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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:
-- 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 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 previewing Lafayette's Leopards, a team Laubach says is drawing motivation from its lack of respect.
50 ways to view the season -- Included in on 50 things to ponder as hoops season starts: More on Griffin -- The 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 next season.
Speaking of Holy Cross -- In case you missed it, the Crusaders bounced back from that exhibition loss to Rhode Island College by Tuesday night. Tim Clifford led the way with 16 points, 5 boards and 6 blocks. ()
Another recruit for AU -- The Boca Raton News 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 (if you have the patience for it to load). He played AAU hoops for the .
Long look at Army -- Anticipating Saturday's Minnesota home opener against the Black Knights. Scout.com takes a 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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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 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 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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Wednesday, October 31, 2007
Lafayette gets commitment from forward from Missouri.
The Ryan Willen, a 6-foot-8 forward from Notre Dame high in the southeast corner of the Show Me State has chosen the Leopards over North Dakota State and Texas Pan-American. Willen averaged over 22 points per game and 10 rebounds as a junior, earing the Southeast Missourian's co-player of the year honors.
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The Ryan Willen, a 6-foot-8 forward from Notre Dame high in the southeast corner of the Show Me State has chosen the Leopards over North Dakota State and Texas Pan-American. Willen averaged over 22 points per game and 10 rebounds as a junior, earing the Southeast Missourian's co-player of the year honors.
Labels: Laf, recruiting
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Friday, October 19, 2007
(Updated with additional links at 7:51 a.m.)
Here's what others are saying about Thursday's Patriot League basketball media day:
In Stephen Miller's , which appears in the Morning Call. there is a Fran O'Hanlon quote that pretty much sums up why people are still picking Holy Cross and Bucknell at the top of the league despite their heavy graduation losses. Says O'Hanlon" "I thought last year maybe the league would come back a little bit and be more competitive. To a certain extent [it was]. American was right there at times. Colgate and Army and Navy obviously took major steps last year, but it didn't translate into competing with Bucknell and Holy Cross. So I'm reluctant to say it's going to change."
The Examiner and concludes the Mids "will go as far as Greg Sprink carries" them.
Alexander Pyles did some blogging on CSTV's Hang Time blog from the ESPN Zone in Baltimore. Pyles, who must have sat close to the door, where the wireless actually worked, compiled a from the event.
David Ginsburg of the AP threw together based on the preseason poll and the very generic comments the coaches made before the individual interview sessions.
We'll update this in the morning.
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Here's what others are saying about Thursday's Patriot League basketball media day:
We'll update this in the morning.
Labels: Army, AU, BU, CU, HC, Laf, Leh, Navy, previews
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Thursday, October 18, 2007
More news, notes and quotes from Thursday's Patriot League basketball media day:
M*A*S*H -- Not a lot of talk about injuries from most of the coaches, but Bucknell's Pat Flannery and Holy Cross coach Ralph Willard did have some medical woes to talk about.
Flannery confirmed senior post man Darren Mastropaolo will not be ready any time soon. Flannery said Mastropaolo is working hard to rehab the knee he injured this summer, but has not begun to run on it yet. Flannery said there is no timetable for Mastropaolo's possible return. Bucknell guard John Griffin, in a separate interview, said the Bison are hopeful Mastropaolo might be able to get back for the second half of the Patriot League season. Griffin said he doesn't think Mastropaolo wants to take a medical redshirt, saying he thinks Mastropaolo wants to graduate with his classmates.
Holy Cross has two guys currently out of practice for medical reasons. Sophomore Andrew Keister has suffered another stress fracture in his leg and it appears his future is in question. Willard said there are concerns Keister, who survived childhood leukemia, may have some fragility in his bones due to the radiation treatments he underwent when he was ill. For now, the 6-9 forward is out at least six weeks.
Lawrence Dixon also has yet to practice for HC. Dixon's surgically repaired knee is structurally fine, Willard said, but he is having back and hamstring problems. Willard said it is possible Dixon's troubles could be related to favoring the injured knee.
"Lawrence could really help our basketball team if he can get healthy," Willard said.
QUOTABLE -- From the coaches opening comments:
"We have a lot of fresh faces coming in hoping to compete for some playing time." -- American coach Jeff Jones, whose roster includes six new players, including four junior college transfers
"We have a lot of young players. Nine of our 13 are in either the freshman or sophomore class." -- Lehigh coach Brett Reed, who is new to the head coach job himself
"We certainly hope to be an improved basketball team this year . . . we have lots of room for improvement." -- Colgate coach Emmett Davis
"What we found out in Europe is we graduated two really special leaders . . . we have a lot of work to do." -- HC's Ralph Willard
"We have more guys coming back this year than we have ever had." -- Army coach Jim Crews
"We don't know a lot right now. But we do have one kid -- Jarrell Brown -- who puts the ball in the bucket." -- Crews
"you can't even land in Mississippi. You have to land in Memphis." == Lafayette coach Fran O'Hanlon on the leopards trip to Mississippi State, part of nine straight road games after playing five of their first six at home
"Nobody's divulging names." -- Bucknell coach Pat Flannery, commenting on the generic remarks of the other coaches
"We are who we are, and you know who we are. We're not hard to figure out." -- Flannery on his Bison
"I don't feel like our program is young anymore." -- Navy coach Billy Lange on his experienced underclassmen
Those were the best offered. Told you they were pretty generic.
MAKING POINTS -- Expect Griffin to start the season at the point for Bucknell, but the pre-season all-league pick could end up sliding to the two if freshman Daryl Shazier develops quickly. Shazier played for the highly competitive Boo Williams AAU program in Virginia and is accustomed to high level competition, something that should speed his adjustment to the college game.
"We didn't bring him in to sit," said Flannery.
At Holy Cross, freshman Andrew Beinert was expected to back up Pat Doherty at the point this season, but difficulties finding adequate scoring from the wings could force Willard to move him to the two. Willard said that is not his preference, but he may be forced to do it.
Scoring from the wings, said Willard, "Is still (HC's) biggest question mark. That was our big bugaboo in Europe. We didn't score from the wing at all."
In August, before heading on the overseas trip, Willard spoke of the possibility of playing Alex Vander Baan at the three some. Those plans appear to be scrapped. Willard said Vander Baan is just not comfortable enough putting teh ball on the floor against smaller defenders.
STEPPING OUT -- Thus far in practice, Holy Cross' best perimeter shooter has been 6-10 senior center Tim Clifford.
"Tim may be the best three-point shooter we have on the team," said Willard.
Expect Clifford to look to spot up on the arc when trailing the break. He will also step out to shoot the three in half-court sets, Willard said.
"Tim has made the three an important part of who he is as a basketball player," Willard said.
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M*A*S*H -- Not a lot of talk about injuries from most of the coaches, but Bucknell's Pat Flannery and Holy Cross coach Ralph Willard did have some medical woes to talk about.
Flannery confirmed senior post man Darren Mastropaolo will not be ready any time soon. Flannery said Mastropaolo is working hard to rehab the knee he injured this summer, but has not begun to run on it yet. Flannery said there is no timetable for Mastropaolo's possible return. Bucknell guard John Griffin, in a separate interview, said the Bison are hopeful Mastropaolo might be able to get back for the second half of the Patriot League season. Griffin said he doesn't think Mastropaolo wants to take a medical redshirt, saying he thinks Mastropaolo wants to graduate with his classmates.
Holy Cross has two guys currently out of practice for medical reasons. Sophomore Andrew Keister has suffered another stress fracture in his leg and it appears his future is in question. Willard said there are concerns Keister, who survived childhood leukemia, may have some fragility in his bones due to the radiation treatments he underwent when he was ill. For now, the 6-9 forward is out at least six weeks.
Lawrence Dixon also has yet to practice for HC. Dixon's surgically repaired knee is structurally fine, Willard said, but he is having back and hamstring problems. Willard said it is possible Dixon's troubles could be related to favoring the injured knee.
"Lawrence could really help our basketball team if he can get healthy," Willard said.
QUOTABLE -- From the coaches opening comments:
"We have a lot of fresh faces coming in hoping to compete for some playing time." -- American coach Jeff Jones, whose roster includes six new players, including four junior college transfers
"We have a lot of young players. Nine of our 13 are in either the freshman or sophomore class." -- Lehigh coach Brett Reed, who is new to the head coach job himself
"We certainly hope to be an improved basketball team this year . . . we have lots of room for improvement." -- Colgate coach Emmett Davis
"What we found out in Europe is we graduated two really special leaders . . . we have a lot of work to do." -- HC's Ralph Willard
"We have more guys coming back this year than we have ever had." -- Army coach Jim Crews
"We don't know a lot right now. But we do have one kid -- Jarrell Brown -- who puts the ball in the bucket." -- Crews
"you can't even land in Mississippi. You have to land in Memphis." == Lafayette coach Fran O'Hanlon on the leopards trip to Mississippi State, part of nine straight road games after playing five of their first six at home
"Nobody's divulging names." -- Bucknell coach Pat Flannery, commenting on the generic remarks of the other coaches
"We are who we are, and you know who we are. We're not hard to figure out." -- Flannery on his Bison
"I don't feel like our program is young anymore." -- Navy coach Billy Lange on his experienced underclassmen
Those were the best offered. Told you they were pretty generic.
MAKING POINTS -- Expect Griffin to start the season at the point for Bucknell, but the pre-season all-league pick could end up sliding to the two if freshman Daryl Shazier develops quickly. Shazier played for the highly competitive Boo Williams AAU program in Virginia and is accustomed to high level competition, something that should speed his adjustment to the college game.
"We didn't bring him in to sit," said Flannery.
At Holy Cross, freshman Andrew Beinert was expected to back up Pat Doherty at the point this season, but difficulties finding adequate scoring from the wings could force Willard to move him to the two. Willard said that is not his preference, but he may be forced to do it.
Scoring from the wings, said Willard, "Is still (HC's) biggest question mark. That was our big bugaboo in Europe. We didn't score from the wing at all."
In August, before heading on the overseas trip, Willard spoke of the possibility of playing Alex Vander Baan at the three some. Those plans appear to be scrapped. Willard said Vander Baan is just not comfortable enough putting teh ball on the floor against smaller defenders.
STEPPING OUT -- Thus far in practice, Holy Cross' best perimeter shooter has been 6-10 senior center Tim Clifford.
"Tim may be the best three-point shooter we have on the team," said Willard.
Expect Clifford to look to spot up on the arc when trailing the break. He will also step out to shoot the three in half-court sets, Willard said.
"Tim has made the three an important part of who he is as a basketball player," Willard said.
Labels: Army, AU, BU, CU, HC, Laf, Leh, Navy, notebook
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We will have more from today's Media Day festivities later. In the meantime, here is a look at how the voting went for the major preseason honors.
The league's coaches and sports information directors voted in the preseason all-league balloting and the preseason poll. Just for fun, we also will list how we saw things back in August when we put together our previews for Blue Ribbon College Basketball Yearbook.
LEAGUE FORECAST:
2007 PreSeason All-League Selections
G- John Griffin, Sr. Bucknell
C- Tim Clifford, Sr., Holy Cross
G- Jarrell Brown, Sr., Army
G- Marquis Hall, So., Lehigh
G- Greg Sprink, Sr., Navy
Preseason Player of the Year
Tim Clifford, Sr., Holy Cross
Preseason Poll
1. Holy Cross (10 first place votes) 91 points
2. Bucknell (5) 85
3. Colgate (1) 62
4. Lehigh 56
5. American 49
6. Army 42
7. Navy 34
8. Lafayette 29
For comparison purposes, here is how I saw the league and the preseason honors in Blue Ribbon College Basketball Yearbook:
BLUE RIBBON FORECAST
1. Holy Cross
2. Bucknell
3. Lehigh
4. Army
5. American
6. Colgate
7. Navy
8. Lafayette
ALL-CONFERENCE TEAM
G-Jarell Brown, SR, Army
C-Tim Clifford, SR, Holy Cross
G-Greg Sprink, SR, Navy
G-Marquis Hall, SO, Lehigh
G-John Griffin, SR, Bucknell
PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Jarell Brown, SR, Army
NEWCOMERS OF THE YEAR
Andrew Beinert, FR, Holy Cross
Todd O'Brien, FR, Bucknell
I will tell you the standings prediction is a roll of the dice. Matter of fact, I can't remember ever having less faith in my preseason prognostications. As several coaches pointed out today, nobody knows what American has this season. Colgate has as much talent as anyone, but I have a hard time picking them higher based on the simple fact they had a lot of talent the last two seasons and failed to live up to expectations. Army might be a stretch at fourth, but they have as good a shot at being in the upper division as any of the teams I ranked 3 through 6.
We shall see.
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The league's coaches and sports information directors voted in the preseason all-league balloting and the preseason poll. Just for fun, we also will list how we saw things back in August when we put together our previews for Blue Ribbon College Basketball Yearbook.
LEAGUE FORECAST:
2007 PreSeason All-League Selections
G- John Griffin, Sr. Bucknell
C- Tim Clifford, Sr., Holy Cross
G- Jarrell Brown, Sr., Army
G- Marquis Hall, So., Lehigh
G- Greg Sprink, Sr., Navy
Preseason Player of the Year
Tim Clifford, Sr., Holy Cross
Preseason Poll
1. Holy Cross (10 first place votes) 91 points
2. Bucknell (5) 85
3. Colgate (1) 62
4. Lehigh 56
5. American 49
6. Army 42
7. Navy 34
8. Lafayette 29
For comparison purposes, here is how I saw the league and the preseason honors in Blue Ribbon College Basketball Yearbook:
BLUE RIBBON FORECAST
1. Holy Cross
2. Bucknell
3. Lehigh
4. Army
5. American
6. Colgate
7. Navy
8. Lafayette
ALL-CONFERENCE TEAM
G-Jarell Brown, SR, Army
C-Tim Clifford, SR, Holy Cross
G-Greg Sprink, SR, Navy
G-Marquis Hall, SO, Lehigh
G-John Griffin, SR, Bucknell
PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Jarell Brown, SR, Army
NEWCOMERS OF THE YEAR
Andrew Beinert, FR, Holy Cross
Todd O'Brien, FR, Bucknell
I will tell you the standings prediction is a roll of the dice. Matter of fact, I can't remember ever having less faith in my preseason prognostications. As several coaches pointed out today, nobody knows what American has this season. Colgate has as much talent as anyone, but I have a hard time picking them higher based on the simple fact they had a lot of talent the last two seasons and failed to live up to expectations. Army might be a stretch at fourth, but they have as good a shot at being in the upper division as any of the teams I ranked 3 through 6.
We shall see.
Labels: Army, AU, BU, CU, HC, Laf, Leh, Navy, previews
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Sunday, October 14, 2007
Looking for a quick fix for your basketball jones before the afternoon's NFL action kicks off. We have it here, with a quick preview of the league and a little catching up with old friends.
Gone but not forgotten (Part I): Down in the Lehigh Valley, former Express-Times sports editor Ed Laubach is supposed to be retired. But that doesn't stop him from popping out the occasional column, like bemoaning the lack of hoops excitement on six out of eight Patriot League campuses. In the process, Ed takes a quick look around the league and sizes up each team's prospects for the coming season.
Gone but not forgotten (Part II): Last time we checked in with Adonal Foyle, the Colgate grad, and only Patriot League to ever make it in the NBA, was looking for work after being left go by the Golden State Warriors. Foyle's new employer is the Orlando Magic, which is preparing to head to China for some exhibition action. Writers on the Magic beat knew who to turn to when looking to file a story about the trip; as put it, Foyle is "the kind of deep thinker who usually sticks out in an NBA locker room the way Bill O'Reilly would at a rap concert." The also checked in with Foyle for some socio-economic perspective on the trip.
Gone but not forgotten (Part III): Would any post catching up on the whereabouts of folks affiliated with Patriot League hoops be complete without an of Neil Fingleton? (Hint: The guy is 7-7, maybe you should throw another couple of shrimp on the barbie).
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Labels: Army, AU, BU, CU, HC, Laf, Leh, Navy, previews
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Tuesday, October 02, 2007
The league and the WWLIS have announced a 13-game television package for the upcoming season. Included is the conference tournament final, which will assume its customary Friday happy hour slot on ESPN2.
The Feb. 16 Holy Cross at Bucknell men's game will also be shown on the deuce.
The rest of the package, which includes a trio of women's games, will be on ESPNU.
Click the full post link to read the official press release.he 2007-08 Patriot League men's basketball schedule will feature eight regular-season men's games on ESPNU and one on ESPN2, as well as the Championship game on March 14 at 4:30 p.m. on ESPN2, it was announced Tuesday by Patriot League Executive Director Carolyn Schlie Femovich.
"We are pleased to once again feature Patriot League basketball games, including our Championship for men's and women's basketball, on the ESPN networks," said Femovich. "It is exciting that a regular-season matchup between Holy Cross and Bucknell, our past two champions, will be showcased on ESPN2 this year."
The ESPNU schedule also includes two Patriot League women's basketball regular-season games and the Championship contest on March 12.
The men's basketball season opens up on ESPNU, with Navy traveling to Bucknell for a7 p.m. tip-off on Jan. 11. Bucknell and Holy Cross will face off on the ESPN networks for both of their regular-season matchups, with a Jan. 18 game in Worcester at 9 p.m. on ESPNU and a Feb. 16 contest in Lewisburg at 6 p.m on ESPN2.
The ESPNU schedule features three Friday night games, four Sunday tip-offs at Noon and one Saturday contest. Two weekends will include a pair of Patriot League matchups. Lehigh visits Holy Cross on Feb. 2 at Noon and Army travels to Bucknell on Feb. 3 at Noon, while American is at Colgate at Noon on Feb. 17, one day after the Holy Cross/Bucknell tilt on ESPN2.
On the women's side, Holy Cross visits Bucknell for a Noon tip-off on Jan. 20 and Army is at Navy on Jan. 27. The Army-Navy game will be shown live on ESPN360.com and on a taped-delayed basis at 6:30 p.m.
2008 Patriot League Men's Basketball Schedule on ESPN2/ESPNU
Fri., Jan. 11: Navy at Bucknell, 7 p.m.
Fri., Jan. 18: Bucknell at Holy Cross, 9 p.m.
Sun., Jan. 27: Army at Navy, Noon
Sat., Feb. 2: Lehigh at Holy Cross, Noon
Sun., Feb. 3: Army at Bucknell, Noon
Sun., Feb. 10: Lehigh at American, Noon
Sat., Feb. 16: Holy Cross at Bucknell (ESPN2), 6 p.m.
Sun., Feb. 17: American at Colgate, Noon
Fri., Feb. 29: Holy Cross at Lehigh, 9 p.m.
Fri., Mar. 14: Championship Game (ESPN2), 4:30 p.m.
2008 Patriot League Women's Basketball Schedule on ESPNU
Sun., Jan. 20: Holy Cross at Bucknell, Noon
Sun., Jan. 27: Army at Navy, 2:30 p.m.
Wed., Mar. 12: Championship Game, TBA
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The Feb. 16 Holy Cross at Bucknell men's game will also be shown on the deuce.
The rest of the package, which includes a trio of women's games, will be on ESPNU.
Click the full post link to read the official press release.he 2007-08 Patriot League men's basketball schedule will feature eight regular-season men's games on ESPNU and one on ESPN2, as well as the Championship game on March 14 at 4:30 p.m. on ESPN2, it was announced Tuesday by Patriot League Executive Director Carolyn Schlie Femovich.
"We are pleased to once again feature Patriot League basketball games, including our Championship for men's and women's basketball, on the ESPN networks," said Femovich. "It is exciting that a regular-season matchup between Holy Cross and Bucknell, our past two champions, will be showcased on ESPN2 this year."
The ESPNU schedule also includes two Patriot League women's basketball regular-season games and the Championship contest on March 12.
The men's basketball season opens up on ESPNU, with Navy traveling to Bucknell for a7 p.m. tip-off on Jan. 11. Bucknell and Holy Cross will face off on the ESPN networks for both of their regular-season matchups, with a Jan. 18 game in Worcester at 9 p.m. on ESPNU and a Feb. 16 contest in Lewisburg at 6 p.m on ESPN2.
The ESPNU schedule features three Friday night games, four Sunday tip-offs at Noon and one Saturday contest. Two weekends will include a pair of Patriot League matchups. Lehigh visits Holy Cross on Feb. 2 at Noon and Army travels to Bucknell on Feb. 3 at Noon, while American is at Colgate at Noon on Feb. 17, one day after the Holy Cross/Bucknell tilt on ESPN2.
On the women's side, Holy Cross visits Bucknell for a Noon tip-off on Jan. 20 and Army is at Navy on Jan. 27. The Army-Navy game will be shown live on ESPN360.com and on a taped-delayed basis at 6:30 p.m.
2008 Patriot League Men's Basketball Schedule on ESPN2/ESPNU
Fri., Jan. 11: Navy at Bucknell, 7 p.m.
Fri., Jan. 18: Bucknell at Holy Cross, 9 p.m.
Sun., Jan. 27: Army at Navy, Noon
Sat., Feb. 2: Lehigh at Holy Cross, Noon
Sun., Feb. 3: Army at Bucknell, Noon
Sun., Feb. 10: Lehigh at American, Noon
Sat., Feb. 16: Holy Cross at Bucknell (ESPN2), 6 p.m.
Sun., Feb. 17: American at Colgate, Noon
Fri., Feb. 29: Holy Cross at Lehigh, 9 p.m.
Fri., Mar. 14: Championship Game (ESPN2), 4:30 p.m.
2008 Patriot League Women's Basketball Schedule on ESPNU
Sun., Jan. 20: Holy Cross at Bucknell, Noon
Sun., Jan. 27: Army at Navy, 2:30 p.m.
Wed., Mar. 12: Championship Game, TBA
Labels: Army, AU, BU, CU, HC, Laf, Leh, Navy
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Thursday, September 20, 2007
Jim Mower, a 6-3 wing out of Philadelphia's Saint Joseph's Prep has committed to Lafayette.
Mower, who averaged as a junior, chose the Leopards over Colgate. The second team All Catholic League pick also had offers from Hartford, New Hampshire, Niagara and Quinnipiac.
According to the , the decision basically came down to Lafayette's proximity to civilization.
Saint Joe's Prep is also the alma mater of Bucknell guard John Griffin.
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Mower, who averaged as a junior, chose the Leopards over Colgate. The second team All Catholic League pick also had offers from Hartford, New Hampshire, Niagara and Quinnipiac.
According to the , the decision basically came down to Lafayette's proximity to civilization.
Saint Joe's Prep is also the alma mater of Bucknell guard John Griffin.
Labels: CU, Laf, recruiting
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Wednesday, August 29, 2007
A pair of items from the Lehigh Valley contingent of the league:
Lehigh completes staff
New had coach Brett Reed has at Lehigh. Named as assistants were former Wofford associate head coach Matt Allen and ex-Lehigh player and assistant Matt Logie, who comes back to Bethlehem after a stint at Kent State. Jon Weiner, hired earlier in the spring by former coach Billy Taylor, rounds out the staff. Weiner formerly was head coach at Quinsigamond Community College in Mass.
Lafayette schedule released
The Leopards slate, Tuesday, includes games at Rutgers and Pitt, and a game in Jacksom, Miss. against Mississippi State. Ivy power Penn returns to the Lafayette schedule, along with the usual assortment of Northeeast Conference and Ivy foes. For the .
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New had coach Brett Reed has at Lehigh. Named as assistants were former Wofford associate head coach Matt Allen and ex-Lehigh player and assistant Matt Logie, who comes back to Bethlehem after a stint at Kent State. Jon Weiner, hired earlier in the spring by former coach Billy Taylor, rounds out the staff. Weiner formerly was head coach at Quinsigamond Community College in Mass.
The Leopards slate, Tuesday, includes games at Rutgers and Pitt, and a game in Jacksom, Miss. against Mississippi State. Ivy power Penn returns to the Lafayette schedule, along with the usual assortment of Northeeast Conference and Ivy foes. For the .
Labels: Laf, Leh, scheduling
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Sunday, August 26, 2007
Here is a look at what has been going on while we have been busy preparing our preseason stories for the upcoming issue of the Blue Ribbon College Basketball Yearbook:
Holy Cross has Patriot League reunion on European trip
There was a familiar face in the opposing lineup when Holy Cross met C.B. L'Hospitalet in the of its summer trip abroad.
Recent Bucknell grad Chris McNaughton, a three-time first team All-Patriot pick, started at center for L'Hospitalet, a second division Spanish professional club from near Barcelona.
McNaughton scored 10 points in L'Hospitalet's 92-61 win. Eric Meister led the Crusaders with 12 points, 8 rebounds.
HC finished its trip with a 2-3 record, with wins over Spanish Division 3 side Sabadell and the Netherlands national team , and losses to the Norwegian national team and the Swiss national team .
The best news for HC on the trip may have been that Lawrence Dixon was able to play significant minutes on the tour. Prior to departing for Europe, Dixon, who underwent a second knee surgery in the offseason, had been unable to make it through a complete practice.
The bad news, Pat Doherty, who Ralph Willard sorely needs at the point, sat out several games on the trip due to back problems. Doherty did play in the final game. No word on whether the problem is chronic. The health of the oft-injured Doherty is a key concern for HC heading into the season.
Simmons follows Taylor to Ball State
As expected, Lehigh assistant Bob Simmons has joined Billy Taylor's staff at Ball State.A former D-3 head coach at Delaware Valley, Simmons was a member of Lehigh's staff since 2002. His departure left new Lehigh coach Brett Reed, Taylor's former top assistant, with just one holdover on his staff, former Quinsigamond Community College head coach Jon Weiner, who joined the Lehigh staff in the spring.
Reed has finalized his staff, but names will not be released until all the signed contracts are returned. Expect at least one Lehigh alum to be on the list when it is made public.
Butch van Breda Kolff dead at 84
Butch van Breda Kolff, who did two stints as head coach at Lafayette, in a Spokane, Wash. nursing home. He was 84.
Van Breda Kolff spent 28 seasons as a college coach, compiling a 482-272 record, with six trips to the NCAA Tournament (as the Sports Illustrated story linked above points out, in those days, there were far fewer bids handed out.) He also coached professionally, going 287-316 in 10 seasons in the old ABA and the NBA.
Head coach at Lafayette 1951-55, and again from 1984-88, van Breda Kolff also coached at Hofstra, Princeton and the University of New Orleans. His pro jobs included stints with the Lakers, the Detroit Pistons, the Phoenix Suns, the Memphis Tams of the ABA, the New Orleans Jazz and the New Orleans Pride of Women's Basketball League.
Ed Laubach of the Express-Times as one of a kind.
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There was a familiar face in the opposing lineup when Holy Cross met C.B. L'Hospitalet in the of its summer trip abroad.
Recent Bucknell grad Chris McNaughton, a three-time first team All-Patriot pick, started at center for L'Hospitalet, a second division Spanish professional club from near Barcelona.
McNaughton scored 10 points in L'Hospitalet's 92-61 win. Eric Meister led the Crusaders with 12 points, 8 rebounds.
HC finished its trip with a 2-3 record, with wins over Spanish Division 3 side Sabadell and the Netherlands national team , and losses to the Norwegian national team and the Swiss national team .
The best news for HC on the trip may have been that Lawrence Dixon was able to play significant minutes on the tour. Prior to departing for Europe, Dixon, who underwent a second knee surgery in the offseason, had been unable to make it through a complete practice.
The bad news, Pat Doherty, who Ralph Willard sorely needs at the point, sat out several games on the trip due to back problems. Doherty did play in the final game. No word on whether the problem is chronic. The health of the oft-injured Doherty is a key concern for HC heading into the season.
As expected, Lehigh assistant Bob Simmons has joined Billy Taylor's staff at Ball State.A former D-3 head coach at Delaware Valley, Simmons was a member of Lehigh's staff since 2002. His departure left new Lehigh coach Brett Reed, Taylor's former top assistant, with just one holdover on his staff, former Quinsigamond Community College head coach Jon Weiner, who joined the Lehigh staff in the spring.
Reed has finalized his staff, but names will not be released until all the signed contracts are returned. Expect at least one Lehigh alum to be on the list when it is made public.
Butch van Breda Kolff, who did two stints as head coach at Lafayette, in a Spokane, Wash. nursing home. He was 84.
Van Breda Kolff spent 28 seasons as a college coach, compiling a 482-272 record, with six trips to the NCAA Tournament (as the Sports Illustrated story linked above points out, in those days, there were far fewer bids handed out.) He also coached professionally, going 287-316 in 10 seasons in the old ABA and the NBA.
Head coach at Lafayette 1951-55, and again from 1984-88, van Breda Kolff also coached at Hofstra, Princeton and the University of New Orleans. His pro jobs included stints with the Lakers, the Detroit Pistons, the Phoenix Suns, the Memphis Tams of the ABA, the New Orleans Jazz and the New Orleans Pride of Women's Basketball League.
Ed Laubach of the Express-Times as one of a kind.
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Wednesday, August 15, 2007
ESPN.com has begun its summer ShootAround look at the nation's Division I hoops conferences. Yesterday they featured the Patriot League.
The headline on reads "Who can catch Bucknell and Holy Cross?"
Andy Glockner points out that over the past three seasons, BU and HC are a combined 80-4 against the rest of the conference, including league tournament games.
Glockner speculates it could be a two-horse race again this season, with Colgate as the darkhorse. His WWLIS colleague, bracketologist Joe Lunardi, had Holy Cross penciled in on his , projecting the Crusaders as a 14 seed.
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The headline on reads "Who can catch Bucknell and Holy Cross?"
Andy Glockner points out that over the past three seasons, BU and HC are a combined 80-4 against the rest of the conference, including league tournament games.
Glockner speculates it could be a two-horse race again this season, with Colgate as the darkhorse. His WWLIS colleague, bracketologist Joe Lunardi, had Holy Cross penciled in on his , projecting the Crusaders as a 14 seed.
Labels: Army, AU, BU, CU, HC, Laf, Leh, Navy, previews
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Wednesday, June 06, 2007
Any spare time we found the last few weeks was spent tying flies and getting ready for our annual fishing trip. Here's a look at a few tidbits we missed while doing the stuff most fly fishermen do during hoops season.
Bison to host Albany in their home opener. According to , the Danes will visit Lewisburg Nov. 10. The game is the second half of a home and home series that started last season at Albany.
Sad . Former Navy coach and player Dave Smalley has passed away after a battle with cancer. Smalley was 72. Joe Gross, the longtime sports editor at the Capital in Annapolis, shares some memories of Smalley in .
Just back from his team's , Lafayette coach Fran O'Hanlon will serve as a during the U.S. team trials for the Pan American Games. Head coach for the U.S. team, by the way, will be Bucknell grad Jay Wright, the Villanova head coach.
American has recruiting class, leading to the question: Are any juco players left to sign with any other schools? O.K., that is a slight exaggeration. But Jeff Jones's six incoming players include a total of four from the juco ranks.
Lehigh is also , all from the prep ranks. Four are scholarship kids, two, including another 7-foot project, are invited walk-ons. The most curious signing is a 5-8 point guard, Prentice Small, from Long Island, given the Mountain Hawks' outstanding point guard Marquis Hall will be just a sophomore. Hall is a fine three-point shooter, but he is just 5-11. Even in the Patriot League, there won't be many times Billy Taylor will be able to get away with playing the two together, as Jeff Jones discovered with Derrick Mercer and Garrison Carr.
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Labels: AU, BU, Laf, Leh, Navy, recruiting, scheduling
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Wednesday, May 23, 2007
According to the popular , that is how you say "Lafayette wins first two on trip" in Italian.
The Leopards probably could use a Palm version of the site on their trip to Italy, where they have won their first two of four scheduled games.
The 'Pards opened the trip with an 83-80 , then picked up a 78-69 win over the Marghera Giants in of the trip.
In addition to the faces familiar from last season, guard Jeff Robinson is also on the trip. Robinson, who scored in double figures in the first game, is a 6-3 sophomore-eligible who sat out last season after transferring from East Carolina, where he earned a walk-on roster spot as a freshman.
For coverage of the Leopards' trip, including photo galleries and Matt Beltley's journal, .
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The Leopards probably could use a Palm version of the site on their trip to Italy, where they have won their first two of four scheduled games.
The 'Pards opened the trip with an 83-80 , then picked up a 78-69 win over the Marghera Giants in of the trip.
In addition to the faces familiar from last season, guard Jeff Robinson is also on the trip. Robinson, who scored in double figures in the first game, is a 6-3 sophomore-eligible who sat out last season after transferring from East Carolina, where he earned a walk-on roster spot as a freshman.
For coverage of the Leopards' trip, including photo galleries and Matt Beltley's journal, .
Labels: Laf
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Friday, April 27, 2007
Lafayette coach Fran O'Hanlon and Colgate coach Emmett Davis will be looking to fill openings on their staffs.
The Pittsburgh Andy Toole, an O'Hanlon assistant last season, is expected to join Mike Rice's staff at Robert Morris.
Rice,by the way, was a captain on the Fordham team that won the inaugural Patriot League championship in 1991 and began his coaching career as an assistant at his alma mater while the rams were still in the league.
Colgate assistant Kevin Curley has also landed a new job. Curley has the new head coach at Division III McDaniel (formerly Western Maryland) College.
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The Pittsburgh Andy Toole, an O'Hanlon assistant last season, is expected to join Mike Rice's staff at Robert Morris.
Rice,by the way, was a captain on the Fordham team that won the inaugural Patriot League championship in 1991 and began his coaching career as an assistant at his alma mater while the rams were still in the league.
Colgate assistant Kevin Curley has also landed a new job. Curley has the new head coach at Division III McDaniel (formerly Western Maryland) College.
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Tuesday, April 17, 2007
A Colgate coach looks for a new job, Jeff Jones lands a high school player, former HC assistants have a reunion and the Lehigh Valley contingent looks to catch Holy Cross and Bucknell. But the biggest news: after a slow couple of weeks, there finally is some news.
Down in the Lehigh Valley, Corky Blake of the Express-Times probably has had some extra time on his hands since the weather has been wiping out spring sports events on an almost daily basis. Taking advantage of the free time, with a look at off-season workouts at Lehigh and Lafayette.
Emmett Davis still has a job, which is testament to either the Colgate administration's remarkable patience with the league's most disappointing program the last few years or the simple fact that nobody in Hamilton gives a rat's rump about basketball. But one of Davis' assistants is looking to escape Hamilton's frozen tundra for below the Mason-Dixon line.
Speaking of assistants on the move, here is one from our Where have you gone? department. A pair of former Ralph Willard assistants Tom Moore's staff at Quinnipiac.
Jeff Jones has another recruit. This one is not a juco player. Steve Luptak, a 6-3 guard from Munster, Indiana has made a and is expected to sign next week. The on Luptak, who averaged 12.4 ppg his senior season: "If you were the best player on an opposing team, you knew Luptak would be inside your jersey."
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Thursday, March 22, 2007
Long-time voice of Lafayette sports Dick Hammer is looking for a new job after his radio station, WEST, switched formats.
The station it would switch from sports/talk to Spanish music, ending an era in the Lehigh Valley.
According to Keith Groller in the Morning Call, Lafayette officials hope to retain Hammer, 72, as their play-by-play man on whatever station they move their games to.
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The station it would switch from sports/talk to Spanish music, ending an era in the Lehigh Valley.
According to Keith Groller in the Morning Call, Lafayette officials hope to retain Hammer, 72, as their play-by-play man on whatever station they move their games to.
Labels: Laf
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Thursday, March 01, 2007
Tim Clifford and the Crusaders made it look easy in a 30-point first round win over Lafayette.
Clifford poured in 22 points and grabbed 8 rebounds as top-seeded Holy Cross (23-8) made quick work of last place Lafayette (9-21), sending the Leopards packing with an 83-53 win.
The 83 points were the second most scored by HC all year, just a point less than the 84 they scored in their conference opening win at Lafayette.
The Leopards led early, and were up 11-10 when the sky fell. Holy Cross took command of the game with a 9-0 run, then after a Lafayette bucket, put it away with a 15-0 run, holding the Leopards scoreless for 8:19 while building a 34-13 lead.
It was 42-18 at the half, and Lafayette never got closer than 19 the rest of the way.
Torey Thomas added 13 points for HC and Keith Simmons also reached double figures with 12. Pat Doherty had 5 of the Crusaders' 10 steals, which helped force 20 Lafayette turnovers.
Turnovers were not the Leopards only problem. Even when they held on to the ball, the end results were seldom favorable. The 'Pards were just 5 of 18 from the field (27.8 percent) in the first half, finishing 17 of 48 (35.4 percent).
Holy Cross had no such troubles, knocking down 32 of 60 from the floor (53.3 percent). Even when they did miss, HC was nearly as likely to get the rebound as Lafayette. Thirteen of the Crusaders' 40 rebounds came on the offensive glass, leading to 18 second chance points. Lafayette finished with 19 boards, 14 on HC misses.
Andrew Brown led Lafayette with 26 points, hitting 8 treys (on 12 tries). Matt Betley closed his career with 12 points for the 'Pards. No other Lafayette player made more than one field goal. Take away Brown and Betley's combined 14 for 23 shooting and the rest of the leopards went 3 for 25 (12 percent) from the field.
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Clifford poured in 22 points and grabbed 8 rebounds as top-seeded Holy Cross (23-8) made quick work of last place Lafayette (9-21), sending the Leopards packing with an 83-53 win.
The 83 points were the second most scored by HC all year, just a point less than the 84 they scored in their conference opening win at Lafayette.
The Leopards led early, and were up 11-10 when the sky fell. Holy Cross took command of the game with a 9-0 run, then after a Lafayette bucket, put it away with a 15-0 run, holding the Leopards scoreless for 8:19 while building a 34-13 lead.
It was 42-18 at the half, and Lafayette never got closer than 19 the rest of the way.
Torey Thomas added 13 points for HC and Keith Simmons also reached double figures with 12. Pat Doherty had 5 of the Crusaders' 10 steals, which helped force 20 Lafayette turnovers.
Turnovers were not the Leopards only problem. Even when they held on to the ball, the end results were seldom favorable. The 'Pards were just 5 of 18 from the field (27.8 percent) in the first half, finishing 17 of 48 (35.4 percent).
Holy Cross had no such troubles, knocking down 32 of 60 from the floor (53.3 percent). Even when they did miss, HC was nearly as likely to get the rebound as Lafayette. Thirteen of the Crusaders' 40 rebounds came on the offensive glass, leading to 18 second chance points. Lafayette finished with 19 boards, 14 on HC misses.
Andrew Brown led Lafayette with 26 points, hitting 8 treys (on 12 tries). Matt Betley closed his career with 12 points for the 'Pards. No other Lafayette player made more than one field goal. Take away Brown and Betley's combined 14 for 23 shooting and the rest of the leopards went 3 for 25 (12 percent) from the field.
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Wednesday, February 28, 2007
March Madness starts in February this year. Here is a look at tonight's first round Patriot League playoff contests:
No. 6 Army at No. 3 Lehigh 7 p.m. () -- Looking for tonight's upset special? here's your game. Army (14-15, 4-10) comes in losers of eight of its last nine, the only win in that span coming at home against last place Lafayette. After a strong start filled with promise, including a 3-2 start to the conference season, the Black Knights seemed to slide into the abyss.
So what makes anybody think a team that has won just twice on the road all season can pull off an upset against a Lehigh team that was 9-3 this season in Stabler?
For starters, there is Army's win in the first meeting between the two. The Black Knights held Jose Olivero to 7 points in that one. In other words, they know first hand that if you shut down Olivero, Lehigh is beatable.
Of course they also know what happens when Olivero does go off. Lehigh's all-league senior put up 30 on Army when they met earlier this month in Stabler.
In a strange way, that ought to give Army some confidence. Even with Olivero combining with freshman point guard Marquis Hall for 50 points in that game, the Black Knights kept it close much of the way before falling by 11. The Black Knights (2-16 all time in the league tournament) come in knowing that if they can just limit Olivero to somewhere around his 16.6 ppg average, they should have a shot at winning their third-ever tournament game and at advancing for the first time since 1996.
At that point, Lehigh's only home setbacks all season had come on a disputed call in the final seconds of a 1-point loss to Columbia and in a 5-point loss to Navy three days before Army came to town.
That Navy loss put a crack in the Mountain Hawks' air of home invincibility. It was shattered in the last week of the season, with Bucknell and Holy Cross both coming into Stabler to pick up wins. Add a Feb. 18 loss at last place Lafayette to the mix and you have a reeling team that comes into the post season having lost three in a row.
Here is an interesting stat to ponder as you consider the possibilities of tonight's game: In a nine-game stretch beginning with a loss at Bucknell Jan. 23, Lehigh has shot
36 percent from the field, 33 percent from three-point range. That bodes well for a low scoring, defense minded team like Army.
One thing that has changed since the two teams last met is the return of 6-10 senior Jason Mgebroff to the Lehigh lineup. If Mgebroff can regain his form of earlier in the season, before the stress fracture that left him out of action for 13 games, he could be a huge presence against an Army team that is not real strong in the post. There has been no sign of that Mgebroff in the four games since he has returned, though. In those four, Mgebroff has scored a total of 8 points, 5 coming in an overtime win at Colgate.
(Times Herald-Record)
No. 8 Lafayette at No. 1 Holy Cross 7 p.m. () -- The Leopards put a scare in the Crusaders back in their conference opener in Easton. That might give Lafayette some confidence, but it also is likely to help make certain Holy Cross doesn't look past the last-place Leopards. No top seed has ever lost in the first round of the league tournament, and it is not likely to happen tonight. Note: The game can be heard on Sirius satellite radio on channel 140.
(Telegram & Gazette)
No. 7 Navy at No. 2 Bucknell 7 p.m. () -- There are a lot of streaks on the line for Bucknell, which is looking to win 13 in a row for the first time under Pat Flannery. The Bison have won 33 straight Patriot League games in Sojka Pavilion, six straight league tournament games and have won five straight games against Navy.
There is also a streak the Bison are looking to end. They are 0-3 all time against the Midshipmen in PL Tournament games.
If Navy's shots are falling and Bucknell's are not, this could be close. That was the situation when the two met in Sojka earlier this season. With Navy making eight treys while Bucknell hit just two, the Mids kept it tight throughout before falling 59-51.
Since then, though, Bucknell has won 13 out of 14 while Navy has gone 4-9. Even though three of those wins came in the last six games, the Mids' resurgent season should end tonight.
Worth noting: There are tickets available for this one. They can be or at the Langone Center box office up until 5 p.m. or at the door at Sojka beginning at 5.
No. 5 Colgate at No. 4 American, 7:30 p.m. () -- Watch out for the AU Eagles, who come into the tournament on a roll, winners of their last four in a row. American started the season strong, winning seven of their first nine. As losses began to pile up, Jeff Jones began tinkering with his lineup in an effort to reverse that trend.
It didn't work, but late in the season Jones smartened up and went back to the lineup that had been successful early and AU put together a surge that secured a homecourt game in the first round.
Since joining the league, American has never lost in the first round of the tournament. The Eagles won both regular season games against the Raiders, who limp into the postseason losers of four of their last five.
The loser gets out its golf clubs. The winner gets a bus ride to Worcester. Hard to say which is the better deal. Note: You can listen to this one on Sirius 143.
(The Washington Moonie)
BONUS LINK:
(Times Herald-Record)
(Jake Felix in the Sun-Gazette)
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No. 6 Army at No. 3 Lehigh 7 p.m. () -- Looking for tonight's upset special? here's your game. Army (14-15, 4-10) comes in losers of eight of its last nine, the only win in that span coming at home against last place Lafayette. After a strong start filled with promise, including a 3-2 start to the conference season, the Black Knights seemed to slide into the abyss.
So what makes anybody think a team that has won just twice on the road all season can pull off an upset against a Lehigh team that was 9-3 this season in Stabler?
For starters, there is Army's win in the first meeting between the two. The Black Knights held Jose Olivero to 7 points in that one. In other words, they know first hand that if you shut down Olivero, Lehigh is beatable.
Of course they also know what happens when Olivero does go off. Lehigh's all-league senior put up 30 on Army when they met earlier this month in Stabler.
In a strange way, that ought to give Army some confidence. Even with Olivero combining with freshman point guard Marquis Hall for 50 points in that game, the Black Knights kept it close much of the way before falling by 11. The Black Knights (2-16 all time in the league tournament) come in knowing that if they can just limit Olivero to somewhere around his 16.6 ppg average, they should have a shot at winning their third-ever tournament game and at advancing for the first time since 1996.
At that point, Lehigh's only home setbacks all season had come on a disputed call in the final seconds of a 1-point loss to Columbia and in a 5-point loss to Navy three days before Army came to town.
That Navy loss put a crack in the Mountain Hawks' air of home invincibility. It was shattered in the last week of the season, with Bucknell and Holy Cross both coming into Stabler to pick up wins. Add a Feb. 18 loss at last place Lafayette to the mix and you have a reeling team that comes into the post season having lost three in a row.
Here is an interesting stat to ponder as you consider the possibilities of tonight's game: In a nine-game stretch beginning with a loss at Bucknell Jan. 23, Lehigh has shot
36 percent from the field, 33 percent from three-point range. That bodes well for a low scoring, defense minded team like Army.
One thing that has changed since the two teams last met is the return of 6-10 senior Jason Mgebroff to the Lehigh lineup. If Mgebroff can regain his form of earlier in the season, before the stress fracture that left him out of action for 13 games, he could be a huge presence against an Army team that is not real strong in the post. There has been no sign of that Mgebroff in the four games since he has returned, though. In those four, Mgebroff has scored a total of 8 points, 5 coming in an overtime win at Colgate.
No. 8 Lafayette at No. 1 Holy Cross 7 p.m. () -- The Leopards put a scare in the Crusaders back in their conference opener in Easton. That might give Lafayette some confidence, but it also is likely to help make certain Holy Cross doesn't look past the last-place Leopards. No top seed has ever lost in the first round of the league tournament, and it is not likely to happen tonight. Note: The game can be heard on Sirius satellite radio on channel 140.
No. 7 Navy at No. 2 Bucknell 7 p.m. () -- There are a lot of streaks on the line for Bucknell, which is looking to win 13 in a row for the first time under Pat Flannery. The Bison have won 33 straight Patriot League games in Sojka Pavilion, six straight league tournament games and have won five straight games against Navy.
There is also a streak the Bison are looking to end. They are 0-3 all time against the Midshipmen in PL Tournament games.
If Navy's shots are falling and Bucknell's are not, this could be close. That was the situation when the two met in Sojka earlier this season. With Navy making eight treys while Bucknell hit just two, the Mids kept it tight throughout before falling 59-51.
Since then, though, Bucknell has won 13 out of 14 while Navy has gone 4-9. Even though three of those wins came in the last six games, the Mids' resurgent season should end tonight.
Worth noting: There are tickets available for this one. They can be or at the Langone Center box office up until 5 p.m. or at the door at Sojka beginning at 5.
No. 5 Colgate at No. 4 American, 7:30 p.m. () -- Watch out for the AU Eagles, who come into the tournament on a roll, winners of their last four in a row. American started the season strong, winning seven of their first nine. As losses began to pile up, Jeff Jones began tinkering with his lineup in an effort to reverse that trend.
It didn't work, but late in the season Jones smartened up and went back to the lineup that had been successful early and AU put together a surge that secured a homecourt game in the first round.
Since joining the league, American has never lost in the first round of the tournament. The Eagles won both regular season games against the Raiders, who limp into the postseason losers of four of their last five.
The loser gets out its golf clubs. The winner gets a bus ride to Worcester. Hard to say which is the better deal. Note: You can listen to this one on Sirius 143.
BONUS LINK:
Labels: Army, AU, BU, CU, HC, Laf, Leh, Navy, previews
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Tuesday, February 27, 2007
A little light reading to help you pass time at work while you count down the minutes to Wednesday's playoff openers.
(Express-Times) Corky Blake looks at the tournament prospects of the league's Lehigh Valley contingent.
(AP) Genaro Armas previews the Bucknell-Navy matchup. Take the comments on Donald Brown's return with a grain of salt. Pat Flannery seemed to be bluffing during the conference call when he said the Bison won't know if Brown can play Wednesday until they saw him practice for the first time on Monday. Armas was not there Saturday after the BU-Army game when Brown told Tom Housenick of the Daily Item and I that he had returned to practice, already had some contact with the hand he had broken, and was ready to play when the tournament gets underway.
(Times Herald-Record) -- Talk about a newspaper that just doesn't get the reality of the times. The Times Herald-Record seems to cling to some notion that they can sell more papers by imitating the down-Hudson big boys like the NY Post and The Daily News and covering the heck out of the New York city pro scene. In an era when the mantra in the industry is local, local, local, their solution to declining circulation has been a cutback on their local college sports coverage. They don't even staff most Army games anymore. In this case, rather than allow Ken McMillan to write a story just about the Patriot League, they lump it all in one package with women's stuff, local jucos, Marist -- 10 teams at all. Anyhow, there is enough good Patriot League stuff in the story to make it well worth a click, even if you have to wade through the SUNY-Orange coverage to find it.
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Labels: Army, BU, HC, Laf, Leh, Navy
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Saturday, February 24, 2007
Lafayette will be the No. 8 seed in the playoffs after losing 78-67 at American Friday night.
The win sends American (15-13 overall, 7-7 Patriot League) into the postseason on a four-game win streak, equalling its longest of the season. American is now guaranteed a winning season. Lafayette (9-20, 3-11) has now dropped seven of its last eight.
It was close most of the game, with Lafayette still within 2 at 52-50 after a Marcus Harley jumper with 8:05 to play. American pulled away from their.
AU's 6-10 forward Brayden Billbe feasted on Lafayette's smallish frontline, putting up a 20-point, 10-rebound double double. Andre Ingram led all AU scorers with 25 points on 10 for 20 shooting from the field, including 5 treys on 10 tries. Derrick Mercer, coming off the bench so Sekou Lewis could start on senior night, added 17 for the Eagles.
Matt Betley led Lafayette with 17 points.
Lafayette will open the playoffs on the road at the top seed. American will host the No. 5 seed, most likely the winner of Saturday's Navy at Colgate game, in the first round.
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The win sends American (15-13 overall, 7-7 Patriot League) into the postseason on a four-game win streak, equalling its longest of the season. American is now guaranteed a winning season. Lafayette (9-20, 3-11) has now dropped seven of its last eight.
It was close most of the game, with Lafayette still within 2 at 52-50 after a Marcus Harley jumper with 8:05 to play. American pulled away from their.
AU's 6-10 forward Brayden Billbe feasted on Lafayette's smallish frontline, putting up a 20-point, 10-rebound double double. Andre Ingram led all AU scorers with 25 points on 10 for 20 shooting from the field, including 5 treys on 10 tries. Derrick Mercer, coming off the bench so Sekou Lewis could start on senior night, added 17 for the Eagles.
Matt Betley led Lafayette with 17 points.
Lafayette will open the playoffs on the road at the top seed. American will host the No. 5 seed, most likely the winner of Saturday's Navy at Colgate game, in the first round.
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Friday, February 23, 2007
(Updated with bonus links and some editing at 9:51 a.m.; additional edits made at 10:54 a.m.))
We already know who will be the home teams in the first round of the playoffs. Who the visitors will be gets finalized this weekend, beginning tonight when Lafayette visits American. ()
American has already clinched a home spot in the first round. A win tonight, coupled with a Holy Cross win at Lehigh Sunday, would give AU the No. 3 seed for the tournament, not that there appears to be much of an edge gained by moving from No. 4 to No. 3. means nothing. EDITORS NOTE: Thanks to the folks who caught this one ... Lehigh swept that season series and owns the tiebreaker over AU).
A Lafayette loss leaves the Leopards in the No. 8 seed. A win, coupled with a Colgate loss Saturday against Navy, would move the 'Pards to No. 7. The only real difference for Lafayette would be the psychological boost of not finishing last -- either way they play on the road against either Holy Cross or Bucknell.
It makes a bigger difference to the eventual No. 1 and No. 2 seeds, who both probably would prefer to face Lafayette in the first round.
Here is a look, best we have been able to figure, at the various tiebreaking scenarios that could play out over the weekend:
Holy Cross 12-1 at Lehigh (Sunday) -- Win and the Crusaders get the No. 1 seed, a lossand a Bucknell win at Army would drop HC to No. 2 behind the Bison. EDITOR'S NOTE: Bucknell grad Manny Perez is first to e-mail pointing out that if both Bucknell and Holy Cross would lose, Bucknell would gain the top seed by virtue of its sweep of the season series with Lehigh. Good catch Manny, thanks!)
Bucknell 12-1 at Army (Saturday) -- Bison can finish no lower than the No. 2 seed. Would be No. 1 if HC loses at Lehighand BU wins at Army (see above)
Lehigh 7-6 home vs. Holy Cross (Sunday) --A win clinches Has clinched the No. 3 seed. A loss and an American win tonight against Lafayette would drop Lehigh to the No. 4 seed behind AU courtesy of AU's better RPI (192 - 240)
American 6-7 home vs. Lafayette (tonight) --Can finish no worse than Is No. 4.
Navy 4-9 at Colgate (Saturday) -- If Navy wins and Army loses to Bucknell, Navy becomes the No. 5 seed. If Navy and Army both win, Army's win over Bucknell would boost Army past the Mids on the basis of the second tiebreaker -- comparison of records. If Navy loses, it becomes more complicated. A Navy loss and a Lafayette win would leave the Mids in the No. 7 spot, ahead of the Leopards by virtue of sweeping the season series. If Army also loses, the Black Knights still have the tiebreaker edge for the No. 6 seed by virtue of a win over American, which swept Navy.
Army 4-9 home vs. Bucknell (Saturday) --Army cannot finish eighth. In the event of an Army loss and a Lafayette win, the Black Knights would hold the RPI tiebreaker edge. If Colgate also loses, Army drops to No. 8 since the tiebreaker would be record against the other teams involved in the multiple-tie. Colgate would be 3-1 against Lafayette and Army, Lafayette 2-2 and Army 1-3. If Lafayette wins and Army and Navy lose, Navy (3-1 by viture of sweeping Lafayette) gets the No. 6 spot, Army (2-2) is seventh, Lafayette stays in eighth.
Colgate 4-9 home vs. Navy (Sat.) -- A win makes the Raiders the No. 5 seed. A loss, coupled with a Lafayette win at AU, would drop Colgate to the No. 8 seed since the Raiders were swept by American. If Army also loses, see the three-way tie scenario above.
Lafayette 3-10 at American (tonight) -- A trip to either Bucknell or Holy Cross is inevitable for the 'Pards. A Lafayette loss leaves them in the No. 8 spot. A win and losses by Colgate and Army would move them to No. 7. A win with a Navy loss
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(Andre Williams in the Morning Call)
(more from Andre)
is first to hand out some league honors (Tom's Daily Item column filled to the brim this week with looks at the men's and women's sides of the league)
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We already know who will be the home teams in the first round of the playoffs. Who the visitors will be gets finalized this weekend, beginning tonight when Lafayette visits American. ()
American has already clinched a home spot in the first round. A win tonight
A Lafayette loss leaves the Leopards in the No. 8 seed. A win, coupled with a Colgate loss Saturday against Navy, would move the 'Pards to No. 7. The only real difference for Lafayette would be the psychological boost of not finishing last -- either way they play on the road against either Holy Cross or Bucknell.
It makes a bigger difference to the eventual No. 1 and No. 2 seeds, who both probably would prefer to face Lafayette in the first round.
Here is a look, best we have been able to figure, at the various tiebreaking scenarios that could play out over the weekend:
Holy Cross 12-1 at Lehigh (Sunday) -- Win and the Crusaders get the No. 1 seed, a loss
Bucknell 12-1 at Army (Saturday) -- Bison can finish no lower than the No. 2 seed. Would be No. 1 if HC loses at Lehigh
Lehigh 7-6 home vs. Holy Cross (Sunday) --
American 6-7 home vs. Lafayette (tonight) --
Navy 4-9 at Colgate (Saturday) -- If Navy wins and Army loses to Bucknell, Navy becomes the No. 5 seed. If Navy and Army both win, Army's win over Bucknell would boost Army past the Mids on the basis of the second tiebreaker -- comparison of records. If Navy loses, it becomes more complicated. A Navy loss and a Lafayette win would leave the Mids in the No. 7 spot, ahead of the Leopards by virtue of sweeping the season series. If Army also loses, the Black Knights still have the tiebreaker edge for the No. 6 seed by virtue of a win over American, which swept Navy.
Army 4-9 home vs. Bucknell (Saturday) --
Colgate 4-9 home vs. Navy (Sat.) -- A win makes the Raiders the No. 5 seed. A loss, coupled with a Lafayette win at AU, would drop Colgate to the No. 8 seed since the Raiders were swept by American. If Army also loses, see the three-way tie scenario above.
Lafayette 3-10 at American (tonight) -- A trip to either Bucknell or Holy Cross is inevitable for the 'Pards. A Lafayette loss leaves them in the No. 8 spot. A win and losses by Colgate and Army would move them to No. 7. A win with a Navy loss
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Labels: Army, AU, BU, CU, HC, Laf, Leh, Navy, previews
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Thursday, February 22, 2007
Loss at Army leaves Leopards alone in last place.
Jarrell brown scored 25 points and Matt Bell added 24 as Army snapped a seven-game losing streak with an 83-65 win over Lafayette.
The win moves Army into a three-team logjam for fifth place in the league standings.
Andrew Brown had 19 for Lafayette, which shot 15 for 47 (31.9 percent) from the field.
Army was 26 for 43 (60.5 percent) from the field.
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Jarrell brown scored 25 points and Matt Bell added 24 as Army snapped a seven-game losing streak with an 83-65 win over Lafayette.
The win moves Army into a three-team logjam for fifth place in the league standings.
Andrew Brown had 19 for Lafayette, which shot 15 for 47 (31.9 percent) from the field.
Army was 26 for 43 (60.5 percent) from the field.
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Wednesday, February 21, 2007
The first round playoff sites have been determined. Semifinal sites, barring major first round upsets, are already set. So what are the six teams involved in the three games on tap tonight playing for?
For Bucknell and Holy Cross, the answer is simple. The two are deadlocked for first place, with the highest seed gaining the homecourt edge in the league final, should it get that far.
For Holy Cross, that means avoiding a slip up tonight when they host Colgate (). Win this one and win Sunday at Lehigh and the top seed is theirs, no matter what Bucknell does. The Raiders gave the Crusaders a battle in Hamilton last month. The Crusaders trailed by 10 in the second half of that one and needed a Keith Simmons three with 20 seconds left to pull off a 58-55 win.
Tonight, in Worcester, in front of a Hart Center crowd that out to be whipped into a frenzy during the pregame festivities honoring the team's two standout seniors -- Simmons and point guard Torey Thomas -- the Crusaders should have no trouble getting into the game from the start.
Bucknell, of course, needs to win tonight at Lehigh (), Saturday at Army and also needs someone to knock off Holy Cross.
Lehigh, with the No. 3 seed locked up, would love to win its last two home games to send a message to the frontrunners prior to the start of the playoffs. Bucknell had an easy time of it against the Mountain Hawks in Lewisburg last month. Two big differences this time around (besides the change in venue): Lehigh did not have Jason Mgebroff last time the two met. Bucknell did have Donald Brown.
Brown was not even wearing a wrap on his broken right hand Saturday when Bucknell took on Towson. But he was still in street clothes and there has been no indication he is ready to return just yet. He was a big factor in the first meeting, scoring 15 points and grabbing 7 rebounds.
Mgebroff has not put up any impressive numbers in his two games back after sitting out over two months with stress fractures in a leg. But the 6-10 senior went 11 minutes Sunday against Lafayette. Part of those minutes might have been because of the foul trouble the rest of Lehigh's lineup got into against the Leopards.
We'll see tonight if Mgebroff is in good enough shape to go extended minutes and make a difference against Bucknell or if he is still playing back into shape for the postseason.
The evening's third game is probably the most significant in terms of first round pairings. Lafayette travels to Army (), with the winner escaping last place in the league standings. Lafayette, with a win here and some help from its friends, could actually finish as high as fifth, avoiding a first round matchup at Bucknell or Holy Cross. The Leopards win over Lehigh would give them a tiebreaker edge over Colgate if the two finish tied for a spot.
The avoid-HC-or-BU scenarios are less favorable to Army, which also has to beat Bucknell Saturday for any chance of that happening. Even then, the Black Knights need some help since Colgate swept the regular season series between the two teams, giving the Raiders any tiebreaker scenarios.
If Army wins out, and Colgate beats Navy Saturday, the Black Knights would tie the Mids for sixth, and would have the tiebreaker edge by virtue of a win over Bucknell.
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For Bucknell and Holy Cross, the answer is simple. The two are deadlocked for first place, with the highest seed gaining the homecourt edge in the league final, should it get that far.
For Holy Cross, that means avoiding a slip up tonight when they host Colgate (). Win this one and win Sunday at Lehigh and the top seed is theirs, no matter what Bucknell does. The Raiders gave the Crusaders a battle in Hamilton last month. The Crusaders trailed by 10 in the second half of that one and needed a Keith Simmons three with 20 seconds left to pull off a 58-55 win.
Tonight, in Worcester, in front of a Hart Center crowd that out to be whipped into a frenzy during the pregame festivities honoring the team's two standout seniors -- Simmons and point guard Torey Thomas -- the Crusaders should have no trouble getting into the game from the start.
Bucknell, of course, needs to win tonight at Lehigh (), Saturday at Army and also needs someone to knock off Holy Cross.
Lehigh, with the No. 3 seed locked up, would love to win its last two home games to send a message to the frontrunners prior to the start of the playoffs. Bucknell had an easy time of it against the Mountain Hawks in Lewisburg last month. Two big differences this time around (besides the change in venue): Lehigh did not have Jason Mgebroff last time the two met. Bucknell did have Donald Brown.
Brown was not even wearing a wrap on his broken right hand Saturday when Bucknell took on Towson. But he was still in street clothes and there has been no indication he is ready to return just yet. He was a big factor in the first meeting, scoring 15 points and grabbing 7 rebounds.
Mgebroff has not put up any impressive numbers in his two games back after sitting out over two months with stress fractures in a leg. But the 6-10 senior went 11 minutes Sunday against Lafayette. Part of those minutes might have been because of the foul trouble the rest of Lehigh's lineup got into against the Leopards.
We'll see tonight if Mgebroff is in good enough shape to go extended minutes and make a difference against Bucknell or if he is still playing back into shape for the postseason.
The evening's third game is probably the most significant in terms of first round pairings. Lafayette travels to Army (), with the winner escaping last place in the league standings. Lafayette, with a win here and some help from its friends, could actually finish as high as fifth, avoiding a first round matchup at Bucknell or Holy Cross. The Leopards win over Lehigh would give them a tiebreaker edge over Colgate if the two finish tied for a spot.
The avoid-HC-or-BU scenarios are less favorable to Army, which also has to beat Bucknell Saturday for any chance of that happening. Even then, the Black Knights need some help since Colgate swept the regular season series between the two teams, giving the Raiders any tiebreaker scenarios.
If Army wins out, and Colgate beats Navy Saturday, the Black Knights would tie the Mids for sixth, and would have the tiebreaker edge by virtue of a win over Bucknell.
Labels: Army, BU, CU, HC, Laf, Leh, previews
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Monday, February 19, 2007
An ugly start to Lafayette's senior day festivities was long forgotten after one of the Leopards' three seniors hit two foul shots to seal a win over Lehigh.
Jamaal Hilliard will never forget the last two shots he took in Kirby Sports Center. Neither will his Lafayette teammates.
Hilliard, who spent much of his career in Kirby sitting in street clothes due to injuries, hit a pair of free throws with 2 seconds left in the second overtime Sunday to seal the Leopards 75-71 double OT upset of archrival Lehigh (11-16 overall, 7-5 Patriot).
It was a senior night dream ending to a game that got off to a nightmarish start for Lafayette (9-18, 3-9). Missing their first 15 shots from the field, the Leopards went the first 8:51 of the game without scoring, falling into an early 11-0 hole.
Fortunately for Lafayette, Lehigh was not exactly shooting the lights out, either. After that 11-0 spurt in the first 5:25, the Mountain Hawks went the next 6:21 without scoring.
That slowdown allowed Lafayette to climb back into the game. After cutting the deficit to 11-3 with foul shots, the Leopards scored their first field goal with 8:45 to go in the first half. That bucket, a layup by Andrew Brown, pulled the 'Pards within two possessions at 11-5.
It was 24-23 Lehigh at the half, 52-52 after Jose Olivero hit a jumpere to tie it with 13 seconds to go in regulation.
After Matt Betley tied it at 62-62 with 24 seconds to go in the first OT, Lehigh played for one shot, giving Lehigh a chance play for the last shot and a win. Jose Olivero's jumper rimmed out, sending the game to a second OT.
While Hilliard's free throws will be what most fans remember, it was his defense on Olivero that helped make the upset possible. Lehigh's leading scorer finished with 15 points when he fouled out in the second OT. But he had to work hard for those points. Olivero was 3 for 17 from the field, 1 for 9 from three-point range.
Olivero was one of four Lehigh players to foul out, a process that sent Lafayette to the line 37 times, where they knocked down 30. That enabled the Leopards to overcome Lehigh's five field goal advantage.
Marquis Hall had a game-high 22 points for the Mountain Hawks, who were 24 for 69 (34.8 percent) from the field, 6 of 23 from the arc. Lehigh went 17 for 22 at the charity stripe. Lehigh held a 50-42 edge on the boards, but was whistled for 29 fouls to 19 called on Lafayette.
Olivero's foul problems limited him to 32 minutes of action. Kyle Neptune played 29 minutes before he fouled out with 11 points. Phil Anderson (23 min.) and Zahir Carrington (24 min.) also fouled out for Lehigh and Bryan White finished with four personals.
Ted Detmer had four fouls for Lafayette. Nobody else had more than three.
Brown and Bilal Abdullah each had 14 points for Lafayette. Brown dished out 6 assists. Betley posted 13 points and 11 rebounds for his third double-double of the season.
Jason Mgebroff played 13 minutes for Lehigh in his second game back after sitting since December with stress fracture in his leg. Mgebroff had 2 points and 0 rebounds.
Lehigh, which has already clinched the No. 3 seed for the postseason, hosts bucknell Wednesday and Holy Cross Sunday to close out the regular season. Lafayette, which is at Army on Wednesday and at American Friday, can still finish as high as tied for fourth in the regular season. Under any fourth-place tie scenarios, the best seeding Lafayette can hope for following the tiebreakers would be fifth.
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Jamaal Hilliard will never forget the last two shots he took in Kirby Sports Center. Neither will his Lafayette teammates.
Hilliard, who spent much of his career in Kirby sitting in street clothes due to injuries, hit a pair of free throws with 2 seconds left in the second overtime Sunday to seal the Leopards 75-71 double OT upset of archrival Lehigh (11-16 overall, 7-5 Patriot).
It was a senior night dream ending to a game that got off to a nightmarish start for Lafayette (9-18, 3-9). Missing their first 15 shots from the field, the Leopards went the first 8:51 of the game without scoring, falling into an early 11-0 hole.
Fortunately for Lafayette, Lehigh was not exactly shooting the lights out, either. After that 11-0 spurt in the first 5:25, the Mountain Hawks went the next 6:21 without scoring.
That slowdown allowed Lafayette to climb back into the game. After cutting the deficit to 11-3 with foul shots, the Leopards scored their first field goal with 8:45 to go in the first half. That bucket, a layup by Andrew Brown, pulled the 'Pards within two possessions at 11-5.
It was 24-23 Lehigh at the half, 52-52 after Jose Olivero hit a jumpere to tie it with 13 seconds to go in regulation.
After Matt Betley tied it at 62-62 with 24 seconds to go in the first OT, Lehigh played for one shot, giving Lehigh a chance play for the last shot and a win. Jose Olivero's jumper rimmed out, sending the game to a second OT.
While Hilliard's free throws will be what most fans remember, it was his defense on Olivero that helped make the upset possible. Lehigh's leading scorer finished with 15 points when he fouled out in the second OT. But he had to work hard for those points. Olivero was 3 for 17 from the field, 1 for 9 from three-point range.
Olivero was one of four Lehigh players to foul out, a process that sent Lafayette to the line 37 times, where they knocked down 30. That enabled the Leopards to overcome Lehigh's five field goal advantage.
Marquis Hall had a game-high 22 points for the Mountain Hawks, who were 24 for 69 (34.8 percent) from the field, 6 of 23 from the arc. Lehigh went 17 for 22 at the charity stripe. Lehigh held a 50-42 edge on the boards, but was whistled for 29 fouls to 19 called on Lafayette.
Olivero's foul problems limited him to 32 minutes of action. Kyle Neptune played 29 minutes before he fouled out with 11 points. Phil Anderson (23 min.) and Zahir Carrington (24 min.) also fouled out for Lehigh and Bryan White finished with four personals.
Ted Detmer had four fouls for Lafayette. Nobody else had more than three.
Brown and Bilal Abdullah each had 14 points for Lafayette. Brown dished out 6 assists. Betley posted 13 points and 11 rebounds for his third double-double of the season.
Jason Mgebroff played 13 minutes for Lehigh in his second game back after sitting since December with stress fracture in his leg. Mgebroff had 2 points and 0 rebounds.
Lehigh, which has already clinched the No. 3 seed for the postseason, hosts bucknell Wednesday and Holy Cross Sunday to close out the regular season. Lafayette, which is at Army on Wednesday and at American Friday, can still finish as high as tied for fourth in the regular season. Under any fourth-place tie scenarios, the best seeding Lafayette can hope for following the tiebreakers would be fifth.
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Sunday, February 18, 2007
(Full post includes bonus link)
Could an upset be brewing down in the Lehigh Valley?
Lafayette still has a remote shot at avoiding one of the top two seeds in the first round. For that to happen, though, the Leopards have to win out, beginning with this afternoon's game against third-place Lehigh ().
It's not beyond the realm of possibility. The Leopards have a history of upsetting the Mountain Hawks in Kirby. Matter of fact, last year was the only time in the past five seasons that Lehigh escaped Easton with a W.
Lehigh has already clinched a first round home game and cannot improve upon that scenario. The Hawks have two huge home games in the coming week, hosting Bucknell and Holy Cross in games they hope to use to make a statement about their postseason prospects. So we have a team that is 3-12 on the road, playing for nothing and looking ahead to its next two games.
Toss in the unpredictable nature of a rivalry game like Lehigh-Lafayette and the ingredients for an upset are there.
The question is whether or not Fran O'Hanlon's team, in the midst of a five-game slide, is capable of putting it all together. If they are able to shoot the ball the way they did against Bucknell and Holy Cross in Kirby, that is a distinct possibility.
Game time is noon on ESPNU and the local .
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(John Feinstein in the Washington Post)
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Could an upset be brewing down in the Lehigh Valley?
Lafayette still has a remote shot at avoiding one of the top two seeds in the first round. For that to happen, though, the Leopards have to win out, beginning with this afternoon's game against third-place Lehigh ().
It's not beyond the realm of possibility. The Leopards have a history of upsetting the Mountain Hawks in Kirby. Matter of fact, last year was the only time in the past five seasons that Lehigh escaped Easton with a W.
Lehigh has already clinched a first round home game and cannot improve upon that scenario. The Hawks have two huge home games in the coming week, hosting Bucknell and Holy Cross in games they hope to use to make a statement about their postseason prospects. So we have a team that is 3-12 on the road, playing for nothing and looking ahead to its next two games.
Toss in the unpredictable nature of a rivalry game like Lehigh-Lafayette and the ingredients for an upset are there.
The question is whether or not Fran O'Hanlon's team, in the midst of a five-game slide, is capable of putting it all together. If they are able to shoot the ball the way they did against Bucknell and Holy Cross in Kirby, that is a distinct possibility.
Game time is noon on ESPNU and the local .
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Friday, February 16, 2007
(Originally posted Thurs., 10:50 p.m., links added at 8:19 a.m.)
A few hours after Holy Cross pulled a half-game ahead in the standings with a win at Navy, Bucknell pasted Lafayette to keep pace.
Just like Holy Cross, Bucknell had an easy time of it. The Bison (17-8 overall, 11-1 Patriot)blew out to a 20 point lead at the half and coasted to a 76-58 win over last place Lafayette (8-18, 2-9). The win was Bucknell's 33rd straight league win in Sojka Pavilion.
Lafayette led once -- 3-2 on an Andrew Brown three that followed a Chris McNaughton dunk on Bucknell's opening possession. John Griffin answered with a three for the Bison and Bucknell led the rest of the way.
A 9-0 spurt in the middle of the first half pushed the Bison lead from 13-8 to 22-8. Lafayette never gothttp://www2.blogger.com/img/gl.link.gif closer than 12 points back the rest of the way. The Bison hit 15 of 28 (53.6 percent) from the field in the first half, holding the Leopards to a 6 for 24 start.
The difference at the half was 41-21 and the lead stretched to as many as 26 in the second half.
McNaughton had a big night, finishing with 21 points, 6 rebounds and 4 assists. Griffin finished with 16 and Abe Badmus added 13.
Perhaps the most impressive line in the box score belongs to Darren Mastropaolo. In his third game back in the Bison starting lineup, Mastropaolo had 11 rebounds, 8 points, 6 assists and 2 steals.
Matt Betley was the only Lafayette player in double figures. Betley finished with 13 and had 6 rebounds. Lafayette shot 18 for 46 (39.1 percent) for the game, 7 of 20 on three-point tries.
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BONUS LINK" Surving quadruplets show encouraging signs (an update on the children of former Bucknell assistant Bryan Goodman by David Jones of The Patriot-News)
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A few hours after Holy Cross pulled a half-game ahead in the standings with a win at Navy, Bucknell pasted Lafayette to keep pace.
Just like Holy Cross, Bucknell had an easy time of it. The Bison (17-8 overall, 11-1 Patriot)blew out to a 20 point lead at the half and coasted to a 76-58 win over last place Lafayette (8-18, 2-9). The win was Bucknell's 33rd straight league win in Sojka Pavilion.
Lafayette led once -- 3-2 on an Andrew Brown three that followed a Chris McNaughton dunk on Bucknell's opening possession. John Griffin answered with a three for the Bison and Bucknell led the rest of the way.
A 9-0 spurt in the middle of the first half pushed the Bison lead from 13-8 to 22-8. Lafayette never gothttp://www2.blogger.com/img/gl.link.gif closer than 12 points back the rest of the way. The Bison hit 15 of 28 (53.6 percent) from the field in the first half, holding the Leopards to a 6 for 24 start.
The difference at the half was 41-21 and the lead stretched to as many as 26 in the second half.
McNaughton had a big night, finishing with 21 points, 6 rebounds and 4 assists. Griffin finished with 16 and Abe Badmus added 13.
Perhaps the most impressive line in the box score belongs to Darren Mastropaolo. In his third game back in the Bison starting lineup, Mastropaolo had 11 rebounds, 8 points, 6 assists and 2 steals.
Matt Betley was the only Lafayette player in double figures. Betley finished with 13 and had 6 rebounds. Lafayette shot 18 for 46 (39.1 percent) for the game, 7 of 20 on three-point tries.
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Wednesday, February 14, 2007
It's looking like an Oreo cookie kind of night in the Patriot League tonight. The two league co-leaders take on two of the teams at the bottom of the standings, but the good stuff is the two game involving the four teams in the middle.
In Hamilton, Lehigh will face Colgate () looking for its seventh straight win over Colgate. A win would give the Mountain Hawks a three game lead over the Raiders in the win column and a virtual lock on a first round home game in the playoffs since Lehigh will have swept the season series with the Raiders and American, who sit in a tie for fourth place heading into tonight's action.
Lehigh's notes indicate senior center Jason Mgebroff will return to the lineup in the next week after being out since December due to a stress fracture in one of his legs. Whether that means as soon as tonight, Saturday's rivalry game at Lafayette, or a Willis Reed-like inspirational return at home against Bucknell or Holy Cross remains to be seen.
The Raiders are almost as bad at home (4-8) as Lehigh has been on the road (2-12). They have shown a particular knack for losing close games on their own floor. Colgate is 1-4 at home in league games, the four losses coming by a combined 18 points. including one loss in overtime.
In the nation's capital, American, still alive in the home-game hunt thanks to Colgate's Sunday blunder, hosts an Army five () that is barely clinging to its home for the first round life. After a promising 3-2 start in league play, the Black Knights have hit an 0-5 wall. Army probably has to go 4-0 down the stretch, starting tonight, to have a chance of hosting in round one. That would make them .500 in the league, which might just do it, given the mediocrity of the bottom five-eighths of the conference.
AU, with two more conference games after tonight, would be in good shape for a home game with a win tonight, especially coupled with a Colgate loss. The Eagles have the most favorable schedule of the teams battling for that fourth spot, with a home game against Lafayette and a visit to Navy left following tonight.
In Lewisburg, Bucknell will look to solidify the momentum of its win over Holy Cross when last place Lafayette comes calling (). The Leopards gave the Bison a battle in Easton last month. In Solka Pavilion, where Bucknell has can close out another unbeaten home league slate with a win, it should not be anywhere near as close.
This is the part of the season when Bucknell traditionally plays its best basketball. Since that win in Easton, the Bison have compiled an eight-game win streak. The only way it does not make it nine in a row is if they get caught got looking past the Leopards. A simple two-word message on the chalkboard should suffice. In big, orange letters, it should say "Central Arkansas."
Wrapping up the four-game slate tonight is Holy Cross visiting the Midshipmen of Navy (). Navy's five-game losing streak is history. In its place, a two-game win streak that began with a confidence building win at Lehigh.
The Mids are always an upset threat thanks to their five-man perimeter-oriented attack. Navy fires up half its shots from outside the arc. If a couple Mids get two or three in the same game, they could put up a lot of points.
Of course you can tell by Navy's 11-12 record in games against Division I teams, that has not happened a lot this season. And it would be asking a lot for it to happen against a team that plays defense the way Holy Cross does. Add in the extra motivation the Crusaders should have after losing at Bucknell and HC's huge edge in the frontcourt, and an upset seemes even more unlikely.
Should HC need extra motivation, it can look back two seasons to when Bucknell lost at American, then followed it with a loss at Navy, two setbacks that resulted in the Bison being forced to go on the road for the tournament final.
As the Crusaders know all too well, that scenario ended up working out OK for Bucknell. But HC would far prefer to sleep in its own beds throughout the playoffs. With senior leaders like Keith Simmons and Torey Thomas, don't expect the Crusaders to lose focus on the prize.
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In Hamilton, Lehigh will face Colgate () looking for its seventh straight win over Colgate. A win would give the Mountain Hawks a three game lead over the Raiders in the win column and a virtual lock on a first round home game in the playoffs since Lehigh will have swept the season series with the Raiders and American, who sit in a tie for fourth place heading into tonight's action.
Lehigh's notes indicate senior center Jason Mgebroff will return to the lineup in the next week after being out since December due to a stress fracture in one of his legs. Whether that means as soon as tonight, Saturday's rivalry game at Lafayette, or a Willis Reed-like inspirational return at home against Bucknell or Holy Cross remains to be seen.
The Raiders are almost as bad at home (4-8) as Lehigh has been on the road (2-12). They have shown a particular knack for losing close games on their own floor. Colgate is 1-4 at home in league games, the four losses coming by a combined 18 points. including one loss in overtime.
In the nation's capital, American, still alive in the home-game hunt thanks to Colgate's Sunday blunder, hosts an Army five () that is barely clinging to its home for the first round life. After a promising 3-2 start in league play, the Black Knights have hit an 0-5 wall. Army probably has to go 4-0 down the stretch, starting tonight, to have a chance of hosting in round one. That would make them .500 in the league, which might just do it, given the mediocrity of the bottom five-eighths of the conference.
AU, with two more conference games after tonight, would be in good shape for a home game with a win tonight, especially coupled with a Colgate loss. The Eagles have the most favorable schedule of the teams battling for that fourth spot, with a home game against Lafayette and a visit to Navy left following tonight.
In Lewisburg, Bucknell will look to solidify the momentum of its win over Holy Cross when last place Lafayette comes calling (). The Leopards gave the Bison a battle in Easton last month. In Solka Pavilion, where Bucknell has can close out another unbeaten home league slate with a win, it should not be anywhere near as close.
This is the part of the season when Bucknell traditionally plays its best basketball. Since that win in Easton, the Bison have compiled an eight-game win streak. The only way it does not make it nine in a row is if they get caught got looking past the Leopards. A simple two-word message on the chalkboard should suffice. In big, orange letters, it should say "Central Arkansas."
Wrapping up the four-game slate tonight is Holy Cross visiting the Midshipmen of Navy (). Navy's five-game losing streak is history. In its place, a two-game win streak that began with a confidence building win at Lehigh.
The Mids are always an upset threat thanks to their five-man perimeter-oriented attack. Navy fires up half its shots from outside the arc. If a couple Mids get two or three in the same game, they could put up a lot of points.
Of course you can tell by Navy's 11-12 record in games against Division I teams, that has not happened a lot this season. And it would be asking a lot for it to happen against a team that plays defense the way Holy Cross does. Add in the extra motivation the Crusaders should have after losing at Bucknell and HC's huge edge in the frontcourt, and an upset seemes even more unlikely.
Should HC need extra motivation, it can look back two seasons to when Bucknell lost at American, then followed it with a loss at Navy, two setbacks that resulted in the Bison being forced to go on the road for the tournament final.
As the Crusaders know all too well, that scenario ended up working out OK for Bucknell. But HC would far prefer to sleep in its own beds throughout the playoffs. With senior leaders like Keith Simmons and Torey Thomas, don't expect the Crusaders to lose focus on the prize.
Labels: Army, AU, BU, CU, HC, Laf, Leh, Navy, previews
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Sunday, February 11, 2007
After weeks of teams sharing last place in the league standings, Lafayette no longer shares those undesirable digs after losing at home to Navy.
It was the Greg Sprink show Saturday in Easton. The Navy junior poured in 29 points to lead the Midshipmen to a 70-63 win over Lafayette and out of what had been a crowded cellar in the Patriot League.
The win, Navy's second in a row, moves the Mids (13-12 overall, 3-7 Patriot) into a tie with their archrivals from the U.S. Military Academy for sixth place, with the possibility it could become a three-way tie for fifth, pending the outcome of this afternoon's American-Colgate game in Hamilton.
It was Billy Lange's first coaching win in the Kirby Center and the first time Navy has won two in a row against Division I teams since the first week of December.
For Lafayette (8-17, 2-6) the loss extends their current skid to four straight setbacks with a visit to Bucknell looming Wednesday. The Leopards have lost 10 of their last 12.
Lafayette led early, jumping out to a 16-6 lead. Navy responded with a 19-3 run and never trailed the rest of the way. Lafayette cut the deficit to 2 twice in the second half but never managed to get the stop-and-score needed to get even.
As you'd expect in a game between two perimeter oriented teams that like to jack it up from the three-point arc, it was won by the team that shot the ball better. In a rarity for Lafayette, the Leopards dominated the boards, grabbing 40 rebounds to 30 for Navy, an holding an 11-4 edge on the offensive glass. But 19 Lafayette turnovers (to 12 for Navy) pretty much negated any edge in possessions.
Both teams fired up 52 shots from the field and 23 free throws. Predictably. half of the 104 combined shots came from outside the arc. The difference in the contest: Navy made three more field goals, including two more threes. The Mids were 19 for 52 from the field (42.3 percent), 10 of 23 (43.5 percent) from three-point range. Lafayette shot 29 treys, making 8 (27.6 percent). Overall, Lafayette was 19 of 52 (36.5 percent) from the field.
Matt Betley led the Leopards with a 16 point, 10-board double-double. It was Betley's second double-double of the season, the other coming when the two teams met earlier this season in Annapolis. Bilal Abdullah added 13 points and 9 rebounds for Lafayette. Andrew brown finished with 11 points, 6 rebounds and 6 assists.
Kaleo Kina added 10 points for Navy, which hosts Holy Cross Wednesday.
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It was the Greg Sprink show Saturday in Easton. The Navy junior poured in 29 points to lead the Midshipmen to a 70-63 win over Lafayette and out of what had been a crowded cellar in the Patriot League.
The win, Navy's second in a row, moves the Mids (13-12 overall, 3-7 Patriot) into a tie with their archrivals from the U.S. Military Academy for sixth place, with the possibility it could become a three-way tie for fifth, pending the outcome of this afternoon's American-Colgate game in Hamilton.
It was Billy Lange's first coaching win in the Kirby Center and the first time Navy has won two in a row against Division I teams since the first week of December.
For Lafayette (8-17, 2-6) the loss extends their current skid to four straight setbacks with a visit to Bucknell looming Wednesday. The Leopards have lost 10 of their last 12.
Lafayette led early, jumping out to a 16-6 lead. Navy responded with a 19-3 run and never trailed the rest of the way. Lafayette cut the deficit to 2 twice in the second half but never managed to get the stop-and-score needed to get even.
As you'd expect in a game between two perimeter oriented teams that like to jack it up from the three-point arc, it was won by the team that shot the ball better. In a rarity for Lafayette, the Leopards dominated the boards, grabbing 40 rebounds to 30 for Navy, an holding an 11-4 edge on the offensive glass. But 19 Lafayette turnovers (to 12 for Navy) pretty much negated any edge in possessions.
Both teams fired up 52 shots from the field and 23 free throws. Predictably. half of the 104 combined shots came from outside the arc. The difference in the contest: Navy made three more field goals, including two more threes. The Mids were 19 for 52 from the field (42.3 percent), 10 of 23 (43.5 percent) from three-point range. Lafayette shot 29 treys, making 8 (27.6 percent). Overall, Lafayette was 19 of 52 (36.5 percent) from the field.
Matt Betley led the Leopards with a 16 point, 10-board double-double. It was Betley's second double-double of the season, the other coming when the two teams met earlier this season in Annapolis. Bilal Abdullah added 13 points and 9 rebounds for Lafayette. Andrew brown finished with 11 points, 6 rebounds and 6 assists.
Kaleo Kina added 10 points for Navy, which hosts Holy Cross Wednesday.
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Saturday, February 10, 2007
After last night's big showdown in Lewisburg, some might view today's pair of Patriot League games as afterthoughts. But both have seedings significance.
The biggest of the two has Army visiting Lehigh (), needing a win to complete a series sweep of the Mountain Hawks and to keep its hopes of a first round home game in the playoffs alive.
The last time the two met, Army pulled off a mild upset at West Point. That loss dealt a serious blow to Lehigh's hopes of winning the regular season title, or of at least sharing it by splitting with Bucknell and Holy Cross. Those hopes were dealt another blow with a home loss against Navy Wednesday. With Bucknell and HC still looming in the Hawks' final four games (not to mention visits to Colgate and always dangerous archrival Lafayette), Lehigh needs a win here to maintain its cushion over Colgate and the rest of the pack for third place and a home game in the first round.
A loss would put Lehigh at 5-5 and in serious danger of losing its hold on a home playoff game.
Army, a game behind Colgate in the win column for fourth, with Colgate owning a season sweep tiebreaker edge, simply cannot afford a loss if it wants to stay home for the first round.
Today's other game, Navy at Lafayette (), has less at stake. Neither team has much of a shot at finishing in the top four. But the winner would have a leg up on avoiding a potential bus ride to Worcester should Hc finish with the top seed. It would also have a shot at sneaking into sixth, which would bring a much greater chance of winning a first round game in the playoffs.
(Friday's Morning Call)
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The biggest of the two has Army visiting Lehigh (), needing a win to complete a series sweep of the Mountain Hawks and to keep its hopes of a first round home game in the playoffs alive.
The last time the two met, Army pulled off a mild upset at West Point. That loss dealt a serious blow to Lehigh's hopes of winning the regular season title, or of at least sharing it by splitting with Bucknell and Holy Cross. Those hopes were dealt another blow with a home loss against Navy Wednesday. With Bucknell and HC still looming in the Hawks' final four games (not to mention visits to Colgate and always dangerous archrival Lafayette), Lehigh needs a win here to maintain its cushion over Colgate and the rest of the pack for third place and a home game in the first round.
A loss would put Lehigh at 5-5 and in serious danger of losing its hold on a home playoff game.
Army, a game behind Colgate in the win column for fourth, with Colgate owning a season sweep tiebreaker edge, simply cannot afford a loss if it wants to stay home for the first round.
Today's other game, Navy at Lafayette (), has less at stake. Neither team has much of a shot at finishing in the top four. But the winner would have a leg up on avoiding a potential bus ride to Worcester should Hc finish with the top seed. It would also have a shot at sneaking into sixth, which would bring a much greater chance of winning a first round game in the playoffs.
Labels: Army, Laf, Leh, Navy, previews
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Thursday, February 08, 2007
Colgate didn't shoot well, but it shot well enough to down even colder Lafayette.
Andrew Brown's three-pointer at the buzzer fell short, leaving the Leopards (8-16 overall, 2-7 Patriot) on the short end of a 54-51 score and in last place in the Patriot League. The win vaults suddenly surging Colgate (9-14, 4-6) into sole possession of fourth place.
In the rock-paper-scissors world that everybody not named Holy Cross and Bucknell lives in, had it won, Lafayette actually would have had the lead for that all-important No. 4 seeding, which brings with it a home game in the first round of the playoffs.
But the Leopards, usually sold shooters in Kirby, struggled from the field, going an atypical 16 for 51 (31.4 percent), making only 4 of 19 three-point tries.
The win was Colgate's third in their past four games. All three wins have come on the road. The Raiders won despite another in what has become a series of bad shooting nights. Colgate was 18 for 48 (37.5 percent) from the field, 9 of 24 from three-point range.
Jon Simon, who was 0 for 5 inside the arc and 0 for 2 at the foul line, hit 5 of 9 three-pointers for 15 points, leading all scorers. Kyle Chones turned in an 11-points, 11-rebound double-double for the Raiders.
Bilal Abdullah led Lafayette with 14 points. Ted Detmer came off the bench to post a 12-12 double-double, with 2 blocks and 4 steals. Brown finished with 10 for the Leopards, who can climb out of last place with a win Saturday over visiting Navy.
Colgate could actually climb into a tie with Lehigh for third if the Mountain Hawks lose Saturday to Army and the Raiders win at home Sunday against American. Army beat Lehigh in West Point in the first game between the two.
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Andrew Brown's three-pointer at the buzzer fell short, leaving the Leopards (8-16 overall, 2-7 Patriot) on the short end of a 54-51 score and in last place in the Patriot League. The win vaults suddenly surging Colgate (9-14, 4-6) into sole possession of fourth place.
In the rock-paper-scissors world that everybody not named Holy Cross and Bucknell lives in, had it won, Lafayette actually would have had the lead for that all-important No. 4 seeding, which brings with it a home game in the first round of the playoffs.
But the Leopards, usually sold shooters in Kirby, struggled from the field, going an atypical 16 for 51 (31.4 percent), making only 4 of 19 three-point tries.
The win was Colgate's third in their past four games. All three wins have come on the road. The Raiders won despite another in what has become a series of bad shooting nights. Colgate was 18 for 48 (37.5 percent) from the field, 9 of 24 from three-point range.
Jon Simon, who was 0 for 5 inside the arc and 0 for 2 at the foul line, hit 5 of 9 three-pointers for 15 points, leading all scorers. Kyle Chones turned in an 11-points, 11-rebound double-double for the Raiders.
Bilal Abdullah led Lafayette with 14 points. Ted Detmer came off the bench to post a 12-12 double-double, with 2 blocks and 4 steals. Brown finished with 10 for the Leopards, who can climb out of last place with a win Saturday over visiting Navy.
Colgate could actually climb into a tie with Lehigh for third if the Mountain Hawks lose Saturday to Army and the Raiders win at home Sunday against American. Army beat Lehigh in West Point in the first game between the two.
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Wednesday, February 07, 2007
Lehigh looks to keep its lock on third when it hosts Navy, while Colgate could take over the lead in the race for the fourth and final first round home game when it visits Lafayette.
The Mountain Hawks open a two-game service academies homestand against the Midshipmen () needing to keep winning to have any shot of more than one home game in the playoffs. At 5-3 in the league, Lehigh pins its hopes of moving up to one of the top two seeds on the fact that it closes the regular season at home against second-place Bucknell and league-leading Holy Cross. Lehigh has good reason to be optimistic. The Hawks are 8-1 in Stabler this season, the lone loss coming on a disputed call in the final seconds.
Navy comes in riding a five-game losing streak, falling below .500 on the season with Saturday's home loss against Bucknell. Navy's upset hopes ride on their three-point shooting. That does not bode well against the Mountain Hawks, who are one of the league's top defensive sides, in Stabler, one of the toughest places to shoot in the league.
(Examiner)
Colgate at Lafayette (): In the crazy, mixed-up world that is the bottom half of the Patriot League, this battle between 5-14 Colgate and 8-15 Lafayette actually is a pretty important game. Somebody among a group of five teams currently below .500 in league play is actually goiung to have its mediocrity rewarded with a first round home game in the playoffs.
Lafayette could do itself, and the rest of the league, a huge favor by knocking off Colgate. Nobody, with the possible exception of Colgate's own players, wants to go to Hamilton if they can avoid it. Yet despite being absolutely horrible most of the season, the Raiders (3-6 in the league) could take the lead in the race for that final host spot with a win here.
On the other hand, Lafayette (2-6 Patriot) could make it a four-team logjam if it can join the three conference wins club tonight in Kirby. That is certainly a realistic possibility. The Leopards already own a 71-65 road win over Colgate.
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The Mountain Hawks open a two-game service academies homestand against the Midshipmen () needing to keep winning to have any shot of more than one home game in the playoffs. At 5-3 in the league, Lehigh pins its hopes of moving up to one of the top two seeds on the fact that it closes the regular season at home against second-place Bucknell and league-leading Holy Cross. Lehigh has good reason to be optimistic. The Hawks are 8-1 in Stabler this season, the lone loss coming on a disputed call in the final seconds.
Navy comes in riding a five-game losing streak, falling below .500 on the season with Saturday's home loss against Bucknell. Navy's upset hopes ride on their three-point shooting. That does not bode well against the Mountain Hawks, who are one of the league's top defensive sides, in Stabler, one of the toughest places to shoot in the league.
Colgate at Lafayette (): In the crazy, mixed-up world that is the bottom half of the Patriot League, this battle between 5-14 Colgate and 8-15 Lafayette actually is a pretty important game. Somebody among a group of five teams currently below .500 in league play is actually goiung to have its mediocrity rewarded with a first round home game in the playoffs.
Lafayette could do itself, and the rest of the league, a huge favor by knocking off Colgate. Nobody, with the possible exception of Colgate's own players, wants to go to Hamilton if they can avoid it. Yet despite being absolutely horrible most of the season, the Raiders (3-6 in the league) could take the lead in the race for that final host spot with a win here.
On the other hand, Lafayette (2-6 Patriot) could make it a four-team logjam if it can join the three conference wins club tonight in Kirby. That is certainly a realistic possibility. The Leopards already own a 71-65 road win over Colgate.
Labels: CU, Laf, Leh, Navy, previews
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Sunday, February 04, 2007
Checked out all yesterday's games and still crave more hoops? Here are few other items of interest.
Tom Housenick of The Daily Item spent his spare time between Friday night's Bucknell-Navy men's game and yesterday afternoon's women's game between the same two schools to put together a on the Donald Brown situation.
Navy beat guy Bill Wagner does a nice job covering the Mids for the Annapolis Capital. Often it goes unmentioned here because the paper does not update its Web site until late in the day, well after we have finished our updates. Here is his .
You need a lot of institutional memory to recall the play of Holy Cross center Jim Nairus, an academic all-American who was a first-team all league pick and also made the all-tournament team back when this thing of ours began in 1991. A guy who has that kind of recall is Holy Cross play-by-play man Bob Fouracre, who has called over 2,500 HC games in his 37 years behind the mic. the Holy Cross athletics hall of fame in May.
Army's freshman center, Chris Walker, Saturday got some ink back home in Georgia in a little from the Gwinnett Daily Post.
We don't cover much of the ladies' side of the league. Matter of fact, aside from the HC games we cover for the Telegram & Gazette and the occasional Bucknell women's game with the daughters, we pay next to no attention to the women's games. Time constraints and a lack of media coverage make it impossible to keep up with the whole league, so we didn't know (Celtics player) Wally Szczerbiak's little sister Wendy played for Lehigh until we read in today's Telegram & Gazette.
If you are looking to catch up on the women's side of the league, here's a quick primer: Bucknell is in first place following a . Defending champion Army is one game back after . Longtime league powerhouse Holy Cross has struggled after losing its top two point guards to knee injuries, but seems to be starting to pick up the pieces after a that got the Crusaders back to .500 after a 1-4 start in league play.
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Labels: Army, BU, CU, HC, Laf, Navy
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Lafayette's undersized frontline was no match Saturday for the league-leading Crusaders of Holy Cross.
In front of a sellout Winter Homecoming crowd of 4,000 in the Hart Center, HC simply dominated the Leopards inside, pounding out a 74-52 win to remain unbeaten in league play. Holy Cross (18-6, 9-0 Patriot) outsocred Lafayette 43-10 in the paint and piled up a 32-17 edge on the boards.
Two Holy Cross centers reached double figures, with starter Tim Clifford and backup Greg McCarthy each scoring 11 points. Keith Simmons added 17 and Torey Thomas had a game-high 19 for the Crusaders. Thomas was the only HC player with more than one three-pointer (he had three). He was also one of three players with five assists (Alex Vander Baan and Clifford also had 5) for Holy Cross, which recorded assists on 20 of its 28 field goals (28 of 52, 53.8 percent).
The inside domination extended to the defensive end for Holy Cross. Lafayette finished with 16 field goals (16 of 41, 39 percent), nine of them coming from beyond the arc, where the Leopards jacked up 25 of their 41 shots. Adding to Lafayette's offensive woes were 21 turnovers, 15 coming on HC steals. Bilal Abdullah (13 points) and Jesper Andersson (10) had three treys each for the 'Pards (8-15, 2-6), who are now alone in seventh place following Colgate's win at Army.
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In front of a sellout Winter Homecoming crowd of 4,000 in the Hart Center, HC simply dominated the Leopards inside, pounding out a 74-52 win to remain unbeaten in league play. Holy Cross (18-6, 9-0 Patriot) outsocred Lafayette 43-10 in the paint and piled up a 32-17 edge on the boards.
Two Holy Cross centers reached double figures, with starter Tim Clifford and backup Greg McCarthy each scoring 11 points. Keith Simmons added 17 and Torey Thomas had a game-high 19 for the Crusaders. Thomas was the only HC player with more than one three-pointer (he had three). He was also one of three players with five assists (Alex Vander Baan and Clifford also had 5) for Holy Cross, which recorded assists on 20 of its 28 field goals (28 of 52, 53.8 percent).
The inside domination extended to the defensive end for Holy Cross. Lafayette finished with 16 field goals (16 of 41, 39 percent), nine of them coming from beyond the arc, where the Leopards jacked up 25 of their 41 shots. Adding to Lafayette's offensive woes were 21 turnovers, 15 coming on HC steals. Bilal Abdullah (13 points) and Jesper Andersson (10) had three treys each for the 'Pards (8-15, 2-6), who are now alone in seventh place following Colgate's win at Army.
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Saturday, February 03, 2007
Holy Cross tries to stay on top while the rest of the league jostles for playoff position in a trio of games today.
The biggest game of the day takes place in the nation's capital, where Lehigh (9-14 overall, 4-3 Patriot) takes on host American (11-10, 3-4) () in a game (7:30 p.m., Sirius 181) that is close to a must win for the Eagles if they hope to host a first round game in the postseason playoffs.
Lehigh is not mathematically eliminated from the regular season championship, but they are realistically out of contention. Second-place, and the possibility of two home playoff games, is still within the Mountain Hawks grasp. If they can beat the two teams ahead of them in the standings (Holy Cross and Bucknell) at home, and HC beats the Bison in Lewisburg, Lehigh would have a tiebreaker edge (the win over HC) over the Bison should both win out.
For that to happen, though, Lehigh needs to win on the road, something it has done just once in 11 games. It won't be easy in bender, where American's only loss this season came in overtime to Holy Cross.
Senior center Jason Mgebroff out since mid-December with a stress fracture in a leg, has returned to Lehigh's practice, but is unlikely to be available tonight. The Hawks got by without him in Stabler -- barely -- pulling out a 51-49 win on a Phil Andersen putback with less than three seconds to play.
American shot 26.1 percent in that game. Lehigh's seven-foot sophomore John Gourlay scored 10 points. Don't expect either performance to be repeated.
Lafayette at Holy Cross () -- The Crusaders, riding a nine-game win streak, are unbeaten in conference play heading into this evening's sold-out Hart Center rematch with Lafayette. Their first league win came in Easton over Lafayette in a game that was still in question late in the second half.
It should not have been. But after building a 15-point lead, the Crusaders exhaled, allowing the hot-shooting Leopards to make a game of it down the stretch. It took HC 84 points to put away Lafayette, an uncharacteristic showing for Ralph Willard's defense first club. That's the most HC scored all season and around 20 more than it has averaged in six other league wins.
The way Lafayette shot the ball (56.8 percent from the field) against the 'Saders zone, it needed nearly all those points to escape with the W.
With Pat Doherty having since returned from his broken hand, HC probably could muster even more offense if need be. But expect a different style at Hart, where Holy Cross is 8-0 this season. Lafayette's only road conference win came at Colgate. They will need to repeat their 56.8 percent shooting to stay in the game in Worcester, something that is highly unlikely.
Colgate at Army () -- The Raiders won in overtime the first meeting in Hamilton. It won't be easy to repeat that feat in Christl Arena, where the Black Knights are 9-1 this season.
Army (13-9, 3-4) needs a win to stay in the mix for a home playoff game. Colgate (7-13, 2-5) needs a win to try to get into that mix.
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The biggest game of the day takes place in the nation's capital, where Lehigh (9-14 overall, 4-3 Patriot) takes on host American (11-10, 3-4) () in a game (7:30 p.m., Sirius 181) that is close to a must win for the Eagles if they hope to host a first round game in the postseason playoffs.
Lehigh is not mathematically eliminated from the regular season championship, but they are realistically out of contention. Second-place, and the possibility of two home playoff games, is still within the Mountain Hawks grasp. If they can beat the two teams ahead of them in the standings (Holy Cross and Bucknell) at home, and HC beats the Bison in Lewisburg, Lehigh would have a tiebreaker edge (the win over HC) over the Bison should both win out.
For that to happen, though, Lehigh needs to win on the road, something it has done just once in 11 games. It won't be easy in bender, where American's only loss this season came in overtime to Holy Cross.
Senior center Jason Mgebroff out since mid-December with a stress fracture in a leg, has returned to Lehigh's practice, but is unlikely to be available tonight. The Hawks got by without him in Stabler -- barely -- pulling out a 51-49 win on a Phil Andersen putback with less than three seconds to play.
American shot 26.1 percent in that game. Lehigh's seven-foot sophomore John Gourlay scored 10 points. Don't expect either performance to be repeated.
Lafayette at Holy Cross () -- The Crusaders, riding a nine-game win streak, are unbeaten in conference play heading into this evening's sold-out Hart Center rematch with Lafayette. Their first league win came in Easton over Lafayette in a game that was still in question late in the second half.
It should not have been. But after building a 15-point lead, the Crusaders exhaled, allowing the hot-shooting Leopards to make a game of it down the stretch. It took HC 84 points to put away Lafayette, an uncharacteristic showing for Ralph Willard's defense first club. That's the most HC scored all season and around 20 more than it has averaged in six other league wins.
The way Lafayette shot the ball (56.8 percent from the field) against the 'Saders zone, it needed nearly all those points to escape with the W.
With Pat Doherty having since returned from his broken hand, HC probably could muster even more offense if need be. But expect a different style at Hart, where Holy Cross is 8-0 this season. Lafayette's only road conference win came at Colgate. They will need to repeat their 56.8 percent shooting to stay in the game in Worcester, something that is highly unlikely.
Colgate at Army () -- The Raiders won in overtime the first meeting in Hamilton. It won't be easy to repeat that feat in Christl Arena, where the Black Knights are 9-1 this season.
Army (13-9, 3-4) needs a win to stay in the mix for a home playoff game. Colgate (7-13, 2-5) needs a win to try to get into that mix.
Labels: Army, AU, CU, HC, Laf, Leh, previews
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Thursday, February 01, 2007
Thursday morning readaround
Matt Griffin, younger brother of Bucknell's John Griffin, has made a decision where he will play next season.
The 5-11 point guard for St. Joseph's prep in Philadelphia has made an oral commitment to Rider, reports the .
In other Patriot League related stories:
Chay Rao of the Maryland Gazette at the tough transition to college ball for Lafayette freshman Michael Gruner. Rao says Gruner chose Lafayette over Bucknell and Navy because he thought he had a chance to play right away at the when Andrew Brown announced he was leaving Lafayette. That might be a bit of a stretch. During the summer, before Brown decided to return, Fran O'Hanlon talked about Marcus Harley and Derek Heckendorn as the top two candidates for the point. Gruner, O'Hanlon said then, was plan C.
Of course with Heckendorn unable to play again this season due to foot problems, Gruner might have gotten some backup minutes if Brown had not come back.
If Gruner was considering Bucknell, it would likely have been as a walk-on. The Bison's three scholarships were already spoken for before last season started, due to early commits from Stephen Tyree, Patrick Behan and Zach Evans. It is possible the Bison talked to gruner about the roster spot now held by walk-on George Medrano.
It is also unclear if Gruner is actually a scholarship kid at Lafayette, as the story claims. As we reported when his commitment was announced in May, the Leopards already had commits from three players believed to be the recipients of Lafayette's three available full rides.
Any Ivy League postseason tournament? It could be possible, according to the , which says it is on the agenda when the league's athletic directors meet today.
The in Newport News, Va. says Bucknell is among the schools showing interest in 6-4 junior guard Michael Lyons of Woodside High.
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Matt Griffin, younger brother of Bucknell's John Griffin, has made a decision where he will play next season.
The 5-11 point guard for St. Joseph's prep in Philadelphia has made an oral commitment to Rider, reports the .
In other Patriot League related stories:
Of course with Heckendorn unable to play again this season due to foot problems, Gruner might have gotten some backup minutes if Brown had not come back.
If Gruner was considering Bucknell, it would likely have been as a walk-on. The Bison's three scholarships were already spoken for before last season started, due to early commits from Stephen Tyree, Patrick Behan and Zach Evans. It is possible the Bison talked to gruner about the roster spot now held by walk-on George Medrano.
It is also unclear if Gruner is actually a scholarship kid at Lafayette, as the story claims. As we reported when his commitment was announced in May, the Leopards already had commits from three players believed to be the recipients of Lafayette's three available full rides.
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Sunday, January 28, 2007
(Updated with links at 9:43 am)The Leopards likes to live by the three. Saturday it was their demise.
Andre Ingram rained threes on the Leopards, draining 6 from the arc en route to a 23-point afternoon.
Ingram's effort was part of a 10-trey afternoon for AU, which shot 44.8 percent (26 of 58) from the field, 10 of 22 outside the arc.
The Eagles also got a big game inside from Travis Lay, who came off the bench for a 15-point, 10-rebound double-double. Lay's rebounding was a key to American's 37-27 edge on the boards. Three of Lay's rebounds were on the offensive glass, where AU had a 10-2 edge.
Lafayette, which lives and dies by the jump shot, was just 20 of 47 from the field (42.6 percent), 7 of 22 from the arc. Andrew Brown and Matt Betley each had 12 points for Lafayette, but they were a combined 3 for 13 from the arc.
The Leopards were up 25-24 after a pair of Jesper Andersson free throws with 2:58 to go in the first half. AU responded with an 8-3 run to close the half up 32-28 and never trailed after the break. Lafayette got within one on an Andre Hines jumper with 14:39 to play before American pulled away.
The win, American's second in a row, puts the Eagles (11-10 overall, 3-4 Patriot) back above .500 and back in contention for one of the four homecourt first round games.
Lafayette (8-14, 2-5) drops into a tie with Colgate, one game ahead of last-place Navy.
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Andre Ingram rained threes on the Leopards, draining 6 from the arc en route to a 23-point afternoon.
Ingram's effort was part of a 10-trey afternoon for AU, which shot 44.8 percent (26 of 58) from the field, 10 of 22 outside the arc.
The Eagles also got a big game inside from Travis Lay, who came off the bench for a 15-point, 10-rebound double-double. Lay's rebounding was a key to American's 37-27 edge on the boards. Three of Lay's rebounds were on the offensive glass, where AU had a 10-2 edge.
Lafayette, which lives and dies by the jump shot, was just 20 of 47 from the field (42.6 percent), 7 of 22 from the arc. Andrew Brown and Matt Betley each had 12 points for Lafayette, but they were a combined 3 for 13 from the arc.
The Leopards were up 25-24 after a pair of Jesper Andersson free throws with 2:58 to go in the first half. AU responded with an 8-3 run to close the half up 32-28 and never trailed after the break. Lafayette got within one on an Andre Hines jumper with 14:39 to play before American pulled away.
The win, American's second in a row, puts the Eagles (11-10 overall, 3-4 Patriot) back above .500 and back in contention for one of the four homecourt first round games.
Lafayette (8-14, 2-5) drops into a tie with Colgate, one game ahead of last-place Navy.
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Saturday, January 27, 2007
After a few weeks of ties up and down the Patriot League standings, things will shake out a little today.
For the first time all season, somebody will be alone at the bottom. Last place will be decided in Annapolis, where Navy hosts Colgate in a battle of 1-5 teams (). Meanwhile, American visits Lafayette in a matchup of a pair of 2-4 clubs ().
The winner of the AU-LC game could find itself suddenly tied for the all-important fourth spot in the standings, pending the outcome of tonight's Army at Bucknell . A Bucknell win would leave Army tied with that AU-LC winner for the number four spot -- a spot magnified in importance this season by the league's higher seed homecourt playoffs system that has replaced the league's post-season tournament to determine the conference championship and what will likely be just one bid to the NCAA Tournament.
That Army-Bucknell game is the spotlight contest of the day. Army, coming off a loss at Lafayette on Wednesday after three-straight wins in West Point, needs bounce-back win to stay above .500 and even with Lehigh for third place in the standings. A loss and suddenly, despite their strong start in conference play, the Black Knights are back to battling just to stay out of the second division.
For Bucknell, the story is pretty simple. Win their 31st straight home conference game and keep pace one game behind Holy Cross, which has yet to visit Sojka this season.
In Easton, Lafayette will look to shoot its way past an American team that looked like a contender early in the season, but found itself needing a win over Navy Wednesday to stay out of the cellar. Conventional wisdom would tell you American's big, deep frontcourt should be a tremendous edge for the Eagles. But aside from up and down Brayden Billbe, production from those big guys have been mediocre at best.
If Lafayette can lure AU's gunners into a shootout, it could be another long bus ride home for American, which is 0-3 on the road in league play.
In Annapolis, Billy Lange's young Midshipmen badly need a win to stem the bleeding. After a promising 9-3 start, Navy has dropped 7 of its last 9, including its last three. Colgate, which has lost five straight and eight of its last 9, could be the first aid Navy needs. The Raiders rank 314th (out of 325) nationally in scoring and 294th in field goal percentage (40.3 percent).
Of course Bavy is just above Colgate in the league rankings for field goal percentage (41.5 percent, 263 nationally). Two areas where Navy has a big edge are at the foul line and behind the arc. Navy ranks 9th nationally in free throw percentage (76.1 percent, tops in the league); Colgate is last in the league at 69.5 percent (140 nationally). Navy is second in the league and No. 25 in the nation in three-pointers per game (8.4 per); Colgate is last in the league and 316 out of 325 nationally with 4.2 per game.
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For the first time all season, somebody will be alone at the bottom. Last place will be decided in Annapolis, where Navy hosts Colgate in a battle of 1-5 teams (). Meanwhile, American visits Lafayette in a matchup of a pair of 2-4 clubs ().
The winner of the AU-LC game could find itself suddenly tied for the all-important fourth spot in the standings, pending the outcome of tonight's Army at Bucknell . A Bucknell win would leave Army tied with that AU-LC winner for the number four spot -- a spot magnified in importance this season by the league's higher seed homecourt playoffs system that has replaced the league's post-season tournament to determine the conference championship and what will likely be just one bid to the NCAA Tournament.
That Army-Bucknell game is the spotlight contest of the day. Army, coming off a loss at Lafayette on Wednesday after three-straight wins in West Point, needs bounce-back win to stay above .500 and even with Lehigh for third place in the standings. A loss and suddenly, despite their strong start in conference play, the Black Knights are back to battling just to stay out of the second division.
For Bucknell, the story is pretty simple. Win their 31st straight home conference game and keep pace one game behind Holy Cross, which has yet to visit Sojka this season.
In Easton, Lafayette will look to shoot its way past an American team that looked like a contender early in the season, but found itself needing a win over Navy Wednesday to stay out of the cellar. Conventional wisdom would tell you American's big, deep frontcourt should be a tremendous edge for the Eagles. But aside from up and down Brayden Billbe, production from those big guys have been mediocre at best.
If Lafayette can lure AU's gunners into a shootout, it could be another long bus ride home for American, which is 0-3 on the road in league play.
In Annapolis, Billy Lange's young Midshipmen badly need a win to stem the bleeding. After a promising 9-3 start, Navy has dropped 7 of its last 9, including its last three. Colgate, which has lost five straight and eight of its last 9, could be the first aid Navy needs. The Raiders rank 314th (out of 325) nationally in scoring and 294th in field goal percentage (40.3 percent).
Of course Bavy is just above Colgate in the league rankings for field goal percentage (41.5 percent, 263 nationally). Two areas where Navy has a big edge are at the foul line and behind the arc. Navy ranks 9th nationally in free throw percentage (76.1 percent, tops in the league); Colgate is last in the league at 69.5 percent (140 nationally). Navy is second in the league and No. 25 in the nation in three-pointers per game (8.4 per); Colgate is last in the league and 316 out of 325 nationally with 4.2 per game.
Labels: Army, AU, BU, CU, Laf, Navy, previews
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Thursday, January 25, 2007
Paul Cummins hit six three-pointers en route to a career-high 22 points as Lafayette put and end to Army's three-game win streak,
Cummins, a 6-2 junior from Kildare, Ireland, hit his first trey 1:47 into the game, putting Lafayette ahead 6-5. The Leopards never trailed after that.
Army managed to pull even early in the second half on back-to-back buckets by Jarrell Brown, who finished with 18 points for the Black Knights. Lafayette went back up 26 seconds later on a pair of free throws by Everest Schmidt (11 points). Schmidt's foul shots sparked an 8-1 Leopards' run. Army never got within a possession after that.
Matt Bell led Army (13-8 overall, 3-3 Patriot) with 23 points.
Andrew Brown added 17 for Lafayette, which shot 56.1 percent (23 of 41) from the field, 10 of 18 (55.6 percent) from the three-point arc.
Army actually had more field goals than the Leopards, going 28 for 58 (48.3 percent) from the field, 8 for 24 on three-pointers. But Army only went to the foul line 8 times all night, making 4. Lehigh was 20 for 28 at the line.
The Leopards also outrebounded the Knights 31-23.
Army's road trip continues Saturday at Bucknell. Lafayette will host American Saturday with fifth place in the league standings on the line.
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Cummins, a 6-2 junior from Kildare, Ireland, hit his first trey 1:47 into the game, putting Lafayette ahead 6-5. The Leopards never trailed after that.
Army managed to pull even early in the second half on back-to-back buckets by Jarrell Brown, who finished with 18 points for the Black Knights. Lafayette went back up 26 seconds later on a pair of free throws by Everest Schmidt (11 points). Schmidt's foul shots sparked an 8-1 Leopards' run. Army never got within a possession after that.
Matt Bell led Army (13-8 overall, 3-3 Patriot) with 23 points.
Andrew Brown added 17 for Lafayette, which shot 56.1 percent (23 of 41) from the field, 10 of 18 (55.6 percent) from the three-point arc.
Army actually had more field goals than the Leopards, going 28 for 58 (48.3 percent) from the field, 8 for 24 on three-pointers. But Army only went to the foul line 8 times all night, making 4. Lehigh was 20 for 28 at the line.
The Leopards also outrebounded the Knights 31-23.
Army's road trip continues Saturday at Bucknell. Lafayette will host American Saturday with fifth place in the league standings on the line.
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Wednesday, January 24, 2007
(Includes bonus links)
After last night's twofer Tuesday, two more on tap tonight in the Patriot League. The headliner is Army, leaving West Point for the first time in two weeks to visit the hard luck Leopards of Lafayette.
Army has a chance to claim a share of third place when it visits Easton tonight (). The Black Knights, coming off three-straight wins at home, would actually have a tiebreaker edge over Lehigh for the number three seed if they win in Kirby, thanks to a win over the Mountain Hawks.
It won't be easy. Army is 2-6 on the road this season. Lafayette is just 3-5 at home, but those losses include games against Holy Cross and Bucknell, both of which the Leopards managed to hang in all the way to the end.
Lafayette can play with anybody in the league when its shots are falling and unlike Holy Cross or Bucknell, Army won't present the Leopards with a huge mismatch in the frontcourt.
Meanwhile, down in the Nation's Capital, somebody will emerge from the cellar when 1-4 American hosts 1-4 Navy ().
BONUS LINKS:
(Centre Daily Times)
(Slam)
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After last night's twofer Tuesday, two more on tap tonight in the Patriot League. The headliner is Army, leaving West Point for the first time in two weeks to visit the hard luck Leopards of Lafayette.
Army has a chance to claim a share of third place when it visits Easton tonight (). The Black Knights, coming off three-straight wins at home, would actually have a tiebreaker edge over Lehigh for the number three seed if they win in Kirby, thanks to a win over the Mountain Hawks.
It won't be easy. Army is 2-6 on the road this season. Lafayette is just 3-5 at home, but those losses include games against Holy Cross and Bucknell, both of which the Leopards managed to hang in all the way to the end.
Lafayette can play with anybody in the league when its shots are falling and unlike Holy Cross or Bucknell, Army won't present the Leopards with a huge mismatch in the frontcourt.
Meanwhile, down in the Nation's Capital, somebody will emerge from the cellar when 1-4 American hosts 1-4 Navy ().
BONUS LINKS:
Labels: AU, Laf, Navy, previews
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Sunday, January 21, 2007
Lafayette's second half rally falls short in Stabler. (Updated with links at 7:52 a.m.)
Marquis Hall led four Lehigh players in double figures as the Mountain Hawks (9-12 overall, 4-1 Patriot) survived a second-half barrage of Lafayette three-pointers for a 77-69 win to stay tied with Bucknell for second in the league.
Jose Olivero added 16 points for the Hawks. Kyle Neptune had 12 and Bryan White was one rebound shy of a double-double with 13 points and 9 boards. Lehigh's four of a kind was nearly trumped by Lafayette ace Andrew Brown, who poured in a career-high 30 points in a valiant, but losing effort.
Lafayette seemed out of the game at the half, after shooting 6 for 24 (25 percent) from the field to fall behind 37-21 at the break. The Leopards seemed even more out of it when Lehigh's lead swelled to 18 on an Olivero three-pointer with 16:25 to go in the game.
Then the Lafayette threes started to fall -- nine of them in all during the Leopards methodical march back into the game. The ninth of the nine came from Brown and cut the Lehigh lead to just 3 points with 1:39 to play. But the Leopards went cold down the stretch, making just 1 of their final 5 three-point tries while Hall and White combined to go 12 for 12 from the foul line in the final 1:19 to turn back Lafayette's upset bid.
Lehigh, which is at Bucknell Tuesday in a battle for sole possession of second place, won for the eight time in nine home games this season. The win was Lehigh's third in a row over Lafayette, the longest win streak by either of the two archrivals since the 2000-2001 season.
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Marquis Hall led four Lehigh players in double figures as the Mountain Hawks (9-12 overall, 4-1 Patriot) survived a second-half barrage of Lafayette three-pointers for a 77-69 win to stay tied with Bucknell for second in the league.
Jose Olivero added 16 points for the Hawks. Kyle Neptune had 12 and Bryan White was one rebound shy of a double-double with 13 points and 9 boards. Lehigh's four of a kind was nearly trumped by Lafayette ace Andrew Brown, who poured in a career-high 30 points in a valiant, but losing effort.
Lafayette seemed out of the game at the half, after shooting 6 for 24 (25 percent) from the field to fall behind 37-21 at the break. The Leopards seemed even more out of it when Lehigh's lead swelled to 18 on an Olivero three-pointer with 16:25 to go in the game.
Then the Lafayette threes started to fall -- nine of them in all during the Leopards methodical march back into the game. The ninth of the nine came from Brown and cut the Lehigh lead to just 3 points with 1:39 to play. But the Leopards went cold down the stretch, making just 1 of their final 5 three-point tries while Hall and White combined to go 12 for 12 from the foul line in the final 1:19 to turn back Lafayette's upset bid.
Lehigh, which is at Bucknell Tuesday in a battle for sole possession of second place, won for the eight time in nine home games this season. The win was Lehigh's third in a row over Lafayette, the longest win streak by either of the two archrivals since the 2000-2001 season.
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Saturday, January 20, 2007
With Army-Navy on hold until Sunday, there are just three games on tap today, all involving matchups between the early season haves and early season have-nots.
Colgate at Bucknell ESPNU, Sirius 123 () -- Bucknell's 23-game league win streak came to an end last week in Worcester. Their 28-game streak of league wins at home is still intact.
Colgate is the worst shooting team in the league, barely hitting over 40 percent on the season (40.9). Normally you would not think of Sojka Pavilion as a good place for a team that shoots poorly to visit. But here is one of the most surprising stats of the season: Bucknell ranks next to last in the league in field goal percentage defense (44.3 percent).
The biggest concern for Bucknell is Colgate's Jon Simon, who went off for 28 points Wednesday at Lehigh. Simon's 8 three-pointers kept the Raiders in that game right to the end. The Bison have had a knack for letting teams hits enough threes to stick around.
Expect a few more folks cheering Colgate than normal. Raiders guard Willie Morse is from State College H.S., 45 minutes out Route 45 from Lewisburg. The State College H.S. team will take on Hazleton -- coached by Bucknell grad Mike Joseph -- in Sojka following the BU-CU game.
Holy Cross at American () -- Holy Cross returns to the road after a three-game homestand, looking to solidify its hold on first place. The Crusaders are on a roll, having won six in a row -- including a 4-0 start in league play -- and seven of their last eight.
American is hoping a return to Bender will stop the bleeding. After a 7-2 start, AU has gone 2-7 in its last 9 games, including a 1-3 start in league play. Despite their struggles, the Eagles are still 6-0 at home this season.
Two years ago, HC's Tim Clifford had his at Bender with a 13-point, 13-rebound double-double in a short-notice first start after Nate Lufkin rolled an ankle at Navy two days earlier. Clifford followed that up with a 27-point effort against AU in Worcester last season that still stands as his career-high.
If Clifford is going to have a big scoring day against AU this afternoon, it probably will come at the free throw line. American has a boatload of frontcourt players and Jeff Jones will probably throw them all at Clifford in an effort to keep him in check.
What Jones doesn't have is anybody who can match up with Keith Simmons (who in the league does?). The best AU can hope for in the backcourt is to get enough scoring from Andre Ingram and Arvydas Eitutavicius to even Simmons out.
Lafayette at Lehigh () -- The league's highest scoring offense hosts the league's worst scoring defense in a meeting of the two archrivals from the Lehigh Valley.
Lehigh needs a win to keep pace with Bucknell for second place in the league standings. Lafayette is currently tied with Navy, American and Colgate for last place -- all at 1-3. Stabler Arena is not the place you want to visit needing a win. The Mountain Hawks are 7-1 at home and just a second or two and a questionable whistle from being unbeaten there.
In their own building, the Leopards have shown the ability to shoot enough threes to hang with two of the league's best. To get a win here, they will need to show they can do it on the road and that they can maintain it for 40 minutes -- something they were unable to do at home against HC and Bucknell.
Talk about Lehigh personnel usually starts with Jose Olivero. But Marquis Hall and Kyle Neptune are also three-point threats, capable of shredding Lafayette's zone from the perimeter if their shots are falling. Inside, Skinny Phil (Anderson) has scored in double figures three straight games and has the kind of matchup against Lafayette's undersized front line to do it a fourth time here.
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Colgate at Bucknell ESPNU, Sirius 123 () -- Bucknell's 23-game league win streak came to an end last week in Worcester. Their 28-game streak of league wins at home is still intact.
Colgate is the worst shooting team in the league, barely hitting over 40 percent on the season (40.9). Normally you would not think of Sojka Pavilion as a good place for a team that shoots poorly to visit. But here is one of the most surprising stats of the season: Bucknell ranks next to last in the league in field goal percentage defense (44.3 percent).
The biggest concern for Bucknell is Colgate's Jon Simon, who went off for 28 points Wednesday at Lehigh. Simon's 8 three-pointers kept the Raiders in that game right to the end. The Bison have had a knack for letting teams hits enough threes to stick around.
Expect a few more folks cheering Colgate than normal. Raiders guard Willie Morse is from State College H.S., 45 minutes out Route 45 from Lewisburg. The State College H.S. team will take on Hazleton -- coached by Bucknell grad Mike Joseph -- in Sojka following the BU-CU game.
Holy Cross at American () -- Holy Cross returns to the road after a three-game homestand, looking to solidify its hold on first place. The Crusaders are on a roll, having won six in a row -- including a 4-0 start in league play -- and seven of their last eight.
American is hoping a return to Bender will stop the bleeding. After a 7-2 start, AU has gone 2-7 in its last 9 games, including a 1-3 start in league play. Despite their struggles, the Eagles are still 6-0 at home this season.
Two years ago, HC's Tim Clifford had his at Bender with a 13-point, 13-rebound double-double in a short-notice first start after Nate Lufkin rolled an ankle at Navy two days earlier. Clifford followed that up with a 27-point effort against AU in Worcester last season that still stands as his career-high.
If Clifford is going to have a big scoring day against AU this afternoon, it probably will come at the free throw line. American has a boatload of frontcourt players and Jeff Jones will probably throw them all at Clifford in an effort to keep him in check.
What Jones doesn't have is anybody who can match up with Keith Simmons (who in the league does?). The best AU can hope for in the backcourt is to get enough scoring from Andre Ingram and Arvydas Eitutavicius to even Simmons out.
Lafayette at Lehigh () -- The league's highest scoring offense hosts the league's worst scoring defense in a meeting of the two archrivals from the Lehigh Valley.
Lehigh needs a win to keep pace with Bucknell for second place in the league standings. Lafayette is currently tied with Navy, American and Colgate for last place -- all at 1-3. Stabler Arena is not the place you want to visit needing a win. The Mountain Hawks are 7-1 at home and just a second or two and a questionable whistle from being unbeaten there.
In their own building, the Leopards have shown the ability to shoot enough threes to hang with two of the league's best. To get a win here, they will need to show they can do it on the road and that they can maintain it for 40 minutes -- something they were unable to do at home against HC and Bucknell.
Talk about Lehigh personnel usually starts with Jose Olivero. But Marquis Hall and Kyle Neptune are also three-point threats, capable of shredding Lafayette's zone from the perimeter if their shots are falling. Inside, Skinny Phil (Anderson) has scored in double figures three straight games and has the kind of matchup against Lafayette's undersized front line to do it a fourth time here.
Labels: AU, BU, CU, HC, Laf, Leh, previews
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Thursday, January 18, 2007
Bucknell needed to be perfect at the foul line down the stretch to get past Lafayette.
They were, making 14 of 14 in the final 2:57 of a 67-61 win in Easton. The Bison's last field goal came on a John Griffin jumper with 5:31 to play. But they took full advantage of their free throw opportunities, especially in the final 1:09 of the game, when they took the lead on a pair by Donald Brown (19 points, 7 rebounds) and held it by putting the ball in the hands of Griffin (11 points) and Jason Vegotsky (18), who combined to go 10 for 10 at the stripe in the final 47 seconds.
Lafayette (7-12 overall, 1-3 Patriot) blitzed the Bison early, holding Bucknell (9-8, 3-1) without a field goal the first 6:08 of the game while taking an early 10-1 lead. The Leopards maintained the lead well into the second half, thanks in no small part to hot three-point shooting. Lafayette hit 9 of the first 18 treys it shot, including 4 by Andrew Brown (14 points). Six different players connected from the arc for the 'Pards, but Matt Betley (11) was the only one who did so after the first 5 minutes of the second half. Lafayette was 1 for 7 from three-point range the last 15 minutes.
Bucknell took its first lead on a Vegotsky three at the 11:48 mark, but never was able to pull away. There were four lead changes and four ties from there, the last tie at 55-55 before Brown's free throws, which came on an over the back call on Betley that the Lafayette beat writers say was a questionable call at best.
The Bison won despite being outscored from the field. Both teams made 21 field goals, Bucknell's coming on 50 shots (42 percent), while Lafayette was 21 of 47 (44.7 percent). The Leopards had 10 treys; Bucknell has 6. But Bucknell had a 39-23 edge on the boards, including 16 offensive rebounds, and shot 27 free throws (making 19) while Lafayette was 9 of 13 at the line.
The two teams had nearly as many turnovers as field goals, combining for 39 -- 20 by Bucknell.
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BONUS LINK: (Huntsville Times)
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They were, making 14 of 14 in the final 2:57 of a 67-61 win in Easton. The Bison's last field goal came on a John Griffin jumper with 5:31 to play. But they took full advantage of their free throw opportunities, especially in the final 1:09 of the game, when they took the lead on a pair by Donald Brown (19 points, 7 rebounds) and held it by putting the ball in the hands of Griffin (11 points) and Jason Vegotsky (18), who combined to go 10 for 10 at the stripe in the final 47 seconds.
Lafayette (7-12 overall, 1-3 Patriot) blitzed the Bison early, holding Bucknell (9-8, 3-1) without a field goal the first 6:08 of the game while taking an early 10-1 lead. The Leopards maintained the lead well into the second half, thanks in no small part to hot three-point shooting. Lafayette hit 9 of the first 18 treys it shot, including 4 by Andrew Brown (14 points). Six different players connected from the arc for the 'Pards, but Matt Betley (11) was the only one who did so after the first 5 minutes of the second half. Lafayette was 1 for 7 from three-point range the last 15 minutes.
Bucknell took its first lead on a Vegotsky three at the 11:48 mark, but never was able to pull away. There were four lead changes and four ties from there, the last tie at 55-55 before Brown's free throws, which came on an over the back call on Betley that the Lafayette beat writers say was a questionable call at best.
The Bison won despite being outscored from the field. Both teams made 21 field goals, Bucknell's coming on 50 shots (42 percent), while Lafayette was 21 of 47 (44.7 percent). The Leopards had 10 treys; Bucknell has 6. But Bucknell had a 39-23 edge on the boards, including 16 offensive rebounds, and shot 27 free throws (making 19) while Lafayette was 9 of 13 at the line.
The two teams had nearly as many turnovers as field goals, combining for 39 -- 20 by Bucknell.
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BONUS LINK: (Huntsville Times)
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Wednesday, January 17, 2007
An old-fashioned full slate of Wednesday night games are on tap tonight.Bucknall at Lafayette ()-- Bucknell would like nothing better than to start a new league win streak after having its 23-game run end at Holy Cross. It won't be as easy to do that as some might expect. The Bison have a tremendous edge inside, but Lafayette probably won't play a lick of man defense and its zone can make it tough to take advantage of that edge in the post. That is especially so if Bucknell can't knock down a enough threes to force the Leopards to guard the perimieter.
On the other hand, Lafayette is one of the league's best perimeter shooting teams and Bucknell has had trouble defending the three in each of its three league games thus far. There won't be many, if any, easy road games in this league and if the threes are falling for the Leopards, this could be an upset.
American at Army ()-- The Black Knights are full of confidence after their win over Lehigh Saturday. They will need to play a similar game to beat American for the first time since the Eagles joined the league. That means finding offense from places besides Jarrell Brown and Matt Bell, shutting down Andre Ingram the way they shut down Jose Olivero and keeping Chris Walker out of foul trouble.
For American, which entered the season with realistic hopes of being a contender in the league, a win here is pretty much required if they want to regain that status. The Eagles cannot afford to fall to 1-3 in league play with Holy Cross on tap Saturday. The area where AU should have an edge is in the frontcourt. That edge will magnify if they can put Walker on the bench with foul problems. The trouble is, though American ought to have a real advantage around the basket with its deep, and big, front line, that has been an area that has been inconsistent and underperforming for the Eagles all season. (Lawrence (Kans.) Journal-World)
Navy at Holy Cross ()-- Like every other team in the league, Navy has no match for Keith Simmons. Like most, it also has no match for Tim Clifford. Navy's hopes for an upset probably depend on two things -- getting incredibly hot from the arc and hoping the Crusaders have a post-Bucknell letdown.
Given the way HC plays defense, the former is not likely. Given HC's tendancy to lose focus when it gets ahead in games, it is not beyond the realm of possibility they could have a mental lapse in this situation. There is, though, a very wide gap here between possible and probable -- especially in Worcester.
Colgate at Lehigh ()-- The Mountain Hawks are less than a second away from being unbeaten at home. The Raiders are only a few seconds removed from being winless in the league. Don't expect it to be easy for the Mountain Hawks -- not much has been this season. But Colgate has trouble shooting against weak defenses in cozy barns. In Stabler, which has never been known as a great place for visiting teams to shoot, against a Lehigh team that emphasizes defense, the Raiders struggles from the field aren't likely to be cured tonight. It won't be any surprise if this one is determined at the foul line, and jump-shooting Colgate seldom wins those kinds of battles. It's not that the Raiders can't shoot free throws. They just don't seem to get many opportunities to go to the line. That is not likely to change on the road -- especially not in Stabler.
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On the other hand, Lafayette is one of the league's best perimeter shooting teams and Bucknell has had trouble defending the three in each of its three league games thus far. There won't be many, if any, easy road games in this league and if the threes are falling for the Leopards, this could be an upset.
American at Army ()-- The Black Knights are full of confidence after their win over Lehigh Saturday. They will need to play a similar game to beat American for the first time since the Eagles joined the league. That means finding offense from places besides Jarrell Brown and Matt Bell, shutting down Andre Ingram the way they shut down Jose Olivero and keeping Chris Walker out of foul trouble.
For American, which entered the season with realistic hopes of being a contender in the league, a win here is pretty much required if they want to regain that status. The Eagles cannot afford to fall to 1-3 in league play with Holy Cross on tap Saturday. The area where AU should have an edge is in the frontcourt. That edge will magnify if they can put Walker on the bench with foul problems. The trouble is, though American ought to have a real advantage around the basket with its deep, and big, front line, that has been an area that has been inconsistent and underperforming for the Eagles all season.
Navy at Holy Cross ()-- Like every other team in the league, Navy has no match for Keith Simmons. Like most, it also has no match for Tim Clifford. Navy's hopes for an upset probably depend on two things -- getting incredibly hot from the arc and hoping the Crusaders have a post-Bucknell letdown.
Given the way HC plays defense, the former is not likely. Given HC's tendancy to lose focus when it gets ahead in games, it is not beyond the realm of possibility they could have a mental lapse in this situation. There is, though, a very wide gap here between possible and probable -- especially in Worcester.
Colgate at Lehigh ()-- The Mountain Hawks are less than a second away from being unbeaten at home. The Raiders are only a few seconds removed from being winless in the league. Don't expect it to be easy for the Mountain Hawks -- not much has been this season. But Colgate has trouble shooting against weak defenses in cozy barns. In Stabler, which has never been known as a great place for visiting teams to shoot, against a Lehigh team that emphasizes defense, the Raiders struggles from the field aren't likely to be cured tonight. It won't be any surprise if this one is determined at the foul line, and jump-shooting Colgate seldom wins those kinds of battles. It's not that the Raiders can't shoot free throws. They just don't seem to get many opportunities to go to the line. That is not likely to change on the road -- especially not in Stabler.
Labels: Army, AU, BU, CU, HC, Laf, Leh, Navy, previews
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Sunday, January 14, 2007
It was a balmy 65 degress out Saturday in Annapolis, but it was much colder inside Alumni Hall.
Two teams that live and die by the jump shot hooked up in Annapolis and neither distinguished itself from the field. But Navy got to the foul line 25 times and made 20 to beat Lafayette 60-44.
Coming in, the two teams were No. 1 and No. 2 in the league in three-pointers made per game. You would not have known it watching this game. Lafayette was 5 for 25 from the arc, part of an overall 16 for 52 (30.8 percent) effort that would have looked even worse if not for Matt Betley's 8 for 12 night.
Take Betley, who finished with a 19-point, 12-rebound double double, out of the equation and Lafayette was 8 for 40 (20 percent) from the field. Betley also shot half of Lafayette's 14 free throws, making 3 of his 7. Lafayette was 7 of 14 as a team.
Navy was barely better from the field -- 17 of 54 (34 percent), 6 of 20 at the arc. But in addition to their free throw shooting, the Mids forced 24 Lafayette turnovers.
Greg Sprink led the Midshipmen with 23 points, thanks to a 10 for 10 night at the charity stripe. Adam Teague was also in double figures with 10 points for Navy (11-7 overall, 1-2 PL).
The only place in the box score Lafayette (7-11, 1-2) had an edge was in rebounding (40-37).
It gets no easier for either team. Lafayette hosts Bucknell Wednesday while Navy will be at Holy Cross.
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Two teams that live and die by the jump shot hooked up in Annapolis and neither distinguished itself from the field. But Navy got to the foul line 25 times and made 20 to beat Lafayette 60-44.
Coming in, the two teams were No. 1 and No. 2 in the league in three-pointers made per game. You would not have known it watching this game. Lafayette was 5 for 25 from the arc, part of an overall 16 for 52 (30.8 percent) effort that would have looked even worse if not for Matt Betley's 8 for 12 night.
Take Betley, who finished with a 19-point, 12-rebound double double, out of the equation and Lafayette was 8 for 40 (20 percent) from the field. Betley also shot half of Lafayette's 14 free throws, making 3 of his 7. Lafayette was 7 of 14 as a team.
Navy was barely better from the field -- 17 of 54 (34 percent), 6 of 20 at the arc. But in addition to their free throw shooting, the Mids forced 24 Lafayette turnovers.
Greg Sprink led the Midshipmen with 23 points, thanks to a 10 for 10 night at the charity stripe. Adam Teague was also in double figures with 10 points for Navy (11-7 overall, 1-2 PL).
The only place in the box score Lafayette (7-11, 1-2) had an edge was in rebounding (40-37).
It gets no easier for either team. Lafayette hosts Bucknell Wednesday while Navy will be at Holy Cross.
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Saturday, January 13, 2007
Three games on tap today. We'll be at West Point, getting our first look at Army when it hosts Lehigh (). The Black Knights' strong start has come nearly to a halt with five losses in the Black Knights' last six games, including an 0-2 start -- both on the road -- in league play.
Army (10-7) badly needs a win at home in Christl to regain some of the momentum of its 9-2 start. Lehigh (7-11) finally won a road game -- its first of the season -- at Navy Wednesday. The Mountain Hawks win here and suddenly their horrid start is an object looking smaller in the rear view mirror.
Army's Jarrell Brown and Lehigh's Jose Olivero are two of the league's top offensive forces, but the key to this one will probably be in the paint, where Army's burly freshman Chris Walker will match up with a Lehigh frontline that is still without Jason Mgebroff. Skinny Phil Anderson has played well enough to keep the Hawks from getting dominated inside in Mgebroff's absence. Here he could have a chance to do even more if Walker can't stay out of the foul trouble that has plagued him in recent games.
Also on tap today: Lafayette looks to improve to 2-1 in conference play at Navy (), which is still looking for its first league win. Whoever hits the most jumpers wins.
American, reeling after two straight losses to open league play and six setbacks in its last seven, tries to get back on track when it hosts Colgate's gang that can't shoot straight (). Colgate has lost four of its last five and has shot over 40 percent once in its last eight games.
BONUS LINK:
(Newsday)
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Army (10-7) badly needs a win at home in Christl to regain some of the momentum of its 9-2 start. Lehigh (7-11) finally won a road game -- its first of the season -- at Navy Wednesday. The Mountain Hawks win here and suddenly their horrid start is an object looking smaller in the rear view mirror.
Army's Jarrell Brown and Lehigh's Jose Olivero are two of the league's top offensive forces, but the key to this one will probably be in the paint, where Army's burly freshman Chris Walker will match up with a Lehigh frontline that is still without Jason Mgebroff. Skinny Phil Anderson has played well enough to keep the Hawks from getting dominated inside in Mgebroff's absence. Here he could have a chance to do even more if Walker can't stay out of the foul trouble that has plagued him in recent games.
Also on tap today: Lafayette looks to improve to 2-1 in conference play at Navy (), which is still looking for its first league win. Whoever hits the most jumpers wins.
American, reeling after two straight losses to open league play and six setbacks in its last seven, tries to get back on track when it hosts Colgate's gang that can't shoot straight (). Colgate has lost four of its last five and has shot over 40 percent once in its last eight games.
BONUS LINK:
Labels: Army, AU, CU, Laf, Leh, Navy, previews
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Thursday, January 11, 2007
The gang that can't shoot straight hosted the gang that couldn't miss last night in Hamilton. The outcome was predictable.
When another team comes into your gym and knocks down 63.9 percent (23 of 36) of its shots, you're going to have a tough time satisfying your 521 fans, which is exactly what happened in Lafayette's 71-65 win at Colgate last night.
The Leopards started with a 13-0 run and led by 15 after shooting 71.4 (15 of 21) percent from the field in the first half and held that margin well into the second half before Colgate chipped away to get back into the game. The Raiders pulled to within 2 (65-63) with 40 seconds left, but Lafayette hit their free throws down the stretch to hold off the charge.
Colgate came out of the gate colder than a Hamilton night, going 8 for 28 (28.6 percent) from the field the first half -- 1 of 8 (7.7 percent) from the arc. The Raiders finished 21 of 54 (38.9 percent) from the field, 5 of 22 (22.7 percent) from the arc. It was the seventh time in eight games the Raiders shot under 40 percent.
Bilal Abdullah led Lafayette with 16. Everest Schmidt (12) and Ted Detmer (11) also reached double figures for the Leopards (7-10 overall, 1-1 Patriot).
Jon Simon led Colgate (6-9, 1-1) with 24. Kendall Chones added 13 and had 6 rebounds. Colgate outrebounded the 'Pards 31-23, including 19 offensive boards, which kept them in the game.
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When another team comes into your gym and knocks down 63.9 percent (23 of 36) of its shots, you're going to have a tough time satisfying your 521 fans, which is exactly what happened in Lafayette's 71-65 win at Colgate last night.
The Leopards started with a 13-0 run and led by 15 after shooting 71.4 (15 of 21) percent from the field in the first half and held that margin well into the second half before Colgate chipped away to get back into the game. The Raiders pulled to within 2 (65-63) with 40 seconds left, but Lafayette hit their free throws down the stretch to hold off the charge.
Colgate came out of the gate colder than a Hamilton night, going 8 for 28 (28.6 percent) from the field the first half -- 1 of 8 (7.7 percent) from the arc. The Raiders finished 21 of 54 (38.9 percent) from the field, 5 of 22 (22.7 percent) from the arc. It was the seventh time in eight games the Raiders shot under 40 percent.
Bilal Abdullah led Lafayette with 16. Everest Schmidt (12) and Ted Detmer (11) also reached double figures for the Leopards (7-10 overall, 1-1 Patriot).
Jon Simon led Colgate (6-9, 1-1) with 24. Kendall Chones added 13 and had 6 rebounds. Colgate outrebounded the 'Pards 31-23, including 19 offensive boards, which kept them in the game.
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Sunday, January 07, 2007
Offense, not defense, is the difference as HC opens league play with a road win in Easton. (Originally posted Sat. at 7:31 p.m., updated with additional links)
By CHRIS A. COUROGEN
For the past few weeks, Holy Cross has been making a living off its zone defense. Whether it was the 2-3, a variation thereof, or a 1-3-1, for the most part it seemed to be effective on two fronts. The zone held opponents' offenses in check and saved the legs of guys like Torey Thomas and Keith Simmons, who were being forced to play close to 40 minutes every game.
But after Lafayette found seems in the Crusaders zone time and time again at the start of Saturday's Patriot League opener, Holy Cross switched to good old man-to-man and slowed the Leopards enough to escape with an 84-74 road win.
The 84 points were the most scored by Holy Cross all season. The Crusaders' 59.2 percent (29 of 49) shooting from the field was their best shooting night in at least the past two-plus seasons. Keith Simmons' 26 points were the most by an HC player all season.
Holy Cross needed every bit of that offense against a Lafayette team that shot 56.8 percent (25 of 44) against them. That is better than Duke, Syracuse and providence managed to shoot against HC. Only Dayton has shot better against the Crusaders this season (59.5 percent).
"We didn't guard them," said HC coach Ralph Willard. "We didn't do a good job communicating and they got some open looks."
That was especially true at the beginning of the game, when Lafayette jumped to an 8-3 lead and kept making buckets, forcing Willard to abandon the zone for straight man with some switching man mixed in.
"They scored on seven of the first eight trips down the floor, so we switched out of that (zone). I'm not very smart, but I could figure that out," Willard said.
The change worked well enough for Holy Cross to come back for a 42-35 lead at the half, but had the Crusaders not shot over 60 percent in the half (16 of 26, 61.5 percent) and hit five three-pointers (on seven tries), that score could easily have been reversed, or worse. Lafayette was a scorching 14 of 22 (63.6 percent) in the first 20 minutes. Even more surprising, the undersized Leopards -- who live and die by the three-pointer -- had only 2 treys, but scored 22 of their first 35 in the paint.
"They have a lot of shooters," said Simmons. "We wanted to make their shooters drive a lot."
Yes, but they didn't want them to drive and finish. But with 6-10 center Tim Clifford glued to the bench for all but 4 minutes of the half after picking up two early fouls, the Leopards were finding their path to the rim all but unimpeded.
With Clifford back on the floor in the second half, it was a different story, at least for a while. Clifford picked up his third personal early and went back to the bench for just under 2 minutes before returning to the floor with 16:34 to play. Between then and the 11:47 mark, when he picked up foul number four and sat down again, Holy Cross had a 14-6 spurt, fueled by 7 Clifford points and a defensive effort that held Lafayette to one field goal for over 8 minutes. During that stretch, the Crusaders pushed their lead to as many as 20 points and appeared to be set to cruise to the finish.
Although Clifford, who had just one rebound, had little to do with it, the Crusaders also rebounded better in the second half. After finishing the first half even with 9 boards apiece, Holy Cross dominated the glass after the break, finishing with a 30-16 edge, including 14 offensive rebounds that were converted into 13 second chance points.
The lead was still 15 (78-63) when Clifford finally fouled out with 11 points -- all in the second half -- at the 2:57 mark. As it turned out, Clifford's final bucket, a layin with 3:33 to play, was the last field goal the Crusaders would score. When Holy Cross struggled at the foul line down the stretch, it opened the door for one last Lafayette run. Hc was 4 for 8 at the line until Pat Doherty, who finished with 10 points in his first game back since breaking his shooting hand in the Dec. 6 loss at Duke, hit a pair with 16.6 seconds left.
In between Clifford's fouling out and Doherty's free throws, Lafayette managed to close to within 6.
"When we got up, we stopped focusing and they got some quick, easy buckets and some open looks," Simmons said.
"We got back in the game but it was too little, too late," said Lafayette coach Fran O'Hanlon.
Holy Cross, which has been on the road for 11 straight games, finally returns to the Hart Center Wednesday, when they will take on Army. The Black Knights, the surprise team in the conference with their 10-5 record in non-conference games, stumbled in their league opener, losing in overtime at Colgate.
| Notebook | Postgame audio (both team's press conferences) | |
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By CHRIS A. COUROGEN
For the past few weeks, Holy Cross has been making a living off its zone defense. Whether it was the 2-3, a variation thereof, or a 1-3-1, for the most part it seemed to be effective on two fronts. The zone held opponents' offenses in check and saved the legs of guys like Torey Thomas and Keith Simmons, who were being forced to play close to 40 minutes every game.
But after Lafayette found seems in the Crusaders zone time and time again at the start of Saturday's Patriot League opener, Holy Cross switched to good old man-to-man and slowed the Leopards enough to escape with an 84-74 road win.
The 84 points were the most scored by Holy Cross all season. The Crusaders' 59.2 percent (29 of 49) shooting from the field was their best shooting night in at least the past two-plus seasons. Keith Simmons' 26 points were the most by an HC player all season.
Holy Cross needed every bit of that offense against a Lafayette team that shot 56.8 percent (25 of 44) against them. That is better than Duke, Syracuse and providence managed to shoot against HC. Only Dayton has shot better against the Crusaders this season (59.5 percent).
"We didn't guard them," said HC coach Ralph Willard. "We didn't do a good job communicating and they got some open looks."
That was especially true at the beginning of the game, when Lafayette jumped to an 8-3 lead and kept making buckets, forcing Willard to abandon the zone for straight man with some switching man mixed in.
"They scored on seven of the first eight trips down the floor, so we switched out of that (zone). I'm not very smart, but I could figure that out," Willard said.
The change worked well enough for Holy Cross to come back for a 42-35 lead at the half, but had the Crusaders not shot over 60 percent in the half (16 of 26, 61.5 percent) and hit five three-pointers (on seven tries), that score could easily have been reversed, or worse. Lafayette was a scorching 14 of 22 (63.6 percent) in the first 20 minutes. Even more surprising, the undersized Leopards -- who live and die by the three-pointer -- had only 2 treys, but scored 22 of their first 35 in the paint.
"They have a lot of shooters," said Simmons. "We wanted to make their shooters drive a lot."
Yes, but they didn't want them to drive and finish. But with 6-10 center Tim Clifford glued to the bench for all but 4 minutes of the half after picking up two early fouls, the Leopards were finding their path to the rim all but unimpeded.
With Clifford back on the floor in the second half, it was a different story, at least for a while. Clifford picked up his third personal early and went back to the bench for just under 2 minutes before returning to the floor with 16:34 to play. Between then and the 11:47 mark, when he picked up foul number four and sat down again, Holy Cross had a 14-6 spurt, fueled by 7 Clifford points and a defensive effort that held Lafayette to one field goal for over 8 minutes. During that stretch, the Crusaders pushed their lead to as many as 20 points and appeared to be set to cruise to the finish.
Although Clifford, who had just one rebound, had little to do with it, the Crusaders also rebounded better in the second half. After finishing the first half even with 9 boards apiece, Holy Cross dominated the glass after the break, finishing with a 30-16 edge, including 14 offensive rebounds that were converted into 13 second chance points.
The lead was still 15 (78-63) when Clifford finally fouled out with 11 points -- all in the second half -- at the 2:57 mark. As it turned out, Clifford's final bucket, a layin with 3:33 to play, was the last field goal the Crusaders would score. When Holy Cross struggled at the foul line down the stretch, it opened the door for one last Lafayette run. Hc was 4 for 8 at the line until Pat Doherty, who finished with 10 points in his first game back since breaking his shooting hand in the Dec. 6 loss at Duke, hit a pair with 16.6 seconds left.
In between Clifford's fouling out and Doherty's free throws, Lafayette managed to close to within 6.
"When we got up, we stopped focusing and they got some quick, easy buckets and some open looks," Simmons said.
"We got back in the game but it was too little, too late," said Lafayette coach Fran O'Hanlon.
Holy Cross, which has been on the road for 11 straight games, finally returns to the Hart Center Wednesday, when they will take on Army. The Black Knights, the surprise team in the conference with their 10-5 record in non-conference games, stumbled in their league opener, losing in overtime at Colgate.
| Notebook | Postgame audio (both team's press conferences) | |
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Saturday, January 06, 2007
After two months of getting ready, the only games that will really count are about to begin.
Forget that preseason talk about this being the Patriot League's year for two bids. Those possibilities dimmed when Bucknell lost its opener at Albany and any flickers of hope were extinguished by Holy Cross' agonizing shorthanded road trip through Syracuse, Dayton and Duke.
There is not a team in the league with a prayer of an at large bid, so the league championship will be, as it always has been, for all the marbles.
With this year's funky Division Three style all games on home courts tournament, that makes the regular season even more important. Just look at Lehigh to understand the significance. The Mountain Hawks can't win a road game, but are withing 0.4 seconds and one point of being unbeatable at home. Think anybody wants to visit Stabler in March with their season on the line?
With the kind of parity there seems to be in the league this year, a team that defends its own house and goes .500 on the road ought to stand a pretty fair chance of hosting at least one tournament game. It might not take a lot more than that and some tiebreaker magic to give a team the home court throughout the tournament.
Even though late in the season folks tend to forget what happened in January, the games played today will have just as much bearing on tournament seeding as the games played on the final weekend of the regular season.
Today's games will also start to establish the league's pecking order. If American wants to be a contender, it is going to have to be able to win games like it faces tonight, on the road against a shorthanded but still tough Lehigh team. If Navy wants to prove its nice start is for real, there is no better place to do it than on two-time defending champ Bucknell's floor. Army can prove it is ready to escape the league cellar with a win at Colgate.
We'll start the season in Easton, with a Holy Cross-Lafayette women's-men's double dip. A full gameblog for the men's game won't be possible due to deadline constraints for the Worcester T&G, but we will try to post some halftime notes, with the full game story and postgame audio following the men's game.
Might even pop in over at Stabler on the way back from Easton to catch some of that American at Lehigh game, listening to Navy at Bucknell on Sirius 147.
Here is a quick look at today's league openers:
Army at Colgate, 1 p.m.: () Most places a hostile home crowd is the reason behind the home court advantage. In Hamilton, it seems the opposite. Opposing teams seem to struggle to get into the game when playing in a glorified high school gym in front of an audience (dare you call it a crowd?) so small you can count the noses during a timeout. That should be no problem for Army, which is used to small crowds.
This is Army's chance to make a "No basement for us" kind of statement. It's Colgate's chance for a fresh start after a horrid non-conference run. These two met in West Point to open league play last season, with Colgate a 71-58 winner. We'll see how far Army has come since then.
Holy Cross at Lafayette, 4 p.m.: () Shorthanded Holy Cross might be even shorter-handed for this one. Junior off guard Kyle Cruze suffered a scratched cornea in Wednesday's win at Boston U. With a short rotation due to a rash of injuries, Ralph Willard has been employing a lot of 2-3 zone of late. It will be interesting to see if Lafayette, which has a host of perimeter snipers, can shoot the Crusaders out of that zone D.
Expect Holy Cross to look inside to Tim Clifford early and often in this one. Lafayette has no match for the 6-10 junior. If Clifford plays well, it will open a lot up for Keith Simmons and Torey Thomas. But Clifford has been spotty all season and an off night could mean a much-tougher-than-anticipated battle for HC, especially if Lafayette starts knocking down the threes.
Navy at Bucknell, 7 p.m.: () This is the Mids chance to show its 10-5 start is for real. Navy's record certainly looks better than Bucknell's 6-7 start, but two of the wins came against Division Three schools and only two came against teams with RPIs in the top 200 (Stony Brook -- 181, William and Mary -- 192). Navy has show it can win outside of Alumni Hall, going 3-3 on the road in non-conference play. But this won't be a trip to NJIT or Longwood. Bucknell is riding a 21-game league win streak and has not lost a league game at home since March of 2003, winning 26 in a row at home against league foes. Navy has never won in Sojka Pavilion and has not won in Lewisburg since February of 2001. But this is not the same Bucknell team that set those standards. this game will tell us a lot about both teams. Is Navy legit? Are the Bison at home still the gold standard in the league despite their sub .500 non-conference record?
The matchups on the perimeter might be a slight edge to Navy if their jump shots are falling. But 6-10 freshman Trey Stanton will have his hands full against Bucknell senior Chris McNaughton and the Mids don't have any real match for Donald Brown. All in all, an interesting opener for both.
American at Lehigh, 7:30 p.m.: () Lehigh has been near perfect at home (5-1, the loss coming by 1 point). But without Jason Mgebroff, the Mountain Hawks could be over-matched by American's bigs inside. Lehigh will need a big game from Jose Olivero, who is due after two straight 7-point showings. Prior to those two off nights, Olivero had 20 straight double figures games. While AU seems to have the personnel edge, it still has not proven it is mentally tough enough to go into a hostile place and grind out a win, which is what it takes to win on the road in conference play. AU ended a four-game skid with a win Tuesday at home over Saint Francis (Pa.). They will need to play even better to extend their modest win streak to two.
BONUS LINKS: (Times Herald-Record)
(Annapolis Capital)
(Kyle on ESPN.com)
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Forget that preseason talk about this being the Patriot League's year for two bids. Those possibilities dimmed when Bucknell lost its opener at Albany and any flickers of hope were extinguished by Holy Cross' agonizing shorthanded road trip through Syracuse, Dayton and Duke.
There is not a team in the league with a prayer of an at large bid, so the league championship will be, as it always has been, for all the marbles.
With this year's funky Division Three style all games on home courts tournament, that makes the regular season even more important. Just look at Lehigh to understand the significance. The Mountain Hawks can't win a road game, but are withing 0.4 seconds and one point of being unbeatable at home. Think anybody wants to visit Stabler in March with their season on the line?
With the kind of parity there seems to be in the league this year, a team that defends its own house and goes .500 on the road ought to stand a pretty fair chance of hosting at least one tournament game. It might not take a lot more than that and some tiebreaker magic to give a team the home court throughout the tournament.
Even though late in the season folks tend to forget what happened in January, the games played today will have just as much bearing on tournament seeding as the games played on the final weekend of the regular season.
Today's games will also start to establish the league's pecking order. If American wants to be a contender, it is going to have to be able to win games like it faces tonight, on the road against a shorthanded but still tough Lehigh team. If Navy wants to prove its nice start is for real, there is no better place to do it than on two-time defending champ Bucknell's floor. Army can prove it is ready to escape the league cellar with a win at Colgate.
We'll start the season in Easton, with a Holy Cross-Lafayette women's-men's double dip. A full gameblog for the men's game won't be possible due to deadline constraints for the Worcester T&G, but we will try to post some halftime notes, with the full game story and postgame audio following the men's game.
Might even pop in over at Stabler on the way back from Easton to catch some of that American at Lehigh game, listening to Navy at Bucknell on Sirius 147.
Here is a quick look at today's league openers:
Army at Colgate, 1 p.m.: () Most places a hostile home crowd is the reason behind the home court advantage. In Hamilton, it seems the opposite. Opposing teams seem to struggle to get into the game when playing in a glorified high school gym in front of an audience (dare you call it a crowd?) so small you can count the noses during a timeout. That should be no problem for Army, which is used to small crowds.
This is Army's chance to make a "No basement for us" kind of statement. It's Colgate's chance for a fresh start after a horrid non-conference run. These two met in West Point to open league play last season, with Colgate a 71-58 winner. We'll see how far Army has come since then.
Holy Cross at Lafayette, 4 p.m.: () Shorthanded Holy Cross might be even shorter-handed for this one. Junior off guard Kyle Cruze suffered a scratched cornea in Wednesday's win at Boston U. With a short rotation due to a rash of injuries, Ralph Willard has been employing a lot of 2-3 zone of late. It will be interesting to see if Lafayette, which has a host of perimeter snipers, can shoot the Crusaders out of that zone D.
Expect Holy Cross to look inside to Tim Clifford early and often in this one. Lafayette has no match for the 6-10 junior. If Clifford plays well, it will open a lot up for Keith Simmons and Torey Thomas. But Clifford has been spotty all season and an off night could mean a much-tougher-than-anticipated battle for HC, especially if Lafayette starts knocking down the threes.
Navy at Bucknell, 7 p.m.: () This is the Mids chance to show its 10-5 start is for real. Navy's record certainly looks better than Bucknell's 6-7 start, but two of the wins came against Division Three schools and only two came against teams with RPIs in the top 200 (Stony Brook -- 181, William and Mary -- 192). Navy has show it can win outside of Alumni Hall, going 3-3 on the road in non-conference play. But this won't be a trip to NJIT or Longwood. Bucknell is riding a 21-game league win streak and has not lost a league game at home since March of 2003, winning 26 in a row at home against league foes. Navy has never won in Sojka Pavilion and has not won in Lewisburg since February of 2001. But this is not the same Bucknell team that set those standards. this game will tell us a lot about both teams. Is Navy legit? Are the Bison at home still the gold standard in the league despite their sub .500 non-conference record?
The matchups on the perimeter might be a slight edge to Navy if their jump shots are falling. But 6-10 freshman Trey Stanton will have his hands full against Bucknell senior Chris McNaughton and the Mids don't have any real match for Donald Brown. All in all, an interesting opener for both.
American at Lehigh, 7:30 p.m.: () Lehigh has been near perfect at home (5-1, the loss coming by 1 point). But without Jason Mgebroff, the Mountain Hawks could be over-matched by American's bigs inside. Lehigh will need a big game from Jose Olivero, who is due after two straight 7-point showings. Prior to those two off nights, Olivero had 20 straight double figures games. While AU seems to have the personnel edge, it still has not proven it is mentally tough enough to go into a hostile place and grind out a win, which is what it takes to win on the road in conference play. AU ended a four-game skid with a win Tuesday at home over Saint Francis (Pa.). They will need to play even better to extend their modest win streak to two.
BONUS LINKS:
Labels: Army, AU, BU, CU, HC, Laf, Leh, Navy, previews
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Friday, January 05, 2007
You kept hearing it throughout the preseason: The Patriot League is better top to bottom this year. This week's HOOP TIME NOTEBOOK asks the simple question: is it really?
Sure seemed that way at the beginning of December when league teams were 29-25 against non-conference Division I foes, with a conference RPI of 14.
But over the last two weeks, league teams have gone 10-20, dropping their RPI as a conference to 19, one spot behind the Ivy League, which won the season series between the two leagues again this year. The PL actually held a 7-3 lead in the series heading into December before the Ivies won 9 of the last 10.
Granted the conference RPI for the Patriot League has improved in each of the past four seasons, from 26 in 2003 to 23 in 2004 to 21 last season to 19 this. But the league's measuring stick has long been the Ivy League and the Ancient 8 has a conference RPI of 18, not surprising since the Ivies did so well head-to-head against the Patriots.
On that basis it is hard to say the league is much better. On the other hand, if you look strictly at RPI, the bottom of the league does appear to be significantly stronger. Nobody is ranked below 300 in the RPI and only teams are above 251. Last season four teams finished above 250.
The top of the Patriot League, though, is off. Bucknell was No. 42 last season. This season only one PL team, Holy Cross (97) has an RPI better than 100. Bucknell has returned to the pack. Holy Cross is good, but banged up and not very deep. There appears to be more parity in the league this season, but it would probably be a stretch to say the league is actually better top to bottom. Thus far it seems more like the top and the bottom are meeting in the middle.
THE LEAGUE AT A GLANCE: Here is a team-by-team breakdown of the season to date for league teams.
AMERICAN (8-6, RPI 211)
Best win: 81-74 over 6-6 Loyola (RPI 222) -- AU's only win over a team with an RPI better than 260
Worst loss: 81-79 (OT) at 6-11 (4-11 vs. D-I) Longwood (266) less than a month after beating the Lancers by 11 at home
Biggest surprise: Yet to come; we predict Georgetown transfer Cornelio Guibunda's raw athloetic talent will allow him some impressive performances off the bench in league play
Biggest disappointment: Big things have been expected from 6-11 senior center Paulius Joneliunas since he transferred from South Carolina prior to his junior season but thus far he has not delivered on those expectations.
ARMY (10-5, 8-5 vs. D-I, RPI 211)
Best win: 62-53 over 7-6 Hartford (175)
Worst loss: Home vs. 5-7 Cornell (213)
Biggest surprise: Army's record and RPI. This is the first time since the 2002 season the Black Knights RPI is out of the 300+ range
Biggest disappointment: Senior center Jimmy Sewell who has gone from being a starter as a sophomore to a 6-11 pine jockey with 5 DNPs thus far this season. For a team with only two freshmen taller than 6-7 on the roster, Sewell's failure to develop has been a big (no pun intended) negative.
BUCKNELL (6-7, RPI 134)
Best win: 68-67 at 10-4 Xavier (47) ... it's also the league's best win
Worst loss: 50-48 to a Central Arkansas team with one other D-I win and an RPI (298) out of the 300s only because of beating Bucknell ... it's the league's worst loss
Biggest surprise: The emergence of sophomore guard Justin Castleberry as a key part of Pat Flannery's rotation
Biggest disappointment: Take your pick: Chris McNaughton's sub-50 percent shooting and sub-double figures scoring; The students (and townies) who failed to show up for the Northern Iowa game at Sojka; Donald Brown's inability to adjust to playing the three, which has hurt the Bison on defense by taking a tough defender (Darren Mastropaolo) out of the starting lineup. Brown has been Bucknell's best player since moving to the four, but without him matching up on opponent three-men and sans Mastropaolo, the Bison are not as strong defensively; the late-game collapse against Albany in the season opener; or (our pick) the loss to Central Arkansas.
COLGATE (5-8, 4-8 D-I, RPI 282)
Best win: The Raiders really have no good wins. As close as they get is a 53-47 win over a Leon Pattman-less Dartmouth team that looks better than it was at the time due to Dartmouth's improvement since getting Pattman back in the lineup
Worst loss: 52-36 at 6-7 (5-7 vs. D-I) Arizona State (278)
Biggest surprise: The inability of a team full of alleged shooters to shoot the ball. Colgate has been under 40 percent from the field each of its last six games and on the season is shooting 40.4 percent against D-I teams
Biggest disappointment: That 4-8 record against D-I teams. Colgate is either doing less with more than anybody in the league, or its talent level has been tremendously overrated
HOLY CROSS (9-6, RPI 97)
Best win: 65-57 over 7-5 Siena (78)
Worst loss: 67-61 to 7-7 Niagara, a team with a misleading 244 RPi due to the absence of star Carron Fisher early in the season. Niagara is 6-1 since his return. The disappointment is not losing to Niagara as much as it is the way it happened -- blowing an 11-point, second-half lead
Biggest surprise: Kyle Cruze's emergence as a starter on the wing after the injuries to Pat Doherty and Lawrence Dixon
Biggest disappointment: Those injuries, along with a season-ending injury to freshman Andrew Keister
LAFAYETTE (6-9, 4-9 D-I, RPI 251)
Best win: 76-70 at 4-8 (3-8 D-I) Wagner (283)
Worst loss: 86-51 at 5-9 UMBC (204)
Biggest surprise: 6-4 junior Matt Betley's emergence as the team's top scorer after switching to the four, where he way undersized
Biggest disappointment: The stress fracture in Jamaal Hilliard's foot that is expected to cost him at least 2-4 weeks.
LEHIGH (5-11, 3-11 D-I, RPI 288)
Best win: 72-63 over Sacred Heart (6-7, 145)
Worst loss: 71-55 at Quinnipiac (334), a team with one other win over D-I opposition
Biggest surprise: Jason Mgebroff's strong showing before being sidelined with stress fractures. The 6-11 senior, whose sophomore and junior seasons were all but a washout, was averaging 10.8 ppg and 5.8 rpg before he got hurt.
Biggest disappointment: Megebroff's stress fractures, which will force him to miss 6-8 weeks
NAVY (10-5, 8-5 D-I, RPI 159)
Best win: 87-76 over 5-8 Stony Brook (187)
Worst loss: 74-59 at home to Yale (248), which has just one other D-I win
Biggest surprise: The play of 6-10 freshman Trey Stanton, who has started every game and is averaging 8.8 ppg
Biggest disappointment: In the preseason, Navy coach Billy Lange said 6-9 junior center Ben Biles was "going to have to give us some time." Biles has only played in four games, with just four rebounds and a turnover to break up the zeroes after his name on the stat sheet.
PREDICTED ORDER OF FINISH: Not a lot of changes from what we predicted when we wrote the Blue Ribbon previews in the summer, though one team has dropped like a rock:
1) Bucknell -- Bison remain the favorite for the regular season title, but a two- or even three-way tie for the regular season would not be a surprise.
2) Holy Cross -- If healthy, HC would probably have been mentioned ahead of Bucknell. If Pat Doherty and Lawrence Dixon come back and contribute, they might be the favorite come tourney time even if they are the No. 2 seed
3) American -- The Eagles are deep, experienced and posess a lot of offensive weapons. Still need the big men to play big when they face quality big men and the whole team needs to be tougher defensively
4) Army -- Defensive effort was never a problem. Size and offense was. Jarell Brown and Matt Bell give the Black Knights as good a scoring duo in the backcourt as there is in the league. Freshman Chris Walker has given them a presence in the paint.
5) Lehigh -- With Mgebroff healthy, the Mountain Hawks would rank a spot, maybe two, higher. If he regains his early season form when he returns, Lehigh could be the tournament dark horse.
6) Navy -- Billy Lange's team has made great strides but is still missing the inside punch needed to take the pressure off the perimeter shooters.
7) Lafayette -- Another team that is improved, but still lacks an inside presence. Matt Betley will not be a matchup problem for guys like Donald Brown, Bryan White, Kendall Chones or Alex Vander Baan; but they will probably be a matchup problem for him.
8) Colgate -- after two seasons of overrating the underachieving Raiders, we are ready to concede we may have been wrong about the level of talent in Hamilton -- on the floor and on the sidelines.
MIDSEASON HONORS: Player of the year: Keith Simmons, HC -- nobody is playing better right now
Rookie of the Year: Marquis Hall, Leh -- the Mountain Hawks freshman point guard tops a very strong group of freshmen
Coach of the Year: Has anybody done a better job than Jim Crews? We don't think so.
Non-Con All PL team: (the five best players, regardless of position) Simmons, Andre Ingram (AU), Jose Olivero (Leh), Donald Brown (BU), Jarell Brown (Army)
FRIDAY READAROUND:
(Morning Call)
(Express-Times)
(Express-Times)
(Daily Item)
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Sure seemed that way at the beginning of December when league teams were 29-25 against non-conference Division I foes, with a conference RPI of 14.
But over the last two weeks, league teams have gone 10-20, dropping their RPI as a conference to 19, one spot behind the Ivy League, which won the season series between the two leagues again this year. The PL actually held a 7-3 lead in the series heading into December before the Ivies won 9 of the last 10.
Granted the conference RPI for the Patriot League has improved in each of the past four seasons, from 26 in 2003 to 23 in 2004 to 21 last season to 19 this. But the league's measuring stick has long been the Ivy League and the Ancient 8 has a conference RPI of 18, not surprising since the Ivies did so well head-to-head against the Patriots.
On that basis it is hard to say the league is much better. On the other hand, if you look strictly at RPI, the bottom of the league does appear to be significantly stronger. Nobody is ranked below 300 in the RPI and only teams are above 251. Last season four teams finished above 250.
The top of the Patriot League, though, is off. Bucknell was No. 42 last season. This season only one PL team, Holy Cross (97) has an RPI better than 100. Bucknell has returned to the pack. Holy Cross is good, but banged up and not very deep. There appears to be more parity in the league this season, but it would probably be a stretch to say the league is actually better top to bottom. Thus far it seems more like the top and the bottom are meeting in the middle.
THE LEAGUE AT A GLANCE: Here is a team-by-team breakdown of the season to date for league teams.
AMERICAN (8-6, RPI 211)
Best win: 81-74 over 6-6 Loyola (RPI 222) -- AU's only win over a team with an RPI better than 260
Worst loss: 81-79 (OT) at 6-11 (4-11 vs. D-I) Longwood (266) less than a month after beating the Lancers by 11 at home
Biggest surprise: Yet to come; we predict Georgetown transfer Cornelio Guibunda's raw athloetic talent will allow him some impressive performances off the bench in league play
Biggest disappointment: Big things have been expected from 6-11 senior center Paulius Joneliunas since he transferred from South Carolina prior to his junior season but thus far he has not delivered on those expectations.
ARMY (10-5, 8-5 vs. D-I, RPI 211)
Best win: 62-53 over 7-6 Hartford (175)
Worst loss: Home vs. 5-7 Cornell (213)
Biggest surprise: Army's record and RPI. This is the first time since the 2002 season the Black Knights RPI is out of the 300+ range
Biggest disappointment: Senior center Jimmy Sewell who has gone from being a starter as a sophomore to a 6-11 pine jockey with 5 DNPs thus far this season. For a team with only two freshmen taller than 6-7 on the roster, Sewell's failure to develop has been a big (no pun intended) negative.
BUCKNELL (6-7, RPI 134)
Best win: 68-67 at 10-4 Xavier (47) ... it's also the league's best win
Worst loss: 50-48 to a Central Arkansas team with one other D-I win and an RPI (298) out of the 300s only because of beating Bucknell ... it's the league's worst loss
Biggest surprise: The emergence of sophomore guard Justin Castleberry as a key part of Pat Flannery's rotation
Biggest disappointment: Take your pick: Chris McNaughton's sub-50 percent shooting and sub-double figures scoring; The students (and townies) who failed to show up for the Northern Iowa game at Sojka; Donald Brown's inability to adjust to playing the three, which has hurt the Bison on defense by taking a tough defender (Darren Mastropaolo) out of the starting lineup. Brown has been Bucknell's best player since moving to the four, but without him matching up on opponent three-men and sans Mastropaolo, the Bison are not as strong defensively; the late-game collapse against Albany in the season opener; or (our pick) the loss to Central Arkansas.
COLGATE (5-8, 4-8 D-I, RPI 282)
Best win: The Raiders really have no good wins. As close as they get is a 53-47 win over a Leon Pattman-less Dartmouth team that looks better than it was at the time due to Dartmouth's improvement since getting Pattman back in the lineup
Worst loss: 52-36 at 6-7 (5-7 vs. D-I) Arizona State (278)
Biggest surprise: The inability of a team full of alleged shooters to shoot the ball. Colgate has been under 40 percent from the field each of its last six games and on the season is shooting 40.4 percent against D-I teams
Biggest disappointment: That 4-8 record against D-I teams. Colgate is either doing less with more than anybody in the league, or its talent level has been tremendously overrated
HOLY CROSS (9-6, RPI 97)
Best win: 65-57 over 7-5 Siena (78)
Worst loss: 67-61 to 7-7 Niagara, a team with a misleading 244 RPi due to the absence of star Carron Fisher early in the season. Niagara is 6-1 since his return. The disappointment is not losing to Niagara as much as it is the way it happened -- blowing an 11-point, second-half lead
Biggest surprise: Kyle Cruze's emergence as a starter on the wing after the injuries to Pat Doherty and Lawrence Dixon
Biggest disappointment: Those injuries, along with a season-ending injury to freshman Andrew Keister
LAFAYETTE (6-9, 4-9 D-I, RPI 251)
Best win: 76-70 at 4-8 (3-8 D-I) Wagner (283)
Worst loss: 86-51 at 5-9 UMBC (204)
Biggest surprise: 6-4 junior Matt Betley's emergence as the team's top scorer after switching to the four, where he way undersized
Biggest disappointment: The stress fracture in Jamaal Hilliard's foot that is expected to cost him at least 2-4 weeks.
LEHIGH (5-11, 3-11 D-I, RPI 288)
Best win: 72-63 over Sacred Heart (6-7, 145)
Worst loss: 71-55 at Quinnipiac (334), a team with one other win over D-I opposition
Biggest surprise: Jason Mgebroff's strong showing before being sidelined with stress fractures. The 6-11 senior, whose sophomore and junior seasons were all but a washout, was averaging 10.8 ppg and 5.8 rpg before he got hurt.
Biggest disappointment: Megebroff's stress fractures, which will force him to miss 6-8 weeks
NAVY (10-5, 8-5 D-I, RPI 159)
Best win: 87-76 over 5-8 Stony Brook (187)
Worst loss: 74-59 at home to Yale (248), which has just one other D-I win
Biggest surprise: The play of 6-10 freshman Trey Stanton, who has started every game and is averaging 8.8 ppg
Biggest disappointment: In the preseason, Navy coach Billy Lange said 6-9 junior center Ben Biles was "going to have to give us some time." Biles has only played in four games, with just four rebounds and a turnover to break up the zeroes after his name on the stat sheet.
PREDICTED ORDER OF FINISH: Not a lot of changes from what we predicted when we wrote the Blue Ribbon previews in the summer, though one team has dropped like a rock:
1) Bucknell -- Bison remain the favorite for the regular season title, but a two- or even three-way tie for the regular season would not be a surprise.
2) Holy Cross -- If healthy, HC would probably have been mentioned ahead of Bucknell. If Pat Doherty and Lawrence Dixon come back and contribute, they might be the favorite come tourney time even if they are the No. 2 seed
3) American -- The Eagles are deep, experienced and posess a lot of offensive weapons. Still need the big men to play big when they face quality big men and the whole team needs to be tougher defensively
4) Army -- Defensive effort was never a problem. Size and offense was. Jarell Brown and Matt Bell give the Black Knights as good a scoring duo in the backcourt as there is in the league. Freshman Chris Walker has given them a presence in the paint.
5) Lehigh -- With Mgebroff healthy, the Mountain Hawks would rank a spot, maybe two, higher. If he regains his early season form when he returns, Lehigh could be the tournament dark horse.
6) Navy -- Billy Lange's team has made great strides but is still missing the inside punch needed to take the pressure off the perimeter shooters.
7) Lafayette -- Another team that is improved, but still lacks an inside presence. Matt Betley will not be a matchup problem for guys like Donald Brown, Bryan White, Kendall Chones or Alex Vander Baan; but they will probably be a matchup problem for him.
8) Colgate -- after two seasons of overrating the underachieving Raiders, we are ready to concede we may have been wrong about the level of talent in Hamilton -- on the floor and on the sidelines.
MIDSEASON HONORS: Player of the year: Keith Simmons, HC -- nobody is playing better right now
Rookie of the Year: Marquis Hall, Leh -- the Mountain Hawks freshman point guard tops a very strong group of freshmen
Coach of the Year: Has anybody done a better job than Jim Crews? We don't think so.
Non-Con All PL team: (the five best players, regardless of position) Simmons, Andre Ingram (AU), Jose Olivero (Leh), Donald Brown (BU), Jarell Brown (Army)
FRIDAY READAROUND:
Labels: Army, AU, BU, CU, HC, Laf, Leh, Navy, notebook
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Sunday, December 31, 2006
Lafayette gave 11-3 San Diego State a battle before succumbing.
Bilal Abdullah scored 16 and Matt Betley matched that off the bench, but it was not enough for the Leopards, who fell to 6-9 with a 78-68 loss to the athletic Aztecs of the Mountain West Conference.
The Leopards only led the game once, a brief period of a little over a minute early in the game, but they never went away. After trailing by 10 in the first half, they closed to within 3 at the intermission after Abdullah and Betley hit back to back threes in the final minute of the half.
Lafayette was within 5 with 12:24 to go in the second half when San Diego State went on an 8-0 run to push its lead to double digits. The Aztecs lead got as wide as 16 points, but Lafayette battled back to within single digits, getting as close as 6 in the final minute.
The leopards played without Jamaal Hilliard, but freshman Jesper Andersson returned to action, playing 12 minutes after missing the Temple game due an ankle sprain suffered in the win over Mt. St. Mary's. Betley, who has had trouble with an Achilles tendon injury, did not start, but played 32 minutes. Hilliard is out two to four weeks with what Lafayette is calling "two stress reactions" in his feet.
The win was No. 300 for SDSU coach Steve Fisher, who once won a national title (1989) at Michigan.
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Bilal Abdullah scored 16 and Matt Betley matched that off the bench, but it was not enough for the Leopards, who fell to 6-9 with a 78-68 loss to the athletic Aztecs of the Mountain West Conference.
The Leopards only led the game once, a brief period of a little over a minute early in the game, but they never went away. After trailing by 10 in the first half, they closed to within 3 at the intermission after Abdullah and Betley hit back to back threes in the final minute of the half.
Lafayette was within 5 with 12:24 to go in the second half when San Diego State went on an 8-0 run to push its lead to double digits. The Aztecs lead got as wide as 16 points, but Lafayette battled back to within single digits, getting as close as 6 in the final minute.
The leopards played without Jamaal Hilliard, but freshman Jesper Andersson returned to action, playing 12 minutes after missing the Temple game due an ankle sprain suffered in the win over Mt. St. Mary's. Betley, who has had trouble with an Achilles tendon injury, did not start, but played 32 minutes. Hilliard is out two to four weeks with what Lafayette is calling "two stress reactions" in his feet.
The win was No. 300 for SDSU coach Steve Fisher, who once won a national title (1989) at Michigan.
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Saturday, December 30, 2006
It's the last five-game day of the season for Patriot League teams as non-conference play begins to wind down in anticipation of next week's conference openers.
For Lafayette and Bucknell, this will be their final non-conference tune-ups. The Leopards are at San Diego State (), taking on an Aztecs team that is 10-3 despite , while Bucknell tries to salvage its visit to Poughkeepsie with a win over 3-8 Northern Illinois in the Marist Classic consolation game ().
American, which beat Longwood handily at home back on Dec. 4, tries for a season sweep in an unusual non-conference home and home series when it visits the Lancers in a 3 p.m. start (). Yale, 1-2 against Patriot League teams, looks to even that record when it visits Navy ().
In the day's other game, Holy Cross will try to bounce back from Friday's loss to Niagara when it meets suddenly hot Delaware () in the finale of their three-game LaSalle Invitational adventure. The Blue Hens were 0-9 when they arrived Thursday in Philly for the round robin event. Now they are 2-9 after beating Niagara in the first round Thursday and the host Explorers Friday.
This will be a real test for the short-handed, leg-weary Crusaders who are 1-4 in games in which they have one day or less to prepare.
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For Lafayette and Bucknell, this will be their final non-conference tune-ups. The Leopards are at San Diego State (), taking on an Aztecs team that is 10-3 despite , while Bucknell tries to salvage its visit to Poughkeepsie with a win over 3-8 Northern Illinois in the Marist Classic consolation game ().
American, which beat Longwood handily at home back on Dec. 4, tries for a season sweep in an unusual non-conference home and home series when it visits the Lancers in a 3 p.m. start (). Yale, 1-2 against Patriot League teams, looks to even that record when it visits Navy ().
In the day's other game, Holy Cross will try to bounce back from Friday's loss to Niagara when it meets suddenly hot Delaware () in the finale of their three-game LaSalle Invitational adventure. The Blue Hens were 0-9 when they arrived Thursday in Philly for the round robin event. Now they are 2-9 after beating Niagara in the first round Thursday and the host Explorers Friday.
This will be a real test for the short-handed, leg-weary Crusaders who are 1-4 in games in which they have one day or less to prepare.
Labels: AU, BU, HC, Laf, Navy, previews
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Friday, December 29, 2006
While Holy Cross was winning at LaSalle, the other four Patriot League teams in action last night struggled
Temple 96, Lafayette 73 -- Marcus Harley had 23 for Lafayette, but the rest of the team struggled on offense. Take away Harley's 9 for 14 effort from the field and the rest of the Leopards shot 13 for 48 (27 percent). Harley was 5 of 7 on three-point tries; the rest of the 'Pards 4 for 21 (19 percent).
Temple, on the other hand, had four guys in double figures, three with 20 or more points, led by Dustin Salisbury's 26. The Owls went 29 for 56 (51.8 percent) from the field and were 10 for 22 (45.5 percent) from three-point range. The Owls also outrebounded Lafayette 44-31.
Lafayette managed to stick around for the first five minutes, leading 12-11 at the 15:15 mark of the first half. But Temple went on an 8-0 run to take the lead and never looked back. The Owls pushed the lead to 50-37 at the half and led by as many as 28 in the second half.
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Michigan 62, Army 50 -- Michigan coach Tommy Amaker started a whole new five, using three freshmen and two sophomores against Army. It was not pretty, but it got the Wolverines a W.
Jarrell Brown had 22 for Army, shooting 9 of 19 from the field, but he had little offensive support with senior guard Matt Bell out of the lineup with an unspecified injury. Bell sat for the first time after 93 consecutive starts. Without Bell, Army went 19 of 54 (35.2 percent) from the field.
The Black Knights defense did a good job, holding Michigan to 17 of 46 (37 percent) shooting from the field. In the second half, Army allowed only 5 Michigan field goals (5 of 19, 26.3 percent). But the Wolverines went 21 for 25 at the foul line while Army went to the line just 9 times, making 8.
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Santa Clara 53, Colgate 39 -- In the Cable Car Classic, Kendall Chones had 11 points for Colgate. The remaining four starters for Colgate combined for 6, including 3 for Jon Simon, the team's leading scorer coming in who averaged 11 per game.
Colgate went 15 for 44 (34.1 percent) from the field and was outrebounded 33-22.
Santa Clara shot well in the first half (13 of 25, 52 percent) to build a 31-18 lead at the break, then held on with defense in the second half.
Colgate will face George Washington tonight in the consolation game.
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Virginia 91, American 70 -- Virginia used first half runs of 11-2 and 10-0 to build a 42-19 halftime lead and cruised from there, spoiling the return of American coach Jeff Jones, who played and coached at UVa.
Andre Ingram had 14 points and Paulius Joneliunas added 10 for the Eagles, who shot 7 for 24 (24.1 percent) in the first half, making just one of 12 three-pointers (8.3 percent).
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Temple 96, Lafayette 73 -- Marcus Harley had 23 for Lafayette, but the rest of the team struggled on offense. Take away Harley's 9 for 14 effort from the field and the rest of the Leopards shot 13 for 48 (27 percent). Harley was 5 of 7 on three-point tries; the rest of the 'Pards 4 for 21 (19 percent).
Temple, on the other hand, had four guys in double figures, three with 20 or more points, led by Dustin Salisbury's 26. The Owls went 29 for 56 (51.8 percent) from the field and were 10 for 22 (45.5 percent) from three-point range. The Owls also outrebounded Lafayette 44-31.
Lafayette managed to stick around for the first five minutes, leading 12-11 at the 15:15 mark of the first half. But Temple went on an 8-0 run to take the lead and never looked back. The Owls pushed the lead to 50-37 at the half and led by as many as 28 in the second half.
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Michigan 62, Army 50 -- Michigan coach Tommy Amaker started a whole new five, using three freshmen and two sophomores against Army. It was not pretty, but it got the Wolverines a W.
Jarrell Brown had 22 for Army, shooting 9 of 19 from the field, but he had little offensive support with senior guard Matt Bell out of the lineup with an unspecified injury. Bell sat for the first time after 93 consecutive starts. Without Bell, Army went 19 of 54 (35.2 percent) from the field.
The Black Knights defense did a good job, holding Michigan to 17 of 46 (37 percent) shooting from the field. In the second half, Army allowed only 5 Michigan field goals (5 of 19, 26.3 percent). But the Wolverines went 21 for 25 at the foul line while Army went to the line just 9 times, making 8.
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Santa Clara 53, Colgate 39 -- In the Cable Car Classic, Kendall Chones had 11 points for Colgate. The remaining four starters for Colgate combined for 6, including 3 for Jon Simon, the team's leading scorer coming in who averaged 11 per game.
Colgate went 15 for 44 (34.1 percent) from the field and was outrebounded 33-22.
Santa Clara shot well in the first half (13 of 25, 52 percent) to build a 31-18 lead at the break, then held on with defense in the second half.
Colgate will face George Washington tonight in the consolation game.
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Virginia 91, American 70 -- Virginia used first half runs of 11-2 and 10-0 to build a 42-19 halftime lead and cruised from there, spoiling the return of American coach Jeff Jones, who played and coached at UVa.
Andre Ingram had 14 points and Paulius Joneliunas added 10 for the Eagles, who shot 7 for 24 (24.1 percent) in the first half, making just one of 12 three-pointers (8.3 percent).
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Labels: Army, AU, CU, games, Laf
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Thursday, December 28, 2006
The short holiday break ends with five teams back in action tonight.
It is a schedule full of challenges, with the Patriot League teams likely to be considered underdogs in all five games.
If Holy Cross were healthy, that might not be the case. But with a depleted rotation, the Crusaders will have their hands full with LaSalle, the team they face in the first of a three-in-three days trip to LaSalle's Explorer Classic ().
We'll be there for our first look at HC, when they take on the Explorers (and for Friday's game with Niagara and Saturday's matchup with Delaware), who come in 6-3, with really only one impressive opponent on their schedule to date -- Villanova, which beat the Explorers at LaSalle in a Philadelphia Big Five matchup. LaSalle also lost at home to UMBC and on a neutral floor against Coppin State.
Young and inexperienced, prone to turnovers, LaSalle is the sort of team Holy Cross usually feasts upon when it is at full strength.
LaSalle is led by freshman forward Rodney Green, a 6-5 hometown Philly kid who is averaging 16 points and 4.4 rebounds per game. Green is all about the paint. He has only taken four threes all season and has yet to make one. Inside the arc, though, he is tough to stop, shooting 62.4 percent from the field.
Green is one of five freshmen in LaSalle's nine-man rotation. All five stand between 6-5 and 6-7, which is pretty much the case for the entire rotation, except 6-1 junior guard Darnell Harris, the Explorers' second leading scorer at 14.7 ppg, and 6-8 starter Mike St. John, the only senior in the rotation.
Freshman Sherman Diaz has been the team's defensive stopper. A 6-5 forward, Diaz leads the Explorers in blocks (15) and steals (11).
Colgate is also in a tournament tonight, taking on host Santa Clara () in the first round of the Cable Car Classic (). The are ranked No. 17 in the Mid Major Top 25. Waiting in the second round for the Raiders will be either 7-2 George Washington or 11-1 Air Force, which is in the Top 25 in both major polls (No. 23 AP, No. 17 ESPN-USA Today).
American takes on its second straight ACC foe when it meets 7-3 Virginia (). It's a homecoming of sorts for Jeff Jones, who played and coach at UVa. Jones' return to Charlottsville is the storyline in all the papers covering the Wahoos ( | | | | | ).
Army, which lost at Notre Dame last time out, faces another difficulty test at 11-2 Michigan () and
Hard to image saying this, but perhaps the weakest opponent for a league team tonight is Temple, which hosts Lafayette (). The Owls are 5-4 in their first season under former Penn coach Fran Dunphy. It is the 12th straight season Lafayette coach Fran O'Hanlon has faced off against his old boss' teams. The other 11, of course, were against Penn, which despite being an Ivy League power, was never as athletic as this Temple team. It will be a toigh task for the Leopards, who will be without Jamaal Hillard (stress fracture in a foot, out another 2-4 weeks) and 6-7 freshman Jesper Andersson (sprained ankle). Lafayette freshman forward Andre Hines is also questionable with a stomach virus. ( -- includes some HC notes)
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It is a schedule full of challenges, with the Patriot League teams likely to be considered underdogs in all five games.
If Holy Cross were healthy, that might not be the case. But with a depleted rotation, the Crusaders will have their hands full with LaSalle, the team they face in the first of a three-in-three days trip to LaSalle's Explorer Classic ().
We'll be there for our first look at HC, when they take on the Explorers (and for Friday's game with Niagara and Saturday's matchup with Delaware), who come in 6-3, with really only one impressive opponent on their schedule to date -- Villanova, which beat the Explorers at LaSalle in a Philadelphia Big Five matchup. LaSalle also lost at home to UMBC and on a neutral floor against Coppin State.
Young and inexperienced, prone to turnovers, LaSalle is the sort of team Holy Cross usually feasts upon when it is at full strength.
LaSalle is led by freshman forward Rodney Green, a 6-5 hometown Philly kid who is averaging 16 points and 4.4 rebounds per game. Green is all about the paint. He has only taken four threes all season and has yet to make one. Inside the arc, though, he is tough to stop, shooting 62.4 percent from the field.
Green is one of five freshmen in LaSalle's nine-man rotation. All five stand between 6-5 and 6-7, which is pretty much the case for the entire rotation, except 6-1 junior guard Darnell Harris, the Explorers' second leading scorer at 14.7 ppg, and 6-8 starter Mike St. John, the only senior in the rotation.
Freshman Sherman Diaz has been the team's defensive stopper. A 6-5 forward, Diaz leads the Explorers in blocks (15) and steals (11).
Colgate is also in a tournament tonight, taking on host Santa Clara () in the first round of the Cable Car Classic (). The are ranked No. 17 in the Mid Major Top 25. Waiting in the second round for the Raiders will be either 7-2 George Washington or 11-1 Air Force, which is in the Top 25 in both major polls (No. 23 AP, No. 17 ESPN-USA Today).
American takes on its second straight ACC foe when it meets 7-3 Virginia (). It's a homecoming of sorts for Jeff Jones, who played and coach at UVa. Jones' return to Charlottsville is the storyline in all the papers covering the Wahoos ( | | | | | ).
Army, which lost at Notre Dame last time out, faces another difficulty test at 11-2 Michigan () and
Hard to image saying this, but perhaps the weakest opponent for a league team tonight is Temple, which hosts Lafayette (). The Owls are 5-4 in their first season under former Penn coach Fran Dunphy. It is the 12th straight season Lafayette coach Fran O'Hanlon has faced off against his old boss' teams. The other 11, of course, were against Penn, which despite being an Ivy League power, was never as athletic as this Temple team. It will be a toigh task for the Leopards, who will be without Jamaal Hillard (stress fracture in a foot, out another 2-4 weeks) and 6-7 freshman Jesper Andersson (sprained ankle). Lafayette freshman forward Andre Hines is also questionable with a stomach virus. ( -- includes some HC notes)
Labels: Army, AU, CU, HC, Laf, previews
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Wednesday, December 27, 2006
Highlights of the Central Connecticut at Lehigh and Princeton at Lafayette games are the latest additons to the Hoop Tube page. Remember, let us know when you post your hoops videos on You Tube and we will add a link.
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Tuesday, December 26, 2006
Conference play begins in less than two weeks, and early indications are this should be one of the most competitive seasons in Patriot League history.
There have been plenty of seasons of parity in the league. In 1994, four teams finished the regular season at 9-5 in conference play, resulting in a pair of semifinals decided by a total of 5 points (including one overtime game) and a final that Navy won at home by 2 (over Colgate the year before Adonal Foyle arrived). That was the only season a team with five league losses managed to claim the top seed for the tournament. (An interesting note: That season Navy placed nobody on the first or second All-Patriot teams despite being the top seed).
The next two seasons Colgate won the conference, but each year the Raiders finished with three losses in conference play and needed a tiebreaker to gain top seed for the postseason.
In 2002, American won the regular season despite four conference setbacks, with four other teams over .500 in league play.
Looking around the league, it would not be surprising to see this year's regular season champs with four or even five losses. With the marked improvement at both of the service academies, Lafayette is the closest thing to a gimme in the league, and Fran O'Hanlon's Leopards have always had a knack, even in their down years, for pulling off an upset or two at home.
Here are a few team-by-team thoughts, done in alphabetical order (so please Lehigh fans, no hate mail for listing the Mountain Hawks seventh):
AMERICAN: A veteran team with a proven star in Andre Ingram, a talented point guard in Derrick Mercer, scoring off the bench in Arvydas Eitutavicius and as much size up front as anybody in the league, the Eagles 7-4 start has done nothing to take away from their preseason status as a contender.
Paulius Joneliunas and Brayden Billbe already can claim the titles of the league's biggest frontcourt and the frontcourt with the most unusual names. If they can also rank among the league's toughest, this could be teh Eagles year.
Cornelio Guibunda is as athletic as they come in the Patriot League, but still lacks polish. It will be interesting to see how far his athleticism can take him in league play. If he is a factor off the bench, AU's threesome could potentially challenge Bucknell's trio of Chris McNaughton, Donald Brown and Darren Mastropaolo as the league's best three-man rotation in the frontcourt.
ARMY: Dramatically better, the 9-3 Black Knights have already won more games than they did the last three seasons combined. Jarrell Brown might be the best offensive player in the league. Matt Bell is healthy and back to form. And freshman Chris Walker's 6-8 presence in the middle gives Army the legitimate post player it has lacked in Jim Crews first four seasons. It's worth noting that although Walker is a freshman, he had the equivalent of a redshirt season at Army's prep school last year. Walker is one of seven players on the Army roster who have spent a year at USMAPS, making the Black Knights a more mature team than the roster might indicate at first glance.
No doubt the 9-3 record reflects more than just Army being better. The wins have come against a mix of weak Division I and mediocre Division III sides. Still, Army will be a tough out this season, especially in Christl Arena.
BUCKNELL: The Bison need to sweep two games at Marist's tournament this weekend to avoid entering conference play below .500. That will be a challenge; Marist, Bucknell's likely opponent in the final (assuming the Bison get past a very weak Central Arkansas team in the opener), is unbeaten at home, 8-3 with two wins over top 100 RPI teams.
Even a game below .500 in the preseason, the Bison are probably still the favorite to win the league. The level of competition Bucknell has faced is clearly a notch above most of the rest of the league and all but two of their non-conference games have been away from home. Bucknell's wins over George Mason and Xavier are easily the league's best wins to date.
That said, this is definitely not the Bucknell juggernaut of the past two seasons. They have been inconsistent on both sides as Pat Flannery has struggled to find a set rotation. The inability of Donald Brown to adjust to playing the three has kept Flannery from being able to put his best five players on the floor at the same time, a problem that has been exacerbated by guys like Chris McNaughton and Abe Badmus getting into foul trouble. Badmus also has to begin contributing more on offense. He has the ability to get into the paint with dribble penetration, but has seemed to lack the confidence to finish when he gets there. If Badmus would start getting himself to the foul line instead of sending opponents there, it would be a huge plus.
COLGATE: Home losses to sub-.500 teams like Stony Brook and Canisius have folks around the league wondering if it is possible they have misjudged the level of talent on the Raiders roster. The injury loss of a guy like Kyle Roemer certainly has not helped. But Roemer's spot on the wing was a spot where Colgate seemed to have a lot of depth. In fact, in the preseason the bigger problem facing coach Emmett Davis seemed to be finding enough minutes for all his perimeter talent.
On paper, Colgate seemed to have the talent to contend for the league title. On the floor they have seemed like it will be a challenge for them to finish ahead of the service academies in the league standings. Until somebody other than Jon Simon starts to perform well on a consistent basis, Colgate will continue to struggle.
HOLY CROSS: When healthy, the Crusaders starting five is as good as any in the league. But Holy Cross has not been healthy and the lack of depth exposed by the latest rash of injuries is taking its toll. At this point HC seems two healthy players away from being the league favorite and a Keith Simmons injury away from going the complete opposite direction.
Pat Doherty will return during conference play, but how effective will he be down the stretch after missing almost all of last season to his foot problems and now a month or so of this season to the broken hand. Lawrence Dixon's knee has his status for the remainder of the season in doubt. The only good news about freshman Andrew Keister's stress fracture is that he has only played four games and should be eligible for a medical redshirt.
Simmons' sprained knee should be O.K for conference play if he does not reinjure it, but the reappearance of his cramping problems in the 'Saders last game (George Mason) is a huge concern. With the limited bench Ralph Willard has available, anything that greatly limits Simmons' minutes will be a real problem. And then there is Torey Thomas, who is playing 40 minutes a game on a knee not fully recovered from off-season surgery.
As long as Simmons and Thomas can still walk, Holy Cross will remain one of the top teams in the league. Without them, things could get ugly in a hurry in Worcester.
LAFAYETTE: Scholarships finally arrived in Easton, but it will take more than one recruiting class for the 'Pards to catch up to folks who have had them for years. Six-seven freshman Jesper Andersson has emerged as a threat on the wing, adding to a plethora of outside shooters available to O'Hanlon, but up front the Leopards are as thin as cheap wrapping paper. Matt Betley has given a yeoman's effort as an undersized (6-4) four, but how he will hold up to the constant banging against bigger, stronger guys over the course of the season remains to be seen.
At their best, Lafayette can rain threes. When they don't fall though, the 'Pards are in trouble because they just are not big enough or strong enough to get it done on the boards, as evidenced by the way they have been outrebounded to the tune of almost 10 per game.
The good news for Lafayette fans: Wait until next year actually means something for the 'Pards, who ought to quickly become competitive when O'Hanlon has the talent to compete.
LEHIGH: Just when it seemed Jason Mgebroff was finally realizing the potential he showed as a freshman, the Mountain Hawks big man got hurt. He will return around the second half of the conference schedule, but without him, a young Lehigh team will struggle to compete inside with some of the better frontcourts in the league.
Lucky for Lehigh, those "better frontcourts" are not a commodity much of the conference is blessed with. Luckier still, it was not Jose Olivero who got hurt. At the risk of seeming redundant, as long as the Mountain Hawks have Olivero, they always will have a chance of shooting down any team in the league.
Freshman point guard Marquis Hall has more than lived up to high expectations, giving Lehigh, when Mgebroff is healthy, as good a first five as there is in the league. Depth remains a big question mark though. Add in an inability to win on the road and the Mountain Hawks appear to have their work cut out for them if they want to remain ahead of Army and navy, ;et alone if they want to challenge the league's top teams.
NAVY: Like Army, the Mids are markedly better. Also like Army, their nine non-conference wins thus far have included two over Division III foes and none against any real quality foes. Six of the seven wins over D-Is came against teams with RPI's over 200.
The similarities with their archrivals don't end there. Like Army, Navy has benefited from the presence of a freshman in the post. In this case it is 6-10 Trey Stanton who has filled the void in the middle.
Greg Sprink continues to show he is one fo the league's top offensive threats. Kaleo Kina and Corey Johnson combine with Sprink to form a very good backcourt.
Alumni Hall continues to be one of the league's toughest road venues. The Midshipmen are unlikely to contend for the championship, but they likely will have a lot to say about who will.
All in all, it is shaping up like a very competitive year for a conference that certainly appears to be on its way up.
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There have been plenty of seasons of parity in the league. In 1994, four teams finished the regular season at 9-5 in conference play, resulting in a pair of semifinals decided by a total of 5 points (including one overtime game) and a final that Navy won at home by 2 (over Colgate the year before Adonal Foyle arrived). That was the only season a team with five league losses managed to claim the top seed for the tournament. (An interesting note: That season Navy placed nobody on the first or second All-Patriot teams despite being the top seed).
The next two seasons Colgate won the conference, but each year the Raiders finished with three losses in conference play and needed a tiebreaker to gain top seed for the postseason.
In 2002, American won the regular season despite four conference setbacks, with four other teams over .500 in league play.
Looking around the league, it would not be surprising to see this year's regular season champs with four or even five losses. With the marked improvement at both of the service academies, Lafayette is the closest thing to a gimme in the league, and Fran O'Hanlon's Leopards have always had a knack, even in their down years, for pulling off an upset or two at home.
Here are a few team-by-team thoughts, done in alphabetical order (so please Lehigh fans, no hate mail for listing the Mountain Hawks seventh):
AMERICAN: A veteran team with a proven star in Andre Ingram, a talented point guard in Derrick Mercer, scoring off the bench in Arvydas Eitutavicius and as much size up front as anybody in the league, the Eagles 7-4 start has done nothing to take away from their preseason status as a contender.
Paulius Joneliunas and Brayden Billbe already can claim the titles of the league's biggest frontcourt and the frontcourt with the most unusual names. If they can also rank among the league's toughest, this could be teh Eagles year.
Cornelio Guibunda is as athletic as they come in the Patriot League, but still lacks polish. It will be interesting to see how far his athleticism can take him in league play. If he is a factor off the bench, AU's threesome could potentially challenge Bucknell's trio of Chris McNaughton, Donald Brown and Darren Mastropaolo as the league's best three-man rotation in the frontcourt.
ARMY: Dramatically better, the 9-3 Black Knights have already won more games than they did the last three seasons combined. Jarrell Brown might be the best offensive player in the league. Matt Bell is healthy and back to form. And freshman Chris Walker's 6-8 presence in the middle gives Army the legitimate post player it has lacked in Jim Crews first four seasons. It's worth noting that although Walker is a freshman, he had the equivalent of a redshirt season at Army's prep school last year. Walker is one of seven players on the Army roster who have spent a year at USMAPS, making the Black Knights a more mature team than the roster might indicate at first glance.
No doubt the 9-3 record reflects more than just Army being better. The wins have come against a mix of weak Division I and mediocre Division III sides. Still, Army will be a tough out this season, especially in Christl Arena.
BUCKNELL: The Bison need to sweep two games at Marist's tournament this weekend to avoid entering conference play below .500. That will be a challenge; Marist, Bucknell's likely opponent in the final (assuming the Bison get past a very weak Central Arkansas team in the opener), is unbeaten at home, 8-3 with two wins over top 100 RPI teams.
Even a game below .500 in the preseason, the Bison are probably still the favorite to win the league. The level of competition Bucknell has faced is clearly a notch above most of the rest of the league and all but two of their non-conference games have been away from home. Bucknell's wins over George Mason and Xavier are easily the league's best wins to date.
That said, this is definitely not the Bucknell juggernaut of the past two seasons. They have been inconsistent on both sides as Pat Flannery has struggled to find a set rotation. The inability of Donald Brown to adjust to playing the three has kept Flannery from being able to put his best five players on the floor at the same time, a problem that has been exacerbated by guys like Chris McNaughton and Abe Badmus getting into foul trouble. Badmus also has to begin contributing more on offense. He has the ability to get into the paint with dribble penetration, but has seemed to lack the confidence to finish when he gets there. If Badmus would start getting himself to the foul line instead of sending opponents there, it would be a huge plus.
COLGATE: Home losses to sub-.500 teams like Stony Brook and Canisius have folks around the league wondering if it is possible they have misjudged the level of talent on the Raiders roster. The injury loss of a guy like Kyle Roemer certainly has not helped. But Roemer's spot on the wing was a spot where Colgate seemed to have a lot of depth. In fact, in the preseason the bigger problem facing coach Emmett Davis seemed to be finding enough minutes for all his perimeter talent.
On paper, Colgate seemed to have the talent to contend for the league title. On the floor they have seemed like it will be a challenge for them to finish ahead of the service academies in the league standings. Until somebody other than Jon Simon starts to perform well on a consistent basis, Colgate will continue to struggle.
HOLY CROSS: When healthy, the Crusaders starting five is as good as any in the league. But Holy Cross has not been healthy and the lack of depth exposed by the latest rash of injuries is taking its toll. At this point HC seems two healthy players away from being the league favorite and a Keith Simmons injury away from going the complete opposite direction.
Pat Doherty will return during conference play, but how effective will he be down the stretch after missing almost all of last season to his foot problems and now a month or so of this season to the broken hand. Lawrence Dixon's knee has his status for the remainder of the season in doubt. The only good news about freshman Andrew Keister's stress fracture is that he has only played four games and should be eligible for a medical redshirt.
Simmons' sprained knee should be O.K for conference play if he does not reinjure it, but the reappearance of his cramping problems in the 'Saders last game (George Mason) is a huge concern. With the limited bench Ralph Willard has available, anything that greatly limits Simmons' minutes will be a real problem. And then there is Torey Thomas, who is playing 40 minutes a game on a knee not fully recovered from off-season surgery.
As long as Simmons and Thomas can still walk, Holy Cross will remain one of the top teams in the league. Without them, things could get ugly in a hurry in Worcester.
LAFAYETTE: Scholarships finally arrived in Easton, but it will take more than one recruiting class for the 'Pards to catch up to folks who have had them for years. Six-seven freshman Jesper Andersson has emerged as a threat on the wing, adding to a plethora of outside shooters available to O'Hanlon, but up front the Leopards are as thin as cheap wrapping paper. Matt Betley has given a yeoman's effort as an undersized (6-4) four, but how he will hold up to the constant banging against bigger, stronger guys over the course of the season remains to be seen.
At their best, Lafayette can rain threes. When they don't fall though, the 'Pards are in trouble because they just are not big enough or strong enough to get it done on the boards, as evidenced by the way they have been outrebounded to the tune of almost 10 per game.
The good news for Lafayette fans: Wait until next year actually means something for the 'Pards, who ought to quickly become competitive when O'Hanlon has the talent to compete.
LEHIGH: Just when it seemed Jason Mgebroff was finally realizing the potential he showed as a freshman, the Mountain Hawks big man got hurt. He will return around the second half of the conference schedule, but without him, a young Lehigh team will struggle to compete inside with some of the better frontcourts in the league.
Lucky for Lehigh, those "better frontcourts" are not a commodity much of the conference is blessed with. Luckier still, it was not Jose Olivero who got hurt. At the risk of seeming redundant, as long as the Mountain Hawks have Olivero, they always will have a chance of shooting down any team in the league.
Freshman point guard Marquis Hall has more than lived up to high expectations, giving Lehigh, when Mgebroff is healthy, as good a first five as there is in the league. Depth remains a big question mark though. Add in an inability to win on the road and the Mountain Hawks appear to have their work cut out for them if they want to remain ahead of Army and navy, ;et alone if they want to challenge the league's top teams.
NAVY: Like Army, the Mids are markedly better. Also like Army, their nine non-conference wins thus far have included two over Division III foes and none against any real quality foes. Six of the seven wins over D-Is came against teams with RPI's over 200.
The similarities with their archrivals don't end there. Like Army, Navy has benefited from the presence of a freshman in the post. In this case it is 6-10 Trey Stanton who has filled the void in the middle.
Greg Sprink continues to show he is one fo the league's top offensive threats. Kaleo Kina and Corey Johnson combine with Sprink to form a very good backcourt.
Alumni Hall continues to be one of the league's toughest road venues. The Midshipmen are unlikely to contend for the championship, but they likely will have a lot to say about who will.
All in all, it is shaping up like a very competitive year for a conference that certainly appears to be on its way up.
Labels: Army, AU, BU, CU, HC, Laf, Leh, Navy, notebook
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Saturday, December 23, 2006
Close, but no cigar for Lehigh again, losing on the road at Rutgers. Back in the Lehigh Valley, Lafayette had better luck at home against Mount St. Mary's.
Lafayette 58, Mount St. Mary's 56 -- The Leopards hang on to win despite going the final 5:52 of the game without a field goal. It is Lafayette's fifth win in its last six and pulls the 'Pards (6-7), who played without two starters and lost another in the first half, to within one game of .500.
Lafayette started strong, with a 14-2 run to open the game, and shot 51.9 percent (14 of 27) from the field, including 7 of 16 three-point tries (43.8 percent), en route to a 38-29 halftime lead.
But late in the half, freshman Jesper Andersson, who had 11 of those points and three of the treys at the time, rolled an ankle and had to leave the game. Andersson's injury, called a severe sprain, put him on the bench alongside senior Jamaal Hillard, who had an MRI Friday on a bad foot, and junior Paul Cummins, who missed the game due to a stomach bug.
Without Andersson's shooting, and the other two starters, the depleted Leopards managed only 5 field goals (on 19 tries) in the second half (26.3 percent), and were just 1 of 9 from the arc. But Lafayette played tough defense throughout, keeping Mount Saint Mary's below 40 percent shooting in each half, The Mount, which went 21 for 55 (38.2 percent) for the game, just 2 of 20 on three-pointers.
The biggest of those missed shots came at the buzzer, when Mount freshman Kelly Beidler, who led MSM with 16 points, got an open look to tie the game from the left block on an inbounds play with 0.9 seconds left. His hook rolled off the rim.
Like Lafayette, MSM went cold at the end, going without a field goal the last 4:56. Unlike Lafayette, the Mount did not get to the line enough in that stretch. While the 'Pards were 6 for 6 on free throws in the last five minutes, Mount Saint Mary's shot only three and made only two.
Bilal Abdullah, who saved off the braids he has sported since high school prior to the game, led Lafayette with 22 points, a career high.
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Rutgers 67, Lehigh 61 -- What if Lehigh were to defeat a major conference team on the road, just an hour or so from the Lehigh Valley, and none of the valley's papers were there to report it? Almost happened last night in Piscataway, N.J., when the Mountain Hawks lost a tough decision to Rutgers in a game they led by 10 points with 8 minutes to play.
Playing without starting center Jason Mgebroff, out with a stress fracture in a leg, Lehigh started the game with a 6-0 run and was up as many as 8 in the first half before poor shooting by the Hawks helped Rugters take a 31-27 lead at the break.
Lehigh was just 9 for 27 from the floor in the first half (33.3 percent). But the Hawks heated up after the intermission, shooting 14 for 24 (58.3 percent) in the second half.
That strong shooting, and tough defense that held Rutgers to 38.2 percent from the field (21 of 55), enabled Lehigh to build a 10-point lead. But Rutgers responded with a 19-2 run that ultimately decided the game.
Sophomore Phil (in) Anderson, starting in the place of Mgebroff, held his own, grabbing five rebounds. Anderson split time with freshman Zahir Carrington, who struggled offensively, going 1 for 5 from the field, his 5 rebounds negated by 6 turnovers.
The turnovers were a problem for Lehigh, who gave the ball away 17 times, leading to 26 Rutgers points. The Hawks held their own on the glass, (38-32 rebound edge to Rutgers), but gave up 18 offensive boards that the Scarlet Knights converted for 20 second chance points.
Lehigh actually made more shots -- 23 field goals to 21 for Rutgers. But Rutgers had an 8-3 edge from the arc and hit 17 of 24 from the free throw line to Lehigh's 12 of 17.
Jose Olivero led Lehigh with 22 points and 7 rebounds. Bryan White added 17, 15 in the second half. Freshman point guard marquis Hall added 11 points and 6 assists.
The loss was Lehigh's 18th in a row to Rutgers and the Hawks' third in a row against Division 1 opposition. Lehigh is now 0-9 on the road and has not won a game on an opponents floor since beating Army on Feb. 10 of last season.
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Lafayette 58, Mount St. Mary's 56 -- The Leopards hang on to win despite going the final 5:52 of the game without a field goal. It is Lafayette's fifth win in its last six and pulls the 'Pards (6-7), who played without two starters and lost another in the first half, to within one game of .500.
Lafayette started strong, with a 14-2 run to open the game, and shot 51.9 percent (14 of 27) from the field, including 7 of 16 three-point tries (43.8 percent), en route to a 38-29 halftime lead.
But late in the half, freshman Jesper Andersson, who had 11 of those points and three of the treys at the time, rolled an ankle and had to leave the game. Andersson's injury, called a severe sprain, put him on the bench alongside senior Jamaal Hillard, who had an MRI Friday on a bad foot, and junior Paul Cummins, who missed the game due to a stomach bug.
Without Andersson's shooting, and the other two starters, the depleted Leopards managed only 5 field goals (on 19 tries) in the second half (26.3 percent), and were just 1 of 9 from the arc. But Lafayette played tough defense throughout, keeping Mount Saint Mary's below 40 percent shooting in each half, The Mount, which went 21 for 55 (38.2 percent) for the game, just 2 of 20 on three-pointers.
The biggest of those missed shots came at the buzzer, when Mount freshman Kelly Beidler, who led MSM with 16 points, got an open look to tie the game from the left block on an inbounds play with 0.9 seconds left. His hook rolled off the rim.
Like Lafayette, MSM went cold at the end, going without a field goal the last 4:56. Unlike Lafayette, the Mount did not get to the line enough in that stretch. While the 'Pards were 6 for 6 on free throws in the last five minutes, Mount Saint Mary's shot only three and made only two.
Bilal Abdullah, who saved off the braids he has sported since high school prior to the game, led Lafayette with 22 points, a career high.
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Rutgers 67, Lehigh 61 -- What if Lehigh were to defeat a major conference team on the road, just an hour or so from the Lehigh Valley, and none of the valley's papers were there to report it? Almost happened last night in Piscataway, N.J., when the Mountain Hawks lost a tough decision to Rutgers in a game they led by 10 points with 8 minutes to play.
Playing without starting center Jason Mgebroff, out with a stress fracture in a leg, Lehigh started the game with a 6-0 run and was up as many as 8 in the first half before poor shooting by the Hawks helped Rugters take a 31-27 lead at the break.
Lehigh was just 9 for 27 from the floor in the first half (33.3 percent). But the Hawks heated up after the intermission, shooting 14 for 24 (58.3 percent) in the second half.
That strong shooting, and tough defense that held Rutgers to 38.2 percent from the field (21 of 55), enabled Lehigh to build a 10-point lead. But Rutgers responded with a 19-2 run that ultimately decided the game.
Sophomore Phil (in) Anderson, starting in the place of Mgebroff, held his own, grabbing five rebounds. Anderson split time with freshman Zahir Carrington, who struggled offensively, going 1 for 5 from the field, his 5 rebounds negated by 6 turnovers.
The turnovers were a problem for Lehigh, who gave the ball away 17 times, leading to 26 Rutgers points. The Hawks held their own on the glass, (38-32 rebound edge to Rutgers), but gave up 18 offensive boards that the Scarlet Knights converted for 20 second chance points.
Lehigh actually made more shots -- 23 field goals to 21 for Rutgers. But Rutgers had an 8-3 edge from the arc and hit 17 of 24 from the free throw line to Lehigh's 12 of 17.
Jose Olivero led Lehigh with 22 points and 7 rebounds. Bryan White added 17, 15 in the second half. Freshman point guard marquis Hall added 11 points and 6 assists.
The loss was Lehigh's 18th in a row to Rutgers and the Hawks' third in a row against Division 1 opposition. Lehigh is now 0-9 on the road and has not won a game on an opponents floor since beating Army on Feb. 10 of last season.
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Friday, December 22, 2006
The Lehigh Valley contingent will carry the patriot League flag into action tonight, with Lafayette playing host to Mount Saint Mary's while Lehigh is at Rutgers.
For Lehigh, which has not won away from Stabler Arena this season, the challenge of taking on a Big East team got even tougher with the Jason Mgebroff. With 7-foot sophomre John Gourlay also out with an injury, Billy Taylor will have to use skinny 6-9 Phillip Anderson at the five.
Rutgers' J.R. Inman is 6-9 and leads the Scarlet Knights in scoring (12.7 ppg) and rebounding (7 rpg). But after that, Rutgers is not real big. Freshman Hamady N'Diaye is 6-11 with tremendous upside, but the native of Senegal is still learning the game. Senior Adrian Hill (6-8) starts and averages 7.6 points and 5.6 rebounds.
It has been an interesting season for normally defensive-minded Lehigh. The Mountain Hawks are averaging over 72 points per game. Rutgers, on the other hand, has just one guy (Inman) averaging in double figures and is scoring 62.2 points per game.
As we wrote in the Lehigh preview for Blue Ribbon, with Jose Olivero, Lehigh always has a punchers chance.
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Mount St. Mary's at Lafayette -- () A winnable game for the Leopards, who have won four of their last five after an 0-5 start. Admittedly, two of those wins have been against Division 3 teams, and the Leopards had trouble putting D3 Kings away their last time out. But from afar we tend to view that as a rare situation where Lafayett might actually have taken an opponent lightly.
Mount St. Mary's comes in 2-8, with losses in six of its past seven, including a 59-46 loss at home to American. The Mount has yet to win in 6 games away from Knott Arena.
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For Lehigh, which has not won away from Stabler Arena this season, the challenge of taking on a Big East team got even tougher with the Jason Mgebroff. With 7-foot sophomre John Gourlay also out with an injury, Billy Taylor will have to use skinny 6-9 Phillip Anderson at the five.
Rutgers' J.R. Inman is 6-9 and leads the Scarlet Knights in scoring (12.7 ppg) and rebounding (7 rpg). But after that, Rutgers is not real big. Freshman Hamady N'Diaye is 6-11 with tremendous upside, but the native of Senegal is still learning the game. Senior Adrian Hill (6-8) starts and averages 7.6 points and 5.6 rebounds.
It has been an interesting season for normally defensive-minded Lehigh. The Mountain Hawks are averaging over 72 points per game. Rutgers, on the other hand, has just one guy (Inman) averaging in double figures and is scoring 62.2 points per game.
As we wrote in the Lehigh preview for Blue Ribbon, with Jose Olivero, Lehigh always has a punchers chance.
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Mount St. Mary's at Lafayette -- () A winnable game for the Leopards, who have won four of their last five after an 0-5 start. Admittedly, two of those wins have been against Division 3 teams, and the Leopards had trouble putting D3 Kings away their last time out. But from afar we tend to view that as a rare situation where Lafayett might actually have taken an opponent lightly.
Mount St. Mary's comes in 2-8, with losses in six of its past seven, including a 59-46 loss at home to American. The Mount has yet to win in 6 games away from Knott Arena.
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Thursday, December 21, 2006
Lafayette needed to use its starters to the end to get past a Division 3 team last night. Navy had no such problems against its D3 foe.
Lafayette 89, King's 80 -- Fran O'Hanlon understanably not thrilled with the defensive effort after needing to keep his starters on the floor at the end of a game against a Division 3 team. It took the 'Pards 16 three-pointers to get past the Monarchs.
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Navy 83, Washington (Md.) 37 -- Seeing what happened to Lehigh's Jason Mgebroff in a game against a D3 foe, some might wonder why Billy Lange had Greg Sprink on the floor long enough to score 27 points in this one. But a look at the box score shows Sprink only played 22 minutes. Most on the team, but not a lot. Still, with the league play right around the corner, wouldn't this have been a place for Clif Colbert to play more than 7 minutes. Or maybe give seldom-used senior Calvin White some of Sprink's minutes and save your best player for when he is needed? Just a thought.
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Lafayette 89, King's 80 -- Fran O'Hanlon understanably not thrilled with the defensive effort after needing to keep his starters on the floor at the end of a game against a Division 3 team. It took the 'Pards 16 three-pointers to get past the Monarchs.
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Navy 83, Washington (Md.) 37 -- Seeing what happened to Lehigh's Jason Mgebroff in a game against a D3 foe, some might wonder why Billy Lange had Greg Sprink on the floor long enough to score 27 points in this one. But a look at the box score shows Sprink only played 22 minutes. Most on the team, but not a lot. Still, with the league play right around the corner, wouldn't this have been a place for Clif Colbert to play more than 7 minutes. Or maybe give seldom-used senior Calvin White some of Sprink's minutes and save your best player for when he is needed? Just a thought.
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Wednesday, December 20, 2006
In the rock, paper, scissors world of college hoops, Bucknell is at Xavier tonight. That is the same Xavier team that beat American by 18 last month and Arizona State by 18 last week -- the same ASU team that handled Colgate with ease last night. What will the results of this game tell us about the relative strengths of Bucknell, American and Colgate? Not a thing, but this sort of "six degrees of separation" stuff is great fodder for the message board folks.
If Bucknell's season had a soundtrack, it would have to feature Willie Nelson. This will be Bucknell's eighth game away from Sojka Pavilion, where they have played just twice all season. The Bison don't have another home game until conference play begins in January.
For Xavier, the game comas in the middle of finals week, a fluke caused by a change in the school's calendar after the game was scheduled.
Tempo will be a key in this one. Xavier has four guys averaging in double figures and likes to play at a much faster pace than Bucknell. The Musketeers average over 80 points per game at home and are shooting over 50 percent on the season in games at the Cintas Center. Bucknell will need to play two good halves -- something that has not been easy for the Bison thus far -- if they are to have any shot at scoring their first "name" win of the season.
One side note: BU coach Pat Flannery will be trying for his 300th career win in this one.
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Also on tonight's slate: Division 3 King's is at Lafayette and Navy hosts Washington -- no, not the Pac 12 Huskies --- Washington College, a D-3 from Maryland's Eastern Shore.
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If Bucknell's season had a soundtrack, it would have to feature Willie Nelson. This will be Bucknell's eighth game away from Sojka Pavilion, where they have played just twice all season. The Bison don't have another home game until conference play begins in January.
For Xavier, the game comas in the middle of finals week, a fluke caused by a change in the school's calendar after the game was scheduled.
Tempo will be a key in this one. Xavier has four guys averaging in double figures and likes to play at a much faster pace than Bucknell. The Musketeers average over 80 points per game at home and are shooting over 50 percent on the season in games at the Cintas Center. Bucknell will need to play two good halves -- something that has not been easy for the Bison thus far -- if they are to have any shot at scoring their first "name" win of the season.
One side note: BU coach Pat Flannery will be trying for his 300th career win in this one.
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Also on tonight's slate: Division 3 King's is at Lafayette and Navy hosts Washington -- no, not the Pac 12 Huskies --- Washington College, a D-3 from Maryland's Eastern Shore.
Labels: BU, Laf, Navy, previews
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Monday, December 11, 2006
With five games left in the Hoop Time-Basketball U. Challenge season series between the Patriot League and the Ivy League, the Ivies have taken an 8-7 lead after Columbia beat Lafayette Monday night in Easton. The Ivies have now won six of the last seven interleague games after the Patriot Leaguers had started the season by winning six of eight. Also in action Monday, Lehigh, which hosted Division 3 Haverford.
Columbia 75, Lafayette 58 -- Matt Betley was the only Leopard in double figures as the three-game win streak ends. Betley finished with 13.
The rims were not kind to the Leopards jump-shooters. Lafayette shot 18 for 47 (38.3 percent) and made just 7 field goals in the second half.
It was still a 5-point (35-30) game at the half. But Columbia opened the second half with an 11-3 run to push its lead to double digits, where it stayed the rest of the way.
Fran O'Hanlon's latest starting lineup saw Jamaal Hilliard, Everest Schmidt and Andrew Brown on the bench; freshman Andre Hines, and seniors Kerry Kenny and Marcus Harley on the floor. Along with Bilal Abdullah and Matt Betley, they made O'Hanlon's fifth different starting five this season.
It was a first career start for Hines and Kenny and the second start of the season for Harley. Hilliard and Schmidt had started all 10 previous games; Brown had started 9. Hines, a 6-7 forward, scored 8 points and pulled 4 boards in 18 minutes of action.
The 'Pards will break for nine days for finals, returning to action Dec. 20 when they host Division 3 King's.
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Columbia 75, Lafayette 58 -- Pad the stats night against the Division 3 Fords who managed just 14 field goals all night (14 of 48, 29.2 percent)
Lehigh is off the next 11 days off for finals. The Hawks will be back in action Dec. 22 when they visit Rutgers.
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Columbia 75, Lafayette 58 -- Matt Betley was the only Leopard in double figures as the three-game win streak ends. Betley finished with 13.
The rims were not kind to the Leopards jump-shooters. Lafayette shot 18 for 47 (38.3 percent) and made just 7 field goals in the second half.
It was still a 5-point (35-30) game at the half. But Columbia opened the second half with an 11-3 run to push its lead to double digits, where it stayed the rest of the way.
Fran O'Hanlon's latest starting lineup saw Jamaal Hilliard, Everest Schmidt and Andrew Brown on the bench; freshman Andre Hines, and seniors Kerry Kenny and Marcus Harley on the floor. Along with Bilal Abdullah and Matt Betley, they made O'Hanlon's fifth different starting five this season.
It was a first career start for Hines and Kenny and the second start of the season for Harley. Hilliard and Schmidt had started all 10 previous games; Brown had started 9. Hines, a 6-7 forward, scored 8 points and pulled 4 boards in 18 minutes of action.
The 'Pards will break for nine days for finals, returning to action Dec. 20 when they host Division 3 King's.
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Columbia 75, Lafayette 58 -- Pad the stats night against the Division 3 Fords who managed just 14 field goals all night (14 of 48, 29.2 percent)
Lehigh is off the next 11 days off for finals. The Hawks will be back in action Dec. 22 when they visit Rutgers.
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The Lehigh Valley is the center of the Hoop Time universe tonigh with two games on tap: resurgent Lafayette looks to continue its three-game win streak when it hosts Columbia () and Division 3 Haverford visits Lehigh (). That is it until Saturday as finals get into full swing across the league.
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Friday, December 08, 2006
Navy has played 11 times on Pearl Harbor Day. The Mids have lost 10 of those. The lone win came against Penn, but it was not last night.
Pennsylvania 79, Navy 58 --
Navy's young midshipmen ran into a quality, experienced, legitimate mid-major power last night and quickly learned they were not at Longwood anymore.
The Penn Quakers opened the scoring with a three-pointer 13 seconds into the game and Navy never got closer. Penn started with an 8-0 run, built the lead quickly to double figures, and save a brief flurry around a 9-0 Navy run midway through in the first half, the lead stayed in double figures.
At the half it as 41-29 and Penn opened the second half the same way it did the first, with a three-pointer. The Brian Grandieri trey made it a 15-point Penn lead and Navy never got any closer.
Freshman Troy Stanton was the only Mid in doubkle figures. Leading scorer Greg Sprink was limited to 8 second half points.
The two teams actually were even from the field, each scoring 54 points on field goals. But Penn went to the foul line 34 times, making 25. Navy shot only 8 free throws, making 4.
Penn, which was without the services of one of its usual starters, still placed all five who did start in double figures. Only one Quakers bench player even played double figures minutes -- the starters all played at least 32 and Penn's leading scorer, Ibrahim Jaaber, played 37, scoring 18 points with 7 rebounds and 7 steals.
Even though Penn's lead was around 20 points the final 8 minutes of the game, four of Glen Miller's starters were still on the floor with 31 seconds to go.
Navy is now off 10 days for finals. The Mids return to action Dec. 17 when they host Division III Delaware Valley.
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Lafayette 72, Lycoming 54 -- Everybody gets a run in the win over the D-3 Warriors.
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Pennsylvania 79, Navy 58 --
Navy's young midshipmen ran into a quality, experienced, legitimate mid-major power last night and quickly learned they were not at Longwood anymore.
The Penn Quakers opened the scoring with a three-pointer 13 seconds into the game and Navy never got closer. Penn started with an 8-0 run, built the lead quickly to double figures, and save a brief flurry around a 9-0 Navy run midway through in the first half, the lead stayed in double figures.
At the half it as 41-29 and Penn opened the second half the same way it did the first, with a three-pointer. The Brian Grandieri trey made it a 15-point Penn lead and Navy never got any closer.
Freshman Troy Stanton was the only Mid in doubkle figures. Leading scorer Greg Sprink was limited to 8 second half points.
The two teams actually were even from the field, each scoring 54 points on field goals. But Penn went to the foul line 34 times, making 25. Navy shot only 8 free throws, making 4.
Penn, which was without the services of one of its usual starters, still placed all five who did start in double figures. Only one Quakers bench player even played double figures minutes -- the starters all played at least 32 and Penn's leading scorer, Ibrahim Jaaber, played 37, scoring 18 points with 7 rebounds and 7 steals.
Even though Penn's lead was around 20 points the final 8 minutes of the game, four of Glen Miller's starters were still on the floor with 31 seconds to go.
Navy is now off 10 days for finals. The Mids return to action Dec. 17 when they host Division III Delaware Valley.
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Lafayette 72, Lycoming 54 -- Everybody gets a run in the win over the D-3 Warriors.
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Thursday, December 07, 2006
Two games tonight. Easily the headliner is , the Mids at home on (PHD link is to a day job piece I highly reccomend) for their truest test of the young season. The (4-3) are still adjusting to new coach Glen Miller, but they are still one of the top teams in the Ivy League with a bonafide shot at returning to the NCAA Tournament for the third straigh time (and fifth time in six years). We will know a lot more about the Mids after this one. Listen on Sirus 107 at 8 Eastern.
Also on the schedule, former Bucknell assistant Don Friday takes his Division III Lycoming team to Easton for a game with Lafayette ().
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Also on the schedule, former Bucknell assistant Don Friday takes his Division III Lycoming team to Easton for a game with Lafayette ().
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Tuesday, December 05, 2006
League teams were expected to win all three games they were involved in last night and they did not dissapoint, despite Navy being pushed into two overtime periods.
Navy 79, Howard 75, 2OT -- It turned into a free throw shooting contest in Annapolis, where both Navy and Howard made more foul shots than field goals in a double-overtime marathon.
The Midshipmen opened the game with a 12-2 run, but Howard came back with an 8-0 spurt to tie it, setting the tone for a game that saw 13 ties and 6 lead changes.
It was 57-57 at the end of regulation. It 66-66 after the first extra period, even though Navy had gone up by 2 five times in the first OT. Then Navy held Howard without a field goal on its first 10 possessions of the second OT, leading to an 11-2 run that put the game away. Navy made just one field goal in each overtime, but went 18 for 24 at the line in the extra periods.
It is Navy's second straight overtime win, coming on the heels of Friday night's OT win at Longwood.
The two teams were whistled for a combined 54 fouls and shot 71 free throws between them. Navy was 24 for 32 at the line, with Greg Sprink (16 points, 9-10 FT) leading the way. Howard went 25 of 39 at the line.
By comparison, the Mids made 23 field goals (23 of 52, 44.2 percent). Howard made 23 field goals on 56 attempts (41.1 percent). Navy was 9 for 24 (37.5 percent) from the arc, but made no three-pointers in the overtime periods.
Kaleo Kina led the Midshipmen with 20 points. Corey Johnson added 17 and Troy Stanton had 11.
Howard outrebounded Navy 42-30 and had 15 offensive boards, leading to 22 second chance points.
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American 60, Longwood 49 -- American remains unbeaten at home after holding off Longwood. The Eagles, who shot a scorching 16 for 26 (61.5 percent) from the field in the first half, were up by as many as 18 points before Longwood mounted a late run that cut the lead to 6 with 4:19 to play.
At that point, American put on the clamps defensively, allowing just 1 point the rest of the way. AU held Longwood to 20 of 60 shooting from the field (33.3 percent), the Eagles' best defensive effort of the season.
Brayden Billbe and Andre Ingram each had 13 to lead AU. Derrick Mercer added 12 for the Eagles, who are off to their best start since the 1989-90 season.
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Lafayette 76, N.J.I.T. 57 -- Not as easy as the score makes it look for the Leopards, who won for the second time in a row after an early season six-game losing streak.
NJIT actually led most of the first half and it was still a 4-point game with 13:43 to play when Lafayette went on an 11-0 run to pull away.
Lafayette shot 50 percent or better each half and pured in 13 three-pointers, but it was defense that made the difference. After allowing NJIT to shoot 11 of 22 in the first half, Lafayette held the Highlanders to 9 for 29 (31 percent) in the second half. The Leopards had 14 steals and forced 25 NJIT turnovers, leading to 23 Lafayette points.
Andrew brown led Lafayette with a career-high 20 points. Brown went 6 for 8 at the arc. Freshman Jesper Andersson added 11, his second straight double figures performance.
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Navy 79, Howard 75, 2OT -- It turned into a free throw shooting contest in Annapolis, where both Navy and Howard made more foul shots than field goals in a double-overtime marathon.
The Midshipmen opened the game with a 12-2 run, but Howard came back with an 8-0 spurt to tie it, setting the tone for a game that saw 13 ties and 6 lead changes.
It was 57-57 at the end of regulation. It 66-66 after the first extra period, even though Navy had gone up by 2 five times in the first OT. Then Navy held Howard without a field goal on its first 10 possessions of the second OT, leading to an 11-2 run that put the game away. Navy made just one field goal in each overtime, but went 18 for 24 at the line in the extra periods.
It is Navy's second straight overtime win, coming on the heels of Friday night's OT win at Longwood.
The two teams were whistled for a combined 54 fouls and shot 71 free throws between them. Navy was 24 for 32 at the line, with Greg Sprink (16 points, 9-10 FT) leading the way. Howard went 25 of 39 at the line.
By comparison, the Mids made 23 field goals (23 of 52, 44.2 percent). Howard made 23 field goals on 56 attempts (41.1 percent). Navy was 9 for 24 (37.5 percent) from the arc, but made no three-pointers in the overtime periods.
Kaleo Kina led the Midshipmen with 20 points. Corey Johnson added 17 and Troy Stanton had 11.
Howard outrebounded Navy 42-30 and had 15 offensive boards, leading to 22 second chance points.
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American 60, Longwood 49 -- American remains unbeaten at home after holding off Longwood. The Eagles, who shot a scorching 16 for 26 (61.5 percent) from the field in the first half, were up by as many as 18 points before Longwood mounted a late run that cut the lead to 6 with 4:19 to play.
At that point, American put on the clamps defensively, allowing just 1 point the rest of the way. AU held Longwood to 20 of 60 shooting from the field (33.3 percent), the Eagles' best defensive effort of the season.
Brayden Billbe and Andre Ingram each had 13 to lead AU. Derrick Mercer added 12 for the Eagles, who are off to their best start since the 1989-90 season.
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Lafayette 76, N.J.I.T. 57 -- Not as easy as the score makes it look for the Leopards, who won for the second time in a row after an early season six-game losing streak.
NJIT actually led most of the first half and it was still a 4-point game with 13:43 to play when Lafayette went on an 11-0 run to pull away.
Lafayette shot 50 percent or better each half and pured in 13 three-pointers, but it was defense that made the difference. After allowing NJIT to shoot 11 of 22 in the first half, Lafayette held the Highlanders to 9 for 29 (31 percent) in the second half. The Leopards had 14 steals and forced 25 NJIT turnovers, leading to 23 Lafayette points.
Andrew brown led Lafayette with a career-high 20 points. Brown went 6 for 8 at the arc. Freshman Jesper Andersson added 11, his second straight double figures performance.
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Monday, December 04, 2006
Three games tonight, two involving transitional Division I teams. , and . Fair to say anything less than a three-game sweep for the Patriot League teams will be disappointing.
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Labels: AU, Laf, Navy, previews
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Sunday, December 03, 2006
(Updated at 7:53 a.m. with new links)
Lafayette ended a losing streak, Lehigh stayed unbeaten at home and Army kept a winning streak going. The news for Colgate and Holy Cross was not as good.
Lafayette 72, St. Peter's 69 -- Freshman Jesper Andersson hit six three-pointers en route to a career-best 18 points. But it was Ted Detmer's trey with 1.4 on the clock that proved to be the game-winner for Lafayette, which snapped a six-game losing streak.
Lafayette hit a total of 15 threes. That was the difference in a game in which both teams had 25 field goals and 7 free throws. Saint Peter's finished with 12 treys.
Bilal Abdullah and Andrew Brown were left out of Lafayette's starting lineup for the first time this season, replaced by Paul Cummins and Marcus Harley. Abdullah responded with 14 points, Brown with 11 points and 8 assists.
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Army 63, Citadel 55 -- Army shot 48.8 percent (20 of 41) for the game, 55 percent (11 of 20) in the second half when they battled back to pull out the win.
The Black Knights were up 32-24 at the intermission, but Citadel started the second half with a 13-0 run and was up as many as 8 points (46-38 with 12:34 to play) before Army stormed back.
Jarrell Brown with 23 points to lead Army. Matt Bell added 17 and freshman Chris Walker was 5 for 7 from the field, 11 points and a team-high 7 rebounds.
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Harvard 76, Colgate 64 -- Colgate shot 50 percent at home and still lost to Harvard. It didn't hurt Harvard to shoot 16 of 25 (64 percent) in the second half. The Crimson's 22 of 29 showing at the foul line also a factor in a game where Colgate shot only a dozen (making 6) free throws all afternoon.
Kendall Chones was 10 for 11 from the field for 21 points to lead Colgate. Jon Simon added 14 and Daniel Waddy had 12 for the Raiders.
Colgate was whistled for 22 fouls (to 12 for Harvard), including 5 on starting center Marc Daniels, who managed to last but 13 minutes against Harvard's Brian Cusworth, who finished with 23 points on 9 for 12 shooting.
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Dayton 69, Holy Cross 53 -- No way of telling when the last time a team shot 59.5 percent from the field against the defensive minded Crusaders, but it is not the kind of thing that happens very often (Minnesota was the last team to shoot 60 percent against HC ... 12-4-2004).
The Crusaders led 29-27 at the intermission, but wilted in the second half, making just 6 field goals (on 22 tries, 27.3 percent). Dayton opened the half with a 13-3 run and never looked back.
Keith Simmons with 15 to lead HC. Torey Thomas with 13.
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Lehigh 55, Central Conn. St. 52 -- Marquis Hall hit a pullup jumper with 57 seconds to go to help Lehigh stay unbeaten at home despite shooting only 39.5 percent from the field. Hall's J gave the Hawks the lead for just the second time in the second half.
Jose Olivero led Lehigh with 14 points. Kyle Neptune added 12 points and 9 rebounds. The Hawks outrebounded CCSU 36-27 and had a huge edge at the foul line, where they went 16 for 23. CCSU only shot 9 free throws, making 4.
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Lafayette ended a losing streak, Lehigh stayed unbeaten at home and Army kept a winning streak going. The news for Colgate and Holy Cross was not as good.
Lafayette 72, St. Peter's 69 -- Freshman Jesper Andersson hit six three-pointers en route to a career-best 18 points. But it was Ted Detmer's trey with 1.4 on the clock that proved to be the game-winner for Lafayette, which snapped a six-game losing streak.
Lafayette hit a total of 15 threes. That was the difference in a game in which both teams had 25 field goals and 7 free throws. Saint Peter's finished with 12 treys.
Bilal Abdullah and Andrew Brown were left out of Lafayette's starting lineup for the first time this season, replaced by Paul Cummins and Marcus Harley. Abdullah responded with 14 points, Brown with 11 points and 8 assists.
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Army 63, Citadel 55 -- Army shot 48.8 percent (20 of 41) for the game, 55 percent (11 of 20) in the second half when they battled back to pull out the win.
The Black Knights were up 32-24 at the intermission, but Citadel started the second half with a 13-0 run and was up as many as 8 points (46-38 with 12:34 to play) before Army stormed back.
Jarrell Brown with 23 points to lead Army. Matt Bell added 17 and freshman Chris Walker was 5 for 7 from the field, 11 points and a team-high 7 rebounds.
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Harvard 76, Colgate 64 -- Colgate shot 50 percent at home and still lost to Harvard. It didn't hurt Harvard to shoot 16 of 25 (64 percent) in the second half. The Crimson's 22 of 29 showing at the foul line also a factor in a game where Colgate shot only a dozen (making 6) free throws all afternoon.
Kendall Chones was 10 for 11 from the field for 21 points to lead Colgate. Jon Simon added 14 and Daniel Waddy had 12 for the Raiders.
Colgate was whistled for 22 fouls (to 12 for Harvard), including 5 on starting center Marc Daniels, who managed to last but 13 minutes against Harvard's Brian Cusworth, who finished with 23 points on 9 for 12 shooting.
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Dayton 69, Holy Cross 53 -- No way of telling when the last time a team shot 59.5 percent from the field against the defensive minded Crusaders, but it is not the kind of thing that happens very often (Minnesota was the last team to shoot 60 percent against HC ... 12-4-2004).
The Crusaders led 29-27 at the intermission, but wilted in the second half, making just 6 field goals (on 22 tries, 27.3 percent). Dayton opened the half with a 13-3 run and never looked back.
Keith Simmons with 15 to lead HC. Torey Thomas with 13.
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Lehigh 55, Central Conn. St. 52 -- Marquis Hall hit a pullup jumper with 57 seconds to go to help Lehigh stay unbeaten at home despite shooting only 39.5 percent from the field. Hall's J gave the Hawks the lead for just the second time in the second half.
Jose Olivero led Lehigh with 14 points. Kyle Neptune added 12 points and 9 rebounds. The Hawks outrebounded CCSU 36-27 and had a huge edge at the foul line, where they went 16 for 23. CCSU only shot 9 free throws, making 4.
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Labels: Army, CU, games, HC, Laf, Leh
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Saturday, December 02, 2006
Two marquee contests top today's six-game slate. In Lewisburg, Bucknell hosts 5-1 in a return game from last season's BracketBusters. Then tonight, Holy Cross is at Dayton in a battle of two teams with one loss each. Live video of the HC-Dayton game, by the way, will be from Dayton's Web site.
Here are today's matchups: | | | | |
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Here are today's matchups: | | | | |
Labels: Army, BU, CU, HC, Laf, Leh, previews
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Wednesday, November 29, 2006
Patriot League teams came within three points of going 3-0 Tuesday night. Both academies picked up wins, but Lafayette dropped a two-point heartbreaker to Princeton.
Navy 79, William & Mary 63 -- Kaleo Kina and Greg Sprink combined for 33 points to lead the Mids. Sprink (5 of 6 FG, 15 points) missed just one shot all night. Kina (6-8 FG, 18 points) missed only two.
Actually, the entire Navy team shot it pretty well, going 27 of 44 from the field (61.4 percent) and 8 of 14 (64.3 percent) from the three-point arc.
Navy was in charge pretty much from the get-go. The Mids scored first and never trailed. After the game's only tie at 2-2, Navy went on a 15-4 run to build an 11 point lead. A William and Mary dunk at the 12:38 mark of the first half cut the Navy lead to 9. But 1:01 later Adam Teague hit a three to push the Navy lead back to 12 and it stayed in double digits the rest of the way, stretching as wide as 24 points in the second half.
Corey Johnson (10 points) also in double figures for the Mids.
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Army 79, Virginia Military 72 -- Corban Bates posted a 10-points, 10-boards double-double and the Army defense held VMI 33 points below its average as the Black Knights improve to 5-2, equalling last season's wins total. It is Army's best seven-game start in 12 years.
Jarrell Brown led Army with 24 points off the bench. Six-eight freshman Chris Walker added 23 on 8 for 11 shooting from the floor.
Down 4 midway through the second half, Army went on a 12-0 run to take the lead. The Black Knights hit 8 of 8 at the foul line in the final two minutes to preserve the lead.
Matt Bell finished with 9 points. It was Bell's first non-double figures effort of the season.
VMI, which averages 105 points per game, put up a Christl Arena record 43 three-pointers (making 11).
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Princeton 44, Lafayette 42 -- It is a scenario you won't see played out too often: Lafayette losing a game in which it outrebounds the opponent but shoots poorly. You'd expect the opposite from the Leopards, but that was how Tuesday night's loss to Princeton played out, right down to the final buzzer.
Lafayette, which had been outrebounded by a margin of at least 10 boards in its first six games actually won the battle of the glass against Princeton, 26-20. Perhaps the biggest of the 'Pards 26 rebounds was the one Marcus Harley chased down after Princeton, working the shot clock with a 2 point lead and 55 seconds to play, ends up tossing up a desperation three as the shot clock ran out.
That gave Lafayette the ball with 26 seconds to go, a two to tie, trey to win. After a timeout, the Leopards put the ball in the hands of sophomore Andrew Brown. Brown, who was 1 for 5 from the arc, tried to take it to the hole. Brown's off-balance runner wouldn't drop and Princeton came up with the rebound in a scuffle as time ran out.
Brown was not the only Leopard who struggled from the field. As a team, the normally good shooting 'Pards shot 14 of 36 (38.9 percent) from the field, including 22.2 percent (4 of 18) from the arc.
Matt Betley, who led Lafayette in scoring for the fourth straight game, had 11 points and a game-high 7 rebounds.
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Navy 79, William & Mary 63 -- Kaleo Kina and Greg Sprink combined for 33 points to lead the Mids. Sprink (5 of 6 FG, 15 points) missed just one shot all night. Kina (6-8 FG, 18 points) missed only two.
Actually, the entire Navy team shot it pretty well, going 27 of 44 from the field (61.4 percent) and 8 of 14 (64.3 percent) from the three-point arc.
Navy was in charge pretty much from the get-go. The Mids scored first and never trailed. After the game's only tie at 2-2, Navy went on a 15-4 run to build an 11 point lead. A William and Mary dunk at the 12:38 mark of the first half cut the Navy lead to 9. But 1:01 later Adam Teague hit a three to push the Navy lead back to 12 and it stayed in double digits the rest of the way, stretching as wide as 24 points in the second half.
Corey Johnson (10 points) also in double figures for the Mids.
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Army 79, Virginia Military 72 -- Corban Bates posted a 10-points, 10-boards double-double and the Army defense held VMI 33 points below its average as the Black Knights improve to 5-2, equalling last season's wins total. It is Army's best seven-game start in 12 years.
Jarrell Brown led Army with 24 points off the bench. Six-eight freshman Chris Walker added 23 on 8 for 11 shooting from the floor.
Down 4 midway through the second half, Army went on a 12-0 run to take the lead. The Black Knights hit 8 of 8 at the foul line in the final two minutes to preserve the lead.
Matt Bell finished with 9 points. It was Bell's first non-double figures effort of the season.
VMI, which averages 105 points per game, put up a Christl Arena record 43 three-pointers (making 11).
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Princeton 44, Lafayette 42 -- It is a scenario you won't see played out too often: Lafayette losing a game in which it outrebounds the opponent but shoots poorly. You'd expect the opposite from the Leopards, but that was how Tuesday night's loss to Princeton played out, right down to the final buzzer.
Lafayette, which had been outrebounded by a margin of at least 10 boards in its first six games actually won the battle of the glass against Princeton, 26-20. Perhaps the biggest of the 'Pards 26 rebounds was the one Marcus Harley chased down after Princeton, working the shot clock with a 2 point lead and 55 seconds to play, ends up tossing up a desperation three as the shot clock ran out.
That gave Lafayette the ball with 26 seconds to go, a two to tie, trey to win. After a timeout, the Leopards put the ball in the hands of sophomore Andrew Brown. Brown, who was 1 for 5 from the arc, tried to take it to the hole. Brown's off-balance runner wouldn't drop and Princeton came up with the rebound in a scuffle as time ran out.
Brown was not the only Leopard who struggled from the field. As a team, the normally good shooting 'Pards shot 14 of 36 (38.9 percent) from the field, including 22.2 percent (4 of 18) from the arc.
Matt Betley, who led Lafayette in scoring for the fourth straight game, had 11 points and a game-high 7 rebounds.
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Labels: Army, games, Laf, Navy
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Tuesday, November 28, 2006
heads tonight's three-game slate. Also in action: and .
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Labels: Army, Laf, Navy, previews
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Sunday, November 26, 2006
While Bucknell was picking up its first win, the rest of the league went 2-4 on a day that saw American, Navy and Lafayette each falling to big name opponents. Holy Cross won to stay unbeaten and Army downed Brown to go to 4-2. But any edge the league could gain in the Hoop Time-Basketball U Challenge series with the Ivy League was negated by Lehigh's loss at Harvard.
Holy Cross 66, William & Mary 57 -- Leading by 8 at the half, Holy Cross was feeling pretty good about itself. Later, after getting the win to improve to 5-0 on the season, the Crusaders no doubt felt pretty good, too.
In between, though, some moments of apprehension. After shooting 52 percent in the first half, HC found covers on the holes at the other end. The Crusaders shot just 25.7 percent in the second half. William and Mary actually managed to tie the game at 44-44 10:10 left.
Then the Crusaders went on a 14-2 run to take control.
Keith Simmons with another huge night -- 16 points, 8 rebounds, 7 steals, 2 blocks in 30 minutes of action. Torey Thomas had 10 points while dishing off four assists. Also in double figures were Pat Doherty (10 points) and Tim Clifford, who finished with 13 points and 6 boards.
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Xavier 86, American 68 -- Xavier's three starting forwards combined for 66 points as the Musketeers pulled away from AU in the second half.
Much of the damage came from the foul line. AU was whistled for 25 fouls, Xavier for 16. The Musketeers shot 32 free throws, making 26. AU was 16 for 19 at the stripe.
Paulius Joneliunas led AU with 15 points, most coming at the foul line, where he was 8 for 9. Arvydas Eitutavicius off the bench with 11 was AU's only other double figures scorer.
Andre Ingram was held to 5 points. Ingram was 2 for 3 from the field and made the only three he tried, but he played only 21 minutes.
AU's other starters also struggled. Derrick Mercer had 3 turnovers, 0 assists; Brayden Billbe was scoreless with 1 rebound and 3 turnovers; and Linas Lekavicius went 3 for 12 from the field.
American shot 39.7 percent for the game, Xavier 51 percent -- including a 57-percent second half when they broke open what had been a two-point, 35-33, game at the break. The Musketeers stroked 10 three-pointers in this one (10 of 20).
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Army 62, Brown 54 -- Matt Bell scored 11 of his 13 points in the final 7:42 to help Army hold off Brown for the win. Bell's first bucket in that stretch, a three-pointer that broke a 41-41 tie, might have been his biggest.
Army is now 4-2, its best six-game start since the 1994-95 season, when they were also 4-2 after six games.
The Black Knights held brown to 29.2 percent shooting in the first half, opening a 25-19 lead at the break. But Brown shot 55.6 percent in the second half to stay in the game, despite being outrebounded 33-18.
Jarrell Brown led Army with 21 points off the bench. Cory Sinning also a big contributor with 10 points, 6 assists and 2 steals.
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Miami (FL) 98, Lafayette 66 -- No day at the beach for the Leopards, who were out of this game after a 12-0 run gave Miami a double digits lead seven minutes in.
Lafayette pulled back to within 8 (31-23) ona three-pointer by freshman Jesper Andersson. That lasted only 17 seconds, though, and Miami would go on to build a lead of as many as 34 points.
Matt Betley, adjusting well to his shift to forward, had his second straight career high, finishing with 18 points to lead Lafayette. Paul Cummins hit five treys en route to his 15 points off the bench.
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Harvard 83, Lehigh 75 -- Down as many as 22 points in the game, Lehigh rallied in the second half, pouring in 53 points after the break. But the closest they could get was 6 points.
Jose Olivero agains led the Mountain Hawks. Olivero with 17 points on 5 of 17 shooting. He was 1 for 7 at the arc.
Jason Mgebroff had 13 points, 6 rebounds and 3 blocks and Zahir Carringon came off the bench for 10 points and 8 rebounds. But the Lehigh biog men were negated by Harvard center Brian Cusworth, who had a game-high 20 points.
Also in double figures for Lehigh were Kyle Neptune (10) and sophomore Philip Anderson, who put up 11 points in the 14 minutes he played before fouling out.
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Villanova 70, Navy 61 -- Navy shot just 25 percent (7 of 28) in the first half, falling behind 33-19 at the break. That deficit, and officiating that sent Villanova to the foul line 24 more times than the Mids, was more than they could overcome.
The Mids shot much better the second half (48.5 percent) and held 'Nova to 38.1 percent from the field after the intermission. At one point, with just under 8 minutes to play, the Mids pulled within two (51-49) on a trey by Adam Teague, and they were still within 4 with 3:02 left when Villanova's Curtis Sumpter hit three free throws to stretch it back to a three possession game.
Those free throws were three of 35 taken (and 23 made) by Villanova. Navy was 4 for 9 at the line.
Greg Sprink had 6 three-pointers en route to his team-high 22 points for the Mids. Kaleo Kina added 13 points, 5 steals and 4 assists before leaving the game after a hard fall with 5:33 to play. No word on the extent of any injuries.
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Holy Cross 66, William & Mary 57 -- Leading by 8 at the half, Holy Cross was feeling pretty good about itself. Later, after getting the win to improve to 5-0 on the season, the Crusaders no doubt felt pretty good, too.
In between, though, some moments of apprehension. After shooting 52 percent in the first half, HC found covers on the holes at the other end. The Crusaders shot just 25.7 percent in the second half. William and Mary actually managed to tie the game at 44-44 10:10 left.
Then the Crusaders went on a 14-2 run to take control.
Keith Simmons with another huge night -- 16 points, 8 rebounds, 7 steals, 2 blocks in 30 minutes of action. Torey Thomas had 10 points while dishing off four assists. Also in double figures were Pat Doherty (10 points) and Tim Clifford, who finished with 13 points and 6 boards.
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Xavier 86, American 68 -- Xavier's three starting forwards combined for 66 points as the Musketeers pulled away from AU in the second half.
Much of the damage came from the foul line. AU was whistled for 25 fouls, Xavier for 16. The Musketeers shot 32 free throws, making 26. AU was 16 for 19 at the stripe.
Paulius Joneliunas led AU with 15 points, most coming at the foul line, where he was 8 for 9. Arvydas Eitutavicius off the bench with 11 was AU's only other double figures scorer.
Andre Ingram was held to 5 points. Ingram was 2 for 3 from the field and made the only three he tried, but he played only 21 minutes.
AU's other starters also struggled. Derrick Mercer had 3 turnovers, 0 assists; Brayden Billbe was scoreless with 1 rebound and 3 turnovers; and Linas Lekavicius went 3 for 12 from the field.
American shot 39.7 percent for the game, Xavier 51 percent -- including a 57-percent second half when they broke open what had been a two-point, 35-33, game at the break. The Musketeers stroked 10 three-pointers in this one (10 of 20).
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Army 62, Brown 54 -- Matt Bell scored 11 of his 13 points in the final 7:42 to help Army hold off Brown for the win. Bell's first bucket in that stretch, a three-pointer that broke a 41-41 tie, might have been his biggest.
Army is now 4-2, its best six-game start since the 1994-95 season, when they were also 4-2 after six games.
The Black Knights held brown to 29.2 percent shooting in the first half, opening a 25-19 lead at the break. But Brown shot 55.6 percent in the second half to stay in the game, despite being outrebounded 33-18.
Jarrell Brown led Army with 21 points off the bench. Cory Sinning also a big contributor with 10 points, 6 assists and 2 steals.
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Miami (FL) 98, Lafayette 66 -- No day at the beach for the Leopards, who were out of this game after a 12-0 run gave Miami a double digits lead seven minutes in.
Lafayette pulled back to within 8 (31-23) ona three-pointer by freshman Jesper Andersson. That lasted only 17 seconds, though, and Miami would go on to build a lead of as many as 34 points.
Matt Betley, adjusting well to his shift to forward, had his second straight career high, finishing with 18 points to lead Lafayette. Paul Cummins hit five treys en route to his 15 points off the bench.
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Harvard 83, Lehigh 75 -- Down as many as 22 points in the game, Lehigh rallied in the second half, pouring in 53 points after the break. But the closest they could get was 6 points.
Jose Olivero agains led the Mountain Hawks. Olivero with 17 points on 5 of 17 shooting. He was 1 for 7 at the arc.
Jason Mgebroff had 13 points, 6 rebounds and 3 blocks and Zahir Carringon came off the bench for 10 points and 8 rebounds. But the Lehigh biog men were negated by Harvard center Brian Cusworth, who had a game-high 20 points.
Also in double figures for Lehigh were Kyle Neptune (10) and sophomore Philip Anderson, who put up 11 points in the 14 minutes he played before fouling out.
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Villanova 70, Navy 61 -- Navy shot just 25 percent (7 of 28) in the first half, falling behind 33-19 at the break. That deficit, and officiating that sent Villanova to the foul line 24 more times than the Mids, was more than they could overcome.
The Mids shot much better the second half (48.5 percent) and held 'Nova to 38.1 percent from the field after the intermission. At one point, with just under 8 minutes to play, the Mids pulled within two (51-49) on a trey by Adam Teague, and they were still within 4 with 3:02 left when Villanova's Curtis Sumpter hit three free throws to stretch it back to a three possession game.
Those free throws were three of 35 taken (and 23 made) by Villanova. Navy was 4 for 9 at the line.
Greg Sprink had 6 three-pointers en route to his team-high 22 points for the Mids. Kaleo Kina added 13 points, 5 steals and 4 assists before leaving the game after a hard fall with 5:33 to play. No word on the extent of any injuries.
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Labels: Army, AU, games, HC, Laf, Leh, Navy
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Saturday, November 25, 2006
You hear the phrase a lot this weekend: "Home for the Holidays." Whoever came up with this one knows little about Patriot League hoops. With the notable exception of Holy Cross, which is hosting William and Mary this afternoon, nobody is home for the holidays. They are off to exotic locations like , , , Providence, or . That AU at Xavier game in Cincinnati is probably the most interesting matchup on the slate. But it is a 500-mile road trip from here and we have never been fond of cinnamon in our chili, much less our chili over macaroni. New Haven, on the other hand, offers a less interesting matchup. But it's less than half the drive and the pizza alone is worth the trip, so we're off to this afternoon's Bucknell-Yale game.We'll update this afternoon (wonder if Sally's has wireless these days?). meanwhile, here are today's matchups:
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BONUS LINK:
Labels: Army, AU, BU, CU, HC, Laf, Leh, Navy, previews
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Friday, November 24, 2006
HOOP TIME NOTEBOOK
The last time Bucknell was in New Haven, they arrived with a sub-.500 record. They battled their way to a 73-65 win over Yale in overtime and went on to win 11 in a row en route to the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
That is not to say Bucknell is headed back to the tournament if they win at Yale. Pat Flannery is still trying to figure out how his pieces fit. By the time league play begins in January, Flannery will have his answers, for good or ill.
The point is simply that despite an 0-4 start, it is way too early to be counting the Bison out of anything. Those four losses have been to opponents with a combined record of 12-2. None of the four losses have been by more than 10 points. Two came in overtime, each by 3 points. The Bison even had decent leads in each, leads that wilted under rotation problems still to be resolved. Some combinations that have played thus far have really struggled to score. That has not been helped by the constant foul trouble the Bison have found, which has forced Bison coach Pat Flannery to use guys in roles he perhaps had not planned.
None of the foul trouble has been more troublesome than that being experienced by6-11 senior center Chris McNaughton, who has found it difficult to stay on the floor for any extended stretches. The lack of run has hurt McNaughton's offense. He has found it difficult to find a rhythm in most games.
Meanwhile, the development of juniors Darren Mastropaolo and Andrew Morrison has done a lot to solidify the frontline rotation. Mastropaolo's ability to score in the post combines well with Morrison's ability to shoot the jumper when McNaughton comes out of the game and Mastropaolo slides over to the five.
Donald Brown's problems adjusting to the small forward role are another problem. Unless Brown starts hitting a few jumpers occasionally, at least enough of them to force people to guard him 10 feet from the basket, Rob Thomas and Jason Vegotsky will need to play a lot at the three, just to give Flannery some scoring options. Problem is, Thomas (6-3) and Vegotsky (6-2) are more third guards than small forwards. They lack Brown's size (6-6) and athleticism to defend bigger threes. Charles Lee (6-3) could get away with it because of his strength and athleticism.
Of course a lot of these pieces are easier to fit into place if McNaughton snaps out of the funk he has been in and point guard Abe Badmus finds some comfort offensively.
Badmus seems to be struggling with his role. Flannery insists Badmus has the offensive game to do the things being asked of him this season -- namely more scoring. But Badmus has seemed conflicted in that role. After three seasons unselfishly finding others for their shot, Badmus seems hesitant to take his own, especially early in the shot clock. Too many possessions have begun with Badmus passing on open jumpers and ended with him turning the ball over after desperately driving into a help defense double-team as the shot clock winds down.
If Badmus starts taking those open looks (and knocking a few down) earlier in the clock, it will open things up for the Bison inside. Badmus might also think about trying to finish on more of those drives. He is strong enough, and has the springs, to take it to the rack against bigger men. Might even draw few fouls, which could have the added benefit of forcing opponents to be more guarded in their aggressive physical defensive tactics employed against the Bison big men (especially McNaughton).
With McNaughton and Badmus both seemingly in a funk, it begs the question: Are they a little burned out? The two have spent the last two summers with national teams. Badmus was point guard for the Nigerian national team in 2005 when the D'Tigers qualified for the 2006 World Championships and was the last guy cut before the D'Tigers left for Japan this summer. McNaughton was also one of the last two cut from the German team that played in Japan. He played internationally with Germany's World University Games team in the summer of 2005.
Bucknell's schedule lightens considerably following the four games in eight days stretch that starts at Yale and ends with nest weekend's back to back games against Northern Iowa and George Mason. The Bison only have five games the remaining 28 days of the year. Maybe the lighter schedule and the lighter practice schedule during finals will help rejuvenate them.
We shall see.
In the meantime, it is definitely not a one-team league in the Patriot this season.
Here's some news and notes from elsewhere:
BIG MAN IS BACK: Lehigh's Jason Mgebroff is a big guy. At 6-10, 275-pounds, Mgebroff showed tremendous promise as a freshman, averaging 7 points per game. As a sophomore, Mgebroff started 27 games, and averages 8.7 ppg. Small progress, especially in a league without many quality big men, but at least some progress.
Last season, though, Mgebrioff was like the holes of those donuts he was rumored to be so fond of. He left nothing in the middle for Lehigh. Reports from Bethlehem indicated Mgebroff reported overweight and out of shape when practice began. A foot injury early in the season did not help matters any. Whatever the reasons, whatever the spin, the bottom line was simple. After starting 43 games his first two seasons, Mgebroff found himself unable to beat out a stiff like Mike Fischman for the starting center job. Mgebroff's minutes dropped from an average of over 22 per game his first two seasons to 12.9 per game as a junior. His scoring (3.7 ppg) and rebounding (2.4 rpg) were career lows. Averaging better than 54 percent shooting from the field his first two seasons, Mgebroff plummeted to a 44 percent showing as a junior.
So far this season, Mgebroff is showing signs of finally fulfilling the promise exhibited his freshman season, when he scored 42 points in three league tournament games, making the All-Tournament team and helping Lehigh to the title. Through six games, Mgebroff, who looks slimmer, and much quicker, than he did last season, is averaging 12.7 ppg and shooting 73 percent from the field. He is also grabbing 6.2 rebounds per game, by far a career mark should it hold up over the course of the season. his scoring and rebounding numbers are tops among league big men thus far.
Last season, Mgebroff scored in double figures one time against Division I opposition, scoring 10 against Lafayette. This season, Mgebroff reached double figures in each of the Mountain Hawks' first four contests, missing a combined total of just five shots from the field during that stretch.
HOME COOKING: Holy Cross has started the season 4-0 for the first time in the Ralph Willard era. The Crusaders will look to go to 5-0 for the first time since 1988-89 Saturday when they host William and Mary. The only unbeaten team in the league, Holy Cross is also the only team that has played three home games to date. Bucknell and Lafayette, the two teams with the worst records in the league, have played just one home game each.
Navy may have the most impressive early season record when homecourts are factored into the equation. The 4-1 Mids have yet to play in Alumni Hall. Navy's lone "home" game was played at the ShowPlace Arena in nearby Upper Marlboro, Md. because some Fillipino dance troupe was appearing in Alumni Hall that night.
NO SWEAT: Keith Simmons does not seem to be sweating those cramping problems that hobbled the Holy Cross winger last season. Through four games, Simmons is averaging 34.5 minutes per game. His 18.8 points per game are second in the league only to Lehigh's Jose Olivero. Simmons 6.2 rebounds per game are tied for fourth.
In the Patriot League, only teammate Torey Thomas (37 mpg) is averaging more minutes than Simmons.
NO MINUTES: Notable for their lack of early season playing time: Army's John Moonshower, who showed a lot of promise the end of last season, has played a total of two minutes, appearing in three of Army's five games. One-time starter Jimmy Sewell has also played in just three games for the Black Knights. Sewell has produced 2 rebounds and 2 points in his eight minutes of action.
Georgetown-transfer Cornelio Guibunda, touted as one of the nation's top recruits when he signed with the Hoyas out of high school, has appeared in two of American's four-games, playing 7 minutes and totaling two free throws, a turnover and a steal.
NOT SEEING DOUBLE: Only one team has nobody averaging in double figures scoring. That team is Bucknell, which is led by Darren Mastropaolo and Jason Vegotsky, each averaging 9.8 ppg. Lafayette, led by Matt Betley (12.4 ppg) is the only other team without at least two players averaging in double figures.
Lehigh leads the way with three players averaging in doubles -- Jose Olivero (league leading 20.2 ppg), Jason Mgebroff (12.7 ppg) and Kyle Neptune (11.3 ppg).
TAKING OFFENSE: Think of Billy Taylor-coached you think of defense first. The Hawks have consistently been among the league's top defensive teams under Taylor, and pride themselves on that style of play.
So it might come as a little surprise to notice the Mountain Hawks are averaging a league-leading 73.3 ppg and giving up 75 ppg, second most allowed in the league.
NAVY ON THE LINE: The Mids are hitting an impressive 66.5 percent from the foul line thus far. Much of the credit for that league-leading stat goes to plebes Trey Stanton (12 for 12) and T.J. Topercer, who are a combined 23 of 24. Sophomore guard Kaleo Kina (16 for 18) has also been impressive.
CAN'T MISS: Speaking of good free throw shooting, five league players have yet to miss from the charity stripe. In addition to Stanton, HC center Tim Clifford is 10 for 10, Bucknell guard John Griffin is 9 for 9. Colgate bench guys Willie Morse (8 for 8) and Alex Woodhouse (4 for 4) also have not missed.
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The last time Bucknell was in New Haven, they arrived with a sub-.500 record. They battled their way to a 73-65 win over Yale in overtime and went on to win 11 in a row en route to the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
That is not to say Bucknell is headed back to the tournament if they win at Yale. Pat Flannery is still trying to figure out how his pieces fit. By the time league play begins in January, Flannery will have his answers, for good or ill.
The point is simply that despite an 0-4 start, it is way too early to be counting the Bison out of anything. Those four losses have been to opponents with a combined record of 12-2. None of the four losses have been by more than 10 points. Two came in overtime, each by 3 points. The Bison even had decent leads in each, leads that wilted under rotation problems still to be resolved. Some combinations that have played thus far have really struggled to score. That has not been helped by the constant foul trouble the Bison have found, which has forced Bison coach Pat Flannery to use guys in roles he perhaps had not planned.
None of the foul trouble has been more troublesome than that being experienced by6-11 senior center Chris McNaughton, who has found it difficult to stay on the floor for any extended stretches. The lack of run has hurt McNaughton's offense. He has found it difficult to find a rhythm in most games.
Meanwhile, the development of juniors Darren Mastropaolo and Andrew Morrison has done a lot to solidify the frontline rotation. Mastropaolo's ability to score in the post combines well with Morrison's ability to shoot the jumper when McNaughton comes out of the game and Mastropaolo slides over to the five.
Donald Brown's problems adjusting to the small forward role are another problem. Unless Brown starts hitting a few jumpers occasionally, at least enough of them to force people to guard him 10 feet from the basket, Rob Thomas and Jason Vegotsky will need to play a lot at the three, just to give Flannery some scoring options. Problem is, Thomas (6-3) and Vegotsky (6-2) are more third guards than small forwards. They lack Brown's size (6-6) and athleticism to defend bigger threes. Charles Lee (6-3) could get away with it because of his strength and athleticism.
Of course a lot of these pieces are easier to fit into place if McNaughton snaps out of the funk he has been in and point guard Abe Badmus finds some comfort offensively.
Badmus seems to be struggling with his role. Flannery insists Badmus has the offensive game to do the things being asked of him this season -- namely more scoring. But Badmus has seemed conflicted in that role. After three seasons unselfishly finding others for their shot, Badmus seems hesitant to take his own, especially early in the shot clock. Too many possessions have begun with Badmus passing on open jumpers and ended with him turning the ball over after desperately driving into a help defense double-team as the shot clock winds down.
If Badmus starts taking those open looks (and knocking a few down) earlier in the clock, it will open things up for the Bison inside. Badmus might also think about trying to finish on more of those drives. He is strong enough, and has the springs, to take it to the rack against bigger men. Might even draw few fouls, which could have the added benefit of forcing opponents to be more guarded in their aggressive physical defensive tactics employed against the Bison big men (especially McNaughton).
With McNaughton and Badmus both seemingly in a funk, it begs the question: Are they a little burned out? The two have spent the last two summers with national teams. Badmus was point guard for the Nigerian national team in 2005 when the D'Tigers qualified for the 2006 World Championships and was the last guy cut before the D'Tigers left for Japan this summer. McNaughton was also one of the last two cut from the German team that played in Japan. He played internationally with Germany's World University Games team in the summer of 2005.
Bucknell's schedule lightens considerably following the four games in eight days stretch that starts at Yale and ends with nest weekend's back to back games against Northern Iowa and George Mason. The Bison only have five games the remaining 28 days of the year. Maybe the lighter schedule and the lighter practice schedule during finals will help rejuvenate them.
We shall see.
In the meantime, it is definitely not a one-team league in the Patriot this season.
Here's some news and notes from elsewhere:
BIG MAN IS BACK: Lehigh's Jason Mgebroff is a big guy. At 6-10, 275-pounds, Mgebroff showed tremendous promise as a freshman, averaging 7 points per game. As a sophomore, Mgebroff started 27 games, and averages 8.7 ppg. Small progress, especially in a league without many quality big men, but at least some progress.
Last season, though, Mgebrioff was like the holes of those donuts he was rumored to be so fond of. He left nothing in the middle for Lehigh. Reports from Bethlehem indicated Mgebroff reported overweight and out of shape when practice began. A foot injury early in the season did not help matters any. Whatever the reasons, whatever the spin, the bottom line was simple. After starting 43 games his first two seasons, Mgebroff found himself unable to beat out a stiff like Mike Fischman for the starting center job. Mgebroff's minutes dropped from an average of over 22 per game his first two seasons to 12.9 per game as a junior. His scoring (3.7 ppg) and rebounding (2.4 rpg) were career lows. Averaging better than 54 percent shooting from the field his first two seasons, Mgebroff plummeted to a 44 percent showing as a junior.
So far this season, Mgebroff is showing signs of finally fulfilling the promise exhibited his freshman season, when he scored 42 points in three league tournament games, making the All-Tournament team and helping Lehigh to the title. Through six games, Mgebroff, who looks slimmer, and much quicker, than he did last season, is averaging 12.7 ppg and shooting 73 percent from the field. He is also grabbing 6.2 rebounds per game, by far a career mark should it hold up over the course of the season. his scoring and rebounding numbers are tops among league big men thus far.
Last season, Mgebroff scored in double figures one time against Division I opposition, scoring 10 against Lafayette. This season, Mgebroff reached double figures in each of the Mountain Hawks' first four contests, missing a combined total of just five shots from the field during that stretch.
HOME COOKING: Holy Cross has started the season 4-0 for the first time in the Ralph Willard era. The Crusaders will look to go to 5-0 for the first time since 1988-89 Saturday when they host William and Mary. The only unbeaten team in the league, Holy Cross is also the only team that has played three home games to date. Bucknell and Lafayette, the two teams with the worst records in the league, have played just one home game each.
Navy may have the most impressive early season record when homecourts are factored into the equation. The 4-1 Mids have yet to play in Alumni Hall. Navy's lone "home" game was played at the ShowPlace Arena in nearby Upper Marlboro, Md. because some Fillipino dance troupe was appearing in Alumni Hall that night.
NO SWEAT: Keith Simmons does not seem to be sweating those cramping problems that hobbled the Holy Cross winger last season. Through four games, Simmons is averaging 34.5 minutes per game. His 18.8 points per game are second in the league only to Lehigh's Jose Olivero. Simmons 6.2 rebounds per game are tied for fourth.
In the Patriot League, only teammate Torey Thomas (37 mpg) is averaging more minutes than Simmons.
NO MINUTES: Notable for their lack of early season playing time: Army's John Moonshower, who showed a lot of promise the end of last season, has played a total of two minutes, appearing in three of Army's five games. One-time starter Jimmy Sewell has also played in just three games for the Black Knights. Sewell has produced 2 rebounds and 2 points in his eight minutes of action.
Georgetown-transfer Cornelio Guibunda, touted as one of the nation's top recruits when he signed with the Hoyas out of high school, has appeared in two of American's four-games, playing 7 minutes and totaling two free throws, a turnover and a steal.
NOT SEEING DOUBLE: Only one team has nobody averaging in double figures scoring. That team is Bucknell, which is led by Darren Mastropaolo and Jason Vegotsky, each averaging 9.8 ppg. Lafayette, led by Matt Betley (12.4 ppg) is the only other team without at least two players averaging in double figures.
Lehigh leads the way with three players averaging in doubles -- Jose Olivero (league leading 20.2 ppg), Jason Mgebroff (12.7 ppg) and Kyle Neptune (11.3 ppg).
TAKING OFFENSE: Think of Billy Taylor-coached you think of defense first. The Hawks have consistently been among the league's top defensive teams under Taylor, and pride themselves on that style of play.
So it might come as a little surprise to notice the Mountain Hawks are averaging a league-leading 73.3 ppg and giving up 75 ppg, second most allowed in the league.
NAVY ON THE LINE: The Mids are hitting an impressive 66.5 percent from the foul line thus far. Much of the credit for that league-leading stat goes to plebes Trey Stanton (12 for 12) and T.J. Topercer, who are a combined 23 of 24. Sophomore guard Kaleo Kina (16 for 18) has also been impressive.
CAN'T MISS: Speaking of good free throw shooting, five league players have yet to miss from the charity stripe. In addition to Stanton, HC center Tim Clifford is 10 for 10, Bucknell guard John Griffin is 9 for 9. Colgate bench guys Willie Morse (8 for 8) and Alex Woodhouse (4 for 4) also have not missed.
Labels: Army, AU, BU, CU, HC, Laf, Leh, Navy, notebook
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Wednesday, November 22, 2006
Holy Cross stayed unbeaten with a win at Harvard and Navy improved to 4-1. On the down side, though, Army lost at home and Lafayette dropped its fourth straight in a mixed night around the league.
Holy Cross 82, Harvard 69 -- The Crusaders shot the lights out and played tough defense to pick up the road win and stay unbeaten (4-0).
Holy Cross shot 56.9 percent from the field and knocked down 10 of 18 from the three-point arc.
Leading the way was HC center Tim Clifford, who more than held his own in his battle with Harvard's highly touted center, Brian Cusworth. Clifford finished with 22 points and 3 blocked shots in 27 minutes of playing time, which was limited by foul trouble. Clifford finished with four personals. Clifford went 9 for 11 from the field.
Cusworth had a 10-points, 11-rebounds double-double.
Keith Simmons (8 for 13, 20 points) and Torey Thomas (12 points) were also in double figures for HC. Simmons also with 6 rebounds. Thomas had 6 assists.
It was Simmons' three treys in the last 8 minutes that helpf the Crusaders pull away from the pesky Crimson.
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Navy 82, MD Eastern Shore 59 -- It's Navy's best start since 1998-99. The Mids improve to 4-0 behind Greg Sprink's 24 points, 7 rebounds effort.
The Mids only had one other player, freshman Trey Stanton (15 points), in double figures. But they got a lot of balance -- 11 different players scored. Navy shot 52.8 percent from the field, and made nine three-pointers.
Maryland Eastern Shore shot just 28 percent in the first half, 34 percent for the games.
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Cornell 65, Army 56 -- Matt Bell and Jarell Brown both had off nights, making the outcome rather predictable. Between them, Bell and Brown went 5 for 27 from the field. Bell, who was 3 for 11, finished with 12 points. Corban Bates added 11. Brown had 8.
Jimmy Sewell watch: DNP; Crowd watch: Announced attendance 566 at Christl
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MD Baltimore Cty. 86, Lafayette 51 -- A tough night for the Leopards against a hot-shooting UMBC team that had four players in double figures. The Retrievers went 32 of 55 from the field (58.2 percent).
UMBC built an 11 point lead by the intermission. Lafayette managed to cut it to 8 points briefly in the second half, the UMNC pulled away.
Matt Betley with 18 for Lafayette, the only 'Pard in double figures.
UMBC outrebounded the Leopards 39-17. It was Lafayette's fourth straight loss.
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Holy Cross 82, Harvard 69 -- The Crusaders shot the lights out and played tough defense to pick up the road win and stay unbeaten (4-0).
Holy Cross shot 56.9 percent from the field and knocked down 10 of 18 from the three-point arc.
Leading the way was HC center Tim Clifford, who more than held his own in his battle with Harvard's highly touted center, Brian Cusworth. Clifford finished with 22 points and 3 blocked shots in 27 minutes of playing time, which was limited by foul trouble. Clifford finished with four personals. Clifford went 9 for 11 from the field.
Cusworth had a 10-points, 11-rebounds double-double.
Keith Simmons (8 for 13, 20 points) and Torey Thomas (12 points) were also in double figures for HC. Simmons also with 6 rebounds. Thomas had 6 assists.
It was Simmons' three treys in the last 8 minutes that helpf the Crusaders pull away from the pesky Crimson.
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Navy 82, MD Eastern Shore 59 -- It's Navy's best start since 1998-99. The Mids improve to 4-0 behind Greg Sprink's 24 points, 7 rebounds effort.
The Mids only had one other player, freshman Trey Stanton (15 points), in double figures. But they got a lot of balance -- 11 different players scored. Navy shot 52.8 percent from the field, and made nine three-pointers.
Maryland Eastern Shore shot just 28 percent in the first half, 34 percent for the games.
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Cornell 65, Army 56 -- Matt Bell and Jarell Brown both had off nights, making the outcome rather predictable. Between them, Bell and Brown went 5 for 27 from the field. Bell, who was 3 for 11, finished with 12 points. Corban Bates added 11. Brown had 8.
Jimmy Sewell watch: DNP; Crowd watch: Announced attendance 566 at Christl
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MD Baltimore Cty. 86, Lafayette 51 -- A tough night for the Leopards against a hot-shooting UMBC team that had four players in double figures. The Retrievers went 32 of 55 from the field (58.2 percent).
UMBC built an 11 point lead by the intermission. Lafayette managed to cut it to 8 points briefly in the second half, the UMNC pulled away.
Matt Betley with 18 for Lafayette, the only 'Pard in double figures.
UMBC outrebounded the Leopards 39-17. It was Lafayette's fourth straight loss.
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Labels: Army, games, HC, Laf, Navy
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