Feb. 11, 2008

Center Valley, Pa. - With just three games separating the entire League, every contest will be key as teams battle for position in the standings. The next step in the race comes on Wednesday, as Bucknell travels to first-place American in the headline of the four matchups. Lafayette can re-claim first place with an American loss and a win at home against Colgate, while Navy and Lehigh are both looking to get over .500 in the League when they play in Bethlehem. Army will also try to get above .500 in the League for the first time this year when it hosts Holy Cross.

Patriot League Men's Basketball Release - 2.11.08

Anaconda Player of the Week (Feb. 4-10)

Garrison Carr, American Jr., G, 5'11, 165, Bellevue, Wash./Issaquah

Carr played a huge role in a pair of wins for the Eagles, scoring 22 points in victories against both Holy Cross and Lehigh to help lift American into sole possession of first place in the Patriot League. Carr connected on 17-of-29 shots (58.6 percent) and 9-of-20 three-pointers (45.0 percent) in the two games. He also led the Eagles with seven rebounds per game to go with the 22 points per contest. Carr tied a career-high with eight rebounds in the win over Lehigh. He has 98 three-pointers on the season, setting the American school record and just one away from tying the Patriot League mark of 99 set by Army's Mark Lueking in 1995-96. He is fifth in the nation with 4.1 three-pointers made per game for the year. Carr has played the full 40 minutes in each of the past three games. He wins his second Patriot League/Anaconda Player of the Week honor of the season.

Anaconda Rookie of the Week (Feb. 4-10)

Rob Keefer, Lehigh Fr., G, 6'3, 185, North Wales, Pa./Abington Friends

Keefer receives his fifth Patriot League/Anaconda Rookie of the Week nod of the year after scoring a career-high tying 16 points in Lehigh's 82-74 loss to American on Sunday. Keefer shot 6-of-11 from the floor, and also pulled down two rebounds and dished out a career-best three assists. Keefer leads all Patriot League freshmen with 7.9 ppg for the year, and leads all players with 49 percent shooting from three-point range.

Patriot League Notebook

Home Teams Prevail Over the Weekend

The home team won every contest in this weekend's Patriot League men's basketball action, concluding with American knocking off Lehigh, 82-74, on Sunday to move into sole possession of first place in the League. While the Eagles swept the season series with the Mountain Hawks, all three of Saturday's winners earned splits of the season series against the opponent. Army defeated Colgate, 59-57, in overtime on a shot at the buzzer by Jarell Brown. Holy Cross routed Lafayette, 77-57, while Navy defeated Bucknell, 78-72. A close race became even tighter, as six teams are now within one game of first place in the loss column.

Closest Race in the Nation

The Patriot League standings are tighter than any other Division I conference in the country. The Patriot League boasts the only race where six teams are within a game of first place in the loss column, and the only one where the entire League is separated by just three games in the standings.

Streak Snappers

Two more long series win streaks were snapped on Saturday, as Army and Navy ended seven-game skids against Colgate and Bucknell, respectively. That makes 10 series win streaks of seven games or more that have been snapped this season, with nine of those coming against Holy Cross and Bucknell. Army ended three of its seven-game or more losing streaks, while Lafayette and Navy each snapped two. Another one could go down on Wednesday, as American tries to snap an eight-game losing streak against Bucknell.

A Patriot League First

For the first time in the 18-year history of the Patriot League, every team has recorded at least 10 victories in a season. Bucknell became the last team to reach the mark with a 91-85 win at Colgate on Wednesday. There were only three other instances where every team in the League scored nine wins. The Atlantic Coast Conference and Big East are the only other leagues in the country where every member has at least 10 wins against Division I opponents.

An Even Split

The home court finally paid off over the weekend, as wins by all four home teams made the home/road record an even 17-17 in Patriot League action this year. Five teams are still at or above .500 on the road, including first-place American at 4-1.

Add Another Second-Half Comeback

The continuing trend of coming back from a second-half deficit showed up again as well, with Holy Cross rallying from nine points down to beat Lafayette, 77-57. Army also overcame a slim second-half deficit in its 59-57 overtime win against Colgate. With those games, 21 of the 34 winners in Patriot League games have trailed in the second half, with 12 of those comebacks from six points or more down. Bucknell and Lehigh have both come back from six points or more in the second half in three of their wins.

Rising RPI

The Patriot League is closing in on 16th place in the Collegiate Basketball News RPI rating. Through Sunday's games, the League has a .4823 weighted RPI, which puts the Patriot League in 17th place and just .0006 behind the Southern Conference. American leads all Patriot League teams at No. 130 in the RPI, followed closely by Holy Cross at No. 137 and Lafayette at No. 141. The Patriot League is one of three Mid-Major conferences with a winning overall mark on the season.

Bracket Busting Against the CAA

Bucknell and Holy Cross will both take on opponents from the Colonial Athletic Association in the sixth annual O'Reilly ESPNU BracketBusters event on Feb. 23. The Bison will visit Old Dominion at 7 p.m., while the Crusaders will host Northeastern at 4 p.m. The Patriot League has a 4-2 record against opponents from the CAA this season, including a 61-47 victory for Holy Cross against Hofstra and a 71-57 victory for Bucknell at Towson. The League has set a record with 60 non-League wins already this year, with three games still to play.

Patriot League Games

Colgate (11-12, 3-6) at Lafayette (14-9, 5-3), Wednesday, 7 p.m.

Kirby Sports Center, Easton, Pa.

Series: Colgate, 42-37 Streak: Lafayette, One Win Last Meeting: Lafayette, 69-68 (OT) (1.16.08)

Colgate The Raiders dropped their second consecutive game in overtime, falling at Army, 59-57, on Saturday...It was their third overtime loss in Patriot League action, and also ended a seven-game win streak against the Black Knights...It was also Colgate's fifth overtime loss in its last nine regular-season Patriot League losses...The Raiders rallied from a five-point deficit with 35 seconds left in regulation to force the extra session on Kyle Roemer's layup with 15 seconds to play...They lost on a buzzer-beater by Army's Jarell Brown...Kendall Chones led Colgate with 20 points on 8-of-12 shooting, while Roemer added 16....Chones is up to 958 points in his career...Alex Woodhouse tied a career-high with 11 rebounds...The Raiders look to earn payback for a 69-68, overtime loss at home to Lafayette on Jan. 16...Colgate has won two of the last three contests at Lafayette...The teams split last year's season series, with both winning on the road.

Lafayette The Leopards fell out of first place for the first time this season and lost for the second time in a row in a 77-57 defeat at Holy Cross on Saturday...They split the season series with the Crusaders, and lost in Worcester for the fifth consecutive time...Lafayette led by as many as nine points in the second half, but Holy Cross took over down the stretch...Bilal Abdullah led Lafayette with 13 points, while Andrew Brown added 11...The Leopards matched a season-high and Patriot League best with 15 steals, led by a career-high six for Everest Schmidt...The Leopards will look to sweep the season series with Colgate for the second time in three years when they meet on Wednesday in Easton...Lafayette won the first contest, 69-68, in overtime on a tip-in by Abdullah with 3.5 seconds to play...They have won four of the last five in the series overall.

Holy Cross (12-10, 3-6) at Army (11-11, 4-4), Wednesday, 7 p.m.

Christl Arena, West Point, N.Y.

Series: Holy Cross, 50-15 Streak: Army, One Win Last Meeting: Army, 53-39 (1.16.08)

Holy Cross The Crusaders earned a split of the season series with Lafayette with a 77-57 triumph on Saturday...The teams split the season series for the first time since 2001-02...Holy Cross won its fifth straight over Lafayette at the Hart Center, with all of the victories by 20 points or more...The Crusaders trailed by nine points early in the second half, but used two big runs to pull away...They notched a 12-0 surge to take the lead for good at 46-40, then had a 7-0 stretch to claim a 55-44 advantage with 8:39 left...The Leopards got no closer than eight points the rest of the way, with Holy Cross building the lead as high as 21 points...The Crusaders held a 52-28 advantage in the second half...The Crusaders held Lafayette to just 35.6 percent shooting from the field and 28.6 percent shooting from three-point range, while forcing 18 turnovers and outrebounding the Leopards, 40-24...Tim Clifford led the Crusaders with 13 points and eight rebounds...Nine players scored six points or more for Holy Cross...The Crusaders had a 13-game winning streak against Army snapped in a 53-39 loss on Jan. 16...They look to split the season series for the first time since 2001-02, and win for the sixth straight time at Christl Arena.

Army The Black Knights won for the second time in a row and snapped a seven-game losing skid to Colgate in a 59-57 overtime win on Saturday...They beat Colgate for the first time since the 2003-04 season, and split the season series for the first time since 1999-00...Army has put an end to three losing skids of seven games or longer this year (15 vs. Bucknell, 13 vs. Holy Cross)...The Black Knights won the contest on an 11-foot jumper by Jarell Brown as time expired in overtime...It was Brown's second game-winning shot with less than 15 seconds left in the last four games (Navy)...Army had tied the score on a pair of free throws with 1:30 to play, and re-gained possession for good on a steal by Josh Miller with 1:09 left....Brown had a team-high 19 points, while Doug Williams had 12 points and 12 rebounds...Army had a season-high 21 offensive rebounds...They improved to 4-4 in League play for the first time since 2001-02, and won back-to-back League games for the first time this season...Army used its 11th different starting lineup of the season...The Black Knights have a chance to sweep Holy Cross for the first-time in Patriot League history after winning, 53-39, on Jan. 16...Army forced 22 turnovers and held Holy Cross to 33.3 percent shooting in that game...They also look to snap a five-game home losing skid to the Crusaders.

Navy (11-12, 4-4) at Lehigh (11-11, 4-4), Wednesday, 7 p.m.

Stabler Arena, Bethlehem, Pa.

Series: Navy, 41-15 Streak: Navy, Two Wins Last Meeting: Navy, 79-69 (1.16.08)

Navy The Mids evened their League mark at 4-4 with a 78-72 win over Bucknell...They ended a seven-game losing skid against Bucknell, and snapped a three-game overall home losing streak...They split the season series with the Bison for the first time since 2004-05...Navy has alternated losses and wins throughout League play...The Mids closed the first half with a 19-7 run to take a 39-32 halftime lead...The Bison cut the lead to two on two ocassions in the final minutes, but Navy answered with a three-pointer both times...Chris Harris sealed it with his three to make it 76-71 with 35 seconds left...Kaleo Kina, Greg Sprink and Harris combined for 68 of Navy's 78 points...Kina led all scorers with a career-high 27 points on 11-of-18 shooting, while Sprink had 22 and Harris scored 19... Sprink moved into 10th place on the Patriot League career scoring list with 1,620 points... Harris was just one point shy of giving the Mids three 20-point scorers in the same game for the first time since the 1984-85 season...Navy recorded 14 steals and forced 22 Bucknell turnovers...The Mids go for their third consecutive win over Lehigh, and second straight in Bethlehem after winning 70-65 last year...Navy used a 13-2 run in the second half to pull away for a 79-69 win on Jan. 16...The Mids last sweep over Lehigh was in 2001-02, other than a sweep by forfeit in 2004-05.

Lehigh The Mountain Hawks lost for the second consecutive time on the road with an 82-74 defeat at American on Sunday...They were swept in the season series by the Eagles...Lehigh finished 1-2 on its three-game road trip to Bucknell, Holy Cross and American...They had an early 11-4 lead against the Eagles, but fell behind by 11 at halftime and 19 in the second half...Lehigh closed to within six points twice in the final minutes...Marquis Hall led the way with 20 points, while Rob Keefer scored a career-high tying 16...The Mountain Hawks look to break a two-game losing skid against Navy...They fell, 79-69, in the first matchup this season...Hall had 20 points in that contest...Lehigh will try to split the series with the Mids for the second year in a row.

Bucknell (10-13, 5-4) at American (14-10, 6-3), Wednesday, 7:30 p.m.

Bender Arena; Washington, D.C.

Series: Bucknell, 25-17 Streak: Bucknell, Eight Wins Last Meeting: Bucknell, 66-62 (1.16.08)

Bucknell The Bison fell for the third time in four games with a 78-72 loss at Navy on Saturday...It ended a seven-game win streak over the Mids and split the season series for the first time since 2004-05...Bucknell had an early 25-20 lead, but saw Navy rally to take a seven-point halftime edge...The Bison closed to 68-66 with 2:17 left and 73-71 with 57 seconds remaining, but Navy hit a three to seal the win with 35 seconds left...John Griffin had 19 points for Bucknell, which placed four players in double figures...Griffin hit 5-of-7 three-point attempts...Stephen Tyree had 12 points and nine rebounds...Bucknell is in search of its ninth consecutive win against American after a 66-62 triumph on Jan. 16...The Bison trailed by 11 points at halftime in that contest, but used an 11-0 run to take a two-point lead with 3:17 left and went ahead for good on Jason Vegotsky's shot with 1:04 to play...The Bison also go for their third consecutive season sweep of the Eagles, and third consecutive win at American.

American The Eagles won their season-high third consecutive game and moved into sole possession of first place for the first time since the 2003-04 campaign with an 82-74 win over Lehigh on Sunday...They swept the Mountain Hawks for the first time since 2001-02, other than a forfeit win in 2005...American posted a 22-5 surge to claim a 10-point lead in the first half...They led by 11 at halftime, and by as many as 19 in the second half before Lehigh closed within six in the final minute...Brian Gilmore had a career-high 26 points on 10-of-14 shooting, while Garrison Carr scored 22 on 9-of-15 from the floor...Carr also nailed four three-pointers, and is just one shy of tying the Patriot League record of 99 threes in a season...The duo combined for 30 of American's 42 first-half points...The Eagles posted the best shooting day for a Patriot League team this season with a 30-of-49 performance (61.2 percent), and hit 68 percent (17-of-25) of their shots in the first half...American tries to end an eight-game losing streak against Bucknell...They lost at Bucknell, 66-62, on Jan. 16...The Eagles last split the season series and won at home in the 2004-05 season.