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Friday, November 30, 2007
Greg Sprink only took four shots all night. He only made one. The way Kaleo Kina and Adam Teague played off the Navy bench, though, it hardly mattered.
With their senior leader and leading scorer finding it tough to get things going against Towson, Kina and Teague stepped up big time, leading the Mids to a 73-59 win that snapped Navy's three-game losing streak.
Sure their scoring was important. Kina was 7 for 12 from the field with a pair of threes for a game-high 17 points and Teague hit four from the arc to finish with 12. But it was the rest of their lines that shows how important they were to the Mids (3-6) in this one.
Let's start with rebounds -- 8 each, sharing team honors. Their performance was a big reason why Navy was able to outrebound (39-31) a bigger, more athletic Towson team that came in averaging almost four boards per game more than its opponents.
Also impressive was the unselfish nature of their play. Each of the 10 Midshipmen who played more than a minute got in on the scoring, in no small partt due to Kina (6) and Teague's combined 11 assists.
Of course it is not tough to pick up assists when your team is shooting the ball well, and the Mids were doing just that, especially in the second half. The Mids led from the start, taking a 2-o lead when Ben Biles made a pair of freebies after he was fouled trying to put back a Sprink miss on the opening possession.
Towson (3-3) tied it twice, the last time coming with 4:32 to go in the first half before Navy pulled out to a 34-29 lead at the break. The Mids then put the game away midway through the second half with a 16-4 run that built a double-digit lead that stayed in the teens the rest of the way.
Navy shot the lights out in that second half, hitting 14 of 21 (58.3 percent), including 5 (of eight) threes (62.5 percent). The Mids were 28 of 55 (50.9 percent) for the game, with 8 treys (20 attempts).
The Midsa also played a little defense, holding Towson to 34.5 percent (20-58) shooting from the field, 3 of 14 from three-point range.
Box score | AP
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With their senior leader and leading scorer finding it tough to get things going against Towson, Kina and Teague stepped up big time, leading the Mids to a 73-59 win that snapped Navy's three-game losing streak.
Sure their scoring was important. Kina was 7 for 12 from the field with a pair of threes for a game-high 17 points and Teague hit four from the arc to finish with 12. But it was the rest of their lines that shows how important they were to the Mids (3-6) in this one.
Let's start with rebounds -- 8 each, sharing team honors. Their performance was a big reason why Navy was able to outrebound (39-31) a bigger, more athletic Towson team that came in averaging almost four boards per game more than its opponents.
Also impressive was the unselfish nature of their play. Each of the 10 Midshipmen who played more than a minute got in on the scoring, in no small partt due to Kina (6) and Teague's combined 11 assists.
Of course it is not tough to pick up assists when your team is shooting the ball well, and the Mids were doing just that, especially in the second half. The Mids led from the start, taking a 2-o lead when Ben Biles made a pair of freebies after he was fouled trying to put back a Sprink miss on the opening possession.
Towson (3-3) tied it twice, the last time coming with 4:32 to go in the first half before Navy pulled out to a 34-29 lead at the break. The Mids then put the game away midway through the second half with a 16-4 run that built a double-digit lead that stayed in the teens the rest of the way.
Navy shot the lights out in that second half, hitting 14 of 21 (58.3 percent), including 5 (of eight) threes (62.5 percent). The Mids were 28 of 55 (50.9 percent) for the game, with 8 treys (20 attempts).
The Midsa also played a little defense, holding Towson to 34.5 percent (20-58) shooting from the field, 3 of 14 from three-point range.
Box score | AP
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Thursday, November 29, 2007
(Originally posted Wed. at 10:49 p.m, links added at 7:31 a.m.)
Tim "Big Purple Dog" Clifford scored 23 points and set a new school record for blocked shots to lead the Crusaders in a 60-39 spanking of Yale.
Clifford, who finished with 8 rebounds, had 6 blocks, the last of which gave him 154 on his career, breaking the school mark of 153 set by Nate Lufkin. Colin Cunningham, who is emerging as a real scoring threat on the wing for Ralph Willard's squad, posted a 13-point, 10-rebound double-double, the first of his career.
The Crusaders shot 46.7 percent (21=45) from the field, including an efficient 4 of 7 from the arc, and held a 40-30 advantage on the boards. But it was the HC defense that really made the difference. Holy Cross held Yale to 12 of 45 (26.7 percent) from the field (5-16 threes) and forced 18 Bulldogs turnovers.
No Yale player reached double figures.
The win, the 'Saders 22nd straight in the Hart Center, makes Holy Cross 6-0 for the first time since the 1988-89 season.
The Crusaders played without starting power forward Alex Vander Baan, who sat out with a leg injury suffered in practice Sunday. Sophomore Eric Meister made his first career start in Vander Baan's place.
Box score | Telegram & Gazette | Yale Daily News
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Tim "Big Purple Dog" Clifford scored 23 points and set a new school record for blocked shots to lead the Crusaders in a 60-39 spanking of Yale.
Clifford, who finished with 8 rebounds, had 6 blocks, the last of which gave him 154 on his career, breaking the school mark of 153 set by Nate Lufkin. Colin Cunningham, who is emerging as a real scoring threat on the wing for Ralph Willard's squad, posted a 13-point, 10-rebound double-double, the first of his career.
The Crusaders shot 46.7 percent (21=45) from the field, including an efficient 4 of 7 from the arc, and held a 40-30 advantage on the boards. But it was the HC defense that really made the difference. Holy Cross held Yale to 12 of 45 (26.7 percent) from the field (5-16 threes) and forced 18 Bulldogs turnovers.
No Yale player reached double figures.
The win, the 'Saders 22nd straight in the Hart Center, makes Holy Cross 6-0 for the first time since the 1988-89 season.
The Crusaders played without starting power forward Alex Vander Baan, who sat out with a leg injury suffered in practice Sunday. Sophomore Eric Meister made his first career start in Vander Baan's place.
Box score | Telegram & Gazette | Yale Daily News
Labels: games, Holy Cross
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(Originally posted Wed. at 11:00 p.m, links added at 7:23 a.m.)
All good things must come to an end. For the Penn Quakers, two of those things came to and end Wednesday night in Easton.
With six players scoring in double figures, including all five starters, Lafayette handed the Quakers an 81-69 defeat, ending Penn's 280game win streak against Patriot League teams. The win, just Lafayette's fourth in 41 games all time against the Quakers, also ended a streak of eight straight Penn wins over the Leopards
Andrew brown led Lafayette with 15 points. Bilal Abdullah added 14 off the bench. Michael Gruner had 13, Paul Cummins 12 and Everset Schmidt and Matt Betley 10 each for the 'Pards (4-2), who shot 52.6 percent (30-57) from the field, including 11 threes on 28 attempts.
The win was number 175 of his career for Lafayette coach Fran O'Hanlon, who is now an even 175-175 in 12 seasons at Lafayette.
Box score | Morning Call | Express-Times | Philly Inquirer | Philly Daily News | Daily Penn (gamer) | Daily Penn (sidebar)
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All good things must come to an end. For the Penn Quakers, two of those things came to and end Wednesday night in Easton.
With six players scoring in double figures, including all five starters, Lafayette handed the Quakers an 81-69 defeat, ending Penn's 280game win streak against Patriot League teams. The win, just Lafayette's fourth in 41 games all time against the Quakers, also ended a streak of eight straight Penn wins over the Leopards
Andrew brown led Lafayette with 15 points. Bilal Abdullah added 14 off the bench. Michael Gruner had 13, Paul Cummins 12 and Everset Schmidt and Matt Betley 10 each for the 'Pards (4-2), who shot 52.6 percent (30-57) from the field, including 11 threes on 28 attempts.
The win was number 175 of his career for Lafayette coach Fran O'Hanlon, who is now an even 175-175 in 12 seasons at Lafayette.
Box score | Morning Call | Express-Times | Philly Inquirer | Philly Daily News | Daily Penn (gamer) | Daily Penn (sidebar)
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(Originally posted Wed. at 10:26 p.m, links added at 7:19 a.m.)
It has been a long time since Bucknell sunk to the depths of offensive mediocrity it reached in Wednesday's 55-40 loss to Marist. Especially in its own gym.
For the second straight game, the Bison failed to get out of the teens in the first half, scoring only 17 points in falling behind by 12 at the intermission after missing their first 6 shots en route to a 6 for 28 half. By the time Bucknell scored its first bucket, they were already down 10-0.
Not so long ago, this kind of performance in Sojka Pavilion sent those along press row scurrying through the ooposition sections of the Bucknell media guide in search of superlatives. This time it was the home section that produced tidbits like these:
The 40 points were the fewest Bucknell has scored in a game since a 68-27 loss at Princeton in 1998.
The last time Bucknell scored less than 40 at home was in Jan. of 1951, when they lost 25-15 to Penn State.
The Bison finished the game 16 for 50 (32 percent) from the field, 5 for 19 from three-point range. They managed just six trips to the foul line all night, and even struggled there, making three. Add 18 Bison turnovers to the mix and you have a recipe for that surely left a bad taste in the mouths of the 3129 fans in attendance.
It was an offensive performance so bad that even when they held Marist to 43.5 percent shooting from the field, and just 4 of 17 from the arc, the Bison still were unable to hang close to the Red Foxes, who had just one player reach double figures (Ryan Stilphen - 10 points).
That was one more in double figures than the Bison had. Justin Castleberry , who was 3 for 11 from the field (all three on three-pointers) led Bucknell with 9 points.
The loss snaps a 10-game home win streak for the Bison, who have now lost three in a row after starting the season 2-0.
Box score | Daily Item
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It has been a long time since Bucknell sunk to the depths of offensive mediocrity it reached in Wednesday's 55-40 loss to Marist. Especially in its own gym.
For the second straight game, the Bison failed to get out of the teens in the first half, scoring only 17 points in falling behind by 12 at the intermission after missing their first 6 shots en route to a 6 for 28 half. By the time Bucknell scored its first bucket, they were already down 10-0.
Not so long ago, this kind of performance in Sojka Pavilion sent those along press row scurrying through the ooposition sections of the Bucknell media guide in search of superlatives. This time it was the home section that produced tidbits like these:
The Bison finished the game 16 for 50 (32 percent) from the field, 5 for 19 from three-point range. They managed just six trips to the foul line all night, and even struggled there, making three. Add 18 Bison turnovers to the mix and you have a recipe for that surely left a bad taste in the mouths of the 3129 fans in attendance.
It was an offensive performance so bad that even when they held Marist to 43.5 percent shooting from the field, and just 4 of 17 from the arc, the Bison still were unable to hang close to the Red Foxes, who had just one player reach double figures (Ryan Stilphen - 10 points).
That was one more in double figures than the Bison had. Justin Castleberry , who was 3 for 11 from the field (all three on three-pointers) led Bucknell with 9 points.
The loss snaps a 10-game home win streak for the Bison, who have now lost three in a row after starting the season 2-0.
Box score | Daily Item
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It's not often you see somebody score 92 points against defensive-minded Lehigh. That's what Quinnipiac did Wednesday night in Stabler Arena, though, handing the Mountain Hawks a 92-88 setback.
Of course it wasn't like the Bobcats (2-3) lit things up -- it took them two overtime periods to reach that 92-point plateau. Lehigh (3-4) held Quinnipiac to 41.7 percent shooting from the field (32-77), 6 of 14 from the arc. But Quinnipiac grabbed 20 offensive rebounds and went 22 for 27 at the foul line, including 6 for 6 in the final 15 seconds of the second extra session.
The game was tied, for the 13th time (19 lead changes) with 28 seconds to go after Marquis Hall hit one of two at the line to make it an 86-86 game. But after Quinnipiac went on top with a pair of Casey Cosgrove free throws with 15 seconds to go, Lehigh turned it over at the other end and was forced to foul. Quinnipiac sealed the win by making all four free throws it shot in the last 8 seconds.
Wasted in the loss were big performances by Marquis Hall, Zahir Carrington and Bryan White. Hall hit 5 threes en route to a career-high 27 points. Carrington also posted a career-high, going 11 for 14 from the floor to finish with 23 points before fouling out with 1:12 to go in regulation.
White grabbed 8 rebounds and scored 14 points, including the first three-pointer of the senior forward's career. White's trey came with 11 seconds to go in the first OT, knotting it at 80-80 and forcing the second OT.
Ed Najac’s posted a 17-point, 15-reboound double-double to lead six Quinnipiac players in double figures. The Bobcats finished with a 53-38 edge on the boards.
Box score | Express-Times
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Of course it wasn't like the Bobcats (2-3) lit things up -- it took them two overtime periods to reach that 92-point plateau. Lehigh (3-4) held Quinnipiac to 41.7 percent shooting from the field (32-77), 6 of 14 from the arc. But Quinnipiac grabbed 20 offensive rebounds and went 22 for 27 at the foul line, including 6 for 6 in the final 15 seconds of the second extra session.
The game was tied, for the 13th time (19 lead changes) with 28 seconds to go after Marquis Hall hit one of two at the line to make it an 86-86 game. But after Quinnipiac went on top with a pair of Casey Cosgrove free throws with 15 seconds to go, Lehigh turned it over at the other end and was forced to foul. Quinnipiac sealed the win by making all four free throws it shot in the last 8 seconds.
Wasted in the loss were big performances by Marquis Hall, Zahir Carrington and Bryan White. Hall hit 5 threes en route to a career-high 27 points. Carrington also posted a career-high, going 11 for 14 from the floor to finish with 23 points before fouling out with 1:12 to go in regulation.
White grabbed 8 rebounds and scored 14 points, including the first three-pointer of the senior forward's career. White's trey came with 11 seconds to go in the first OT, knotting it at 80-80 and forcing the second OT.
Ed Najac’s posted a 17-point, 15-reboound double-double to lead six Quinnipiac players in double figures. The Bobcats finished with a 53-38 edge on the boards.
Box score | Express-Times
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Jarrell Brown became the 20th player in Army history to reach 1,000 points, but it was not enough to make a difference in the Black Knights' 70-64 loss at Hartford.
Brown finished with 24 points, including six threes, Josh Miller added 16, all in the second half. But that was not enough to dig the Black Knights out of a 15-point halftime hole.
Army did manage to pull even at 64-64 when Miller hit his 16h point on a jumper with 1:51 to play. But those were the last points Army scored. Hartford did not make another field goal, either. But the Hawks were 6 for 6 from the foul line in the final 51 seconds.
After a rough first half, Army shot 51.6 percent (16-31) in the second, finishing the night 25 for 56, 9 for 27 from the arc, 7 of those treys coming after the break (7-14 in the second half). Army shot just 7 free throws, making 5.
Hartford, on the other hand, went to the line 31 times, making 21. The Hawks were 21 of 49 (42.9 percent) from the field, 7 of 22 on threes.
The good news for Army: Doug Williams, who has been out all season, was in uniform, although he did not play. Andi Cries Walker returned to action for the first time after getting an elbow to the nose in a Nov. 20 loss at Cornell. Walker was 3 for 4 from the field in 12 minutes off the bench.
Box score | Hartford Courant
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Brown finished with 24 points, including six threes, Josh Miller added 16, all in the second half. But that was not enough to dig the Black Knights out of a 15-point halftime hole.
Army did manage to pull even at 64-64 when Miller hit his 16h point on a jumper with 1:51 to play. But those were the last points Army scored. Hartford did not make another field goal, either. But the Hawks were 6 for 6 from the foul line in the final 51 seconds.
After a rough first half, Army shot 51.6 percent (16-31) in the second, finishing the night 25 for 56, 9 for 27 from the arc, 7 of those treys coming after the break (7-14 in the second half). Army shot just 7 free throws, making 5.
Hartford, on the other hand, went to the line 31 times, making 21. The Hawks were 21 of 49 (42.9 percent) from the field, 7 of 22 on threes.
The good news for Army: Doug Williams, who has been out all season, was in uniform, although he did not play. Andi Cries Walker returned to action for the first time after getting an elbow to the nose in a Nov. 20 loss at Cornell. Walker was 3 for 4 from the field in 12 minutes off the bench.
Box score | Hartford Courant
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Wednesday, November 28, 2007
Almost since we first launched our Hoop Time Store, we've heard from folks suggesting we offer team schwag in addition to our Hoop Time branded gear.
The way royalties work, that hasn't been possible before. We could not project enough sales for all teams in the league to justify the upfront expenses involved.
But now we have a way for you to help support the site while showing your support for your favorite team, too. Just in time for your Holiday shopping, we have teamed with Amazon.com to offer a wide selection of team gear, ranging from hoodies, tees and caps to jewelry, flasks and door mats.
The selection varies by school (you'll find links to sections for each school on the right side of the pages) -- we can only offer what is available. Holy Cross fans , we apologize for the lack of purple items, but for some reason there seems to be less Crusaders gear available than any other school. We will add more if and when it becomes available.
In addition to the team items, we have put together a selection of basketball books and films. We will add additional, non-hoops inventory as quickly as we can build the pages.
If you can't find what you need in our store, enter Amazon through our store and we will still earn referral credits.
Thanks for your continued support!
Box score
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The way royalties work, that hasn't been possible before. We could not project enough sales for all teams in the league to justify the upfront expenses involved.
But now we have a way for you to help support the site while showing your support for your favorite team, too. Just in time for your Holiday shopping, we have teamed with Amazon.com to offer a wide selection of team gear, ranging from hoodies, tees and caps to jewelry, flasks and door mats.
The selection varies by school (you'll find links to sections for each school on the right side of the pages) -- we can only offer what is available. Holy Cross fans , we apologize for the lack of purple items, but for some reason there seems to be less Crusaders gear available than any other school. We will add more if and when it becomes available.
In addition to the team items, we have put together a selection of basketball books and films. We will add additional, non-hoops inventory as quickly as we can build the pages.
If you can't find what you need in our store, enter Amazon through our store and we will still earn referral credits.
Thanks for your continued support!
Box score
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If you are a longtime reader of Hoop Time, you might have noticed the absence of any mentions this season of the old Hoop Time-Basketball U challenge. After having to e-mail the it to our buddy Jake three seasons in a row, the Ivies have retired the mythical traveling trophy and, frankly, given the lack of matchups between the top teams in the two leagues, we have lost interest.
For those who still care, the Ivies lead the series 4-1 this season, and will look to pad that advantage in two meetings tonight. If the Patriot League is going to make a move, this would be a good time to do it. The league's top team thus far, Holy Cross, is at home against Yale and Lafayette hosts a young Penn team that thus far has been a shadow of Quakers past.
Elsewhere, Marist visits Bucknell in the most interesting non Ivy-Patriot game of the evening. Army travels to Hartford and Quinnipiac is at Lehigh.
SCOUTING PENN: The Quakers come in 2-4 after winning two of their last three, including Saturday over Navy. From a Penn perspective, a game with another Patriot League team -- especially Lafayette -- is just what they need to get back on track. Penn has won its last 28 in a row against Patriot teams, including eight straight against Lafayette. All time the Quakers lead the series with the Leopards 37-3.
A caveat: all three Lafayette wins have come in Easton. This is just the second game outside its cozy Palestra for a young Penn team that is still searching for an identity. Glenn Miller has used 10 different players in his starting lineup so far; nne guys -- including four freshmen -- have scored in double figures at least once.
Senior Brian Grandieri is the only Quaker to start all six games. Grandieri leads Penn in scoring, averaging 15.2 ppg. Freshman Tyler Bernardini has reached double figures the last three games and is averaging 10.2 ppg
BONUS LINKS:
Penn stats (pdf)
Penn game notes
Penn radio broadcast
Seeing spots
SCOUTING YALE: Throw out that 1-3 record. You can't judge the Bulldogs by that cover. The trhee losses, all on the road, came against UMass, Stanford and UCLA.
This will be a good test for the Crusaders. Yale is an experienced side that starts four seniors and a junior. They have an inside presence in 6-11, 240-pound Matt Kyle (13.5 ppg) that should be a challenge for Tim Clifford and good size elsewhere. Senior Caleb Holmes (12.3 ppg) is a 6-6 swingman who is shooting 57.1 percent from the field and even better -- 64.3 percent -- from the arc. Nick Holmes, another 6-6 senior, is also a threat to step outside for a three.
And then there is Eric Plato, a first team All-ivy pick last season who was CollegeInsider.com's Ivy MVP as a junior. Plato's numbers -- 34.7 percent from the field, 34.5 from three-point range -- likely reflect those big conference opponents concentrating on keeping him in check. Despite that attention, he is still averaging 12.8 ppg.
Perhaps the biggest weakness the Bulldogs have is depth. The rotation goes nine deep, but the lions share of the minutes are spread among seven guys.
BONUS LINKS:
Yale stats
Yale game notes
SCOUTING MARIST: The Red Foxes appear to be getting things together since opening the season 1-3. Marist has won its last two, following last week's win over Colgate by coming from 17 down to knock off Richmond.
Syracuse transfer Louie McCroskey, a 6-5 senior, is averaging 11.3 ppg since returning from a three-game suspension at the start of the season. Sharing the scoring lead is 6-1 freshman Jay Gavin. Spongy Benjamin, a 6-7 senior, is an inside weapon, averaging 10.3 ppg and a team-high 7.8 rebounds.
The Red Foxes are shooting 43.8 percent from the field while allowing opponents to connect at a 44.4 percent rate. Marist and its foes are both shooting 40.4 percent from the arc.
Marist should be used to close games. Its last four have been decided by a combined 13 points, including an overtime loss to Temple.
BONUS LINKS:
Marist stats
Marist game notes
SCOUTING HARTFORD: The Hawks are 3-4 after winning their last two at the Las Vegas Invitational. Losses include games at Louisville and Brigham Young.
Defense is the key for Dan Leibowitz's team. In his second season as head coach, the former John Chaney assistant has Hartford holding opponents to 42.4 percent shooting from the field while forcing over 20 turnovers per game.
Hartford's weaknesses? They don't shoot too well themselves (42.8 percent from the field) and a smallish roster with just one guy taller than 6-7 has been outrebounded by an average of 11.5 per game.
Sophomore Joe Zeglinski (6-0) leads Hartford with 13.5 ppg. Also in double figures are 6-6 junior Warren McLendon (12.3 ppg) and 6-2 junior Jaret Von Rosenberg (10.6 ppg).
BONUS LINKS:
Hartford stats
Livestats
Hartford coach Dan Leibowitz's blog
SCOUTING QUINNIPIAC: The 1-3 Bobcats score 72 points per game. But they don't do a very good job at the other end, allowing foes to score 77 per contest.
The offense has pretty much been a one-man show. Central Connecticut transfer Demario Anderson leads the Northeast Conference with his 21.5 ppg average. Anderson comes in off a big week where he scored 25 in a loss to New Hampshire and 29 in a loss to Maine. Anderson also grabbed 10 rebounds against the Black Bears.
Freshman Evann Baker had a breakout game in the loss to New Hampshire, going 9 for 9 from the field en route to a 25 points performance,
BONUS LINKS:
Quinnipiac game notes
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For those who still care, the Ivies lead the series 4-1 this season, and will look to pad that advantage in two meetings tonight. If the Patriot League is going to make a move, this would be a good time to do it. The league's top team thus far, Holy Cross, is at home against Yale and Lafayette hosts a young Penn team that thus far has been a shadow of Quakers past.
Elsewhere, Marist visits Bucknell in the most interesting non Ivy-Patriot game of the evening. Army travels to Hartford and Quinnipiac is at Lehigh.
SCOUTING PENN: The Quakers come in 2-4 after winning two of their last three, including Saturday over Navy. From a Penn perspective, a game with another Patriot League team -- especially Lafayette -- is just what they need to get back on track. Penn has won its last 28 in a row against Patriot teams, including eight straight against Lafayette. All time the Quakers lead the series with the Leopards 37-3.
A caveat: all three Lafayette wins have come in Easton. This is just the second game outside its cozy Palestra for a young Penn team that is still searching for an identity. Glenn Miller has used 10 different players in his starting lineup so far; nne guys -- including four freshmen -- have scored in double figures at least once.
Senior Brian Grandieri is the only Quaker to start all six games. Grandieri leads Penn in scoring, averaging 15.2 ppg. Freshman Tyler Bernardini has reached double figures the last three games and is averaging 10.2 ppg
BONUS LINKS:
SCOUTING YALE: Throw out that 1-3 record. You can't judge the Bulldogs by that cover. The trhee losses, all on the road, came against UMass, Stanford and UCLA.
This will be a good test for the Crusaders. Yale is an experienced side that starts four seniors and a junior. They have an inside presence in 6-11, 240-pound Matt Kyle (13.5 ppg) that should be a challenge for Tim Clifford and good size elsewhere. Senior Caleb Holmes (12.3 ppg) is a 6-6 swingman who is shooting 57.1 percent from the field and even better -- 64.3 percent -- from the arc. Nick Holmes, another 6-6 senior, is also a threat to step outside for a three.
And then there is Eric Plato, a first team All-ivy pick last season who was CollegeInsider.com's Ivy MVP as a junior. Plato's numbers -- 34.7 percent from the field, 34.5 from three-point range -- likely reflect those big conference opponents concentrating on keeping him in check. Despite that attention, he is still averaging 12.8 ppg.
Perhaps the biggest weakness the Bulldogs have is depth. The rotation goes nine deep, but the lions share of the minutes are spread among seven guys.
BONUS LINKS:
SCOUTING MARIST: The Red Foxes appear to be getting things together since opening the season 1-3. Marist has won its last two, following last week's win over Colgate by coming from 17 down to knock off Richmond.
Syracuse transfer Louie McCroskey, a 6-5 senior, is averaging 11.3 ppg since returning from a three-game suspension at the start of the season. Sharing the scoring lead is 6-1 freshman Jay Gavin. Spongy Benjamin, a 6-7 senior, is an inside weapon, averaging 10.3 ppg and a team-high 7.8 rebounds.
The Red Foxes are shooting 43.8 percent from the field while allowing opponents to connect at a 44.4 percent rate. Marist and its foes are both shooting 40.4 percent from the arc.
Marist should be used to close games. Its last four have been decided by a combined 13 points, including an overtime loss to Temple.
BONUS LINKS:
SCOUTING HARTFORD: The Hawks are 3-4 after winning their last two at the Las Vegas Invitational. Losses include games at Louisville and Brigham Young.
Defense is the key for Dan Leibowitz's team. In his second season as head coach, the former John Chaney assistant has Hartford holding opponents to 42.4 percent shooting from the field while forcing over 20 turnovers per game.
Hartford's weaknesses? They don't shoot too well themselves (42.8 percent from the field) and a smallish roster with just one guy taller than 6-7 has been outrebounded by an average of 11.5 per game.
Sophomore Joe Zeglinski (6-0) leads Hartford with 13.5 ppg. Also in double figures are 6-6 junior Warren McLendon (12.3 ppg) and 6-2 junior Jaret Von Rosenberg (10.6 ppg).
BONUS LINKS:
SCOUTING QUINNIPIAC: The 1-3 Bobcats score 72 points per game. But they don't do a very good job at the other end, allowing foes to score 77 per contest.
The offense has pretty much been a one-man show. Central Connecticut transfer Demario Anderson leads the Northeast Conference with his 21.5 ppg average. Anderson comes in off a big week where he scored 25 in a loss to New Hampshire and 29 in a loss to Maine. Anderson also grabbed 10 rebounds against the Black Bears.
Freshman Evann Baker had a breakout game in the loss to New Hampshire, going 9 for 9 from the field en route to a 25 points performance,
BONUS LINKS:
Labels: Army, Bucknell, Holy Cross, Lafayette, Lehigh, previews
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The number three was a recurring theme in the Midshipmen's 75-65 loss at Howard Tuesday night.
Missed three-pointers played a big role in the loss, Navy's third in a row. The Mids led 31-30 after a first half in which they hit 5 treys (out of 15 attempts). But after the break, Navy was 3 for 13 from the arc, the biggest of those 10 misses coming with 32 seconds to play and Howard up by three, 68-65.
That was when Adam Teague, who hit two big threes down the stretch to keep Navy in the game, including one to pull the Mids to within three, could not come up with a third three of the half after freshman Mark Veazey stole and inbounds pass to give Navy a chance to tie.
The Mids trailed by as many as 10 in the second half, thanks in no small part to missing the first seven threes they shot. Greg Sprink broke the ice with 3:38 to play, pulling the Mids within one and Teague connected 37 seconds later to tie it at 59-59.
Howard responded with a 9-2 spurt to build a 68-62 lead, which proved to be enough of a cushion to give the Bison their third win of the season after they hit 5 for 5 from the foul line in the final 28 seconds. The first of those five free throws capped an old-fashioned three-point play after Jevon Smith rebounded Teague's miss and went the length of the court for a layup and one. Smith finished with 16 points, leading four Howard players in double figures.
The Bison shot 49.1 percent (26-53) from the field, including an efficient 4 for 9 from the arc. Howard outrebounded Navy 45-30, but helped the Mids stay in the contest by turning the ball over 20 times.
Sprink led Navy with 18 points. But the Mids senior captain was just 4 for 13 from the field, 1 for 6 from the arc. Sprink, who sat much of the first half after picking up two fouls, scored 16 of his points after the break. Teague hit half of Navy's eight three-pointers to finish with 16 points off the bench.
The Mids shot 31.4 percent (21-61) from the field. Navy opened the second half by making 2 of its first 15 shots, finishing the half 10 of 36 (27.8 percent). Their second half struggles were not just from three-point range.
Box score | Washington Post | AP
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Missed three-pointers played a big role in the loss, Navy's third in a row. The Mids led 31-30 after a first half in which they hit 5 treys (out of 15 attempts). But after the break, Navy was 3 for 13 from the arc, the biggest of those 10 misses coming with 32 seconds to play and Howard up by three, 68-65.
That was when Adam Teague, who hit two big threes down the stretch to keep Navy in the game, including one to pull the Mids to within three, could not come up with a third three of the half after freshman Mark Veazey stole and inbounds pass to give Navy a chance to tie.
The Mids trailed by as many as 10 in the second half, thanks in no small part to missing the first seven threes they shot. Greg Sprink broke the ice with 3:38 to play, pulling the Mids within one and Teague connected 37 seconds later to tie it at 59-59.
Howard responded with a 9-2 spurt to build a 68-62 lead, which proved to be enough of a cushion to give the Bison their third win of the season after they hit 5 for 5 from the foul line in the final 28 seconds. The first of those five free throws capped an old-fashioned three-point play after Jevon Smith rebounded Teague's miss and went the length of the court for a layup and one. Smith finished with 16 points, leading four Howard players in double figures.
The Bison shot 49.1 percent (26-53) from the field, including an efficient 4 for 9 from the arc. Howard outrebounded Navy 45-30, but helped the Mids stay in the contest by turning the ball over 20 times.
Sprink led Navy with 18 points. But the Mids senior captain was just 4 for 13 from the field, 1 for 6 from the arc. Sprink, who sat much of the first half after picking up two fouls, scored 16 of his points after the break. Teague hit half of Navy's eight three-pointers to finish with 16 points off the bench.
The Mids shot 31.4 percent (21-61) from the field. Navy opened the second half by making 2 of its first 15 shots, finishing the half 10 of 36 (27.8 percent). Their second half struggles were not just from three-point range.
Box score | Washington Post | AP
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Tuesday, November 27, 2007
The latest Mid-Major Top 25, plus news from the home office in Center Valley.
The Crusaders move up three spots to No. 10 in this week's Mid-Major Top 25. Bucknell and Colgate still getting a few votes.
Patriot League Men's Basketball Release - 11.26.07 (Condensed version)
With breaks for final exams and the Christmas season looming in December, Patriot League teams will pack plenty of games into the last week of November action. It starts with four contests on Monday, highlighted by Holy Cross hosting Ohio and Colgate making a trip to Notre Dame. Also, Lehigh hosts NJIT and American is at Mount St. Mary's. Navy is at Howard in Tuesday's only action, but five games highlight the Wednesday slate. Holy Cross and Lehigh host their second game of the week, with the Crusaders playing Yale and the Mountain Hawks taking on Quinnipiac. Lafayette and Bucknell are at home against Penn and Marist, respectively, while Army is at Hartford. Navy wraps up the weekday games by hosting Towson on Thursday.
Player of the Week
Jarell Brown, Army Sr., G, 6'2, 183, Cleveland, Ohio/St. Peter Chanel
Brown put up the best single-game scoring effort for a Patriot League player this year and tied his career high with 30 points in a loss against Cornell on Tuesday, and followed it up with 26 points in a win over Presbyterian on Saturday to earn his fourth-career Anaconda Player of the Week honor, and first this season. He notched eight three-pointers in the win against Presbyterian, good for second on Army's all-time single-game list and just one off the school record. Brown averaged 28.0 points, 2.5 rebounds, two assists and two steals per game for the week, and shot the ball extremely well. He connected on 60 percent (18-30) of his shots from the field and 65 percent (13-20) from three-point range, and hit on 87.5 percent (7-8) of his foul shots. Brown accounted for 39.7 percent of Army's offense in the two games, while taking 28 percent of the shot attempts. He scored at least 11 points in each of the four halves he played in the week, and has now scored 26 points or more in three of Army's five games this season. Brown is now only 10 points shy of reaching the 1,000-point mark for his career.
Rookie of the Week
Rob Keefer, Lehigh Fr., G, 6'3, 185, North Wales, Pa./Abington Friends
Keefer earns his second consecutive Rookie of the Week honor after averaging seven points, 3.5 rebounds and one assist in Lehigh's losses to Albany and Maryland. His performance against the Terrapins was especially strong, as Keefer scored a career-high 12 points and totaled a career-high six rebounds against the ACC contender. Keefer has started every game for Lehigh, and leads all Patriot League freshmen with 8.0 ppg. He leads all Lehigh freshmen in points, minutes and rebounds.
Patriot League Notebook
Leopards Pick up a Pair
Lafayette was picked to finish in last place in the Patriot League preseason poll, but showed that it has the potential to prove the doubters wrong with a pair of home victories last week. They knocked off UMBC, 87-84, in overtime on Tuesday and rolled to a 71-54 triumph against Central Connecticut State on Sunday. A high-powered offense has ignited a 3-2 start to the season. The Leopards lead the Patriot League with 79.2 points per game for the year, and also post a League-high 15 assists and 10.8 three-pointers per contest. Andrew Brown leads the team with 17.0 ppg, and seven players average six points per game or more. That scoring depth was evident when seven different Lafayette players scored in double figures in the two victories last week. Brown was the only one to notch a double-digt total in both games, with five players reaching the mark against UMBC. Lafayette tries to post a three-game winning streak at home against Penn on Wednesday.
A tough weekend
While Lafayette's victory over Central Connecticut State capped off the weekend action, Patriot League teams were only able to garner three wins in eight games from Friday-Sunday. Navy had a couple of close calls in the Philly Hoop Group Classic, but lost to Seton Hall, 79-75, and to Penn, 71-67. Bucknell, Colgate and Lehigh also suffered losses. But the weekend action produced victories for Army and American. The Black Knights got 26 points from Jarell Brown in a 63-58 win over Presbyterian, while the Eagles had a convincing all-around performance in a 73-50 victory at NJIT.
Milennium Men
Navy's Greg Sprink continues to add to his point total as the only active 1,000-point scorer in the Patriot League. Sprink notched 45 points in two contests over the weekend, and sits 34th in Patriot League annals with 1,267 career points. He is one of 56 players to score at least 1,000 points in League history, and is second in the Patriot League with 19.3 ppg for the year. He'll have the company of one more player in the 1,000-point club soon. Army's Jarell Brown put up a huge week with 56 total points in games against Cornell and Presbyterian, and is now just 10 points away from 1,000 for his career. Brown is averaging 18.2 ppg for the season.
Still the Only One
When Lehigh won at St. Francis (Pa.) on Nov. 17, the Patriot League became the first of 31 Division I conferences to have all of its teams record at least one road victory this season. More than a week later, the Patriot League is still the only one to accomplish the feat. Lehigh's home win over St. Peter's on Nov. 14 made the League the second conference to have every team record at least one win over a Division I opponent. The SEC beat the Patriot League to the mark by day.
Team Notebooks
American
The Eagles split a pair of games on the road last week, knocking off NJIT, 73-50, on Saturday and losing at Morgan State, 62-54, on Tuesday...Garrison Carr averaged 16.5 ppg in the two contests, and is fourth in the Patriot League with 17.7 ppg for the year...He leads all Patriot League players with 26 three-point field goals made for the season, and already has five more treys than he did all of last year...He is shooting 46 percent from beyond the arc...Derrick Mercer is sixth in the Patriot League with 16.0 ppg, making the Eagles the only team in the League with two players averaging more than 15 points per contest...Mercer is in the top five in the League in assists, field goal percentage, three-point percentage and assist/turnover ratio...Carr, Mercer, Frank Borden and Travis Lay all scored in double figures in the win against NJIT...The Eagles forced 26 turnovers in the game, while only committing 11 of their own...American concludes its three-game road trip with a visit to Mount St. Mary's on Monday, then returns home to face UMBC on Saturday.
Army
The Black Knights went 1-1 last week, notching their first home victory in a 63-58 triumph over Presbyterian on Saturday and losing, 93-78, at Cornell on Tuesday...The win over Presbyterian snapped a two-game losing skid...Jarell Brown scored 30 points in the loss to Cornell, the highest single-game total for a Patriot League player this season....Brown scored 26 in the win over Presbyterian, and hit on 18-of-30 shots in the two games, including 13-of-20 from three-point range...He hit eight three-pointers against Presbyterian, which ranked second on Army's single-game list...He moved into sole possession of third place on Army's career three-pointers list with 170...Josh Moonshower scored a career-high 16 points against Presbyterian...Guard Josh Miller has tied or set a career-high in assists in the last four games, and notched seven in the win over Presbyterian...Miller leads the Patriot League in assists, and is in the top 15 in scoring and rebounds...Army played the Presbyterian game without two of its top big men, Doug Williams and Chris Walker ...They are on the road twice this week, at Hartford on Wednesday and at VMI on Saturday.
Bucknell
Bucknell fell to 2-2 on the season with a 64-55 loss at Wagner on Saturday in its only game of the week...The Bison trailed 29-13 at halftime after making only 5-27 shots in the first half (1-11 from 3-point range), but they scored 42 points in the second half and closed within seven on three occasions... Patrick Behan scored a career-high 17 points in the loss...Freshman guard Darryl Shazier had a solid day with six points, five rebounds, four assists and three steals, while classmate Todd O'Brien notched eight points and six boards...O'Brien also had three blocks in the game, and leads the Patriot League with 11 blocked shots through four games...The Bison lead the League with 4.75 blocks per contest...John Griffin hit two 3-pointers, giving him 153 for his career...Griffin needs one more trey to reach the top five on Bucknell's all-time list...Griffin and Behan lead the Bison and are tied for seventh in the Patriot League with 14.5 ppg...Bucknell returns home for the first time since Nov. 10 when it takes on Marist on Wednesday to kick off a three-game homestand...They also play St. Francis (Pa.) on Saturday and La Salle on Dec. 3.
Colgate
The Raiders came into the week with an unblemished record, but suffered their first two defeats with a 61-60 loss to Marist on Wednesday and 81-76 loss to Dartmouth on Saturday...Marist scored on a putback with seven seconds left for the victory, while Colgate led Dartmouth by one point with less than five minutes to play...Kyle Roemer was the high scorer in both games, and recorded a career-high 26 points against Dartmouth...He averaged 20.5 ppg for the week, and connected on all 11 foul shots...Roemer leads the Patriot League with 20.2 ppg for the season...Kendall Chones had 20 points against Dartmouth, the fourth time in his career that he has scored 20 or more in a game...Daniel Waddy chipped in with 15 points in the game and Willie Morse had nine, but the other six players to see action totaled only six points...Colgate kicks off a long six-game road swing on Monday at Notre Dame...The Raiders will also become the third Patriot League team to visit Cornell on Saturday, and will not play at home until after the New Year.
Holy Cross
The Crusaders only played once last week, and made the most of their outing by beating Harvard, 80-69, on Tuesday...It was the first time that any opponent scored more than 54 points against them, but the Crusaders still lead the Patriot League with 55.5 points per game allowed....They also lead the League in scoring margin, free throw percentage, field goal percentage defense and rebounding margin...Harvard fought back to tie the score at 62 with 5:56 to play, but the Crusaders answered with a 10-0 run to put the game away...Tim Clifford scored 22 points for the second consecutive game, and now leads the team with 13.5 ppg for the season...Alex Vander Baan had 18 points and eight rebounds, while Adam May had a career-high 16 points and six boards...Vander Baan leads the Patriot League with 8.5 rebounds per game...The Crusaders play the remainder of a four-game homestand this week, putting their undefeated record on the line with games against Ohio on Monday, Yale on Wednesday and Dayton at the DCU Center in Worcester on Saturday.
Lafayette
The Leopards were the only Patriot League team to complete a 2-0 week and moved to 3-2 overall with an 87-84 win in overtime over UMBC on Tuesday and a 71-54 victory over Central Connecticut State on Sunday afternoon....Andrew Brown had a team-high point total in both games, scoring 15 against UMBC and 17 against CCSU...Bilal Abdullah had 16 points against CCSU and Paul Cummins added 12, and seven different Lafayette players scored in double figures in at least one of the two games this week, with Brown doing it in both... ..Lafayette hit 12-of-25 three-pointers against CCSU, and 10-of-25 against UMBC for a 44 percent clip from long range for the week...The victory over UMBC avenged an 86-51 loss last season...Lafayette hosts Penn on Wednesday, then is off for the weekend until hosting NJIT on Monday...After that game, the Leopards will play their final eight non-League games on the road and not return home until they play Holy Cross in the League opener on Jan. 12.
Lehigh
The Mountain Hawks had a tough week on the road, losing 78-66 at Albany on Tuesday and 72-51 at Maryland on Friday...Freshman Rob Keefer scored a career-high 12 points and pulled down six rebounds against Maryland...He has started every game for Lehigh, and leads all Patriot League freshman with 8.0 ppg...Matt Szalachowski tied Keefer for the team lead with 12 points against Maryland, and four different Lehigh players scored in double figures in the two games last week...Zahir Carrington (14) and Bryan White (12) both did it against Albany...The Mountain Hawks lead the Patriot League in assist/turnover ratio, due in large part to Marquis Hall leading the League with twice as many assists as turnovers (18/9)...Bryan White is in the top five in the League in rebounds, blocks and steals...After playing four of its first five games on the road, Lehigh plays five of the next six at home...They host NJIT on Monday and Quinnipiac on Wednesday of this week, before traveling to Central Connecticut State on Saturday.
Navy
The Mids won, 71-60, over Canisius on Wednesday before dropping a pair of heartbreakers over the weekend at the Philly Hoop Group Classic...They had a 16-point first-half lead before falling to Seton Hall, 79-75, and also lost to Penn, 71-67, after holding a halftime advantage...Greg Sprink averaged 20.7 ppg and 5.7 rpg for the week, and was even better in Philadelphia with 22.5 ppg and 6.0 rpg in the two contests...Sprink set a career-high in steals with four against Canisius, then matched it against Seton Hall...He has scored in double figures in every game this year, and has 22 career 20-point games...Navy's 37 three-point attempts against Seton Hall were the second most in school history...The Mids connected on 13 of the 37 shots...Navy shot just 74-of-207 (35.7 percent) in three games during the week...They grabbed 45 offensive rebounds in the three contests...Brian Richards scored a career-high 15 points against Canisius and then grabbed a career-high nine rebounds against Seton Hall...Navy's bench has scored at least 27 points in all seven games this year...The Mids concludes a busy, nine-game Novemeber by playing at Howard on Tuesday and at home against Towson on Thursday...They play Mount St. Mary's on Dec. 3, then have two weeks off before their next action at San Diego State on Dec. 17
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The Crusaders move up three spots to No. 10 in this week's Mid-Major Top 25. Bucknell and Colgate still getting a few votes.
Patriot League Men's Basketball Release - 11.26.07 (Condensed version)
With breaks for final exams and the Christmas season looming in December, Patriot League teams will pack plenty of games into the last week of November action. It starts with four contests on Monday, highlighted by Holy Cross hosting Ohio and Colgate making a trip to Notre Dame. Also, Lehigh hosts NJIT and American is at Mount St. Mary's. Navy is at Howard in Tuesday's only action, but five games highlight the Wednesday slate. Holy Cross and Lehigh host their second game of the week, with the Crusaders playing Yale and the Mountain Hawks taking on Quinnipiac. Lafayette and Bucknell are at home against Penn and Marist, respectively, while Army is at Hartford. Navy wraps up the weekday games by hosting Towson on Thursday.
Player of the Week
Jarell Brown, Army Sr., G, 6'2, 183, Cleveland, Ohio/St. Peter Chanel
Brown put up the best single-game scoring effort for a Patriot League player this year and tied his career high with 30 points in a loss against Cornell on Tuesday, and followed it up with 26 points in a win over Presbyterian on Saturday to earn his fourth-career Anaconda Player of the Week honor, and first this season. He notched eight three-pointers in the win against Presbyterian, good for second on Army's all-time single-game list and just one off the school record. Brown averaged 28.0 points, 2.5 rebounds, two assists and two steals per game for the week, and shot the ball extremely well. He connected on 60 percent (18-30) of his shots from the field and 65 percent (13-20) from three-point range, and hit on 87.5 percent (7-8) of his foul shots. Brown accounted for 39.7 percent of Army's offense in the two games, while taking 28 percent of the shot attempts. He scored at least 11 points in each of the four halves he played in the week, and has now scored 26 points or more in three of Army's five games this season. Brown is now only 10 points shy of reaching the 1,000-point mark for his career.
Rookie of the Week
Rob Keefer, Lehigh Fr., G, 6'3, 185, North Wales, Pa./Abington Friends
Keefer earns his second consecutive Rookie of the Week honor after averaging seven points, 3.5 rebounds and one assist in Lehigh's losses to Albany and Maryland. His performance against the Terrapins was especially strong, as Keefer scored a career-high 12 points and totaled a career-high six rebounds against the ACC contender. Keefer has started every game for Lehigh, and leads all Patriot League freshmen with 8.0 ppg. He leads all Lehigh freshmen in points, minutes and rebounds.
Patriot League Notebook
Leopards Pick up a Pair
Lafayette was picked to finish in last place in the Patriot League preseason poll, but showed that it has the potential to prove the doubters wrong with a pair of home victories last week. They knocked off UMBC, 87-84, in overtime on Tuesday and rolled to a 71-54 triumph against Central Connecticut State on Sunday. A high-powered offense has ignited a 3-2 start to the season. The Leopards lead the Patriot League with 79.2 points per game for the year, and also post a League-high 15 assists and 10.8 three-pointers per contest. Andrew Brown leads the team with 17.0 ppg, and seven players average six points per game or more. That scoring depth was evident when seven different Lafayette players scored in double figures in the two victories last week. Brown was the only one to notch a double-digt total in both games, with five players reaching the mark against UMBC. Lafayette tries to post a three-game winning streak at home against Penn on Wednesday.
A tough weekend
While Lafayette's victory over Central Connecticut State capped off the weekend action, Patriot League teams were only able to garner three wins in eight games from Friday-Sunday. Navy had a couple of close calls in the Philly Hoop Group Classic, but lost to Seton Hall, 79-75, and to Penn, 71-67. Bucknell, Colgate and Lehigh also suffered losses. But the weekend action produced victories for Army and American. The Black Knights got 26 points from Jarell Brown in a 63-58 win over Presbyterian, while the Eagles had a convincing all-around performance in a 73-50 victory at NJIT.
Milennium Men
Navy's Greg Sprink continues to add to his point total as the only active 1,000-point scorer in the Patriot League. Sprink notched 45 points in two contests over the weekend, and sits 34th in Patriot League annals with 1,267 career points. He is one of 56 players to score at least 1,000 points in League history, and is second in the Patriot League with 19.3 ppg for the year. He'll have the company of one more player in the 1,000-point club soon. Army's Jarell Brown put up a huge week with 56 total points in games against Cornell and Presbyterian, and is now just 10 points away from 1,000 for his career. Brown is averaging 18.2 ppg for the season.
Still the Only One
When Lehigh won at St. Francis (Pa.) on Nov. 17, the Patriot League became the first of 31 Division I conferences to have all of its teams record at least one road victory this season. More than a week later, the Patriot League is still the only one to accomplish the feat. Lehigh's home win over St. Peter's on Nov. 14 made the League the second conference to have every team record at least one win over a Division I opponent. The SEC beat the Patriot League to the mark by day.
Team Notebooks
American
The Eagles split a pair of games on the road last week, knocking off NJIT, 73-50, on Saturday and losing at Morgan State, 62-54, on Tuesday...Garrison Carr averaged 16.5 ppg in the two contests, and is fourth in the Patriot League with 17.7 ppg for the year...He leads all Patriot League players with 26 three-point field goals made for the season, and already has five more treys than he did all of last year...He is shooting 46 percent from beyond the arc...Derrick Mercer is sixth in the Patriot League with 16.0 ppg, making the Eagles the only team in the League with two players averaging more than 15 points per contest...Mercer is in the top five in the League in assists, field goal percentage, three-point percentage and assist/turnover ratio...Carr, Mercer, Frank Borden and Travis Lay all scored in double figures in the win against NJIT...The Eagles forced 26 turnovers in the game, while only committing 11 of their own...American concludes its three-game road trip with a visit to Mount St. Mary's on Monday, then returns home to face UMBC on Saturday.
Army
The Black Knights went 1-1 last week, notching their first home victory in a 63-58 triumph over Presbyterian on Saturday and losing, 93-78, at Cornell on Tuesday...The win over Presbyterian snapped a two-game losing skid...Jarell Brown scored 30 points in the loss to Cornell, the highest single-game total for a Patriot League player this season....Brown scored 26 in the win over Presbyterian, and hit on 18-of-30 shots in the two games, including 13-of-20 from three-point range...He hit eight three-pointers against Presbyterian, which ranked second on Army's single-game list...He moved into sole possession of third place on Army's career three-pointers list with 170...Josh Moonshower scored a career-high 16 points against Presbyterian...Guard Josh Miller has tied or set a career-high in assists in the last four games, and notched seven in the win over Presbyterian...Miller leads the Patriot League in assists, and is in the top 15 in scoring and rebounds...Army played the Presbyterian game without two of its top big men, Doug Williams and Chris Walker ...They are on the road twice this week, at Hartford on Wednesday and at VMI on Saturday.
Bucknell
Bucknell fell to 2-2 on the season with a 64-55 loss at Wagner on Saturday in its only game of the week...The Bison trailed 29-13 at halftime after making only 5-27 shots in the first half (1-11 from 3-point range), but they scored 42 points in the second half and closed within seven on three occasions... Patrick Behan scored a career-high 17 points in the loss...Freshman guard Darryl Shazier had a solid day with six points, five rebounds, four assists and three steals, while classmate Todd O'Brien notched eight points and six boards...O'Brien also had three blocks in the game, and leads the Patriot League with 11 blocked shots through four games...The Bison lead the League with 4.75 blocks per contest...John Griffin hit two 3-pointers, giving him 153 for his career...Griffin needs one more trey to reach the top five on Bucknell's all-time list...Griffin and Behan lead the Bison and are tied for seventh in the Patriot League with 14.5 ppg...Bucknell returns home for the first time since Nov. 10 when it takes on Marist on Wednesday to kick off a three-game homestand...They also play St. Francis (Pa.) on Saturday and La Salle on Dec. 3.
Colgate
The Raiders came into the week with an unblemished record, but suffered their first two defeats with a 61-60 loss to Marist on Wednesday and 81-76 loss to Dartmouth on Saturday...Marist scored on a putback with seven seconds left for the victory, while Colgate led Dartmouth by one point with less than five minutes to play...Kyle Roemer was the high scorer in both games, and recorded a career-high 26 points against Dartmouth...He averaged 20.5 ppg for the week, and connected on all 11 foul shots...Roemer leads the Patriot League with 20.2 ppg for the season...Kendall Chones had 20 points against Dartmouth, the fourth time in his career that he has scored 20 or more in a game...Daniel Waddy chipped in with 15 points in the game and Willie Morse had nine, but the other six players to see action totaled only six points...Colgate kicks off a long six-game road swing on Monday at Notre Dame...The Raiders will also become the third Patriot League team to visit Cornell on Saturday, and will not play at home until after the New Year.
Holy Cross
The Crusaders only played once last week, and made the most of their outing by beating Harvard, 80-69, on Tuesday...It was the first time that any opponent scored more than 54 points against them, but the Crusaders still lead the Patriot League with 55.5 points per game allowed....They also lead the League in scoring margin, free throw percentage, field goal percentage defense and rebounding margin...Harvard fought back to tie the score at 62 with 5:56 to play, but the Crusaders answered with a 10-0 run to put the game away...Tim Clifford scored 22 points for the second consecutive game, and now leads the team with 13.5 ppg for the season...Alex Vander Baan had 18 points and eight rebounds, while Adam May had a career-high 16 points and six boards...Vander Baan leads the Patriot League with 8.5 rebounds per game...The Crusaders play the remainder of a four-game homestand this week, putting their undefeated record on the line with games against Ohio on Monday, Yale on Wednesday and Dayton at the DCU Center in Worcester on Saturday.
Lafayette
The Leopards were the only Patriot League team to complete a 2-0 week and moved to 3-2 overall with an 87-84 win in overtime over UMBC on Tuesday and a 71-54 victory over Central Connecticut State on Sunday afternoon....Andrew Brown had a team-high point total in both games, scoring 15 against UMBC and 17 against CCSU...Bilal Abdullah had 16 points against CCSU and Paul Cummins added 12, and seven different Lafayette players scored in double figures in at least one of the two games this week, with Brown doing it in both... ..Lafayette hit 12-of-25 three-pointers against CCSU, and 10-of-25 against UMBC for a 44 percent clip from long range for the week...The victory over UMBC avenged an 86-51 loss last season...Lafayette hosts Penn on Wednesday, then is off for the weekend until hosting NJIT on Monday...After that game, the Leopards will play their final eight non-League games on the road and not return home until they play Holy Cross in the League opener on Jan. 12.
Lehigh
The Mountain Hawks had a tough week on the road, losing 78-66 at Albany on Tuesday and 72-51 at Maryland on Friday...Freshman Rob Keefer scored a career-high 12 points and pulled down six rebounds against Maryland...He has started every game for Lehigh, and leads all Patriot League freshman with 8.0 ppg...Matt Szalachowski tied Keefer for the team lead with 12 points against Maryland, and four different Lehigh players scored in double figures in the two games last week...Zahir Carrington (14) and Bryan White (12) both did it against Albany...The Mountain Hawks lead the Patriot League in assist/turnover ratio, due in large part to Marquis Hall leading the League with twice as many assists as turnovers (18/9)...Bryan White is in the top five in the League in rebounds, blocks and steals...After playing four of its first five games on the road, Lehigh plays five of the next six at home...They host NJIT on Monday and Quinnipiac on Wednesday of this week, before traveling to Central Connecticut State on Saturday.
Navy
The Mids won, 71-60, over Canisius on Wednesday before dropping a pair of heartbreakers over the weekend at the Philly Hoop Group Classic...They had a 16-point first-half lead before falling to Seton Hall, 79-75, and also lost to Penn, 71-67, after holding a halftime advantage...Greg Sprink averaged 20.7 ppg and 5.7 rpg for the week, and was even better in Philadelphia with 22.5 ppg and 6.0 rpg in the two contests...Sprink set a career-high in steals with four against Canisius, then matched it against Seton Hall...He has scored in double figures in every game this year, and has 22 career 20-point games...Navy's 37 three-point attempts against Seton Hall were the second most in school history...The Mids connected on 13 of the 37 shots...Navy shot just 74-of-207 (35.7 percent) in three games during the week...They grabbed 45 offensive rebounds in the three contests...Brian Richards scored a career-high 15 points against Canisius and then grabbed a career-high nine rebounds against Seton Hall...Navy's bench has scored at least 27 points in all seven games this year...The Mids concludes a busy, nine-game Novemeber by playing at Howard on Tuesday and at home against Towson on Thursday...They play Mount St. Mary's on Dec. 3, then have two weeks off before their next action at San Diego State on Dec. 17
Labels: American, Army, Bucknell, Colgate, Holy Cross, Lafayette, Lehigh, Navy
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The 2-5 Mids travel to nearby Washington D.C. tonight to face the 2-4 Bison of Howard.
SCOUTING HOWARD: Howard's record is a little deceptive. The Bison's losses include Virginia, Duquesne, a decent Loyola (Md.) team and, most recently, a 72-53 setback against Robert Morris in the Philly Hoop Group Classic. One of the two wins came in the early rounds of that tournament, an 80-68 win over that Penn team that beat Navy its last time out.
Eugene Myatt, a 6-5 junior, leads Howard in scoring, averaging 20 points per game. Myatt is shooting 54.8 percent from the field, including 42.1 percent from three-point range.
The only other Bison averaging in double figures is 6-3 freshman Kyle RIley (10 ppg), whose status for tonight's game is unclear. Riley, who has played in three games, starting one, but has not appeared in Howard's last two games due to an ankle sprain. No word on Howard's site on his status for tonight's game.
Howard is also without the services of starting point guard Julius Hearn (knee) and could be without forward Randy Hampton, who suffered a possible fracture of his right thumb in the Bison's loss to Loyola.
The Bison are shooting 41 percent as a team, 25.7 percent from the arc. Opponents are shooting 48.3 percent overall, 36.7 percent from three-point range and outrebounding the Bison by 12 per game.
BONUS LINKS:
Howard stats
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SCOUTING HOWARD: Howard's record is a little deceptive. The Bison's losses include Virginia, Duquesne, a decent Loyola (Md.) team and, most recently, a 72-53 setback against Robert Morris in the Philly Hoop Group Classic. One of the two wins came in the early rounds of that tournament, an 80-68 win over that Penn team that beat Navy its last time out.
Eugene Myatt, a 6-5 junior, leads Howard in scoring, averaging 20 points per game. Myatt is shooting 54.8 percent from the field, including 42.1 percent from three-point range.
The only other Bison averaging in double figures is 6-3 freshman Kyle RIley (10 ppg), whose status for tonight's game is unclear. Riley, who has played in three games, starting one, but has not appeared in Howard's last two games due to an ankle sprain. No word on Howard's site on his status for tonight's game.
Howard is also without the services of starting point guard Julius Hearn (knee) and could be without forward Randy Hampton, who suffered a possible fracture of his right thumb in the Bison's loss to Loyola.
The Bison are shooting 41 percent as a team, 25.7 percent from the arc. Opponents are shooting 48.3 percent overall, 36.7 percent from three-point range and outrebounding the Bison by 12 per game.
BONUS LINKS:
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With Tim Clifford stuck on the bench, Kyle Cruze was Holy Cross' big man Monday night in a 62-60 win over Ohio University.
Cruze only scored 7 points. The rest of his line -- 3 rebounds, 4 assists, 4 turnovers and 1 steal -- was not all that impressive. But the senior guard was 3 for 3 from the field, and he was the guy that made the shot that mattered most, a driving layup with two seconds left that gave the Crusaders (5-0) their fifth straight win this season and their 21st in a row in the Hart Center.
The game featured six lead changes and seven ties, the last coming with 9 ticks on the clock when OU's Michael Allen hit his only field goal of the game, a three-pointer that made it 60-60, setting the stage for Cruze's heroics.
Clifford was nearly as perfect from the field, going 5 for 6 for 11 points. But the preseason Patriot League player of the year was sitting next to Ralph Willard when the game was on the line, having fouled out for the third time in five games. Clifford played just 22 minutes.
Colin Cunningham and Pat Doherty each scored 12 points for the Crusaders, who went 22 for 44 from the field, 6 for 15 from three-point range. Ohio (2-1) shot 44.4 percent (20-45) from the field and hit 9 of 19 from the arc.
Box score | AP | Telegram & Gazette
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Cruze only scored 7 points. The rest of his line -- 3 rebounds, 4 assists, 4 turnovers and 1 steal -- was not all that impressive. But the senior guard was 3 for 3 from the field, and he was the guy that made the shot that mattered most, a driving layup with two seconds left that gave the Crusaders (5-0) their fifth straight win this season and their 21st in a row in the Hart Center.
The game featured six lead changes and seven ties, the last coming with 9 ticks on the clock when OU's Michael Allen hit his only field goal of the game, a three-pointer that made it 60-60, setting the stage for Cruze's heroics.
Clifford was nearly as perfect from the field, going 5 for 6 for 11 points. But the preseason Patriot League player of the year was sitting next to Ralph Willard when the game was on the line, having fouled out for the third time in five games. Clifford played just 22 minutes.
Colin Cunningham and Pat Doherty each scored 12 points for the Crusaders, who went 22 for 44 from the field, 6 for 15 from three-point range. Ohio (2-1) shot 44.4 percent (20-45) from the field and hit 9 of 19 from the arc.
Box score | AP | Telegram & Gazette
Labels: games, Holy Cross
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Notre Dame took the lead the second time it touched the ball and never trailed, handing Colgate its third straight loss, 94-63.
Coming in, it was Notre Dame's frontcourt that was Colgate's biggest concern. But the Irish used snipers from the three-point arc to dominate in this one. Kyle McAlarney led four Irish players in double figures with 25 points, 21 of which came on his 7 three-pointers. As a team, ND (4-2) went 13 for 28 from three-point range.
The Irish shot 46.4 percent (32-69) overall from the field and had a 42-28 edge on the glass, including 18 offensive rebounds.
Kyle Roemer led Colgate (4-3) with 13 points. Daniel Waddy added 10 for the Raiders, who were 21 of 51 (41.2 percent) from the field, 8 of 17 from the arc.
Box score | South Bend Tribune | Fort Wayne Journal Gazette | The Times (Munster, Ind.) | BlueandGold.com | AP
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Coming in, it was Notre Dame's frontcourt that was Colgate's biggest concern. But the Irish used snipers from the three-point arc to dominate in this one. Kyle McAlarney led four Irish players in double figures with 25 points, 21 of which came on his 7 three-pointers. As a team, ND (4-2) went 13 for 28 from three-point range.
The Irish shot 46.4 percent (32-69) overall from the field and had a 42-28 edge on the glass, including 18 offensive rebounds.
Kyle Roemer led Colgate (4-3) with 13 points. Daniel Waddy added 10 for the Raiders, who were 21 of 51 (41.2 percent) from the field, 8 of 17 from the arc.
Box score | South Bend Tribune | Fort Wayne Journal Gazette | The Times (Munster, Ind.) | BlueandGold.com | AP
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The Mountain Hawks used strong free throw shooting to end a two-game losing streak, downing NJIT 67-58.
Marquis Hall scored 12 points to lead Lehigh. Five of those came from the free throw line, where Hall went 5 for 6, including 3-4 in the final 1:44 to help preserve the win. Hall also had a career-high 8 assists.
No other Lehigh player reached double figures. The Mountain Hawks shot 42.3 percent (22-52) from the field, 6 of 11 at the three-point arc. But the real key was Lehigh's 17 for 23 showing at the foul line. That accounted for 7 of Lehigh's 9 point advantage on the scoreboard.
NJIT had almost identical numbers from the field (21-47 - 44.7 percent, 6-15 at the arc). But the Highlanders (0-6) went just 10 for 20 at the stripe. Lehigh also benefited from 19 NJIT turnovers.
Box score | Express-Times | AP
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Marquis Hall scored 12 points to lead Lehigh. Five of those came from the free throw line, where Hall went 5 for 6, including 3-4 in the final 1:44 to help preserve the win. Hall also had a career-high 8 assists.
No other Lehigh player reached double figures. The Mountain Hawks shot 42.3 percent (22-52) from the field, 6 of 11 at the three-point arc. But the real key was Lehigh's 17 for 23 showing at the foul line. That accounted for 7 of Lehigh's 9 point advantage on the scoreboard.
NJIT had almost identical numbers from the field (21-47 - 44.7 percent, 6-15 at the arc). But the Highlanders (0-6) went just 10 for 20 at the stripe. Lehigh also benefited from 19 NJIT turnovers.
Box score | Express-Times | AP
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The Eagles took it inside to pick up their second straight win, downing Mount St. Mary's 66-45.
American took its first lead on a Frank Borden jumper 4:28 into the game and never trailed after that. Mount St. Mary's did manage to pull even at 23-23 with 5:00 to go in the first half. But Garrison Carr's layup five seconds later put AU back on top to stay.
For the first time all season, neither of AU's starting guard duo of Carr and Derrick Mercer led the team in scoring. In fact, Mercer was held to 8 points, the first time all season he failed to reach double figures.
Carr finished with 12 points, but hit just 2 of 9 from three-point range. The Eagles (4-3) were just 3 of 15 there as a team.
But American got double-digit scoring efforts from three members of its frontcourt, led by forward Travis Lay, who scored a career-high 17. Lay was 5 for 8 from the field, a perfect 7 for 7 at the foul line and pulled down 7 rebounds, 4 on the offensive end. Brian Gilmore and juco transfer Constantin Motnii each added 10 points off the bench. Motnii led American with 8 rebounds.
The inside dominance was evident on the boards. American outrebounded the Mount (0-4) 45-29. The Eagles' 18 offensive rebounds helped offset a 38.6 percent (22-57) effort from the field. It didn't hurt any to go 19 for 22 at the foul line, either.
Defense was also a key for AU. The Eagles held Mount St. Mary's star guard Chris Vann to 8 points, well below his average of over 20 ppg. The Mount shot 31.4 percent (16-51) as a team, 2 for 11 from the arc.
Box score | Frederick Post | AP
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American took its first lead on a Frank Borden jumper 4:28 into the game and never trailed after that. Mount St. Mary's did manage to pull even at 23-23 with 5:00 to go in the first half. But Garrison Carr's layup five seconds later put AU back on top to stay.
For the first time all season, neither of AU's starting guard duo of Carr and Derrick Mercer led the team in scoring. In fact, Mercer was held to 8 points, the first time all season he failed to reach double figures.
Carr finished with 12 points, but hit just 2 of 9 from three-point range. The Eagles (4-3) were just 3 of 15 there as a team.
But American got double-digit scoring efforts from three members of its frontcourt, led by forward Travis Lay, who scored a career-high 17. Lay was 5 for 8 from the field, a perfect 7 for 7 at the foul line and pulled down 7 rebounds, 4 on the offensive end. Brian Gilmore and juco transfer Constantin Motnii each added 10 points off the bench. Motnii led American with 8 rebounds.
The inside dominance was evident on the boards. American outrebounded the Mount (0-4) 45-29. The Eagles' 18 offensive rebounds helped offset a 38.6 percent (22-57) effort from the field. It didn't hurt any to go 19 for 22 at the foul line, either.
Defense was also a key for AU. The Eagles held Mount St. Mary's star guard Chris Vann to 8 points, well below his average of over 20 ppg. The Mount shot 31.4 percent (16-51) as a team, 2 for 11 from the arc.
Box score | Frederick Post | AP
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Monday, November 26, 2007
The Crusaders host an Ohio U. team that currently is holding the No. 5 spot in the RPI. Even though at this point, the RPI means little -- especially for a team that has played only two games like Ohio -- this looks to be the toughest test to date for Holy Cross. Also on tap tonight, Colgate travels to South Bend to take on the Fighting Irish of Notre Dame, American visits Mount St. Mary's and Lehigh plays host to winless NJIT.
SCOUTING OHIO: The Bobcats have been idle since a Nov. 17 win over Cornell. That win was one of two over teams favored to win their conference for the 2-0 Bobcats, who also have a win over New Mexico State in their opener.
This will be the first trip out of Athens, Ohio for the Bobcats this season. Picked to finish third in the Mid American Conference this season, OU has three returning starters and three juco transfers on the roster.
Jerome Tillman, a 6-6 junior, was an All-MAC pick a year ago and the MAC Report Online player of the year. He is averaging 20.5 points and 8 rebounds per game, shooting 59.3 percent from the field. Tillman has range to the arc, where he has hit 3 of 6 thus far.
Senior Leon Williams, a second team All-MAC pick last season, is shooting 63.2 percent from the field and averaging a 17 point-10 rebound double-double.
Junior guard Justin Orr (6-6), who sat out last season after transferring from Murray State is shooting 55.6 percent and averaging 14 ppg and juco transfer Michael Allen, who did not play in the opener, came within an assist of a double-double with 11 points and 9 helpers off the bench against Cornell. Juco transfer Bert Whittington IV has started the first two games at the point.
BONUS LINKS:
Ohio stats
Ohio game notes (pdf)
Ohio has double threat at point guard (Athens Messenger)
SCOUTING NOTRE DAME: In a word, the Irish are big. Ten of the 14 guys on the Fighting Irish roster are 6-7 or taller. That size is reflected in ND's stats. Neither of the Irish's top two scorers are three-point threats. Both are 6-8 or bigger.
Sophomore Luke Harangody, a 6-8 forward, is averaging 18.4 points and 8.6 rebounds per game, shooting 58.8 percent from the field. Senior Rob Kura, a 6-9 forward, averages 14 points and 7.2 rebounds. Kyle McAlarney, a 6-0 sophomore, is the leading offensive threat in the backcourt, averaging 10.6 ppg.
The Irish are shooting 46.6 percent from the field and 39.1 percent from the arc, averaging 75.6 points per game. Opponents are shooting 37.1 percent from the field and scoring 59.2 ppg.
Notre Dame is averaging 8 free throws per game more than their foes and 9 rebounds per game more than the opposition. Their two losses, which came by a combined 5 points, came at the hands of Baylor and Georgia Tech in the Paradise Jam in St. Thomas, Virgin Islands. The wins have come over Long Island, Monmouth and Youngstown State. In other words, they have beaten the teams they have been expected to.
BONUS LINKS:
ND stats
Gametracker
Notre Dame nation
Black and Green (ND hoops blog)
Preview:Colgate (ND Insider)
SCOUTING MOUNT ST. MARY'S: The 0-3 Mounts are coming off a game in which they shot 56 percent from the field and still lost by 12. It has been that kind of year for Mount St. Mary's, which was 11 for 21 at the foul line in that game, an 85-73 loss at James Madison. On the season, the Mounts are 22 for 42 at the charity stripe.
Adding to those woes is the fact they have been getting to the line almost 10 fewer times per game than their opponents and have been outrebounded by an average of 10 per game.
Senior guard Chris Vann (6-0) is a potent scorer, averaging 20.3 ppg. Vann, who has scored in double figures nine straight games dating to last season, was 5 for 5 from the arc against James Madison. On the season he is shooting 50 percent from three-point range.
Will Holland, a 6-4 sophomore, is averaging 12 ppg, including a 25-point performance in a loss to George Washington. Point guard Jeremy Goode, a 5-9 sophomore, is averaging 16.5 points and 7.5 assists per game.
As a team, MSM is shooting 43 percent from the field, 40.7 percent from three-point range. Opponents are shooting 49.7 percent from the field against the Mounts, 39 percent from the arc.
BONUS LINKS:
MSM stats
MSM game notes
SCOUTING NJIT:
SCOUTING NJIT: The Highlanders are 0-5, coming off a 73-50 loss Saturday to American in a game in which the Highlanders turned the ball over 26 times. thus far in their second season at the Division I level. Leading scorer Kraig Peters, a 6-4 senior, is the only guy averaging in double figures, scoring 10.2 ppg.
Opponents are holding NJIT to 35.8 percent shooting from the field while lighting up the Highlanders' defense at a 51.4 percent rate, including 42.7 percent from three-point range.
BONUS LINKS:
NJIT stats
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SCOUTING OHIO: The Bobcats have been idle since a Nov. 17 win over Cornell. That win was one of two over teams favored to win their conference for the 2-0 Bobcats, who also have a win over New Mexico State in their opener.
This will be the first trip out of Athens, Ohio for the Bobcats this season. Picked to finish third in the Mid American Conference this season, OU has three returning starters and three juco transfers on the roster.
Jerome Tillman, a 6-6 junior, was an All-MAC pick a year ago and the MAC Report Online player of the year. He is averaging 20.5 points and 8 rebounds per game, shooting 59.3 percent from the field. Tillman has range to the arc, where he has hit 3 of 6 thus far.
Senior Leon Williams, a second team All-MAC pick last season, is shooting 63.2 percent from the field and averaging a 17 point-10 rebound double-double.
Junior guard Justin Orr (6-6), who sat out last season after transferring from Murray State is shooting 55.6 percent and averaging 14 ppg and juco transfer Michael Allen, who did not play in the opener, came within an assist of a double-double with 11 points and 9 helpers off the bench against Cornell. Juco transfer Bert Whittington IV has started the first two games at the point.
BONUS LINKS:
SCOUTING NOTRE DAME: In a word, the Irish are big. Ten of the 14 guys on the Fighting Irish roster are 6-7 or taller. That size is reflected in ND's stats. Neither of the Irish's top two scorers are three-point threats. Both are 6-8 or bigger.
Sophomore Luke Harangody, a 6-8 forward, is averaging 18.4 points and 8.6 rebounds per game, shooting 58.8 percent from the field. Senior Rob Kura, a 6-9 forward, averages 14 points and 7.2 rebounds. Kyle McAlarney, a 6-0 sophomore, is the leading offensive threat in the backcourt, averaging 10.6 ppg.
The Irish are shooting 46.6 percent from the field and 39.1 percent from the arc, averaging 75.6 points per game. Opponents are shooting 37.1 percent from the field and scoring 59.2 ppg.
Notre Dame is averaging 8 free throws per game more than their foes and 9 rebounds per game more than the opposition. Their two losses, which came by a combined 5 points, came at the hands of Baylor and Georgia Tech in the Paradise Jam in St. Thomas, Virgin Islands. The wins have come over Long Island, Monmouth and Youngstown State. In other words, they have beaten the teams they have been expected to.
BONUS LINKS:
SCOUTING MOUNT ST. MARY'S: The 0-3 Mounts are coming off a game in which they shot 56 percent from the field and still lost by 12. It has been that kind of year for Mount St. Mary's, which was 11 for 21 at the foul line in that game, an 85-73 loss at James Madison. On the season, the Mounts are 22 for 42 at the charity stripe.
Adding to those woes is the fact they have been getting to the line almost 10 fewer times per game than their opponents and have been outrebounded by an average of 10 per game.
Senior guard Chris Vann (6-0) is a potent scorer, averaging 20.3 ppg. Vann, who has scored in double figures nine straight games dating to last season, was 5 for 5 from the arc against James Madison. On the season he is shooting 50 percent from three-point range.
Will Holland, a 6-4 sophomore, is averaging 12 ppg, including a 25-point performance in a loss to George Washington. Point guard Jeremy Goode, a 5-9 sophomore, is averaging 16.5 points and 7.5 assists per game.
As a team, MSM is shooting 43 percent from the field, 40.7 percent from three-point range. Opponents are shooting 49.7 percent from the field against the Mounts, 39 percent from the arc.
BONUS LINKS:
SCOUTING NJIT:
SCOUTING NJIT: The Highlanders are 0-5, coming off a 73-50 loss Saturday to American in a game in which the Highlanders turned the ball over 26 times. thus far in their second season at the Division I level. Leading scorer Kraig Peters, a 6-4 senior, is the only guy averaging in double figures, scoring 10.2 ppg.
Opponents are holding NJIT to 35.8 percent shooting from the field while lighting up the Highlanders' defense at a 51.4 percent rate, including 42.7 percent from three-point range.
BONUS LINKS:
Labels: American, Colgate, Holy Cross, Lehigh, previews
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Hot shooting and tough defense combined to lift the Leopards past the defending Northeast Conference champs from Central Connecticut Sunday afternoon, 71-54.
Andrew Brown, back in the starting lineup, led the charge for Lafayette (3-2), knocking down 5 threes en route to a game-high 17 points. Two of Brown's threes came during a 15-2 first half run that turned an 18-17 deficit into a 32-30 Lafayette lead. Brown also assisted on a Paul Cummins three during that run, whioh put Lafayette on top for good. Cummins finished with 12 points, including 4 treys.
CCSU (1-4) pulled within three in the second half before Lafayette pulled away to ice the game.
The Leopards were 24 of 49 from the field, including 12 of 25 from three-point range. Defensively they held the Blue Devils to 31.6 percent (18-57) shooting from the field, including 6 treys on 19 tries.
Box score | Morning Call | Express-Times | Hartford Courant
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Andrew Brown, back in the starting lineup, led the charge for Lafayette (3-2), knocking down 5 threes en route to a game-high 17 points. Two of Brown's threes came during a 15-2 first half run that turned an 18-17 deficit into a 32-30 Lafayette lead. Brown also assisted on a Paul Cummins three during that run, whioh put Lafayette on top for good. Cummins finished with 12 points, including 4 treys.
CCSU (1-4) pulled within three in the second half before Lafayette pulled away to ice the game.
The Leopards were 24 of 49 from the field, including 12 of 25 from three-point range. Defensively they held the Blue Devils to 31.6 percent (18-57) shooting from the field, including 6 treys on 19 tries.
Box score | Morning Call | Express-Times | Hartford Courant
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Sunday, November 25, 2007
Lafayette hosts Central Connecticut in Sunday's only game.
SCOUTING CCSU: Central Connecticut coms in at 1-3 after snapping a three-game losing streak with an overtime win Tuesday over Binghamton.
Through its first three games, Tristan Blackwood. a 6-0 senior, has led the Blue Devils with 15.8 points. Joe Seymore, a 6-2 soph., averages 11 ppg.
The Blue Devils have allowed opponents to shoot 45.3 percent while connecting at a 43.1 percent rate themselves. Opponents have been outrebounding CCSU by 5 boards per game.
This is one game where lack of size should be no problem for Lafayette. CCSU's roster includes nobody taller than 6-6
BONUS LINKS:
CCSU stats (through 3 games)
CCSU game notes (pdf, includes updated stats
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SCOUTING CCSU: Central Connecticut coms in at 1-3 after snapping a three-game losing streak with an overtime win Tuesday over Binghamton.
Through its first three games, Tristan Blackwood. a 6-0 senior, has led the Blue Devils with 15.8 points. Joe Seymore, a 6-2 soph., averages 11 ppg.
The Blue Devils have allowed opponents to shoot 45.3 percent while connecting at a 43.1 percent rate themselves. Opponents have been outrebounding CCSU by 5 boards per game.
This is one game where lack of size should be no problem for Lafayette. CCSU's roster includes nobody taller than 6-6
BONUS LINKS:
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It was the kind of night Bucknell followers have worried would come along -- the jump shots were not falling and the Bison were, dropping a 64-55 decision at Wagner.
When their shots are falling, Bucknell's smallish guards can fill it up in a hurry. But when they were not Saturday on Staten Island, it led to a long afternoon for the Bison (2-2). Bucknell went 5 for 27 (18.5 percent) from the field in the first half, 1-11 from three-point range, managing only 13 first half points.
The result was a 16-=point (29-13) halftime hole they were never able to dig out of. It was 17-13 with six minutes to go when Wagner went on a 12-0 run to close the first half. Bucknell bnever got closer than 7 the rest of the way.
Guards John Griffin and Justin Castleberyy were held to a combined 4 of 20 night from the field. As a team, Bucknell was 21 for 61 (34.4 percent), with just 3 three-pointers on 20 attempts. Patrick Behan (17 points) was the only Bison in double figures.
Freshman Todd O'Brien finished with 8 points while posting three blocked shots, his third three-blocks game of the season.
Box score |
Staten Island Advance
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When their shots are falling, Bucknell's smallish guards can fill it up in a hurry. But when they were not Saturday on Staten Island, it led to a long afternoon for the Bison (2-2). Bucknell went 5 for 27 (18.5 percent) from the field in the first half, 1-11 from three-point range, managing only 13 first half points.
The result was a 16-=point (29-13) halftime hole they were never able to dig out of. It was 17-13 with six minutes to go when Wagner went on a 12-0 run to close the first half. Bucknell bnever got closer than 7 the rest of the way.
Guards John Griffin and Justin Castleberyy were held to a combined 4 of 20 night from the field. As a team, Bucknell was 21 for 61 (34.4 percent), with just 3 three-pointers on 20 attempts. Patrick Behan (17 points) was the only Bison in double figures.
Freshman Todd O'Brien finished with 8 points while posting three blocked shots, his third three-blocks game of the season.
Box score |
Staten Island Advance
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For the second night in a row, the Midshipmen failed to hold a lead in the Palestra, dropping a 71-67 decision to Penn in the consolation game of the Philly Hoop Group Classic.
Friday night the Mids (2-5) led by 15 against Seton Hall, which eventually went on to defeat Virginia for the bracket championship. Saturday it was an 8-point margin that didn't hold up.
Navy led Penn (2-4) by eight in the first half before settling for a 26-23 advantage at the intermission. Penn came out after the break and went on a 14-2 run, but Navy responded with a 12-0 run of its own, and had a 55-54 lead with 3:14 to play. But after Penn's Tyler Bernardini (15 points) hit a jumper to give the Quakers the lead, the Mids turned the ball over their next two trips down the floor. Penn converted both opportunities, builing its lead to 60-55, then held on down the stretch.
The Mids never got closer than 4 the rest of the way, though they had their chances to make it a one-possession game. The best of those chances came with 32 seconds left, when Greg Sprink (22 points) stole an inbounds pass under the Navy basket, but missed a tough reverse layup try with his back to the basket.
Kaleo Kina (12) and Chris Harris (11) joined Sprink in double figures for Navy, which shot 30.6 percent (22-72) from the field and was 5 for 28 from the arc. Penn went 19 for 46 from the field, 3 of 12 from the arc, and had a huge edge at the foul line. The Quakers shot 42 free throws, making 30. Navy only got to the line 23 times, making 18. Navy was whistled for 32 fouls, Penn 20.
Box score | Philly Inquirer | Soft Pretzel Logic
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Friday night the Mids (2-5) led by 15 against Seton Hall, which eventually went on to defeat Virginia for the bracket championship. Saturday it was an 8-point margin that didn't hold up.
Navy led Penn (2-4) by eight in the first half before settling for a 26-23 advantage at the intermission. Penn came out after the break and went on a 14-2 run, but Navy responded with a 12-0 run of its own, and had a 55-54 lead with 3:14 to play. But after Penn's Tyler Bernardini (15 points) hit a jumper to give the Quakers the lead, the Mids turned the ball over their next two trips down the floor. Penn converted both opportunities, builing its lead to 60-55, then held on down the stretch.
The Mids never got closer than 4 the rest of the way, though they had their chances to make it a one-possession game. The best of those chances came with 32 seconds left, when Greg Sprink (22 points) stole an inbounds pass under the Navy basket, but missed a tough reverse layup try with his back to the basket.
Kaleo Kina (12) and Chris Harris (11) joined Sprink in double figures for Navy, which shot 30.6 percent (22-72) from the field and was 5 for 28 from the arc. Penn went 19 for 46 from the field, 3 of 12 from the arc, and had a huge edge at the foul line. The Quakers shot 42 free throws, making 30. Navy only got to the line 23 times, making 18. Navy was whistled for 32 fouls, Penn 20.
Box score | Philly Inquirer | Soft Pretzel Logic
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The Raiders shot 55.1 percent from the field, but lost for the second straight game, falling 81-76 at home to Dartmouth.
Colgate (4-2) got 26 points from Kyle Roemer and 20 from Kendall Chones, but 16 turnovers and a lack of defense proved to be the difference. While 'Gate was hitting 27 of 49 from the field, including 6 of 14 three-pointers, Dartmouth was also shooting well, connecting on 53.6 of its shots, including 5 of 11 three-point tries. Both teams made 16 free throws -- the difference was that Dartmouth (2-3) only turned the ball over 9 times. Colgate's extra 7 turnovers translated to 7 extra field goal attempts and three more made shots for the Big Green (30-56).
Daniel Waddy (15 points) also reached double figures for Colgate, which lost to Dartmouth for the first time in seven meetings.
Box score | AP
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Colgate (4-2) got 26 points from Kyle Roemer and 20 from Kendall Chones, but 16 turnovers and a lack of defense proved to be the difference. While 'Gate was hitting 27 of 49 from the field, including 6 of 14 three-pointers, Dartmouth was also shooting well, connecting on 53.6 of its shots, including 5 of 11 three-point tries. Both teams made 16 free throws -- the difference was that Dartmouth (2-3) only turned the ball over 9 times. Colgate's extra 7 turnovers translated to 7 extra field goal attempts and three more made shots for the Big Green (30-56).
Daniel Waddy (15 points) also reached double figures for Colgate, which lost to Dartmouth for the first time in seven meetings.
Box score | AP
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The Eagles used a combination of balanced scoring and 26 NJIT turnovers to get back to .500 with a 73-50 road win.
Four players reached double figures for American (3-3), led by Garrison Carr, who scored 9 of his team-high 15 in the first half, helping AU open a 34-18 lead at the break. Also helping fuel that lead were 16 turnovers by winless NJIT (0-5).
The Highlanders actually shot the ball better, percentage-wise, from the field than AU. NJIT hit 47.4 percent of its shots, American 47.3. But thanks to the turnovers, American took 17 more shots than NJIT, finishing 26 of 55, including 8 threes -- five of them by Carr. NJIT was 18 of 38 from the field, 3 of 11 from the arc.
Joining Carr in double figures were Derrick Mercer (10 points, 6 assists), Travis Lay (10) and juco transfer Frank Borden (10), who had his first double figures game as an Eagle. Borden also had 5 steals.
Box score | AP
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Four players reached double figures for American (3-3), led by Garrison Carr, who scored 9 of his team-high 15 in the first half, helping AU open a 34-18 lead at the break. Also helping fuel that lead were 16 turnovers by winless NJIT (0-5).
The Highlanders actually shot the ball better, percentage-wise, from the field than AU. NJIT hit 47.4 percent of its shots, American 47.3. But thanks to the turnovers, American took 17 more shots than NJIT, finishing 26 of 55, including 8 threes -- five of them by Carr. NJIT was 18 of 38 from the field, 3 of 11 from the arc.
Joining Carr in double figures were Derrick Mercer (10 points, 6 assists), Travis Lay (10) and juco transfer Frank Borden (10), who had his first double figures game as an Eagle. Borden also had 5 steals.
Box score | AP
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Jarrell Brown's career-high 8 three-pointers lifted the Black Knights over winless Presbyterian, 63-58.
Brown finished with 26 points, his second big game in a row for Army (2-3). He had a career-high 30 Tuesday in a loss to Cornell.
John Moonshower added a career-high 16, shooting 6 for 9 from the field, for Army, which squandered a 13-point first halftime, then came from behind for the win.
The Black Knights were up 28-15 with 5:33 to go in the first half. But the Blue Hose (0-7) closed the half with a 9-2 spurt, then opened the second half with a 12-3 run to take the lead. Presbyterian built its advantage to 41-35 with 11:47 to play.
Army responded with an 18-2 run of its own, going back up by 10. Presbyterian twice cut it to 3 down the stretch, but Army held on despite going just 4 for 8 at the foul line in the final minute.
Despite those missed free throws in the final minute, foul shots were the difference for the Black Knights. Presbyterians was 22 of 45 (48.9 percent) from the field, 7 of 19 from the arc and made 7 of 10 free throws. Army went to the line 15 times, making 10, while shooting 46.8 percent (22 of 47) from the field, including 9 of 20 three-pointers.
Box score | AP
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Brown finished with 26 points, his second big game in a row for Army (2-3). He had a career-high 30 Tuesday in a loss to Cornell.
John Moonshower added a career-high 16, shooting 6 for 9 from the field, for Army, which squandered a 13-point first halftime, then came from behind for the win.
The Black Knights were up 28-15 with 5:33 to go in the first half. But the Blue Hose (0-7) closed the half with a 9-2 spurt, then opened the second half with a 12-3 run to take the lead. Presbyterian built its advantage to 41-35 with 11:47 to play.
Army responded with an 18-2 run of its own, going back up by 10. Presbyterian twice cut it to 3 down the stretch, but Army held on despite going just 4 for 8 at the foul line in the final minute.
Despite those missed free throws in the final minute, foul shots were the difference for the Black Knights. Presbyterians was 22 of 45 (48.9 percent) from the field, 7 of 19 from the arc and made 7 of 10 free throws. Army went to the line 15 times, making 10, while shooting 46.8 percent (22 of 47) from the field, including 9 of 20 three-pointers.
Box score | AP
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Saturday, November 24, 2007
Four Patriot League teams in action on this Saturday afternoon, with a fifth taking the court later in the evening. Afternoon matchups include Bucknell and Colgate trying to bounce back from their first losses of the season. The Bison are on Staten Island to face Wagner, Colgate home hosting Dartmouth. Army hosts Division I newcomer Presbytarian and American is at second-year D-I NJIT. Navy will face Penn tonight on the Quakers' home floor in a consolation game of the Philly Hoops Classic.
SCOUTING WAGNER: The 2-2 Seahawks are coming off an 88-81 win over William and mary that snapped a two-game slide. Wagner's other win came over Lafayette in their opener.
This is a veteran Wagner team that starts three seniors and a pair of redshirt juniors. Durrel Vinson, a 6-7 senior, leds the scoring (18 ppg) and rebounding (8.5 rpg). Mark Porter, a 6-2 senior, averages 13 points and a team-high 5 assists. Also averaging in double figures ate 6-2 redshirt junior Joey Mundweiler (11.3 ppg) and 6-5 redshirt junior Jamal Smith (10 ppg). The first starter, 607 senior James Ulrich, averages 8.5 ppg.
The Seahawks are shooting 44.1 percent from the field, just 27.1 percent from the arc. Opponents are shooting 44.1 percent against Wagner,40.4 percent from three-point range.
BONUS LINKS:
Wagner game notes
Wagner stats
These Bison freshmen got game (Daily Item)
SCOUTING PRESBYTERIAN: The Blue Hose are 0-6 in their first season at the Division I level. Opponents have been shooting 51.2 percent from the field against Presbytarian, 44.6 percent from the arc.
Pat Kiscaden is the only Presbytarian player averaging in double figures. The 6-3 senior is scoing 15.7 ppg, shooting 60.8 percent from the field, 61.4 percent from three-point range. As a team, the Blue Hose are shooting 42.3 percent from the field and being outrebounded by an average of 6 per game.
BONUS LINKS:
Presbyterian-Army game day
Presbyterian stats
Presbyterian game notes
SCOUTING PENN: These are not your father's Quakers, or your big brother's, or anybody else's who has followed Penn in recent years. Under second-year coach Glenn Miller, Penn opened the season 0-3, picked up a win over The Citadel, then resumed losing Friday with a 100-85 loss to Virginia.
Brian Grandieri (6-4 senior) was the Quakers leading scorer through the first four games (their stats have not been updated as we post this) at 15.8 ppg. Nobody else was in double figures. Freshman Remy Cofield scored 20 against Virginia. That was 20 more points than the 6-4 Cofield had scored through the Quakers first four games. In facvt, prior to the Virginia game, he had only played 19 minutes.
One problem for Penn thus far has been defending the arc. Opponents shot 46.9 percent from the field in the first four games, 51.3 percent from three-point range.
The Quakers are without 6-4 sophomore Darren Smith, who is out for the season after breaking his right knee in the opener against Drexel. Grandieri is the only Quaker to start every game thus far for Penn. Miller had used 10 different starters prior to the Virginia game,
BONUS LINKS:
Penn stats (pdf)
Penn roster
Cavaliers cruise past the Quakers (Philly Inquirer)
Soft Pretzel Logic (Philly.com sports producer Jonathan Tannenwald's sports blog -- he game blogged from the Friday's Philly Classic games and knowing Jonathan -- a Penn grad -- he will likely have a lot on this game today)
SCOUTING NJIT: The Highlanders are 0-4 thus far in their second season at the Division I level. No NJIT player is averaging in double figures. Leading scorer Kraig Peters, a 6-4 senior, is scoring 9.5 ppg.
Opponents are holding NJIT to 33.7 percent shooting from the field while lighting up the Highlanders' defense at a 52.4 percent rate, including 42.9 percent from three-point range.
BONUS LINKS:
NJIT stats
Gametracker
SCOUTING DARTMOUTH: The Big Green are a young 1-3 team with just two seniors and five freshmen on the roster. Alex Barnett, a 6-6 junior, leads Dartmouth in scoring (15.8 ppg) and rebounding (6.5 rpg). Barnett is shooting 51.1 percent from the field.
DeVon Mosley, a 6-1 junior, is also in double figures at 13.3 ppg. As a team, Dartmouth is shooting 39 percent from the field while allowing opponents to hit at a 45.3 percent clip.
BONUS LINKS:
Dartmouth game notes
Dartmouth stats
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SCOUTING WAGNER: The 2-2 Seahawks are coming off an 88-81 win over William and mary that snapped a two-game slide. Wagner's other win came over Lafayette in their opener.
This is a veteran Wagner team that starts three seniors and a pair of redshirt juniors. Durrel Vinson, a 6-7 senior, leds the scoring (18 ppg) and rebounding (8.5 rpg). Mark Porter, a 6-2 senior, averages 13 points and a team-high 5 assists. Also averaging in double figures ate 6-2 redshirt junior Joey Mundweiler (11.3 ppg) and 6-5 redshirt junior Jamal Smith (10 ppg). The first starter, 607 senior James Ulrich, averages 8.5 ppg.
The Seahawks are shooting 44.1 percent from the field, just 27.1 percent from the arc. Opponents are shooting 44.1 percent against Wagner,40.4 percent from three-point range.
BONUS LINKS:
SCOUTING PRESBYTERIAN: The Blue Hose are 0-6 in their first season at the Division I level. Opponents have been shooting 51.2 percent from the field against Presbytarian, 44.6 percent from the arc.
Pat Kiscaden is the only Presbytarian player averaging in double figures. The 6-3 senior is scoing 15.7 ppg, shooting 60.8 percent from the field, 61.4 percent from three-point range. As a team, the Blue Hose are shooting 42.3 percent from the field and being outrebounded by an average of 6 per game.
BONUS LINKS:
SCOUTING PENN: These are not your father's Quakers, or your big brother's, or anybody else's who has followed Penn in recent years. Under second-year coach Glenn Miller, Penn opened the season 0-3, picked up a win over The Citadel, then resumed losing Friday with a 100-85 loss to Virginia.
Brian Grandieri (6-4 senior) was the Quakers leading scorer through the first four games (their stats have not been updated as we post this) at 15.8 ppg. Nobody else was in double figures. Freshman Remy Cofield scored 20 against Virginia. That was 20 more points than the 6-4 Cofield had scored through the Quakers first four games. In facvt, prior to the Virginia game, he had only played 19 minutes.
One problem for Penn thus far has been defending the arc. Opponents shot 46.9 percent from the field in the first four games, 51.3 percent from three-point range.
The Quakers are without 6-4 sophomore Darren Smith, who is out for the season after breaking his right knee in the opener against Drexel. Grandieri is the only Quaker to start every game thus far for Penn. Miller had used 10 different starters prior to the Virginia game,
BONUS LINKS:
SCOUTING NJIT: The Highlanders are 0-4 thus far in their second season at the Division I level. No NJIT player is averaging in double figures. Leading scorer Kraig Peters, a 6-4 senior, is scoring 9.5 ppg.
Opponents are holding NJIT to 33.7 percent shooting from the field while lighting up the Highlanders' defense at a 52.4 percent rate, including 42.9 percent from three-point range.
BONUS LINKS:
SCOUTING DARTMOUTH: The Big Green are a young 1-3 team with just two seniors and five freshmen on the roster. Alex Barnett, a 6-6 junior, leads Dartmouth in scoring (15.8 ppg) and rebounding (6.5 rpg). Barnett is shooting 51.1 percent from the field.
DeVon Mosley, a 6-1 junior, is also in double figures at 13.3 ppg. As a team, Dartmouth is shooting 39 percent from the field while allowing opponents to hit at a 45.3 percent clip.
BONUS LINKS:
Labels: American, Army, Bucknell, Colgate, Navy, previews
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The Midshipmen led by as many as 15 points, but could not stop Seton Hall from rallying for a 79-75 win.
Two quick Seton Hall runs did the Mids in. The first came midway through the second half. Navy was holding a 58-55 lead when the Pirates scored 19 unanswered points to take the lead for good. During the 3:47 stretch the Mids went scoreless, Navy was 0 for 5 from the field and turned the ball over 4 times.
The second Seton Hall spurt came late, after the Mids had gotten back to within 1 at 69-68 with 4:24 left to play. Over the next 4:08, Navy managed just one Greg Sprink free throw while Seton Hall outscored them 8-1 to put the game away. The Mids were 0 for 4 from the field, including two possessions where they managed offensive rebounds and second chance shots, and turned it over three times during that late stretch.
Sprink finished with 23 points, but the 6-5 senior was just 7 for 21 from the field. Sprink has struggled the past two games for the Mids, going 12 for 42 (28.6 percent) from the field.
Adam Teague had six threes and 18 points off the bench for Navy. Chris Harris also reached double figures with 11 points before fouling out.
The Mids shot 25 for 66 (35.1 percent) from the field, including 13 of 37 from the arc, and turned the ball over 22 times
Seton Hall was 26 for 64 (40.6 percent) from the arc, with four treys (on 23 attempts). The Pirates went to the foul line 40 times, making 23, Navy was 12 of 19 at the line.
Box score | Herald News | Courier News | Star-Ledger
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Two quick Seton Hall runs did the Mids in. The first came midway through the second half. Navy was holding a 58-55 lead when the Pirates scored 19 unanswered points to take the lead for good. During the 3:47 stretch the Mids went scoreless, Navy was 0 for 5 from the field and turned the ball over 4 times.
The second Seton Hall spurt came late, after the Mids had gotten back to within 1 at 69-68 with 4:24 left to play. Over the next 4:08, Navy managed just one Greg Sprink free throw while Seton Hall outscored them 8-1 to put the game away. The Mids were 0 for 4 from the field, including two possessions where they managed offensive rebounds and second chance shots, and turned it over three times during that late stretch.
Sprink finished with 23 points, but the 6-5 senior was just 7 for 21 from the field. Sprink has struggled the past two games for the Mids, going 12 for 42 (28.6 percent) from the field.
Adam Teague had six threes and 18 points off the bench for Navy. Chris Harris also reached double figures with 11 points before fouling out.
The Mids shot 25 for 66 (35.1 percent) from the field, including 13 of 37 from the arc, and turned the ball over 22 times
Seton Hall was 26 for 64 (40.6 percent) from the arc, with four treys (on 23 attempts). The Pirates went to the foul line 40 times, making 23, Navy was 12 of 19 at the line.
Box score | Herald News | Courier News | Star-Ledger
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The Mountain Hawks managed to hang around through the first five minutes of the second half, then Maryland switched into a gear Lehigh was unable to match, pulling away for a 72-51 win.
Lehigh trailed by as many as 10 in the first half, but was down just 5 when freshman Rob Keefer (12 points) hit a three at the 15:36 mark of the second half to cut the Terrapins margin to 43-38.
But the Lehigh side of the scoreboard stayed stuck on 38 for the next 7:24 while Maryland was on a 15-0 run. The Hawks never got closer than 17 the rest of the way.
Junior Matt Szalachowski shared Lehigh's team scoring honors with Keefer. Szalachowski's dozen points all came in the first half, when he hit 5 of 6 from the field, including a pair of threes.
Lehigh's Marquis hall was just 2 for 16 from the field, 1 of 5 from the arc and the 5-11 sophomore, who led Lehigh in scoring its first three games, never got to the foul line.
The Mountain Hawks hit just 39.3 percent from the field in the first half, but managed to hang around by hitting 5 of 9 from the arc. In the second half, Maryland took that away, leaving Lehigh to go 2 for 10 from three-point range, 7 of 27 overall, finishing the game 18 for 55 (32.7 percent) from the field.
Maryland was 28 for 55 (50.9 percent) from the field, including 5 for 14 on three-pointers.
Box score | Baltimore Sun | Washington Post |
Wash. Moonie
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Lehigh trailed by as many as 10 in the first half, but was down just 5 when freshman Rob Keefer (12 points) hit a three at the 15:36 mark of the second half to cut the Terrapins margin to 43-38.
But the Lehigh side of the scoreboard stayed stuck on 38 for the next 7:24 while Maryland was on a 15-0 run. The Hawks never got closer than 17 the rest of the way.
Junior Matt Szalachowski shared Lehigh's team scoring honors with Keefer. Szalachowski's dozen points all came in the first half, when he hit 5 of 6 from the field, including a pair of threes.
Lehigh's Marquis hall was just 2 for 16 from the field, 1 of 5 from the arc and the 5-11 sophomore, who led Lehigh in scoring its first three games, never got to the foul line.
The Mountain Hawks hit just 39.3 percent from the field in the first half, but managed to hang around by hitting 5 of 9 from the arc. In the second half, Maryland took that away, leaving Lehigh to go 2 for 10 from three-point range, 7 of 27 overall, finishing the game 18 for 55 (32.7 percent) from the field.
Maryland was 28 for 55 (50.9 percent) from the field, including 5 for 14 on three-pointers.
Box score | Baltimore Sun | Washington Post |
Wash. Moonie
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Friday, November 23, 2007
It's major conference Friday for the Patriot League, with Lehigh visiting Maryland of teh Atlantic Coast Conference and Navy meeting Seton Hall of the Big East at the Palestra in Philly,
SCOUTING MARYLAND: The Terps come into this one on a two-game losing streak, dropping contests with UCLA and Missouri after opening with wins over North Florida, Hampton and Northeastern.
Turnovers have plagued Maryland -- they average almost 22 per game. They also don't shoot real well (43.1 percent), especially from three-[point range (25.7 percent). Opponents have averaged 68.2 points per game while shooting 38.3 percent from teh field against Maryland, which guards the arc well (opponents are 24.8 percent from three-point range).
Maryland's offense, as those three-pointer stats might tell you, has come mainly in the paint. Galvis Vasquez, a 6-6 sophomore from Venezuela, leads the team in scoring (16.8 ppg) and is second in rebounding (6.4 rpg). he likes to shoot from the arc, but has struggled there, going 5 of 29 thus far. James Gist, a 6-9 senior, averages 15.4 ppg and 6.5 rpg. Bambale Osby (6-8 sr.) averages 12.2 points and 6.2 boards.
BONUS LINKS:
Maryland stats
Threes outside Terps range (Baltimore Sun)
Terps' Dupree making progress (Wash. Moonie)
Terps look to shake slump against Lehigh (Wash. Post)
SCOUTING SETON HALL: The Midhsipmen's first opponent in the Philly portion of the Philly Hoop Group Classic comes in at 3-0 with overtime wins over Monmouth and Robert Morris and a win over Loyola (Md.) in their last outing.
The Pirates are a high-scoing ballclub averaging 98 points per contest. Even if you factor out the 31 points scored in overtime, that still figures out to almost 88 per 40 minutes.
Seton Hall has five guys averaging in double figures, led by 6-0 senior guard Eugene Harvey (23.3 ppg). Perhapos surprisingly, given his size and position, Harvey is not a three-point threat. He has only tried four shots from the arc, making one. His shooting percentage (54.1 percent from the field) and teh fact that he is averaging 12 trips to the foul line per game, suggest he is more of a take you off the dribble penetrator. His 5.3 assists per game suggest he is as adept at kicking the ball out to open shooters as he is at finishing himself.
Among those Harvey might find on the perimeter are 6-2 senior Jamar Nutter (13.3 ppg), a 45.5 percent shooter from the arc, and 6-5 freshman Jeremy Hazell, who comes off the bench to score13.7 ppg while shooting 44 percent from three-point range.
Swingman Brian Laing, a 6-5 senior, is averaging 19.3 points and 8.7 boards per game. John Garcia, a 6-9 sophomore, carries a 10 ppg average and grabs 8 caroms per game.
BONUS LINKS:
Seton Hall stats
Seton Hall's Garcia at best off bench (Star-Ledger)
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SCOUTING MARYLAND: The Terps come into this one on a two-game losing streak, dropping contests with UCLA and Missouri after opening with wins over North Florida, Hampton and Northeastern.
Turnovers have plagued Maryland -- they average almost 22 per game. They also don't shoot real well (43.1 percent), especially from three-[point range (25.7 percent). Opponents have averaged 68.2 points per game while shooting 38.3 percent from teh field against Maryland, which guards the arc well (opponents are 24.8 percent from three-point range).
Maryland's offense, as those three-pointer stats might tell you, has come mainly in the paint. Galvis Vasquez, a 6-6 sophomore from Venezuela, leads the team in scoring (16.8 ppg) and is second in rebounding (6.4 rpg). he likes to shoot from the arc, but has struggled there, going 5 of 29 thus far. James Gist, a 6-9 senior, averages 15.4 ppg and 6.5 rpg. Bambale Osby (6-8 sr.) averages 12.2 points and 6.2 boards.
BONUS LINKS:
SCOUTING SETON HALL: The Midhsipmen's first opponent in the Philly portion of the Philly Hoop Group Classic comes in at 3-0 with overtime wins over Monmouth and Robert Morris and a win over Loyola (Md.) in their last outing.
The Pirates are a high-scoing ballclub averaging 98 points per contest. Even if you factor out the 31 points scored in overtime, that still figures out to almost 88 per 40 minutes.
Seton Hall has five guys averaging in double figures, led by 6-0 senior guard Eugene Harvey (23.3 ppg). Perhapos surprisingly, given his size and position, Harvey is not a three-point threat. He has only tried four shots from the arc, making one. His shooting percentage (54.1 percent from the field) and teh fact that he is averaging 12 trips to the foul line per game, suggest he is more of a take you off the dribble penetrator. His 5.3 assists per game suggest he is as adept at kicking the ball out to open shooters as he is at finishing himself.
Among those Harvey might find on the perimeter are 6-2 senior Jamar Nutter (13.3 ppg), a 45.5 percent shooter from the arc, and 6-5 freshman Jeremy Hazell, who comes off the bench to score13.7 ppg while shooting 44 percent from three-point range.
Swingman Brian Laing, a 6-5 senior, is averaging 19.3 points and 8.7 boards per game. John Garcia, a 6-9 sophomore, carries a 10 ppg average and grabs 8 caroms per game.
BONUS LINKS:
Labels: Lehigh, Navy, previews
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Thursday, November 22, 2007
We interrupt our regular basketball programming for a little NFL football treat courtesy of the day job. This is not about the Cowboys or the Lions or any of the games on the tube today. This is old schooll -- 1925 old.
Back then, when the NFL was in its infancy, the little coal region town of Pottsville (Pat Flannery's hometown) had an NFL team that was the cream of the crop. The Pottsville Maroons, based on accounts from the time, were the alpha dogs of the gridiron. They beat the best NFL team from the west, the Chicago Cardinals, in Chicago in a specially arranged "championship" game (the league had no formal title game in those days); then dusted the legendary Four Horsemen of Notre Dame in a challenge game that established the leguitimacy of the NFL and, perhaps perversely, cost the Marrons their official championship. Here is the story of the Pottsville Marooons' stolen title and the ongoing battle to get it back.
By the way, there is a Patriot League hook to the story. The quarterback and the wide receiver who also kicked the field goal to beat the Four Horsemen were both Lafayette guys. Another member of the team was a Bucknell man.
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Back then, when the NFL was in its infancy, the little coal region town of Pottsville (Pat Flannery's hometown) had an NFL team that was the cream of the crop. The Pottsville Maroons, based on accounts from the time, were the alpha dogs of the gridiron. They beat the best NFL team from the west, the Chicago Cardinals, in Chicago in a specially arranged "championship" game (the league had no formal title game in those days); then dusted the legendary Four Horsemen of Notre Dame in a challenge game that established the leguitimacy of the NFL and, perhaps perversely, cost the Marrons their official championship. Here is the story of the Pottsville Marooons' stolen title and the ongoing battle to get it back.
By the way, there is a Patriot League hook to the story. The quarterback and the wide receiver who also kicked the field goal to beat the Four Horsemen were both Lafayette guys. Another member of the team was a Bucknell man.
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Two words you will likely hear a lot out of Emmett Davis' mouth the next few Raiders practices; Box out.
Spongey Benjamin's putback with 10 seconds to go gave Marist a 61-60 win in front of 478 fans in Hamilton, handing Colgate its first loss after a 4-0 start.
Benjamin's game-winner negated a Colgate comeback that saw them claw their way out of an 11-point second-half deficit. The game was tied at the half, 31-31, but Marist pushed the lead to 11 early in the second and was still up 48-38 with 7:45 to go before the Raiders put together a 12-0 run, tying it on an Alex Woodhouse dunk and taking the lead when Kyle Roemer hit both free throws after a technical on Marist's Ben Farmer.
The Raiders had two chances to stretch the lead. On the ensuing possession, Roemer, who finished with 15 points but was 4 for 13 from the field, missed a three. And after Marist cut it to one with a Ryan Stilphen free throw, Daniel Waddy missed a three at the Colgate end, setting the stage for Benjamin's heroics. Colgate had one more chance, but Waddy, who finished with 13 points, missed a desperation three at the buzzer.
Box score | AP
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Spongey Benjamin's putback with 10 seconds to go gave Marist a 61-60 win in front of 478 fans in Hamilton, handing Colgate its first loss after a 4-0 start.
Benjamin's game-winner negated a Colgate comeback that saw them claw their way out of an 11-point second-half deficit. The game was tied at the half, 31-31, but Marist pushed the lead to 11 early in the second and was still up 48-38 with 7:45 to go before the Raiders put together a 12-0 run, tying it on an Alex Woodhouse dunk and taking the lead when Kyle Roemer hit both free throws after a technical on Marist's Ben Farmer.
The Raiders had two chances to stretch the lead. On the ensuing possession, Roemer, who finished with 15 points but was 4 for 13 from the field, missed a three. And after Marist cut it to one with a Ryan Stilphen free throw, Daniel Waddy missed a three at the Colgate end, setting the stage for Benjamin's heroics. Colgate had one more chance, but Waddy, who finished with 13 points, missed a desperation three at the buzzer.
Box score | AP
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Wednesday, November 21, 2007
(Originally posted Tues. at 9:51 p.m, links added at 7:319 a.m.)
Billy Lange shook up the Midshipmen's starting lineup and shook out a 71-60 win over Canisius, ending a three-game losing streak.
Brian Richards, a 6-9 junior who toiled on Navy's jayvee squad all of his freshman and most of his sophomore seasons, got his first varsity start and made the most of it. Richards, one of three changes in the first five and one of two players making their first career start, scored 15 points and grabbed a team-high 6 rebounds, five on the offensive glass.
Richards boardwork was a big part of the Navy win. The Mids only shot 39.1 percent from the field (27-69), and made just 4 of 12 from the three-point arc. But Navy held a 42-36 edge on the boards, with 16 of those rebounds on the offensive glass.
Defense had a little to do with it, too. The Mids forced 30 Canisius turnovers. That offset the edge the Golden Griffins had from the floor. Canisius shot better, hitting 45.1 percent from the field. But they only took 51 shots (making 23). Canisius was 7 for 21 at the arc, but just 7 of 14 at the foul line.
In addition to taking 18 more shots from the field, Navy went to the line 19 times, connecting on 13.
Greg Sprink led the scoring for Navy, which broke open a 49-49 tie on a Sprink free throw with 6:56 to go and pulled away from there.
Kaleo Kina, replaced in the starting lineup by 6-4 freshman Romeo Garcia, responded with 10 points and three steals off the bench. The third change in the Navy starting five came at center, where Ben Biles reclaimed his starting spot after having lost it to 6-10 freshman Jeremy Wilson last time out.
Box score | Buffalo News | AP
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Billy Lange shook up the Midshipmen's starting lineup and shook out a 71-60 win over Canisius, ending a three-game losing streak.
Brian Richards, a 6-9 junior who toiled on Navy's jayvee squad all of his freshman and most of his sophomore seasons, got his first varsity start and made the most of it. Richards, one of three changes in the first five and one of two players making their first career start, scored 15 points and grabbed a team-high 6 rebounds, five on the offensive glass.
Richards boardwork was a big part of the Navy win. The Mids only shot 39.1 percent from the field (27-69), and made just 4 of 12 from the three-point arc. But Navy held a 42-36 edge on the boards, with 16 of those rebounds on the offensive glass.
Defense had a little to do with it, too. The Mids forced 30 Canisius turnovers. That offset the edge the Golden Griffins had from the floor. Canisius shot better, hitting 45.1 percent from the field. But they only took 51 shots (making 23). Canisius was 7 for 21 at the arc, but just 7 of 14 at the foul line.
In addition to taking 18 more shots from the field, Navy went to the line 19 times, connecting on 13.
Greg Sprink led the scoring for Navy, which broke open a 49-49 tie on a Sprink free throw with 6:56 to go and pulled away from there.
Kaleo Kina, replaced in the starting lineup by 6-4 freshman Romeo Garcia, responded with 10 points and three steals off the bench. The third change in the Navy starting five came at center, where Ben Biles reclaimed his starting spot after having lost it to 6-10 freshman Jeremy Wilson last time out.
Box score | Buffalo News | AP
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The unbeaten Raiders host Marist in a BracketBusters rematch in the only game on the Patriot League slate tonight.
SCOUTING MARIST: The Red Foxes are 1-3 after dropping three straight at the Puerto Rico Tip-Off tournament. Marist's first two losses came without the services of senior guard Louie McCroskey, a 6-5 senior guard who played all 40 minutes in the Red Foxes' loss to Temple in the seventh place consolation game. McCroskey scored 18 points in his Marist debut, which was delayed three games for either violating team rules or due to questions about his academic eligibility -- depending which story you read.
Spongy Benjamin, a 6-7 senior, averages 11 points and 8.8 rebounds per game for Marist.
BONUS LINKS:
Marist stats
Marist still a force in basketball (Times Herald-Record)
Louie McCroskey returns to CNY - with Marist (Syracuse Post-Standard)
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SCOUTING MARIST: The Red Foxes are 1-3 after dropping three straight at the Puerto Rico Tip-Off tournament. Marist's first two losses came without the services of senior guard Louie McCroskey, a 6-5 senior guard who played all 40 minutes in the Red Foxes' loss to Temple in the seventh place consolation game. McCroskey scored 18 points in his Marist debut, which was delayed three games for either violating team rules or due to questions about his academic eligibility -- depending which story you read.
Spongy Benjamin, a 6-7 senior, averages 11 points and 8.8 rebounds per game for Marist.
BONUS LINKS:
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(Originally posted Tues. at 11:12 p.m, links added at 7:59 a.m.)
Tim Clifford stayed out of foul trouble and Holy Cross stayed unbeaten, downing Harvard 80-69.
Clifford, who played 31 minutes with just three fouls, scored 22 points to lead the Crusaders (4-0). Alex Bander Baan added 19 points and 8 rebounds for HC, which used a late 10-0 run to seal it after Harvard had battled back from down as many as 15 points to tie the game with 5:56 to play.
Colin Cunningham had a big night for the Crusaders, finishing with 13 points, 8 rebounds, 5 assists and 3 steals. Adam May added 16 points off the bench and Pat Doherty dished out 8 assists.
Harvard shot the ball well, hitting 24 of 47 from the field (51.1 percent), including 6 three-pointers on 16 tries, against the usually stingy Crusaders defense.
But Holy Cross matched th Crimson's effort, connecting on 29 of 57 (50.9 percent) and made up for a 3 for 16 showing at the arc by going 19 for 26 from the foul line while Harvard shot 15 of 21 there.
Box score | Telegram & Gazette | AP | Harvard Crimson (gamer) | Harvard Crimson (notebook)
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Tim Clifford stayed out of foul trouble and Holy Cross stayed unbeaten, downing Harvard 80-69.
Clifford, who played 31 minutes with just three fouls, scored 22 points to lead the Crusaders (4-0). Alex Bander Baan added 19 points and 8 rebounds for HC, which used a late 10-0 run to seal it after Harvard had battled back from down as many as 15 points to tie the game with 5:56 to play.
Colin Cunningham had a big night for the Crusaders, finishing with 13 points, 8 rebounds, 5 assists and 3 steals. Adam May added 16 points off the bench and Pat Doherty dished out 8 assists.
Harvard shot the ball well, hitting 24 of 47 from the field (51.1 percent), including 6 three-pointers on 16 tries, against the usually stingy Crusaders defense.
But Holy Cross matched th Crimson's effort, connecting on 29 of 57 (50.9 percent) and made up for a 3 for 16 showing at the arc by going 19 for 26 from the foul line while Harvard shot 15 of 21 there.
Box score | Telegram & Gazette | AP | Harvard Crimson (gamer) | Harvard Crimson (notebook)
Labels: games, Holy Cross
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(Originally posted Tues. at 10:28 p.m, links added at 7:51 a.m.)
The Great Danes shut down Lehigh's Marquis Hall, holding the Mountain Hawks star to a 2 for 7, 5-point night. But it was Albany's shooting that really did Lehigh in.
The Big Dogs (3-1) hit 28 of 55 from the field, including 10 of 16 (62.5 percent) from three-point range. Half of those three-pointers came in the first 10:37 of the game, when Albany went 5 for 5 from the arc to build an 18-point lead. By the half it was 46-22 and Lehigh (2-2) never got close than 15 until the final two minutes, when it hit two treys to make it a 12-point margin at the end.
Zahir Carrington led Lehigh with 14 points in the 22 minutes he played before fouling out. Bryan White added 12 for the Mountain Hawks, whose modest win streak ends at two.
Box score | Albany Times Union | AP | Morning Call
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The Great Danes shut down Lehigh's Marquis Hall, holding the Mountain Hawks star to a 2 for 7, 5-point night. But it was Albany's shooting that really did Lehigh in.
The Big Dogs (3-1) hit 28 of 55 from the field, including 10 of 16 (62.5 percent) from three-point range. Half of those three-pointers came in the first 10:37 of the game, when Albany went 5 for 5 from the arc to build an 18-point lead. By the half it was 46-22 and Lehigh (2-2) never got close than 15 until the final two minutes, when it hit two treys to make it a 12-point margin at the end.
Zahir Carrington led Lehigh with 14 points in the 22 minutes he played before fouling out. Bryan White added 12 for the Mountain Hawks, whose modest win streak ends at two.
Box score | Albany Times Union | AP | Morning Call
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(Originally posted Tues. at 10:14 p.m, links added at 7:41 a.m.)
Lafayette trailed for all of 48 second of regulation and never led until the game was in overtime. But the Leopards laughed last, handing Maryland-Baltimore County its first setback of the season, 87-84 in overtime.
Andrew Brown, who led all Leopards scorers with 15 points off the bench, hit a jumper with 48 seconds to go in regulation, sending the game into OT after UMBC had led by as many as 13 in the second half. Michael gruner, who finished with 10, then gave the Leopards their first lead with a three-pointer 33 seconds into the extra session. Lafayette went 10 for 10 from the foul line the rest of the way to pick up its second win (2-2) of the season.
Everst Schmidt (14 points) and Jeff Karl (11) were also in double figures for Lafayette. Senior forward Matt Betley chipped in with a 13-point, 11-rebound double-double.
Box score | Morning Call | Express Times | AP
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Lafayette trailed for all of 48 second of regulation and never led until the game was in overtime. But the Leopards laughed last, handing Maryland-Baltimore County its first setback of the season, 87-84 in overtime.
Andrew Brown, who led all Leopards scorers with 15 points off the bench, hit a jumper with 48 seconds to go in regulation, sending the game into OT after UMBC had led by as many as 13 in the second half. Michael gruner, who finished with 10, then gave the Leopards their first lead with a three-pointer 33 seconds into the extra session. Lafayette went 10 for 10 from the foul line the rest of the way to pick up its second win (2-2) of the season.
Everst Schmidt (14 points) and Jeff Karl (11) were also in double figures for Lafayette. Senior forward Matt Betley chipped in with a 13-point, 11-rebound double-double.
Box score | Morning Call | Express Times | AP
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(Originally posted Tues. at 10:52 p.m, links added at 7:35 a.m.)
It was a tie game with 11:49 to play. Then Army fouls put Cornell into the double bonus and it went downhill for the Black Knights from there in the 83-78 setback.
The Big Red reached the double bonbus with 11:07 to play. Army was still close, trailing by just 60-57 with 10:54 to go. Then Cornell went on an 11-1 run to pull away. Eight of Cornell's points in that decisive run came on free throws.
Army, which was led by Jarell Brown's career-high-tying 30 points, actually outscored Cornell from the field, hitting 30 of 60 field goal attempts, including 7 of 18 fronm the three-point arc. Cornell also shot 50 percent from the field, but it only made 26 field goals, including 10 of 23 threes. But with Army being hit with 31 fouls, Cornell went to the line 38 times, making 31. Army was 11 of 13 from the charity stripe.
Josh Miller added 14 for Army, which lost sophomore center Chris Walker after he was hit in the nose just two minutes into the game.
Brian Kreefer, who played just 2 minutes in Cornell's first two games. posted 21 points off the bench for Cornell, two shy of his career-high 23 scored against Army last season.
Box score | Hudson Valley Press | Ithaca Journal | AP
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It was a tie game with 11:49 to play. Then Army fouls put Cornell into the double bonus and it went downhill for the Black Knights from there in the 83-78 setback.
The Big Red reached the double bonbus with 11:07 to play. Army was still close, trailing by just 60-57 with 10:54 to go. Then Cornell went on an 11-1 run to pull away. Eight of Cornell's points in that decisive run came on free throws.
Army, which was led by Jarell Brown's career-high-tying 30 points, actually outscored Cornell from the field, hitting 30 of 60 field goal attempts, including 7 of 18 fronm the three-point arc. Cornell also shot 50 percent from the field, but it only made 26 field goals, including 10 of 23 threes. But with Army being hit with 31 fouls, Cornell went to the line 38 times, making 31. Army was 11 of 13 from the charity stripe.
Josh Miller added 14 for Army, which lost sophomore center Chris Walker after he was hit in the nose just two minutes into the game.
Brian Kreefer, who played just 2 minutes in Cornell's first two games. posted 21 points off the bench for Cornell, two shy of his career-high 23 scored against Army last season.
Box score | Hudson Valley Press | Ithaca Journal | AP
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(Originally posted Tues. at 11:26 p.m, links added at 7:19 a.m.)
The Eagles found it tough to find the bucket in a 63-54 loss at Morgan State.
The problem was particularly acute in the first half, when AU was just 6 of 26 (23.1 percent) from the field. The only thing that kept the Eagles in the game at the break was free throw shooting; they were 9 for 11 from the line in the half, allowing them to stay with a bucket, 25-23, at the intermission.
American shot a little better in the second half (12-31), finishing the game 18 for 56 (32.1 percent) while Morgan State hit 24 of 48, inckuding 4 of 8 three-point tries. Morgan State blocked 12 AU shots.
Garrison Carr led AU with 18 points. Derrick Mercer added 13. No other AU player had more than 7.
Box score | Baltimore Sun
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The Eagles found it tough to find the bucket in a 63-54 loss at Morgan State.
The problem was particularly acute in the first half, when AU was just 6 of 26 (23.1 percent) from the field. The only thing that kept the Eagles in the game at the break was free throw shooting; they were 9 for 11 from the line in the half, allowing them to stay with a bucket, 25-23, at the intermission.
American shot a little better in the second half (12-31), finishing the game 18 for 56 (32.1 percent) while Morgan State hit 24 of 48, inckuding 4 of 8 three-point tries. Morgan State blocked 12 AU shots.
Garrison Carr led AU with 18 points. Derrick Mercer added 13. No other AU player had more than 7.
Box score | Baltimore Sun
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Tuesday, November 20, 2007
Thanks to those of you who showed your support for the site during our now-completed opening week pledge drive. We greatly appreciate your help.
If you have not yet made a donation, and want to in the future, the Help Hoop Time button will remain on the top of the right sidebar.
Thanks!
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If you have not yet made a donation, and want to in the future, the Help Hoop Time button will remain on the top of the right sidebar.
Thanks!
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The season's busiest night to date is on tap with a seven six-game slate. Two games, Army at Cornell and Harvard at Holy Cross, pit Patriot League teams against Ivies. Also on the slate are tough tests for Lehigh (at Albany), Colgate (home vs. Marist), American (at Morgan State), Lafayette (hosting UMBC). Rounding out the schedule is Canisus at Navy. EDITOR'S NOTE: It happens every year, at least once; we go by the composite schedule in the league's media guide and then find out later the date or time for a game has been changed, or listed incorrectly. The Marist-Colgate game is Wednesday, not tonight. The Marist scouting report is here anyhow, if you are interested.)
SCOUTING CORNELL: The Big Red (1-1) has been an offensive juggernaut through two games, averaging 88 points per game. They also give up points by the bushel -- 102 in their most recent outing, a 102-89 loss to Ohio and 83 in their 87-83 opening win over Lehigh.
Jason Hartford (18.5 ppg) , a 6-9 forward with three-point range, leads Cornell. Hartford is also the Big Red's top rebounder (6.5 per game). Guard Ryan Wittman is averaging 16 ppg and is 8 for 12 from the arc in two games. Louis Dale, a 5-11 sophomore, sets up the scoring. Dale is averaging 9.5 assists per game.
Cornell has won eight in a row against Army. Junior Brian Keefer scored 23 in a Cornell win over Army last season and has averaged 16 ppg in two careeer games against the Big Red. But Army probably does not have to worry about him this time. In two games, Keefer has a DNP in one and played 3 minutes in the other.
The Black Knights have plenty of other folks to be concerned about, though. In addition to hartford and Wittman, three other Cornell players average (stats are pdf file) in double figures.
BONUS LINKS:
Men's basketball hosts Army (Cornell Sun)
Cornell Basketball Blog
Cornell game notes
SCOUTING MORGAN STATE: The Bears are 2-1 headed into their home opener against American. Included in their wins is a 77-53 win at Saint Francis (Pa.). AU also has a win at Saint Francis. Morgan State's other win came over Ohio Valley, a Division II team (77-66) in the consolation round of the Coaches vs. Cancer Storrs regional. That followed a 69-65 loss to UConn in the opener.
Coached by former Cal coach Todd Bozeman, the Bears are led by Reggie Holmes, a 6-4 sophomore guard who averages 17 ppg. Holmes is 11 for 19 from the arc in three games. Marquise Kately (6-5 junior forward) averages 13.7 ppg and Jamar Smith (6-2 senior guard) averages 12.3 ppg. In the paint, 6-9 senior Boubacar Coly is averaging almost a double-double at 9.3 points and 10 rebounds per game.
Morgan State is shooting only 43.5 percent from the field as a team, but they have held opponents to 41.7 percent.
BONUS LINKS:
Morgan State radio
Morgan State stats
Morgan State game notes
Bears looking to clip Eagles in home opener (Examiner)
SCOUTING MARIST: The Red Foxes are 1-3 after dropping three straight at the Puerto Rico Tip-Off tournament. Marist's first two losses came without the services of senior guard Louie McCroskey, a 6-5 senior guard who played all 40 minutes in the Red Foxes' loss to Temple in the seventh place consolation game. McCroskey scored 18 points in his Marist debut, which was delayed three games for either violating team rules or due to questions about his academic eligibility -- depending which story you read.
Spongy Benjamin, a 6-7 senior, averages 11 points and 8.8 rebounds per game for Marist.
BONUS LINKS:
Marist stats
Marist still a force in basketball (Times Herald-Record)
SCOUTING UMBC: The Retrievers are 3-0 for the first time since 2002 following a 70-68 win at Richmond. How they are undefeated is a bit of a mystery. UMBC is shooting 42.3 percent from the field and allowing opponents to shoot 47 percent. But the Retrievers are hotting better from the arc (43.6 percent) than from two-point range and have been getting to the foul line an average of 10 times more per game than their opponents.
UMBC only goes seven deep, which ought to translate into a legs issue at some point if they keep playing at the pace they have been (75.7 ppg). Whether that will be a problem against a Lafayette team that tends to sub in waves remains to be seen -- it is still early in the season.
Four players average in double figures for UMBC. Senior Brian Hodges (6-3) leads the way with 17.7 ppg. Coppin State transfer Darryl Proctor, a 6-4 junior, averages 16.7 points and 7.3 rebounds per game. James Madison transfer Cavell Johnson (6-8 senior) is averaging almost a double-double at 15.3 points and 9 boards and 6-2 senior guard Ray Barbosa, another James Madison transfer, is scoring 11.3 per game.
It will be a homecoming of sorts for Barbosa, an Allentown native who reportedly considered Lehigh before settling on UMBC when he decided to leave James Madison. Little used 5-8 senior guard Jay Greene is also a Lehigh Valley native (Whitehall HS).
BONUS LINKS:
Men's basketball gets shots to fall, runs record to 3-0 on season (The Retriever)
UMBC game notes
UMBC stats
SCOUTING ALBANY: The Great Danes are 2-1 after losing their opener 55-42 at Bucknell. Since then, the Danes have posted wins at Central Connecticut and, most recently, at home over Columbia in a game where they held the Lions to 38 points (70-38).
Defense is Albany's calling card thus far. The Danes are shooting just 42.7 percent from the field and have just two players averaging in double figures (Brian Lillis, 6-5 guard, and Jon Iati, a 5-9 senior guard both average 12.7 ppg), but they have held opponents to 34 percent shooting from the field and just 15 percent shooting from the arc.
The Danes roster includes nine guys 6-5 or taller. Their starting fibe goes 6-8, 6-8, 6-7, 6-5, 6-5. That helps explain why opponents are having such difficulty from the perimeter. Lehigh guard Marquis Hall, the Mountain Hawks' leading scorer, will be giving away six inches to whichever guard Albany coach Will Brown decided to play on him (either Lillis or 6-5 Jerel Hastings.
BONUS LINKS:
U Albany-Lehigh previw (Albany Times Union blog)
Albany stats
SCOUTING CANISIUS: The Golden Griff are 0-2 and coming off the worst loss in school history (93-40 at Penn State). Canisius also failed to score 50 in a season-opening loss to Colgate.
Freshman Elton Frazier posted a 13-13 double-double at Penn State. He leads Canisus in scoring (10 ppg) and rebounds (9 rpg.)
BONUS LINKS:
Canisius road trip blog
Canisius game notes
SCOUTING HARVARD: Tommy Amaker's Crimson are 2-2 after winning their last two over Northwestern State and Mercer. Harvard opened with losses to Stanford and UC Santa Barbara.
Four players are averaging in double figures for Harvard, led by 6-0 junior Drew Houseman (14.3 ppg) and 6-2 sophomore Jeremy Lin (13.8 ppg). Senior guard Andrew Pusar averages 11.5 ppg and 6-9 junior Evan Harris averages 11 ppg and shares the team lead in rebounding with 7.3 rpg.
BONUS LINKS:
Harvard Crimson (student paper) men's basketball page
Harvard statistics
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SCOUTING CORNELL: The Big Red (1-1) has been an offensive juggernaut through two games, averaging 88 points per game. They also give up points by the bushel -- 102 in their most recent outing, a 102-89 loss to Ohio and 83 in their 87-83 opening win over Lehigh.
Jason Hartford (18.5 ppg) , a 6-9 forward with three-point range, leads Cornell. Hartford is also the Big Red's top rebounder (6.5 per game). Guard Ryan Wittman is averaging 16 ppg and is 8 for 12 from the arc in two games. Louis Dale, a 5-11 sophomore, sets up the scoring. Dale is averaging 9.5 assists per game.
Cornell has won eight in a row against Army. Junior Brian Keefer scored 23 in a Cornell win over Army last season and has averaged 16 ppg in two careeer games against the Big Red. But Army probably does not have to worry about him this time. In two games, Keefer has a DNP in one and played 3 minutes in the other.
The Black Knights have plenty of other folks to be concerned about, though. In addition to hartford and Wittman, three other Cornell players average (stats are pdf file) in double figures.
BONUS LINKS:
SCOUTING MORGAN STATE: The Bears are 2-1 headed into their home opener against American. Included in their wins is a 77-53 win at Saint Francis (Pa.). AU also has a win at Saint Francis. Morgan State's other win came over Ohio Valley, a Division II team (77-66) in the consolation round of the Coaches vs. Cancer Storrs regional. That followed a 69-65 loss to UConn in the opener.
Coached by former Cal coach Todd Bozeman, the Bears are led by Reggie Holmes, a 6-4 sophomore guard who averages 17 ppg. Holmes is 11 for 19 from the arc in three games. Marquise Kately (6-5 junior forward) averages 13.7 ppg and Jamar Smith (6-2 senior guard) averages 12.3 ppg. In the paint, 6-9 senior Boubacar Coly is averaging almost a double-double at 9.3 points and 10 rebounds per game.
Morgan State is shooting only 43.5 percent from the field as a team, but they have held opponents to 41.7 percent.
BONUS LINKS:
SCOUTING MARIST: The Red Foxes are 1-3 after dropping three straight at the Puerto Rico Tip-Off tournament. Marist's first two losses came without the services of senior guard Louie McCroskey, a 6-5 senior guard who played all 40 minutes in the Red Foxes' loss to Temple in the seventh place consolation game. McCroskey scored 18 points in his Marist debut, which was delayed three games for either violating team rules or due to questions about his academic eligibility -- depending which story you read.
Spongy Benjamin, a 6-7 senior, averages 11 points and 8.8 rebounds per game for Marist.
BONUS LINKS:
SCOUTING UMBC: The Retrievers are 3-0 for the first time since 2002 following a 70-68 win at Richmond. How they are undefeated is a bit of a mystery. UMBC is shooting 42.3 percent from the field and allowing opponents to shoot 47 percent. But the Retrievers are hotting better from the arc (43.6 percent) than from two-point range and have been getting to the foul line an average of 10 times more per game than their opponents.
UMBC only goes seven deep, which ought to translate into a legs issue at some point if they keep playing at the pace they have been (75.7 ppg). Whether that will be a problem against a Lafayette team that tends to sub in waves remains to be seen -- it is still early in the season.
Four players average in double figures for UMBC. Senior Brian Hodges (6-3) leads the way with 17.7 ppg. Coppin State transfer Darryl Proctor, a 6-4 junior, averages 16.7 points and 7.3 rebounds per game. James Madison transfer Cavell Johnson (6-8 senior) is averaging almost a double-double at 15.3 points and 9 boards and 6-2 senior guard Ray Barbosa, another James Madison transfer, is scoring 11.3 per game.
It will be a homecoming of sorts for Barbosa, an Allentown native who reportedly considered Lehigh before settling on UMBC when he decided to leave James Madison. Little used 5-8 senior guard Jay Greene is also a Lehigh Valley native (Whitehall HS).
BONUS LINKS:
SCOUTING ALBANY: The Great Danes are 2-1 after losing their opener 55-42 at Bucknell. Since then, the Danes have posted wins at Central Connecticut and, most recently, at home over Columbia in a game where they held the Lions to 38 points (70-38).
Defense is Albany's calling card thus far. The Danes are shooting just 42.7 percent from the field and have just two players averaging in double figures (Brian Lillis, 6-5 guard, and Jon Iati, a 5-9 senior guard both average 12.7 ppg), but they have held opponents to 34 percent shooting from the field and just 15 percent shooting from the arc.
The Danes roster includes nine guys 6-5 or taller. Their starting fibe goes 6-8, 6-8, 6-7, 6-5, 6-5. That helps explain why opponents are having such difficulty from the perimeter. Lehigh guard Marquis Hall, the Mountain Hawks' leading scorer, will be giving away six inches to whichever guard Albany coach Will Brown decided to play on him (either Lillis or 6-5 Jerel Hastings.
BONUS LINKS:
SCOUTING CANISIUS: The Golden Griff are 0-2 and coming off the worst loss in school history (93-40 at Penn State). Canisius also failed to score 50 in a season-opening loss to Colgate.
Freshman Elton Frazier posted a 13-13 double-double at Penn State. He leads Canisus in scoring (10 ppg) and rebounds (9 rpg.)
BONUS LINKS:
SCOUTING HARVARD: Tommy Amaker's Crimson are 2-2 after winning their last two over Northwestern State and Mercer. Harvard opened with losses to Stanford and UC Santa Barbara.
Four players are averaging in double figures for Harvard, led by 6-0 junior Drew Houseman (14.3 ppg) and 6-2 sophomore Jeremy Lin (13.8 ppg). Senior guard Andrew Pusar averages 11.5 ppg and 6-9 junior Evan Harris averages 11 ppg and shares the team lead in rebounding with 7.3 rpg.
BONUS LINKS:
Labels: American, Army, Colgate, Holy Cross, Lafayette, Lehigh, Navy, previews
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Monday, November 19, 2007
The latest Mid-Major Top 25 has us scratching our heads in bewilderment at the voting.
Holy Cross is up a spot to No. 13 in this week's poll. That is not the tough to figure part.
The part that boggles the mind is Bucknell receiving only 33 points after spanking Towson and taking Villanova to the limit, both on the road. What makes that so puzzling is Loyola (Md.) is one spot out of the top 25 with 81 votes. That is the same Loyola team that got handled by Towson and has home wins over a weak Penn team, American and an 0-3 Vermont side.
Not arguing Bucknell belongs in the Top 25. At least not yet. But for Loyola to have almost 50 points more in the voting makes no sense whatsoever.
Colgate cracks the others getting votes category, too, tied for one spot behind Bucknell with 25 points.
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Holy Cross is up a spot to No. 13 in this week's poll. That is not the tough to figure part.
The part that boggles the mind is Bucknell receiving only 33 points after spanking Towson and taking Villanova to the limit, both on the road. What makes that so puzzling is Loyola (Md.) is one spot out of the top 25 with 81 votes. That is the same Loyola team that got handled by Towson and has home wins over a weak Penn team, American and an 0-3 Vermont side.
Not arguing Bucknell belongs in the Top 25. At least not yet. But for Loyola to have almost 50 points more in the voting makes no sense whatsoever.
Colgate cracks the others getting votes category, too, tied for one spot behind Bucknell with 25 points.
Labels: Bucknell, Holy Cross
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Highlights from the latest memo from the home office in Bethlehem:
Team Notebooks
American
American earned its first home victory of the season with a 64-56 triumph over Stony Brook on Sunday afernoon...Earlier in the week, the Eagles lost a pair of games to MAAC teams falling at Loyola (Md.), 71-67, on Tuesday and losing their home opener to Fairfield, 60-52, on Thursday...Derrick Mercer nearly notched a triple-double in the win against Stony Brook, recording 11 points, eight rebounds and seven assists....Mercer played every minute of all three games last week...He moved into the American top 10 with 266 career assists...Garrison Carr averaged over 17 points for the week...Both players are tied for the team lead with 18.2 ppg for the season...American's two-game losing streak that was snapped Sunday was its longest since last February....The Eagles are back in action on Tuesday night when they travel to Morgan State.
Army
The Black Knights fell in their home opener to Long Island, 64-54, on Friday...They got into the win column for the first timewith a 64-49 triumph at Sacred Heart on Monday...Jarell Brown starred against Sacred Heart, scoring 26 points on 9-of-16 from the field and 6-of-12 shooting from beyond the arc...Brown's six three-pointers against the Pioneers tied for 10th on the Army single-game list ... It was the 17th game of his career with at least 20 points...Brown has not been held to less than 10 points in consecutive games since the start of the 2005-06 season, though he was held to four in the loss to Long Island...He is now only 66 points shy of 1,000 for his career...The Black Knights' overcame a 10-point first-half deficit in the win against Sacred Heart. It was their first double-digit comeback in a victory since Dec. 2, 2005 at Columbia...Army has made at least one three-pointer in 174 straight games...With the win against Sacred Heart, Army is now 13-3 in the Jim Crews Era when holding teams to less than 50 points...Kenny Brewer, Josh Miller and John Moonshower all set or tied career highs in points against LIU...The Black Knights are back on the road Tuesday at Cornell.
Bucknell
Bucknell scored a solid non-League win with a 71-57 triumph at Towson on Wednesday, and just missed an upset with a 70-64 loss at No. 23/24 Villanova on Sunday...The Bison led Villanova by eight points at halftime, and had a nine-point edge early in the second half...The game was tied inside 4:00 to play, but the Wildcats pulled it out in the end... Bucknell set a school record with 15 3-pointers in the game, six coming from John Griffin and four from Patrick Behan...Griffin had his first two 20-point games last week, recording 21 against Towson and topping it with 22 against Villanova....Griffin had 17 in the first half against the Wildcats...He has 151 career three-pointers, and needs only three more to enter the Bucknell top five...Behan tied his career high with 16 points against the Wildcats...Justin Castleberry equaled his career high with 16 points in the win at Towson, scoring all 16 in the second half...Freshman G.W. Boon had 11 points in 14 minutes against Villanova...The Bison shot 25-for-54 (.463) from the arc in the two games last week....Bucknell is off until Saturday when it travels to Wagner.
Colgate
Colgate rolled off an impressive week, winning the 100 Club Classic with wins over Texas State and host Kennesaw State over the weekend and recording a 61-47 victory at Cansisus on Tuesday...They are at 4-0 for the first time as a Patriot League member, and the first time overall since 1979-80...Colgate's win at Canisius was its first since 1946-47, breaking a string of 13 consecutive road losses to the Golden Griffins...Kyle Roemer was named MVP of the 100 Club Classic after recording 24 points in the win over Texas State and 25 in the championship game victory over Kennesaw State...Roemer moved into seventh place in school history with 121 three-point field goals made...Tim Pounds had a career-high 19 points in the win over Texas State, and Ben Jonson had a career-high 15 in the win over Kennesaw State...Both players were named to the All-Tournament team...The Raiders play the last Patriot League game before Thanksgiving, hosting Marist on Wednesday night.
Holy Cross
The Crusaders moved their record to 3-0 with a 60-52 win at Hampton on Saturday...They won both games on the road last week, knocking off Fairfield 67-54 on Tuesday...They have held all three opponents under 55 points this season, and are allowing only 51 points per game overall...Colin Cunningham had a career-high in points (17) against Fairfield, and in assists (5) against Hampton....Cunningham connected on all 11 of his foul shots during the week...Freshman Andrew Beinert scored the first two points of his career against Fairfield, and connected on a pair of three-pointers againt Hampton....Patriot League Preseason Player of the Year Tim Clifford tallied a game-high 22 points in the win at Hampton....The Crusaders held the Pirates to 15-of-49 (30.6 percent) shooting in the win...They are back in action Tuesday night at home against Harvard.
Lafayette
The Leopards notched their first win of the season in overtime with a 76-68 triumph at Stony Brook on Monday, then fell to Fairleigh Dickinson, 98-92, on Friday at home...Lafayette trailed by as many as 14 points in the first half against Stony Brook...Andrew Brown sent the Stony Brook game to overtime with a basket with 17 seconds to play, and scored all of his 21 points in the second half and overtime...Brown followed that with an 18-point, four-assist effort against Fairleigh Dickinson to average 19.5 ppg for the week...Freshman Deirunas Visockas had a breakout game against FDU with 15 points in just 15 minutes, and shot 5-of-6 from the field and 4-of-5 from three-point range...Lafayette had four players in double digits for the first time since Jan. 11, 2006 in the win over Stony Brook, then did it again in the loss to FDU...Brown and Bilal Abdullah were in double figures in both games, while Matt Betley, Michael Gruner, Jeff Kari and Visockas all had a game of 10 points or more...Lafayette is at home on Tuesday against UMBC.
Lehigh
Lehigh got its overall record to 2-1 with a pair of wins this week, knocking off St. Peter's, 60-56, at home on Wednesday for First-Year Head Coach Brett Reed's first win and won at St. Francis (Pa.) 71-66 on Saturday...Marquis Hall came up huge in both games, hitting the game-winning shot with 49 seconds to play for a 57-56 lead and scoring the final seven Lehigh points in the last 1:24 against St. Peter's and scoring six points in the final 2:39 and hitting a go-ahead and eventual game-winning three-pointer with 1:04 to play against St. Francis (Pa.)...Hall averaged 18.5 ppg in the two games, and leads the Mountain Hawks with 18.0 ppg for the season...Senior Bryan White has pulled down a total of 44 rebounds in his last four games, including two games of double-digit boards this season...Lehigh beat St. Peter's for the first time ever, and knocked off St. Francis (Pa.) for the first time since 1986...Lehigh won its first home opener since 2002...The win at St. Francis (Pa.) was Lehigh's first non-league road victory sine January 2, 2006 when the Mountain Hawks defeated Columbia...This is the earliest that Lehigh has been above .500 since 2002-03...The Mountain Hawks go to Albany on Tuesday.
Navy
The Mids dropped a pair of games last week, losing at Texas-San Antonio 77-67 on Saturday after falling, 93-77, to Robert Morris in their home opener on Wednesday...Greg Sprink led the way with 19 points, four assists and three rebounds against Robert Morris, and totaled 13 points against Texas-San Antonio...Freshman Mark Veazey notched seven points, eight rebounds and two blocks against Robert Morris...Navy outrebounded its first foe since Jan. 6, 2007, in the loss to Texas-San Antonio, a span of 18 games. The last opponent Navy outrebounded was Bucknell in the Patriot League opener a year ago...Navy's 15 offensive rebounds against UTSA were the most since recording 17 against Colgate on Feb. 25, 2006...Navy's bench is shooting 49.5 percent this year and is averaging 33.0 points per game...Navy fired just 12 three-point shots, making five against UTSA. The 12 three-point attempts are the fewest since shooting just 11 against American on Feb. 23, 2006. The five made three-pointers are the fewest since making three in that same game...Navy has a busy week, hosting Canisus on Tuesday before playing in the Philly Classic on Friday against Seton Hall and Saturday against Penn or Virginia...Games are being played at the Palestra.
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Team Notebooks
American
American earned its first home victory of the season with a 64-56 triumph over Stony Brook on Sunday afernoon...Earlier in the week, the Eagles lost a pair of games to MAAC teams falling at Loyola (Md.), 71-67, on Tuesday and losing their home opener to Fairfield, 60-52, on Thursday...Derrick Mercer nearly notched a triple-double in the win against Stony Brook, recording 11 points, eight rebounds and seven assists....Mercer played every minute of all three games last week...He moved into the American top 10 with 266 career assists...Garrison Carr averaged over 17 points for the week...Both players are tied for the team lead with 18.2 ppg for the season...American's two-game losing streak that was snapped Sunday was its longest since last February....The Eagles are back in action on Tuesday night when they travel to Morgan State.
Army
The Black Knights fell in their home opener to Long Island, 64-54, on Friday...They got into the win column for the first timewith a 64-49 triumph at Sacred Heart on Monday...Jarell Brown starred against Sacred Heart, scoring 26 points on 9-of-16 from the field and 6-of-12 shooting from beyond the arc...Brown's six three-pointers against the Pioneers tied for 10th on the Army single-game list ... It was the 17th game of his career with at least 20 points...Brown has not been held to less than 10 points in consecutive games since the start of the 2005-06 season, though he was held to four in the loss to Long Island...He is now only 66 points shy of 1,000 for his career...The Black Knights' overcame a 10-point first-half deficit in the win against Sacred Heart. It was their first double-digit comeback in a victory since Dec. 2, 2005 at Columbia...Army has made at least one three-pointer in 174 straight games...With the win against Sacred Heart, Army is now 13-3 in the Jim Crews Era when holding teams to less than 50 points...Kenny Brewer, Josh Miller and John Moonshower all set or tied career highs in points against LIU...The Black Knights are back on the road Tuesday at Cornell.
Bucknell
Bucknell scored a solid non-League win with a 71-57 triumph at Towson on Wednesday, and just missed an upset with a 70-64 loss at No. 23/24 Villanova on Sunday...The Bison led Villanova by eight points at halftime, and had a nine-point edge early in the second half...The game was tied inside 4:00 to play, but the Wildcats pulled it out in the end... Bucknell set a school record with 15 3-pointers in the game, six coming from John Griffin and four from Patrick Behan...Griffin had his first two 20-point games last week, recording 21 against Towson and topping it with 22 against Villanova....Griffin had 17 in the first half against the Wildcats...He has 151 career three-pointers, and needs only three more to enter the Bucknell top five...Behan tied his career high with 16 points against the Wildcats...Justin Castleberry equaled his career high with 16 points in the win at Towson, scoring all 16 in the second half...Freshman G.W. Boon had 11 points in 14 minutes against Villanova...The Bison shot 25-for-54 (.463) from the arc in the two games last week....Bucknell is off until Saturday when it travels to Wagner.
Colgate
Colgate rolled off an impressive week, winning the 100 Club Classic with wins over Texas State and host Kennesaw State over the weekend and recording a 61-47 victory at Cansisus on Tuesday...They are at 4-0 for the first time as a Patriot League member, and the first time overall since 1979-80...Colgate's win at Canisius was its first since 1946-47, breaking a string of 13 consecutive road losses to the Golden Griffins...Kyle Roemer was named MVP of the 100 Club Classic after recording 24 points in the win over Texas State and 25 in the championship game victory over Kennesaw State...Roemer moved into seventh place in school history with 121 three-point field goals made...Tim Pounds had a career-high 19 points in the win over Texas State, and Ben Jonson had a career-high 15 in the win over Kennesaw State...Both players were named to the All-Tournament team...The Raiders play the last Patriot League game before Thanksgiving, hosting Marist on Wednesday night.
Holy Cross
The Crusaders moved their record to 3-0 with a 60-52 win at Hampton on Saturday...They won both games on the road last week, knocking off Fairfield 67-54 on Tuesday...They have held all three opponents under 55 points this season, and are allowing only 51 points per game overall...Colin Cunningham had a career-high in points (17) against Fairfield, and in assists (5) against Hampton....Cunningham connected on all 11 of his foul shots during the week...Freshman Andrew Beinert scored the first two points of his career against Fairfield, and connected on a pair of three-pointers againt Hampton....Patriot League Preseason Player of the Year Tim Clifford tallied a game-high 22 points in the win at Hampton....The Crusaders held the Pirates to 15-of-49 (30.6 percent) shooting in the win...They are back in action Tuesday night at home against Harvard.
Lafayette
The Leopards notched their first win of the season in overtime with a 76-68 triumph at Stony Brook on Monday, then fell to Fairleigh Dickinson, 98-92, on Friday at home...Lafayette trailed by as many as 14 points in the first half against Stony Brook...Andrew Brown sent the Stony Brook game to overtime with a basket with 17 seconds to play, and scored all of his 21 points in the second half and overtime...Brown followed that with an 18-point, four-assist effort against Fairleigh Dickinson to average 19.5 ppg for the week...Freshman Deirunas Visockas had a breakout game against FDU with 15 points in just 15 minutes, and shot 5-of-6 from the field and 4-of-5 from three-point range...Lafayette had four players in double digits for the first time since Jan. 11, 2006 in the win over Stony Brook, then did it again in the loss to FDU...Brown and Bilal Abdullah were in double figures in both games, while Matt Betley, Michael Gruner, Jeff Kari and Visockas all had a game of 10 points or more...Lafayette is at home on Tuesday against UMBC.
Lehigh
Lehigh got its overall record to 2-1 with a pair of wins this week, knocking off St. Peter's, 60-56, at home on Wednesday for First-Year Head Coach Brett Reed's first win and won at St. Francis (Pa.) 71-66 on Saturday...Marquis Hall came up huge in both games, hitting the game-winning shot with 49 seconds to play for a 57-56 lead and scoring the final seven Lehigh points in the last 1:24 against St. Peter's and scoring six points in the final 2:39 and hitting a go-ahead and eventual game-winning three-pointer with 1:04 to play against St. Francis (Pa.)...Hall averaged 18.5 ppg in the two games, and leads the Mountain Hawks with 18.0 ppg for the season...Senior Bryan White has pulled down a total of 44 rebounds in his last four games, including two games of double-digit boards this season...Lehigh beat St. Peter's for the first time ever, and knocked off St. Francis (Pa.) for the first time since 1986...Lehigh won its first home opener since 2002...The win at St. Francis (Pa.) was Lehigh's first non-league road victory sine January 2, 2006 when the Mountain Hawks defeated Columbia...This is the earliest that Lehigh has been above .500 since 2002-03...The Mountain Hawks go to Albany on Tuesday.
Navy
The Mids dropped a pair of games last week, losing at Texas-San Antonio 77-67 on Saturday after falling, 93-77, to Robert Morris in their home opener on Wednesday...Greg Sprink led the way with 19 points, four assists and three rebounds against Robert Morris, and totaled 13 points against Texas-San Antonio...Freshman Mark Veazey notched seven points, eight rebounds and two blocks against Robert Morris...Navy outrebounded its first foe since Jan. 6, 2007, in the loss to Texas-San Antonio, a span of 18 games. The last opponent Navy outrebounded was Bucknell in the Patriot League opener a year ago...Navy's 15 offensive rebounds against UTSA were the most since recording 17 against Colgate on Feb. 25, 2006...Navy's bench is shooting 49.5 percent this year and is averaging 33.0 points per game...Navy fired just 12 three-point shots, making five against UTSA. The 12 three-point attempts are the fewest since shooting just 11 against American on Feb. 23, 2006. The five made three-pointers are the fewest since making three in that same game...Navy has a busy week, hosting Canisus on Tuesday before playing in the Philly Classic on Friday against Seton Hall and Saturday against Penn or Virginia...Games are being played at the Palestra.
Labels: American, Army, Bucknell, Colgate, Holy Cross, Lafayette, Lehigh, Navy
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A quick look at some news and numbers from around the league.
NO RUST ON ROEMER: One of the questions for Colgate entering the season was how effective Kyle Roemer would be after missing the Raiders last 32 games over the past two seasons due to injuries. Conventional wisdom was that it would take Roemer at least a few games to shake off the rust accumulated after missing the final three games of the 2005-06 season with a concussion and all 29 of last season with an ankle injury.
The answer is: no time at all. Roemer is averaging a league-best 20 points per game through Colgate's first four outings. The 6-3 redshirt (medical) junior, who averaged 10.7 ppg through his first two seasons, has scored 15, 16, 24 and 25 in four games thus far. The 25 against Kennesaw State Saturday broke his career-high set the night before against Texas State. The two 20-point games equalled the number of 20-point performances Roemer recorded in the first 54 games of his career.
This far, Roemer is shooting 40 percent from three-point range, with 12 of his 26 field goals coming from the arc.
BROWN OUT: Big things are expected this season from Army's Jarrell Brown, but through three games, Brown's offense has been hit or miss -- and more miss than hit. Sandwiched around his 26-point outburst against Sacred Heart are a 5-point night in the opener at Minnesota and a 4-point showing in last week's loss to Long Island.
Brown, who scored 20 points in 11 games last season and reached double figures in 26 of the Black Knights' 31 contests, averaged 16.9 points per game last season, shooting 41.8 percent from the field. He is shooting just 34.3 percent this season, and his average is down to 11.7 ppg, tied with teammate Kenny Brewer, who is averaging 11.7 ppg off the bench. Brewer has arguably been Army's best offensive player. He is shooting 62.5 percent from the floor.
SMALL BALL: American coach Jeff Jones was looking to add some size to his lineup after the graduation Brayden Billbe and Paulius Jonelius when he went the juco route in recruiting. But after a 1-2 start, Jones went smaller in the Eagles' win Sunday over Stony Brook. Cornelius Guibunda, the 6-9 junior transfer from Georgetown, who started the first three games, was relegated to the bench. His place in the starting lineup was taken by 6-5 Jordan Nichols. Guibunda played only 3 minutes against Stony Brook.
GROWING PAINS: Navy, on the other hand, has tried to go bigger this season, starting a pair of 6-10 guys in all four games. Freshman Mark Veazey has started all four games. Fellow freshman Jeremy Wilson, another 6-10 guy, started in Navy's most recent contest, replacing 6-10 senior Ben Biles in the starting five But the added size has not resulted in an added presence in the paint. Navy has been outrebounded by an average of more than 6 boards per game. The lack of an inside attack is a big reason why opponents have made 82 free throws (on 115 tries) thus far, while Navy has only shot 78 (54 made).
Navy's 1-3 start can't be blamed entirely on the big men, though. The Mids are also averaging 20.3 turnovers per game.
NAVY'S NOT ALONE: Through three games, 1-2 Lafayette has also had inside problems. The Leopards are shooting almost two percentage points (43.2-41.3) better than their opponents and have hit twice as many threes (32-15, Lafayette shooting 39.5 percent, foes 26.3 from the arc). But the 'Pards are 1-3. The slow start is primarily due to being outrebounded on average by 10 boards per game (44.3-34.3). It has not helped that opponents have made 77 of 106 free throws and Lafayette has only shot 83 foul shots (making 54).
YOU ARE WHO YOU PLAY: It is still way too early to take the RPI rankings seriously, but the early numbers do give you a peak at both the relative strength of the league's teams, and to perhaps a greater extent, the strength of the schedules they have played. Bucknell, which was No. 1 last week, slipped, but not far, after Sunday's loss to Villanova. The Bison are No. 6 in the RPI as of Monday morning. Holy Cross is up to No. 11 after beating Hampton and Colgate is also in the top 64, checking in at No. 58. Navy is the only other team in the top 200 (barely), checking in at 197. Other league teams and their RPI; Lehigh - 200, American - 276, Army - 324 and Lafayette - 325. As a conference, the Patriot now ranks No. 18 out of the nation's 32 (including independents) Division I leagues.
NO SURPRISES: Pat Flannery was not surprised Bucknell played Villanova so tough Sunday. Even though the Bison team that beat Kansas had lost by 38 in the ski lodge the last time Bucknell visited the Main Line, and the Bucknell team that made it to the second round of the NCAA Tournament the next year lost by 19 at home, and even though Bucknell's rotation included only one senior and three freshmen, there was no intimidation factor.
"We have some players. We're not coming down here without any players," said Flannery. "Now when we come into a Villnova, there is not that awe, not that wow."
Villanova coach Jay Wright agreed: "I don't think anybody here is surprised. Anybody who saw the halftime score (Bucknell 35, Villanova 27) was not surprised. They do it to everybody. They are just that good."
YOUNG GUNS: You know Bucknell has three freshmen in the rotation, and two of their three seniors out of action due to injuries. But here is another number that emphasizes just how young and inexperienced the Bison are: 38. That is how many starts the dozen guys who have dressed for Bucknell this season had between them when the season started. All 38 of those, by the way, belonged to senior John Griffin.
BLOCK PARTY: Bucknell freshman Todd O'Brien blocked two more shots against Villanova, giving him three straight games with multiple blocks and eight total rejections through the first three games of his career. O'Brien's average of 2.7 blocks per game ranks tops in the league and 39th in the nation. That pace would have been tops in the Patriot League in nine of the past 16 seasons.
As a team, Bucknell had three blocks against Villanova, giving the Bison three or more in three games this season, equalling the number of times they blocked three in a game all of last season.
FOUL MOOD: Holy Cross center Tim Clifford has fouled out twice already in the Crusaders' first three games. Clifford has now been disqualified in 17 games in his career. Clifford's pace of 8.8 fouls per 40 minutes this season is even higher than his career pace of 5.4 fouls per 40 minutes. As a freshman, Clifford averaged 6.3 fouls per 40 minutes. That number dipped to 5.5 per 40 as a sophomore and 4.9 40 last season.
Since Clifford has averaged 15 points and 7.3 rebounds per 40 minutes over his career, his ability to stay on the floor longer could pay huge dividends for Holy Cross.
LEAGUE LEADERS: Conference leaders in selected categories through Sunday with their NCAA rank in parentheses:
Scoring: Kyle Roemer, Colgate -- 20 ppg (tie 72)
Rebounding: Bryan White, Lehigh -- 10.7 rpg (tie 30)
Blocked shots: Todd O'Brien, Bucknell -- 2.7 bpg (39)
3 pt. FG pct.: G.W. Boon, Bucknell; Michael Gruner, Lafayette -- 50 percent (tie 150)
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NO RUST ON ROEMER: One of the questions for Colgate entering the season was how effective Kyle Roemer would be after missing the Raiders last 32 games over the past two seasons due to injuries. Conventional wisdom was that it would take Roemer at least a few games to shake off the rust accumulated after missing the final three games of the 2005-06 season with a concussion and all 29 of last season with an ankle injury.
The answer is: no time at all. Roemer is averaging a league-best 20 points per game through Colgate's first four outings. The 6-3 redshirt (medical) junior, who averaged 10.7 ppg through his first two seasons, has scored 15, 16, 24 and 25 in four games thus far. The 25 against Kennesaw State Saturday broke his career-high set the night before against Texas State. The two 20-point games equalled the number of 20-point performances Roemer recorded in the first 54 games of his career.
This far, Roemer is shooting 40 percent from three-point range, with 12 of his 26 field goals coming from the arc.
BROWN OUT: Big things are expected this season from Army's Jarrell Brown, but through three games, Brown's offense has been hit or miss -- and more miss than hit. Sandwiched around his 26-point outburst against Sacred Heart are a 5-point night in the opener at Minnesota and a 4-point showing in last week's loss to Long Island.
Brown, who scored 20 points in 11 games last season and reached double figures in 26 of the Black Knights' 31 contests, averaged 16.9 points per game last season, shooting 41.8 percent from the field. He is shooting just 34.3 percent this season, and his average is down to 11.7 ppg, tied with teammate Kenny Brewer, who is averaging 11.7 ppg off the bench. Brewer has arguably been Army's best offensive player. He is shooting 62.5 percent from the floor.
SMALL BALL: American coach Jeff Jones was looking to add some size to his lineup after the graduation Brayden Billbe and Paulius Jonelius when he went the juco route in recruiting. But after a 1-2 start, Jones went smaller in the Eagles' win Sunday over Stony Brook. Cornelius Guibunda, the 6-9 junior transfer from Georgetown, who started the first three games, was relegated to the bench. His place in the starting lineup was taken by 6-5 Jordan Nichols. Guibunda played only 3 minutes against Stony Brook.
GROWING PAINS: Navy, on the other hand, has tried to go bigger this season, starting a pair of 6-10 guys in all four games. Freshman Mark Veazey has started all four games. Fellow freshman Jeremy Wilson, another 6-10 guy, started in Navy's most recent contest, replacing 6-10 senior Ben Biles in the starting five But the added size has not resulted in an added presence in the paint. Navy has been outrebounded by an average of more than 6 boards per game. The lack of an inside attack is a big reason why opponents have made 82 free throws (on 115 tries) thus far, while Navy has only shot 78 (54 made).
Navy's 1-3 start can't be blamed entirely on the big men, though. The Mids are also averaging 20.3 turnovers per game.
NAVY'S NOT ALONE: Through three games, 1-2 Lafayette has also had inside problems. The Leopards are shooting almost two percentage points (43.2-41.3) better than their opponents and have hit twice as many threes (32-15, Lafayette shooting 39.5 percent, foes 26.3 from the arc). But the 'Pards are 1-3. The slow start is primarily due to being outrebounded on average by 10 boards per game (44.3-34.3). It has not helped that opponents have made 77 of 106 free throws and Lafayette has only shot 83 foul shots (making 54).
YOU ARE WHO YOU PLAY: It is still way too early to take the RPI rankings seriously, but the early numbers do give you a peak at both the relative strength of the league's teams, and to perhaps a greater extent, the strength of the schedules they have played. Bucknell, which was No. 1 last week, slipped, but not far, after Sunday's loss to Villanova. The Bison are No. 6 in the RPI as of Monday morning. Holy Cross is up to No. 11 after beating Hampton and Colgate is also in the top 64, checking in at No. 58. Navy is the only other team in the top 200 (barely), checking in at 197. Other league teams and their RPI; Lehigh - 200, American - 276, Army - 324 and Lafayette - 325. As a conference, the Patriot now ranks No. 18 out of the nation's 32 (including independents) Division I leagues.
NO SURPRISES: Pat Flannery was not surprised Bucknell played Villanova so tough Sunday. Even though the Bison team that beat Kansas had lost by 38 in the ski lodge the last time Bucknell visited the Main Line, and the Bucknell team that made it to the second round of the NCAA Tournament the next year lost by 19 at home, and even though Bucknell's rotation included only one senior and three freshmen, there was no intimidation factor.
"We have some players. We're not coming down here without any players," said Flannery. "Now when we come into a Villnova, there is not that awe, not that wow."
Villanova coach Jay Wright agreed: "I don't think anybody here is surprised. Anybody who saw the halftime score (Bucknell 35, Villanova 27) was not surprised. They do it to everybody. They are just that good."
YOUNG GUNS: You know Bucknell has three freshmen in the rotation, and two of their three seniors out of action due to injuries. But here is another number that emphasizes just how young and inexperienced the Bison are: 38. That is how many starts the dozen guys who have dressed for Bucknell this season had between them when the season started. All 38 of those, by the way, belonged to senior John Griffin.
BLOCK PARTY: Bucknell freshman Todd O'Brien blocked two more shots against Villanova, giving him three straight games with multiple blocks and eight total rejections through the first three games of his career. O'Brien's average of 2.7 blocks per game ranks tops in the league and 39th in the nation. That pace would have been tops in the Patriot League in nine of the past 16 seasons.
As a team, Bucknell had three blocks against Villanova, giving the Bison three or more in three games this season, equalling the number of times they blocked three in a game all of last season.
FOUL MOOD: Holy Cross center Tim Clifford has fouled out twice already in the Crusaders' first three games. Clifford has now been disqualified in 17 games in his career. Clifford's pace of 8.8 fouls per 40 minutes this season is even higher than his career pace of 5.4 fouls per 40 minutes. As a freshman, Clifford averaged 6.3 fouls per 40 minutes. That number dipped to 5.5 per 40 as a sophomore and 4.9 40 last season.
Since Clifford has averaged 15 points and 7.3 rebounds per 40 minutes over his career, his ability to stay on the floor longer could pay huge dividends for Holy Cross.
LEAGUE LEADERS: Conference leaders in selected categories through Sunday with their NCAA rank in parentheses:
Scoring: Kyle Roemer, Colgate -- 20 ppg (tie 72)
Rebounding: Bryan White, Lehigh -- 10.7 rpg (tie 30)
Blocked shots: Todd O'Brien, Bucknell -- 2.7 bpg (39)
3 pt. FG pct.: G.W. Boon, Bucknell; Michael Gruner, Lafayette -- 50 percent (tie 150)
Labels: American, Army, Bucknell, Colgate, Holy Cross, Lafayette, Lehigh, Navy, notebook
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Originally posted Sun. 8:32 p.m., links added at 6:51 a.m.)
Bison come up short in latest effort to slay a giant, falling 70-64 at Villanova.
BY CHRIS A. COUROGEN
OF HOOP TIME
Pat Flannery and Jay Wright were teammates at Bucknell in the 1970s. The two former Bison guards go way back. But don't expect Wright to invite his old buddy to bring his team back to the ski lodge on the Main Line anytime soon. Ditto for any Villanova trips to Lewisburg in the foreseeable future.
After all, Wright coaches a big time basketball power in a big time basketball conference, and big time boys don't like to schedule teams from small time conferences when those small time teams don't understand the show up, pick up your check and go away protocol that comes with games between teams from the Patriot League and the Big East.
So after Flannery's Bison scared the hell out of Wright's No. 24 Wildcats, this will be the last time the old friends meet up on the court for a long while.
"We had everything we could handle tonight," said Wright after his team escaped with a 70-64 win.
Both Wright and Flannery pointed to their friendship as a reason to not renew the series. Unlike, say Al Skinner's decision to drop Holy Cross from Boston College's schedule, both say it is a mutual decision.
"Jay is one of my best friends and we can't talk basketball anymore," said Flannery, who misses being able to talk Xs and Os and bounce ideas off Wright."
"I don't like it. It's really not enjoyable for us," said Wright, shaking his head no when asked if the series would continue.
But have no doubt, if the two were not friends, Flannery would still have a tough time getting Wright to return his phone calls after this one. Especially since Bucknell's performance came with a rotation that included one senior and three freshman on the floor together for long stretches of the game.
By us, Wright meant Flannery and himself. He might also have meant the Villanova fans, who squirmed nervously in their seats until the final moments. Not until Shane Clark hit a pair of free throws to make it a 70-62 game did the Villanova student section summon the confidence to start into the "it's all over chant." By then there were only 17.4 seconds left on the clock.
Students as places like Villanova are used to spending most of the second half singing "Nah, Nah, Hey, Hey" when non-conference visitors come to town, save for those occasional made for TV matchups. Yet here was Bucknell up by 8 at the half and by as many as 9 early in the second half, thanks to a combination of a matchup zone that gave Nova more fits than a Rubic's Cube and a record-setting Bucknell showing from the three-point arc.
The Bison hit 15 threes, breaking a record that had stood since 1993 (14 vs. Loyola of Md.). Leading the way was John Griffin, the team's lone senior, who went 6 for 10 from the arc, finishing with a game-high 22 points.
It didn't surpise Wright, but it did impress him.
"Griffin was just outstanding. He hit some tough shots," said Wright. "He is an impressive kid. We did everything we could to stop him from touching the ball."
Another person not surprised was Griffin's old high school teammate, Villanova's 6-5 Reggie Redding.
"He carried us in high school," said Redding, who became St. Joe's Prep's all-time leading scorer after Griffin graduated. Wright put the bigger Redding on Griffin in the second half, and gave him some help.
Griffin hit five of his treys in the first half, when his 17 points were a big key to Bucklnell building a 35-27 halftime lead. In the second half, when the 'Nova defense paid him a little more attention, he shifted into passing gear, dishing off three of his four assists after the intermission.
Not that he stopped looking for his shot. About the only time Villanova left him open (and then just barely) in the second half came with 3:41 to play, after the Wildcats had clawed out to a 57-54 lead. Griffin promptly buried the three to tie it.
Then came the second of two pivotal stretches in the second half. After Villanova went back up on a three by Scottie Reynolds (18 points). Bucknell twice had a chance to gain possession down by three. The first time, after a Nova miss, Stephen Tyree was bumped out of bounds as he tried to chase down a loose ball near midcourt. The refs swallowed the whistle and Nova got the ball back.
On the ensuing play, Reynolds missed a layup and Bucknell freshman Todd O'Brien swatted the loose ball towards the left corner. Tyree, who appeared to think the ball was off a Villanova player, left the ball go out of bounds, giving the Wildcats yet another chance.
The third time was the charm for Nova, with Reynolds cashing in on a strong move to the hole, taking advantage of O'Brien, who was playing with four fouls. When Patrick Behan missed an open three at the other end, and Villanova answered with a Dante Cunningham dunk for a 64-57 lead with 1:01 to play, all Bucknell could do the rest of the way was hope Villanova would miss free throws.
That didn't happen enough for the Bison to recover. Especially not since Villanova got an offensive rebound after one of the two free throws they missed (out of eight) in the final 43 seconds.
"In the end, we had a little bit bigger, better athletes. That is what it came down to -- a couple of offensive rebounds and a couple loose balls," said Wright.
The bigger was as much a factor as the better, especially late in the second half after the first of those two pivotal stretches we mentioned. That came midway through the final half, when Bucknell picked up five team fouls in a span of 1:02. With 10:36 to go, Bucknell was up by 5 (48-43), with nobody in foul trouble and the team fouls stood at four aside. By the time the clock ticked down to 9:33, Villanova was in the bonus, team fouls stood at eight for Bucknell and five for 'Nova, the Bison lead (thanks to four straight Villanova free throws) was down to one and both Bucknell's big men, Josh Linthicum and Todd O'brien, were in foul trouble with three each.
At that point, Villanova's seemed to smell blood. The Wildcats became more aggressive inside, attacking the heart of Bucknell's 2-3 zone and in short order, Linthicum and O'Brien had picked up their fourth personals, leaving the Bison without any effective size in the post.
"They took over inside there in that stretch," said Flannery. "I looked up with 10 minutes to go and they were already in the one-and-one."
With Linthicum or O'Brien on the floor and able to play aggressive defense, Villanova always had to reckon with a 6-11 presence when it went to the hole. With those two in foul trouble, Flannery actually had to go with 6-8 forward Patrick Behan in the post for a while, with nobody else taller than 6-4 on the floor.
"At least you had a body out there, somebody standing in front of them (before Linthicum and O'Brien's foul trouble)," said Flannery. "When they went in there and we couldn't keep the ball out, it really changed the tempo of the game."
In the end, it was Villanova's size that mattered. The Wildcats shot just 43.6 percent (24-55) for the game and made only 6 three-pointers on 22 attempts. But they outrebounded Bucknell 43-26, including 20 offensive rebounds to 17 defensive rebounds for the Bison. Villanova had 25 second chance points, 28 points in the paint (to 10 for BU) and went to the foul line 26 times, making 16 while the Bison shot only 9 free throws (5 made) all night.
Box score | Postgame audio | Ticker | AP | Soft Pretzel Logic (Philly.com blog) | Philly Daily News | Philly Inquirer | Patriot-News | Sports Network | Daily Item | Sun Gazette
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Bison come up short in latest effort to slay a giant, falling 70-64 at Villanova.
BY CHRIS A. COUROGEN
OF HOOP TIME
Pat Flannery and Jay Wright were teammates at Bucknell in the 1970s. The two former Bison guards go way back. But don't expect Wright to invite his old buddy to bring his team back to the ski lodge on the Main Line anytime soon. Ditto for any Villanova trips to Lewisburg in the foreseeable future.
After all, Wright coaches a big time basketball power in a big time basketball conference, and big time boys don't like to schedule teams from small time conferences when those small time teams don't understand the show up, pick up your check and go away protocol that comes with games between teams from the Patriot League and the Big East.
So after Flannery's Bison scared the hell out of Wright's No. 24 Wildcats, this will be the last time the old friends meet up on the court for a long while.
"We had everything we could handle tonight," said Wright after his team escaped with a 70-64 win.
Both Wright and Flannery pointed to their friendship as a reason to not renew the series. Unlike, say Al Skinner's decision to drop Holy Cross from Boston College's schedule, both say it is a mutual decision.
"Jay is one of my best friends and we can't talk basketball anymore," said Flannery, who misses being able to talk Xs and Os and bounce ideas off Wright."
"I don't like it. It's really not enjoyable for us," said Wright, shaking his head no when asked if the series would continue.
But have no doubt, if the two were not friends, Flannery would still have a tough time getting Wright to return his phone calls after this one. Especially since Bucknell's performance came with a rotation that included one senior and three freshman on the floor together for long stretches of the game.
By us, Wright meant Flannery and himself. He might also have meant the Villanova fans, who squirmed nervously in their seats until the final moments. Not until Shane Clark hit a pair of free throws to make it a 70-62 game did the Villanova student section summon the confidence to start into the "it's all over chant." By then there were only 17.4 seconds left on the clock.
Students as places like Villanova are used to spending most of the second half singing "Nah, Nah, Hey, Hey" when non-conference visitors come to town, save for those occasional made for TV matchups. Yet here was Bucknell up by 8 at the half and by as many as 9 early in the second half, thanks to a combination of a matchup zone that gave Nova more fits than a Rubic's Cube and a record-setting Bucknell showing from the three-point arc.
The Bison hit 15 threes, breaking a record that had stood since 1993 (14 vs. Loyola of Md.). Leading the way was John Griffin, the team's lone senior, who went 6 for 10 from the arc, finishing with a game-high 22 points.
It didn't surpise Wright, but it did impress him.
"Griffin was just outstanding. He hit some tough shots," said Wright. "He is an impressive kid. We did everything we could to stop him from touching the ball."
Another person not surprised was Griffin's old high school teammate, Villanova's 6-5 Reggie Redding.
"He carried us in high school," said Redding, who became St. Joe's Prep's all-time leading scorer after Griffin graduated. Wright put the bigger Redding on Griffin in the second half, and gave him some help.
Griffin hit five of his treys in the first half, when his 17 points were a big key to Bucklnell building a 35-27 halftime lead. In the second half, when the 'Nova defense paid him a little more attention, he shifted into passing gear, dishing off three of his four assists after the intermission.
Not that he stopped looking for his shot. About the only time Villanova left him open (and then just barely) in the second half came with 3:41 to play, after the Wildcats had clawed out to a 57-54 lead. Griffin promptly buried the three to tie it.
Then came the second of two pivotal stretches in the second half. After Villanova went back up on a three by Scottie Reynolds (18 points). Bucknell twice had a chance to gain possession down by three. The first time, after a Nova miss, Stephen Tyree was bumped out of bounds as he tried to chase down a loose ball near midcourt. The refs swallowed the whistle and Nova got the ball back.
On the ensuing play, Reynolds missed a layup and Bucknell freshman Todd O'Brien swatted the loose ball towards the left corner. Tyree, who appeared to think the ball was off a Villanova player, left the ball go out of bounds, giving the Wildcats yet another chance.
The third time was the charm for Nova, with Reynolds cashing in on a strong move to the hole, taking advantage of O'Brien, who was playing with four fouls. When Patrick Behan missed an open three at the other end, and Villanova answered with a Dante Cunningham dunk for a 64-57 lead with 1:01 to play, all Bucknell could do the rest of the way was hope Villanova would miss free throws.
That didn't happen enough for the Bison to recover. Especially not since Villanova got an offensive rebound after one of the two free throws they missed (out of eight) in the final 43 seconds.
"In the end, we had a little bit bigger, better athletes. That is what it came down to -- a couple of offensive rebounds and a couple loose balls," said Wright.
The bigger was as much a factor as the better, especially late in the second half after the first of those two pivotal stretches we mentioned. That came midway through the final half, when Bucknell picked up five team fouls in a span of 1:02. With 10:36 to go, Bucknell was up by 5 (48-43), with nobody in foul trouble and the team fouls stood at four aside. By the time the clock ticked down to 9:33, Villanova was in the bonus, team fouls stood at eight for Bucknell and five for 'Nova, the Bison lead (thanks to four straight Villanova free throws) was down to one and both Bucknell's big men, Josh Linthicum and Todd O'brien, were in foul trouble with three each.
At that point, Villanova's seemed to smell blood. The Wildcats became more aggressive inside, attacking the heart of Bucknell's 2-3 zone and in short order, Linthicum and O'Brien had picked up their fourth personals, leaving the Bison without any effective size in the post.
"They took over inside there in that stretch," said Flannery. "I looked up with 10 minutes to go and they were already in the one-and-one."
With Linthicum or O'Brien on the floor and able to play aggressive defense, Villanova always had to reckon with a 6-11 presence when it went to the hole. With those two in foul trouble, Flannery actually had to go with 6-8 forward Patrick Behan in the post for a while, with nobody else taller than 6-4 on the floor.
"At least you had a body out there, somebody standing in front of them (before Linthicum and O'Brien's foul trouble)," said Flannery. "When they went in there and we couldn't keep the ball out, it really changed the tempo of the game."
In the end, it was Villanova's size that mattered. The Wildcats shot just 43.6 percent (24-55) for the game and made only 6 three-pointers on 22 attempts. But they outrebounded Bucknell 43-26, including 20 offensive rebounds to 17 defensive rebounds for the Bison. Villanova had 25 second chance points, 28 points in the paint (to 10 for BU) and went to the foul line 26 times, making 16 while the Bison shot only 9 free throws (5 made) all night.
Box score | Postgame audio | Ticker | AP | Soft Pretzel Logic (Philly.com blog) | Philly Daily News | Philly Inquirer | Patriot-News | Sports Network | Daily Item | Sun Gazette
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For the first time all season, the Eagles were not outscored in the second half, holding on for a 64-53 home win over Stony Brook.
American held a 33-29 lead at halftime, and looked poised to stage another second half collapse when they let Stony Brook take the lead in the first five minutes after intermission. But the Eagles regrouped, went on a 13-2 run to take control, and then shot 7 of 8 at the foul line to hold on after Stony Brook pulled to within 1 with 1:27 to play.
Garrison Carr led American with 15 points, despite shooting just 3 of 12 from the three-point range. American's 5-9 point guard Derrick Mercer added 11 points while pulling down a team-high 7 rebounds and dishing off 8 assists. Juco transfer Bryce Simon added 15 for the Eagles, who improved to 2-2.
The Eagles held Stony Brook (0-4) to 34 percent shooting from the field (18-53), including 7 for 24 in the second half (29.2). Stony Brook managed just four three-pointers on 12 attempts.
American hit 2 of 49 (40.8 percent) from the field, including 9 of 26 from three-point range.
Box score | AP
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American held a 33-29 lead at halftime, and looked poised to stage another second half collapse when they let Stony Brook take the lead in the first five minutes after intermission. But the Eagles regrouped, went on a 13-2 run to take control, and then shot 7 of 8 at the foul line to hold on after Stony Brook pulled to within 1 with 1:27 to play.
Garrison Carr led American with 15 points, despite shooting just 3 of 12 from the three-point range. American's 5-9 point guard Derrick Mercer added 11 points while pulling down a team-high 7 rebounds and dishing off 8 assists. Juco transfer Bryce Simon added 15 for the Eagles, who improved to 2-2.
The Eagles held Stony Brook (0-4) to 34 percent shooting from the field (18-53), including 7 for 24 in the second half (29.2). Stony Brook managed just four three-pointers on 12 attempts.
American hit 2 of 49 (40.8 percent) from the field, including 9 of 26 from three-point range.
Box score | AP
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Sunday, November 18, 2007
Call out the fire department. John Griffin is en fuego.
Of maybe unconscious would be just as fitting a description. The Bucknell senior with 5 treys in the first half (5-7) to lead Bucknell to a 35-27 lead at the break. Griffin with 17 points leads all scorers. Nobody else on either team with more than 6 at the half.
Bucknell has hit 12 of 29 (41.4 percent), just three of the 12 coming from inside the arc. The Bison didn't score a two-point basket until the 8:49 mark, when Josh L:nthicum hit a jump hook from the left side, putting the Bison back on top, 19-17, after 'Nova had scored two unanswered buckets to tie it.
Linthicum's bucket started an 8-0 Bucknell spurt, the other six points coming -- how else -- on two Griffin threes.
Making Bucknell's halftime lead even more impressive is the fact they did it with three freshmen on the floor together for long stretches.
Villanova is struggling to figure out the Bison's matchup zone, shooting 39.3 percent from the field (11-28), with 11 of their shots from the arc (2-11).
Stat to watch: rebounds are surprisingly even at 18-18, despite Nova's Casiem Drummond's 10 in the first half -- 5 offensive. Eight of Nova's rebounds came on the offensive end.
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Of maybe unconscious would be just as fitting a description. The Bucknell senior with 5 treys in the first half (5-7) to lead Bucknell to a 35-27 lead at the break. Griffin with 17 points leads all scorers. Nobody else on either team with more than 6 at the half.
Bucknell has hit 12 of 29 (41.4 percent), just three of the 12 coming from inside the arc. The Bison didn't score a two-point basket until the 8:49 mark, when Josh L:nthicum hit a jump hook from the left side, putting the Bison back on top, 19-17, after 'Nova had scored two unanswered buckets to tie it.
Linthicum's bucket started an 8-0 Bucknell spurt, the other six points coming -- how else -- on two Griffin threes.
Making Bucknell's halftime lead even more impressive is the fact they did it with three freshmen on the floor together for long stretches.
Villanova is struggling to figure out the Bison's matchup zone, shooting 39.3 percent from the field (11-28), with 11 of their shots from the arc (2-11).
Stat to watch: rebounds are surprisingly even at 18-18, despite Nova's Casiem Drummond's 10 in the first half -- 5 offensive. Eight of Nova's rebounds came on the offensive end.
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Two games on today's schedule, highlighted by the first matchup of the season between a Patriot League team and a team in the Top 25. That matchup fits 2-0 Bucknell against 1-0 Villanova, in a 5 p.m. start at the ski lodge. Earlier in the afternoon, 1-2 American hosts winless Stony Brook. Game time at Bender is 2 p.m.
SCOUTING VILLANOVA: The No. 24 ranked Wildcats opened the season with a 86-64 win over Stony Brook. Shane Clark, a 6-7 junior forward, led the 'Nova scoring with 25 points and grabbed 7 rebounds. Fellow junior Dante Cunningham (6-8) added 14 points and freshman guard Malcolm Grant had 16 off the bench.
The Wildcats have no seniors, but their roster is filled with talented underclassmen, like 6-2 sophomore guard Scottie Reynolds, the guy expected to lead Nova this season. Reynolds had 13 points and 6 assists against Stony Brook. If he looks to take the scoring into his own hands, he is capable. A member of the U.S. Pan-American Games team this summer, Reynolds is considered the Wildcats best perimeter shooter. Last season's Big East Rookie of the Year, Reynolds put up 40 on UConn as a freshman.
BONUS LINKS:
Gametracker
Villanova game notes
This year, Wildcats are Scottie Reynolds' team (Phila. Inquirer)
(Vegotsky) expands his range (Bucks County Courier Times)
SCOUTING STONY BROOK: The Seawolves come in 0-3, their latest loss a 53-52 setback against Maryland-Eastern Shore. This is one team where American's small backcourt should not have a huge matchup problem. Two of Stony Brook's three leading scorers are 5-11 guards redshirt junior Mitchell Beauford (10.7 ppg) and junior Michael Tyree (12.0 ppg). Ricky Lucas, a 6-4 redshirt junior, is Stony Brooks' top scorer at 13 ppg.
BONUS LINKS
Stony Brook stats
Stony Brook game notes
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SCOUTING VILLANOVA: The No. 24 ranked Wildcats opened the season with a 86-64 win over Stony Brook. Shane Clark, a 6-7 junior forward, led the 'Nova scoring with 25 points and grabbed 7 rebounds. Fellow junior Dante Cunningham (6-8) added 14 points and freshman guard Malcolm Grant had 16 off the bench.
The Wildcats have no seniors, but their roster is filled with talented underclassmen, like 6-2 sophomore guard Scottie Reynolds, the guy expected to lead Nova this season. Reynolds had 13 points and 6 assists against Stony Brook. If he looks to take the scoring into his own hands, he is capable. A member of the U.S. Pan-American Games team this summer, Reynolds is considered the Wildcats best perimeter shooter. Last season's Big East Rookie of the Year, Reynolds put up 40 on UConn as a freshman.
BONUS LINKS:
SCOUTING STONY BROOK: The Seawolves come in 0-3, their latest loss a 53-52 setback against Maryland-Eastern Shore. This is one team where American's small backcourt should not have a huge matchup problem. Two of Stony Brook's three leading scorers are 5-11 guards redshirt junior Mitchell Beauford (10.7 ppg) and junior Michael Tyree (12.0 ppg). Ricky Lucas, a 6-4 redshirt junior, is Stony Brooks' top scorer at 13 ppg.
BONUS LINKS
Stony Brook stats
Labels: American, Bucknell, previews
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(Originally posted Sat, at 11:33 p.m., links added at 7:21 a.m.)
Tim Clifford scored 22 points and grabbed 6 rebounds to help the Crusaders improve to 3-0 with a 60-52 road win at Hampton.
Clifford was 8 for 13, 6 for 6 at the foul line for the Crusaders, who broke open a 32-32 tie midway through the second half with an 8-0 run to down former HC assistant Kevin Nickelberry's team for the second year in a row. HC held Hampton to 30.6 percent shooting from the field and outrebounded the Pirates 36-29.
Colin Cunningham joined Clifford in double figures with 10 points. Cunningham also grabbed 6 rebounds and dished out 5 assists.
The Crusaders held Hampton's top scorer, Rashad West, to a woeful 2 for 11 from teh field night and 8 points.
Box score | Telegram & Gazette | Daily Press (Newport News)
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Tim Clifford scored 22 points and grabbed 6 rebounds to help the Crusaders improve to 3-0 with a 60-52 road win at Hampton.
Clifford was 8 for 13, 6 for 6 at the foul line for the Crusaders, who broke open a 32-32 tie midway through the second half with an 8-0 run to down former HC assistant Kevin Nickelberry's team for the second year in a row. HC held Hampton to 30.6 percent shooting from the field and outrebounded the Pirates 36-29.
Colin Cunningham joined Clifford in double figures with 10 points. Cunningham also grabbed 6 rebounds and dished out 5 assists.
The Crusaders held Hampton's top scorer, Rashad West, to a woeful 2 for 11 from teh field night and 8 points.
Box score | Telegram & Gazette | Daily Press (Newport News)
Labels: games, Holy Cross
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(Originally posted Sat, at 11:33 p.m., links added at 7:19 a.m.)
A 71-66 win over St. Francis (Pa.) puts the Mountain Hawks above .500 three games into the season for the first time since 2002.
Marquis Hall led the way for Lehigh (2-1) with 21 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists and 3 steals. Freshman Rob Keefer added a career-high 12 points and also grabbed 6 boards for the Mountain Hawks, who shot 53.1 percent (26-49) from the field.
Lehigh dominated on the boards, outrebounding St. Francis 34-23. Bryan White had a team-high 13 rebounds for the Hawks, who held St. Francis to 42.6 percent shooting (20-47) from the field.
Box score | Altoona Mirror | Morning Call
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A 71-66 win over St. Francis (Pa.) puts the Mountain Hawks above .500 three games into the season for the first time since 2002.
Marquis Hall led the way for Lehigh (2-1) with 21 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists and 3 steals. Freshman Rob Keefer added a career-high 12 points and also grabbed 6 boards for the Mountain Hawks, who shot 53.1 percent (26-49) from the field.
Lehigh dominated on the boards, outrebounding St. Francis 34-23. Bryan White had a team-high 13 rebounds for the Hawks, who held St. Francis to 42.6 percent shooting (20-47) from the field.
Box score | Altoona Mirror | Morning Call
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(Originally posted Sat, at 11:33 p.m., links added at 7:14 a.m.)
Colgate coach Emmett Davis was still an undergrad at St. Lawrence, Jimmy Carter was president, Rickey Henderson had just completed his rookie season and Roger Staubach was playing his final season back in 1979. That also was the last time Colgate started a basketball season 4-0 until Saturday night, when they won their fourth in a row, defeating Kennesaw State 81-53 in the final of Kennesaw State's 100 Club Classic.
Kyle Roemer led Colgate with 25 points, earning tournament MVP honors. Tim Pounds had 12 and sophomore Ben Jonson a career-high 15. Pounds and Jonson joined Roemer on the all-tournament team.
The Raiders took their first lead game midway through the first half on an Alex Woodhouse bucket and went on to build a 30-21 edge at the half. The second half was all Colgate. The Raiders, who shot 31 percent from the floor in the first half, caught fire after intermission, hitting at a 57.7 percent clip in the second to finish the game 24 for 54 (44.4 percent). Colgate, which held Kennesaw State to 19 for 51 shooting (37.3 percent) from the field, led by as many as 32 points in the second half.
Box score | AP
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Colgate coach Emmett Davis was still an undergrad at St. Lawrence, Jimmy Carter was president, Rickey Henderson had just completed his rookie season and Roger Staubach was playing his final season back in 1979. That also was the last time Colgate started a basketball season 4-0 until Saturday night, when they won their fourth in a row, defeating Kennesaw State 81-53 in the final of Kennesaw State's 100 Club Classic.
Kyle Roemer led Colgate with 25 points, earning tournament MVP honors. Tim Pounds had 12 and sophomore Ben Jonson a career-high 15. Pounds and Jonson joined Roemer on the all-tournament team.
The Raiders took their first lead game midway through the first half on an Alex Woodhouse bucket and went on to build a 30-21 edge at the half. The second half was all Colgate. The Raiders, who shot 31 percent from the floor in the first half, caught fire after intermission, hitting at a 57.7 percent clip in the second to finish the game 24 for 54 (44.4 percent). Colgate, which held Kennesaw State to 19 for 51 shooting (37.3 percent) from the field, led by as many as 32 points in the second half.
Box score | AP
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(Originally posted Sat, at 11:33 p.m., links added at 7:12 a.m.)
Navy's 77-67 loss to Texas-San Antonio was billed as a dress rehersal for the Alamodome, which hosts this season's Final Four.
It won't go down, though, as a night the Midshipmen will want to remember. The Midshipmen turned the ball over 27 times and saw their best player limited to 21 minutes of action by foul trouble.
Greg Sprink, the Patriot League's top returning scorer, fouled out with 13 points, which might have translated into a pretty decent night had he been able to play more than 21 minutes. Sprink was not the only one to hear the whistle a lot. Guard Chris Harris also fouled out, lasting only 13 minutes, and Kaleo Kina (10 points) and Clif Colbert (14 off the bench) each finished with four personals.
The Mids were hit with 27 fouls all together. Another 23 were whistled on UTSA. UTSA went to the line 32 times, making 23. That is 11 more makes and 13 more attempts than Navy managed.
The prime beneficiary of the officials' whistles was UTSA freshman Devin Gibson, who scored 14 of his game-high 19 by going 14 of 18 from the chairty stripe. Gibson also had 7 assists and 7 of UTSA's 16 steals.
Box score | AP | SA Express-News
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Navy's 77-67 loss to Texas-San Antonio was billed as a dress rehersal for the Alamodome, which hosts this season's Final Four.
It won't go down, though, as a night the Midshipmen will want to remember. The Midshipmen turned the ball over 27 times and saw their best player limited to 21 minutes of action by foul trouble.
Greg Sprink, the Patriot League's top returning scorer, fouled out with 13 points, which might have translated into a pretty decent night had he been able to play more than 21 minutes. Sprink was not the only one to hear the whistle a lot. Guard Chris Harris also fouled out, lasting only 13 minutes, and Kaleo Kina (10 points) and Clif Colbert (14 off the bench) each finished with four personals.
The Mids were hit with 27 fouls all together. Another 23 were whistled on UTSA. UTSA went to the line 32 times, making 23. That is 11 more makes and 13 more attempts than Navy managed.
The prime beneficiary of the officials' whistles was UTSA freshman Devin Gibson, who scored 14 of his game-high 19 by going 14 of 18 from the chairty stripe. Gibson also had 7 assists and 7 of UTSA's 16 steals.
Box score | AP | SA Express-News
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Saturday, November 17, 2007
Two teams look to stay unbeaten tonight in a four-game schedule of non-conference matchups. The most intriguing is Holy Cross' visit to Hampton, where Ralph Willard faces Kevin Nickelberry in a mentor-protege coaching matchup. Also on tap, Colgate takes on Kennesaw State in the finals of Kennesaw's tournament, Navy plays in the Alamo Dome against Texas-San Antonio and Lehigh heads across Pa. to face St. Francis.
SCOUTING HAMPTON: Former Willard assistant Nickelberry has turned things around in a hurry at Hampton. In his second year, the Pirates are favored to win the MEAC title.
The Pirates are led by 6-1 senior guard Rashard West, a first team All-MEAC pick last season (and again this preseason) who led the conference in scoring last year (17.8 ppg). West is averaging 21.7 ppg thus far.
Vincent Simpson (6-1 soph.), last season's starter at the point, is averaging 18.3 ppg off the bench. Simpson is part of a stellar sophomore class that also includes preseason second team All-MEAC picks 6-8 Matthew Pilgrim (10.3 ppg) and 6-8 Michael Freeman (6.3 ppg), last year's MEAC rookie of the year.
Don't let Hampton's 1-2 record fool you. The two losses, both by six points, were on the road at Maryland and Kent State. Their win came at home against Tulsa.
And don't let opponents scoring 67.3 ppg make you think the Pirates don't play defense. Despite the faster-paced, attacking style Nickelberry prefers, Hampton has held opponents to 40.9 percent shooting from the field.
BONUS LINKS:
Out to make an impression (Hampton preview from The (Newport News) Daily Press)
Clifford points way for Crusaders (Boston Herald)
SCOUTING TEXAS- SAN ANTONIO:Picked to finish fifth in the West Division of the Southland Conference (ahead of only Texas State), the Roadrunners certainly did not live up to their nickname their last time out, scoring only 37 points in a loss to No. 15 Texas. UTSA is either 1-1, or 0-1, depending how you view it. On its Web site, UTSA says 1-1, counting a win over Division III Hardin-Simmons. Hardin-Simmons' site calls that game an exhibition. You be the judge.
Freshman Devin Gibson posted a double-double of 13 points and 10 rebounds against Texas. Gibson is averaging 16.5 points and 7 rebounds per game. junior Travis Gabbidon (6-7), one of eight juco transfers on the roster, averages 11.5 ppg.
This is one offensively challenged team. That low point total against Texas does not appear to be just a matter of the Roadrunners moving up in class for a buy game. UTSA is shooting 34.4 percent from the field thus far. Sure the 26.7 percent night against the Longhorns did not help. But UTSA only shot 41.2 percent (33.3 percent in the first half) against D-III Hardin-Simmons. That is a continuation of a theme set by last season's 7-22 team, which shot 40.4 percent from the field and averaged only 57.1 ppg.
This is being billed as an Alamodome dress rehearsal for the spring's Final Four, though a more apt billing might be to call it a game between two teams in a big empty building. UTSA drew only 1,593 fans for its home opener. That won't translate well in the 20,000-seat dome.
BONUS LINKS:
UTSA game notes
SCOUTING KENNESAW STATE: The Owls come in at 1-2 after picking up their first win in Friday's opening round against Jacksonville State. Shuan Stegall, a 6-7 senior, had 19 points and 12 boards in that win. Stegall is averaging a double-double (16 ppg/10.5 rpg) through three games. Ronnell Wooten, a 6-4 senior who was a second team All-Atlantic Sun pick last season, is averaging 12.3 ppg and 6-7 freshman Tanner Jacobs averages 10.3 ppg. The Owls are shooting 39.2 percent from the field, while opponents are hitting at a 53.8 percent clip. Jacksonville State shot over 50 percent against KSU, so it is not just a matter of stats skewed by losses to Western Kentucky and Auburn. But the Owls inside game gave them a 46-34 edge on the boards -- including 16 offensive rebounds -- and they went to the line 32 times (making 20) while Jacksonsville was a woeful 4 for 17 at the charity stripe.
BONUS LINKS:
KSU coach Tony Lingle's Web site
Gametracker
The (Atlantic) Sun also rises: Tiny conference sticks it to the big boys (Sporting News)
SCOUTING ST. FRANCIS (PA): The Red Flash are 0-3 thus far, including a season-opening loss at home against American. Sophomore Devin Sweetney leads the Red Flash with 11 points per game. Junios Grant Surprenant is a 6-5 threat from the perimeter. Surprenantis averaging 10 ppg and is 8 for 12 from the arc thus far. Bassirou Dieng, a 6-9 junior from Senegal, also averages in double figures at 10.7 ppg. Junior Chris Berry averages 9.7 ppg and a team-high 6 rebounds per game. Defense has been a problem for the Red Flash. Opponents are shooting 46.8 percent, including 39.2 from thee-point range and averaging more than 75 points per game.
BONUS LINKS:
St. Francis stats
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SCOUTING HAMPTON: Former Willard assistant Nickelberry has turned things around in a hurry at Hampton. In his second year, the Pirates are favored to win the MEAC title.
The Pirates are led by 6-1 senior guard Rashard West, a first team All-MEAC pick last season (and again this preseason) who led the conference in scoring last year (17.8 ppg). West is averaging 21.7 ppg thus far.
Vincent Simpson (6-1 soph.), last season's starter at the point, is averaging 18.3 ppg off the bench. Simpson is part of a stellar sophomore class that also includes preseason second team All-MEAC picks 6-8 Matthew Pilgrim (10.3 ppg) and 6-8 Michael Freeman (6.3 ppg), last year's MEAC rookie of the year.
Don't let Hampton's 1-2 record fool you. The two losses, both by six points, were on the road at Maryland and Kent State. Their win came at home against Tulsa.
And don't let opponents scoring 67.3 ppg make you think the Pirates don't play defense. Despite the faster-paced, attacking style Nickelberry prefers, Hampton has held opponents to 40.9 percent shooting from the field.
BONUS LINKS:
SCOUTING TEXAS- SAN ANTONIO:Picked to finish fifth in the West Division of the Southland Conference (ahead of only Texas State), the Roadrunners certainly did not live up to their nickname their last time out, scoring only 37 points in a loss to No. 15 Texas. UTSA is either 1-1, or 0-1, depending how you view it. On its Web site, UTSA says 1-1, counting a win over Division III Hardin-Simmons. Hardin-Simmons' site calls that game an exhibition. You be the judge.
Freshman Devin Gibson posted a double-double of 13 points and 10 rebounds against Texas. Gibson is averaging 16.5 points and 7 rebounds per game. junior Travis Gabbidon (6-7), one of eight juco transfers on the roster, averages 11.5 ppg.
This is one offensively challenged team. That low point total against Texas does not appear to be just a matter of the Roadrunners moving up in class for a buy game. UTSA is shooting 34.4 percent from the field thus far. Sure the 26.7 percent night against the Longhorns did not help. But UTSA only shot 41.2 percent (33.3 percent in the first half) against D-III Hardin-Simmons. That is a continuation of a theme set by last season's 7-22 team, which shot 40.4 percent from the field and averaged only 57.1 ppg.
This is being billed as an Alamodome dress rehearsal for the spring's Final Four, though a more apt billing might be to call it a game between two teams in a big empty building. UTSA drew only 1,593 fans for its home opener. That won't translate well in the 20,000-seat dome.
BONUS LINKS:
SCOUTING KENNESAW STATE: The Owls come in at 1-2 after picking up their first win in Friday's opening round against Jacksonville State. Shuan Stegall, a 6-7 senior, had 19 points and 12 boards in that win. Stegall is averaging a double-double (16 ppg/10.5 rpg) through three games. Ronnell Wooten, a 6-4 senior who was a second team All-Atlantic Sun pick last season, is averaging 12.3 ppg and 6-7 freshman Tanner Jacobs averages 10.3 ppg. The Owls are shooting 39.2 percent from the field, while opponents are hitting at a 53.8 percent clip. Jacksonville State shot over 50 percent against KSU, so it is not just a matter of stats skewed by losses to Western Kentucky and Auburn. But the Owls inside game gave them a 46-34 edge on the boards -- including 16 offensive rebounds -- and they went to the line 32 times (making 20) while Jacksonsville was a woeful 4 for 17 at the charity stripe.
BONUS LINKS:
SCOUTING ST. FRANCIS (PA): The Red Flash are 0-3 thus far, including a season-opening loss at home against American. Sophomore Devin Sweetney leads the Red Flash with 11 points per game. Junios Grant Surprenant is a 6-5 threat from the perimeter. Surprenantis averaging 10 ppg and is 8 for 12 from the arc thus far. Bassirou Dieng, a 6-9 junior from Senegal, also averages in double figures at 10.7 ppg. Junior Chris Berry averages 9.7 ppg and a team-high 6 rebounds per game. Defense has been a problem for the Red Flash. Opponents are shooting 46.8 percent, including 39.2 from thee-point range and averaging more than 75 points per game.
BONUS LINKS:
Labels: Colgate, Holy Cross, Lehigh, Navy, previews
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Forget those Texas State dancing girls. It was Colgates's Kyle Roemer who was struttin' his stuff in the Raiders' 83-77 win.
Roemer went 7 for 15 from the field, finishing with 24 points to lead Colgate past Texas State and into the finals of Kennesaw State's 100 Club Classic. Why Roemer bothered shooting inside the arc is beyond me. The 6-3 junior from California hit 5 threes on 10 attempts. Inside the arc he shot a lesser percentage, hitting 2 of 5.
Tim Pounds added 19 points for Colgate, which shot 53.8 percent (28-52) from the fgield and outrebounded the Bobcats 47-28.
Junior forward Brandon Bush led Texas State with a 20-point, 10-rebound double-double. The Bobcats hit 23 of 68 (33.8 percent)from the field.
The Raiders will face host Kennesaw State (1-2) in Saturday night's final. Kennesaw State advanced by downing Jacksonville State 80-74 in the other semifinal.
Box score | AP
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Roemer went 7 for 15 from the field, finishing with 24 points to lead Colgate past Texas State and into the finals of Kennesaw State's 100 Club Classic. Why Roemer bothered shooting inside the arc is beyond me. The 6-3 junior from California hit 5 threes on 10 attempts. Inside the arc he shot a lesser percentage, hitting 2 of 5.
Tim Pounds added 19 points for Colgate, which shot 53.8 percent (28-52) from the fgield and outrebounded the Bobcats 47-28.
Junior forward Brandon Bush led Texas State with a 20-point, 10-rebound double-double. The Bobcats hit 23 of 68 (33.8 percent)from the field.
The Raiders will face host Kennesaw State (1-2) in Saturday night's final. Kennesaw State advanced by downing Jacksonville State 80-74 in the other semifinal.
Box score | AP
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Ouch! This one hurts. Unless the pundits around the Northeast Conference are very wrong about Long Island being the worst team in that league, Army's 64-54 home loss to the Blackbirds raises real questions about the Black Knights.
The biggest question is who is going to carry the scoring load if Jarell Brown has an off night. Josh Miller taking 15 shots to score 14 points is probably not the answer. But that was the alternative for Army against LIU when Brown went 1 for 8, 0 for 4 from the arc and scored just 4 points. Brown, the second leading returning scorer in the Patriot League, has now been held in single digits two of Army's first three games. The Black Knights (1-2) two losses both came in those games.
Kenny Brewer added 14 points off the bench, all in the second half, but it was not enough to get the Black Knights over the hump after they scored only 22 points in the first half and trailed 32-22 at the break. Neither was missing almost half of their free throws (10 for 19, all in the second half).
The Black Knights did manage to claw their way back into the game in the second half, using a 14-1 run to tie it at 44-44 with 7:44 to go. But LIU outscored Army 20-10 the rest of the way.
For the game, Army shot 21 of 55 (38.2 percent) and made just 2 of 13 three-point attempts. LIU was 18 for 55 from the field (32.7 percent), but over half of their buckets were threes (10 for 25 from the arc). LIU also got to the line more often and shot better when they got there, going 18 for 26.
It would be easy to say Army should be better when Doug Williams gets back from his injury. But Williams is not much of an offensive threat and Army did get decent production from its other big man, sophomore Chris Walker. Walker had three blocks, three steals and scored 7 points in 22 minutes. Army might have tried to get the ball to him more (he was 3-4 from the field), but he was only on the floor 22 minutes due to foul trouble.
Box score | Times Herald-Record
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The biggest question is who is going to carry the scoring load if Jarell Brown has an off night. Josh Miller taking 15 shots to score 14 points is probably not the answer. But that was the alternative for Army against LIU when Brown went 1 for 8, 0 for 4 from the arc and scored just 4 points. Brown, the second leading returning scorer in the Patriot League, has now been held in single digits two of Army's first three games. The Black Knights (1-2) two losses both came in those games.
Kenny Brewer added 14 points off the bench, all in the second half, but it was not enough to get the Black Knights over the hump after they scored only 22 points in the first half and trailed 32-22 at the break. Neither was missing almost half of their free throws (10 for 19, all in the second half).
The Black Knights did manage to claw their way back into the game in the second half, using a 14-1 run to tie it at 44-44 with 7:44 to go. But LIU outscored Army 20-10 the rest of the way.
For the game, Army shot 21 of 55 (38.2 percent) and made just 2 of 13 three-point attempts. LIU was 18 for 55 from the field (32.7 percent), but over half of their buckets were threes (10 for 25 from the arc). LIU also got to the line more often and shot better when they got there, going 18 for 26.
It would be easy to say Army should be better when Doug Williams gets back from his injury. But Williams is not much of an offensive threat and Army did get decent production from its other big man, sophomore Chris Walker. Walker had three blocks, three steals and scored 7 points in 22 minutes. Army might have tried to get the ball to him more (he was 3-4 from the field), but he was only on the floor 22 minutes due to foul trouble.
Box score | Times Herald-Record
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Folks were in a foul mood Friday night in Easton, where Lafayette's defense was not the only thing that was fairly ridiculous about Fairleigh Dickinson's 98-92 win over the Leopards.
Lafayette never could get over the hump in this one, falling to 1-2 while Fairleigh Dickinson picked up its first win. The Leopards led twice, once in each half, each time by one point. But each time FDU responded with a run. The decisive one came in the second half, when the Leopards went on top 56-55 with 12:09 to go, only to see Fairleigh Dickinson put together a 13-3 spurt to retake the lead. The 'Pards closed it to 4 a few times, but never got back within one possession.
The Knights shot 54.2 percent (26-48) from the field, placing all five starters in double figures, in a game that started late (9 p.m.) and ran long thanks to a combined 76 free throws between the two teams.
As you might expect from the scoreboard, it was Fairleigh Dickinson that got most of the benefit of the 57 fouls called. The Knights made more free throws than the home team took, shooting 46 free throws, making 36. Lafayette, which had three players foul out and a fourth finish with four personals, was 18 for 32 at the line.
Andrew Brown and Bilal Abdullah both moved back into the starting lineup, and both finished with 18 pints, sharing team honors. That was not all they had in common. both fouled out at the 1:48 mark of the second half.
With the Leopards down 7 at that point, Abdullah picked up his fifth after Brown missed a three. Brown followed him to the bench after getting called for a technical. We'd love to tell you what the circumstances ere, but with a late start on a Friday night in the middle of high school football playoffs, no Lehigh Valley papers were on hand.
Matt Betley also fouled out, picking up two of his five in the final 41 seconds when the Leopards were forced to foul in hopes of extending the game. Betley finished with 8 points, 4 assists and 2 steals.http://www.blogger.com/img/gl.link.gif
Also in double figures for Lafayette were East Carolina transfer Jeff Karl (10) and 6-3 freshman Dairunas (Jesper who?) Visockas, who hit 4 of 5 from the arc en route to a 15-point performance.
Lafayette was 30 for 68 (44.1 percent) from the field, including 14 treys (on 29 attempts). The Leopards hung in on the boards, with 33 rebounds (FDU had 36), and dished out 22 assists and turned it over just 14 times while forcing 22 FDU turnovers. But the deficit at the free throw line was more than they could overcome.
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Lafayette never could get over the hump in this one, falling to 1-2 while Fairleigh Dickinson picked up its first win. The Leopards led twice, once in each half, each time by one point. But each time FDU responded with a run. The decisive one came in the second half, when the Leopards went on top 56-55 with 12:09 to go, only to see Fairleigh Dickinson put together a 13-3 spurt to retake the lead. The 'Pards closed it to 4 a few times, but never got back within one possession.
The Knights shot 54.2 percent (26-48) from the field, placing all five starters in double figures, in a game that started late (9 p.m.) and ran long thanks to a combined 76 free throws between the two teams.
As you might expect from the scoreboard, it was Fairleigh Dickinson that got most of the benefit of the 57 fouls called. The Knights made more free throws than the home team took, shooting 46 free throws, making 36. Lafayette, which had three players foul out and a fourth finish with four personals, was 18 for 32 at the line.
Andrew Brown and Bilal Abdullah both moved back into the starting lineup, and both finished with 18 pints, sharing team honors. That was not all they had in common. both fouled out at the 1:48 mark of the second half.
With the Leopards down 7 at that point, Abdullah picked up his fifth after Brown missed a three. Brown followed him to the bench after getting called for a technical. We'd love to tell you what the circumstances ere, but with a late start on a Friday night in the middle of high school football playoffs, no Lehigh Valley papers were on hand.
Matt Betley also fouled out, picking up two of his five in the final 41 seconds when the Leopards were forced to foul in hopes of extending the game. Betley finished with 8 points, 4 assists and 2 steals.http://www.blogger.com/img/gl.link.gif
Also in double figures for Lafayette were East Carolina transfer Jeff Karl (10) and 6-3 freshman Dairunas (Jesper who?) Visockas, who hit 4 of 5 from the arc en route to a 15-point performance.
Lafayette was 30 for 68 (44.1 percent) from the field, including 14 treys (on 29 attempts). The Leopards hung in on the boards, with 33 rebounds (FDU had 36), and dished out 22 assists and turned it over just 14 times while forcing 22 FDU turnovers. But the deficit at the free throw line was more than they could overcome.
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Friday, November 16, 2007
A special Friday edition of Hoop Time notebook all about the No. 1 (rpi) team in the nation.
It won't last long, even if they upset Villanova Sunday night, the Wildcats' lowly 228 spot in the RPI would probably result in Bucknell's ranking dropping enough to move them down. But for a day or two anyhow, or at least until other games are played tonight, the top team in the RPI is the Bison (according to Ken Pomeroy's calculations).
Actually, the Bison share the top spot with Virginia Commonwealth. The Bison were alone yesterday, but VCU's win over Houston last night moved them into a tie for the top spot.
Sure it is meaningless in the long run -- heck Navy is 1-2, yet ranks No. 33, second best in the league -- but it is fun while it lasts. The conference is No. 14 at the moment, just behind the 13th ranked ACC and well ahead of the alleged mid major gold standard Missouri Valley Conference (28).
Other Patriot League school RPIs:
Holy Cross -- 80
Colgate -- 158
Lehigh -- 208
Army -- 219
Lafayette -- 228
American -- 230
MISS OR ASSIST: If Bucknell's John Griffin comes up one made three of leading the conference or the nation, or one assist shy of similar honors, blame the person scoring the Bucknell-Towson game.
A review of the play-by-play and box from that game shows Griffin credited with a missed three prior to Bucknell's first bucket of the game. But it was not a shot. Or at least it did not look like one. In reality, Griffin was trying to lob the ball over the Towson defense to 6-11 center Josh Linthicum. The pass, which was a little high, went off the side of the backboard -- at least a foot away from the rim -- to Linthicum, who grabbed it and put it in.
Of course Griffin's loss on the stats sheet was a gain for Linthicum, who was credited with an offensive rebound on the play.
REJECTED AGAIN, AND AGAIN, AND AGAIN: On top of his three block performance in the opener against Albany, Bucknell freshman had three more against Towson. Bucknell had just one player record multiple blocks in back-to-back games all of last season. Chris McNaughton did it three games in a row, with three against Towson and two against Lehigh and Albany. McNaughtons three vs. Albany was his only three block game of his career.
The last time a Bison player had three blocks in back-to-back games? Bison SID Jon Terry speculated maybe when current assistant coach Dan Bowen, who graduated in 2000, was in uniform, though Terry was not sure. He is checking on that, as well as the last time a Bucknell freshman did it in their first two games (if ever). We will update this if he finds anything.
UPDATE FROM JT: Since the blocked shot stat became official in 1981-82, O’Brien is the first Bucknell freshman to start his career with at least three in each of his first two games. Dan Bowen (2-3 start) and Mike Butts (3-2 start) came close. The last player to have back-to-back 3-block games at any point in a season was Dan Bowen vs. Iona (3) and Army (3) in 1999-2000. The only other player (regardless of class year) to record three or more blocks in the first two games of a season was Mike Butts vs. Central Florida (5) and Florida State (4) in 1987-88.For reference purposes, Butts (278) and Bowen (160) rank 1-2 on Bucknell’s career blocks chart.
Last season the Bison blocked three or more shots as a team just three times. As a team, Bucknell followed its seven block showing against Albany with five rejections at Towson. The most the Bison blocked as a team all of last season was 4 (at Holy Cross in the regular season).
THOMAS UPDATE: Bucknell senior tri-captain Rob Thomas' knee injury has been confirmed as a torn MCL. Bucknell officials previously declined to reveal the specifics of Thomas' injury, citing federal privacy regulations. But Thomas, who was in street clothes with a brace over his trousers Wednesday night at Towson, confirmed what has been all over the Bucknell message boards. (NOTE TO BU ADMINISTRATORS: There is really no reason to withhold injury reports due to HIPAA. Not only are there easy ways to be compliant, it also makes sense as a way to control rumors that will fly around the message boards in the absence of factual information.)
FOURTH RECRUIT: Philly.com is reporting:
This is just a guess, and we will try to get details later from Bucknell coaches, but it appears likely Ebner is a baseball recruit who has been told he can try out as a walk-on for hoops.
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It won't last long, even if they upset Villanova Sunday night, the Wildcats' lowly 228 spot in the RPI would probably result in Bucknell's ranking dropping enough to move them down. But for a day or two anyhow, or at least until other games are played tonight, the top team in the RPI is the Bison (according to Ken Pomeroy's calculations).
Actually, the Bison share the top spot with Virginia Commonwealth. The Bison were alone yesterday, but VCU's win over Houston last night moved them into a tie for the top spot.
Sure it is meaningless in the long run -- heck Navy is 1-2, yet ranks No. 33, second best in the league -- but it is fun while it lasts. The conference is No. 14 at the moment, just behind the 13th ranked ACC and well ahead of the alleged mid major gold standard Missouri Valley Conference (28).
Other Patriot League school RPIs:
Holy Cross -- 80
Colgate -- 158
Lehigh -- 208
Army -- 219
Lafayette -- 228
American -- 230
MISS OR ASSIST: If Bucknell's John Griffin comes up one made three of leading the conference or the nation, or one assist shy of similar honors, blame the person scoring the Bucknell-Towson game.
A review of the play-by-play and box from that game shows Griffin credited with a missed three prior to Bucknell's first bucket of the game. But it was not a shot. Or at least it did not look like one. In reality, Griffin was trying to lob the ball over the Towson defense to 6-11 center Josh Linthicum. The pass, which was a little high, went off the side of the backboard -- at least a foot away from the rim -- to Linthicum, who grabbed it and put it in.
Of course Griffin's loss on the stats sheet was a gain for Linthicum, who was credited with an offensive rebound on the play.
REJECTED AGAIN, AND AGAIN, AND AGAIN: On top of his three block performance in the opener against Albany, Bucknell freshman had three more against Towson. Bucknell had just one player record multiple blocks in back-to-back games all of last season. Chris McNaughton did it three games in a row, with three against Towson and two against Lehigh and Albany. McNaughtons three vs. Albany was his only three block game of his career.
The last time a Bison player had three blocks in back-to-back games? Bison SID Jon Terry speculated maybe when current assistant coach Dan Bowen, who graduated in 2000, was in uniform, though Terry was not sure. He is checking on that, as well as the last time a Bucknell freshman did it in their first two games (if ever). We will update this if he finds anything.
UPDATE FROM JT: Since the blocked shot stat became official in 1981-82, O’Brien is the first Bucknell freshman to start his career with at least three in each of his first two games. Dan Bowen (2-3 start) and Mike Butts (3-2 start) came close. The last player to have back-to-back 3-block games at any point in a season was Dan Bowen vs. Iona (3) and Army (3) in 1999-2000. The only other player (regardless of class year) to record three or more blocks in the first two games of a season was Mike Butts vs. Central Florida (5) and Florida State (4) in 1987-88.For reference purposes, Butts (278) and Bowen (160) rank 1-2 on Bucknell’s career blocks chart.
Last season the Bison blocked three or more shots as a team just three times. As a team, Bucknell followed its seven block showing against Albany with five rejections at Towson. The most the Bison blocked as a team all of last season was 4 (at Holy Cross in the regular season).
THOMAS UPDATE: Bucknell senior tri-captain Rob Thomas' knee injury has been confirmed as a torn MCL. Bucknell officials previously declined to reveal the specifics of Thomas' injury, citing federal privacy regulations. But Thomas, who was in street clothes with a brace over his trousers Wednesday night at Towson, confirmed what has been all over the Bucknell message boards. (NOTE TO BU ADMINISTRATORS: There is really no reason to withhold injury reports due to HIPAA. Not only are there easy ways to be compliant, it also makes sense as a way to control rumors that will fly around the message boards in the absence of factual information.)
FOURTH RECRUIT: Philly.com is reporting:
"Ryan Ebner, a 6-foot-7 postgraduate at Hill School, has orally committed to attend Bucknell University where he expects to play both basketball and baseball.Ebner was a senior all-star at Eastern Invitational's Academic Elite camp (scroll down) this summer. He was ranked 176 among HS seniors in southeastern Pa. as a senior at Wilson-West Lawn.
Ebner starred at Wilson-West Lawn before attending Hill. At Wilson, he averaged 10 points, 10 rebounds and five assists per game in basketball. On the mound, he went 6-1 with 68 strikeouts over 47 innings and allowed just 22 hits with an ERA of 0.58. He batted .333 and led his team to 29 wins, a berth in the state Class AAAA quarterfinals, and was named Berks County player of the year."
This is just a guess, and we will try to get details later from Bucknell coaches, but it appears likely Ebner is a baseball recruit who has been told he can try out as a walk-on for hoops.
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Two more games against Northeast Conference foes tonight, with Long Island at Army and Fairleigh Ridiculous Dickinson at Lafayette. But our favorite matchup tonight takes place in Kennesaw, Ga., where Colgate looks to go to 3-0 against a chuck-and-duck Southland Conference team from southwest Texas.
SCOUTING TEXAS STATEFor a school we'd never heard of before Colgate announced its schedule, these guys sure have a lot of traditions. Our favorite of the bunch, hands down, being The Texas Strutters
Did you know:
This is a huge school, 28,132 students
Boko the bobcat was the 2006 United Spirit Association Collegiate Nationals championship mascot of the year
The Strutters have performed on every major television network, a national television commercial, appeared in two U.S. Presidential inaugurations, five motion pictures, the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, MTV's TRL, and 17 countries spanning 4 continents, including being the first U.S. dance team to perform in the People's Republic of China.
Of course the reason Texas State might sound unfamiliar is because for years it was known as Southwest Texas State. The name changed in 2003. The Bobcats tradition in hoops has fallen on hard times recently. They were 9-20 last season. That sounds bad until you realize it was three times as many games as they won in 2005-2006. But over the years they can boast two trips to the NCAA Tournament and an NAIA National title
Picked to finish sixth in the six-team West division of the Southland Conference, Texas State's roster includes four starters from the team that went 1-13 away from home last season. Junior forward Brandon Bush (6-7) led the team in scoring (14.4 ppg) and rebounding (5.2 rpg) last season and through two games is leading both categories again (20 ppg, 9 rpg). Brandon Thomas, a 6-3 senior guard, is averaging 13.5 ppg and 6.5 rebounds. Juco transfer Brent Benson is averaging 10.5 ppg off the bench.
Of course all those stats came in games against something called Huston-Tillotson (NAIA) and Dallas Baptist (D-II). Texas State averaged 100 ppg in those two matchups. This will be the Bobcats first game against a Division I team.
Second-year coach Doug Davalos prefers an up-tempo, full-court style. Last year it t resulted in Texas State averaging 77.6 points per game. The downside was that opponents averaged 85.4 ppg against the Bobcats.
BONUS LINKS:
Blue Ribbon preview
Bobcats begin Davalos era (TSU release includes coach's comments on all players)
Texas State fight song (mp3)
SCOUTING LONG ISLAND Picked to finish last in the 11-team Northeast Conference, the Blackbirds are coming off a 10-19 season in which they were 4-12 on the road. LIU opened the season Monday with an 82-50 loss at Notre Dame. Senior Kellen Allen, a 6-7 frontcourt type, led LIU with 16 points in the loss. Freshman Kyle Johnson, a 6-3 guard, added 12.
Here is a look at the Blackbirds from an NEC preseason release:
BONUS LINKS:
NEC team-by-team previews (pdf)
LIU game notes
SCOUTING FAIRLEIGH DICKINSON Picked ninth in the NEC, the Knights are 0-2 after a pair of 20-point losses in the preseason NIT at Syracuse. FDU dropped an 86-66 decision to Saint Joe's in its opener, and followed that with an 88-66 loss to Siena in the consolation round.
Through two games, FDU is shooting 42.2 percent from the field and allowing opponents to shoot at a 57.6 percent clip. Manny Ubilla (16 ppg), a 6-2 senior guard, leads four Knights averaging in double figures. Bernell Murray, a 5-9 senior, and 6-3 sophomore Sean Baptiste each are averaging 14 ppg. Freshman John Galvin (6-8) averages 10 ppg. Murray and Ubilla are the assists leaders (4.9 apg each); Baptiste (6 rpg) leads the team's rebounders.
From that same NEC release:
FDU game notes
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SCOUTING TEXAS STATEFor a school we'd never heard of before Colgate announced its schedule, these guys sure have a lot of traditions. Our favorite of the bunch, hands down, being The Texas Strutters
Did you know:
Of course the reason Texas State might sound unfamiliar is because for years it was known as Southwest Texas State. The name changed in 2003. The Bobcats tradition in hoops has fallen on hard times recently. They were 9-20 last season. That sounds bad until you realize it was three times as many games as they won in 2005-2006. But over the years they can boast two trips to the NCAA Tournament and an NAIA National title
Picked to finish sixth in the six-team West division of the Southland Conference, Texas State's roster includes four starters from the team that went 1-13 away from home last season. Junior forward Brandon Bush (6-7) led the team in scoring (14.4 ppg) and rebounding (5.2 rpg) last season and through two games is leading both categories again (20 ppg, 9 rpg). Brandon Thomas, a 6-3 senior guard, is averaging 13.5 ppg and 6.5 rebounds. Juco transfer Brent Benson is averaging 10.5 ppg off the bench.
Of course all those stats came in games against something called Huston-Tillotson (NAIA) and Dallas Baptist (D-II). Texas State averaged 100 ppg in those two matchups. This will be the Bobcats first game against a Division I team.
Second-year coach Doug Davalos prefers an up-tempo, full-court style. Last year it t resulted in Texas State averaging 77.6 points per game. The downside was that opponents averaged 85.4 ppg against the Bobcats.
BONUS LINKS:
SCOUTING LONG ISLAND Picked to finish last in the 11-team Northeast Conference, the Blackbirds are coming off a 10-19 season in which they were 4-12 on the road. LIU opened the season Monday with an 82-50 loss at Notre Dame. Senior Kellen Allen, a 6-7 frontcourt type, led LIU with 16 points in the loss. Freshman Kyle Johnson, a 6-3 guard, added 12.
Here is a look at the Blackbirds from an NEC preseason release:
Looking for a return to prominence, a significant personnel facelift has given sixth year head coach Jim Ferry the opportunity to flip the reset switch and take the Long Island program in a new direction this coming season.NOTE: We'd have preferred to link to this, as well as the section of the same release dealing with Fairleigh Dickinson below. But that would require folks to download an 11-page pdf and scroll through it to find the LIU and FD parts. For NEC fans, or those who want to know more about other NEC teams, here is the link
With star guard James Williams - the face of the Blackbirds in recent years and the 17th-leading scorer in NEC history with 1,710 points - and two of his key cohorts now graduated, Ferry improved the team’s athleticism in the offseason with a number of pivotal additions to the lineup who will complement a cast of veteran returnees.
Long Island’s experience lies in its frontcourt, anchored by seniors Eugene Kotorobai, Paska Morkeliunas and Kellen Allen. One of the NEC’s top three-point threats the last two years, the 6’5” Kotorobai drilled 52 shots from beyond the arc and ranked sixth in the league with a 40.0 percent success rate from outside the arc in 2006-07. He is also the team’s leading returning scorer (9.7 ppg) and rebounder (6.5 rpg). Morkeliunas (4.5 ppg, 3.7 rpg) is a rugged interior defender who at 6’7”, 230 lbs., has an innate ability to draw fouls in the paint. Last season, he went to the line 109 times, the second-highest figure on the team despite averaging just over 16 minutes per game. Long Island’s low-post offense will be bolstered with the return of 6’7” Allen, a jump hook specialist who missed the last 18 games of the 2006-07 campaign with an injury. When healthy, Allen averaged 4.8 ppg and converted 56.5 percent of his shot opportunities. Sophomore Aurimas Adomaitis, the team’s biggest player at 6’8” and 235 lbs., started 21 games in a promising freshman campaign, averaging 6.0 ppg and 3.2 rpg. Junior forward Albert Forbes, who has suffered through two injury plagued seasons and has yet to suit up for the Blackbirds, will provide depth up front.
Sophomore Jaytornah Wisseh and junior Tyrone Mattison will push the tempo in the team’s ultra-swift backcourt. Wisseh displayed tremendous upside for Long Island last season when he was tabbed to the all-NEC Rookie team. A freewheeling penetrator, Wisseh often seemed unguardable in one-on-one situations and served notice of his skills with back-to-back 20+ point outings in early February, including a career-best 29-point effort at Sacred Heart. He averaged 8.7 ppg on the season and led the team with 3.0 apg. Manning the point, Mattison often deferred on offense to Williams and fellow graduate Aubin Scott, but should come into his own this season with two years under his belt. Extremely quick coast-to-coast, Mattison contributed 6.3 ppg and 2.0 spg as a sophomore.
Ferry wasted little time replenishing his backcourt with the addition of 6’1” shooter David Hicks during last fall’s signing period. A Minnesota native, Hicks prepped at South Kent in Connecticut in 2006-07. During the spring, Ferry added 5’11” Nehemiah Weicks out of the California JUCO ranks. Weicks is versatile enough to play either guard position and like Hicks, can stroke it from the outside. The Blackbirds also received a commitment from 6’4” forward Ron Manigault, a New York City native who played two years at the City College of San Francisco. The cousin of local playground legend Earl “The Goat” Manigault, he has the versatility to play any of four positions and will add some grit to the Blackbird lineup. LIU landed another urban recruit in 6’7” forward Ike Udanoh, a Detroit native whose natural athleticism and aggressiveness on the boards will serve him well in an up-tempo atmosphere. Ferry completed his recruiting class in the summer with the addition of two more guards, 6’3” Kyle Johnson out of Ontario, Canada and 6’1” Alan Mozee from Oklahoma City.
Long Island By The Numbers
Quick Facts
2006-07 Overall Record: 10-19
2006-07 NEC Record/Finish: 6-10/10th
NEC Tournament Finish: Did not qualify
Starters Returning/Lost: 2/3
Letterwinners Returning/Lost: 8/6
2006-07 Final RPI: 310
Games Decided By 5 Points or Less: 5-5
NEC Record
Last Two Years: 15-21 (.417)
Last Three Years 25-29 (.463)
Last Four Years: 29-43 (.403)
Last Five Years: 36-54 (.400)
Overall Record
Last Two Years: 22-35 (.386)
Last Three Years 36-50 (.419)
Last Four Years: 44-69 (.389)
Last Five Years: 53-88 (.376)
Leading Returning Scorers
Eugene Kotorobai: 9.7 ppg
Jaytornah Wisseh: 8.7 ppg
Tyrone Mattison: 6.3 ppg
Leading Returning Rebounders
Eugene Kotorobai: 6.5 rpg
Paska Morkeliunas: 3.7 rpg
Aurimas Adomaitis: 3.2 rpg
Leading Returning Assists
Jaytornah Wisseh: 3.0 apg
Tyrone Mattison: 2.0 apg
Kellen Allen: 0.8 apg
BONUS LINKS:
SCOUTING FAIRLEIGH DICKINSON Picked ninth in the NEC, the Knights are 0-2 after a pair of 20-point losses in the preseason NIT at Syracuse. FDU dropped an 86-66 decision to Saint Joe's in its opener, and followed that with an 88-66 loss to Siena in the consolation round.
Through two games, FDU is shooting 42.2 percent from the field and allowing opponents to shoot at a 57.6 percent clip. Manny Ubilla (16 ppg), a 6-2 senior guard, leads four Knights averaging in double figures. Bernell Murray, a 5-9 senior, and 6-3 sophomore Sean Baptiste each are averaging 14 ppg. Freshman John Galvin (6-8) averages 10 ppg. Murray and Ubilla are the assists leaders (4.9 apg each); Baptiste (6 rpg) leads the team's rebounders.
From that same NEC release:
With 25th year head coach Tom Green at the helm of the Fairleigh Dickinson program, one thing is for certain: regardless of the team’s roster turnover from year-to-year, it is impossible to dismiss the Knights as a contender in the NEC. Despite losing a pair of all-stars and a dominating big man, the Knights quickly regrouped last season, scoring a non-conference win at Seton Hall in November. During league play, FDU stayed near the top of the standings for much of the season before fading somewhat down the stretch to finish tied for fourth in the NEC.BONUS LINKS:
Green, the winningest coach in conference history, will face a new set of challenges this coming season with the departure of first team all-NEC forward Andre Harris and do-everything swingman Michael Peeples, who combined for nearly 31 points per outing a year ago. If Green has any chance at adding to his league record four NEC titles, it will hinge on his ability to incorporate yet another fresh set of faces into the rotation.
Carrying the load for the Knights will be the sterling backcourt of junior Cameron Tyler and senior Manny Ubilla. Tyler blossomed in his sophomore year into one of the top point guards in the conference. His ability to draw defenders with his athletic attacks to the hoop created open shots for teammates - Ubilla in particular - and made for some stunning scoring flurries for the 6’0” New York City product. Tyler finished second on the club with 14.3 ppg, added 4.4 rpg and finished third in the conference with 5.1 apg. Ubilla stepped right into a feature role for the Knights last season, averaging 11.9 ppg, 4.3 rpg and 2.9 apg, while displaying a deadly touch from the outside. He hit 63 three-pointers and made 39.6 percent of his attempts on the year to rank in the NEC top-ten in both categories. Ubilla, a 6’3” catch-and-shoot specialist, hit a number of big shots on the year, including a dagger at the buzzer to stop Garden State rival Monmouth in a televised game last February. Reinforcing the backcourt for FDU is veteran Bernell Murray and sophomore Sean Baptiste. A dependable point guard, Murray (3.7 ppg) has a tremendous amount of big-game experience and as a senior is the last link to the Knights’ 2005 NEC Championship team. A physical player who is unafraid of contact and can get to the line, Baptiste (4.6 ppg) was a valuable contributor off the bench for the Knights in 2006-07.
With the loss of Harris and Peeples, along with starting center Jordan Ingram, Green will have to retool a front line headed by 6’6” senior Eric Hazard. One of the league’s best at spotting up from the three-point stripe, Hazard (5.3 ppg) provided instant offense off the bench last year, but could be moved into a more prominent role this coming season. The Jersey native made nearly 80 percent of his shots from long range and his 41.2 percent conversion rate ranked fourth in the NEC. Look for sophomore forward Bryan Lytle and 7’0” English import Lawrence Brown, a sophomore center, to crack the rotation as well.
While Green added five to members to the Knights’ cast in the offseason, he was clearly looking toward the future with his additions. Three of the recruits are New Jersey products who will sit out the 2007-08 season, including 6’1” junior guard Eric Moore, who averaged 12.5 ppg, 2.3 apg and buried 75 three-pointers in 21 starts for Buffalo a year ago. He led the Mid-American Conference in three-point field goal production, averaging 2.7 per game. Another transfer who will sit out this year is burly 6’8” forward Alvin Mofunanya, who played two years at Saint Joseph’s. Freshman guard Anthony Jeune contributed 17.0 ppg his senior year at Camden Catholic, but will be redshirt in 2007-08 after sustaining serious injury in February. Freshman John Galvin, a 6’8” forward, will immediately bolster the frontcourt after a terrific scholastic career at Weston (CT), where he earned All-State status last season and graduated as the school’s all-time leading scorer with 1,902 points. In 2006-07, he averaged 24.0 ppg and 15.0 rpg. Freshman Jordan Stasyszyn, a 6’3” shooting guard, will give the Knights yet another three-point marksman. As a senior at Carlisle (PA), he hit 10 treys in a playoff game and 110 on the year as he averaged 24.0 ppg.
FDU By The Numbers
Quick Facts
2006-07 Overall Record: 14-16
2006-07 NEC Record/Finish: 9-9/Tie-4th
NEC Tournament Finish: Lost in quarterfinals
Starters Returning/Lost: 2/3
Letterwinners Returning/Lost: 9/4
2006-07 Final RPI: 233
Games Decided By 5 Points or Less: 9-10
NEC Record
Last Two Years: 23-13 (.639)
Last Three Years 36-18 (.667)
Last Four Years: 47-25 (.653)
Last Five Years: 56-34 (.622)
Overall Record
Last Two Years: 34-28 (.548)
Last Three Years 54-41 (.568)
Last Four Years: 71-53 (.573)
Last Five Years: 86-67 (.562)
Leading Returning Scorers
Cameron Tyler: 14.3 ppg
Manny Ubilla: 11.9 ppg
Eric Hazard: 5.3ppg
Leading Returning Rebounders
Cameron Tyler: 4.4 rpg
Manny Ubilla: 4.3 rpg
Eric Hazard: 2.3 rpg
Leading Returning Assists
Cameron Tyler: 5.1 apg
Manny Ubilla: 2.9 apg
Bernell Murray: 1.5 apg
Labels: Army, Colgate, Lafayette, previews
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One thing is beginning to emerge here in the early part of the season: If American expects to have a winning season, it better learn to not fade away. For the third time in three games, AU struggled after intermission, for the second time in those three, it cost them in last night's 60-52 home loss to Fairfield.
Up by 9, 30-21, at the break, American opened the second half by going without a point for over 7 minutes. While Fairfield went on a 14-0 run, the Eagles went 0 for 9 from the field (0-5 three-pointers) with 4 turnovers.
AU righted ship enough to hang around a while longer, and led 43-41 with 8:31 to play. Then Fairfield's Greg Nero put the Stags ahead to stay with an old-fashioned and-one three-point play.
What went wrong? From the box score, a few things stick out. The Eagles perimeter-oriented offense started misfiring. AU was 4 for 7 from the arc while shooting 55 percent in the first half. In the second they shot twice as many threes and made half as many (2 for 14), while shooting 7 for 27 overall.
While Fairfield came out and emphasized going inside in the second half (1 for 8 from the arc in the 1st, just 2 three-point tries - 1 made -- in the second), improving its field goal percentage from 34.8 in the first (8-23) to 48 percent (12-25) in the second.
Attacking the hole brings secondary benefits. After going to the foul line just 4 times (4-4) in the first half, Fairfield shot 20 in the second, making 14. American, on the other hand, was 4 for 6 in the first, 6 for 10 in the second. You think it is mere coincidence that Fairfield scored 8 more points at the foul line and won by 8.
For the third game in a row, Derrick Mercer (17) and Garrison Carr (18, including 4 threes) were in double figures for AU. But nobody else scored more than 5. The post duo of starter Cornelio Guibunda and backup Constantin Motnii took a combined 1 shot, made none, grabbed 4 rebounds and never got to the foul line. The two played a combined 19 minutes. Suffice to say the Eagles need more than that from the center position.
The second half fadeaway is becoming a disturbing trend. In their opening win over St. Francis (pa.), the Eagles were outscored 45-33 in the second half. In that game, a 19-point halftime lead was big enough to hold up.
Tuesday night against Loyola (Md.), American was up 40-33 at the break and ended up losing 71-67.
Box score | AP
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Up by 9, 30-21, at the break, American opened the second half by going without a point for over 7 minutes. While Fairfield went on a 14-0 run, the Eagles went 0 for 9 from the field (0-5 three-pointers) with 4 turnovers.
AU righted ship enough to hang around a while longer, and led 43-41 with 8:31 to play. Then Fairfield's Greg Nero put the Stags ahead to stay with an old-fashioned and-one three-point play.
What went wrong? From the box score, a few things stick out. The Eagles perimeter-oriented offense started misfiring. AU was 4 for 7 from the arc while shooting 55 percent in the first half. In the second they shot twice as many threes and made half as many (2 for 14), while shooting 7 for 27 overall.
While Fairfield came out and emphasized going inside in the second half (1 for 8 from the arc in the 1st, just 2 three-point tries - 1 made -- in the second), improving its field goal percentage from 34.8 in the first (8-23) to 48 percent (12-25) in the second.
Attacking the hole brings secondary benefits. After going to the foul line just 4 times (4-4) in the first half, Fairfield shot 20 in the second, making 14. American, on the other hand, was 4 for 6 in the first, 6 for 10 in the second. You think it is mere coincidence that Fairfield scored 8 more points at the foul line and won by 8.
For the third game in a row, Derrick Mercer (17) and Garrison Carr (18, including 4 threes) were in double figures for AU. But nobody else scored more than 5. The post duo of starter Cornelio Guibunda and backup Constantin Motnii took a combined 1 shot, made none, grabbed 4 rebounds and never got to the foul line. The two played a combined 19 minutes. Suffice to say the Eagles need more than that from the center position.
The second half fadeaway is becoming a disturbing trend. In their opening win over St. Francis (pa.), the Eagles were outscored 45-33 in the second half. In that game, a 19-point halftime lead was big enough to hold up.
Tuesday night against Loyola (Md.), American was up 40-33 at the break and ended up losing 71-67.
Box score | AP
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Thursday, November 15, 2007
The bender faithful wiull get their first glimpse of the new look Eagles when they meet winless Fairfield in tonight's home opener.
SCOUTING FAIRFIELD: The 0-2 Stags play a second straight Patriot League opponent, coming into Bender off a 67-54 loss at home to Holy Cross. Fairfield has struggled on offense, getting only one guy into double figures in its first two games. Against HC, that guy was Yorel Hawkins, who scored 11 points. Mike Evanovich, who came off the bench in both games, is the only Stag averaging in double figures (12.5 ppg) -- thanks to his 20-point showing in the season opening loss at Wake Forest.
BONUS LINKS:
Fairfield stats
Fairfield game notes
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SCOUTING FAIRFIELD: The 0-2 Stags play a second straight Patriot League opponent, coming into Bender off a 67-54 loss at home to Holy Cross. Fairfield has struggled on offense, getting only one guy into double figures in its first two games. Against HC, that guy was Yorel Hawkins, who scored 11 points. Mike Evanovich, who came off the bench in both games, is the only Stag averaging in double figures (12.5 ppg) -- thanks to his 20-point showing in the season opening loss at Wake Forest.
BONUS LINKS:
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(Originally posted 12:54 a.m., Links added at 8:26 a.m.)
Throughout the preseason, Bucknell coach Pat Flannery kept talking about how this year's Bison had a bunch of guys capable of shooting the ball. More then maybe any of his previous teams, Flannery insisted.
But through the first 50 minutes of the season, Bucknell fans had to wonder if they were watching the same team Flannery was talking about. After all, the Bison made just 2 of 14 three-pointers while shooting under 40 percent from the field in their opening night win over Albany. And through the first 9:55 of Wednesday night's game at Towson, the Bison were 3 for 10 from the field, 1 for 6 from three-point range.
Then John Griffin did what senior captains are supposed to do. Open on the left side of the arc, his team down 17-11 and seemingly out of sync against Towson's 1-3-1 halfcourt trap, Griffin, who was 0 for 4 at the time, drilled a three-pointer to kick start the 18-4 run that turned the tide in Bucknell's 71-57 win.
Griffin was just getting started. A minute later he his another three to cut Towson's lead to 19-17. And after grabbing a rebound on the defensive end, it was Griffin who fed Patrick Behan for Bucknell's third straight three-pointer and a 20-19 lead.
Towson would go back on top on a Junior Hairston dunk, but at the other end, Griffin hit another three, his third in as many shots, giving the Bison a lead they held the rest of the way. By the time Towson scored again, on a Hairston layup with 2 minutes left in the half, Bucknell had added another Behan trey, a Todd O'Brien jump hook and a foul shot by Griffin to build an 8-point, 29-21 lead.
"Once we got in the seams, the 1-3-1 just collapsed. They didn't know where to fill and it left myself and Patrick open," said Griffin.
It is understandable that it took Bucknell a while to figure out how to attack the Towson zone. Even if they had guys like Rob Thomas, Jason Vegotsky and Darren Mastropaolo healthy, it would be tough for the Bison to simulate a group of long, athletic defenders like Towson put on the floor.
Once the Bison figured it out though, they mastered attacking it. And when Bucknell's hot hand from the arc forced Towson to switch back to man-to-man, the Bison began breaking down Towson in the paint. The result, after their slow start, Bucknell shot 52.7 percent (19-36) from the field over the final 30:05. From three-point range, they were even more accurate, draining 9 of 17 (52.9 percent).
"We made some big shots," said Flannery. "It took these guys a little bit of time to get used to not getting the ball touched and flicked."
In the second half, Towson paid more attention to the perimeter in general and Griffin in particular. But that just opened things up for other guys, like Justin Castleberry, who finished with 16 points, all after the break, to match his career high.
"Me going 0 for the half in the first half kind of helped. I wouldn't have guarded me either after that first half," quipped Castleberry. After the first half, people kind of found me. I was open and lucky enough to knock some down."
Towson, on the other hand, never did get around to knocking some down. After the first 10 minutes of the game, Towson never strung together more than 4 unanswered points. They managed that just once, when Tony Durant hit a bucket and a pair of free throws to cut Bucknell's lead to 62-50 with 4:22 to go. Durant finished with 13 points to lead the Tigers, but 11 of those, like that little 4-0 run, were of the too little, too late variety, coming after the outcome was already decided.
Junior Hairston, coming off a 26-point, 21-rebound showing in Towson's opener, put up another double-double, scoring 12 points and grabbing 10 rebounds. But like Durant, he really was not much of a factor. Most of his points came cherry picking on the break and only two of his boards came after the break.
Flannery credited his team's motion offense with helping keep Towson's big men from having big nights.
"They were chasing us all over the place . . . They were working so hard on defense because we were smart on the offensive end . .. It wore them down a little bit," said Flannery.
As the game went on, the sense of frustration on the part of Towson's stable of run and gun athletes was obvious. After being forced to play defense for long stretches each possession against Bucknell's patterns, the Tigers could not find the patience to figure out the Bison's matchup.
"As soon as we shut down some of the lanes and switched defenses on them, going from man back to the matchup, they stopped cutting as hard. They just threw it in to the post and whatever happened down there they would go with," said Griffin.
With the presence of Josh Linthicum and Todd O'Brien in the paint, what happened down there was seldom positive for the Tigers. O'Brien, the 6-11 freshman from New Holland, Pa., had three blocks and Linthicum, a 6-11 junior, rejected another. Linthicum also had two steals, including one he took coast-to-coast for a dunk that gave Bucknell an 11-point lead with 10:48 to play. Towson never got closer than 9 the rest of the way.
"We thought we could take advantage of their posts," said Towson coach Pat Kennedy. "Their big guys are deceptive. They are both 6-11 and if they get their hands up, they can change your shots."
Linthicum finished with 6 points and 9 rebounds, both career highs. O'Brien added 6 points and 5 boards, effectively giving Bucknell double-double production out of the five spot.
The game was the first of three straight away from Sojka Pavilion for the Bison. Bucknell will visit Villanova Sunday before finishing the road swing with a trip to Wagner Nov. 24.
Box score | Postgame press conference audio | Daily Item | Baltimore Sun | Towerlight (gamer) | Towerlight (notebook)
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Throughout the preseason, Bucknell coach Pat Flannery kept talking about how this year's Bison had a bunch of guys capable of shooting the ball. More then maybe any of his previous teams, Flannery insisted.
But through the first 50 minutes of the season, Bucknell fans had to wonder if they were watching the same team Flannery was talking about. After all, the Bison made just 2 of 14 three-pointers while shooting under 40 percent from the field in their opening night win over Albany. And through the first 9:55 of Wednesday night's game at Towson, the Bison were 3 for 10 from the field, 1 for 6 from three-point range.
Then John Griffin did what senior captains are supposed to do. Open on the left side of the arc, his team down 17-11 and seemingly out of sync against Towson's 1-3-1 halfcourt trap, Griffin, who was 0 for 4 at the time, drilled a three-pointer to kick start the 18-4 run that turned the tide in Bucknell's 71-57 win.
Griffin was just getting started. A minute later he his another three to cut Towson's lead to 19-17. And after grabbing a rebound on the defensive end, it was Griffin who fed Patrick Behan for Bucknell's third straight three-pointer and a 20-19 lead.
Towson would go back on top on a Junior Hairston dunk, but at the other end, Griffin hit another three, his third in as many shots, giving the Bison a lead they held the rest of the way. By the time Towson scored again, on a Hairston layup with 2 minutes left in the half, Bucknell had added another Behan trey, a Todd O'Brien jump hook and a foul shot by Griffin to build an 8-point, 29-21 lead.
"Once we got in the seams, the 1-3-1 just collapsed. They didn't know where to fill and it left myself and Patrick open," said Griffin.
It is understandable that it took Bucknell a while to figure out how to attack the Towson zone. Even if they had guys like Rob Thomas, Jason Vegotsky and Darren Mastropaolo healthy, it would be tough for the Bison to simulate a group of long, athletic defenders like Towson put on the floor.
Once the Bison figured it out though, they mastered attacking it. And when Bucknell's hot hand from the arc forced Towson to switch back to man-to-man, the Bison began breaking down Towson in the paint. The result, after their slow start, Bucknell shot 52.7 percent (19-36) from the field over the final 30:05. From three-point range, they were even more accurate, draining 9 of 17 (52.9 percent).
"We made some big shots," said Flannery. "It took these guys a little bit of time to get used to not getting the ball touched and flicked."
In the second half, Towson paid more attention to the perimeter in general and Griffin in particular. But that just opened things up for other guys, like Justin Castleberry, who finished with 16 points, all after the break, to match his career high.
"Me going 0 for the half in the first half kind of helped. I wouldn't have guarded me either after that first half," quipped Castleberry. After the first half, people kind of found me. I was open and lucky enough to knock some down."
Towson, on the other hand, never did get around to knocking some down. After the first 10 minutes of the game, Towson never strung together more than 4 unanswered points. They managed that just once, when Tony Durant hit a bucket and a pair of free throws to cut Bucknell's lead to 62-50 with 4:22 to go. Durant finished with 13 points to lead the Tigers, but 11 of those, like that little 4-0 run, were of the too little, too late variety, coming after the outcome was already decided.
Junior Hairston, coming off a 26-point, 21-rebound showing in Towson's opener, put up another double-double, scoring 12 points and grabbing 10 rebounds. But like Durant, he really was not much of a factor. Most of his points came cherry picking on the break and only two of his boards came after the break.
Flannery credited his team's motion offense with helping keep Towson's big men from having big nights.
"They were chasing us all over the place . . . They were working so hard on defense because we were smart on the offensive end . .. It wore them down a little bit," said Flannery.
As the game went on, the sense of frustration on the part of Towson's stable of run and gun athletes was obvious. After being forced to play defense for long stretches each possession against Bucknell's patterns, the Tigers could not find the patience to figure out the Bison's matchup.
"As soon as we shut down some of the lanes and switched defenses on them, going from man back to the matchup, they stopped cutting as hard. They just threw it in to the post and whatever happened down there they would go with," said Griffin.
With the presence of Josh Linthicum and Todd O'Brien in the paint, what happened down there was seldom positive for the Tigers. O'Brien, the 6-11 freshman from New Holland, Pa., had three blocks and Linthicum, a 6-11 junior, rejected another. Linthicum also had two steals, including one he took coast-to-coast for a dunk that gave Bucknell an 11-point lead with 10:48 to play. Towson never got closer than 9 the rest of the way.
"We thought we could take advantage of their posts," said Towson coach Pat Kennedy. "Their big guys are deceptive. They are both 6-11 and if they get their hands up, they can change your shots."
Linthicum finished with 6 points and 9 rebounds, both career highs. O'Brien added 6 points and 5 boards, effectively giving Bucknell double-double production out of the five spot.
The game was the first of three straight away from Sojka Pavilion for the Bison. Bucknell will visit Villanova Sunday before finishing the road swing with a trip to Wagner Nov. 24.
Box score | Postgame press conference audio | Daily Item | Baltimore Sun | Towerlight (gamer) | Towerlight (notebook)
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Robert Morris used a first half run to take control of the game and another in the second half to put it away, downing the Midshipmen 93-77.
After Navy led early, RMU took the lead for good with a 12-2 run. The Mids kept it close for a while, trailing by just 5 (42-37) at the half. But down by 6 with 13:51, the Mids hit the skids, going 0 for 4 from the field, 0 for 2 from the foul line and turning the ball over 6 times to help Robert Morris (2-0) put together a 12-0 run that cemented the win.
A.J. Jackson scored 22 to lead four RMU players in double figures.
Greg Sprink led Navy with 19. Derek Young had 15 and Scott Brooks added 12 for the Mids (1-2).
Robert Morris shot 44.9 percent from the field (31-69), including 8 treys on 27 tries. They also grabbed the carom on 17 of their own misses, leading to 27 second chance points and a 50-28 margin on the boards. The Colonials domination inside was further evidenced by their 42-28 edge in points in the paint.
Navy was 23 for 58 from the field (39.7 percent), its second straight game shooting under 40 percent.
Box score } | Post-Gazette
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After Navy led early, RMU took the lead for good with a 12-2 run. The Mids kept it close for a while, trailing by just 5 (42-37) at the half. But down by 6 with 13:51, the Mids hit the skids, going 0 for 4 from the field, 0 for 2 from the foul line and turning the ball over 6 times to help Robert Morris (2-0) put together a 12-0 run that cemented the win.
A.J. Jackson scored 22 to lead four RMU players in double figures.
Greg Sprink led Navy with 19. Derek Young had 15 and Scott Brooks added 12 for the Mids (1-2).
Robert Morris shot 44.9 percent from the field (31-69), including 8 treys on 27 tries. They also grabbed the carom on 17 of their own misses, leading to 27 second chance points and a 50-28 margin on the boards. The Colonials domination inside was further evidenced by their 42-28 edge in points in the paint.
Navy was 23 for 58 from the field (39.7 percent), its second straight game shooting under 40 percent.
Box score } | Post-Gazette
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Marquis Hall scored 5 of his 16 points in the final minute to help Lehigh down St. Peter's 60-56 to record its first win of the Brett Reed era.
Hall was just 3 for 10 from the field, 1 for 5 from three-point range, but he hit 9 of 10 from the foul line, including 3 of 4 in the 24 seconds to preserve the lead he gave the Mountain Hawks with a jumper at the 45-second mark. Hall also had 5 assists and a pair of steals.
Matt Scalachowski added 14 points for Lehigh (1-1), which shot 39.4 percent (18-48) from the floor, 4-12 from the arc.
St. Peter's didn't go easy. The Peacocks actually outscored Lehigh from the field, going 21 of 59 (35.6 percent) from the field, hitting 7 of 18 three-point tries. But the Mountain Hawks went to the line 24 times, making 18, while the Peacocks shot just 11 foul shots, making 7.
Lehigh started slow and trailed by as many as 10 in the first half before battling back to get within 29-28 at the half. A 14-3 Lehigh run gave the Hawks a 47-35 lead midway through the second half. But St. Peter's came back to go up 56-55 on a Wesley Jenkins three with 1:01 to play.
Hall's jumper put lehigh back on top and St. Peter's turned the ball over on its next two possessions, leading to Hall's clinching free throws.
Box score | Express-Times | AP
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Hall was just 3 for 10 from the field, 1 for 5 from three-point range, but he hit 9 of 10 from the foul line, including 3 of 4 in the 24 seconds to preserve the lead he gave the Mountain Hawks with a jumper at the 45-second mark. Hall also had 5 assists and a pair of steals.
Matt Scalachowski added 14 points for Lehigh (1-1), which shot 39.4 percent (18-48) from the floor, 4-12 from the arc.
St. Peter's didn't go easy. The Peacocks actually outscored Lehigh from the field, going 21 of 59 (35.6 percent) from the field, hitting 7 of 18 three-point tries. But the Mountain Hawks went to the line 24 times, making 18, while the Peacocks shot just 11 foul shots, making 7.
Lehigh started slow and trailed by as many as 10 in the first half before battling back to get within 29-28 at the half. A 14-3 Lehigh run gave the Hawks a 47-35 lead midway through the second half. But St. Peter's came back to go up 56-55 on a Wesley Jenkins three with 1:01 to play.
Hall's jumper put lehigh back on top and St. Peter's turned the ball over on its next two possessions, leading to Hall's clinching free throws.
Box score | Express-Times | AP
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Wednesday, November 14, 2007
Hard to believe Bucknell is even in this game, much less up 33-27 at the break.
Back around the 12 minute mark, it looked like Towson was going to put this one away early. Up 15-9 after an 8-0 run, the Tigers seemed in control. Even though they were stuggling to score consistently against Bucknell's defense, their aggressive 1-3-1 halfcourt trap was giving Bucknell fits.
The Bison were unable to get the ball inside against the zone, and were left to fire up three after off-the-mark three. At that point the Bison were 1 for 7 from the arc, and hanging on for dear life. Stepehen Tyree was on the bench after picking up two wuick fouls in the first 2:08 of the half. John Griffin was 0 for 4 from the arc. It was on the verge of getting ugly. Things got desperate enough that Pat Flannery even inserted little used sophomore Zach Evans into the game.
Then Griffin found his range and the game turned in a hurry. With Griffin hitting three from the arc and Patrick behan hitting two more, the Bison went on a 15-4 run, took the lead and forced Towson out of the zone.
That began to open things a little inside. Bucknell's last three field goals of the half came in the paint -- a jump hook by Todd O'Brien and driving runners from Griffin and Daryl Shazier.
Halftime stats:
Bucknell 12-24 from the fiedl, 5-14 from the arc, 3-5 at the line
Towson 11-28, 2-5, 3-5
Top scorers: Bucknell -- Griffin 12, Behan 8 Towson -- Junior Hairston 6, Rocky Coleman 7
Rebounds: Bucknell 15, Towson 18
Turnovers; Bucknell 5, Towson 4
Nobody with more than 2 fouls for either team
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Back around the 12 minute mark, it looked like Towson was going to put this one away early. Up 15-9 after an 8-0 run, the Tigers seemed in control. Even though they were stuggling to score consistently against Bucknell's defense, their aggressive 1-3-1 halfcourt trap was giving Bucknell fits.
The Bison were unable to get the ball inside against the zone, and were left to fire up three after off-the-mark three. At that point the Bison were 1 for 7 from the arc, and hanging on for dear life. Stepehen Tyree was on the bench after picking up two wuick fouls in the first 2:08 of the half. John Griffin was 0 for 4 from the arc. It was on the verge of getting ugly. Things got desperate enough that Pat Flannery even inserted little used sophomore Zach Evans into the game.
Then Griffin found his range and the game turned in a hurry. With Griffin hitting three from the arc and Patrick behan hitting two more, the Bison went on a 15-4 run, took the lead and forced Towson out of the zone.
That began to open things a little inside. Bucknell's last three field goals of the half came in the paint -- a jump hook by Todd O'Brien and driving runners from Griffin and Daryl Shazier.
Halftime stats:
Bucknell 12-24 from the fiedl, 5-14 from the arc, 3-5 at the line
Towson 11-28, 2-5, 3-5
Top scorers: Bucknell -- Griffin 12, Behan 8 Towson -- Junior Hairston 6, Rocky Coleman 7
Rebounds: Bucknell 15, Towson 18
Turnovers; Bucknell 5, Towson 4
Nobody with more than 2 fouls for either team
Labels: Bucknell
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Bucknell visits its old East Coast Conference rival Towson in the marquee matchup on a three-game night. Also on tap: Navy hosts Robert Morris and Lehigh is at home against St. Peter's.
SCOUTING TOWSON: The good news for Bucknell, Gary Neal is gone. Granted Neal didn't do much against the Bison in last year's BracketBusters meeting, at least not when it mattered, but he was a dangerous scoring machine, capable of going off at moment's notice.
The bad news for the Bison, one of the new faces in Towson's lineup might be even scarier, if his performance in the Tigers' 83-69 spanking of a pretty fair Loyola club is any indication.
The name Bucknell fans hope they won't remember after tonight is Junior Hairston, a 6-8 junior forward who sat out last season after transferring from the College of Charleston. In his first game in a Towson uniform, Hairston went off for 26 points and 21 rebounds. Included in those boards were 11 on the offensive glass. For good measure, Hairston, who by the way has three-point range on his jumper, also blocked three shots.
Also in double figures for Towson in the opener were 6-4 swingman Rodney Spruill (12 points and 5 assists) and 6-3 junior guard Rocky Coleman (15 points). Senior guard C.C. Williams, who scored 12 against Bucknell last season, dished off 7 assists against Loyola. Coleman started in place of junior Vernon Carr, who missed the Loyola game with a shoulder injury. Carr was expected to be the starter at the point, allowing Williams to move to the wing. Carr is listed as questionable for tonight's game. Williams played despite a back injury.
The returning starter at center, 6-8 Tommy Breaux, missed last year's game at Bucknell due to an illness and will miss this year's as well. Breaux, a wide receiver on Towson's football team, suffered a foot injury in the Tigers' third gridiron game of the season against UMass and is still rehabbing.
This appears to be a deeper Towson team. Two guys who used to be starters are now coming off the bench. In addition to Breaux, the team's active career leader in blocks who missed last year's meeting with Bucknell due to illness, 6-0 senior Jonathan Reese, the Tigers active career leader in rebounds and made field goals, and 6-1 junior Tim Crossin, their active career three-pointers leader, are all reserves these days.
The game marks a return to what have been happy hunting grounds over the years for the Bison, who have not played in the Towson Center since the Charlie Woollum era (1991), but back in the old East Coast Conference Days, the Towson Center was like a home away from home for Bucknell, which has a large alumni base in the Baltimore area. The Bison earned their first two trips to the NCAA Tournament with wins there (1987 over Towson and 1989 over Lafayette in ECC finals). Over the years, Bucknell is 8-6 against the Tigers there.
BONUS LINKS:
Towson game notes
Williams plays through pain (Towerlight)
SCOUTING ROBERT MORRIS: Opened with 72-66 win over Kevin (son of HC coach Ralph) Willard's Iona team. Picked second in the Northeast Conference behind Sacred Heart. Guard Jeremy Chappell, a starter last year. came off the bench to lead RMU with 20 points. RMU's first-year coach, former Pitt assistant Mike Rice says Chappell might move back into the starting lineup, though he likes the offensive spark Chappell brings off the bench.
Chappell is one of four returning starters from last season's 17-11 team. Tony Lee, a 6-0 senior guard, is the top returning scorer. A 1,000-point career scorer, Lee averaged 16.9 ppg last year, earning second team All-NEC honors. Lee had 7 points, 11 rebounds, 7 assists and 4 steals in the opener.
Lee and A.J. Jackson, a 6-6 senior forward, were both preseason all-conference picks. Jackson, who had 16 points against Iona, needs 11 to reach 1,000 for his career.
Freddie Harris, a 6-9 senior, returns at center for the Colonials.
One place RMU is inexperienced is at the point. Starter Jimmy Langhurst played in only 4 conference games as a freshman, tallying a total of 11 minutes of action. Langhurst, who is not a true point guard, is supposedly the best shooter on the team, though he was 0 for 5 (0-4 from the arc) against Iona.
Rice's biggest concern entering the season was defense, something not emphasized by his predecessor. Against Iona, the Colonials had 12 steals and held the Gaels to 24 for 59 (40.7) from the field. But they did not defend the arc very well. Iona was 10 for 19 there.
BONUS LINKS:
RMU game notes
Pittsburgh Tribune Review matchup
Post-Gazette game preview
Pittsburgh Tribune-Review RMU story archive
RRMU embraces lofty expectationse (Pitt. Post-Gazette)
Robert Morris hopes Langhurst is ready to guide the offense (Pitt. Post-Gazette)
Colonials getting defensive in basketball practice
SCOUTING ST. PETER'S: The lowly Peacocks are picked to finish dead last in the 10-team MAAC. Opened season by blowing a 12-point lead in an 81-78 loss at UMBC.
The Peacocks are a guard-oriented team. Only one guy on the roster, 6-8 freshman center Ryan Bacon (a starter) is taller than 6-7. Three of the four guys who scored in double figures against UMBC were guards. Raul Orta, a 6-5 senior, led the scoring with 19. Darrell Lampley, a 5-0 freshman, came off the bench for 15, including three treys and 5-11 redshirt freshman Nick Leon added 11. Another freshman, 6-2 Wesley Jackson, hit a trio of three-pointers off the bench.
St. Peter's top returnee is 6-7 senior forward Todd Sowell. Sowell, a preseason third team all-league pick, averaged 13 points and 8.5 boards last season. Sowell had 11 points and 8 rebounds against UMBC.
In the opener, St. Peter's shot 51.5 percent (29-56) from the field, including 10 of 21 threes. They held UMBC to a 40-percent night (24-66) from the field, 6 for 13 at the arc. But they committed 28 fouls, sending the Peacocks to the line 37 times, where they made 27 to pull out the win.
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SCOUTING TOWSON: The good news for Bucknell, Gary Neal is gone. Granted Neal didn't do much against the Bison in last year's BracketBusters meeting, at least not when it mattered, but he was a dangerous scoring machine, capable of going off at moment's notice.
The bad news for the Bison, one of the new faces in Towson's lineup might be even scarier, if his performance in the Tigers' 83-69 spanking of a pretty fair Loyola club is any indication.
The name Bucknell fans hope they won't remember after tonight is Junior Hairston, a 6-8 junior forward who sat out last season after transferring from the College of Charleston. In his first game in a Towson uniform, Hairston went off for 26 points and 21 rebounds. Included in those boards were 11 on the offensive glass. For good measure, Hairston, who by the way has three-point range on his jumper, also blocked three shots.
Also in double figures for Towson in the opener were 6-4 swingman Rodney Spruill (12 points and 5 assists) and 6-3 junior guard Rocky Coleman (15 points). Senior guard C.C. Williams, who scored 12 against Bucknell last season, dished off 7 assists against Loyola. Coleman started in place of junior Vernon Carr, who missed the Loyola game with a shoulder injury. Carr was expected to be the starter at the point, allowing Williams to move to the wing. Carr is listed as questionable for tonight's game. Williams played despite a back injury.
The returning starter at center, 6-8 Tommy Breaux, missed last year's game at Bucknell due to an illness and will miss this year's as well. Breaux, a wide receiver on Towson's football team, suffered a foot injury in the Tigers' third gridiron game of the season against UMass and is still rehabbing.
This appears to be a deeper Towson team. Two guys who used to be starters are now coming off the bench. In addition to Breaux, the team's active career leader in blocks who missed last year's meeting with Bucknell due to illness, 6-0 senior Jonathan Reese, the Tigers active career leader in rebounds and made field goals, and 6-1 junior Tim Crossin, their active career three-pointers leader, are all reserves these days.
The game marks a return to what have been happy hunting grounds over the years for the Bison, who have not played in the Towson Center since the Charlie Woollum era (1991), but back in the old East Coast Conference Days, the Towson Center was like a home away from home for Bucknell, which has a large alumni base in the Baltimore area. The Bison earned their first two trips to the NCAA Tournament with wins there (1987 over Towson and 1989 over Lafayette in ECC finals). Over the years, Bucknell is 8-6 against the Tigers there.
BONUS LINKS:
SCOUTING ROBERT MORRIS: Opened with 72-66 win over Kevin (son of HC coach Ralph) Willard's Iona team. Picked second in the Northeast Conference behind Sacred Heart. Guard Jeremy Chappell, a starter last year. came off the bench to lead RMU with 20 points. RMU's first-year coach, former Pitt assistant Mike Rice says Chappell might move back into the starting lineup, though he likes the offensive spark Chappell brings off the bench.
Chappell is one of four returning starters from last season's 17-11 team. Tony Lee, a 6-0 senior guard, is the top returning scorer. A 1,000-point career scorer, Lee averaged 16.9 ppg last year, earning second team All-NEC honors. Lee had 7 points, 11 rebounds, 7 assists and 4 steals in the opener.
Lee and A.J. Jackson, a 6-6 senior forward, were both preseason all-conference picks. Jackson, who had 16 points against Iona, needs 11 to reach 1,000 for his career.
Freddie Harris, a 6-9 senior, returns at center for the Colonials.
One place RMU is inexperienced is at the point. Starter Jimmy Langhurst played in only 4 conference games as a freshman, tallying a total of 11 minutes of action. Langhurst, who is not a true point guard, is supposedly the best shooter on the team, though he was 0 for 5 (0-4 from the arc) against Iona.
Rice's biggest concern entering the season was defense, something not emphasized by his predecessor. Against Iona, the Colonials had 12 steals and held the Gaels to 24 for 59 (40.7) from the field. But they did not defend the arc very well. Iona was 10 for 19 there.
BONUS LINKS:
SCOUTING ST. PETER'S: The lowly Peacocks are picked to finish dead last in the 10-team MAAC. Opened season by blowing a 12-point lead in an 81-78 loss at UMBC.
The Peacocks are a guard-oriented team. Only one guy on the roster, 6-8 freshman center Ryan Bacon (a starter) is taller than 6-7. Three of the four guys who scored in double figures against UMBC were guards. Raul Orta, a 6-5 senior, led the scoring with 19. Darrell Lampley, a 5-0 freshman, came off the bench for 15, including three treys and 5-11 redshirt freshman Nick Leon added 11. Another freshman, 6-2 Wesley Jackson, hit a trio of three-pointers off the bench.
St. Peter's top returnee is 6-7 senior forward Todd Sowell. Sowell, a preseason third team all-league pick, averaged 13 points and 8.5 boards last season. Sowell had 11 points and 8 rebounds against UMBC.
In the opener, St. Peter's shot 51.5 percent (29-56) from the field, including 10 of 21 threes. They held UMBC to a 40-percent night (24-66) from the field, 6 for 13 at the arc. But they committed 28 fouls, sending the Peacocks to the line 37 times, where they made 27 to pull out the win.
Labels: Bucknell, Lehigh, Navy, previews
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Originally posted Tues. 10:08 p.m., updated at 6:24 a.m.
Their best player was a non factor. It didn't matter. Holy Cross still beat Fairfield to improve to 2-0.
Tim Clifford, the preseason Patriot League Player of the Year, lasted just 12 minutes before fouling out with 4 points and 5 turnovers. Holy Cross won anyhow, thanks to an impressive showing at the free throw line. The Crusaders went to the stripe 33 times and made 29, including 20 of 23 in the second half, when they managed only 5 field goals.
Colin Cunningham led the Crusaders with a career-high 17 points. Cunningham was a perfect 10 for 10 at the line. Pat Doherty had just one field goal, but still reached double figures (11 points) after hitting 9 of 10 free throws. Forty-minute man Alex Vander Baan also had 11, including a pair of three-pointers.
Holy Cross shot 43.2 percent (16-37) from the field, including 6 of 15 from the arc. The Crusaders held Fairfield to 40.8 percent (20-49) from the floor, 2 of 11 from three-point range. Fairfield was 12 for 16 at the foul line.
The Crusaders' 13-point margin might have been larger had they taken better care of the ball, HC turned it over 22 times.
Box score | Telegram & Gazette |Conn. Post
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Their best player was a non factor. It didn't matter. Holy Cross still beat Fairfield to improve to 2-0.
Tim Clifford, the preseason Patriot League Player of the Year, lasted just 12 minutes before fouling out with 4 points and 5 turnovers. Holy Cross won anyhow, thanks to an impressive showing at the free throw line. The Crusaders went to the stripe 33 times and made 29, including 20 of 23 in the second half, when they managed only 5 field goals.
Colin Cunningham led the Crusaders with a career-high 17 points. Cunningham was a perfect 10 for 10 at the line. Pat Doherty had just one field goal, but still reached double figures (11 points) after hitting 9 of 10 free throws. Forty-minute man Alex Vander Baan also had 11, including a pair of three-pointers.
Holy Cross shot 43.2 percent (16-37) from the field, including 6 of 15 from the arc. The Crusaders held Fairfield to 40.8 percent (20-49) from the floor, 2 of 11 from three-point range. Fairfield was 12 for 16 at the foul line.
The Crusaders' 13-point margin might have been larger had they taken better care of the ball, HC turned it over 22 times.
Box score | Telegram & Gazette |Conn. Post
Labels: games, Holy Cross
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Originally posted Tues. 10:08 p.m., updated at 6:22 a.m.
After a scorching first half, the Eagles shots stopped falling in the second half of a 71-67 loss at Loyola Tuesday night.
The Eagles led 40-33 at the break after shooting 63.2 percent (12-19) from the field in the first half. In the second half, though, AU cooled to 40 percent (10-25). At the same time, they stopped getting to the foul line. American shot 16 free throws the first half, making 11, but got to the stripe just 4 times (3 made) after the intermission.
Loyola cooled from the field in the second half, too. The Greyhounds hit 12 of 24 from the field before the break, 9 of 22 (40.9 percent) after. But Loyola turned the tables at the line. After a 3 for 4 first half, the Greyhounds went to the line 25 times in the second, making 17, including 9 of 10 in the final minute to hold off American.
Derrick Mercer led AU with 23 points, 16 in the first half. Garrison Carr added 19, including 5 treys and Travis Lay finished with 10.
Loyola's Gerald Brown led all scorers with 32 points.
Some other key stats: American had 18 turnovers, leading to 22 Loyola points. Loyola won the rebounding battle 31-21.
Box score | AP
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After a scorching first half, the Eagles shots stopped falling in the second half of a 71-67 loss at Loyola Tuesday night.
The Eagles led 40-33 at the break after shooting 63.2 percent (12-19) from the field in the first half. In the second half, though, AU cooled to 40 percent (10-25). At the same time, they stopped getting to the foul line. American shot 16 free throws the first half, making 11, but got to the stripe just 4 times (3 made) after the intermission.
Loyola cooled from the field in the second half, too. The Greyhounds hit 12 of 24 from the field before the break, 9 of 22 (40.9 percent) after. But Loyola turned the tables at the line. After a 3 for 4 first half, the Greyhounds went to the line 25 times in the second, making 17, including 9 of 10 in the final minute to hold off American.
Derrick Mercer led AU with 23 points, 16 in the first half. Garrison Carr added 19, including 5 treys and Travis Lay finished with 10.
Loyola's Gerald Brown led all scorers with 32 points.
Some other key stats: American had 18 turnovers, leading to 22 Loyola points. Loyola won the rebounding battle 31-21.
Box score | AP
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Originally posted Tues. 10:08 p.m., updated at 6:21 a.m.
The Raiders blew out to a 22-point halftime lead and went on to beat Canisius, 61-47, opening at 2-0 for the first time since the 1997-98 season.
Kyle Roemer led Colgate with 16 points despite an off night from the arc (1-7). Tim Pounds added 12 and Daniel Waddy had 10 for Colgate, which went 14 for 25 from the field inj the first half while holding Canisius to 6 field goals (on 26 shots, 23.1 percent).
Colgate finished the night 23-49 (46.9 percent) from the field, 3 for 13 from three-point range. The Raiders were 12 for 17 at the foul line, 10 of 13 in the first half.
Canisius went 14 for 52 (26.9 percent) for the game, 6 for 27 from the arc and 11 for 19 at the stripe.
Box score | Buffalo News | AP
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The Raiders blew out to a 22-point halftime lead and went on to beat Canisius, 61-47, opening at 2-0 for the first time since the 1997-98 season.
Kyle Roemer led Colgate with 16 points despite an off night from the arc (1-7). Tim Pounds added 12 and Daniel Waddy had 10 for Colgate, which went 14 for 25 from the field inj the first half while holding Canisius to 6 field goals (on 26 shots, 23.1 percent).
Colgate finished the night 23-49 (46.9 percent) from the field, 3 for 13 from three-point range. The Raiders were 12 for 17 at the foul line, 10 of 13 in the first half.
Canisius went 14 for 52 (26.9 percent) for the game, 6 for 27 from the arc and 11 for 19 at the stripe.
Box score | Buffalo News | AP
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Tuesday, November 13, 2007
It's Patriot vs. MAAC across the board tonight, with American at Loyola (Md.), Holy Cross at Fairfield and Colgate at Canisius.
SCOUTING LOYOLA: Picked as co-favorites in the MAAC, the Greyhounds come in 1-1, with an 89-68 home win over Penn their last time out. Coach Jimmy Patsos shuffled his starting lineup after Loyola dropped its opener at Towson, 83-69, inserting 6-1 sophomore Brett Harvey, last season's starter at the point, along with 5-11 freshman Brian Rudolph and 6-7 forward Michael Tuck, last season's MAAC sixth man of the year.
Rudolph responded by dishing out 9 assists and Tuck put up 18 points against Penn. Marquis Sullivan, a 6-1 junior guard who went to the bench, scored 13 points off the bench. Joe Miles, a 6-0 transfer from Marshall, also moved to the bench. Miles played the same 25 minutes he did in the opener, scoring 9 points off the bench after posting 11 as a starter against Towson. The biggest difference was the diminished role of 6-10 senior center Hassan Fofana, who played just 2 minutes against Penn after starting and playing 14 against Towson.
The Greyhounds will look to play a style fitting their name, pressing full court and running. THe roster is full of athletic guys, including a bunch of transfers from high major programs.
Leading scorer Gerald Brown (22 ppg), last year's MAAC leading scorer, came from Providence. Fofana played at Maryland. Omari Isreal, a 6-8 senior who, along with Brown, has started both games, began his career at Notre Dame.
Sullivan played his high school ball at Archbishop Spalding, the Maryland school that produced Bucknell's Justin Castleberry and Holy Cross' Lawrence Dixon. Associate coach Brian Blaney is the son of former Holy Cross head coach and current UConn assistant George Blaney.
BONUS LINKS:
Loyola preview from The Examiner
Loyola stats
Gametracker
SCOUTING FAIRFIELD: Four players who started for Fairfield in an overtime loss to Holy Cross last season are back in the starting lineup for the Stags this season. Sophomore forward Greg Nero scored a career-high 23 for the Stags in that game, part of a six-game stretch to start the season that Nero led Fairfield in scoring and one of his 16 double figures games last year. Point guard Jonathan Han, who averaged 4.5 assists per game as a sophomore, had a career-high 8 assists against the Crusaders. Forward Anthony Johnson, a 6-8 sophomore and 6-4 sophomore swingman Devin Johnson are also back for the Stags, who start two juniors and three sophomores.
None of the starters reached double figures in Fairfield's season-opening 85-60 loss at Wake Forest. The only Stag to do so in the opener was 6-9 junior Mike Evanovich, who was 6-7 from the field, including 5-5 from the arc in his first game for Fairfield after sitting out a season following his transfer from Iowa State.
Fairfield shot 19 of 49 from the floor against Wake, but were 10 for 16 from 3-point range. Twenty-three turnovers undid any edge the Stags might have gained by outrebounding the DemonDeacons (36-30).
The Stags were picked a tie for sixth in the 10-team MAAC in the league's preseason poll.
BONUS LINKS:
Han ignites Fairfield men (Conn. Post)
Livestats
SCOUTING CANISUS:
In a word, the Griffs are young. Second-year coach Tom Parrotta's roster includes seven true freshmen and just one senior. Add a juco tranfer to the mix, and the fact that its Canisius' first game, and it is tough to get a read on the team, which is picked ninth in the MAAC preseason poll.
Pawel Malesa, the team's lone senior, is a 6-6 guard who averaged 13.2 minutes and 6.3 points per game last season. The native of Poland dropped 40 pounds in the offseason while improving his conditioning and quickness. Malesa is a 3-point shooter. He hit 34.7 percent from the arc last year, which is damned near the only place he shoots from. Of 61 made shots, 52 were treys.
Canisius has a pair of juniors. Shaun James, a 6-8 London, England native by way of Barton Junior College in Kansas. He played in 29 games, starting eight for the Griffs last season. Willie Hassell is a 5-8 shooter recruited from Mineral Area Junior College to be a scorer for the Griffs. Hassell was a third team NJCAA All-American pick last season.
Three sophomores started at least 13 games last season: Menghe a'Nyam, Jovan Robinson and Frank Turner. Turner averaged 36.1 minutes, tops on the team, and 11.9 points per game, earning co-rookie of the year honors in the MAAC.
Among the freshmen, Elton Frazier, a 6-5 forward, is The Sporting News' pick as the MAAC's top newcomer.
BONUS LINKS:
Canisus season preview (GgGriffs.com)
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SCOUTING LOYOLA: Picked as co-favorites in the MAAC, the Greyhounds come in 1-1, with an 89-68 home win over Penn their last time out. Coach Jimmy Patsos shuffled his starting lineup after Loyola dropped its opener at Towson, 83-69, inserting 6-1 sophomore Brett Harvey, last season's starter at the point, along with 5-11 freshman Brian Rudolph and 6-7 forward Michael Tuck, last season's MAAC sixth man of the year.
Rudolph responded by dishing out 9 assists and Tuck put up 18 points against Penn. Marquis Sullivan, a 6-1 junior guard who went to the bench, scored 13 points off the bench. Joe Miles, a 6-0 transfer from Marshall, also moved to the bench. Miles played the same 25 minutes he did in the opener, scoring 9 points off the bench after posting 11 as a starter against Towson. The biggest difference was the diminished role of 6-10 senior center Hassan Fofana, who played just 2 minutes against Penn after starting and playing 14 against Towson.
The Greyhounds will look to play a style fitting their name, pressing full court and running. THe roster is full of athletic guys, including a bunch of transfers from high major programs.
Leading scorer Gerald Brown (22 ppg), last year's MAAC leading scorer, came from Providence. Fofana played at Maryland. Omari Isreal, a 6-8 senior who, along with Brown, has started both games, began his career at Notre Dame.
Sullivan played his high school ball at Archbishop Spalding, the Maryland school that produced Bucknell's Justin Castleberry and Holy Cross' Lawrence Dixon. Associate coach Brian Blaney is the son of former Holy Cross head coach and current UConn assistant George Blaney.
BONUS LINKS:
SCOUTING FAIRFIELD: Four players who started for Fairfield in an overtime loss to Holy Cross last season are back in the starting lineup for the Stags this season. Sophomore forward Greg Nero scored a career-high 23 for the Stags in that game, part of a six-game stretch to start the season that Nero led Fairfield in scoring and one of his 16 double figures games last year. Point guard Jonathan Han, who averaged 4.5 assists per game as a sophomore, had a career-high 8 assists against the Crusaders. Forward Anthony Johnson, a 6-8 sophomore and 6-4 sophomore swingman Devin Johnson are also back for the Stags, who start two juniors and three sophomores.
None of the starters reached double figures in Fairfield's season-opening 85-60 loss at Wake Forest. The only Stag to do so in the opener was 6-9 junior Mike Evanovich, who was 6-7 from the field, including 5-5 from the arc in his first game for Fairfield after sitting out a season following his transfer from Iowa State.
Fairfield shot 19 of 49 from the floor against Wake, but were 10 for 16 from 3-point range. Twenty-three turnovers undid any edge the Stags might have gained by outrebounding the DemonDeacons (36-30).
The Stags were picked a tie for sixth in the 10-team MAAC in the league's preseason poll.
BONUS LINKS:
SCOUTING CANISUS:
In a word, the Griffs are young. Second-year coach Tom Parrotta's roster includes seven true freshmen and just one senior. Add a juco tranfer to the mix, and the fact that its Canisius' first game, and it is tough to get a read on the team, which is picked ninth in the MAAC preseason poll.
Pawel Malesa, the team's lone senior, is a 6-6 guard who averaged 13.2 minutes and 6.3 points per game last season. The native of Poland dropped 40 pounds in the offseason while improving his conditioning and quickness. Malesa is a 3-point shooter. He hit 34.7 percent from the arc last year, which is damned near the only place he shoots from. Of 61 made shots, 52 were treys.
Canisius has a pair of juniors. Shaun James, a 6-8 London, England native by way of Barton Junior College in Kansas. He played in 29 games, starting eight for the Griffs last season. Willie Hassell is a 5-8 shooter recruited from Mineral Area Junior College to be a scorer for the Griffs. Hassell was a third team NJCAA All-American pick last season.
Three sophomores started at least 13 games last season: Menghe a'Nyam, Jovan Robinson and Frank Turner. Turner averaged 36.1 minutes, tops on the team, and 11.9 points per game, earning co-rookie of the year honors in the MAAC.
Among the freshmen, Elton Frazier, a 6-5 forward, is The Sporting News' pick as the MAAC's top newcomer.
BONUS LINKS:
Labels: American, Colgate, Holy Cross, previews
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(Posted Mon. at 9:23 p.m., updated at 6:57 a.m.)
Jarrell Brown got back on track and Army picked up its first win Monday night, knocking off Sacred Heart 64-59.
Brown, who was held to 5 points in the Black Knights' opening loss at Minnesota, went off for 26 points against Sacred Heart, hitting six treys (on 12 tries). Brown also pulled down 6 rebounds, sharing team honors with Corban Bates and helping Army to a 39-28 advantage on the boards.
Kenny Brewer was the only other Black Knight in double figures, scoring 13 points off the bench.
Army shot 44.9 percent from the field while holding Sacred Heart to a 36.2 percent showing.
Senior Doug Williams did not play for the second game in a row. Army's game notes say he has an unspecified leg injury.
Box score | Hudson Valley Press
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Jarrell Brown got back on track and Army picked up its first win Monday night, knocking off Sacred Heart 64-59.
Brown, who was held to 5 points in the Black Knights' opening loss at Minnesota, went off for 26 points against Sacred Heart, hitting six treys (on 12 tries). Brown also pulled down 6 rebounds, sharing team honors with Corban Bates and helping Army to a 39-28 advantage on the boards.
Kenny Brewer was the only other Black Knight in double figures, scoring 13 points off the bench.
Army shot 44.9 percent from the field while holding Sacred Heart to a 36.2 percent showing.
Senior Doug Williams did not play for the second game in a row. Army's game notes say he has an unspecified leg injury.
Box score | Hudson Valley Press
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(Posted Mon. at 9:39 p.m., updated at 6:52 a.m.)
Andrew Brown started Monday night's Lafayette at Stony Brook game on the bench. But he was on the floor when it mattered most, leading the Laopards to their first win of the season.
A starter in 53 of 59 previous games since arriving in Easton from Colorado, Brown was out of the lineup when the Leopards tipped off their 76-68 overtime win at Stony Brook. East Carolina transfer Jeff Karl started in Brown's place.
But it was Brown's jumper with 17 seconds left in regulation to send the game to overtime, Brown who hit a 3-pointer to help the Leopards build a 67-59 lead in that extra session and Brown who hit 5 of 6 from the line to hold the lead after Stony Brook had pulled to within two. Brown finished with a team-high 21 points, including four 3-pointers.
Bilal Abdullah (15 points), Matt Betley (10) and Michael Gruner (10) also reached double figures for the Leopards, who shot 42.2 percent (19-45) from the field, including 10 treys (29 attempted).
Lafayette held Stony Brook to 22 of 65 (33.8 percent) from the field. The Seawolves made only 2 of 22 from the arc, but stayed in the game by hitting 22 of 28 free throws.
The Leopards might have won in regulation had they shot better from the foul line. Lafayette went to the line 41 times, but made only 28 (68.9 percent). The 'Pards were also outrebounded by a 48-29 margin.
NOTES: (From Lafayette's recap)
The overtime victory was the first for Lafayette since Dec. 6, 2006 when Lafayette beat St. Francis (NY), 85-81.
Lafayette head coach Fran O'Hanlon changed up the lineup significantly on Monday. Everest Schmidt and Matt Betley were the only repeat starters from the first game while Jeff Kari, Deirunas Visockas and Ted Detmer started their first games of the season.
It was the first time since Jan. 11, 2006 vs. Colgate that Lafayette had four players reach double figures in scoring.
Box score | Express-Times | Newsday
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Andrew Brown started Monday night's Lafayette at Stony Brook game on the bench. But he was on the floor when it mattered most, leading the Laopards to their first win of the season.
A starter in 53 of 59 previous games since arriving in Easton from Colorado, Brown was out of the lineup when the Leopards tipped off their 76-68 overtime win at Stony Brook. East Carolina transfer Jeff Karl started in Brown's place.
But it was Brown's jumper with 17 seconds left in regulation to send the game to overtime, Brown who hit a 3-pointer to help the Leopards build a 67-59 lead in that extra session and Brown who hit 5 of 6 from the line to hold the lead after Stony Brook had pulled to within two. Brown finished with a team-high 21 points, including four 3-pointers.
Bilal Abdullah (15 points), Matt Betley (10) and Michael Gruner (10) also reached double figures for the Leopards, who shot 42.2 percent (19-45) from the field, including 10 treys (29 attempted).
Lafayette held Stony Brook to 22 of 65 (33.8 percent) from the field. The Seawolves made only 2 of 22 from the arc, but stayed in the game by hitting 22 of 28 free throws.
The Leopards might have won in regulation had they shot better from the foul line. Lafayette went to the line 41 times, but made only 28 (68.9 percent). The 'Pards were also outrebounded by a 48-29 margin.
NOTES: (From Lafayette's recap)
Box score | Express-Times | Newsday
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Monday, November 12, 2007
Here's some highlights from the league's official weekly release:
Patriot League Men's Basketball Release - 11.12.07
Anaconda Player of the Week
Derrick Mercer, American Jr., G, 5'9, 165, Jersey City, N.J./St. Anthony's
Mercer, the 2006 Patriot League Rookie of the Year, earns his first-ever Patriot League Anaconda Player of the Week honor after scoring a career-high 22 points with three rebounds and two assists in American's season-opening 75-68 victory at St. Francis (Pa.). He connected on 5-of-8 shots from the field, and set a career-high by making all 12 of his free throws. The 12-for-12 performance from the line was one off the American record for made free throws without a miss. Mercer's previous career highs were 19 points and nine free throws. Mercer also committed only three turnovers despite handling the ball a majority of the time for an offense that had over 50 possessions.
Anaconda Rookie of the Week
Mark Veazey, Navy Fr., C, 6'10, 215, Lilburn, Ga./Meadowcreek
Veazey had a strong collegiate debut on the season's open ing weekend to earn Patriot League Anaconda Rookie of the Week honors. Veazey averaged nine points, 5.5 rebounds, 1.5 steals and one block per contest while shooting 64.3 percent from the field as Navy posted a 1-1 record with an 88-72 victory at Longwood and an 86-70 loss at Drexel. Veazey notched eight points, five rebounds, one block and one steal in his debut against Longwood, then topped that with 10 points, six boards, two steals and one block against Drexel. He connected on 9-of-14 shots in the two games, shooting over 50 percent in both contests. He played in just 38 minutes in the two games, and came off the bench both times.
Patriot League Notebook
Action Every Day in Men's Hoops
Now that the season is underway, Patriot League teams will be spending plenty of time on the floor in the next week. There is at least one Patriot League game every day for the upcoming week, with at least two games on every day except Thursday. Colgate and American will have a busy week with three contests. The Raiders travel to Canisius on Tuesday and play in the 100 Club Classic at Kennesaw State on Friday and Saturday, while American is at Loyola (Md.) on Tuesday, home for Fairfield on Thursday and home for Stony Brook on Sunday. Army, Bucknell, Holy Cross, Lafayette, Lehigh and Navy will all play two contests this week. The teams will have to get familiar with hotels, as 12 of 18 games will be played away from home.
Team Notebooks
American Eagles
The Eagles won their season opener at St. Francis (Pa.), 75-68, on Saturday...It was their second consecutive season opening the year with a victory...Garrison Carr knocked down five three-pointers and scored 21 points in the win, while Derrick Mercer had a game and career-high 22 points with 12-of-12 foul shooting...Mercer was just one foul shot off the school mark for free throws made without a miss...American's 17-of-18 performance from the line tied for the seventh-best outing in school history...Constantin Motnii had 14 points and five rebounds in just 22 minutes of play...American has three games this week, with a trip to Loyola (Md.) on Tuesday, and home games against Fairfield on Thursday and Stony Brook on Sunday...They defeated both Loyola (Md.) and Fairfield last season.
Army Black Knights
The Black Knights dropped their season opener at Minnesota, 84-52...Sophomore guard Josh Miller made his first career start in the contest... Jarell Brown's three-pointer 1:52 into the game against the Gophers marked the 172nd straight game the Black Knights have made at least one shot from long range ... Junior forward John Moonshower tied his career high with a team-best nine points in the game ... Freshmen Rickey Royal and Jeremy Hence, along with sophomore Will Schuh each made their collegiate debuts ... Junior F Curtis Koszuta scored a career-high three points and snared a career-best four rebounds ... Junior forward Kenny Brewer was 4 for 4 from the foul line to run his streak of consecutive makes to 17 dating back to last season...Army plays at Sacred Heart on Monday and at home against Long Island on Friday..They beat Sacred Heart, 59-58, on New Year's Eve a year ago.
Bucknell Bison
Bucknell won its 11th straight home game and avenged an opening-night loss to Albany a year ago with a 55-52 victory on Saturday night ... Patrick Behan scored a career-high 16 points (his previous high was 7) on 6-for-11 shooting and also added four rebounds...John Griffin's only field goal of the night, a 3-pointer with 1:08 to play, gave the Bison the lead for good at 51-49 ... Justin Castleberry scored 11 points, including a jumper with 13 seconds left that made it a two-possession game and two free throws with 5 seconds left that iced it ...Stephen Tyree had a terrific game, finishing with 7 points and a career-high 13 rebounds, and defensively he helped hold preseason All-America East selection Brent Wilson to two points on 0-for-6 shooting from the field ... Freshman Todd O'Brien played 21 minutes off the bench in his collegiate debut, finishing with 8 points, 3 blocked shots and 3 rebounds...Bucknell went 12-for-12 from the line in the second half and outscored Albany 19-7 from the line ... Four Bison made their first collegiate starts - Behan, Castleberry, Tyree and Josh Linthicum...Bucknell is at Towson and Villanova this week...They beat Towson at home a year ago in a BracketBusters matchup
Colgate Raiders
Colgate beat Monmouth, 63-60, to open its 2007-08 season...Willie Morse came off the bench to share for the team lead in scoring with 15 points, and hit two free throws at the end to seal the victory...Kyle Roemer returned to the lineup after missing the 2006-07 season with an ankle injury...He also tied for the team lead with 15 points and grabbed five rebounds...Colgate has a busy week with three games coming up, all away from home...They go to Canisius on Tuesday, and travel to Kennesaw State for the 100 Club Classic on Friday and Saturday...The Raiders play Texas State on Friday, and either Kennesaw State or Jacksonville State on Saturday.
Holy Cross Crusaders
The Crusaders defeated Hofstra, 61-47, in?Saturday's season opener...They exacted payback for a 65-64 loss at Hofstra in a BracketBusters matchup last year...They also won the season opener for the fifth year in a row, and are 7-2 in season openers under Ralph Willard...Holy?Cross built its lead to 44-27 at one point in the second half, and held Hofstra without a field goal for 16:23 spanning the first and second half...They held Hofstra to 26.5 percent from the floor...Pat Doherty tied a career-high with 18 points in the win and dished out four assists...Alex VanderBaan had 10 points, a career-high 15 rebounds, three assists and three blocked shots...Patriot League Preseason Player of the Year Tim Clifford had six points, three rebounds and two blocks..The Crusaders have a pair of road trips this week, with a visit to Fairfield on Tuesday and Hampton on Saturday...They opened the 2006-07 season with two wins by beating both teams at home.
Lafayette Leopards
The Leopards dropped their season opener at home to Wagner, 74-70...The game saw six lead changes, and Wagner did not take the lead for good until 1:36 remained...Matt Betley (17), Andrew Brown (14) and Bilal Abdullah (13) all scored in double figures in the loss...Brown also dished out seven of Lafayette's 15 assists...The Leopards are at Stony Brook on Monday and host Fairleigh Dickinson on Friday of this week.
Lehigh Mountain Hawks
The Mountain Hawks opened the year with an 87-83 loss at Ivy League favorite Cornell...Freshman Prentice Small had 13 points, two assists and three steals in his collegiate debut...Reigning Rookie of the Year Marquis Hall had a team-high 17 points, while Zahir Carrington and Bryan White each poured in 16...White also pulled down a team-high 12 rebounds...The Mountain Hawks had a +7 turnover differential, with 17 forced turnovers and only 10 of their own...Lehigh scored 59 points in the second half...They play the home opener on Wednesday against St. Peter's, and go to St. Francis (Pa.) on Saturday.
Navy Midshipmen
The Midshipmen won their season opener at Longwood, 88-72, on Friday and fell at Drexel, 86-70, on Sunday...Greg Sprink notched 28 points in the win over Longwood, his 20th career effort of 20 points or more...It was Sprink's highest point total while dishing out at least five assists..The 28-point total was the most for a Navy player in a season opener since Cliff Rees scored 28 against Mount St. Mary's to start the 1987-88 season...Sprink also had eight rebounds in each game...Navy recorded 21 assists against Longwood, the most for a Billy Lange-coached team at Navy...Navy's 16-point victory at Longwood was its largest road victory since a 73-47 decision over Morgan State on Dec. 8, 2005...The Mids connected on 13 three-pointers against Longwood, tied for the third most in school history...Drexel's 86 points marked the first time since Colgate scored 80 on Feb. 25, 2006, a span of 33 games, that a Navy foe reached 80 points...The Midshipmen play their home opener against Robert Morris on Wednesday, and travel to Texas-San Antonio on Saturday.
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Patriot League Men's Basketball Release - 11.12.07
Anaconda Player of the Week
Derrick Mercer, American Jr., G, 5'9, 165, Jersey City, N.J./St. Anthony's
Mercer, the 2006 Patriot League Rookie of the Year, earns his first-ever Patriot League Anaconda Player of the Week honor after scoring a career-high 22 points with three rebounds and two assists in American's season-opening 75-68 victory at St. Francis (Pa.). He connected on 5-of-8 shots from the field, and set a career-high by making all 12 of his free throws. The 12-for-12 performance from the line was one off the American record for made free throws without a miss. Mercer's previous career highs were 19 points and nine free throws. Mercer also committed only three turnovers despite handling the ball a majority of the time for an offense that had over 50 possessions.
Anaconda Rookie of the Week
Mark Veazey, Navy Fr., C, 6'10, 215, Lilburn, Ga./Meadowcreek
Veazey had a strong collegiate debut on the season's open ing weekend to earn Patriot League Anaconda Rookie of the Week honors. Veazey averaged nine points, 5.5 rebounds, 1.5 steals and one block per contest while shooting 64.3 percent from the field as Navy posted a 1-1 record with an 88-72 victory at Longwood and an 86-70 loss at Drexel. Veazey notched eight points, five rebounds, one block and one steal in his debut against Longwood, then topped that with 10 points, six boards, two steals and one block against Drexel. He connected on 9-of-14 shots in the two games, shooting over 50 percent in both contests. He played in just 38 minutes in the two games, and came off the bench both times.
Patriot League Notebook
Action Every Day in Men's Hoops
Now that the season is underway, Patriot League teams will be spending plenty of time on the floor in the next week. There is at least one Patriot League game every day for the upcoming week, with at least two games on every day except Thursday. Colgate and American will have a busy week with three contests. The Raiders travel to Canisius on Tuesday and play in the 100 Club Classic at Kennesaw State on Friday and Saturday, while American is at Loyola (Md.) on Tuesday, home for Fairfield on Thursday and home for Stony Brook on Sunday. Army, Bucknell, Holy Cross, Lafayette, Lehigh and Navy will all play two contests this week. The teams will have to get familiar with hotels, as 12 of 18 games will be played away from home.
Team Notebooks
American Eagles
The Eagles won their season opener at St. Francis (Pa.), 75-68, on Saturday...It was their second consecutive season opening the year with a victory...Garrison Carr knocked down five three-pointers and scored 21 points in the win, while Derrick Mercer had a game and career-high 22 points with 12-of-12 foul shooting...Mercer was just one foul shot off the school mark for free throws made without a miss...American's 17-of-18 performance from the line tied for the seventh-best outing in school history...Constantin Motnii had 14 points and five rebounds in just 22 minutes of play...American has three games this week, with a trip to Loyola (Md.) on Tuesday, and home games against Fairfield on Thursday and Stony Brook on Sunday...They defeated both Loyola (Md.) and Fairfield last season.
Army Black Knights
The Black Knights dropped their season opener at Minnesota, 84-52...Sophomore guard Josh Miller made his first career start in the contest... Jarell Brown's three-pointer 1:52 into the game against the Gophers marked the 172nd straight game the Black Knights have made at least one shot from long range ... Junior forward John Moonshower tied his career high with a team-best nine points in the game ... Freshmen Rickey Royal and Jeremy Hence, along with sophomore Will Schuh each made their collegiate debuts ... Junior F Curtis Koszuta scored a career-high three points and snared a career-best four rebounds ... Junior forward Kenny Brewer was 4 for 4 from the foul line to run his streak of consecutive makes to 17 dating back to last season...Army plays at Sacred Heart on Monday and at home against Long Island on Friday..They beat Sacred Heart, 59-58, on New Year's Eve a year ago.
Bucknell Bison
Bucknell won its 11th straight home game and avenged an opening-night loss to Albany a year ago with a 55-52 victory on Saturday night ... Patrick Behan scored a career-high 16 points (his previous high was 7) on 6-for-11 shooting and also added four rebounds...John Griffin's only field goal of the night, a 3-pointer with 1:08 to play, gave the Bison the lead for good at 51-49 ... Justin Castleberry scored 11 points, including a jumper with 13 seconds left that made it a two-possession game and two free throws with 5 seconds left that iced it ...Stephen Tyree had a terrific game, finishing with 7 points and a career-high 13 rebounds, and defensively he helped hold preseason All-America East selection Brent Wilson to two points on 0-for-6 shooting from the field ... Freshman Todd O'Brien played 21 minutes off the bench in his collegiate debut, finishing with 8 points, 3 blocked shots and 3 rebounds...Bucknell went 12-for-12 from the line in the second half and outscored Albany 19-7 from the line ... Four Bison made their first collegiate starts - Behan, Castleberry, Tyree and Josh Linthicum...Bucknell is at Towson and Villanova this week...They beat Towson at home a year ago in a BracketBusters matchup
Colgate Raiders
Colgate beat Monmouth, 63-60, to open its 2007-08 season...Willie Morse came off the bench to share for the team lead in scoring with 15 points, and hit two free throws at the end to seal the victory...Kyle Roemer returned to the lineup after missing the 2006-07 season with an ankle injury...He also tied for the team lead with 15 points and grabbed five rebounds...Colgate has a busy week with three games coming up, all away from home...They go to Canisius on Tuesday, and travel to Kennesaw State for the 100 Club Classic on Friday and Saturday...The Raiders play Texas State on Friday, and either Kennesaw State or Jacksonville State on Saturday.
Holy Cross Crusaders
The Crusaders defeated Hofstra, 61-47, in?Saturday's season opener...They exacted payback for a 65-64 loss at Hofstra in a BracketBusters matchup last year...They also won the season opener for the fifth year in a row, and are 7-2 in season openers under Ralph Willard...Holy?Cross built its lead to 44-27 at one point in the second half, and held Hofstra without a field goal for 16:23 spanning the first and second half...They held Hofstra to 26.5 percent from the floor...Pat Doherty tied a career-high with 18 points in the win and dished out four assists...Alex VanderBaan had 10 points, a career-high 15 rebounds, three assists and three blocked shots...Patriot League Preseason Player of the Year Tim Clifford had six points, three rebounds and two blocks..The Crusaders have a pair of road trips this week, with a visit to Fairfield on Tuesday and Hampton on Saturday...They opened the 2006-07 season with two wins by beating both teams at home.
Lafayette Leopards
The Leopards dropped their season opener at home to Wagner, 74-70...The game saw six lead changes, and Wagner did not take the lead for good until 1:36 remained...Matt Betley (17), Andrew Brown (14) and Bilal Abdullah (13) all scored in double figures in the loss...Brown also dished out seven of Lafayette's 15 assists...The Leopards are at Stony Brook on Monday and host Fairleigh Dickinson on Friday of this week.
Lehigh Mountain Hawks
The Mountain Hawks opened the year with an 87-83 loss at Ivy League favorite Cornell...Freshman Prentice Small had 13 points, two assists and three steals in his collegiate debut...Reigning Rookie of the Year Marquis Hall had a team-high 17 points, while Zahir Carrington and Bryan White each poured in 16...White also pulled down a team-high 12 rebounds...The Mountain Hawks had a +7 turnover differential, with 17 forced turnovers and only 10 of their own...Lehigh scored 59 points in the second half...They play the home opener on Wednesday against St. Peter's, and go to St. Francis (Pa.) on Saturday.
Navy Midshipmen
The Midshipmen won their season opener at Longwood, 88-72, on Friday and fell at Drexel, 86-70, on Sunday...Greg Sprink notched 28 points in the win over Longwood, his 20th career effort of 20 points or more...It was Sprink's highest point total while dishing out at least five assists..The 28-point total was the most for a Navy player in a season opener since Cliff Rees scored 28 against Mount St. Mary's to start the 1987-88 season...Sprink also had eight rebounds in each game...Navy recorded 21 assists against Longwood, the most for a Billy Lange-coached team at Navy...Navy's 16-point victory at Longwood was its largest road victory since a 73-47 decision over Morgan State on Dec. 8, 2005...The Mids connected on 13 three-pointers against Longwood, tied for the third most in school history...Drexel's 86 points marked the first time since Colgate scored 80 on Feb. 25, 2006, a span of 33 games, that a Navy foe reached 80 points...The Midshipmen play their home opener against Robert Morris on Wednesday, and travel to Texas-San Antonio on Saturday.
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Holy Cross moves up two spots in this week's Mid-Major Top 25.
The Crusaders check in at No. 14 in the latest voting following their win over Hofstra. Bucknell, which received 61 points in the preseason balloting, dropped completely off the radar this week, receiving no mention.
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The Crusaders check in at No. 14 in the latest voting following their win over Hofstra. Bucknell, which received 61 points in the preseason balloting, dropped completely off the radar this week, receiving no mention.
Labels: Bucknell, Holy Cross
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Citing medical privacy regulations, Bucknell is not releasing the exact nature of senior tri-captain Rob Thomas's knee injury.
Thomas went down in a heap after being fouled while driving to the basket just before the 13 minute mark of the first half during the Bison's opening win over Albany. Thomas was in obvious pain, clutching the knee before being helped off the floor by Bucknell's training staff. He spent the rest of the first half with an ice bag strapped to the knee, and returned after the intermission with it heavily wrapped.
In an e-mail response to inquiries about message board posts saying Thomas had torn a ligament in the knee, Bucknell SID Jon Terry wrote, "I can’t be too specific on the nature of Rob Thomas’ knee injury due to medical privacy regulations, but I can tell you that the medical staff is projecting 4-6 week recovery time."
Thomas is the third Bison upperclassman and second of the team's three captains to be lost due to an injury. Fellow senior Darren Mastropaolo is out indefinitely after tearing an ACL during a summer pickup game. Junior sharpshooter Jason Vegotsky is listed as week-to-week with a stress fracture in one of his feet.
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Thomas went down in a heap after being fouled while driving to the basket just before the 13 minute mark of the first half during the Bison's opening win over Albany. Thomas was in obvious pain, clutching the knee before being helped off the floor by Bucknell's training staff. He spent the rest of the first half with an ice bag strapped to the knee, and returned after the intermission with it heavily wrapped.
In an e-mail response to inquiries about message board posts saying Thomas had torn a ligament in the knee, Bucknell SID Jon Terry wrote, "I can’t be too specific on the nature of Rob Thomas’ knee injury due to medical privacy regulations, but I can tell you that the medical staff is projecting 4-6 week recovery time."
Thomas is the third Bison upperclassman and second of the team's three captains to be lost due to an injury. Fellow senior Darren Mastropaolo is out indefinitely after tearing an ACL during a summer pickup game. Junior sharpshooter Jason Vegotsky is listed as week-to-week with a stress fracture in one of his feet.
Labels: Bucknell
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Army and Lafayette hit the road tonight for a pair of games that look like pretty even matchups. The Black Knights will be in Connecticut to take on Sacred Heart, while the Leopards are across the sound facing Stony Brook.
SCOUTING SACRED HEART: The preseason favorites in the Northeast Conference didn't look very good in an 82-71 loss at Yale. Connecticut Post beat writer William S. Paxton said Sacred Heart "looked like a team that hadn't played in six months . . . had no flow on offense . . . seemed uncomfortable playing with each other" and had no defensive presence in the paint.
In scrimmages, Sacred Heart coach Dave Bike says the team shoots the lights out. That did not show in the Yale game. SH went 4 for 21 from the arc, 27 of 77 overall.
The bright spot was Ryon Howard, a 6-6 junior forward, who posted a 15-point, 14-rebound double-double. He appears to be as close to a post presence Sacred Heart has. The Pioneers have only two guys taller than 6-7 on the roster. That pair played a combined 11 minutes, scoring 2 points and grabbing 4 rebounds against Yale. Since the Sacred Heart SID's recap of that game talks about how Yale was able to exploit the Pioneers inside, that lack of playing time tells you pretty much all you need to know about the duo.
It is probably worth noting Sacred Heart was voted the NEC preseason favorite before its top returning scorer -- power forward Joey Henley -- tore up a knee playing for the school's football team. Henley will miss the entire season.
BONUS LINKS:
Sacred Heart game notes
Sacred Heart audio Webcast
Gametracker
SCOUTING STONY BROOK: This is not a bad matchup for the Leopards. Picked to finish seventh in the eight team America East Conference, Stony Brook is a lot like Lafayette, a smallish, perimeter-oriented team. Only one starter is taller than 6-4, only one other guy in the top 9 of coach Steve Pikiell's rotation tops 6-6.
Stony Brook opened its season Saturday with an 86-64 loss at Villanova. The Seawolves lack of an inside presence was obvious by Villanova's 35-19 edge on the boards (Box score).
The Seawolves are dangerous on the perimeter, though. Against Villanova they shot 51.2 percent (21-41) from the field, including 9 for 21 at the 3-point arc. Juco transfer Michael Tyree, a 5-11 guard from N.J., led the Stony Brook scoring with 18 points, including three 3-pointers, in 16 minutes of action. Ricky Lucas, a 6-4 junior guard, and Mitchell Beauford each added 13.
Beauford and Lucas, two of four returning starters, have had past success against Patriot League teams. Lucas put up 20 against Navy last season. Beauford had 13 against the Mids and 20 against Colgate.
BONUS LINKSS:
Newsday's Stony Brook season preview
Three keys for Stony Brook (Newsday)
Gametracker
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SCOUTING SACRED HEART: The preseason favorites in the Northeast Conference didn't look very good in an 82-71 loss at Yale. Connecticut Post beat writer William S. Paxton said Sacred Heart "looked like a team that hadn't played in six months . . . had no flow on offense . . . seemed uncomfortable playing with each other" and had no defensive presence in the paint.
In scrimmages, Sacred Heart coach Dave Bike says the team shoots the lights out. That did not show in the Yale game. SH went 4 for 21 from the arc, 27 of 77 overall.
The bright spot was Ryon Howard, a 6-6 junior forward, who posted a 15-point, 14-rebound double-double. He appears to be as close to a post presence Sacred Heart has. The Pioneers have only two guys taller than 6-7 on the roster. That pair played a combined 11 minutes, scoring 2 points and grabbing 4 rebounds against Yale. Since the Sacred Heart SID's recap of that game talks about how Yale was able to exploit the Pioneers inside, that lack of playing time tells you pretty much all you need to know about the duo.
It is probably worth noting Sacred Heart was voted the NEC preseason favorite before its top returning scorer -- power forward Joey Henley -- tore up a knee playing for the school's football team. Henley will miss the entire season.
BONUS LINKS:
SCOUTING STONY BROOK: This is not a bad matchup for the Leopards. Picked to finish seventh in the eight team America East Conference, Stony Brook is a lot like Lafayette, a smallish, perimeter-oriented team. Only one starter is taller than 6-4, only one other guy in the top 9 of coach Steve Pikiell's rotation tops 6-6.
Stony Brook opened its season Saturday with an 86-64 loss at Villanova. The Seawolves lack of an inside presence was obvious by Villanova's 35-19 edge on the boards (Box score).
The Seawolves are dangerous on the perimeter, though. Against Villanova they shot 51.2 percent (21-41) from the field, including 9 for 21 at the 3-point arc. Juco transfer Michael Tyree, a 5-11 guard from N.J., led the Stony Brook scoring with 18 points, including three 3-pointers, in 16 minutes of action. Ricky Lucas, a 6-4 junior guard, and Mitchell Beauford each added 13.
Beauford and Lucas, two of four returning starters, have had past success against Patriot League teams. Lucas put up 20 against Navy last season. Beauford had 13 against the Mids and 20 against Colgate.
BONUS LINKSS:
Labels: Army, Lafayette, previews
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Drexel's Frank Elegar is the best big man in the CAA. Navy is a team that lacks a true presence in the post. Even Stevie Wonder could have seen where Sunday's Philly Classic matchup was heading.
Behind Elegar's 24-point, 14-rebound double-double, Drexel built an early 20-point lead and put away the Midshipmen 86-70. Elegar dished off assists on Drexel's first two scores. Then with the score tied at 4-4, he slammed back an offensive rebound to give Drexel the lead for good. The dunk was just Elegar getting started. He went on to score Drexel's next 7 points and had 13 by the time the teams went to the locker rooms at intermission with the Dragons boasting a 49-29 advantage.
Elegar was also a force at the defensive end, his four blocks contributing to a Drexel defensive effort that held Navy to a 26 for 71 (36.6 percent) night from the field. The Mids fired up 30 3-point tries, connecting on 9.
Drexel went 29 for 57 (50.9 percent) from the field, 5 for 16 at the arc, and had a huge advantage at the foul line. With Elegar leading the way 12-15 free throws), the Dragons went to the stripe 37 times, making 23. Navy only shot 15 foul shots, connecting on 9.
Chris Harris led the Mids with 16 points. Greg Sprink added 13 and grabbed 8 rebounds. Kaleo Kina and 6-10 freshman Mark Veazey each added 10 for Navy. Veazey was 5 for 7 from the floor, with 6 rebounds, 2 steals and a block in 21 minutes of action.
Box score | Phila. Inquirer | Phila. Daily News
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Behind Elegar's 24-point, 14-rebound double-double, Drexel built an early 20-point lead and put away the Midshipmen 86-70. Elegar dished off assists on Drexel's first two scores. Then with the score tied at 4-4, he slammed back an offensive rebound to give Drexel the lead for good. The dunk was just Elegar getting started. He went on to score Drexel's next 7 points and had 13 by the time the teams went to the locker rooms at intermission with the Dragons boasting a 49-29 advantage.
Elegar was also a force at the defensive end, his four blocks contributing to a Drexel defensive effort that held Navy to a 26 for 71 (36.6 percent) night from the field. The Mids fired up 30 3-point tries, connecting on 9.
Drexel went 29 for 57 (50.9 percent) from the field, 5 for 16 at the arc, and had a huge advantage at the foul line. With Elegar leading the way 12-15 free throws), the Dragons went to the stripe 37 times, making 23. Navy only shot 15 foul shots, connecting on 9.
Chris Harris led the Mids with 16 points. Greg Sprink added 13 and grabbed 8 rebounds. Kaleo Kina and 6-10 freshman Mark Veazey each added 10 for Navy. Veazey was 5 for 7 from the floor, with 6 rebounds, 2 steals and a block in 21 minutes of action.
Box score | Phila. Inquirer | Phila. Daily News
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The season's first Hoop Time Notebook takes a look at the opening weekend that was.
SIZE MATTERS: In the first half of American's win at Saint Francis, 5-11 (on his tiptoes) Garrison Carr was en fuego, going 5 for 7 from the arc and scoring 17 points. In the second, Carr was 0 for 3 from 3-point range, scoring just 4 points. The difference? Saint Francis coach Bobby Jones subbed for the 5-10 guy guarding Carr (Marquis Ford), putting 6-foot-3 junior Kyle Jackson on Carr.
“(Jackson) is athletic and big enough physically and he was able to pose some problems for Carr,” said Jones.
Patriot League coaches already know the kid is a stone-cold sniper when he gets an open look. But with Carr playing limited minutes the last two seasons, that might not have shown up in the Red Flash scouting report. Expect Carr to see a lot of that sort of treatment once film of his first half show in Loretto gets around.
LINEUP SURPRISES: Phil Anderson was a starter most of last season for Lehigh, filling in at center for Jason mgebroff after Mgebroff went down with stress fractures in his leg. But it was sophomore Zahir Carrington who got the starting nod at center against Cornell. Anderson, who averaged almost 19 minutes per game last season, played just 10 against the Big Red. That's less than half the time immoblie 7-footer John Gourlay got off the Lehigh bench.
Other Lehigh rotation notes -- freshman Rob Keefer started on one wing for the Mountain Hawks, finishing with 6 points on 3 for 8 shooting in 25 minutes of action. Freshman Prentice Small also saw 25 minutes of action, scoring 13 points before fouling out.
GETTING DEFENSIVE: Even by Holy Cross' high defensive standards, what the Crusaders did against Hofstra's offense was mighty impressive. The Crusaders held the Pride to a 13 of 49 (26.5 percent) night from the field. Even more impressive: take away Hofstra star Antoine Agudio's 28 points and the rest of the Pride lineup was 4 for 26 (15.4 percent. During one stretch the Crusaders held Hofstra without a field goal for over 18 minutes.
WELL SAID: From Cormac Gordon's Staten Island Advance story on Friday night's Wagner-Lafayette game: . . . just in case you had forgotten what level of collegiate sports we're talking about here, the game was pushed from a 7 p.m. start to an 8:30 start to make room at Kirby for a women's volleyball game. Think that happens in the ACC?
BIG NUMBER GUYS: Top performances on the season's opening weekend:
Scoring: Greg Sprink, Navy, 28 vs. Longwood; Derrick Mercer, American, 22 and garrison Carr, American, 21 both vs. St. Francis (Pa.)
Rebounds: Alex Vander Baan, HC, 15 vs. Hofstra; Stephen Tyree, BU, 13 vs. Albany; Bryan White, Lehigh, 12 vs. Cornell
Assists: Andrew Brown, Lafayette, 7 vs. Wagner
Double-Doubles: Vander Baan (10 points, 15 reb.); White (16 points, 12 reb.)
REMATCH: The Bucknell-Albany game was the last in a two-year contract between the two schools, which have a combined four NCAA Tournament appearances in the last three seasons. Bucknell's win avenged an opening night loss at Albany last season and gave the Bison a 4-2 series lead all-time against the Danes.
"I don't know if we will start a new (series). That is up to (Bucknell coach) Pat (Flannery). I'd like to continue it," said Albany coach Will Brown after the game.
Flannery sounded amenable to that suggestion. "I don't know why not. Albany is not too bad of a trip," he said.
The Bison mentor did suggest a few changes, though, most notably the idea that the next contract start with a game in Sojka Pavilion. Flannery might also prefer the game to be a week or two later in the season.
"If these two teams are going to be as good as they have been, it's a tough opener," Flannery said.
POINT OF VIEW::
“In the first half, we did not have the defensive focus that we should have.”
St. Francis coach Bobby Jones, after his team fell behind 27-7 at the start of its home loss to American
““In the first half, we were like we were in a boxing match, and we stunned them.””
AU coach Jeff Jones, same game
CONFERENCE VS. CONFERENCE
Patriot League teams went 5-3 against non-conference foes over the weekend. Here are the results vs. other conferences played, with the Patriot's 2006-07 record against that conference.
America East: 1-0 (3-3)
Independents: 1-0 (5-1)
Ivy League: 0-1 (8-11)
Big Ten" 0-1 (0-3)
CAA: 1-0 (5-2)
Northeast Conference: 2-1 (8-2)
TOGETHER AGAIN: Keith Simmons and Torey Thomas, stars of last season's Holy Cross league championship team, are sticking together as they begin their professional careers overseas. The two are teammates on Turkish first division club Kepez Bld. Thomas joined his old running mate in Turkey after starting his pro career with Kormand, a Hungarian club. Kepez is 2-4 overall, 1-1 since Thomas joined the roster. Simmons is the team's second-leading scorer, averaging 16 ppg. You can follow the club in English here.
GETTING HIS KICKS: Lafayette recruit Ryan Willen of Missouri's Cape Girardeau Notre Dame has a state championship on his resume . . . in soccer. Willen, a 6-8 frontcourt type who helped Notre Dame to a second place finish in the state basketball playoffs last season, scored two goals and assisted on another to lead ND to a 4-1 win over Smithville in Saturday's Class II state championship game in St. Louis.
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SIZE MATTERS: In the first half of American's win at Saint Francis, 5-11 (on his tiptoes) Garrison Carr was en fuego, going 5 for 7 from the arc and scoring 17 points. In the second, Carr was 0 for 3 from 3-point range, scoring just 4 points. The difference? Saint Francis coach Bobby Jones subbed for the 5-10 guy guarding Carr (Marquis Ford), putting 6-foot-3 junior Kyle Jackson on Carr.
“(Jackson) is athletic and big enough physically and he was able to pose some problems for Carr,” said Jones.
Patriot League coaches already know the kid is a stone-cold sniper when he gets an open look. But with Carr playing limited minutes the last two seasons, that might not have shown up in the Red Flash scouting report. Expect Carr to see a lot of that sort of treatment once film of his first half show in Loretto gets around.
LINEUP SURPRISES: Phil Anderson was a starter most of last season for Lehigh, filling in at center for Jason mgebroff after Mgebroff went down with stress fractures in his leg. But it was sophomore Zahir Carrington who got the starting nod at center against Cornell. Anderson, who averaged almost 19 minutes per game last season, played just 10 against the Big Red. That's less than half the time immoblie 7-footer John Gourlay got off the Lehigh bench.
Other Lehigh rotation notes -- freshman Rob Keefer started on one wing for the Mountain Hawks, finishing with 6 points on 3 for 8 shooting in 25 minutes of action. Freshman Prentice Small also saw 25 minutes of action, scoring 13 points before fouling out.
GETTING DEFENSIVE: Even by Holy Cross' high defensive standards, what the Crusaders did against Hofstra's offense was mighty impressive. The Crusaders held the Pride to a 13 of 49 (26.5 percent) night from the field. Even more impressive: take away Hofstra star Antoine Agudio's 28 points and the rest of the Pride lineup was 4 for 26 (15.4 percent. During one stretch the Crusaders held Hofstra without a field goal for over 18 minutes.
WELL SAID: From Cormac Gordon's Staten Island Advance story on Friday night's Wagner-Lafayette game: . . . just in case you had forgotten what level of collegiate sports we're talking about here, the game was pushed from a 7 p.m. start to an 8:30 start to make room at Kirby for a women's volleyball game. Think that happens in the ACC?
BIG NUMBER GUYS: Top performances on the season's opening weekend:
Scoring: Greg Sprink, Navy, 28 vs. Longwood; Derrick Mercer, American, 22 and garrison Carr, American, 21 both vs. St. Francis (Pa.)
Rebounds: Alex Vander Baan, HC, 15 vs. Hofstra; Stephen Tyree, BU, 13 vs. Albany; Bryan White, Lehigh, 12 vs. Cornell
Assists: Andrew Brown, Lafayette, 7 vs. Wagner
Double-Doubles: Vander Baan (10 points, 15 reb.); White (16 points, 12 reb.)
REMATCH: The Bucknell-Albany game was the last in a two-year contract between the two schools, which have a combined four NCAA Tournament appearances in the last three seasons. Bucknell's win avenged an opening night loss at Albany last season and gave the Bison a 4-2 series lead all-time against the Danes.
"I don't know if we will start a new (series). That is up to (Bucknell coach) Pat (Flannery). I'd like to continue it," said Albany coach Will Brown after the game.
Flannery sounded amenable to that suggestion. "I don't know why not. Albany is not too bad of a trip," he said.
The Bison mentor did suggest a few changes, though, most notably the idea that the next contract start with a game in Sojka Pavilion. Flannery might also prefer the game to be a week or two later in the season.
"If these two teams are going to be as good as they have been, it's a tough opener," Flannery said.
POINT OF VIEW::
“In the first half, we did not have the defensive focus that we should have.”
St. Francis coach Bobby Jones, after his team fell behind 27-7 at the start of its home loss to American
““In the first half, we were like we were in a boxing match, and we stunned them.””
AU coach Jeff Jones, same game
CONFERENCE VS. CONFERENCE
Patriot League teams went 5-3 against non-conference foes over the weekend. Here are the results vs. other conferences played, with the Patriot's 2006-07 record against that conference.
America East: 1-0 (3-3)
Independents: 1-0 (5-1)
Ivy League: 0-1 (8-11)
Big Ten" 0-1 (0-3)
CAA: 1-0 (5-2)
Northeast Conference: 2-1 (8-2)
TOGETHER AGAIN: Keith Simmons and Torey Thomas, stars of last season's Holy Cross league championship team, are sticking together as they begin their professional careers overseas. The two are teammates on Turkish first division club Kepez Bld. Thomas joined his old running mate in Turkey after starting his pro career with Kormand, a Hungarian club. Kepez is 2-4 overall, 1-1 since Thomas joined the roster. Simmons is the team's second-leading scorer, averaging 16 ppg. You can follow the club in English here.
GETTING HIS KICKS: Lafayette recruit Ryan Willen of Missouri's Cape Girardeau Notre Dame has a state championship on his resume . . . in soccer. Willen, a 6-8 frontcourt type who helped Notre Dame to a second place finish in the state basketball playoffs last season, scored two goals and assisted on another to lead ND to a 4-1 win over Smithville in Saturday's Class II state championship game in St. Louis.
Labels: American, Bucknell, Holy Cross, Lafayette, Lehigh, Navy, notebook, recruiting
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Sunday, November 11, 2007
The Mountain Hawks fell behind early and could never quite crawl out of that hole, dropping an 87-83 decision at Ivy favorite Cornell in Brett Reed's first game at the helm.
Up 5-0 early, Lehigh lost its lead when Cornell went on a 10-0 run and never regained it. The Hawks, who trailed 29-24 at the break, pulled even on a Zahir Carrington (16 points) dunk-and-one 3-point play early in the second half, and closed to within 2 with two seconds left. But Cornell hit a pair of free throws to seal the win.
Marquis Hall led Lehigh with 17 points, including 4 treys. Bryan White chipped in with a 16-point, 12-board double-double.
Lehigh struggled from the field in the first half, shooting 22.9 percent (8-35) before finding its strokes in the second. After the break the Hawks hit 23 of 40 (57.5 percent), But Cornell, which was 12 for 30 (40 percent) from the field in the first half, also got hot after intermission, going 18 for 31 (58.1 percent).
The Mountain Hawks held a 44-39 edge on the boards and forced 17 Cornell turnovers while turning it over just 10 times. But Cornell's 58.8 percent (10 of 17) shooting from the arc was the difference. Lehigh was 7 of 19 (36.8 percent) from 3-point range,
Box score | Ithaca Journal
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Up 5-0 early, Lehigh lost its lead when Cornell went on a 10-0 run and never regained it. The Hawks, who trailed 29-24 at the break, pulled even on a Zahir Carrington (16 points) dunk-and-one 3-point play early in the second half, and closed to within 2 with two seconds left. But Cornell hit a pair of free throws to seal the win.
Marquis Hall led Lehigh with 17 points, including 4 treys. Bryan White chipped in with a 16-point, 12-board double-double.
Lehigh struggled from the field in the first half, shooting 22.9 percent (8-35) before finding its strokes in the second. After the break the Hawks hit 23 of 40 (57.5 percent), But Cornell, which was 12 for 30 (40 percent) from the field in the first half, also got hot after intermission, going 18 for 31 (58.1 percent).
The Mountain Hawks held a 44-39 edge on the boards and forced 17 Cornell turnovers while turning it over just 10 times. But Cornell's 58.8 percent (10 of 17) shooting from the arc was the difference. Lehigh was 7 of 19 (36.8 percent) from 3-point range,
Box score | Ithaca Journal
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By the time the Red Flash finally got around to guarding American's Garrison Carr, it was too late.
Carr scored 17 of his career-high 21 points in the first half, knocking down 5 3-pointers (on 7 tries) to help American build a 42-23 halftime lead. Carr cooled off in the second half, going 0 for 3 from the arc, but the margin was big enough to stand up for a 75-66 American win in remote Loretto, Pa.
Helping make sure the lead held up was Carr's junior classmate, point guard Derrick Mercer, who scored 8 of his game-high 22 points from the foul line in the final 2:43 of the game after Saint Francis had clawed its way to within 4 points of the Eagles.
AU went 10 for 10 at the line down the stretch, the other two coming from junior center Constantin Motnil, who scored 10 of his 14 points in the second half. The juco transfer also shared team rebounding honors with Travis Lay (5 each), helping AU to a 27-22 edge on the boards.
With Carr leading the way, the Eagles went 15 for 25 (60 percent) from the field in the opening half, draining 8 of 12 from 3-point range. AU was 0 for 5 at the arc after the intermission, 10 of 23 overall to finish the game shooting 52.1 percent from the field.
Saint Francis' shooting was a mirror image of the Eagles -- 8 for 29 (40 percent), including 1 of 7 at the arc, in the first half; 14 for 23 (60.9 percent), 5 of 10 from 3-point range, in the second.
The difference in the game was turnovers. American coughed the ball up just 9 times, resulting in 7 SF points. The Eagles converted Saint Francis' 11 turnovers into 15 points -- an 8-point edge in a 9-point game.
Box score | Johnstown Tribune-Democrat | Altoona Mirror
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Carr scored 17 of his career-high 21 points in the first half, knocking down 5 3-pointers (on 7 tries) to help American build a 42-23 halftime lead. Carr cooled off in the second half, going 0 for 3 from the arc, but the margin was big enough to stand up for a 75-66 American win in remote Loretto, Pa.
Helping make sure the lead held up was Carr's junior classmate, point guard Derrick Mercer, who scored 8 of his game-high 22 points from the foul line in the final 2:43 of the game after Saint Francis had clawed its way to within 4 points of the Eagles.
AU went 10 for 10 at the line down the stretch, the other two coming from junior center Constantin Motnil, who scored 10 of his 14 points in the second half. The juco transfer also shared team rebounding honors with Travis Lay (5 each), helping AU to a 27-22 edge on the boards.
With Carr leading the way, the Eagles went 15 for 25 (60 percent) from the field in the opening half, draining 8 of 12 from 3-point range. AU was 0 for 5 at the arc after the intermission, 10 of 23 overall to finish the game shooting 52.1 percent from the field.
Saint Francis' shooting was a mirror image of the Eagles -- 8 for 29 (40 percent), including 1 of 7 at the arc, in the first half; 14 for 23 (60.9 percent), 5 of 10 from 3-point range, in the second.
The difference in the game was turnovers. American coughed the ball up just 9 times, resulting in 7 SF points. The Eagles converted Saint Francis' 11 turnovers into 15 points -- an 8-point edge in a 9-point game.
Box score | Johnstown Tribune-Democrat | Altoona Mirror
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Folks who figured as goes Tim Clifford so goes Holy Cross found out the Crusaders are not a one-man gang this season. The pre-season Patriot League Player of the Year was barely a factor in HC's 61-47 win over Hofstra.
Clifford played only 20 minutes, managing just 6 points, 3 rebounds and a pair of blocks before fouling out. He was hardly missed.
With Alex Vander Baan posting a 10-point, career-high 15 rebound double-double, the Crusaders still managed to cruise in their opener.
Vander Baam, Eric Meister (9 reb.) and Adam May (8 reb>( cleaned up on the boards, staking HC to a 45-34 edge on the glass. And junior Point guard Pat Doherty (career-high 18) and senior guard Kyle Cruze (10) joined Vander Baan in double figures in the points column.
Even though Holy Cross shot 35.3 percent from the field (18-51) as a team, that was more than enough to put away Hofstra, which got 28 points from Antoine Agudio and next to nothing from everybody else. Nine other guys saw action for the Pride; none managed more than 5 points against a Holy Cross defense that limited its guests from Long Island to 13 field goals (on 49 shots, 26.5 percent) all night. Nine of those makes came from Agudio, who put it up 23 times.
Add in an edge at the foul line (HC was 20-28, Hofstra 15-26) and you get the 'Saders fifth straight opening game win.
Box score | Telegram & Gazette | Newsday | AP
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Clifford played only 20 minutes, managing just 6 points, 3 rebounds and a pair of blocks before fouling out. He was hardly missed.
With Alex Vander Baan posting a 10-point, career-high 15 rebound double-double, the Crusaders still managed to cruise in their opener.
Vander Baam, Eric Meister (9 reb.) and Adam May (8 reb>( cleaned up on the boards, staking HC to a 45-34 edge on the glass. And junior Point guard Pat Doherty (career-high 18) and senior guard Kyle Cruze (10) joined Vander Baan in double figures in the points column.
Even though Holy Cross shot 35.3 percent from the field (18-51) as a team, that was more than enough to put away Hofstra, which got 28 points from Antoine Agudio and next to nothing from everybody else. Nine other guys saw action for the Pride; none managed more than 5 points against a Holy Cross defense that limited its guests from Long Island to 13 field goals (on 49 shots, 26.5 percent) all night. Nine of those makes came from Agudio, who put it up 23 times.
Add in an edge at the foul line (HC was 20-28, Hofstra 15-26) and you get the 'Saders fifth straight opening game win.
Box score | Telegram & Gazette | Newsday | AP
Labels: games, Holy Cross
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(Updated with additional links at 8:06 a.m.)
The Black Knights were no match for Minnesota, which opened the Tubby Smith era with a convincing 84-52 win Saturday afternoon.
Army led early, 9-5, before the Gophers went on a 9-0 run to take the lead and began to pull away. By the half Minnesota was up 16 and any thoughts of an Army comeback vanished when the Gophers put together a 15-0 spurt early in the second half.
The Black Knights silver lining would be its defensive effort. Army held Minnesota to 43.5 percent (27-62) from the field. But the Gophers knocked down 10 treys and went to the foul line 29 times, making 20.
Offensively there was not much for Army coach Jim Crews to feel good about. No Army player reached double figures and Black Knights star Jarrell Brown was held to 5 points on 2 for 11 shooting (1-5 3's) and never even got to the foul line.
As a team, Army shot 35.2 percent (19-54), with 5 treys on 14 attempts. The Black Knights were 9 for 12 at the stripe. Army turned the ball over 25 times, had the ball stolen 13 times and had 10 shots rejected. Minnesota controlled the boards, piling up a 43-36 advantage, including 18 on the offensive glass.
John Moonshower led Army with a career-high 9 points.
Army dressed and played 16 players. Senior big man Doug Williams was not among them. No mention of a reason for Willaims' absence in the Army game notes or post game recap.
Box score | Star Tribune (gamer) | Star Tribune (column) | Pioneer Press | AP
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The Black Knights were no match for Minnesota, which opened the Tubby Smith era with a convincing 84-52 win Saturday afternoon.
Army led early, 9-5, before the Gophers went on a 9-0 run to take the lead and began to pull away. By the half Minnesota was up 16 and any thoughts of an Army comeback vanished when the Gophers put together a 15-0 spurt early in the second half.
The Black Knights silver lining would be its defensive effort. Army held Minnesota to 43.5 percent (27-62) from the field. But the Gophers knocked down 10 treys and went to the foul line 29 times, making 20.
Offensively there was not much for Army coach Jim Crews to feel good about. No Army player reached double figures and Black Knights star Jarrell Brown was held to 5 points on 2 for 11 shooting (1-5 3's) and never even got to the foul line.
As a team, Army shot 35.2 percent (19-54), with 5 treys on 14 attempts. The Black Knights were 9 for 12 at the stripe. Army turned the ball over 25 times, had the ball stolen 13 times and had 10 shots rejected. Minnesota controlled the boards, piling up a 43-36 advantage, including 18 on the offensive glass.
John Moonshower led Army with a career-high 9 points.
Army dressed and played 16 players. Senior big man Doug Williams was not among them. No mention of a reason for Willaims' absence in the Army game notes or post game recap.
Box score | Star Tribune (gamer) | Star Tribune (column) | Pioneer Press | AP
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Sometimes it is not how many baskets you make, but when you make them. Certainly that was the case for Bucknell senior John Griffin in the Bison's season-opening 55-52 win Saturday night over Albany.
With Albany ganging up on the preseason All Patriot League pick all night, Griffin managed only one field goal and scored just 6 points. But four of those six came on the only two occasions Bucknell was not ahead on the scoreboard, giving the Bison the lead on each occasion.
The first came when Griffin hit the first of two free throws before the game even tipped after Albany freshman Al Turley was hit with a technical foul for dunking during pregame warmups. Griffin made both shots to start the Bison on what became an 8-0 run to open the game. The other three were more dramatic, coming with 1:06 left to play from just outside the three-point arc 35 seconds after Albany had taken its only lead of the game. A defensive stop and a Justin Castleberry pull-up jumper later and the Bison had iced what surprisingly was just their second opening game win in the past seven seasons.
In between the opening free throws and the big three, Griffin managed just a single free throw against an Albany defense that was hell-bent on keeping him off the scoreboard.
"Griffin was a guy we were very concerned about. He showed why he is a senior leader and their best player with the shot he hit at the end," said Albany head coach Will Brown, whose scheme was predicated on switching on every screen the Bison set on the perimeter. "We were very concerned about defending the 3-point line. We wanted to force them to make as many twos as possible."
With a lineup that was bigger than Bucknell by several inches in most of the matchups all night, that proved to be a successful strategy, at least when it came to taking away Bucknell's perimeter attack. The Bison hit just 1 of 13 three-pointers they put up before Griffin's big trey in the stretch. Griffin was 0 for 4 from the field, 0 for 3 from the arc before hitting the trey that gave Bucknell the lead for good.
"We guarded him very well, but he hit that shot to put them up," Brown said. "Griffin is a heckuva player. He is a gamer. He just rose right up and he shot it."
It was not like Albany's defense had broken down, or lost Griffin in the shuffle of the Bison's constant cuts and screens. Albany guard Jon Iati was about as close as a guy can get without getting busted on morals charges.
"I think I still have the gel from his hair on my hand." said Iati. "I had my hand right on his head. Somehow he knocked the shot down."
It was simply a matter of being patient and waiting for the right opportunity to present itself. After facing taller guys with hands in his face every time he touched the ball most of the night, Griffin sensed the opportunity that presented itself when Albany's switching defense resulted in the 5-9 Iatti matched on 6-1 Griffin.
"I wasn't going to force anything. I felt like I needed to let the game come to me," Griffin said.
Griffin could afford to be patient thanks to the play of a host of younger teammates who turned the game into their coming out party. Sophomore Patrick Behan, a role player a year ago when he played behind Donald Brown and Darren Mastropaolo, was an offensive force, scoring a team-and-career-high 16 points. Behan's classmate Stephen Tyree was two shots of expresso and big can of Red Bull, injecting energy straight into the Bison's veins with a game-high 13 rebounds, despite standing just 6-3.
Tyree did more than just gobble up caroms. he played defense like a little sister along on a date, constantly getting in the way. The box score shows Tyree with no steals and no blocks, but take Brown's word for it, he was a royal pain in the ass for the Great Danes.
"(Tyree) was relentless. He always seemed to be in the middle of the action. He attacked us," said Brown. "He is a ball getter."
Junior Justin Castleberry also played a huge role. His jump-stop pull-up from eight-feet out with the shot clock running out and 18 seconds on the game clock proved to be the game-winner. His two free throws with five seconds left, iced it. And his two rebounds in the last minute couldn't have come at a more crucial juncture.
Then there were Bucknell's three freshmen, all of whom made key contributions. G.W. Boon, the 6-4 swingman from Harvest, Alabama, was 2 for 3 from the field, hitting back-to-back jumpers midway through the second half to help keep the Big Dogs on a tight leash. Boon played 11 minutes without a turnover and was solid on defense, with a steal and a blocked shot to his credit. His poised performance is good news for the Bison, who lost senior tri-captain Rob Thomas early in the first half to a knee injury
Freshman Daryl Shazier did not score. But the 6-0 point guard from Newport News, Va. played 25 minutes, the most of any Bucknell reserve, and was the guy Flannery had running the point down the stretch. Shazier missed the two shots he put up, both from outside the arc, but finished with two steals and a blocked shot while dishing out a pair of assists and grbbing three rebounds.
According to Bucknell coach Pat Flannery, that showing was but a preview of Shazier's coming attractions. "We put the ball in his hands at the end. As we go along, he is going to be able to break people down," Flannery said.
The biggest freshman contribution came from 6-11 center Todd O'Brien, who might make people forget about Chris McNaughton by the time he leaves Lewisburg. In the box score, evidence of O'Brien's defensive presence was his three blocked shots. On the floor, even bigger was how he forced Jerel Hastings to alter a runner in the lane with 48 seconds to play that would have evened the game after Griffin's trey. Forced to float the ball high over O'Brien's outstretched arms, Hasting's shot bounced harmlessly off the iron and was corralled along the baseline by Castleberry, leading to his clinching free throws. O'Brien also showed a nice touch within 8 feet of the basket, going 3 for 5 from the field for 8 points in 21 minutes of action.
"(O'Brien) grew up tonight. He was strong in his feet. He didn't get pushed around," Flannery said.
Neither did the rest of the Bison lineup, which was nearly even (34 rebounds for Albany, 33 for BU) on the boards, despite giving up several inches and more than a few pounds at almost every spot on the floor. Despite Albany's apparent physical edge, it was Bucknell that spent more time on the foul line, shooting 24 free throws (19 made) while the Danes were going 7 for 9 at the stripe.
"Despite the fact we have youth on the roster, maturity was a big part of the win," said Griffin.
Bucknell's variety of defense kept Albany shooting from the perimeter and resulting in the Danes sub- 40 percent effort from the field (20-56, 35.7 percent). Albany hit 27.8 percent (5-18) from the arc.
"Bucknell exposed us a little bit tonight," said Brown.
BISON CHIPS: No word postgame on the extent of Thomas' injury. Flannery said he was stilll being evaluated . . . O'Brien's three blocks were more than the Bison recorded as a team in 27 of last season's 31 game . . . McNaughton equalled that feat once his entire career (last season against Towson) . . . Bucknell's 7 blocked shots as a team equalled a Sojka Pavilion record set Jan. 15, 2005 against Army.
Box score | Postgame audio | Daily Item | Albany Times Union | Times Union blog
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With Albany ganging up on the preseason All Patriot League pick all night, Griffin managed only one field goal and scored just 6 points. But four of those six came on the only two occasions Bucknell was not ahead on the scoreboard, giving the Bison the lead on each occasion.
The first came when Griffin hit the first of two free throws before the game even tipped after Albany freshman Al Turley was hit with a technical foul for dunking during pregame warmups. Griffin made both shots to start the Bison on what became an 8-0 run to open the game. The other three were more dramatic, coming with 1:06 left to play from just outside the three-point arc 35 seconds after Albany had taken its only lead of the game. A defensive stop and a Justin Castleberry pull-up jumper later and the Bison had iced what surprisingly was just their second opening game win in the past seven seasons.
In between the opening free throws and the big three, Griffin managed just a single free throw against an Albany defense that was hell-bent on keeping him off the scoreboard.
"Griffin was a guy we were very concerned about. He showed why he is a senior leader and their best player with the shot he hit at the end," said Albany head coach Will Brown, whose scheme was predicated on switching on every screen the Bison set on the perimeter. "We were very concerned about defending the 3-point line. We wanted to force them to make as many twos as possible."
With a lineup that was bigger than Bucknell by several inches in most of the matchups all night, that proved to be a successful strategy, at least when it came to taking away Bucknell's perimeter attack. The Bison hit just 1 of 13 three-pointers they put up before Griffin's big trey in the stretch. Griffin was 0 for 4 from the field, 0 for 3 from the arc before hitting the trey that gave Bucknell the lead for good.
"We guarded him very well, but he hit that shot to put them up," Brown said. "Griffin is a heckuva player. He is a gamer. He just rose right up and he shot it."
It was not like Albany's defense had broken down, or lost Griffin in the shuffle of the Bison's constant cuts and screens. Albany guard Jon Iati was about as close as a guy can get without getting busted on morals charges.
"I think I still have the gel from his hair on my hand." said Iati. "I had my hand right on his head. Somehow he knocked the shot down."
It was simply a matter of being patient and waiting for the right opportunity to present itself. After facing taller guys with hands in his face every time he touched the ball most of the night, Griffin sensed the opportunity that presented itself when Albany's switching defense resulted in the 5-9 Iatti matched on 6-1 Griffin.
"I wasn't going to force anything. I felt like I needed to let the game come to me," Griffin said.
Griffin could afford to be patient thanks to the play of a host of younger teammates who turned the game into their coming out party. Sophomore Patrick Behan, a role player a year ago when he played behind Donald Brown and Darren Mastropaolo, was an offensive force, scoring a team-and-career-high 16 points. Behan's classmate Stephen Tyree was two shots of expresso and big can of Red Bull, injecting energy straight into the Bison's veins with a game-high 13 rebounds, despite standing just 6-3.
Tyree did more than just gobble up caroms. he played defense like a little sister along on a date, constantly getting in the way. The box score shows Tyree with no steals and no blocks, but take Brown's word for it, he was a royal pain in the ass for the Great Danes.
"(Tyree) was relentless. He always seemed to be in the middle of the action. He attacked us," said Brown. "He is a ball getter."
Junior Justin Castleberry also played a huge role. His jump-stop pull-up from eight-feet out with the shot clock running out and 18 seconds on the game clock proved to be the game-winner. His two free throws with five seconds left, iced it. And his two rebounds in the last minute couldn't have come at a more crucial juncture.
Then there were Bucknell's three freshmen, all of whom made key contributions. G.W. Boon, the 6-4 swingman from Harvest, Alabama, was 2 for 3 from the field, hitting back-to-back jumpers midway through the second half to help keep the Big Dogs on a tight leash. Boon played 11 minutes without a turnover and was solid on defense, with a steal and a blocked shot to his credit. His poised performance is good news for the Bison, who lost senior tri-captain Rob Thomas early in the first half to a knee injury
Freshman Daryl Shazier did not score. But the 6-0 point guard from Newport News, Va. played 25 minutes, the most of any Bucknell reserve, and was the guy Flannery had running the point down the stretch. Shazier missed the two shots he put up, both from outside the arc, but finished with two steals and a blocked shot while dishing out a pair of assists and grbbing three rebounds.
According to Bucknell coach Pat Flannery, that showing was but a preview of Shazier's coming attractions. "We put the ball in his hands at the end. As we go along, he is going to be able to break people down," Flannery said.
The biggest freshman contribution came from 6-11 center Todd O'Brien, who might make people forget about Chris McNaughton by the time he leaves Lewisburg. In the box score, evidence of O'Brien's defensive presence was his three blocked shots. On the floor, even bigger was how he forced Jerel Hastings to alter a runner in the lane with 48 seconds to play that would have evened the game after Griffin's trey. Forced to float the ball high over O'Brien's outstretched arms, Hasting's shot bounced harmlessly off the iron and was corralled along the baseline by Castleberry, leading to his clinching free throws. O'Brien also showed a nice touch within 8 feet of the basket, going 3 for 5 from the field for 8 points in 21 minutes of action.
"(O'Brien) grew up tonight. He was strong in his feet. He didn't get pushed around," Flannery said.
Neither did the rest of the Bison lineup, which was nearly even (34 rebounds for Albany, 33 for BU) on the boards, despite giving up several inches and more than a few pounds at almost every spot on the floor. Despite Albany's apparent physical edge, it was Bucknell that spent more time on the foul line, shooting 24 free throws (19 made) while the Danes were going 7 for 9 at the stripe.
"Despite the fact we have youth on the roster, maturity was a big part of the win," said Griffin.
Bucknell's variety of defense kept Albany shooting from the perimeter and resulting in the Danes sub- 40 percent effort from the field (20-56, 35.7 percent). Albany hit 27.8 percent (5-18) from the arc.
"Bucknell exposed us a little bit tonight," said Brown.
BISON CHIPS: No word postgame on the extent of Thomas' injury. Flannery said he was stilll being evaluated . . . O'Brien's three blocks were more than the Bison recorded as a team in 27 of last season's 31 game . . . McNaughton equalled that feat once his entire career (last season against Towson) . . . Bucknell's 7 blocked shots as a team equalled a Sojka Pavilion record set Jan. 15, 2005 against Army.
Box score | Postgame audio | Daily Item | Albany Times Union | Times Union blog
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Saturday, November 10, 2007
News, notes and pregame tidbits from Sojka Pavilion and around the league.
ARMY FALLS IN GOPHER HOLE: In case you missed the score of this afternoon's game, Army dropped an 84-52 decision at Minnesota. Jarrell Brown 2 for 11 (1 for 5 at the arc) for 5 points. Suffice to say Army is not going anywhere if they don't get more production than that from their star. Here is the box score, we'll have more on that game later.
MYSTERY MEN: A big question heading into the opening weekend was who would start at American, where the roster is full of new faces following the graduation of four starters from last season. That question was answered when we got SID Anthony Wilson's notes for tonight's game at St. Francis (Pa.).
Jeff Jones is going small in the backcourt. Actually, small might be overstating the case. Minuscule might be a more apt desorption as junior sharpshooter Garrison Carr gets the nod along classmate Derrick Mercer, the only returning starter. Mercer is generously listed at 5-9, Carr at 5-11 -- a measurement most likely taken when he was wearing some sort of ballet shoes that allowed him to stand on the very tips of his toes.
The frontcourt features athletic junior Cornelio Guibunda, the 6-9 Georgetown transfer, at center, with juco transfer Bryce Simon (6-6) and 6-5 senior Travis Lay.
MORE SMALL TALK: You knew Bucknell was going to be smaller this season when Darren Mastropaolo went down with a torn ACL over the summer, but it didn't really sink in until you looked at the lineup in their pregame notes, and saw them take the floor for their pregame shootaround here in Sojka. Starting center Josh Linthicum (6-11), starting four man Patrick Behan (6-8) and freshman big man Todd O'Brien (6-10) are the only guys in uniform over 6-5.
Of those expected to see serious playing time, only freshman G.W. Boon among the remaining Bison measures 6-4. Everybody else in the rotation is 6-3 or smaller. Front court foul trouble could be a real problem for the Bison.
Making the Bison look even smaller is the presence of nine Albany guys 6-5 or taller shooting around at the opposite end of the floor.
UNDER CONSTRUCTION: They have moved the media room at Sojka temporarily to allow the hoops team to use the usual media digs as a meeting room while their locker rooms are undergoing renovations. After the duo of Jason Vegotsky and Mastropaolo passed press row in street clothes, the question was raised: Do those renovations include a handicapped ramp?
Vegotsky's foot injury is a stress fracture, according to a Bison staffer. His status is week to week, which sounds considerably less optimistic than day to day.
Not trying to sound alarmist, but Bucknell fans will recall forward John Clark's career was cut short by similar problems, though there is not indication at this point that Vegotsky's injury is as severe as Clark's was.
WAGERING WAFFLES: An item in Bucknell's game notes mentions that former Bison standout Charles Lee, who played in Israel last season, is now with the Belgian Verviers-Pepinster club, where he is a teammate with Jamar Wilson, the start of Albany's 2006 and 2007 America East title teams.
Lee, by the way, is averaging 11.7 ppg through 7 games with his new team. Wilson is hitting at a 20.9 ppg clip. The team is 3-4.
GETTING TECHNICAL: Bucknell will shoot free throws before tonight's tip off thanks to Albanu freshman Al Turley, who got called for a technical for dunking during pregame warmups.
YOUNG ROTATION: Bucknell's rotation full of youngsters. Two of the three freshmen -- Todd O'Brien and Daryl Shazier joined senior Rob Thomas in Pat Flannery's first wave of subs at the 15:45 media time out. Freshman G.W. Boon came off the bench a few minutes later.
M*A*S*H: As if Bucknell did not have enough injury woes, Thomas left the game at the 13:52 mark of the first half after injuring his left leg while driving to the basket. Thomas, who was fouled on the play, collapsed in a heap, cluthing the leg in obvious pain. He managed to leave the floor under his own power, but spent the rest of the half sitting at the far end of the bench with an ice bag strapped to his knee.
RIGHT BACK AT YA: Nice sequence for Bucknell with just under 5 minutes to go had O'Brien make a nifty feed to Tyree under the basket, only to lose the assist when Tyree missed the peepee. But Tyree got the offensive board, then made an equally nice pass back to O'Brien who laid it home for the first points of his collegiate career.
FLOOR SHOW: Something you have not seen much of at Bucknell, or around the league for that matter, is four men who can put the ball on the floor. Behan, though, looks like that kind of guy. The 6-8 sophomore beat his man off the dribble for his first bucket of the game and later used an Earl Monroe-like spin move to get into the lane for a short jumper. Also in his repertoire: the jump hook he used to score his 10th points of the half after backing down his defender NBA style in the post.
HALFTIME STATS: Bucknell opened with an 8-0 run and leads 28-22 at the break. The Bison 10 for 27 from the field (37 percent), 1 for 6 from 3-point range, 7-12 at the line. Albany 9 for 28 (32.1 percent) from the field, 2-8 from the arc (both by 5-9 senior Jon Iati, who has 8 at the half), 2-2 at the foul line. Rebounds are Albany 20, Bucknell 19 (Tyree with 9 at the half). Turnovers: Bucknell 5, Albany 7. Bucknell with three blocks (O'Brien, Boon and Thomas), Albany 1 block. Nobody with more than 2 fouls for either team.
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ARMY FALLS IN GOPHER HOLE: In case you missed the score of this afternoon's game, Army dropped an 84-52 decision at Minnesota. Jarrell Brown 2 for 11 (1 for 5 at the arc) for 5 points. Suffice to say Army is not going anywhere if they don't get more production than that from their star. Here is the box score, we'll have more on that game later.
MYSTERY MEN: A big question heading into the opening weekend was who would start at American, where the roster is full of new faces following the graduation of four starters from last season. That question was answered when we got SID Anthony Wilson's notes for tonight's game at St. Francis (Pa.).
Jeff Jones is going small in the backcourt. Actually, small might be overstating the case. Minuscule might be a more apt desorption as junior sharpshooter Garrison Carr gets the nod along classmate Derrick Mercer, the only returning starter. Mercer is generously listed at 5-9, Carr at 5-11 -- a measurement most likely taken when he was wearing some sort of ballet shoes that allowed him to stand on the very tips of his toes.
The frontcourt features athletic junior Cornelio Guibunda, the 6-9 Georgetown transfer, at center, with juco transfer Bryce Simon (6-6) and 6-5 senior Travis Lay.
MORE SMALL TALK: You knew Bucknell was going to be smaller this season when Darren Mastropaolo went down with a torn ACL over the summer, but it didn't really sink in until you looked at the lineup in their pregame notes, and saw them take the floor for their pregame shootaround here in Sojka. Starting center Josh Linthicum (6-11), starting four man Patrick Behan (6-8) and freshman big man Todd O'Brien (6-10) are the only guys in uniform over 6-5.
Of those expected to see serious playing time, only freshman G.W. Boon among the remaining Bison measures 6-4. Everybody else in the rotation is 6-3 or smaller. Front court foul trouble could be a real problem for the Bison.
Making the Bison look even smaller is the presence of nine Albany guys 6-5 or taller shooting around at the opposite end of the floor.
UNDER CONSTRUCTION: They have moved the media room at Sojka temporarily to allow the hoops team to use the usual media digs as a meeting room while their locker rooms are undergoing renovations. After the duo of Jason Vegotsky and Mastropaolo passed press row in street clothes, the question was raised: Do those renovations include a handicapped ramp?
Vegotsky's foot injury is a stress fracture, according to a Bison staffer. His status is week to week, which sounds considerably less optimistic than day to day.
Not trying to sound alarmist, but Bucknell fans will recall forward John Clark's career was cut short by similar problems, though there is not indication at this point that Vegotsky's injury is as severe as Clark's was.
WAGERING WAFFLES: An item in Bucknell's game notes mentions that former Bison standout Charles Lee, who played in Israel last season, is now with the Belgian Verviers-Pepinster club, where he is a teammate with Jamar Wilson, the start of Albany's 2006 and 2007 America East title teams.
Lee, by the way, is averaging 11.7 ppg through 7 games with his new team. Wilson is hitting at a 20.9 ppg clip. The team is 3-4.
GETTING TECHNICAL: Bucknell will shoot free throws before tonight's tip off thanks to Albanu freshman Al Turley, who got called for a technical for dunking during pregame warmups.
YOUNG ROTATION: Bucknell's rotation full of youngsters. Two of the three freshmen -- Todd O'Brien and Daryl Shazier joined senior Rob Thomas in Pat Flannery's first wave of subs at the 15:45 media time out. Freshman G.W. Boon came off the bench a few minutes later.
M*A*S*H: As if Bucknell did not have enough injury woes, Thomas left the game at the 13:52 mark of the first half after injuring his left leg while driving to the basket. Thomas, who was fouled on the play, collapsed in a heap, cluthing the leg in obvious pain. He managed to leave the floor under his own power, but spent the rest of the half sitting at the far end of the bench with an ice bag strapped to his knee.
RIGHT BACK AT YA: Nice sequence for Bucknell with just under 5 minutes to go had O'Brien make a nifty feed to Tyree under the basket, only to lose the assist when Tyree missed the peepee. But Tyree got the offensive board, then made an equally nice pass back to O'Brien who laid it home for the first points of his collegiate career.
FLOOR SHOW: Something you have not seen much of at Bucknell, or around the league for that matter, is four men who can put the ball on the floor. Behan, though, looks like that kind of guy. The 6-8 sophomore beat his man off the dribble for his first bucket of the game and later used an Earl Monroe-like spin move to get into the lane for a short jumper. Also in his repertoire: the jump hook he used to score his 10th points of the half after backing down his defender NBA style in the post.
HALFTIME STATS: Bucknell opened with an 8-0 run and leads 28-22 at the break. The Bison 10 for 27 from the field (37 percent), 1 for 6 from 3-point range, 7-12 at the line. Albany 9 for 28 (32.1 percent) from the field, 2-8 from the arc (both by 5-9 senior Jon Iati, who has 8 at the half), 2-2 at the foul line. Rebounds are Albany 20, Bucknell 19 (Tyree with 9 at the half). Turnovers: Bucknell 5, Albany 7. Bucknell with three blocks (O'Brien, Boon and Thomas), Albany 1 block. Nobody with more than 2 fouls for either team.
Labels: American, Army, Bucknell, notebook
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(Originally posted Fri. at 7:40 a.m., Updated with additional links at 9:23 a.m. Sat.)
A busy day ahead, with five league teams opening the season. Interesting matchups abound, with Lehigh visiting Ivy favorite Cornell, Bucknell and Holy Cross hosting top flight mid major programs Albany and Hofstra and Army at rebuilding Minnesota. Rounding out the slate is new-look American at Saint Francis Pa. Here's the scouting reports.
SCOUTING CORNELL: Lehigh has a tough opener tomorrow night, traveling to what could be snowy Ithaca, N.Y. to take on Ivy favorite Cornell. The Big Red went 16-12 last season, playing with a roster full of talented freshmen. That young, but experienced Big Big Red roster is bolstered by the return of star guard Adam Gore, the 2005-06 Ivy rookie of the year who missed all of last season after blowing out a knee in an opening game win over Northwestern, a trio of transfers who might seem eerily familiar to Lehigh fans. One is a 7-foot project and another, 6-5 dunker Andre Williams, who shares his name with the Morning Call's Lehigh beat writer and spent a year at a Texas juco. The athloetic 6-5 four man ended up at Blinn Jr. College after changing his mind not once, but twice, about his original commitments when the head coaches at Brown, and then Charleston, left for greener pastures after he had committted. The best of the three, though, might be 6-foot guard Collin Robinson, who landed in Ithaca after leaving Tim Floyd's Southern Cal program.
BONUS LINKS:
Cornell basketball blog
Lehigh depending on a Hall of a player (Morning Call)
Lehigh walking into the unknown (Ithaca journal)
SCOUTING ALBANY: The Albany Times Union has a good look at Bucknell's first opponent, the University of Albany Danes. The short version: The Danes are a lot like Bucknell, a team that has gotten used to winning and now looks to see if it can maintain that lifestyle after losing two all-league players, including one of the best in school history. The longer version: The Danes are bigger than last year, with nine guys 6-5 or taller, stronger and more athletic. And they will play a lot of zone to cover up some of their defensive liabilities, according to coach Will Brown. The full version is right here.
BONUS LINKS:
TU columnist Mark (not the steroids slugger) McGuire on Albany's scheduling
Bison adjust on the run (Daily Item)
Danes testing their bite and fight (Times Union)
New year, same goals (Bucknellian)
SCOUTING ST. FRANCIS (PA.): After finishing last in the Northeast Conference the past two seasons, the Red Flash are expected to move to the middle of the NEC pack this season. The good news for coach Bobby Jones is that he has all five starters back. The bad news: that same group lost 15 in a row en route to an 8-21 season a year ago. Those losses included a 73-63 AU comeback win in Bender in a game that AU trailed by 18 in at one point. Optimism comes from having won four of their last five and the return of sophomore Devin Sweetney and junior Chris Berry. Sweetney's 13.0 ppg were tops among NEC freshmen a year ago. He also pulled 7.7 rpg. Alongside on the wing will be Chris Berry, a junior who averaged 11.7 ppg and 4.9 rpg. Berry averaged 11.7 points and 4.9 rebounds as a sophomore.
BONUS LINKS:
St. Francis game notes
SFU radio broadcast
SCOUTING MINNESOTA: Minnesota has a new coach and new optimism after going a miserable 9-22 last season. Tubby Smith arrives with a streak of 14 straight 20-win seasons and 14-straight NCAA Tournament appearances in his last three stops (Tulsa, Georgia and Kentucky). He inherits a depleted roster. Four players transferred when the Golden Gophers changed coaches, three others are recovering from injuries. With senior guard Lawrence McKenzie nursing a groin pull, freshman point guard Al Nolen Jr. showed a penchant for scoring with a 6-for-6 from the field, 7-for-7 from the line, 24 points showing in an exhibition win over D-II Southwest Minnesota State. McKenzie, the seventh-leading scorer in the Big Ten last season, set a school record with 78 threes last season. An Oklahoma transfer, he is one of three Gophers who have played in the NCAA Tournament, having been to the dance with the Sooners. The other two were freshmen when Minnesota last got a bid. No word on the Gophers' site on the status of McKenzie for the Army game.
BONUS LINKS:
Army aiming high in hoops (Times Herald-Record)
Gophers tread long road back (Detroit Free Press)
Gophers feeling good, aiming high under Tubby's tutelage (Minneapolis Star-Tribune)
Tubby's time is here, but how fast can Gophers get better?... (AP)
SCOUTING HOFSTRA: With 6-4 backcourt recruit Ameer Brown watching from the Hart Center bleachers, Holy Cross will open with its BracketBusters rematch against Hofstra. Picked to finish fifth in the tough Colonial Athletic Conference, Hofstra fell 10 points shy of earning a spot in the preseason Mid Major Top 25, ranking an unofficial 27th in the poll. Despite the loss of backcourt stars Loren Stokes and Carlos Rivera from last season's team, Hofstra might be bigger and deeper than they were a year ago, according to NY Daily News writer Sean Brennan. Hofstra will be led by high-scoring 6-3 guard Antoine Agudio, a returning first team all league and preseason player of the year pick who averaged over 20 ppg last season. Agudio put up 25 points last week in Hofsta's exhibition win over a Rollie Massimino coached NAIA school (Northwood). While HC will have its hands full with Agudio, Hofstra will start a 6-10 redshirt freshman Greg Washington at center. If he cannot contain Patriot League preseason player of the year Tim Clifford, it could be a long bus ride back to Long Island for the Pride.
BONUS LINKS:
Hofstra game notes | CAA Zone
CAA Insider
A couple of big pieces gone (Boston Globe)
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A busy day ahead, with five league teams opening the season. Interesting matchups abound, with Lehigh visiting Ivy favorite Cornell, Bucknell and Holy Cross hosting top flight mid major programs Albany and Hofstra and Army at rebuilding Minnesota. Rounding out the slate is new-look American at Saint Francis Pa. Here's the scouting reports.
SCOUTING CORNELL: Lehigh has a tough opener tomorrow night, traveling to what could be snowy Ithaca, N.Y. to take on Ivy favorite Cornell. The Big Red went 16-12 last season, playing with a roster full of talented freshmen. That young, but experienced Big Big Red roster is bolstered by the return of star guard Adam Gore, the 2005-06 Ivy rookie of the year who missed all of last season after blowing out a knee in an opening game win over Northwestern, a trio of transfers who might seem eerily familiar to Lehigh fans. One is a 7-foot project and another, 6-5 dunker Andre Williams, who shares his name with the Morning Call's Lehigh beat writer and spent a year at a Texas juco. The athloetic 6-5 four man ended up at Blinn Jr. College after changing his mind not once, but twice, about his original commitments when the head coaches at Brown, and then Charleston, left for greener pastures after he had committted. The best of the three, though, might be 6-foot guard Collin Robinson, who landed in Ithaca after leaving Tim Floyd's Southern Cal program.
BONUS LINKS:
SCOUTING ALBANY: The Albany Times Union has a good look at Bucknell's first opponent, the University of Albany Danes. The short version: The Danes are a lot like Bucknell, a team that has gotten used to winning and now looks to see if it can maintain that lifestyle after losing two all-league players, including one of the best in school history. The longer version: The Danes are bigger than last year, with nine guys 6-5 or taller, stronger and more athletic. And they will play a lot of zone to cover up some of their defensive liabilities, according to coach Will Brown. The full version is right here.
BONUS LINKS:
SCOUTING ST. FRANCIS (PA.): After finishing last in the Northeast Conference the past two seasons, the Red Flash are expected to move to the middle of the NEC pack this season. The good news for coach Bobby Jones is that he has all five starters back. The bad news: that same group lost 15 in a row en route to an 8-21 season a year ago. Those losses included a 73-63 AU comeback win in Bender in a game that AU trailed by 18 in at one point. Optimism comes from having won four of their last five and the return of sophomore Devin Sweetney and junior Chris Berry. Sweetney's 13.0 ppg were tops among NEC freshmen a year ago. He also pulled 7.7 rpg. Alongside on the wing will be Chris Berry, a junior who averaged 11.7 ppg and 4.9 rpg. Berry averaged 11.7 points and 4.9 rebounds as a sophomore.
BONUS LINKS:
SCOUTING MINNESOTA: Minnesota has a new coach and new optimism after going a miserable 9-22 last season. Tubby Smith arrives with a streak of 14 straight 20-win seasons and 14-straight NCAA Tournament appearances in his last three stops (Tulsa, Georgia and Kentucky). He inherits a depleted roster. Four players transferred when the Golden Gophers changed coaches, three others are recovering from injuries. With senior guard Lawrence McKenzie nursing a groin pull, freshman point guard Al Nolen Jr. showed a penchant for scoring with a 6-for-6 from the field, 7-for-7 from the line, 24 points showing in an exhibition win over D-II Southwest Minnesota State. McKenzie, the seventh-leading scorer in the Big Ten last season, set a school record with 78 threes last season. An Oklahoma transfer, he is one of three Gophers who have played in the NCAA Tournament, having been to the dance with the Sooners. The other two were freshmen when Minnesota last got a bid. No word on the Gophers' site on the status of McKenzie for the Army game.
BONUS LINKS:
SCOUTING HOFSTRA: With 6-4 backcourt recruit Ameer Brown watching from the Hart Center bleachers, Holy Cross will open with its BracketBusters rematch against Hofstra. Picked to finish fifth in the tough Colonial Athletic Conference, Hofstra fell 10 points shy of earning a spot in the preseason Mid Major Top 25, ranking an unofficial 27th in the poll. Despite the loss of backcourt stars Loren Stokes and Carlos Rivera from last season's team, Hofstra might be bigger and deeper than they were a year ago, according to NY Daily News writer Sean Brennan. Hofstra will be led by high-scoring 6-3 guard Antoine Agudio, a returning first team all league and preseason player of the year pick who averaged over 20 ppg last season. Agudio put up 25 points last week in Hofsta's exhibition win over a Rollie Massimino coached NAIA school (Northwood). While HC will have its hands full with Agudio, Hofstra will start a 6-10 redshirt freshman Greg Washington at center. If he cannot contain Patriot League preseason player of the year Tim Clifford, it could be a long bus ride back to Long Island for the Pride.
BONUS LINKS:
Labels: American, Army, Bucknell, Holy Cross, Lehigh, previews
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The Leopards had their chances, but it was Wagner that made the plays down the stretch.
Leading by 1 with less than two minutes to go, Lafayette was in position to open its season with a win over visiting Wagner. But after Bilal Abdullah's bucket with 1:50 left gave the 'Pards a 67-66 lead, Lafayette went 0 for its next 3 shots and was outrebounded 4-1 down the stretch, allowing the Seahawks to escape with a 74-70 win.
Monmouth, which shot just 39.4 percent (26-66) form the field all night, went 2 for 2 from the field in the final 1:50 and hit 4 of 6 at the foul line, after hitting just 15 of 26 prior to that point. Adding to Lafayette's woes, the Seahawks got one of their 18 offensive rebounds after one of those missed free throws.
Lafayette's only rebound in the last 1:52 came with 6 seconds left and the game already decided. Matt Betley (team-high 17 points and 7 rebounds) put back that offensive board, accounting for the Leopards' only field goal (1-4) in the final stretch.
The Leopards outscored Wagner from the floor, hitting 27 of 63 field goal tries (42.9 percent), including 8 threes (on 23 attempts, 34.8 percent) while holding the Seahawks to an icy 3 for 17 (17 percent) from the arc. Lafayette also shot better from the foul line, hitting 66.7 percent to Wagner's 59.4 percent. But Wagner (19-32) got to the stripe 20 more times than the 'Pards (8-12).
Lafayette was also hurt on the boards, losing the rebounding battle 49-41.
Andrew Brown had 14 points, 7 assists (just 1 turnover) and 6 rebounds for Lafayette. But Brown was just 4 for 12 from the field, two of his misses coming in the last two minutes. Bilal Abdullah added 13 for the Leopards.
Durell Vinson, in his first game back after a one-year suspension, led Wagner with a 22 point-14 rebound double-double, going 10 for 12 from the field.
Box score | Morning Call | SI Advance
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Leading by 1 with less than two minutes to go, Lafayette was in position to open its season with a win over visiting Wagner. But after Bilal Abdullah's bucket with 1:50 left gave the 'Pards a 67-66 lead, Lafayette went 0 for its next 3 shots and was outrebounded 4-1 down the stretch, allowing the Seahawks to escape with a 74-70 win.
Monmouth, which shot just 39.4 percent (26-66) form the field all night, went 2 for 2 from the field in the final 1:50 and hit 4 of 6 at the foul line, after hitting just 15 of 26 prior to that point. Adding to Lafayette's woes, the Seahawks got one of their 18 offensive rebounds after one of those missed free throws.
Lafayette's only rebound in the last 1:52 came with 6 seconds left and the game already decided. Matt Betley (team-high 17 points and 7 rebounds) put back that offensive board, accounting for the Leopards' only field goal (1-4) in the final stretch.
The Leopards outscored Wagner from the floor, hitting 27 of 63 field goal tries (42.9 percent), including 8 threes (on 23 attempts, 34.8 percent) while holding the Seahawks to an icy 3 for 17 (17 percent) from the arc. Lafayette also shot better from the foul line, hitting 66.7 percent to Wagner's 59.4 percent. But Wagner (19-32) got to the stripe 20 more times than the 'Pards (8-12).
Lafayette was also hurt on the boards, losing the rebounding battle 49-41.
Andrew Brown had 14 points, 7 assists (just 1 turnover) and 6 rebounds for Lafayette. But Brown was just 4 for 12 from the field, two of his misses coming in the last two minutes. Bilal Abdullah added 13 for the Leopards.
Durell Vinson, in his first game back after a one-year suspension, led Wagner with a 22 point-14 rebound double-double, going 10 for 12 from the field.
Box score | Morning Call | SI Advance
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Rust? What rust? Not on Colgate's Kyle Roemer. In his first game back after missing all of last season, Roemer scored 15 points to help the Raiders knock off Monmouth, 63-60.
Roemer, who sat out last year after undergoing surgery on an ankle, was 5 for 13 from the field, 2 for 4 from three-point range. The only signs of his layoff were his 5 turnovers.
Roemer was not the only star for Colgate in the tight battle, which was not decided until the final seconds. Junior guard Willie Morse, who has done a little of the comeback thing himself, came off the bench for 15 points, including a pair of free throws in the final seconds to seal the W.
Up by 1 (61-60) with 18 seconds to go, Morse turned it over against Monmouth's press, giving the Hawks a chance for the win. But the gate defense got the stop, forcing a miss by Monmouth's Jhamar Youngblood (game-high 20 points), which was rebounded by Roemer. With six seconds left, Colgate inbounded the ball to Morse, who was fouled. Morse, who was a perfect 4 for 4 from the field, including three treys, then knocked down a pair with four ticks remaining. A desperation three by Monmouth's R.J. Rutledge at the buzzer was off the mark.
Daniel Waddy (3-8, 2-6 at the arc) added 12 points for Colgate. Kendall Chones (11 points) also reached double figures for Colgate, which shot 19 for 42 (45.2 percent) from the field, including 8 threes on 16 tries. The Raiders were 17 for 25 at the line.
Monmouth, which was hurt by poor foul shooting (8 for 16), went 23 for 51 (45.1 percent) from the field, but managed only 6 threes on 18 attempts.
Box score | AP | Colgate recap
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Roemer, who sat out last year after undergoing surgery on an ankle, was 5 for 13 from the field, 2 for 4 from three-point range. The only signs of his layoff were his 5 turnovers.
Roemer was not the only star for Colgate in the tight battle, which was not decided until the final seconds. Junior guard Willie Morse, who has done a little of the comeback thing himself, came off the bench for 15 points, including a pair of free throws in the final seconds to seal the W.
Up by 1 (61-60) with 18 seconds to go, Morse turned it over against Monmouth's press, giving the Hawks a chance for the win. But the gate defense got the stop, forcing a miss by Monmouth's Jhamar Youngblood (game-high 20 points), which was rebounded by Roemer. With six seconds left, Colgate inbounded the ball to Morse, who was fouled. Morse, who was a perfect 4 for 4 from the field, including three treys, then knocked down a pair with four ticks remaining. A desperation three by Monmouth's R.J. Rutledge at the buzzer was off the mark.
Daniel Waddy (3-8, 2-6 at the arc) added 12 points for Colgate. Kendall Chones (11 points) also reached double figures for Colgate, which shot 19 for 42 (45.2 percent) from the field, including 8 threes on 16 tries. The Raiders were 17 for 25 at the line.
Monmouth, which was hurt by poor foul shooting (8 for 16), went 23 for 51 (45.1 percent) from the field, but managed only 6 threes on 18 attempts.
Box score | AP | Colgate recap
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Greg Sprink went off for 28 points to lead the Midshipmen to an 88-72 win at Longwood.
Sprink, who also led Navy (1-0) with 8 rebounds and 5 assists, scored 17 of his points in the first half, helping Navy build a 21-point lead late in the half before settling for a 49-33 edge at the break. Longwood never got within single digits the rest of the way.
The 6-5 senior finished 9 for 19 from the field, including 3 treys (on 9 tries). One of only three players got to the foul line all night for the Mids, Sprink went 7 for 8 at the stripe.
Chris Harris (12 points) and Kaleo Kina (11) and Adam Teague (11) also double figures in the romp. Kina also had a team-high 5 steals, leading a Mids defense that forced 22 turnovers, leading to 25 points.
As a team, Navy shot 50.8 percent from the field (33-65), and hit 13 of 29 (44.8 percent) from the arc, posting 21 asssists. The Mids were 9 for 11 at the foul line.
Defensively they held Longwood to 43.5 percent (27-62) shooting from the floor, 5-18 (27.8 percent) from the arc.
Box Score | Navy recap | AP
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Sprink, who also led Navy (1-0) with 8 rebounds and 5 assists, scored 17 of his points in the first half, helping Navy build a 21-point lead late in the half before settling for a 49-33 edge at the break. Longwood never got within single digits the rest of the way.
The 6-5 senior finished 9 for 19 from the field, including 3 treys (on 9 tries). One of only three players got to the foul line all night for the Mids, Sprink went 7 for 8 at the stripe.
Chris Harris (12 points) and Kaleo Kina (11) and Adam Teague (11) also double figures in the romp. Kina also had a team-high 5 steals, leading a Mids defense that forced 22 turnovers, leading to 25 points.
As a team, Navy shot 50.8 percent from the field (33-65), and hit 13 of 29 (44.8 percent) from the arc, posting 21 asssists. The Mids were 9 for 11 at the foul line.
Defensively they held Longwood to 43.5 percent (27-62) shooting from the floor, 5-18 (27.8 percent) from the arc.
Box Score | Navy recap | AP
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Friday, November 09, 2007
The 2007-2008 season tips off tonight with a trio of games -- Colgate hosting Monmouth, Wagner at Lafayette and Navy at Longwood. Here is a look at the first three non-league opponents of the season.
SCOUTING MONMOUTH: After six straight winning seasons, including three that culminated with a trip to the big dance, Monmouth suffered through a tough 12-18 season last year, failing to even make the Northeast Conference tournament one year after winning the league title. Hard to say whether the Hawks will be better this season, but for certain they will be different. Only two players who saw significant time last year -- NEC rookie of the year Jhamar Youngblood and junior guard Whitney (I have an Ivy League name) Coleman. The rest of the roster, which includes no seniors and just a pair of juniors, consists of "our players who saw occasional-to-minuscule action and five who haven't played one second of college basketball." Picked to finish 10th in the 11-team NEC, the Monmouth game notes say the Hawks, who have not started a freshman since 2000, will open with a smallish three-guard lineup of Youngblood, Coleman and three guys -- a redshirt freshman and two true frosh -- seeing their first collegiate action. reports from Monmouth's exhibition win over William Paterson and a closed scrimmage with Lafayette say the Hawks are pressing and trapping more than they have in the past.
BONUS LINK: Monmouth-Colgate livestats
Scouting Wagner -- The Seahawks are the mirror opposite of their NEC mates from New Jersey. If you look up inexperienced in the NEC hoops dictionary and find a Monmouth team picture, you'd probably find a pic of Wagner under the word experienced. The Seahawks' mature starting five includes 6-7 fifth-year senior Durrell Vinson and four guys (including two redshirt juniors) who are in their fourth season at Wagner. Lafayette knocked off the Seahawks in last season's opener on Staten Island, but Vinson did not play in that one. The 2005-2006 NEC all-league first team pick sat out last season after being involved in a dormitory altercation. If he approaches his 2005-06 form, when he averaged nearly a double-double per game, he should make an impact for the Seahawks, who are Picked to finish 3rd in the NEC. Wagner coach Mike Deane is also a seasoned vet. Deane, who needs six wins to reach the 400-wins plateau, has taken three other teams to the NCAA Tournament in his career.
BONUS LINKS: Wagner game notes | 'Pards out to prove pickers wrong (Morning Call) | Gametracker
SCOUTING LONGWOOD: Still giddy over its big gridiron win last weekend, Navy opens the hoops season at Longwood, a school in its first season as a full-fledged Division I team. Longwood is a school without a conference, and a team with next to know media coverage (the local paper reprints Longwood press releases for its "sports report"). The Lancers return two starters and two guys who played significant minutes from last season's 9-22 team that took the Mids to OT last season in Farmville. It is the first of two meetings between the two. Longwood will visit Annapolis in January. It could be an interesting matchup between two teams shy on legitimate post players. Both are expected to start just one guy over 6-6. They are calling for a "whitewash" in Willett Hall. That is what is called a "whiteout" elsewhere -- all fans please wear white. Hard to say how intimidating it might be, though. Last season Longwood averaged less than 1,000 fans per game.
BONUS LINK: Livestats
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SCOUTING MONMOUTH: After six straight winning seasons, including three that culminated with a trip to the big dance, Monmouth suffered through a tough 12-18 season last year, failing to even make the Northeast Conference tournament one year after winning the league title. Hard to say whether the Hawks will be better this season, but for certain they will be different. Only two players who saw significant time last year -- NEC rookie of the year Jhamar Youngblood and junior guard Whitney (I have an Ivy League name) Coleman. The rest of the roster, which includes no seniors and just a pair of juniors, consists of "our players who saw occasional-to-minuscule action and five who haven't played one second of college basketball." Picked to finish 10th in the 11-team NEC, the Monmouth game notes say the Hawks, who have not started a freshman since 2000, will open with a smallish three-guard lineup of Youngblood, Coleman and three guys -- a redshirt freshman and two true frosh -- seeing their first collegiate action. reports from Monmouth's exhibition win over William Paterson and a closed scrimmage with Lafayette say the Hawks are pressing and trapping more than they have in the past.
BONUS LINK: Monmouth-Colgate livestats
BONUS LINKS: Wagner game notes | 'Pards out to prove pickers wrong (Morning Call) | Gametracker
SCOUTING LONGWOOD: Still giddy over its big gridiron win last weekend, Navy opens the hoops season at Longwood, a school in its first season as a full-fledged Division I team. Longwood is a school without a conference, and a team with next to know media coverage (the local paper reprints Longwood press releases for its "sports report"). The Lancers return two starters and two guys who played significant minutes from last season's 9-22 team that took the Mids to OT last season in Farmville. It is the first of two meetings between the two. Longwood will visit Annapolis in January. It could be an interesting matchup between two teams shy on legitimate post players. Both are expected to start just one guy over 6-6. They are calling for a "whitewash" in Willett Hall. That is what is called a "whiteout" elsewhere -- all fans please wear white. Hard to say how intimidating it might be, though. Last season Longwood averaged less than 1,000 fans per game.
BONUS LINK: Livestats
Labels: Colgate, Lafayette, Navy, previews
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Thursday, November 08, 2007
Here's what has been happening while we have been fighting off the flu bug this week:
Utica does Hamilton -- Seems like once or twice each season the Utica paper bothers to cover Colgate. One of those times is this preview of the Red Raiders season.
Bracketeering -- ESPN is offering up Joe Lunardi's preseason look at the 65 teams to make the NCAA Tournament as a free preview of its "insider coverage." Lunardi picks Holy Cross to win the league, saying: The league's Dangerfield -- Ed Laubach, the former sporst editor at the Express-Times, comes out of retirement for a column previewing Lafayette's Leopards, a team Laubach says is drawing motivation from its lack of respect.
50 ways to view the season -- Included in Ed Barkowitz's Philly Daily News column on 50 things to ponder as hoops season starts: More on Griffin -- The AP preview of the Bucknell season says in the absence of Chris McNaughton, Donald Brown and Abe Badmus, it is Griffin's turn to lead the Bison.
Dadging the 'Saders -- How bad did UConn want to avoid playing Holy Cross in the Coaches vs. Cancer tournament? Bad enough to agree to shuffle off to Buffalo next season.
Speaking of Holy Cross -- In case you missed it, the Crusaders bounced back from that exhibition loss to Rhode Island College by bouncing UMass-Lowell Tuesday night. Tim Clifford led the way with 16 points, 5 boards and 6 blocks. (Box score)
Another recruit for AU -- The Boca Raton News reports Mike Technow of Boca Raton H.S. will commit to play for American. BRHS is expected to send three players to DI schools this season. Technow is a 6-9 center. You can find more on him on his prep team's home page (if you have the patience for it to load). He played AAU hoops for the Barton Ballas.
Long look at Army -- Anticipating Saturday's Minnesota home opener against the Black Knights. Scout.com takes a very detailed look at this year's Army squad.
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57. HOLY CROSS. The Crusaders were 13-1 in Patriot League play last season. This season's race figures to be tighter, but Holy Cross has enough to repeat.
25. The return of 6-11 center Tim Clifford is a prime reason Holy Cross is expected to defend its Patriot League crown. Bucknell, which will look to senior John Griffin (St. Joseph's Prep) after losing three starters, and Colgate should be the top challengers to Holy Cross.
Labels: Army, AU, BU, CU, HC, Laf, Leh, previews, recruiting
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Move over Archbishop Spalding. Step aside Abington Friends. There is a new pipeline school feeding the Patriot League. This one is on the West Coast.
San Jose's Archbishop Mitty has a second player headed the Patriot League's way. Mitty forward John Adams has committed to play his college ball at Lehigh, joining teammate Enoch Andoh, a Bucknell recruit, for the flight east.
Adams is a 6-5 inside type who Mercury News writer David Kiefer says:
Kiefer says Lehigh coach Brett Reed found damaged tapes of Adams when he took over the Lehigh job and contacted him to get new copies. The tapes impressed Reed enough to lead to a pair of trips west to watch Adams workout.
Adams is the fourth member of Mitty's team to commit to a Division I school.
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San Jose's Archbishop Mitty has a second player headed the Patriot League's way. Mitty forward John Adams has committed to play his college ball at Lehigh, joining teammate Enoch Andoh, a Bucknell recruit, for the flight east.
Adams is a 6-5 inside type who Mercury News writer David Kiefer says:
"may have been Mitty’s most consistent performer last season on a team that reached the state Division II championship game before losing in overtime to Santa Ana’s Mater Dei. Adams was a defensive stalwert and could make a big offensive play if he had to."Adams also drew interest from Hawaii and Division III power Puget Sound, according to Kiefer.
Kiefer says Lehigh coach Brett Reed found damaged tapes of Adams when he took over the Lehigh job and contacted him to get new copies. The tapes impressed Reed enough to lead to a pair of trips west to watch Adams workout.
Adams is the fourth member of Mitty's team to commit to a Division I school.
Labels: BU, Leh, recruiting
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Sunday, November 04, 2007
Four Bucknell players reached double figures Sunday in a 93-65 exhibition win over Division II East Stroudsburg.
The Bison were hitting on all cylinders offensively, despite being without sharpshooting win Jason Vegotsky, who did not play due to what was termed a "minor leg injury."
Sophomore power forward Patrick Behan led Bucknell with 17 points on 7 for 8 shooting, including 3 for 3 from the 3-point arc. Justin Castleberry added 16 points and senior John Griffin had 13. Freshman center Todd O'Brien added 10 points and a team-high 6 rebounds in 18 minutes off the bench.
The Bison shot 29 of 53 (54.7 percent) from the field, including 12 of 19 (63.2 percent) from the arc.
BOX SCORE | RECAP
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The Bison were hitting on all cylinders offensively, despite being without sharpshooting win Jason Vegotsky, who did not play due to what was termed a "minor leg injury."
Sophomore power forward Patrick Behan led Bucknell with 17 points on 7 for 8 shooting, including 3 for 3 from the 3-point arc. Justin Castleberry added 16 points and senior John Griffin had 13. Freshman center Todd O'Brien added 10 points and a team-high 6 rebounds in 18 minutes off the bench.
The Bison shot 29 of 53 (54.7 percent) from the field, including 12 of 19 (63.2 percent) from the arc.
BOX SCORE | RECAP
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Catching up on a couple other stories that hit the papers while we were off enjoying the last weekend before things get serious around here.
Crusaders adjusting to life after Torey and Keith -- A look at Holy Cross' 2007-2008 prospects from Jen Toland at the Worcester Telegram & Gazette.
Hall, Hawks have high hopes -- Paul Sokolowski of The Express-Times checks in from Lehigh's media day
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Holy Cross dropped a 61-60 decision to Division 3 Rhode Island College Thursday night.
The visiting Anchormen, who went 27-4 and reached the D-3 elite eight last year, pulled off the upset with a winning layup with 7 seconds to go.
It was the second season in a row RIC beat a D-I team in an exhibion. Last season the Anchormen knocked off Iona.
Alex Vander Baan's 15 points led the Crusaders, who played 11 guys, 10 of them for more than 10 minutes. Adam May added 14.
With Ralph Willard looking for scoring from the wings, it's worth noting the starting guards -- Pat Doherty, Kyle Cruze and Colin Cunningham -- went a combined 3 for 13 from the field. Take away May's 5 for 7 showing and the rest of HC's backcourt guys were 5 for 17 from the field, 3 for 10 from three-point range.
Pre-season Patriot League player of the year, 6-10 center Tim Clifford, finished with 9 points on 3 for 10 shooting, and 3 rebounds.
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The visiting Anchormen, who went 27-4 and reached the D-3 elite eight last year, pulled off the upset with a winning layup with 7 seconds to go.
It was the second season in a row RIC beat a D-I team in an exhibion. Last season the Anchormen knocked off Iona.
Alex Vander Baan's 15 points led the Crusaders, who played 11 guys, 10 of them for more than 10 minutes. Adam May added 14.
With Ralph Willard looking for scoring from the wings, it's worth noting the starting guards -- Pat Doherty, Kyle Cruze and Colin Cunningham -- went a combined 3 for 13 from the field. Take away May's 5 for 7 showing and the rest of HC's backcourt guys were 5 for 17 from the field, 3 for 10 from three-point range.
Pre-season Patriot League player of the year, 6-10 center Tim Clifford, finished with 9 points on 3 for 10 shooting, and 3 rebounds.
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Two former Patriot League players were selected in Thursday's NBDL draft.
Taken in the NBA Development League's draft were former American standout Andre Ingram was selected by the league's Utah Flash, an expansion franchise that liked what they saw of Ingram on video, The Flash made which took Ingram their one of seven guards they drafted when they chose him with the 10th pick in the seventh round of the draft. Bucknell grad Abe Badmus went eight picks later to the Tulasa 66ers, who grabbed the Bison point guard with the fourth pick of the eighth round.
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Taken in the NBA Development League's draft were former American standout Andre Ingram was selected by the league's Utah Flash, an expansion franchise that liked what they saw of Ingram on video, The Flash made which took Ingram their one of seven guards they drafted when they chose him with the 10th pick in the seventh round of the draft. Bucknell grad Abe Badmus went eight picks later to the Tulasa 66ers, who grabbed the Bison point guard with the fourth pick of the eighth round.
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Thursday, November 01, 2007
It is a little tough to take seriously a Patriot League preview story that talks about Bucknell's Darren Mastropaolo playing a prominent role without mentioning that his season is in jeopardy after tearing up a knee during the summer.
Sure, there was no mention of Mastropaolo's injury in most of the preview magazines on the newsstands (Blue Ribbon being the prominent exception), but those pubs have early summer deadlines. The Sports Network, on the other hand, is a Web based service and its league preview comes after Mastropaolo's situation was discussed at the league's media day.
This thing is, simply put, a sorry excuse for a preview. The Holy Cross capsule makes no mention of the questions on the wings. The American portion does not even include the phrase "junior college." There is talk of Lafayette's futility without talk of their scholarship situation and the Navy preview says nothing about how the Mids lost three key would-be returning players, including two starters.
The worst part is that this mediocrity will show up as gospel on other sites because several mainstream media players buy syndicated content from TSN.
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Sure, there was no mention of Mastropaolo's injury in most of the preview magazines on the newsstands (Blue Ribbon being the prominent exception), but those pubs have early summer deadlines. The Sports Network, on the other hand, is a Web based service and its league preview comes after Mastropaolo's situation was discussed at the league's media day.
This thing is, simply put, a sorry excuse for a preview. The Holy Cross capsule makes no mention of the questions on the wings. The American portion does not even include the phrase "junior college." There is talk of Lafayette's futility without talk of their scholarship situation and the Navy preview says nothing about how the Mids lost three key would-be returning players, including two starters.
The worst part is that this mediocrity will show up as gospel on other sites because several mainstream media players buy syndicated content from TSN.
Labels: Army, AU, BU, CU, HC, Laf, Leh, Navy, previews
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