Feb. 4, 2008

Center Valley, Pa. - Only four Patriot League teams are in action on Wednesday, with a pair of rematches from competitive contests on Jan. 26. American will go to Holy Cross to try to avenge a 66-64 home loss at the hands of the Crusaders, while Colgate will make its effort to exact revenge at home against a Bucknell team that defeated it, 65-61, in Lewisburg. American and Bucknell will try to break out of a three-way tie for second place in the League. Colgate shoots to get back to .500 in League play, while Holy Cross goes for its second win in a row to improve its 2-5 mark. Army, Lafayette, Lehigh and Navy return to action over the weekend.

Patriot League Men's Basketball Release - 2.4.08

Anaconda Player of the Week (Jan. 28-Feb. 4)

Andrew Brown, Lafayette Jr., G, 5'11, 175, Littleton, Colo./Heritage

Brown receives his second Patriot League Anaconda Player of the Week honor of the season after averaging 28 ppg and hitting on 14-of-25 three-pointers in a 1-1 week for the Leopards. He tied his own school record with nine three pointers and scored a career-high 34 points to lead Lafayette past Army, 83-58, on Wednesday. Brown hit 11-of-18 shots in the game, including 9-of-15 three-pointers. The nine threes also tied a Kirby Sports Center record that was established in 1995. He came back with a team-high 22 points in an 87-76 loss to American on Saturday, making 5-of-11 three-point shots in the contest. Brown continues to lead Lafayette in scoring with 17.2 ppg and is averaging 19.3 ppg through the first round of the Patriot League play.

Anaconda Rookie of the Week (Jan. 28-Feb. 4)

Mike Venezia, Colgate Fr., G, 6'1, 180, Westfield, N.J./Westfield

Venezia had a big week in two victories for the Raiders, averaging 14 points and shooting 46 percent from three-point range in wins over Holy Cross and Navy. He scored 10 points on 4-of-8 shooting in the victory over the Crusaders on Wednesday. Venezia then led the way in an 84-77 win over Navy on Saturday, pacing Colgate with a career-high 18 point effort that included 4-of-9 shooting from three-point range. Venezia also made all four of his foul shots on the week. He earns his first Rookie of the Week honor, and the first for a Colgate player this season.

Patriot League Notebook

Standings Bunched at Halfway Point

The Patriot League men's basketball season has hit the halfway point, and the standings are almost as close as when the season tipped off. Seven teams are within two games of first place after the weekend's results, which concluded with Army ending a 15-game losing streak against Bucknell with a 68-52 win in Lewisburg on Sunday. On Saturday, American defeated first-place Lafayette, 87-76, Holy Cross knocked off Lehigh, 60-42 and Colgate scored an 84-77 victory at Navy. The Leopards fell to 5-2 in the League, but still have control of first place. American, Lehigh and Bucknell are in a three-way tie for second at 4-3, with Colgate, Army and Navy all in fifth place with 3-4 marks. Holy Cross is in eighth place but just three games out of first with a 2-5 record.

Bracket Busting

The Patriot League enters its third consecutive season with O'Reilly ESPNU Bracketbusters, and Holy Cross and Bucknell will step on the floor on Feb. 23. Both teams will learn their opponent and game time on Monday evening, with the Crusaders at home and the Bison going on the road. Bucknell has participated in each of the three campaigns to date, and came away with a 73-63 victory over Towson a year ago to score the Patriot League's first victory in the annual event. Holy Cross was nipped, 65-64, at Hofstra, while Colgate dropped its game at Marist a year ago.

Streak Snappers

When the second round of Patriot League play starts, plenty of new streaks will be on the line. Army became the latest team to snap a streak, ending its 15-game losing skid to Bucknell, and an 11-game streak in Lewisburg, with a 68-52 win on Sunday. Lehigh snapped Bucknell's 38-game home win streak against Patriot League opponents that dated back to 2003 on Wednesday. The Mountain Hawks and Colgate ended seven-game series losing streaks against Bucknell and Holy Cross, respectively, on the evening. Navy ended a 17-game slide against Holy Cross and Army stopped a 13-game streak against the Crusaders. That Army win on Jan.16 also stopped a 23-game home winning streak for the Crusaders. Lafayette ended an eight-game slide against Bucknell and a seven-game streak against Holy Cross. Navy put an end to American's six-game home winning streak in their series on Wednesday, winning in Washington for the first time as a Patriot League member. Both of Wednesday's matchups have streaks on the line, with American trying to stop Holy Cross' eight-game series win streak and Colgate going against a Bucknell team with seven wins in a row in the series.

Road Warriors, Comeback Kings

Three Patriot League teams won on the road over the weekend, with American, Colgate and Army all pulling off victories. That gives road teams a 15-13 edge through the first half of Patriot League play, and six of the eight teams are at or above .500 on the road in League action. Colgate and Army rallied from second-half deficits in their victories, with the Raiders coming back from six points down. With those results, 18 of the 28 winners in Patriot League games have trailed in the second half, with 10 of those comebacks from six points or more down.

Rising RPI

The Patriot League continues to make a move up in the Collegiate Basketball News RPI rating. Through Sunday's games, the League has a .4817 weighted RPI, which is all the way up from a .4780 on Monday. That puts the Patriot League in 17th place, up from No. 21 just a week ago. The Patriot League has a .0005 gap on the 18th-place Western Athletic Conference. Lafayette leads all Patriot League teams at No. 141 in the RPI, while Holy Cross is right behind at No. 142. The Patriot League is one of three Mid-Major conferences with a winning overall mark on the season.

Time to GET SIRIUS

The February schedule of Patriot League games on SIRIUS Satellite Radio is out, and every team will make at least one appearance the rest of the way. The League has five games remaining on its schedule, with American at Lafayette on Saturday, Lehigh at American on Feb. 10, Holy Cross at Bucknell on Feb. 16, Lehigh at Lafayette on Feb. 23 and Lafayette at American on March 1. All seven games of the 2008 Patriot League Men's Basketball Tournament will also be aired. In addition to the Patriot League package, Army and Navy have instiutional packages which will feature games against Colgate, Bucknell, Lafayette and Lehigh.

Nine is Fine

The Patriot League is in exclusive company with every team recording at least nine wins on the season to date. The Atlantic Coast Conference is the only other league where every member has at least nine wins against Division I opponents. Bucknell is the only team left with nine wins, and will get a shot to earn its 10th on Wednesday at Colgate.

Patriot League Games

American (12-10, 4-3) at Holy Cross (11-9, 2-5), Wednesday, 7 p.m.

Hart Center, Worcester, Mass.

Series: Holy Cross, 14-3 Streak: Holy Cross, Eight Wins Last Meeting: HC, 66-64 (1.26.08)

American The Eagles snapped a two-game losing skid and moved into a three-way tie for second place in the League with an 87-76 win at Lafayette on Saturday...It was their sixth straight win against the Leopards, with all of them coming by double digits...American used runs of 18-2 and 17-7 to pull ahead by 10 points at the half...American led by as many as 19 points in the second half, and never let Lafayette any closer than eight..The Eagles scored their last 19 points at the foul line...Garrison Carr scored 16 points in both halves on his way to a career-high 32 in the contest...Carr connected on 10-of-16 shots, including 6-of-10 three-pointers, and made all six of his foul shots...Carr has made 37 consecutive free throws, and is 35-for-35 in League play...He set a new school record with 89 made three-pointers this season, and is just 10 away from the Patriot League mark set by Army's Mark Lueking in 1996...Bryce Simon had 12 points, while Cornelio Guibunda tied a career-high with 10 rebounds...The 87 points were a season-high...American lost the first meeting of the year at home to Holy Cross, 66-64, on Jan. 26...That was the Eagles eighth straight loss in the series...They have lost four in a row in Worcester, where they are 1-7 all-time.

Holy Cross The Crusaders won for the second time in three games with a 60-42 triumph over Lehigh on Saturday...It was their fifth consecutive win against Lehigh and 12th in a row in home matchups...They also snapped a three-game home losing streak which started when a 23-game home win streak was snapped on Jan. 16 against Army...Holy Cross opened up a 19-5 lead and carried a 28-17 advantage into the break...They led by as many as 21 points in the final minutes...Holy Cross held the Mountain Hawks to just 24 percent shooting (12-of-50) from the field...The Crusaders also forced 18 turnovers and held a 40-27 advantage on the boards...Tim Clifford had 16 points, seven blocked shots, six rebounds and four assists...The seven blocks tied the Holy Cross single game record...Kyle Cruze had 13 points, while Eric Meister recorded 10 points and nine rebounds in his first action since Dec. 4...The Crusaders defeated American, 66-64, on Jan. 26 when Andrew Beinert hit the game-winning jumper with 18.5 seconds to play...The game featured five ties and 12 lead changes in the final six minutes...Clifford had 24 points on 9-of-11 shooting in the contest...Holy Cross has won eight in a row against the Eagles.

Bucknell (9-12, 4-3) at Colgate (11-10, 3-4), Wednesday, 7 p.m.

Cotterell Court, Hamilton, N.Y.

Series: Bucknell, 50-38 Streak: Bucknell, Seven Wins Last Meeting: Bucknell, 65-61 (1.26.08)

Bucknell The Bison dropped their second home game in a row in a 68-52 loss to Army on Sunday...It was their second straight home loss to a Patriot League team after having a 38-game home win streak against League foes snapped versus Lehigh on Wednesday...They also had a 15-game win streak against Army come to an end, and lost to the Black Knights in Lewisburg for the first time since 1997...The Bison had a 28-25 lead at the half, but shot just 33 percent in the second half and committed 24 turnovers in the game...John Griffin hit five three pointers and scored 17 to lead the Bison...Bucknell Head Coach Pat Flannery was not with the team on Sunday due to illness, and his status for upcoming games has not yet been determined....Bucknell won its seventh straight over Colgate with a 65-61 triumph on Jan. 26...The Bison took a 23-0 lead in the opening minutes...They have won three in a row and five out of six at Colgate.

Colgate The Raiders were the only Patriot League team to win both games last week after an 84-77 triumph at Navy on Saturday...Colgate won its sixth in a row over Navy and took a 21-20 lead in the all-time series...The Raiders used a 12-0 run to take a 47-41 second-half lead... Mike Venezia scored a career-high 18 points, while Kendall Chones had 17 and nine boards and Kyle Roemer had 15...Daniel Waddy had a career-high eight assists with 10 points, and Alex Woodhouse had 10 points, nine rebounds and a career-high tying five blocks...The Raiders shot 58 percent from the field and 44 from behind the arc, while holding Navy to 36 percent from the field and 24 percent from 3-point range...Colgate has won a combined 12 straight games against the services academies (Army and Navy)...The Raiders try to snap a seven-game skid against Bucknell...Two of the three home losses in that span are by three points or less...The last Raider win was a 60-57 triumph to end the 2004 regular season schedule.

Team Notebooks

Army The Black Knights ended a 15-game losing streak against Bucknell with a 68-52 win in Lewisburg on Sunday...It was the first victory in the series since Feb. 14, 2001...It was also Army's first win at Bucknell since Jan. 29, 1997, a span of 12 games...Army concluded its three-game road trip with a 2-1 record, with both wins coming in ESPNU-televised games...Army trailed 28-25 at halftime, but took the lead for good on a three-pointer by Jarell Brown with 13:26 left...Army later had a 6-0 stretch to build a seven-point lead midway through the half, and held at least a five point lead the rest of the way...The Black Knights shot 63 percent in the second half and 51 percent for the game, while holding the Bison to 40 percent shooting overall and 33 percent in the second half...Army also forced 24 Bucknell turnovers...Brown led the Black Knights with 21 points, while Cleveland Richard added 11...It is the first time since 2000-01 that Army has defeated Holy Cross and Bucknell in the same season...It has recorded back-to-back double-digit win seasons for the first time since 1988-89 (12) and 1989-90 (10)...Army has won three Patriot League road games in a season for the first time in school history, and its six overall road wins are the most since 1978-79 under then Head Coach Mike Krzyzewski...The Black Knights return to action on Saturday afternoon at home against Colgate.

Lafayette The Leopards saw their seven-game home winning streak come to an end with an 87-76 loss to American on Saturday...Lafayette still has sole possession of first place in the League with a 5-2 record...They suffered a sixth consecutive loss in the series against American...Lafayette opened the game with a 10-2 run, but fell behind by 10 at halftime and came no closer than eight in the second half...Andrew Brown led the team with 22 points, hitting 5-of-11 three-point shots...Matt Betley and Bilal Abdullah both tallied 16 points...It was Abdullah's 11th consecutive game in double figures...Lafayette had three steals in the game, just the fourth time this season they have recorded fewer than five...The Leopards begin the second half of the Patriot League schedule on Saturday afternoon at Holy Cross.

Lehigh The Mountain Hawks had their four-game winning streak come to an end with a 60-42 loss at Holy Cross on Saturday...They are still in a three-way tie for second place with a 4-3 League mark...It was their fifth consecutive loss to Holy Cross, and 12th in a row on the road in Worcester...The Mountain Hawks fell behind by 14 points early and 11 at half, but rallied to close within seven in the second half before Holy Cross pulled away...Holy Cross held the Mountain Hawks to just 24 percent shooting (12-of-50) from the field..Marquis Hall led the way with 15 points, including 10-of-10 from the foul line...The Mountain Hawks are off until Sunday when they travel to American for a Noon tip on ESPNU.

Navy The Mids fell to 3-4 in the Patriot League with an 84-77 loss to Colgate on Saturday...Navy lost its third consecutive home game, and has now alternated losses and wins throughout the first half of League play...The Mids dropped their sixth consecutive contest in the series against Colgate...Navy held a 36-35 lead at the half, and extended it to 41-35 early in the second half before Colgate went on a 12-0 run to claim the lead for good...Navy cut a 10-point deficit to five with 2:33 remaining, but would get no closer...Kaleo Kina led the Mids with 21 points, while Chris Harris had 15 and Greg Sprink scored 10...Sprink has 1,598 career points, good for fourth in Navy history and 11th in Patriot League annals...Mark Veazey notched nine points and eight rebounds...Navy shot just 36 percent from the field, and 24 percent from three-point range...The Mids return to action on Saturday when they host Bucknell.