Feb. 9, 2009

Center Valley, Pa. - Holy Cross, American, Navy and Colgate occupy the spots in the top half of the Patriot League men's basketball standings, and have a chance to gain some breathing room when they take on squads in the bottom half on Wednesday. The Crusaders and Raiders each had a student-athlete honored for their efforts last week, as Holy Cross sophomore Andrew Keister claimed Patriot League/Anaconda Player of the Week honors and Colgate freshman Yaw Gyawu was named Patriot League/Anaconda Rookie of the Week.

Patriot League Men's Basketball Release - 2.9.09

Patriot League/Anaconda Player of the Week (Feb. 2-8)

Andrew Keister, Holy Cross So., F, 6'9, 235, Galloway, N.J./Absegami

Keister receives the first Anaconda Player of the Week award of his career, and the first for a Holy Cross student-athlete this season, after posting a perfect shooting effort to lead the Crusaders past Lafayette, 64-50, on Saturday. Keister made 7-of-7 field goal attempts and a pair of foul shots in a 16-point, 11-rebound performance against the Leopards. It was his fourth double-double of the season, the second-highest total for a Patriot League player this year. Keister led the Crusaders in scoring for the fifth time this season, and reached double figures for the eighth time this year. He has helped Holy Cross to first place in the standings by averaging 12.8 points and 8.8 rebounds in League contests. Keister leads all Patriot League players by making 73 percent (46-of-63) of his field goals in League play, and 59.8 percent (76-of-127) for the season overall.

Patriot League/Anaconda Rookie of the Week (Feb. 2-8)

Yaw Gyawu, Colgate Fr., F, 6'5, 215, Lilburn, Ga./Parkview

Gyawu receives the first weekly award for a Colgate student-athlete this season, claiming Anaconda Rookie of the Week honors after leading the Raiders to a pair of home victories. He scored 10 points and pulled down five rebounds in a 68-57 triumph over Bucknell on Wednesday, and came back with 12 points on 5-of-7 shooting in Saturday's 55-53 win over Army. Gyawu averaged 11.0 points and 3.5 rebounds while making 6-of-7 free throws in the victories, which pushed Colgate into fourth place in the Patriot League with a 4-5 mark. Gyawu leads the Raiders and has the top mark among all Patriot League freshmen with 13.0 points per game in League contests.

Patriot League Notebook

Top Four Look For Breathing Room on Wednesday

Holy Cross, American, Navy and Colgate each hold a winning streak that has propelled them into the top half of the Patriot League standings, and will all have a chance to strenghten that position when they face a team from the bottom half of the ledger on Wednesday. Holy Cross and American are tied for first place at 7-1 in the League. The Crusaders put their spot on the line at home against Army, while the Eagles do the same at Bucknell. Third-place Navy tries to stay in touch with the leaders when it hosts Lehigh, while fourth-place Colgate tries to break away from the rest of the pack when it plays host to Lafayette.

Season Sweeps Open Second Half Of League Schedule

The second half of the Patriot League men's basketball schedule started the same way as the opening night, with American, Holy Cross, Navy and Colgate each posting victories on Saturday. American earned a 66-58 win at Lehigh and Holy Cross recorded a 64-50 triumph at Lafayette as the Eagles and Crusaders remained in a first-place tie in the League standings. Navy held on to third place by winning at Bucknell, 62-60, in overtime, while Colgate is in fourth after a 55-53 win at home over Army. All four winning teams swept the season series against their opponent.

Holy Cross, American Close In On Quarterfinal Home Game

Patriot League co-leaders Holy Cross and American appear to be well on their way to clinching home court in the Patriot League quarterfinals, and could both seal their position this week. Holy Cross will clinch a quarterfinal home game with a win and a Lehigh loss on Wednesday, while both teams can lock up a top four seed and at least one home game in the Patriot League Tournament with a pair of victories this week. The Tournament is played entirely at home sites, with each contest at the home court of the higher seed. The quarterfinals are set for March 4.

American Posts Eighth Road Victory

American continued its road success on Saturday, earning a 66-58 victory at Lehigh to record its eighth road win of the year. The Eagles are 8-6 on the road, and one of only 11 teams in the country with at least eight road wins. Only Butler and Utah State have more road triumphs, and the Eagles will try to add another notch to their belt on Wednesday at Bucknell.

Rare Road Success

With wins by Holy Cross, American and Navy on Saturday, the road squads posted a winning record in a set of League games for the first time this season. Even with the road teams claiming three of four games on Saturday, home teams are still 21-12 in Patriot League games this year.

Double Duty on Saturday

Saturday's Patriot League action featured four players recording a double-double. Lehigh's Zahir Carrington notched his Patriot League-best seventh such effort of the season with 20 points and 12 rebounds in a loss to American. Holy Cross' Andrew Keister had his fourth double-double of the year, second only to Carrington, with 16 points and 11 rebounds. Navy's Kaleo Kina (17 points, 10 rebounds) and Bucknell's Patrick Behan (20 points, 14 rebounds) each recorded their second double-double of the season in the overtime contest between the teams.

Block Party In Hamilton

Colgate's Alex Woodhouse came up with a big block in the final seconds to preserve a win over Army on Saturday, but that was nothing new last week. Woodhouse recorded 11 blocked shots in Colgate's two victories, with five against Bucknell and six versus Army. He upped his career total to 166, good for seventh in League annals. Woodhouse leads the Patriot League and is 12th nationally with 2.68 blocks per game, a mark that exceeds the average of every other Patriot League team except Holy Cross.

Moving Up the Lists

American's Derrick Mercer is up to fifth in Patriot League annals with 480 assists, while Colgate's Alex Woodhouse is in seventh with 166 blocks. Lafayette's Andrew Brown has 274 three-pointers, setting a school record and placing third in League history. Kaleo Kina is the leading active scorer, and recently entered the top 25 on the Patriot League chart with 1,410 points.

Lehigh's Hall Earns Academic All-District Honors

Lehigh junior Marquis Hall was named to the 2009 ESPN the Magazine Academic All-District First-Team, it was announced on Thursday. Hall maintains a 3.43 grade point average as a finance major, and is fourth in the Patriot League with 14.1 points per game. He is among the Patriot League all-time leaders in points (1,050) and assists (357), and has been clutch this season with three shots to tie or win a Patriot League contest in the final 30 seconds. Hall now moves on to the ballot for Academic All-America honors.

Exclusive Company For Patriot League Guards

Four of the five active 1,000-point scorers are also among the top assist men in Patriot League annals. Navy's Kaleo Kina, Lafayette's Andrew Brown, American's Derrick Mercer and Lehigh's Marquis Hall are all part of a group of only 14 players in Patriot League history to record at least 1,000 career points and 300 career assists. Kina has even more prestige to his numbers, as he is one of three Patriot Leaguers with at least 1,300 points, 400 rebounds, 300 assists and 150 steals in a career. Kina joins Lafayette's Brian Ehlers (1996-00) and Holy Cross' Kevin Hamilton (2002-06) as players to accomplish the statistical feat.

Patriot League Back On ESPNU

The Patriot League has completed four of its six appearances on ESPNU. The remaining games on ESPNU are Colgate at American on Saturday and Lafayette at Lehigh on Feb. 22.

Patriot League All-Access Returns in 2009

Watch the majority of Patriot League Men's and Women's Basketball regular-season League and tournament games on high-speed Broadband on the Patriot League All-Access package. For $9.95 a month, this cutting-edge technology takes you from your seat to the sideline with multi-camera coverage.

2009 Patriot League Tournament

The 2009 Patriot League Men's Basketball Tournament will once again be played at campus sites, with the quarterfinals on March 4, semifinals on March 8 and Patriot League Championship on ESPN2 at 4:45 p.m. on March 13. All games will be played at the site of the higher seed.

Patriot League Games

Army (7-15, 3-5 PL) at Holy Cross (12-11, 7-1 PL), Wednesday, 7 p.m.
Hart Center; Worcester, Mass. TV: WCTR-TV 3 Central Massachusetts
Series: Holy Cross, 52-15 Streak: Holy Cross, Two Wins
Last Meeting: Holy Cross, 47-36 (1.14.09) Last Army Win: 53-39 (1.16.08)

Holy Cross puts its share of first place on the line when it hosts Army at the Hart Center on Wednesday...The Crusaders have dominated the series with the Black Knights, winning 15 of the last 16 meetings between the schools...Holy Cross has won the last two in the series, including a 47-36 win at Army on Jan. 14...The Black Knights did earn a victory in their last trip to the Hart Center, ending a 13-game Crusader series winning streak with a 53-39 victory on Jan. 16, 2008...The last four contests in the series have been won by the road team...Holy Cross has a 52-15 edge in the all-time series, and a 29-8 lead in regular-season Patriot League games...The Crusaders are trying to get to 8-1 or better in League play for the third time in the last five years, and fourth in seven seasons.

Army The Black Knights dropped their second contest in a row, as their comeback attempt at Colgate fell just short in a 55-53 loss...Army fell into a tie for fifth place in the Patriot League with a 3-5 mark...Army trailed by as many as 16 points in the first half, but came all the way back to cut it 51-49 with 2:10 left...They had a chance to tie in the final seconds, but Josh Miller's shot was blocked and Colgate held on for the win... Miller and Cleveland Richard handled the scoring load for the Black Knights, with Miller notching 18 off the bench and Richard tallying 12...Army forced 22 Colgate turnovers, but also allowed the Raiders to shoot over 50 percent from the field...The Black Knights were swept in the season series by Colgate, and have dropped nine of the last 10 meetings with the Raiders...It was the fifth time in the last six meetings with the Raiders that the game was decided by six points or less...Army concludes its three-game road trip at Holy Cross on Wednesday...The Black Knights are still looking for their first away victory in League action, holding an 0-3 mark on the road.

Holy Cross The Crusaders earned their fourth straight win and moved over .500 overall with a 64-50 triumph at Lafayette on Saturday...Holy Cross maintained a share of first place in the Patriot League while improving to 7-1 in League action and 12-11 overall...Holy Cross has won 10 of the last 11 meetings with Lafayette, and swept the season series with the Leopards...The Crusaders used an 11-0 run early in the second half to take a 45-37 lead, and then answered four Lafayette points with a 10-1 surge to claim a 55-42 lead with 7:38 left...Holy Cross led by at least 10 points the rest of the way...Andrew Keister made all seven of his shots and each of his free throws while finishing with a double-double of 16 points and 11 rebounds...R.J. Evans finished with 11 points, while Colin Cunningham and Andrew Beinert each had 10....Holy Cross made 48 percent of its shots, with a 14-for-28 effort in the second half...The Crusaders notched 10 steals and forced 17 Lafayette turnovers...Holy Cross is over .500 for the first time since opening the season at 2-1...The Crusaders have held their last three opponents to 52 points or less, and each victory in the four-game streak has come by nine points or more...The Crusaders begin a three-game homestand against Army on Wednesday...Holy Cross is 7-3 at the Hart Center this season, and 3-0 at home in Patriot League contests.

American (15-7, 7-1 PL) at Bucknell (5-18, 2-7 PL), Wednesday, 7 p.m.
Sojka Pavilion; Lewisburg, Pa.
Series: Bucknell, 25-19 Streak: American, Two Wins
Last Meeting: American, 69-55 (1.14.09) Last Bucknell Win: 66-62 (1.16.08)

American and Bucknell meet in Lewisburg on Wednesday evening, with the Eagles trying to hold on to at least a share of first place and sweep the Bison in the season series for the first time since their inagural League year in 2002...American also tries to win at Bucknell for the first time since 2002, with the Bison holding an eight-game winning streak against the Eagles in Lewisburg...The Eagles have won the last two meetings between the teams in games played in Washington, including a 69-55 triumph on Jan. 14...Bucknell had won the previous eight matchups before that streak...The teams split last year's season series...The Eagles are trying to extend their school record 7-1 start in Patriot League play...Four of the last five matchups have been decided by six points or less...The Bison have a 25-19 lead in the all-time series, and an 8-7 advantage in regular season Patriot League action

American The Eagles won their fourth straight contest and held on to a share of first place in the Patriot League with a 66-58 win at Lehigh on Saturday...American is up to 15-7 overall and 7-1 in League action after sweeping Lehigh for the second season in a row...The Eagles have won 10 of their last 11 contests...The Eagles are off to their best start in the Patriot League, and matched their best start in any conference since beginning 7-1 in the East Coast Conference during the 1981-82 season...American held a small lead throughout the contest, but saw Lehigh come back to cut it to 51-49 with 3:35 to go...Bryce Simon hit a three to push the lead back to five, and American held at least a three-point advantage the rest of the way... The Eagles hit 8-of-10 foul shots in the final minute to hold off Lehigh...Derrick Mercer led American with 15 points to go along with seven assists, while Garrison Carr had 14 points with four rebounds and five assists...Nick Hendra had nine points and a career-high nine rebounds in his first start...The Eagles conclude a brief two-game road trip when they visit Bucknell on Wednesday...American is 8-6 on the road, and 3-1 in road Patriot League games...It is one of only 11 teams in the country with at least eight road wins.

Bucknell Bucknell dropped a heartbreaker to Navy on Saturday, falling 62-60 at home in overtime...The Bison fell to 2-7 in Patriot League play and were swept in the season series by the Mids for the first time since 2001...Their eight-game home winning streak against Navy came to an end...Bucknell extended a school record with its sixth overtime game, and fell to 2-4 in the extra session...Five of those six overtime contests have come at home...Bucknell held the Mids without a field goal for the final 8:35 of regulation and rallied from a 10-point deficit with a 15-5 run to force the extra session...Bryan Cohen tied the score at 52 wtih 50 seconds left, but misfired with a chance to win at the end of regulation...Justin Castleberry's three-point attempt to win it in overtime hit the backboard and rim but would not fall...Patrick Behan had a big night for the Bison, tallying a double-double with 20 points and a career-high 14 rebounds...Castleberry just missed a double-double with 13 points and nine rebounds, while Cohen had 15 points and seven boards...Bucknell held a 55-42 edge on the boards and limited Navy to 5-for-22 shooting from three-point range, but could not overcome its own tough shooting night...The Bison are back home when they face American on Wednesday...Bucknell is trying to snap a four-game losing streak.

Lehigh (13-9, 3-5 PL) at Navy (16-7, 5-3 PL), Wednesday, 7 p.m.
Alumni Hall; Annapolis,Md.
Series: Navy, 43-15 Streak: Navy, Four Wins
Last Meeting: Navy, 63-58 (1.14.09) Last Lehigh Win: 71-61 (1.10.07)

Navy hosts Lehigh in Annapolis with the Mids looking for their fifth straight win in the series and second consecutive season sweep of the Mountain Hawks...A three-pointer by Adam Teague with 3.5 seconds left gave the Mids a 63-58 win at Lehigh on Jan. 14, and their fourth consecutive victory in the series...All four of those triumphs are by 10 points or less, with three coming by just five points...Lehigh's last victory in the series was a 71-61 win in Annapolis on Jan. 10, 2007...Lehigh has won two of the last three meetings at Navy...The Mids hold a 24-11 advantage over the Mountain Hawks in Patriot League regular season games, and a 43-15 mark in the all-time series.

Lehigh The Mountain Hawks stayed close throughout the game but could not overcome American and fell to the League-leading Eagles, 66-58, at home on Saturday...Lehigh dropped to a tie for fifth place with a 3-5 Patriot League record...The Mountain Hawks lost two of three games on their completed homestand, and fell to 2-3 at Stabler Arena in Patriot League action...They lost for the second striaght time, and were swept in the season series by American for the second straight year...Lehigh was within two points with 3:35 to go in the game but would not get any closer...Zahir Carrington had his Patriot League-best seventh double-double, scoring 20 points and pulling down 12 rebounds...Rob Keefer had 12 points for the Mountain Hawks, who were hurt by a 3-for-16 showing from three-point range...Lehigh hits the road for two games, beginning at Navy on Wednesday...The Mountain Hawks are playing their first road contest since winning at Lafayette on Jan. 24.

Navy The Mids won their second straight contest and snapped an eight-game losing streak at Bucknell with a 62-60 overtime win over the Bison on Saturday...The Mids solidified their hold on third place in the Patriot League with a 5-3 record...Navy won at Bucknell for the first time since 2001, and also swept the season series for the first time since that year...It was Navy's first-ever win at Sojka Pavilion...They also secured a winning season, improving to 16-7 on the year...Navy had a 12-point lead in the second half at Bucknell, but saw the Bison come back to force overtime...Kaleo Kina put the Mids ahead for good in the extra session on a layup with 53 seconds left...Kina provided the final score on a free throw with eight seconds left, and Bucknell missed a three-pointer on the other end...Kina talllied the fourth double-double of his career with 17 points and 10 rebounds, and also recorded seven assists...Chris Harris added 14 points, while Mark Veazey scored 12...The Mids improved to 8-0 when Veazey scores in double figures, including 4-0 in League play...Navy held Bucknell to a 2-for-17 effort from three-point range, and is now allowing opponents to shoot just 29.9 percent from three this season...Navy opens a two-game homestand against Lehigh on Wednesday...The Mids are 9-1 at home this season, and 2-1 in League home games.

Lafayette (6-17, 2-6 PL) at Colgate (8-14, 4-5 PL), Wednesday, 7 p.m.
Cotterell Court; Hamilton, N.Y. TV: Time Warner Sports
Series: Colgate, 44-38 Streak: Lafayette, One Win
Last Meeting: Lafayette, 69-62 (1.14.09) Last Colgate Win: 76-74 (3.5.08)

Lafayette travels to Hamilton to face Colgate in a series that has featured close games in recent seasons...The last seven meetings have been decided by 10 points or less, including a 69-62 Lafayette victory over the Raiders in Easton on Jan. 14...Colgate won the previous meeting in Hamilton, scoring a 76-74 triumph over the Leopards in last year's Patriot League quarterfinals...Each of last year's three matchups were within two points, and four of the last five have been decided by three points or less...The teams have split the season series for the last two years, with Colgate winning the second contest each time...Lafayette has won at Colgate in the regular season in each of the last three years...The Raiders have a 44-38 advantage in the all-time series, including 26-11 in Patriot League regular season games.

Lafayette The Leopards dropped their sixth straight game, fifth straight League contest in a row, in a 64-50 decision at home against Holy Cross on Saturday...Lafayette fell to 2-6 in Patriot League action and was swept in the season series with Holy Cross...The Leopards led, 37-34, early in the second half, but Holy Cross put together a 21-5 spurt to pull away for good...Ryan Willen led the Leopards by matching his career-high with 17 points and also pulled down seven rebounds...Andrew Brown had 12 points while hitting four three-pointers, becoming the all-time Lafayette leader and moving into third place in Patriot League annals with 274 career three-pointers...The Leopards played without sophomore forward Jared Mintz...Lafayette begins a two-game road trip at Colgate on Wednesday...The Leopards have lost 11 straight road games since winning their season opener at Wagner, and are 0-4 on the road in Patriot League play.

Colgate The Raiders earned their second straight win and swept the season series with Army by defeating the Black Knights, 55-53, in Hamilton on Saturday...Colgate improved to 2-1 on its season-long four-game homestand, and moved into sole possession of fourth place in the Patriot League with a 4-5 mark...The Raiders beat Army at home for the fifth year in a row, and have won nine of the last 10 meetings with the Black Knights...Colgate opened up a big lead in the first half, but saw Army come back to cut the deficit to two with 2:10 left in the game...Alex Woodhouse made plays down the stretch to seal the Colgate win....Woodhouse hit all four of his foul shot attempts to keep Colgate ahead, and blocked Josh Miller's shot with seven seconds remaining to preserve the victory...Woodhouse totaled nine points, eight rebounds and six blocks for the Raiders, who also got 12 points from Yaw Gyawu and 10 from Mike Venezia. Colgate was over 50 percent from the field and from beyond the arc, hitting 20-of-37 shots and 6-of-11 three-point attempts in the game...Colgate concludes its homestand when it takes on Lafayette on Wednesday...The Raiders are 3-2 at Cotterell Court in Patriot League play.