Jan. 24, 2008

One is a regional matchup, and the other brings two of the United States Academies together. But there will be little love lost on the court when Lafayette travels to Lehigh on Saturday night, and Army goes to Navy at Noon on Sunday in a game televised on ESPNU. American and Bucknell are both just one game back of the first-place Leopards, and will try to keep pace at home this weekend. The Eagles host Holy Cross on Saturday afternoon, while the Bison take on Colgate in an evening tip.

Patriot League Men's Basketball Release - 1.24.08

Patriot League Notebook

Pair of Rivalries Highlight Weekend Slate

One is a regional matchup, and the other brings two of the United States Academies together. But there will be little love lost on the court when Lafayette travels to Lehigh on Saturday night, and Army goes to Navy at Noon on Sunday in a game televised on ESPNU. American and Bucknell are both just one game back of the first-place Leopards, and will try to keep pace at home this weekend. The Eagles host Holy Cross on Saturday afternoon, while the Bison take on Colgate in an evening tip. The Leopards are looking to move to 5-0 in the Patriot League, while Lehigh is trying to get over .500 in the League for the first time after the starting its campaign with two losses. Navy is shooting for its first winning League mark of the year as well, while Army tries to stop a two-game losing skid. Holy Cross is the only team left without a win in Patriot League play, and will try to get in the column against 3-1 American. Bucknell will be in search of a 4-1 start in the League, while Colgate tries to snap a three-game losing streak.

Preseason Rankings Turned Upside Down

Lafayette was picked to finish in last place in the Patriot League's preseason poll, while Navy was just one spot ahead in seventh. You wouldn't know it by the way those teams played against the teams picked to finish in the top two spots this season. The Leopards ran their Patriot League mark to 4-0 and won their fifth in a row overall with an 80-68 triumph over Bucknell. They built a 14-point halftime lead and boosted it as high as 25 in the second half. Navy had more of a game with preseason favorite Holy Cross, but the Mids used a 10-1 run midway through the second half to overcome a one-point deficit and take command for an 85-74 win. It ended a 17-game losing streak to the Crusaders. Lehigh had to come back as well, rallying from as many as nine points down in the first half to knock off Colgate, 63-60. American got off to its customary hot start to build a 12-point lead at halftime and carried at least a six-point edge the rest of the way in a 66-53 win at Army.

Military Special on ESPNU

The Patriot League's two military academies will be featured in front of a full house on ESPNU on Sunday afternoon. Army visits Navy in a Noon tip-off, and the entire Brigade of Midshipmen will be in attendance to help fill all 5,710 seats of Navy's Alumni Hall. Bob Socci and John Feinstein will have the call on ESPNU. The Mids make their second appearance on the network after falling, 85-77, at Bucknell in the Patriot League opener on Jan. 11. The game will be re-played on ESPNU on Monday at 7:30 a.m.

Streak Busters

With their recent dominance in the League, Holy Cross and Bucknell had built up impressive series win streaks. But some of the other teams in the League are striking back, led by first-place Lafayette. The Leopards ended a seven-game losing skid against Holy Cross on Jan. 12, and snapped Bucknell's eight-game series winning streak on Wednesday. Army and Navy ended even longer runs of futility against the Crusaders. The Black Knights snapped a 13-game skid on Jan. 16, while Navy's victory on Wednesday halted a 17-game Holy Cross streak.

Proficient Shooting in the League

Halfway through the season, the Patriot League has emerged as one of the top shooting conferences in the NCAA. The League is first among 31 conferences with a cumulative 37.42 three-point shooting percentage among the eight teams, and third with a 71.07 free throw percentage. Three teams are ranked in the NCAA top 50 in three-point percentage and free-throw percentage, led by Lafayette at No. 12 from three and American at No. 13 from the line. American and Lehigh have top 50 rankings in both categories. All stats and rankings are through Sunday's games.

Early Trends

Through the first 16 Patriot League games, two things have proven meaningless: home court and an early lead. The games have been split evenly with eight home teams winning and eight road victors. Holding the lead into the second half has not been a sign of winning, either. Eleven of the 16 eventual winners had to overcome a second-half deficit, with six of those comebacks from six points or more down.

Another 1,000-Point Entry

A fourth player from the Class of 2008 has added their name to the list of Patriot League 1,000-point scorers. Holy Cross center Tim Clifford hit the mark during the first half of Wednesday's loss to Navy, and now has 1,007 points on his career. He is the 59th 1,000-point scorer in League history. Navy's Greg Sprink (1,532 points/No. 15 all-time), Army's Jarell Brown (1,241/No. 36) and Lafayette's Bilal Abdullah (1,088 points/No. 46) have already reached the milennium mark.

More On Sprink

Sprink has also become the seventh player in Patriot League history to score 1,500 points and total 500 rebounds in his career, and just the third Patriot Leaguer to go for 1,500 points, 500 rebounds and 200 assists. Brian Ehlers (Lafayette, 1996-00) and Pat Campoplieta (Colgate, 1998-02) also accomplished the latter feat.

Working Overtime Again....and Again

Lafayette is getting pretty comfortable playing 45 minutes of basketball. In fact, the Leopards became the first team in NCAA history to win five overtime games on the road and tied the record with six overtime wins overall when they beat Navy, 103-99, on Saturday. Lafayette is 6-0 in the extra session this year. The overtime success is nothing new for the Leopards, who have won 10 consecutive contests since losing to Colgate in the 2004 Patriot League quarterfinals. The Leopards have won 13 consecutive regular-season overtime contests since falling to Holy Cross in 2002. The overtime success was chronicled in a feature story in USA Today on Tuesday, and cited on the basketball blog at FoxSports.com.

Patriot League All-Access

Watch the majority of Patriot League Men's and Women's Basketball regular-season and tournament games on high-speed Broadband. For $7.95 a month, this cutting-edge technology takes you from your seat to the sideline with multi-camera coverage. Visit your school's website or www.PatriotLeague.com for more information.

Watch and Listen to Patriot League Men's Hoops

With coverage on ESPNU, regional cable outlets and the Patriot League All-Access package, Patriot League men's basketball games are gaining more exposure than ever. Now, fans can also see highlights of the games and listen to audio interviews with Patriot League head coaches by clicking on the multimedia clips link at the sidebar of the men's basketball page at www.patriotleague.com. The page features mid-week and weekend highlights from games on Patriot League All-Access, with the package for mid-week games posted on Friday afternoon and the weekend games up on Tuesday afternoon. It also has the post-game wrapups of ESPNU broadcasts, and midseason audio interviews with Patriot League head coaches.

Patriot League Games

Holy Cross (9-8, 0-4) at American (11-8, 3-1), Saturday, 2 p.m.

Bender Arena, Washington, D.C.

Series: Holy Cross, 13-3 Streak: Holy Cross, Seven Wins Last Meeting: HC 55-53 (2.4.07)

Holy Cross The Crusaders dropped their fourth consecutive League game, and fifth in a row overall, with an 85-74 loss to Navy on Wednesday...They have lost their first four League games for the first time since 1998-99, when they started 0-5 under Head Coach Bill Raynor...The loss was Holy Cross' third in a row at home after winning the previous 23 at the Hart Center...It is the first three-game home skid since the 1999-00 season...The defeat also ended a 17-game winning streak against the Mids...Tim Clifford led the Crusaders with 20 points and nine rebounds, and scored his 1,000th career point...Holy Cross rallied to take a 60-59 lead midway through the second half, but Navy used a 10-1 run to captured the advantage for good...Kyle Cruze added 14 points, while Colin Cunningham had 13...The Crusaders held a 38-24 advantge on the boards...Holy Cross has won the last seven meetings with American, including a 55-53 triumph in last year's Patriot League semifinals...Two of the three wins at American during that span have come in overtime, with a 69-64 triumph in the extra session last season.

American The Eagles moved into a tie for second place in the League with a 66-53 victory at Army on Wednesday...They came out strong to claim a 21-9 lead midway through the first half, and held a 12-point edge at halftime...The Eagles shot 59.1 percent (13-of-22) from the field in the first stanza, including five-of-10 from outside the arc...Army would get no closer than six in the second half as the Eagles hit 12-of-14 foul shots down the stretch...The last 12 points came at the line... American is now 92-of-112 (.821) as a team from the free throw line in the last five minutes and overtime...Garrison Carr is 16-of-16 on the season in the closing minutes, including six-of-six against Army...Carr led the Eagles with 17 points, while Brian Gilmore had a career-high 16 and Derrick Mercer added 12...Cornelio Guibunda scored eight points and pulled down a career-high 10 rebounds...American shot over 50 percent for the game, and made 18-of-22 foul shots...The Eagles look to break a seven-game losing streak against Holy Cross...Six of those losses have come by 11 points or less, including two in overtime.

Lafayette (13-6, 4-0) at Lehigh (9-9, 2-2), Saturday, 7 p.m.

Stabler Arena, Bethlehem, Pa.

Series: Lafayette, 135-71 Streak: Lafayette, One Win Last Meeting: Lafayette, 75-71 2 OT (2.18.07)

Lafayette The Leopards gained sole possession of first place and moved to 4-0 in the Patriot League with an 80-68 win over Bucknell on Wednesday...Lafayette has started the conference slate 4-0 for the first time since 2003-04 when the Leopards went undefeated through the first round of Patriot League play at 7-0....They broke an eight-game losing streak against Bucknell which dated back to that stretch in 2004...Lafayette's five-game winning streak is a season high...It has already eclipsed last year's League win total, and has four more total wins than a year ago...The Leopards stormed out to leads of 14-4 and 27-8 in the first half, and hit nine three-pointers in the half for a 43-27 lead...They built a 67-42 advantage in the second half before Bucknell chipped away for the final margin...Lafayette connected on 14-of-33 three-pointers, and 14-of-16 from the foul line...Andrew Brown led the way with 28 points while shooting 7-of-12 from three-point range...Lafayette goes for its second win in a row against Lehigh after a double overtime victory last year...The Leopards have not won at Lehigh since the 2001-02 season, with the exception of a forfeited victory in 2005.

Lehigh The Mountain Hawks won their second game in a row and evened their League record at 2-2 with a 63-60 win over Colgate....It was their sixth consecutive win against the Raiders...Lehigh trailed by as many as nine points in the first half and was down 28-23 at halftime...It took the lead for good at 46-44 with 7:39 left on a three-pointer by Prentice Small...Lehigh opened up a nine-point advantage with 1:21 left, then held on as Colgate missed a three-pointer at the buzzer...Small led Lehigh with a career-high 19 points, while Zahir Carrington had his first-career double-double with 18 points and 10 rebounds...Bryan White had nine points, six rebounds and a career-high five steals...Lehigh held Colgate to 34 percent shooting on the night, including 29 percent in the second half...Lehigh has won three of the last four against Lafayette, and has won the last five meetings at Stabler Arena.

Colgate (9-9, 1-3) At Bucknell (8-10, 3-1), Saturday, 7 p.m.

Sojka Pavilion, Lewisburg, Pa.

Series: Bucknell, 49-38 Streak: Bucknell, Six Wins Last Meeting: Bucknell, 56-53 (1.30.07)

Colgate The Raiders dropped their third game in a row with a 63-60 loss at Lehigh on Wednesdsay...They built a nine-point lead in the first half and held a 28-23 advantage at halftime, but Lehigh claimed the win in the final minutes...Colgate had a chance to tie in the final seconds, but Mike Venezia's three-point try was off...Kyle Roemer had his first-ever double-double with 16 points and 10 rebounds for the Raiders, while Kendall Chones had 18 points and nine boards...Alex Woodhouse added six points, nine rebounds, four assists and three blocks for the Raiders...Colgate held a 42-36 edge on the glass...The Raiders will try to snap a six-game losing streak against Bucknell on Saturday...They have lost four in a row at Bucknell, with the last win coming in the 2003 regular-season finale.

Bucknell The Bison lost a battle of Patriot League unbeatens in an 80-68 defeat at Lafayette...The loss snapped Bucknell's 14-game regular-season winning streak against Patriot League teams, and was their first loss to someone other than Holy Cross since a 66-62 setback at Navy on Jan. 30, 2005...It also snapped an eight-game winning streak against Lafayette...The Bison allowed 80 points in a League game for the first time since their last loss to Lafayette, an 81-72 final on Jan. 25, 2004...The Bison trailed by 14 at halftime and as many as 25 in the second half, but did use a 12-0 run to make things closer before losing by 12...The Bison had four players in double figures, led by John Griffin with 13...Stephen Tyree had a career-high 12 points...Bucknell's 56.2 shooting percentage (26-of-46) was the best mark in any Patriot League game this year...The Bison will go for their seventh straight victory in the series against Colgate...They have held the Raiders under 60 points in the last five meetings...Bucknell won, 50-36, in Lewisburg last season.

Army (8-10, 1-3) at Navy (9-10, 2-2), Sunday, Noon (ESPNU)

Alumni Hall, Annapolis, Md.

Series: Navy, 66-40 Streak: Navy, One Win Last Meeting: Navy, 76-68 (2.17.07)

Army The Black Knights fell behind early and could not recover in a 66-53 loss to American on Wednesday...Army trailed by 12 points less than 10 minutes into the game and at halftime, but rallied to cut the gap within six on two occasions in the second half...Jarell Brown paced the team with 24 points...The Black Knights hit just 38.6 percent of their field goal tries for the game, but were 14-of-17 from the foul line...The loss marked the first time this season the Black Knights were defeated in consecutive home games...Army has scored less than 60 points in all four Patriot League games...The game against Navy will be broadcast live on ESPNU at Noon...A replay of the contest will air on Monday, Jan. 28 at 7:30 a.m...The Black Knights have alternated wins and losses in the last nine games with Navy, and have a 4-5 record in that span...Army last won in Annapolis, 80-73, on Jan. 22, 2006.

Navy The Mids snapped a 17-game losing skid against Holy Cross and moved to 2-2 in the League with an 85-74 win in Worcester on Wednesday...Navy notched its first win against Holy Cross since a 58-51 triumph on Feb. 19, 2000...Holy Cross held a 60-59 lead with nine minutes to play, but the Mids went ahead for good with a 10-1 run...Navy went 12-of-14 from the free throw line down the stretch to ice the victory away...Chris Harris led the Mids with 29 points and hit 7-of-11 three-point shots...Greg Sprink had 28 points, four rebounds and four assists...Navy went 13-of-29 from three-point range in the contest...The Mids were 20-of-23 from the free throw line, all in the second half...The ESPNU televised game against Army is part of a Sunday doubleheader, with the men's game at Noon and the women's matchup shortly after...The entire Brigade of Midshipmen will be in attendance, and the game is sold out (5,710)...The Mids have won 29 of the last 35 meetings in the series overall, and have a 29-8 mark against Army since joining the Patriot League...Navy won last year's matchup in Annapolis, 76-68.