas and Keith Simmons, who were being forced to play close to 40 minutes every game.
But after Lafayette found seems in the Crusaders zone time and time again at the start of Saturday's Patriot League opener, Holy Cross switched to good old man-to-man and slowed the Leopards enough to escape with an 84-74 road win.
The 84 points were the most scored by Holy Cross all season. The Crusaders' 59.2 percent (29 of 49) shooting from the field was their best shooting night in at least the past two-plus seasons. Keith Simmons' 26 points were the most by an HC player all season.
Holy Cross needed every bit of that offense against a Lafayette team that shot 56.8 percent (25 of 44) against them. That is better than Duke, Syracuse and providence managed to shoot against HC. Only Dayton has shot better against the Crusaders this season (59.5 percent).
"We didn't guard them," said HC coach Ralph Willard. "We didn't do a good job communicating and they got some open looks."
That was especially true at the beginning of the game, when Lafayette jumped to an 8-3 lead and kept making buckets, forcing Willard to abandon the zone for straight man with some switching man mixed in.
"They scored on seven of the first eight trips down the floor, so we switched out of that (zone). I'm not very smart, but I could figure that out," Willard said.
The change worked well enough for Holy Cross to come back for a 42-35 lead at the half, but had the Crusaders not shot over 60 percent in the half (16 of 26, 61.5 percent) and hit five three-pointers (on seven tries), that score could easily have been reversed, or worse. Lafayette was a scorching 14 of 22 (63.6 percent) in the first 20 minutes. Even more surprising, the undersized Leopards -- who live and die by the three-pointer -- had only 2 treys, but scored 22 of their first 35 in the paint.
"They have a lot of shooters," said Simmons. "We wanted to make their shooters drive a lot."
Yes, but they didn't want them to drive and finish. But with 6-10 center Tim Clifford glued to the bench for all but 4 minutes of the half after picking up two early fouls, the Leopards were finding their path to the rim all but unimpeded.
With Clifford back on the floor in the second half, it was a different story, at least for a while. Clifford picked up his third personal early and went back to the bench for just under 2 minutes before returning to the floor with 16:34 to play. Between then and the 11:47 mark, when he picked up foul number four and sat down again, Holy Cross had a 14-6 spurt, fueled by 7 Clifford points and a defensive effort that held Lafayette to one field goal for over 8 minutes. During that stretch, the Crusaders pushed their lead to as many as 20 points and appeared to be set to cruise to the finish.
Although Clifford, who had just one rebound, had little to do with it, the Crusaders also rebounded better in the second half. After finishing the first half even with 9 boards apiece, Holy Cross dominated the glass after the break, finishing with a 30-16 edge, including 14 offensive rebounds that were converted into 13 second chance points.
The lead was still 15 (78-63) when Clifford finally fouled out with 11 points -- all in the second half -- at the 2:57 mark. As it turned out, Clifford's final bucket, a layin with 3:33 to play, was the last field goal the Crusaders would score. When Holy Cross struggled at the foul line down the stretch, it opened the door for one last Lafayette run. Hc was 4 for 8 at the line until Pat Doherty, who finished with 10 points in his first game back since breaking his shooting hand in the Dec. 6 loss at Duke, hit a pair with 16.6 seconds left.
In between Clifford's fouling out and Doherty's free throws, Lafayette managed to close to within 6.
"When we got up, we stopped focusing and they got some quick, easy buckets and some open looks," Simmons said.
"We got back in the game but it was too little, too late," said Lafayette coach Fran O'Hanlon.
Holy Cross, which has been on the road for 11 straight games, finally returns to the Hart Center Wednesday, when they will take on Army. The Black Knights, the surprise team in the conference with their 10-5 record in non-conference games, stumbled in their league opener, losing in overtime at Colgate.
Box score | Notebook | Postgame audio (both team's press conferences) | Morning Call | Express-Times
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By CHRIS A. COUROGEN
For the past few weeks, Holy Cross has been making a living off its zone defense. Whether it was the 2-3, a variation thereof, or a 1-3-1, for the most part it seemed to be effective on two fronts. The zone held opponents' offenses in check and saved the legs of guys like Torey Thomas and Keith Simmons, who were being forced to play close to 40 minutes every game.
But after Lafayette found seems in the Crusaders zone time and time again at the start of Saturday's Patriot League opener, Holy Cross switched to good old man-to-man and slowed the Leopards enough to escape with an 84-74 road win.
The 84 points were the most scored by Holy Cross all season. The Crusaders' 59.2 percent (29 of 49) shooting from the field was their best shooting night in at least the past two-plus seasons. Keith Simmons' 26 points were the most by an HC player all season.
Holy Cross needed every bit of that offense against a Lafayette team that shot 56.8 percent (25 of 44) against them. That is better than Duke, Syracuse and providence managed to shoot against HC. Only Dayton has shot better against the Crusaders this season (59.5 percent).
"We didn't guard them," said HC coach Ralph Willard. "We didn't do a good job communicating and they got some open looks."
That was especially true at the beginning of the game, when Lafayette jumped to an 8-3 lead and kept making buckets, forcing Willard to abandon the zone for straight man with some switching man mixed in.
"They scored on seven of the first eight trips down the floor, so we switched out of that (zone). I'm not very smart, but I could figure that out," Willard said.
The change worked well enough for Holy Cross to come back for a 42-35 lead at the half, but had the Crusaders not shot over 60 percent in the half (16 of 26, 61.5 percent) and hit five three-pointers (on seven tries), that score could easily have been reversed, or worse. Lafayette was a scorching 14 of 22 (63.6 percent) in the first 20 minutes. Even more surprising, the undersized Leopards -- who live and die by the three-pointer -- had only 2 treys, but scored 22 of their first 35 in the paint.
"They have a lot of shooters," said Simmons. "We wanted to make their shooters drive a lot."
Yes, but they didn't want them to drive and finish. But with 6-10 center Tim Clifford glued to the bench for all but 4 minutes of the half after picking up two early fouls, the Leopards were finding their path to the rim all but unimpeded.
With Clifford back on the floor in the second half, it was a different story, at least for a while. Clifford picked up his third personal early and went back to the bench for just under 2 minutes before returning to the floor with 16:34 to play. Between then and the 11:47 mark, when he picked up foul number four and sat down again, Holy Cross had a 14-6 spurt, fueled by 7 Clifford points and a defensive effort that held Lafayette to one field goal for over 8 minutes. During that stretch, the Crusaders pushed their lead to as many as 20 points and appeared to be set to cruise to the finish.
Although Clifford, who had just one rebound, had little to do with it, the Crusaders also rebounded better in the second half. After finishing the first half even with 9 boards apiece, Holy Cross dominated the glass after the break, finishing with a 30-16 edge, including 14 offensive rebounds that were converted into 13 second chance points.
The lead was still 15 (78-63) when Clifford finally fouled out with 11 points -- all in the second half -- at the 2:57 mark. As it turned out, Clifford's final bucket, a layin with 3:33 to play, was the last field goal the Crusaders would score. When Holy Cross struggled at the foul line down the stretch, it opened the door for one last Lafayette run. Hc was 4 for 8 at the line until Pat Doherty, who finished with 10 points in his first game back since breaking his shooting hand in the Dec. 6 loss at Duke, hit a pair with 16.6 seconds left.
In between Clifford's fouling out and Doherty's free throws, Lafayette managed to close to within 6.
"When we got up, we stopped focusing and they got some quick, easy buckets and some open looks," Simmons said.
"We got back in the game but it was too little, too late," said Lafayette coach Fran O'Hanlon.
Holy Cross, which has been on the road for 11 straight games, finally returns to the Hart Center Wednesday, when they will take on Army. The Black Knights, the surprise team in the conference with their 10-5 record in non-conference games, stumbled in their league opener, losing in overtime at Colgate.
Box score | Notebook | Postgame audio (both team's press conferences) | Morning Call | Express-Times
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Bucknell's 59-51 win over Navy was the Bison's 27th straight home league win and their 22nd straight league win overall. It also kept Navy 0-for-Sojka Pavilion.
Donald Brown continued his standout play for the Bison, scoring 15 points on 7 of 10 shooting and pulling down 9 rebounds. Chris McNaughton added 12 points on 5 of 8 from the field and John Griffin scored 11 points and dished out 8 assists without a turnover.
The Bison held the Mids to 41.9 percent shooting (18 of 43) from the field, but Navy stayed in the game by making 8 (of 24) threes, while Bucknell was 2 of 13 from the arc. Bucknell didn't help itself at the free throw line, either, going 15 of 27 there, 10 of 18 in the second half.
Greg Sprink led Navy with 18 points. Sprink worked hard for those points. He was 5 of 15 from the field, 3 of 10 on thre-point tries.
Navy led 21-16 with 6:14 to play in the first half, but went 1 of 5 (all three-pointers) the rest of the half while Bucknell took the lead with a 12-3 run.
After the Mids closed to 30-29 early in the second half, the Bison had a 7-0 run to reestablish control. Navy never got closer than 5 the rest of the way.
Box score | Photo gallery | AP | Daily Item
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Donald Brown continued his standout play for the Bison, scoring 15 points on 7 of 10 shooting and pulling down 9 rebounds. Chris McNaughton added 12 points on 5 of 8 from the field and John Griffin scored 11 points and dished out 8 assists without a turnover.
The Bison held the Mids to 41.9 percent shooting (18 of 43) from the field, but Navy stayed in the game by making 8 (of 24) threes, while Bucknell was 2 of 13 from the arc. Bucknell didn't help itself at the free throw line, either, going 15 of 27 there, 10 of 18 in the second half.
Greg Sprink led Navy with 18 points. Sprink worked hard for those points. He was 5 of 15 from the field, 3 of 10 on thre-point tries.
Navy led 21-16 with 6:14 to play in the first half, but went 1 of 5 (all three-pointers) the rest of the half while Bucknell took the lead with a 12-3 run.
After the Mids closed to 30-29 early in the second half, the Bison had a 7-0 run to reestablish control. Navy never got closer than 5 the rest of the way.
Box score | Photo gallery | AP | Daily Item
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Phil Anderson had 2 buckets and 6 rebounds. The last of each won the game for the Mountain Hawks
Anderson, a skinny 6-10 sophomore forced into the starting lineup by Jason Mgebroff's injury, got an offensive rebound and put up an off-balance jumper that fell with less than three seconds left to give Lehigh a 51-49 win over visiting American.
The win was sealed when Brayden Billbe was unable to duplicate Anderson's heroics after catching a long inbounds pass. Billbe was overthrown slightly on the baseball style pss from the far end, which he caught about three feet inside the foul line. His off-balance turnaround drew front iron and fell short at the buzzer.
While Anderson made the game-winning play, it was Jose Olivero who set it up. Olivero, who was held in check most of the game by stifling pressure from AU guards Arvydas Eitutavicius and Linas Lekavicius (and lots of help when he got past them), finished with 11 points, breaking his mini-skid of two sub-double figures games. His three pointer with the shot clock about to expire, Eitutavicius in his jersey and 1:45 left was as clutch as they come.
That put Lehigh up 49-47, but he fouled Eitutavicius at the other end and the Lithuanian calmly hit both free throws to tie it with 24 seconds left.
Every one of the 1,498 in Stabler Arena -- even the flute players in the middle school band that served as a dandy pep band with the Lehigh students on break -- knew was what was coming next, as Olivero took the ball out front with the clock ticking down. that didn't stop Olivero from beating Eitutavicius off the dribble and getting into the lane, where his progress was stopped by at least two American defenders coming to help.
They managed to force Olivero to miss, but in the process, they left Anderson all alone on the weakside for the rebound and put back.
Eitutavicius had 15 to lead American. Billbe finished with 11. But as a team, American was a horrendous 12 for 46 (26.1 percent) from the floor.
Sophomore John Gourlay came up as big as his 7-foot frame for the hawks, scoring a career-high 10 points in 17 minutes of exposing the defensive liabilities of Paulius Joneliunas and Billbe.
Lost in the drama of the win was a tremendous battle between the two top underclassmen point guards in the league -- Lehigh freshman Marquis Hall and AU sophomore Derrick Mercer. Score round one to Hall, who had 8 points, 2 assists, 4 steals and no turnovers. Mercer was 1 for 6 from the field (though not all due to Hall -- the 5-9 Mercer spends a lot of time driving into the trees in the paint), finishing with 4 points, 7 rebounds (sharing team honors with Billbe), 3 assists and 4 turnovers.
Box score | Postgame audio (Billy Taylor, Olivero, Anderson and Hall) | Express-Times | Morning Call (gamer) | Morning Call (column)
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Anderson, a skinny 6-10 sophomore forced into the starting lineup by Jason Mgebroff's injury, got an offensive rebound and put up an off-balance jumper that fell with less than three seconds left to give Lehigh a 51-49 win over visiting American.
The win was sealed when Brayden Billbe was unable to duplicate Anderson's heroics after catching a long inbounds pass. Billbe was overthrown slightly on the baseball style pss from the far end, which he caught about three feet inside the foul line. His off-balance turnaround drew front iron and fell short at the buzzer.
While Anderson made the game-winning play, it was Jose Olivero who set it up. Olivero, who was held in check most of the game by stifling pressure from AU guards Arvydas Eitutavicius and Linas Lekavicius (and lots of help when he got past them), finished with 11 points, breaking his mini-skid of two sub-double figures games. His three pointer with the shot clock about to expire, Eitutavicius in his jersey and 1:45 left was as clutch as they come.
That put Lehigh up 49-47, but he fouled Eitutavicius at the other end and the Lithuanian calmly hit both free throws to tie it with 24 seconds left.
Every one of the 1,498 in Stabler Arena -- even the flute players in the middle school band that served as a dandy pep band with the Lehigh students on break -- knew was what was coming next, as Olivero took the ball out front with the clock ticking down. that didn't stop Olivero from beating Eitutavicius off the dribble and getting into the lane, where his progress was stopped by at least two American defenders coming to help.
They managed to force Olivero to miss, but in the process, they left Anderson all alone on the weakside for the rebound and put back.
Eitutavicius had 15 to lead American. Billbe finished with 11. But as a team, American was a horrendous 12 for 46 (26.1 percent) from the floor.
Sophomore John Gourlay came up as big as his 7-foot frame for the hawks, scoring a career-high 10 points in 17 minutes of exposing the defensive liabilities of Paulius Joneliunas and Billbe.
Lost in the drama of the win was a tremendous battle between the two top underclassmen point guards in the league -- Lehigh freshman Marquis Hall and AU sophomore Derrick Mercer. Score round one to Hall, who had 8 points, 2 assists, 4 steals and no turnovers. Mercer was 1 for 6 from the field (though not all due to Hall -- the 5-9 Mercer spends a lot of time driving into the trees in the paint), finishing with 4 points, 7 rebounds (sharing team honors with Billbe), 3 assists and 4 turnovers.
Box score | Postgame audio (Billy Taylor, Olivero, Anderson and Hall) | Express-Times | Morning Call (gamer) | Morning Call (column)
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The Chones brothers carried the Raiders in the league opener for both teams.
Colgate snapped its three-game win streak and its streak of six straight games shooting under 40 percent from the field in a game allegedly played in front of a season-high crowd of 625 fans in Hamilton. But the win probably tells us more about Army than it does about Colgate.
The Black Knights came in at 10-5 against an admittedly weak schedule. Had they been able to shoot better at the foul line, they would have left Hamilton 11-6. But Army, which actually outscored Colgate from the field, was just 13 of 21 at the line, while Colgate hit 18 of 22. Among the Army misses were a pair from freshman Chris Walker at the end of overtime that would have forced a second extra session.
While the loss confirms Army is not yet ready to contend in the league, the nature of it also seems to confirm suspicions about Colgate. Walker is Army's only legitimate post presence and he played only 15 minutes due to foul trouble, and the Raiders still needed OT and missed Army free throws to win at home.
After trailing by as many as 11 in the first half, Army battled back to take a 63-62 lead on a three from Jarrell Brown, who finished with 30 points, including 8 three-pointers, both career highs.
The Black Knights got a turnover on the next Colgate possession, but squandered the chance to solidify the lead when Marcus Nelson (3 for 9) missed a jumper with the shot clock about to expire.
Army got another stop on Colgate's next possession, but not the rebound, Actually, they got two stops, and failed to get two rebounds. Alex Woodhouse got the second offensive rebound of the possession for Colgate, was fouled and made both to put Colgate back up.
Matt Bell (18 points) put Army back up one with a layup at the other end. But Woodhouse was fouled again, and made one of two to tie it.
Both teams missed potential game-winners in the last 31 seconds of OT.
Colgate opened the overtimes with a 7-0 run, then yielded a 6-0 Army run. Jon Simon made one of two at the line to give the Raiders a 2 point lead with 17 seconds left in OT.
Army went for the win, with Corban Bates putting up a three with 3 seconds left. Bates missed, but Walker got the rebound and was fouled by Kendall Chones with 1 second left, but could not extend the game further.
Kyle Chones led Colgate with 16 points. Kendall Chones added 15 and grabbed 8 rebounds. Woodhouse, making his first start of the season, added 12 and Daniel Waddy had 10.
Colgate managed to end its sub-40-percent streak thanks to a 13 for 26 effort in the first half. In the second half the Raiders reverted to form, going 9 of 25 from the field (36 percent), 1 of 5 from the arc. The Raiders finished 25 of 57 (43.9 percent) with 5 treys on 15 tries.
Army shot 25 of 51 (49 percent), 8 of 18 from three-point range.
Box score | AP | Utica O-D
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Colgate snapped its three-game win streak and its streak of six straight games shooting under 40 percent from the field in a game allegedly played in front of a season-high crowd of 625 fans in Hamilton. But the win probably tells us more about Army than it does about Colgate.
The Black Knights came in at 10-5 against an admittedly weak schedule. Had they been able to shoot better at the foul line, they would have left Hamilton 11-6. But Army, which actually outscored Colgate from the field, was just 13 of 21 at the line, while Colgate hit 18 of 22. Among the Army misses were a pair from freshman Chris Walker at the end of overtime that would have forced a second extra session.
While the loss confirms Army is not yet ready to contend in the league, the nature of it also seems to confirm suspicions about Colgate. Walker is Army's only legitimate post presence and he played only 15 minutes due to foul trouble, and the Raiders still needed OT and missed Army free throws to win at home.
After trailing by as many as 11 in the first half, Army battled back to take a 63-62 lead on a three from Jarrell Brown, who finished with 30 points, including 8 three-pointers, both career highs.
The Black Knights got a turnover on the next Colgate possession, but squandered the chance to solidify the lead when Marcus Nelson (3 for 9) missed a jumper with the shot clock about to expire.
Army got another stop on Colgate's next possession, but not the rebound, Actually, they got two stops, and failed to get two rebounds. Alex Woodhouse got the second offensive rebound of the possession for Colgate, was fouled and made both to put Colgate back up.
Matt Bell (18 points) put Army back up one with a layup at the other end. But Woodhouse was fouled again, and made one of two to tie it.
Both teams missed potential game-winners in the last 31 seconds of OT.
Colgate opened the overtimes with a 7-0 run, then yielded a 6-0 Army run. Jon Simon made one of two at the line to give the Raiders a 2 point lead with 17 seconds left in OT.
Army went for the win, with Corban Bates putting up a three with 3 seconds left. Bates missed, but Walker got the rebound and was fouled by Kendall Chones with 1 second left, but could not extend the game further.
Kyle Chones led Colgate with 16 points. Kendall Chones added 15 and grabbed 8 rebounds. Woodhouse, making his first start of the season, added 12 and Daniel Waddy had 10.
Colgate managed to end its sub-40-percent streak thanks to a 13 for 26 effort in the first half. In the second half the Raiders reverted to form, going 9 of 25 from the field (36 percent), 1 of 5 from the arc. The Raiders finished 25 of 57 (43.9 percent) with 5 treys on 15 tries.
Army shot 25 of 51 (49 percent), 8 of 18 from three-point range.
Box score | AP | Utica O-D
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Saturday, January 06, 2007
News and notes from Easton, where Holy Cross defeated Lafayette 84-74.
Lafayette broke to an early 8-2 lead and held the edge much of the first half. Holy Cross took its first lead on an Adam May putback with 6:35 to go in the half. A pair of free throws by Bial Abdullah made it 28-27, Lafayette. But May had another putback to put HC back up and the Crusaders held the lead the rest of the half.
Given Fran O'Hanlon's tendency to run a lot of folks in and out and Holy Cross' injury shortened bench, the surprise stat of the first half might be that HC has used 10 players, Lafayette just 9.
Abdullah is keeping Lafayette in this one with 10 points on 3 for 3 shooting, including a trey. Abdullah is also 3 for 4 at the foul line.
Both teams are 5 for 6 from the charity stripe in the first half. Lafayette is shooting 14 for 22 (63.6 percent), despite being 2 of 9 from the arc. Hc shooting 16 of 26 (61.5 percent), 5 of 7 at the arc. SO much for this being a game between two defensive oriented teams, eh?
Surprise stat number two: Rebounds in the first half dead even at 9 each.
Keith Simmons leads all scorers with 15 on 5 of 7 shooting, including 2 of 3 at the arc. Simmons also 3 for 4 at the foul line.
The advantage Tim Clifford was expected to give Holy Cross inside lasted only 3:08 of the first half. That is how long it took HC's 6-10 junior to find a seat next to the assistant coaches on the HC bench after two quick fouls. Clifford did return briefly with about 4 minutes to go.
With Clifford out, Lafayette was aggressive in the paint. Only two of the Leopards first 11 buckets were threes. Most of the rest came within six or seven feet of the hoop.
Pat Doherty's first shot back was a three from the left side with 4:35 to go in the half. Nothing but net. Doherty is playing with a small piece of padding taped on his hand to protect the area where it was broke.
Freshman Adam May was a real spark off the bench in the first half for HC. May had 7 points on 3 for 4 shooting, two coming on offensive rebound putbacks.
SECOND HALF
May's strong play in the first half earned him a start in the second. May played the three with Simmons sliding to the two-guard spot.
Clifford lasted exactly 1:43 of the second half before going back to the bench after picking up his third personal. When he returned, at the 16:34 mark, he quickly knocked down a bank-is-open three and a foul line jumper on a kick from Thomas penetration, giving him 7 points, all in the second half.
Doherty's second shot -- another three, another swish. It puts HC up 61-44 with 13:39 to play. He finally missed one 21 seconds later.
Clifford, with 9 points, picks up foul number four with 11:47 to play and returns to the bench. While he was on the floor, HC stretched its lead from 10 to 18, allowing just one field goal in a stretch of over six minutes.
Simmons jumper with is foot on the three-point arc at around the 12-minute mark gave him 25 points, a season-high. His career high is 30. Simmons 9 for 12 at the field and also has a game-high 6 rebounds with 6:36 to play.
With 5:44 to play, Torey Thomas tossed up a desperation shot, apparently falling for the trick countdown of the Lafayette women's team and some LC fans, who were a fgew seconds ahead of the actual shot clock. Pleased with their results, the women tried it again on HC's next possession and again got Thomas to rush a shot, but this one fell, foiling their efforts.
Clifford fouled out with 2:57 to play, leaving with 11 points on 4 of 5 shooting and 1 rebound.
Andrew Brown fouled out for Lafayette with 27.5 seconds left, leaving the game scoreless
HC's 84 points were there most this season. The previous high was 83 against Harvard.
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With Clifford out, Lafayette was aggressive in the paint. Only two of the Leopards first 11 buckets were threes. Most of the rest came within six or seven feet of the hoop.
SECOND HALF
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Holy Cross sports information director Charles Bare says Kyle Cruze will play this afternoon against Lafayette. Cruze suffered a scratched cornea in the Boston U. game and was considered doubtful for this one.
Even better news for Holy Cross, guard Pat Doherty is expected back after missing a month with a broken hand. Doherty was averaging 7 ppg when he was injured exactly a month ago at Duke.
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Even better news for Holy Cross, guard Pat Doherty is expected back after missing a month with a broken hand. Doherty was averaging 7 ppg when he was injured exactly a month ago at Duke.
Labels: HC
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After two months of getting ready, the only games that will really count are about to begin.
Forget that preseason talk about this being the Patriot League's year for two bids. Those possibilities dimmed when Bucknell lost its opener at Albany and any flickers of hope were extinguished by Holy Cross' agonizing shorthanded road trip through Syracuse, Dayton and Duke.
There is not a team in the league with a prayer of an at large bid, so the league championship will be, as it always has been, for all the marbles.
With this year's funky Division Three style all games on home courts tournament, that makes the regular season even more important. Just look at Lehigh to understand the significance. The Mountain Hawks can't win a road game, but are withing 0.4 seconds and one point of being unbeatable at home. Think anybody wants to visit Stabler in March with their season on the line?
With the kind of parity there seems to be in the league this year, a team that defends its own house and goes .500 on the road ought to stand a pretty fair chance of hosting at least one tournament game. It might not take a lot more than that and some tiebreaker magic to give a team the home court throughout the tournament.
Even though late in the season folks tend to forget what happened in January, the games played today will have just as much bearing on tournament seeding as the games played on the final weekend of the regular season.
Today's games will also start to establish the league's pecking order. If American wants to be a contender, it is going to have to be able to win games like it faces tonight, on the road against a shorthanded but still tough Lehigh team. If Navy wants to prove its nice start is for real, there is no better place to do it than on two-time defending champ Bucknell's floor. Army can prove it is ready to escape the league cellar with a win at Colgate.
We'll start the season in Easton, with a Holy Cross-Lafayette women's-men's double dip. A full gameblog for the men's game won't be possible due to deadline constraints for the Worcester T&G, but we will try to post some halftime notes, with the full game story and postgame audio following the men's game.
Might even pop in over at Stabler on the way back from Easton to catch some of that American at Lehigh game, listening to Navy at Bucknell on Sirius 147.
Here is a quick look at today's league openers:
Army at Colgate, 1 p.m.: (matchup) Most places a hostile home crowd is the reason behind the home court advantage. In Hamilton, it seems the opposite. Opposing teams seem to struggle to get into the game when playing in a glorified high school gym in front of an audience (dare you call it a crowd?) so small you can count the noses during a timeout. That should be no problem for Army, which is used to small crowds.
This is Army's chance to make a "No basement for us" kind of statement. It's Colgate's chance for a fresh start after a horrid non-conference run. These two met in West Point to open league play last season, with Colgate a 71-58 winner. We'll see how far Army has come since then.
Holy Cross at Lafayette, 4 p.m.: (matchup) Shorthanded Holy Cross might be even shorter-handed for this one. Junior off guard Kyle Cruze suffered a scratched cornea in Wednesday's win at Boston U. With a short rotation due to a rash of injuries, Ralph Willard has been employing a lot of 2-3 zone of late. It will be interesting to see if Lafayette, which has a host of perimeter snipers, can shoot the Crusaders out of that zone D.
Expect Holy Cross to look inside to Tim Clifford early and often in this one. Lafayette has no match for the 6-10 junior. If Clifford plays well, it will open a lot up for Keith Simmons and Torey Thomas. But Clifford has been spotty all season and an off night could mean a much-tougher-than-anticipated battle for HC, especially if Lafayette starts knocking down the threes.
Navy at Bucknell, 7 p.m.: (matchup) This is the Mids chance to show its 10-5 start is for real. Navy's record certainly looks better than Bucknell's 6-7 start, but two of the wins came against Division Three schools and only two came against teams with RPIs in the top 200 (Stony Brook -- 181, William and Mary -- 192). Navy has show it can win outside of Alumni Hall, going 3-3 on the road in non-conference play. But this won't be a trip to NJIT or Longwood. Bucknell is riding a 21-game league win streak and has not lost a league game at home since March of 2003, winning 26 in a row at home against league foes. Navy has never won in Sojka Pavilion and has not won in Lewisburg since February of 2001. But this is not the same Bucknell team that set those standards. this game will tell us a lot about both teams. Is Navy legit? Are the Bison at home still the gold standard in the league despite their sub .500 non-conference record?
The matchups on the perimeter might be a slight edge to Navy if their jump shots are falling. But 6-10 freshman Trey Stanton will have his hands full against Bucknell senior Chris McNaughton and the Mids don't have any real match for Donald Brown. All in all, an interesting opener for both.
American at Lehigh, 7:30 p.m.: (matchup) Lehigh has been near perfect at home (5-1, the loss coming by 1 point). But without Jason Mgebroff, the Mountain Hawks could be over-matched by American's bigs inside. Lehigh will need a big game from Jose Olivero, who is due after two straight 7-point showings. Prior to those two off nights, Olivero had 20 straight double figures games. While AU seems to have the personnel edge, it still has not proven it is mentally tough enough to go into a hostile place and grind out a win, which is what it takes to win on the road in conference play. AU ended a four-game skid with a win Tuesday at home over Saint Francis (Pa.). They will need to play even better to extend their modest win streak to two.
BONUS LINKS: Knights (10-5) among early surprises as league schedule opens (Times Herald-Record)
Navy clashes with establishment (Annapolis Capital)
Time to break down the fun conferences (Kyle on ESPN.com)
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Forget that preseason talk about this being the Patriot League's year for two bids. Those possibilities dimmed when Bucknell lost its opener at Albany and any flickers of hope were extinguished by Holy Cross' agonizing shorthanded road trip through Syracuse, Dayton and Duke.
There is not a team in the league with a prayer of an at large bid, so the league championship will be, as it always has been, for all the marbles.
With this year's funky Division Three style all games on home courts tournament, that makes the regular season even more important. Just look at Lehigh to understand the significance. The Mountain Hawks can't win a road game, but are withing 0.4 seconds and one point of being unbeatable at home. Think anybody wants to visit Stabler in March with their season on the line?
With the kind of parity there seems to be in the league this year, a team that defends its own house and goes .500 on the road ought to stand a pretty fair chance of hosting at least one tournament game. It might not take a lot more than that and some tiebreaker magic to give a team the home court throughout the tournament.
Even though late in the season folks tend to forget what happened in January, the games played today will have just as much bearing on tournament seeding as the games played on the final weekend of the regular season.
Today's games will also start to establish the league's pecking order. If American wants to be a contender, it is going to have to be able to win games like it faces tonight, on the road against a shorthanded but still tough Lehigh team. If Navy wants to prove its nice start is for real, there is no better place to do it than on two-time defending champ Bucknell's floor. Army can prove it is ready to escape the league cellar with a win at Colgate.
We'll start the season in Easton, with a Holy Cross-Lafayette women's-men's double dip. A full gameblog for the men's game won't be possible due to deadline constraints for the Worcester T&G, but we will try to post some halftime notes, with the full game story and postgame audio following the men's game.
Might even pop in over at Stabler on the way back from Easton to catch some of that American at Lehigh game, listening to Navy at Bucknell on Sirius 147.
Here is a quick look at today's league openers:
Army at Colgate, 1 p.m.: (matchup) Most places a hostile home crowd is the reason behind the home court advantage. In Hamilton, it seems the opposite. Opposing teams seem to struggle to get into the game when playing in a glorified high school gym in front of an audience (dare you call it a crowd?) so small you can count the noses during a timeout. That should be no problem for Army, which is used to small crowds.
This is Army's chance to make a "No basement for us" kind of statement. It's Colgate's chance for a fresh start after a horrid non-conference run. These two met in West Point to open league play last season, with Colgate a 71-58 winner. We'll see how far Army has come since then.
Holy Cross at Lafayette, 4 p.m.: (matchup) Shorthanded Holy Cross might be even shorter-handed for this one. Junior off guard Kyle Cruze suffered a scratched cornea in Wednesday's win at Boston U. With a short rotation due to a rash of injuries, Ralph Willard has been employing a lot of 2-3 zone of late. It will be interesting to see if Lafayette, which has a host of perimeter snipers, can shoot the Crusaders out of that zone D.
Expect Holy Cross to look inside to Tim Clifford early and often in this one. Lafayette has no match for the 6-10 junior. If Clifford plays well, it will open a lot up for Keith Simmons and Torey Thomas. But Clifford has been spotty all season and an off night could mean a much-tougher-than-anticipated battle for HC, especially if Lafayette starts knocking down the threes.
Navy at Bucknell, 7 p.m.: (matchup) This is the Mids chance to show its 10-5 start is for real. Navy's record certainly looks better than Bucknell's 6-7 start, but two of the wins came against Division Three schools and only two came against teams with RPIs in the top 200 (Stony Brook -- 181, William and Mary -- 192). Navy has show it can win outside of Alumni Hall, going 3-3 on the road in non-conference play. But this won't be a trip to NJIT or Longwood. Bucknell is riding a 21-game league win streak and has not lost a league game at home since March of 2003, winning 26 in a row at home against league foes. Navy has never won in Sojka Pavilion and has not won in Lewisburg since February of 2001. But this is not the same Bucknell team that set those standards. this game will tell us a lot about both teams. Is Navy legit? Are the Bison at home still the gold standard in the league despite their sub .500 non-conference record?
The matchups on the perimeter might be a slight edge to Navy if their jump shots are falling. But 6-10 freshman Trey Stanton will have his hands full against Bucknell senior Chris McNaughton and the Mids don't have any real match for Donald Brown. All in all, an interesting opener for both.
American at Lehigh, 7:30 p.m.: (matchup) Lehigh has been near perfect at home (5-1, the loss coming by 1 point). But without Jason Mgebroff, the Mountain Hawks could be over-matched by American's bigs inside. Lehigh will need a big game from Jose Olivero, who is due after two straight 7-point showings. Prior to those two off nights, Olivero had 20 straight double figures games. While AU seems to have the personnel edge, it still has not proven it is mentally tough enough to go into a hostile place and grind out a win, which is what it takes to win on the road in conference play. AU ended a four-game skid with a win Tuesday at home over Saint Francis (Pa.). They will need to play even better to extend their modest win streak to two.
BONUS LINKS:
Labels: Army, AU, BU, CU, HC, Laf, Leh, Navy, previews
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Friday, January 05, 2007
What do Howard Stern and Patriot League hoops have in common?
They're both available on Sirius Satellite Radio. The league and Sirius announced Friday a deal to broadcast 10 regular-season men's basketball games and all seven league tournament games.
Click here for the full release and a schedule of the games to be broadcast.
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They're both available on Sirius Satellite Radio. The league and Sirius announced Friday a deal to broadcast 10 regular-season men's basketball games and all seven league tournament games.
Click here for the full release and a schedule of the games to be broadcast.
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You kept hearing it throughout the preseason: The Patriot League is better top to bottom this year. This week's HOOP TIME NOTEBOOK asks the simple question: is it really?
Sure seemed that way at the beginning of December when league teams were 29-25 against non-conference Division I foes, with a conference RPI of 14.
But over the last two weeks, league teams have gone 10-20, dropping their RPI as a conference to 19, one spot behind the Ivy League, which won the season series between the two leagues again this year. The PL actually held a 7-3 lead in the series heading into December before the Ivies won 9 of the last 10.
Granted the conference RPI for the Patriot League has improved in each of the past four seasons, from 26 in 2003 to 23 in 2004 to 21 last season to 19 this. But the league's measuring stick has long been the Ivy League and the Ancient 8 has a conference RPI of 18, not surprising since the Ivies did so well head-to-head against the Patriots.
On that basis it is hard to say the league is much better. On the other hand, if you look strictly at RPI, the bottom of the league does appear to be significantly stronger. Nobody is ranked below 300 in the RPI and only teams are above 251. Last season four teams finished above 250.
The top of the Patriot League, though, is off. Bucknell was No. 42 last season. This season only one PL team, Holy Cross (97) has an RPI better than 100. Bucknell has returned to the pack. Holy Cross is good, but banged up and not very deep. There appears to be more parity in the league this season, but it would probably be a stretch to say the league is actually better top to bottom. Thus far it seems more like the top and the bottom are meeting in the middle.
THE LEAGUE AT A GLANCE: Here is a team-by-team breakdown of the season to date for league teams.
AMERICAN (8-6, RPI 211)
Best win: 81-74 over 6-6 Loyola (RPI 222) -- AU's only win over a team with an RPI better than 260
Worst loss: 81-79 (OT) at 6-11 (4-11 vs. D-I) Longwood (266) less than a month after beating the Lancers by 11 at home
Biggest surprise: Yet to come; we predict Georgetown transfer Cornelio Guibunda's raw athloetic talent will allow him some impressive performances off the bench in league play
Biggest disappointment: Big things have been expected from 6-11 senior center Paulius Joneliunas since he transferred from South Carolina prior to his junior season but thus far he has not delivered on those expectations.
ARMY (10-5, 8-5 vs. D-I, RPI 211)
Best win: 62-53 over 7-6 Hartford (175)
Worst loss: Home vs. 5-7 Cornell (213)
Biggest surprise: Army's record and RPI. This is the first time since the 2002 season the Black Knights RPI is out of the 300+ range
Biggest disappointment: Senior center Jimmy Sewell who has gone from being a starter as a sophomore to a 6-11 pine jockey with 5 DNPs thus far this season. For a team with only two freshmen taller than 6-7 on the roster, Sewell's failure to develop has been a big (no pun intended) negative.
BUCKNELL (6-7, RPI 134)
Best win: 68-67 at 10-4 Xavier (47) ... it's also the league's best win
Worst loss: 50-48 to a Central Arkansas team with one other D-I win and an RPI (298) out of the 300s only because of beating Bucknell ... it's the league's worst loss
Biggest surprise: The emergence of sophomore guard Justin Castleberry as a key part of Pat Flannery's rotation
Biggest disappointment: Take your pick: Chris McNaughton's sub-50 percent shooting and sub-double figures scoring; The students (and townies) who failed to show up for the Northern Iowa game at Sojka; Donald Brown's inability to adjust to playing the three, which has hurt the Bison on defense by taking a tough defender (Darren Mastropaolo) out of the starting lineup. Brown has been Bucknell's best player since moving to the four, but without him matching up on opponent three-men and sans Mastropaolo, the Bison are not as strong defensively; the late-game collapse against Albany in the season opener; or (our pick) the loss to Central Arkansas.
COLGATE (5-8, 4-8 D-I, RPI 282)
Best win: The Raiders really have no good wins. As close as they get is a 53-47 win over a Leon Pattman-less Dartmouth team that looks better than it was at the time due to Dartmouth's improvement since getting Pattman back in the lineup
Worst loss: 52-36 at 6-7 (5-7 vs. D-I) Arizona State (278)
Biggest surprise: The inability of a team full of alleged shooters to shoot the ball. Colgate has been under 40 percent from the field each of its last six games and on the season is shooting 40.4 percent against D-I teams
Biggest disappointment: That 4-8 record against D-I teams. Colgate is either doing less with more than anybody in the league, or its talent level has been tremendously overrated
HOLY CROSS (9-6, RPI 97)
Best win: 65-57 over 7-5 Siena (78)
Worst loss: 67-61 to 7-7 Niagara, a team with a misleading 244 RPi due to the absence of star Carron Fisher early in the season. Niagara is 6-1 since his return. The disappointment is not losing to Niagara as much as it is the way it happened -- blowing an 11-point, second-half lead
Biggest surprise: Kyle Cruze's emergence as a starter on the wing after the injuries to Pat Doherty and Lawrence Dixon
Biggest disappointment: Those injuries, along with a season-ending injury to freshman Andrew Keister
LAFAYETTE (6-9, 4-9 D-I, RPI 251)
Best win: 76-70 at 4-8 (3-8 D-I) Wagner (283)
Worst loss: 86-51 at 5-9 UMBC (204)
Biggest surprise: 6-4 junior Matt Betley's emergence as the team's top scorer after switching to the four, where he way undersized
Biggest disappointment: The stress fracture in Jamaal Hilliard's foot that is expected to cost him at least 2-4 weeks.
LEHIGH (5-11, 3-11 D-I, RPI 288)
Best win: 72-63 over Sacred Heart (6-7, 145)
Worst loss: 71-55 at Quinnipiac (334), a team with one other win over D-I opposition
Biggest surprise: Jason Mgebroff's strong showing before being sidelined with stress fractures. The 6-11 senior, whose sophomore and junior seasons were all but a washout, was averaging 10.8 ppg and 5.8 rpg before he got hurt.
Biggest disappointment: Megebroff's stress fractures, which will force him to miss 6-8 weeks
NAVY (10-5, 8-5 D-I, RPI 159)
Best win: 87-76 over 5-8 Stony Brook (187)
Worst loss: 74-59 at home to Yale (248), which has just one other D-I win
Biggest surprise: The play of 6-10 freshman Trey Stanton, who has started every game and is averaging 8.8 ppg
Biggest disappointment: In the preseason, Navy coach Billy Lange said 6-9 junior center Ben Biles was "going to have to give us some time." Biles has only played in four games, with just four rebounds and a turnover to break up the zeroes after his name on the stat sheet.
PREDICTED ORDER OF FINISH: Not a lot of changes from what we predicted when we wrote the Blue Ribbon previews in the summer, though one team has dropped like a rock:
1) Bucknell -- Bison remain the favorite for the regular season title, but a two- or even three-way tie for the regular season would not be a surprise.
2) Holy Cross -- If healthy, HC would probably have been mentioned ahead of Bucknell. If Pat Doherty and Lawrence Dixon come back and contribute, they might be the favorite come tourney time even if they are the No. 2 seed
3) American -- The Eagles are deep, experienced and posess a lot of offensive weapons. Still need the big men to play big when they face quality big men and the whole team needs to be tougher defensively
4) Army -- Defensive effort was never a problem. Size and offense was. Jarell Brown and Matt Bell give the Black Knights as good a scoring duo in the backcourt as there is in the league. Freshman Chris Walker has given them a presence in the paint.
5) Lehigh -- With Mgebroff healthy, the Mountain Hawks would rank a spot, maybe two, higher. If he regains his early season form when he returns, Lehigh could be the tournament dark horse.
6) Navy -- Billy Lange's team has made great strides but is still missing the inside punch needed to take the pressure off the perimeter shooters.
7) Lafayette -- Another team that is improved, but still lacks an inside presence. Matt Betley will not be a matchup problem for guys like Donald Brown, Bryan White, Kendall Chones or Alex Vander Baan; but they will probably be a matchup problem for him.
8) Colgate -- after two seasons of overrating the underachieving Raiders, we are ready to concede we may have been wrong about the level of talent in Hamilton -- on the floor and on the sidelines.
MIDSEASON HONORS: Player of the year: Keith Simmons, HC -- nobody is playing better right now
Rookie of the Year: Marquis Hall, Leh -- the Mountain Hawks freshman point guard tops a very strong group of freshmen
Coach of the Year: Has anybody done a better job than Jim Crews? We don't think so.
Non-Con All PL team: (the five best players, regardless of position) Simmons, Andre Ingram (AU), Jose Olivero (Leh), Donald Brown (BU), Jarell Brown (Army)
FRIDAY READAROUND:
Army, Navy are biggest surprises in Patriot non-conference games (Morning Call)
Leopards lo ok to leap to the top (Express-Times)
Hawks ready to reach their potential (Express-Times)
Navy ship ahead of schedule under Lange (Daily Item)
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Sure seemed that way at the beginning of December when league teams were 29-25 against non-conference Division I foes, with a conference RPI of 14.
But over the last two weeks, league teams have gone 10-20, dropping their RPI as a conference to 19, one spot behind the Ivy League, which won the season series between the two leagues again this year. The PL actually held a 7-3 lead in the series heading into December before the Ivies won 9 of the last 10.
Granted the conference RPI for the Patriot League has improved in each of the past four seasons, from 26 in 2003 to 23 in 2004 to 21 last season to 19 this. But the league's measuring stick has long been the Ivy League and the Ancient 8 has a conference RPI of 18, not surprising since the Ivies did so well head-to-head against the Patriots.
On that basis it is hard to say the league is much better. On the other hand, if you look strictly at RPI, the bottom of the league does appear to be significantly stronger. Nobody is ranked below 300 in the RPI and only teams are above 251. Last season four teams finished above 250.
The top of the Patriot League, though, is off. Bucknell was No. 42 last season. This season only one PL team, Holy Cross (97) has an RPI better than 100. Bucknell has returned to the pack. Holy Cross is good, but banged up and not very deep. There appears to be more parity in the league this season, but it would probably be a stretch to say the league is actually better top to bottom. Thus far it seems more like the top and the bottom are meeting in the middle.
THE LEAGUE AT A GLANCE: Here is a team-by-team breakdown of the season to date for league teams.
AMERICAN (8-6, RPI 211)
Best win: 81-74 over 6-6 Loyola (RPI 222) -- AU's only win over a team with an RPI better than 260
Worst loss: 81-79 (OT) at 6-11 (4-11 vs. D-I) Longwood (266) less than a month after beating the Lancers by 11 at home
Biggest surprise: Yet to come; we predict Georgetown transfer Cornelio Guibunda's raw athloetic talent will allow him some impressive performances off the bench in league play
Biggest disappointment: Big things have been expected from 6-11 senior center Paulius Joneliunas since he transferred from South Carolina prior to his junior season but thus far he has not delivered on those expectations.
ARMY (10-5, 8-5 vs. D-I, RPI 211)
Best win: 62-53 over 7-6 Hartford (175)
Worst loss: Home vs. 5-7 Cornell (213)
Biggest surprise: Army's record and RPI. This is the first time since the 2002 season the Black Knights RPI is out of the 300+ range
Biggest disappointment: Senior center Jimmy Sewell who has gone from being a starter as a sophomore to a 6-11 pine jockey with 5 DNPs thus far this season. For a team with only two freshmen taller than 6-7 on the roster, Sewell's failure to develop has been a big (no pun intended) negative.
BUCKNELL (6-7, RPI 134)
Best win: 68-67 at 10-4 Xavier (47) ... it's also the league's best win
Worst loss: 50-48 to a Central Arkansas team with one other D-I win and an RPI (298) out of the 300s only because of beating Bucknell ... it's the league's worst loss
Biggest surprise: The emergence of sophomore guard Justin Castleberry as a key part of Pat Flannery's rotation
Biggest disappointment: Take your pick: Chris McNaughton's sub-50 percent shooting and sub-double figures scoring; The students (and townies) who failed to show up for the Northern Iowa game at Sojka; Donald Brown's inability to adjust to playing the three, which has hurt the Bison on defense by taking a tough defender (Darren Mastropaolo) out of the starting lineup. Brown has been Bucknell's best player since moving to the four, but without him matching up on opponent three-men and sans Mastropaolo, the Bison are not as strong defensively; the late-game collapse against Albany in the season opener; or (our pick) the loss to Central Arkansas.
COLGATE (5-8, 4-8 D-I, RPI 282)
Best win: The Raiders really have no good wins. As close as they get is a 53-47 win over a Leon Pattman-less Dartmouth team that looks better than it was at the time due to Dartmouth's improvement since getting Pattman back in the lineup
Worst loss: 52-36 at 6-7 (5-7 vs. D-I) Arizona State (278)
Biggest surprise: The inability of a team full of alleged shooters to shoot the ball. Colgate has been under 40 percent from the field each of its last six games and on the season is shooting 40.4 percent against D-I teams
Biggest disappointment: That 4-8 record against D-I teams. Colgate is either doing less with more than anybody in the league, or its talent level has been tremendously overrated
HOLY CROSS (9-6, RPI 97)
Best win: 65-57 over 7-5 Siena (78)
Worst loss: 67-61 to 7-7 Niagara, a team with a misleading 244 RPi due to the absence of star Carron Fisher early in the season. Niagara is 6-1 since his return. The disappointment is not losing to Niagara as much as it is the way it happened -- blowing an 11-point, second-half lead
Biggest surprise: Kyle Cruze's emergence as a starter on the wing after the injuries to Pat Doherty and Lawrence Dixon
Biggest disappointment: Those injuries, along with a season-ending injury to freshman Andrew Keister
LAFAYETTE (6-9, 4-9 D-I, RPI 251)
Best win: 76-70 at 4-8 (3-8 D-I) Wagner (283)
Worst loss: 86-51 at 5-9 UMBC (204)
Biggest surprise: 6-4 junior Matt Betley's emergence as the team's top scorer after switching to the four, where he way undersized
Biggest disappointment: The stress fracture in Jamaal Hilliard's foot that is expected to cost him at least 2-4 weeks.
LEHIGH (5-11, 3-11 D-I, RPI 288)
Best win: 72-63 over Sacred Heart (6-7, 145)
Worst loss: 71-55 at Quinnipiac (334), a team with one other win over D-I opposition
Biggest surprise: Jason Mgebroff's strong showing before being sidelined with stress fractures. The 6-11 senior, whose sophomore and junior seasons were all but a washout, was averaging 10.8 ppg and 5.8 rpg before he got hurt.
Biggest disappointment: Megebroff's stress fractures, which will force him to miss 6-8 weeks
NAVY (10-5, 8-5 D-I, RPI 159)
Best win: 87-76 over 5-8 Stony Brook (187)
Worst loss: 74-59 at home to Yale (248), which has just one other D-I win
Biggest surprise: The play of 6-10 freshman Trey Stanton, who has started every game and is averaging 8.8 ppg
Biggest disappointment: In the preseason, Navy coach Billy Lange said 6-9 junior center Ben Biles was "going to have to give us some time." Biles has only played in four games, with just four rebounds and a turnover to break up the zeroes after his name on the stat sheet.
PREDICTED ORDER OF FINISH: Not a lot of changes from what we predicted when we wrote the Blue Ribbon previews in the summer, though one team has dropped like a rock:
1) Bucknell -- Bison remain the favorite for the regular season title, but a two- or even three-way tie for the regular season would not be a surprise.
2) Holy Cross -- If healthy, HC would probably have been mentioned ahead of Bucknell. If Pat Doherty and Lawrence Dixon come back and contribute, they might be the favorite come tourney time even if they are the No. 2 seed
3) American -- The Eagles are deep, experienced and posess a lot of offensive weapons. Still need the big men to play big when they face quality big men and the whole team needs to be tougher defensively
4) Army -- Defensive effort was never a problem. Size and offense was. Jarell Brown and Matt Bell give the Black Knights as good a scoring duo in the backcourt as there is in the league. Freshman Chris Walker has given them a presence in the paint.
5) Lehigh -- With Mgebroff healthy, the Mountain Hawks would rank a spot, maybe two, higher. If he regains his early season form when he returns, Lehigh could be the tournament dark horse.
6) Navy -- Billy Lange's team has made great strides but is still missing the inside punch needed to take the pressure off the perimeter shooters.
7) Lafayette -- Another team that is improved, but still lacks an inside presence. Matt Betley will not be a matchup problem for guys like Donald Brown, Bryan White, Kendall Chones or Alex Vander Baan; but they will probably be a matchup problem for him.
8) Colgate -- after two seasons of overrating the underachieving Raiders, we are ready to concede we may have been wrong about the level of talent in Hamilton -- on the floor and on the sidelines.
MIDSEASON HONORS: Player of the year: Keith Simmons, HC -- nobody is playing better right now
Rookie of the Year: Marquis Hall, Leh -- the Mountain Hawks freshman point guard tops a very strong group of freshmen
Coach of the Year: Has anybody done a better job than Jim Crews? We don't think so.
Non-Con All PL team: (the five best players, regardless of position) Simmons, Andre Ingram (AU), Jose Olivero (Leh), Donald Brown (BU), Jarell Brown (Army)
FRIDAY READAROUND:
Labels: Army, AU, BU, CU, HC, Laf, Leh, Navy, notebook
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Thursday, January 04, 2007
Keith Simmons gave the Crusaders their final lead and Greg McCarthy preserved it in a 73-70 overtime win at Boston University.
McCarthy, just on the floor after Tim Clifford fouled out, hit a pair of free throws with 14 seconds left to give the Crusaders a three-point lead that held up when Boston U.'s Corey Lowe missed a three-pointer at the buzzer.
McCarthy, who grabbed a crucial final rebound in Saturday's win over Delaware, repeated that feat in this one, coming up with Corey Lowe's missed free throw with HC clinging to a 1-point lead.
Simmons, who posted a 21-point, 11-rebound double-double, was the reason HC had that one-point lead when Lowe missed the second of two free throws. Simmons hit a free throw with 55 seconds to go to tie the game at 69-69, then made a steal at the other end, was fouled and made both shots for the lead.
The Crusaders managed to pull out the overtime road win despite Clifford and senior point guard Torey Thomas each fouling out. Thomas played 41 of the game's 45 minutes, fouling out with 2:21 to go in OT after scoring 16 points. Clifford also finished with 16, including Holy Cross' first 5 points in OT.
Boston College's Tyler Morris sent the game to OT by drilling a long three to tie it after Colin Cunningham had put HC up 60-57 with a three-pointer with 1.1 seconds left in regulation.
Box score | AP | Telegram & Gazette | Boston Herald
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McCarthy, just on the floor after Tim Clifford fouled out, hit a pair of free throws with 14 seconds left to give the Crusaders a three-point lead that held up when Boston U.'s Corey Lowe missed a three-pointer at the buzzer.
McCarthy, who grabbed a crucial final rebound in Saturday's win over Delaware, repeated that feat in this one, coming up with Corey Lowe's missed free throw with HC clinging to a 1-point lead.
Simmons, who posted a 21-point, 11-rebound double-double, was the reason HC had that one-point lead when Lowe missed the second of two free throws. Simmons hit a free throw with 55 seconds to go to tie the game at 69-69, then made a steal at the other end, was fouled and made both shots for the lead.
The Crusaders managed to pull out the overtime road win despite Clifford and senior point guard Torey Thomas each fouling out. Thomas played 41 of the game's 45 minutes, fouling out with 2:21 to go in OT after scoring 16 points. Clifford also finished with 16, including Holy Cross' first 5 points in OT.
Boston College's Tyler Morris sent the game to OT by drilling a long three to tie it after Colin Cunningham had put HC up 60-57 with a three-pointer with 1.1 seconds left in regulation.
Box score | AP | Telegram & Gazette | Boston Herald
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The second largest Cotrell Court crowd of the season watched Colgate drop a 64-53 decision to visiting Cornell.
The Raiders failed to impress the crowd of 522 (no, we are not missing any digits) with an icy shooting performance that led to their fifth loss in the past six games.
How bad has Colgate been shooting the ball of late? Consider this: Against Cornell the Raiders shot 36.7 percent from the field. That is actually their best shooting effort in the past six games and more than 10 percent better than the 26.5 percent they shot against Santa Clara last time out.
The Raiders made only 6 field goals in the first half (on 23 tries -- 26.1 percent), falling behind 23-17. Colgate shot better in the second half, hitting 12 of 26 (46.2 percent). But they allowed Cornell to shoot 52.6 percent after the break, including 5 of 6 from three point range. For good measure, Cornell went 16 for 16 at the foul line in the half.
Colgate led early, holding a 9-2 lead at the 14:53 mark of the first half. Then came a drought of almost 9 minutes, during which Cornell took the lead for good with an 11-0 run.
Jon Simon led Colgate with 22 points. Kendall Chones added 10 points and grabbed 8 rebounds.
Box score | AP | Ithaca Journal
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The Raiders failed to impress the crowd of 522 (no, we are not missing any digits) with an icy shooting performance that led to their fifth loss in the past six games.
How bad has Colgate been shooting the ball of late? Consider this: Against Cornell the Raiders shot 36.7 percent from the field. That is actually their best shooting effort in the past six games and more than 10 percent better than the 26.5 percent they shot against Santa Clara last time out.
The Raiders made only 6 field goals in the first half (on 23 tries -- 26.1 percent), falling behind 23-17. Colgate shot better in the second half, hitting 12 of 26 (46.2 percent). But they allowed Cornell to shoot 52.6 percent after the break, including 5 of 6 from three point range. For good measure, Cornell went 16 for 16 at the foul line in the half.
Colgate led early, holding a 9-2 lead at the 14:53 mark of the first half. Then came a drought of almost 9 minutes, during which Cornell took the lead for good with an 11-0 run.
Jon Simon led Colgate with 22 points. Kendall Chones added 10 points and grabbed 8 rebounds.
Box score | AP | Ithaca Journal
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Wednesday, January 03, 2007
One last night of non-conference tune-ups, with two games on tap tonight.
Keith Simmons and Holy Cross is at 3-8 Boston U. (matchup). The Terriers record is a little deceptive. They have lost four in a row, but three of those games were decided by a combined 8 points. The losses came to the likes of St. Joe's, St. John's (in OT), Rhode Island and UMass.
In the other game, Cornell, which has lost four in a row and six of its last seven, is at Colgate (matchup), which has lost four of its last five.
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Keith Simmons and Holy Cross is at 3-8 Boston U. (matchup). The Terriers record is a little deceptive. They have lost four in a row, but three of those games were decided by a combined 8 points. The losses came to the likes of St. Joe's, St. John's (in OT), Rhode Island and UMass.
In the other game, Cornell, which has lost four in a row and six of its last seven, is at Colgate (matchup), which has lost four of its last five.
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It's official: The Ivy League has won the season series against the Patriot League.
The combination of Army's loss at Dartmouth and Lehigh's home loss to Columbia gives the Ancient 8 an 11-8 edge, with one game (Cornell at Colgate tonight) left.
Dartmouth came in at 4-7, but six of the losses came at the start of the season when the Big Green was without the services of Leon Pattman. Since Pattman, who had 23 points against Army, returned to the lineup, Dartmouth is now 5-1.
Army trailed the entire game, falling behind as many as 15 points in the first half before clawing to within 2 at 47-45. Dartmouth answered with a 10-0 run to put the game away.
Jarrell Brown led Army with 19 points and also grabbed 7 rebounds. Matt Bell added 17 for the Black Knights (10-5), who open league play Saturday at Colgate.
Box score | AP
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The combination of Army's loss at Dartmouth and Lehigh's home loss to Columbia gives the Ancient 8 an 11-8 edge, with one game (Cornell at Colgate tonight) left.
Dartmouth came in at 4-7, but six of the losses came at the start of the season when the Big Green was without the services of Leon Pattman. Since Pattman, who had 23 points against Army, returned to the lineup, Dartmouth is now 5-1.
Army trailed the entire game, falling behind as many as 15 points in the first half before clawing to within 2 at 47-45. Dartmouth answered with a 10-0 run to put the game away.
Jarrell Brown led Army with 19 points and also grabbed 7 rebounds. Matt Bell added 17 for the Black Knights (10-5), who open league play Saturday at Colgate.
Box score | AP
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The Mountain Hawks 9-game win streak in Stabler Arena ended 0.4 seconds short of extending to 10.
Columbia's Niko Scott grabbed an offensive rebound with 0.4 seconds to play, was fouled and made both shots to give the visiting Lions a 59-58 win over Lehigh, which had not lost at home since Jan. 25 of last year (59-54). It is just the third home loss in two seasons for the Hawks, who remain without the services of big man Jason Mgebroff, out with a stress fracture.
It was the second time this season Lehigh lost to an Ivy League team on foul shots at the end of the game.
Lehigh led 26-18 at the half and was up 47-39 with 8:27 to play. Columbia managed to battle back despite not making a field goal in the final 6:14 of the game. The Lions went 11 for 12 at the foul line in the second half. Lehigh was 4 for 8 at the line for the game.
Jose Olivero, whose streak of 20 consecutive double figures games was snapped when he was held to 7 at Monmouth last week, was held to 7 again. Olivero was 3 for 10 from the field, 0 for 4 from the three-point arc.
Kyle Neptune led Lehigh with 13 points. Freshman point guard Marquis Hall added 11. The Mountain Hawks host American Saturday in their league opener.
Box score | AP | Morning Call | Express-Times
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Columbia's Niko Scott grabbed an offensive rebound with 0.4 seconds to play, was fouled and made both shots to give the visiting Lions a 59-58 win over Lehigh, which had not lost at home since Jan. 25 of last year (59-54). It is just the third home loss in two seasons for the Hawks, who remain without the services of big man Jason Mgebroff, out with a stress fracture.
It was the second time this season Lehigh lost to an Ivy League team on foul shots at the end of the game.
Lehigh led 26-18 at the half and was up 47-39 with 8:27 to play. Columbia managed to battle back despite not making a field goal in the final 6:14 of the game. The Lions went 11 for 12 at the foul line in the second half. Lehigh was 4 for 8 at the line for the game.
Jose Olivero, whose streak of 20 consecutive double figures games was snapped when he was held to 7 at Monmouth last week, was held to 7 again. Olivero was 3 for 10 from the field, 0 for 4 from the three-point arc.
Kyle Neptune led Lehigh with 13 points. Freshman point guard Marquis Hall added 11. The Mountain Hawks host American Saturday in their league opener.
Box score | AP | Morning Call | Express-Times
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Trailing by as many as 18 in the first half, American turned up the defense and turned out a win over visiting St. Francis (Pa.).
The first half was a horror show for AU. The Red Flash shot 52 percent (13 of 25) from the field, including a sizzling 8 of 10 from the three-point arc. St. Francis was up 40-22 with 3:55 to go in the half after J.R. Enright hit three consecutive treys.
American battled back to get within 11 (44-33) at the break, then held St. Francis scoreless for over six minutes to start the second half. American finally got even, and too the lead, on a pair of free throws by Arvydas Eitutavicius with 8 minutes to play. American pulled away from there.
The Eagles held St. Francis to 6 of 28 shooting from the field in the second half. Five of St. Francis' buckets came on three-pointers (5 of 15). From inside the arc, the Red Flash were just 1 of 13 in the second half.
American also turned things around on the boards in the second half. After St. Francis won the rebounding battle 23-12 in the first half, AU outrebounded the Red Flash 25-13 in the second.
Eitutavicius led AU with 20 points. Andre Ingram added 13, Travis Lay 13 and Derrick Mercer had 11, along with 6 assists and just one turnover. Jordan Nichols grabbed 10 rebounds in 17 minutes off the bench.
St. Francis coach Bobby Jones took ill during the game and was taken to a hospital after for observation. SF SID Bob Volkert reported Jones experienced "stroke-like symptoms." Jones became ill during the first half and had elevated blood pressure when doctors checked him at the intermission. Jones spent part of the second half in the locker room before returning to the bench for the remainder of the game.
American opens conference play Saturday at Lehigh.
Box score | AP
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The first half was a horror show for AU. The Red Flash shot 52 percent (13 of 25) from the field, including a sizzling 8 of 10 from the three-point arc. St. Francis was up 40-22 with 3:55 to go in the half after J.R. Enright hit three consecutive treys.
American battled back to get within 11 (44-33) at the break, then held St. Francis scoreless for over six minutes to start the second half. American finally got even, and too the lead, on a pair of free throws by Arvydas Eitutavicius with 8 minutes to play. American pulled away from there.
The Eagles held St. Francis to 6 of 28 shooting from the field in the second half. Five of St. Francis' buckets came on three-pointers (5 of 15). From inside the arc, the Red Flash were just 1 of 13 in the second half.
American also turned things around on the boards in the second half. After St. Francis won the rebounding battle 23-12 in the first half, AU outrebounded the Red Flash 25-13 in the second.
Eitutavicius led AU with 20 points. Andre Ingram added 13, Travis Lay 13 and Derrick Mercer had 11, along with 6 assists and just one turnover. Jordan Nichols grabbed 10 rebounds in 17 minutes off the bench.
St. Francis coach Bobby Jones took ill during the game and was taken to a hospital after for observation. SF SID Bob Volkert reported Jones experienced "stroke-like symptoms." Jones became ill during the first half and had elevated blood pressure when doctors checked him at the intermission. Jones spent part of the second half in the locker room before returning to the bench for the remainder of the game.
American opens conference play Saturday at Lehigh.
Box score | AP
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Freshman Trey Stanton comes up big late in the Mids overtime win at NJIT.
First Stanton slid across the lane to block a shot that could have cost Navy the game at the end of regulation. Then he hit a pair of three-pointers to help Navy escape with a 52-50 OT win in Newark.
The win was Navy's first in four games against Division I opponents since a double OT win Dec. 4 over Howard and the Mids' third OT victory this season.
Greg Sprink hit a pair of free throws for the game-winning points after NJIT tied it at 50-50 in the extra session. Sprink finished with 16 points, 9 rebounds and 5 assists for the Mids (10-5), who are at Bucknell Saturday in the conference opener for both teams.
Box score | AP
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First Stanton slid across the lane to block a shot that could have cost Navy the game at the end of regulation. Then he hit a pair of three-pointers to help Navy escape with a 52-50 OT win in Newark.
The win was Navy's first in four games against Division I opponents since a double OT win Dec. 4 over Howard and the Mids' third OT victory this season.
Greg Sprink hit a pair of free throws for the game-winning points after NJIT tied it at 50-50 in the extra session. Sprink finished with 16 points, 9 rebounds and 5 assists for the Mids (10-5), who are at Bucknell Saturday in the conference opener for both teams.
Box score | AP
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Tuesday, January 02, 2007
Four teams get their final non-conference tune-ups tonight. All four would seem to have a chance to get a win. In some cases, who does and who doesn't might tell us a lot about the state of the league heading into conference play.
Beginning of December, we wrote "Things are looking up around here." But Patriot League teams are 6-17 since Dec. 21. At the start of last month, the league was 29-25 against non-conference Division I foes, with a conference RPI of 14.
Starting the New Year, the league is 47-54 against D-I opponents, with an RPI of 18, just ahead of the Ivy League -- which means this season's Hoop Time-Basketball U. Challenge series actually means something. League tams have six games left against out of conference opponents before league play begins Saturday. Three of those involve Ivy League foes. The Patriot League trails the season series 9-8 and needs a sweep to claim the mythical crystal trophy (The Ivy League would keep the virtual trophy if the series ties).
Here are the relative RPIs of individual teams (then) and now:
American -- (116) 212
Army -- (120) 132
Bucknell -- (195) (144)
Colgate -- (267) 270
Holy Cross -- (90) 99
Lafayette -- (265) 243
Lehigh -- (254) 288
Navy -- (77) 145
These last six non-conference games (aside from the three BracketBusters games in February) offer the entire league a couple final opportunities to set its RPI for the season.
Aside from the RPI considerations, every team has its own particular reasons why it badly needs a win in these games. For some it's a chance to stem the bleeding. For others it's an important confidence builder for a young team.
Here's a glance at the four games being played tonight:
Army at Dartmouth (matchup) -- Dartmouth (4-7) is not what you'd call a tough out. Not even at home. The Green are 2-2 at home, including a loss to Colgate. Army won twice on the road early in the season (and two on neutral floors), but it has not done it lately. The home win over Sacred Heart showed the Black Knights psyche did not suffer from the losses at Michigan and Notre Dame. A road-win and a two-game win streak heading into their opener at Colgate on Saturday.
Navy at NJIT (matchup) -- Stop the bleeding. It's been nearly a month since the Midshipmen (9-5) beat a Division I foe. Since a Dec. 4 double-OT win over Howard, the Mids are 0-3 against D-I teams. NJIT (2-11) could be just what the Mids need to regain some confidence heading to Lewisburg Saturday.
Columbia at Lehigh (matchup) -- Another team that has not beaten a Division I opponent in a while, the Mountain Hawks will look to stay perfect in Stabler against a 7-5 Columbia team that is 1-4 on the road. Lehigh, which last beat a D-I on Dec. 2 (Central Conn.), is 0-4 against D-Is since then. Certainly keeping their home record unbeaten would be a tremendous confidence boost for the Hawks prior to hosting American Saturday.
Saint Francis (Pa.) at American (matchup) -- The Eagles come home looking to heal after losing four in a row, all on the road. Saint Francis (4-8) is 1-4 on the road. The Red Flash won in Bender the last time they visited AU (2003). American a perfect 4-0 in Bender thus far this season.
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Beginning of December, we wrote "Things are looking up around here." But Patriot League teams are 6-17 since Dec. 21. At the start of last month, the league was 29-25 against non-conference Division I foes, with a conference RPI of 14.
Starting the New Year, the league is 47-54 against D-I opponents, with an RPI of 18, just ahead of the Ivy League -- which means this season's Hoop Time-Basketball U. Challenge series actually means something. League tams have six games left against out of conference opponents before league play begins Saturday. Three of those involve Ivy League foes. The Patriot League trails the season series 9-8 and needs a sweep to claim the mythical crystal trophy (The Ivy League would keep the virtual trophy if the series ties).
Here are the relative RPIs of individual teams (then) and now:
American -- (116) 212
Army -- (120) 132
Bucknell -- (195) (144)
Colgate -- (267) 270
Holy Cross -- (90) 99
Lafayette -- (265) 243
Lehigh -- (254) 288
Navy -- (77) 145
These last six non-conference games (aside from the three BracketBusters games in February) offer the entire league a couple final opportunities to set its RPI for the season.
Aside from the RPI considerations, every team has its own particular reasons why it badly needs a win in these games. For some it's a chance to stem the bleeding. For others it's an important confidence builder for a young team.
Here's a glance at the four games being played tonight:
Army at Dartmouth (matchup) -- Dartmouth (4-7) is not what you'd call a tough out. Not even at home. The Green are 2-2 at home, including a loss to Colgate. Army won twice on the road early in the season (and two on neutral floors), but it has not done it lately. The home win over Sacred Heart showed the Black Knights psyche did not suffer from the losses at Michigan and Notre Dame. A road-win and a two-game win streak heading into their opener at Colgate on Saturday.
Navy at NJIT (matchup) -- Stop the bleeding. It's been nearly a month since the Midshipmen (9-5) beat a Division I foe. Since a Dec. 4 double-OT win over Howard, the Mids are 0-3 against D-I teams. NJIT (2-11) could be just what the Mids need to regain some confidence heading to Lewisburg Saturday.
Columbia at Lehigh (matchup) -- Another team that has not beaten a Division I opponent in a while, the Mountain Hawks will look to stay perfect in Stabler against a 7-5 Columbia team that is 1-4 on the road. Lehigh, which last beat a D-I on Dec. 2 (Central Conn.), is 0-4 against D-Is since then. Certainly keeping their home record unbeaten would be a tremendous confidence boost for the Hawks prior to hosting American Saturday.
Saint Francis (Pa.) at American (matchup) -- The Eagles come home looking to heal after losing four in a row, all on the road. Saint Francis (4-8) is 1-4 on the road. The Red Flash won in Bender the last time they visited AU (2003). American a perfect 4-0 in Bender thus far this season.
Labels: Army, AU, Leh, Navy, previews
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Army moves into the No. 25 spot in this week's Mid-Major Top 25. Holy Cross (7 votes) and Bucknell (2) the only Patriot League teams still in "others receiving votes." No votes for any league teams in the AP or ESPN/USA Today polls.
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Monday, January 01, 2007
The Black Knights of the Hudson rang out the old in dramatic fashion, beating Sacred Heart 59-58 on a Jarrell Brown three-pointer with 2 seconds left on the clock.
Brown's big shot capped a big night for the junior guard, who went 10 for 18 from the field, including 4 treys (on 6 tries) for 24 points, tying his season high.
Matt Bell, back from whatever the injury was that sidelined him at Michigan, added 15, scoring 9 from the foul line (on 11 tries), making up for an off night from the field (3 for 10, 0 for 2 on threes).
Point guard Marcus Nelson had 5 assists and 3 steals, but what folks will remember about the 5-10 freshman's play in this one will be his 12 rebounds. That just happens to be the margin (39-27) Army outrebounded Sacred Heart by.
While Bell made freee throws for Army, the foul line was Sacred Heart's undoing. The Pioneers went to the line 25 times, 8 more than Army (17), but the Pioneers missed 12 of those, leaving them even at the line with the Black Knights, who made 13 of their 17 free throws.
Box score | AP
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Brown's big shot capped a big night for the junior guard, who went 10 for 18 from the field, including 4 treys (on 6 tries) for 24 points, tying his season high.
Matt Bell, back from whatever the injury was that sidelined him at Michigan, added 15, scoring 9 from the foul line (on 11 tries), making up for an off night from the field (3 for 10, 0 for 2 on threes).
Point guard Marcus Nelson had 5 assists and 3 steals, but what folks will remember about the 5-10 freshman's play in this one will be his 12 rebounds. That just happens to be the margin (39-27) Army outrebounded Sacred Heart by.
While Bell made freee throws for Army, the foul line was Sacred Heart's undoing. The Pioneers went to the line 25 times, 8 more than Army (17), but the Pioneers missed 12 of those, leaving them even at the line with the Black Knights, who made 13 of their 17 free throws.
Box score | AP
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