Feb. 25, 2008

Center Valley, Pa. - The Southern-most schools in the Patriot League will battle for first place on Wednesday when American makes the trip to visit Navy. The Eagles lead the League standings at 9-3, and can clinch the outright regular-season title with a victory on Wednesday. American and Navy have already clinched two of the four quarterfinal home games in the Patriot League Tournament, which is played entirely at home sites.

Patriot League Men's Basketball Release - 2.25.08

Anaconda Player of the Week (Feb. 18-24)

Tim Clifford, Holy Cross Sr., C, 6'11, 265, Walpole, Mass./Walpole

Clifford averaged 30 points and connected on 27-of-34 shots from the field in a 1-1 week for the Crusaders to earn Patriot League/Anaconda Player of the Week honors. Clifford also averaged six rebounds and four blocks over the two contests. He scored a career-high 34 points on 14-of-18 shooting with seven rebounds and four blocks in a 72-66 loss at Navy on Wednesday. Clifford shot 13-of-16 in a 26-point, five-rebound, four-block performance in a 61-47 victory over Northeastern in an O'Reilly ESPNU BracketBusters game on Saturday. He shot over 79 percent for the week, and scored 47.2 percent of Holy Cross' points in the two contests. He also became the third Patriot Leaguer to go over 200 blocks for his career, and sits in third place in League annals with 203 blocks. Clifford earns the first Patriot League/Anaconda Player of the Week honor of his career, and the first for a Holy Cross student-athlete this season.

Patriot League Anaconda Rookie of the Week (Feb. 18-24)

Romeo Garcia, Navy Fr., G, 6'4, 205, Cypress, Texas/Cypress Creek

Garcia played a key role in a pair of Navy wins last week as the Mids clinched a top four seed in the Patriot League Tournament. He averaged nine points, three rebounds and two assists while shooting 58.3 percent from the field in Navy's wins over Holy Cross and Army. Garcia scored 10 points with three assists and two rebounds in a 72-66 win over Holy Cross on Wednesday, and recorded eight points and four boards in a 71-63 win at Army on Saturday. He had a career-high two three-pointers against Army, and also grabbed three offensive rebounds. Garcia needs just one steal to become the second freshman in Navy history to record 100 points, 100 rebounds, 30 assists and 25 steals in his freshman year. He earns his first Patriot League/Anaconda Rookie of the Week honor.

Patriot League Notebook

First place on the Line in Annapolis

The Southern-most schools in the Patriot League will battle for first place on Wednesday when American makes the trip to visit Navy. The Eagles lead the League standings at 9-3, and can clinch the outright regular-season title with a victory on Wednesday. The Midshipmen are at 8-4 in League play, and a win on Wednesday would give them a tiebreaker edge over the Eagles with a sweep of the season series. The teams are among the hottest in the nation, as American has won six contests in a row and Navy has won five straight. Both teams rely on a star scorer, with Navy's Greg Sprink and American's Garrison Carr ranking 1-2 in scoring during League play. Both teams have already clinched a spot in the top four of the Patriot League standings, and the home quarterfinal game that comes with it. American can finish no lower than second in the League standings.

Who's Next to Clinch a Quarterfinal Home Game?

American and Navy have already clinched two of the four quarterfinal home games in the Patriot League Tournament, which is played entirely at home sites. Bucknell can join them by locking up at least the No. 4 seed with a win at Lehigh on Wednesday. Lafayette has a chance to clinch a home date as well, but would need to win at Army and have American, Bucknell and Colgate win in the other Patriot League games. Lafayette and Bucknell are tied for third in the League at 6-6, while Colgate, Holy Cross and Lehigh are all in fifth at 5-7 and still alive for a chance to host a quarterfinal game. The Raiders and Crusaders match up in Worcester on Wednesday. Army, which is 4-8 in the League, will finish between No. 5 and No. 8 in the standings. The Patriot League men's basketball tiebreaker information can be found at the left-hand side column on page two of the release.

Navy, Lafayette Notch Big Wins in Rivarly Games

There were only two Patriot League men's basketball games on Saturday, but the standings cleared up as Navy strengthened its hold on second place and clinched a home game in the Patriot League quarterfinals with a 71-63 win at Army and Lafayette moved into a third-place tie with a 78-60 victory over Lehigh. Three teams also played non-League contests. Holy Cross knocked off Northeastern, 61-47, and Bucknell fell at Old Dominion, 65-55, as part of the O'Reilly ESPNU BracketBusters event. Colgate defeated North Carolina Central, 77-69. The results for Holy Cross and Bucknell give the League a 2-4 all-time mark in BracketBuster games.

Non-League Success

The regular-season non-League schedule is complete, and Patriot League teams set a record with 62 non-League victories. The 62-55 mark is the best-ever non-League record in the regular season, and breaks the mark of 60 wins which was set just last year. It is the third winning record in non-League regular-season games, and second winning mark overall. The .530 winning percentage is also the best regular-season mark. Earlier in the year, the Patriot League became the first Division I conference to have every one of its teams record a road victory and the second to have all of its members beat a Division I opponent.

History-Making Win Totals

For the first time in the 18-year history of the Patriot League, every team has recorded at least 10 victories in a season, and Bucknell made it 11 wins for every team with its victory over Lafayette on Wednesday. There were only three other instances where every team in the League scored nine wins. The Atlantic Coast Conference is the only other league in the country where every member has at least 11 wins against Division I opponents. Every team has at least four wins in League play for the second time, with the other occassion in 1993-94.

The Patriot League Trends

Navy rallied from 10 points down in the second half to win on Wednesday at Army, making it 29 of the 48 winners in Patriot League games that have trailed in the second half, with 17 of those comebacks from six points or more down. Eleven series losing streaks of seven games or more have come to an end in the Patriot League this season, with 10 of those coming against Holy Cross and Bucknell. The home/road split is at an even 24-24 for the year. Nine of the last 10 and 13 of the last 15 League contests have been decided by 10 points or less. For the season, 33 of 48 games have come within a 10-point difference, with 17 of those coming down to the wire by five points or less.

Rising RPI

The Patriot League has solidified its 16th-place position in the Collegiate Basketball News RPI rating. The League has a .4869 weighted RPI, which gives it a .0011 edge on the 17th-place Southland Conference. American leads all League teams at No. 103 in the RPI rating, with Holy Cross checking in at No. 126. The Patriot League is one of only eight conferences in the nation to place all of its teams in the top 250, and one of just two Mid-Major leagues to accomplish the feat.

Beltway Stars

A pair of players from the top two teams in the League are making waves this season. American guard Garrison Carr has set a Patriot League record with 111 three-pointers, and is on pace to shatter the former mark of 99. Navy's Greg Sprink is averaging 20.9 points per contest, and has a chance to be the League's first 20 point per game scorer since Lehigh's Brett Eppenheimer averaged 24.7 ppg in the 1997-98 campaign. Sprink holds eighth place in all-time scoring in League history with 1,695 points.

2008 Patriot League Men's Basketball Tournament

The 2008 Patriot League Men's Basketball Tournament will be played entirely at home sites, with the quarterfinals tipping off on March 5. The semifinals will be held on March 9, with the League Championship on ESPN2 at 4:45 p.m. on Friday, March 14. The top four seeds at the end of the regular season will host games in the quarterfinals. American and Navy have already clinched positions as quarterfinal hosts.

Patriot League Games

American (17-10, 9-3) at Navy (15-12, 8-4), Wednesday, 7 p.m.

Alumni Hall, Annapolis, Md.

Series: Navy, 35-31 Streak: Navy, One Win Last Meeting: Navy, 77-66 (1.30.08)

American The Eagles won their season-high sixth consecutive game with a 49-40 triumph over Army on Wednesday...American remains in first place in the League at 9-3, and has clinched at least the No. 2 seed in the Patriot League Tournament and home-court advantage through the League semifinals...The Eagles will open the Patriot League Tournament at home at 7:30 on Wednesday, March 5...The six-game winning streak is American's longest in Patriot League regular-season play since joining the League in the 2001-02 campaign...The Eagles had the weekend off, and return to action on Wednesday at Navy...They would clinch the Patriot League regular-season title outright and earn the No. 1 seed in the League Tournament with a win over Navy...The Eagles are trying to split the season series after losing, 77-66, on Jan. 30.

Navy The Mids notched their fifth win in a row with a 71-63 triumph at Army on Saturday...They clinched a top four seed in the Patriot League Tournament and a home game in the quarterfinals, and control their own destiny to claim the No. 1 seed...It was also Navy's 12th win in 16 games after starting the season 3-8...The five-game Patriot League winning streak is the longest for the Navy program since the 1999-00 season....The Mids also tied a school record with five Patriot League road wins...Navy split the series with Army for the fifth year in a row, winning the second contest each time...It also won the Star Game between the schools for the sixth straight year and 25th in the last 28...The Mids were down 10 with 16 minutes to play in the game, but took the lead with a 21-8 run over the next eight minutes...Clif Colbert scored 11 of the 21 points during the run, including a three to take the lead with 7:57 to play...Adam Teague hit two three-pointers in the last 1:20 of the game to seal the win...Teague had his first-career double-double with 18 points and 11 rebounds, while Colbert added 17 points and six boards...They led a Navy bench that scored 36 points, and the pair combined for 27 second-half points...Navy scored 53 points in the second half, thanks in large part to a blistering 58.6 percent from the field in the final 20 minutes...Navy connected on 10-of-17 three-point tries in the second half, and held a 45-31 advantage on the boards in the game....First place is on the line when Navy hosts American on Wednesday...The Mids won the first meeting at American, 77-66, behind a career-high 36 points from Greg Sprink...The Mids are going for their first season sweep of the Eagles as League member, and first overall since 1986-87.

Bucknell (11-16, 6-6) at Lehigh (12-14, 5-7), Wednesday, 7 p.m.

Stabler Arena, Bethlehem, Pa.

Series: Bucknell, 90-57 Streak: Lehigh, One Win Last Meeting: Lehigh, 56-54 (1.30.08)

Bucknell The Bison fell at Old Dominion, 65-55, in an O'Reilly ESPNU BracketBusters game on Saturday...The Bison fell to 1-2 all-time in BracketBuster matchups, and dropped to 0-2 all-time against Old Dominion...They rallied from nine points down to claim a two-point lead with six minutes to play, but Old Dominion closed the game on a 22-10 run to seal the win...John Griffin scored 19 points to lead the Bison, while Darryl Shazier had a career-high five assists...Darren Mastropaolo had eight points and nine rebounds...Bucknell returns to Patriot League action on Wednesday at Lehigh...They clinch a home game in the Patriot League quarterfinals and top four seed in the League tournament with a victory over the Mountain Hawks...Bucknell dropped the first meeting, and will try to make it a series split for the first time since 2003-04.

Lehigh Lehigh dropped its fifth game in the last six contests with a 78-60 loss at Lafayette on Saturday...The teams split the season series, and the Mountain Hawks fell into a fifth place tie in the League standings with the loss...Lehigh led by eight points early in the contest, but fell behind by 10 at halftime and trailed by 20 early in the second half...Bryan White had 18 points and eight rebounds to lead Lehigh...The Mountain Hawks are in search of their first regular-season sweep over Bucknell since the 2002-03 season...Zahir Carrington had 19 points in the first meeting, while White had 13 and 11 rebounds...Lehigh snapped Bucknell's 38-game home winning streak against Patriot League opponents with the victory...The Mountain Hawks have dropped their last two home games against the Bison.

Lafayette (15-12, 6-6) at Army (11-15, 4-8), Wednesday, 7 p.m.

Christl Arena, West Point, N.Y.

Series: Lafayette, 34-19 Streak: Lafayette, One Win Last Meeting: Lafayette, 83-58 (1.30.08)

Lafayette The Leopards broke a five-game losing streak with a 78-60 win over Lehigh on Senior Day at the Kirby Sports Center...They also moved out of a tie with Lehigh in the standings and into a third-place tie with Bucknell at 6-6 in the League...The Leopards split the series with Lehigh for the second year in a row, and won for the sixth time in the last seven meetings in Easton...Lafayette has split all five of its completed series thus far...The Leopards closed the first half on a 10-2 run to take a 10-point halftime lead, and made it a 20-point lead early in the second half...The overall run spanning two halves was 26-8 in a span of eight minutes...Lafayette led by as many as 25 points in the second half...Bilal Abdullah notched 18 points and 13 rebounds, Matt Betley had 13 points and Ted Detmer scored 11 points with seven rebounds as all three played in their final home game...Andrew Brown also finished in double figures with 13 points, and is just five points away from 1,000 for his career...The Leopards shot 50 percent for the game, including a 14-of-23 (60.9 percent) effort in the second half...They are now 7-0 when shooting 50 percent or better...Lafayette tries to move closer to a top four seed in the League Tournament when it plays at Army...The Leopards beat the Black Knights, 83-58, on Jan. 30...They are in search of their fifth series sweep in the last six seasons against Army.

Army The Black Knights dropped their fourth game in a row in a 71-63 loss at home to rival Navy...They are eliminated from contention to host a Patriot League quarterfinal game...Army split the season series with Navy for the fifth year in a row, and has lost the second meeting each time...The Black Knights also lost their sixth consecutive Star Game against the Mids...Army opened up a 10-point lead with 16 minutes left in the game, but saw Navy go on a 21-8 run to pull ahead...The Black Knights stayed within three late, but were done in by a pair of Navy three-pointers in the final 1:20...Jarell Brown led the way with 18 points, while Josh Miller had 14 points, five rebounds, six assists and three steals...The Black Knights will try to split the series with Lafayette for the second year in a row, and win at home for the second straight year...Doug Williams had 19 points in the first meeting.

Colgate (14-13, 5-7) at Holy Cross (15-11, 5-7), Wednesday, 7 p.m.

Hart Center, Worcester, Mass.

Series: Holy Cross, 47-15 Streak: Colgate, One Win Last Meeting: Colgate, 58-46 (1.30.08)

Colgate The Raiders won their second game in a row with a 77-69 triumph over NC Central in non-League action on Saturday....Colgate's nine Division I non-League victories this season are the most since the 1979-80 season...The Raiders opened up a 15-point lead at halftime, and led by as many as 22 points before NC Central made it closer down the stretch...Kyle Roemer had 20 points, while Kendall Chones finished with 11 and went over 1,000 career points in the game...Chones now stands with 1,010 points, while Roemer is closing in on the 1,000-point club with 990 for his career...Chones is the 26th player in Colgate history and 61st in Patriot League annals to score 1,000 points...Head Coach Emmett Davis is now second on Colgate's all-time victory list with 134...He is three wins behind all-time leader Howard Hartman (1949-62)...Colgate returns to League play with a contest at Holy Cross...Colgate won the first meeting, 58-46, on Jan. 30 and goes for its first series sweep of the Crusaders since the 2001-02 season, which was also the last time it won at Holy Cross.

Holy Cross The Crusaders won for the fourth time in five games with a 61-47 win in an O'Reilly ESPNU BracketBusters game against Northeastern on Saturday...They moved to 1-1 in BracketBusters contests...Holy Cross led almost from start to finish in the game, and did not allow Northeastern to come any closer than four points in the second half...Tim Clifford led the way with 26 points on 13-of-16 shooting...Clifford has hit 27-of-34 shots in the last two games...He also notched four blocks in the game, and became the third Patriot Leaguer to go over 200 blocks for his career...Holy Cross held Northeastern to 28.8 percent shooting for the game...The Crusaders play their home finale on Wednesday against Colgate...Both teams are in a three-way tie with Lehigh in the League standings...They will try to split the series with the Raiders for the first time since 2003-04 after a seven-game series win streak broken in the first matchup...Holy Cross has won the last five meetings in Worcester.