March 3, 2008

Center Valley, Pa. - American, Navy, Colgate and Lehigh will host contests in the Patriot League Men's Basketball Quarterfinals on Wednesday. No. 1 seed American hosts No. 8 Holy Cross at 7:30 p.m at Bender Arena. No. 2 Navy will tip off its quarterfinal contest against No. 7 Bucknell at 7 p.m. at Alumni Hall, while No. 3 Colgate hosts No. 6 Lafayette at 7 p.m. at Cotterell Court. No. 4 Lehigh will host No. 5 Army at Stabler Arena at 7:30 p.m.

Patriot League Men's Basketball Quarterfinal Release - 3.3.08

Anaconda Player of the Week (Feb. 25-March 2)

Kendall Chones, Colgate Sr., F, 6'7, 250, Cleveland, Ohio/Orange/Fork Union

Chones played a significant role in helping Colgate to a pair of wins last week, earning the No. 3 seed in the Patriot League Tournament and a home game in the quarterfinals against Lafayette on Wednesday. He averaged 20.5 points and 8.5 rebounds while making 65 percent of his shots and all 11 foul shot attempts in Colgate's victories at Holy Cross on Wednesday and at home against Navy on Saturday. He tallied 18 points and five boards to lead the Raiders to a 61-55 victory at Holy Cross. With home-court advantage on the line on Saturday, Chones tied a career high with 23 points and set a career mark with 12 rebounds to lead the Raiders to a 73-62 victory against the Midshipmen. He had his fifth career double-double in the game, and and shot 9-for-13 from the floor and 5-for-5 at the line. Chones earns his first Player of the Week honor of the season, and second for his career.

Patriot League Anaconda Rookie of the Week (Feb. 25-March 3)

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

After being named the 2008 Patriot League Rookie of the Year earlier on Monday, Keefer claims his sixth Rookie of the Week honor of the season. He averaged 14.0 points and 4.5 rebounds to lead Lehigh to home victories over Bucknell and Holy Cross last week, which lifted the Mountain Hawks into a home game in the Patriot League Quarterfinals as the No. 4 seed in the Tournament. Keefer tallied a career-high 17 points on 6-of-12 shooting and pulled in five rebounds to help push Lehigh past Bucknell, 50-39, on Wednesday. He tallied 11 points on 5-of-10 shooting in the victory over Holy Cross on Friday. Keefer led all Patriot League freshmen with 8.1 points per game during the regular season. His six Rookie of the Week honors are tied for the second-most in League history, behind the nine won by teammate Marquis Hall a year ago.

Patriot League Notebook

American earns No. 1 Seed in Patriot League Tournament

American passed Navy to capture the No. 1 seed and home-court advantage throughout the 2008 Patriot League Men's Basketball Tournament, which begins with the quarterfinals on Wednesday and is played entirely at home sites. The Eagles defeated Lafayette, 84-72, to finish 10-4 in the League and one game ahead of the Midshipmen, which lost at Colgate, 73-62. The Mids will receive the No. 2 seed and have home court through the semifinals. The remaining seeds weren't decided until Bucknell missed a three-pointer with just seconds remaining and fell, 54-51, at Army. That Black Knights' victory allowed Colgate to lock up a quarterfinal home game along with Lehigh, which knocked off Holy Cross, 65-58, on Friday. The Raiders and Mountain Hawks both finished at 7-7 in the League, with the Raiders receiving the No. 3 seed in the Tournament and the Mountain Hawks claiming the No. 4 seed. Army, Lafayette and Bucknell all finished at 6-8 in League play. The Black Knights claim the No. 5 seed in the Tournament, with the Leopards at No. 6 and the Bison at No. 7. Holy Cross finished with a 5-9 record and claims the No. 8 seed. The semifinals will be held on Sunday, with the League Championship on ESPN2 at 4:45 p.m. on March 14.

Patriot League Quarterfinal Tickets Available

American, Navy, Colgate and Lehigh will host contests in the Patriot League Men's Basketball Quarterfinals on Wednesday, and all the schools have put tickets on sale for the games. No. 1 seed American hosts No. 8 Holy Cross at 7:30 p.m at Bender Arena. No. 2 Navy will tip off its quarterfinal contest against No. 7 Bucknell at 7 p.m. at Alumni Hall, while No. 3 Colgate hosts No. 6 Lafayette at 7 p.m. at Cotterell Court. No. 4 Lehigh will host No. 5 Army at Stabler Arena at 7:30 p.m.Tickets for all Patriot League quarterfinal games are $12 for adults and $6 for youths and senior citizens. For more information, go to the men's basketball page or the men's basketball championship page at www.patriotleague.com.

All-League and Major Award Winners Announced

After recording its best record in Patriot League men's basketball since the 2000-01 season, Navy was rewarded with two of the League's top awards when the Patriot League Men's Basketball All-League teams and Major Awards were announced Monday. Senior guard Greg Sprink became the first Navy student-athlete to take home Player of the Year honors and Head Coach Billy Lange received Coach of the Year recognition. The All-League teams and major awards were voted on by the League's eight head coaches, who could not vote for their own teams. Freshman Rob Keefer earned Rookie of the Year honors for Lehigh, while Bucknell sophomore Stephen Tyree received the Patriot League Defensive Player of the Year nod. For the full First-Team and Second-Team All-League and All-Rookie team, see the sidebar on page five of the men's basketball release or go to www.patriotleague.com.

Extensive Coverage of Patriot League Tournament

The entire Patriot League Men's Basketball Tournament can be heard on SIRIUS satellite radio, and can also be seen live via the Patriot League All-Access broadband package. Quarterfinal contests may also be picked up by local cable stations. The Patriot League Championship is set for 4:45 p.m. on March 14 on ESPN2.

Haven't Seen you Lately

The teams are familiar with each other after a pair of meetings during the season, but none of the matchups in the Patriot League Quarterfinals were played in the last two weeks of the season. Army and Lehigh had the most recent matchup on Feb. 16. Lafayette and Colgate last played on Feb. 13, Bucknell and Navy met on Feb. 9, and Holy Cross and American haven't played since Feb. 6.

Close Calls Coming on Wednesday?

Three of the four matchups in the Patriot League Quarterfinals were split during the regular season. The American/Holy Cross and Lafayette/Colgate matchups were all won by the road team, while Navy and Bucknell each won a home contest in their season series. Lehigh swept Army, but won each game by just five points. Lafayette and Colgate split a pair of one-point games, while Bucknell outscored Navy by a total of two points in their season series.

Home Cooking

The competitive balance in the Patriot League has shown all season, with the road teams at one point holding a 23-19 advantage in the season series. But the home court has been a key component in winning games lately. The home squads won 12 of the final 14 regular-season League contests, including a sweep of the four games over the weekend. Home teamd held a 31-25 edge in Patriot League regular-season games. The quarterfinal hosts are all playing well on their own courts, as American enters Wednesday's game with a four-game home winning streak and Navy, Colgate and Lehigh have all won three straight at their arenas.

The Patriot League Trends

In the 56 regular-season Patriot League games, 33 winners trailed in the second half, with 20 of those comebacks from six points or more down. Eleven series losing streaks of seven games or more came to an end, with 10 of those coming against Holy Cross and Bucknell. For the season, 37 of 56 games have come within a 10-point difference, with 19 of those coming down to the wire by five points or less.

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 each squad now has at least 11 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. Also, every team recorded at least five wins in League play for the first time in history, with each squad except Holy Cross notching at least six League victories.

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 second winning mark in non-League action.

Rising RPI

The Patriot League has solidified its 16th-place position in the Collegiate Basketball News RPI rating. The League has a .4889 weighted RPI, which gives it a .0017 edge on the 17th-place Southland Conference. American leads all League teams at No. 102 in the RPI rating, with Holy Cross checking in at No. 152 through Sunday's games. The Patriot League is one of only five conferences in the nation to place all of its teams in the top 235, and the only Mid-Major league to accomplish the feat.

Patriot League Quarterfinal Games

No. 7 Bucknell (11-18, 6-8) at No. 2 Navy (16-13, 9-5), Wednesday, 7 p.m.

Alumni Hall, Annapolis, Md.

Series: Navy, 30-24 Streak: Navy, One Win Last Meeting: Navy, 78-72 (2.9.08)

Bucknell/Navy Tournament Notes The Bison and Navy meet in a rematch of last year's quarterfinal round game that was won by Bucknell, 62-43...The seeds in that contest were flipped around from this year's matchup, with the Mids as a No. 7 seed and the Bison as a No. 2...Even with last year's loss, Navy holds a 3-1 advantage in Patriot League Tournament games against Bucknell...The Mids won semifinal games against the Bison in 2001and 1998, and defeated the Bison in the Patriot League Championship in 1997...Bucknell has advanced to the last three Patriot League Championship contests, and has made it to the League semifinals in the last seven seasons...Bucknell Head Coach Pat Flannery has an 18-11 record in Patriot League Tournament games, the most wins of any coach in League annals...Navy has not advanced to the semifinals since the 2000-01 campaign.

2007-08 Series Bucknell and Navy split their season series, with both teams winning on their home court...The Bison came back from a seven-point halftime deficit for an 85-77 victory in the Patriot League season opener on Jan. 11...The Mids squared the series by beating the Bison, 78-72, on Feb. 9 to begin a six-game winning streak.

Bucknell The Bison squandered a chance at hosting a quarterfinal game when they lost at Army, 54-51, on Saturday...Bucknell was swept in the season series against the Black Knights for the first time...The Bison trailed by 11 points at halftime, and were still down 11 with just over three minutes to go in the game before rallying...The Bison cut the gap to six on a layup by John Griffin with 1:32 left, and got it all the way to three at 54-51 with 27 seconds to play on a three-pointer by G.W. Boon...Army turned it over on the next inbounds play, and Bucknell had multiple chances to tie the game...Griffin missed a three on one possession, and after Army missed a one-and-one Patrick Behan's three at the buzzer was off the mark...Darren Mastropaolo led Bucknell with 11 points, with Stephen Tyree scoring 10...The Bison were hurt by a 4-for-20 effort from three-point range, including 1-for-9 in the second half...Bucknell's Stephen Tyree won Patriot League Defensive Player of the Year honors...John Griffin was a First-Team All-League selection, while Todd O'Brien was selected to the All-Rookie Team....Bucknell will face Navy in the quarterfinal round for the second year in a row after beating the Mids, 62-43, a year ago...The Bison split the season series with the Mids, and had a seven-game series win streak snapped in the teams' last meeting.

Navy The Mids slipped to the No. 2 seed in the League Tournament with a 73-62 loss to Colgate on Saturday...The Mids dropped their seventh consecutive game against Colgate, and saw their six-game winning streak come to an end...It was their lowest point total of the year...The Mids had a 34-27 lead in the second half, but saw Colgate rally to go up by five points...The Mids got back to within three and were as close as five points in the final minute, but would come no closer...Greg Sprink led Navy with 19 points, while Kaleo Kina had 17 and Chris Harris added 14...Sprink became the third player in Navy history to score more than 600 points in a season...The Mids held a 46-38 advantage on the boards...They suffered their first sweep against a Patriot League opponent this season...Navy's 16 wins are its most since 2000-01...Sprink earned Player of the Year honors for the Mids, while Head Coach Billy Lange was named Coach of the Year...Sprink was also a First-Team All-League selection, while Harris was chosen to the second team...Romeo Garcia made the Patriot League All-Rookie Team...Garcia became the second Navy freshman ever with 100 points, 100 rebounds, 30 assists and 25 steals in a season...The Mids will go for their second consecutive win against Bucknell after beating the Bison, 78-72, in the last matchup...They also look to improve to 4-1 against the Bison in Patriot League Tournament games.

No. 6 Lafayette (15-14, 6-8) at No. 3 Colgate (16-13, 7-7), Wednesday, 7 p.m.

Cotterell Court, Hamilton, N.Y.

Series: Colgate, 43-37  Streak: Colgate, One Win Last Meeting: Colgate, 76-75 (2.13.08)

Lafayette/Colgate Tournament History The Leopards and Raiders have met in the Patriot League Tournament seven times, with Lafayette holding a 4-3 advantage in the contests...The seven Tournament meetings are the most for either team against any Patriot League opponent...They have not met in the Tournament since 2004, when Colgate was the No. 6 seed and won against No. 3 Lafayette, 67-66, in overtime in the quarterfinals...That was the last time either team made it out of the quarterfinal round...The Leopards had the No. 6 seed when they defeated No. 3 Colgate, 89-76, in the 2003 quarterfinals...Lafayette also won a quarterfinal matchup in 2002, and semifinal matchups in 1998 and 1999...Colgate won in the quarterfinals in 1995 and semifinals in 1994...Four of the seven Tournament matchps between the teams have been decided by five points or less.

2007-08 Series The teams traded one-point road victories in a series that has been dominated by the visitors...Lafayette got a Bilal Abdullah tip-in with 3.5 seconds to play to score a 69-68 win in overtime at Colgate on Jan. 16...The Raiders returned the favor by holding on for a 76-75 win at Lafayette on Feb. 13 when Matt Betley missed the last of three foul shots with 0.7 seconds to play...The teams have split the series in the last two years, with the road team winning every contest.

Lafayette The Leopards had their hopes for a home contest in the quarterfinals dashed with an 84-72 loss at American on Saturday...The Leopards were swept in the season series by the Eagles after splitting with the first six opponents this season...The Leopards fell behind by 12 points in the second half, but rallied to tie the score at 49 with 10:53 to play...American answered by scoring the next 15 points, and Lafayette got no closer than seven points down the stretch...Lafayette was led by a pair of 20-point scorers, as Bilal Abdullah scored a game-high 23 points and Matt Betley added 21...The Leopards have dropped seven of their last eight contests...Abdullah and Andrew Brown were both named Second-Team All-Patriot League players on Monday...The Leopards have won their last three contests in Hamilton, and have taken four of the last six against the Raiders overall...The lower seed has won three of the four all-time quarterfinal matchups between Lafayette and Colgate, with Lafayette triumphing in two of those games.

Colgate The Raiders sealed their fate as a quarterfinal host with a 73-62 win over Navy and Bucknell's loss to Army on Saturday...The Raiders enter the Tournament as the hottest team in the League, winning three straight League games and four in a row overall...They swept the season series with Navy, winning their seventh consecutive game against the Mids...Colgate was down seven early in the second half, but used a 14-2 run to claim a 41-36 lead with 14:23 left...Kendall Chones put the Raiders ahead for good with 16:45 to play in the game...The Mids got back to within three, but Colgate put together six consecutive points in a three and a half minute span to go up, 55-46, with 5:18 left...Navy came within five points late in the game, but the Raiders scored 10 points in the final minute to seal the win...Chones tied his career high with 23 points while pulling in a career-high 12 rebounds...Tim Pounds and Kyle Roemer each scored 12 points...The Raiders held Navy to 32 percent shooting, including a 6-for-33 effort from beyond the arc...Colgate's 16 overall wins are its most in a season since 2001-02...Emmett Davis is second on Colgate's all-time victory list with 136...He is one win from tying all-time leader Howard Hartman (1949-62), who posted 137...Roemer was named a Second-Team All-Patriot League pick on Monday, while Mike Venezia earned All-Rookie honors...The Raiders will try to advance to the League semifinals for the first time since 2004...They are hosting a Patriot League Tournament game for the first time since 1996...Colgate will try to break a three-game home losing streak in the series against Lafayette.

No. 5 Army (13-15, 6-8) at No. 4 Lehigh (14-14, 7-7), Wednesday, 7 p.m.

Stabler Arena, Bethlehem, Pa.

Series: Army, 56-28 Streak: Lehigh, Two Wins Last Meeting: Lehigh, 58-53 (2.16.08)

Army/Lehigh Tournament Notes Army and Lehigh met for the first time in Patriot League Tournament history last season, with the Black Knights scoring a 47-46 win in the quarterfinal matchup in Bethlehem...Josh Miller converted a layup as time expired to give No. 6 seed Army the win over the No. 3 Mountain Hawks...The victory gave Army its first semifinal berth since 1996, and first for Head Coach Jim Crews...Lehigh Head Coach Brett Reed is at the helm for his first Patriot League Tournament...The Mountain Hawks had won their quarterfinal contest for three years in a row prior to last year's loss.

2007-08 Series Lehigh swept the season series with a pair of hard-fought five point victories... The Mountain Hawks rallied from an early 15-point deficit, and a nine-point second-half hole, for a 57-52 victory at Army on Jan. 20...They got the game-winning basket from Rob Keefer with 1:21 to play... Lehigh built a 16-point lead in the second matchup, then had to hold on for a 58-53 win on Feb. 16.

Army The Black Knights notched their second win in a row and swept the season series with Bucknell for the first time in League annals with a 54-51 win over the Bison on Saturday...Army has six Patriot League wins in a season for the first time since 2001-02 and just the second time in the League's history...Army's No. 5 seed matches its best of all-time, and is the first time it has earned a seed that high when the Patriot League has fielded eight teams...They have won 13 games in consecutive seasons for the first time since 1977-78 and 1978-79...The Black Knights had the lead throughout against Bucknell, building an 11-point edge at the half and still holding that lead with just over three minutes to play...Bucknell rallied to cut the deficit all the way down to three, but Army held on when the Bison missed a pair of three-pointers in the final 30 seconds...Army won its final two League games for the first time...Jarell Brown had 13 points to lead Army, while Cleveland Richard scored 11...The Black Knights connected on 54 percent of their shots in the first half to build the advantage...Brown received First-Team All-Patriot League honors on Monday...His 97 three-pointers on the season are two away from matching an Army record...He is the fifth player in Army history with consecutive 500-point seasons...Army has dropped six of its last seven games at Lehigh, with the victory coming in last year's quarterfinals...The Black Knights have not advanced to the semifinals in consecutive years since going in 1995 and 1996.

Lehigh The Mountain Hawks earned their second win in a row and claimed a quarterfinal home game after beating Holy Cross, 65-58, on Friday...They snapped a five-game losing skid against the Crusaders, and split the season series...Lehigh won back-to-back games on the final week of the regular season for the first time since 1990-91, the first season of Patriot League men's basketball...The Mountain Hawks were down by five when they went on a 12-0 run to take a 49-42 lead with five minutes left in the game...Marquis Hall scored eight points in the spurt, nailing a three-pointer to give Lehigh a lead it would not relinquish at 44-42 with 6:09 left and capping the run with a three-pointer to push the lead to seven...They led by at least four points the rest of the way...Hall led Lehigh with 23 points, connecting on all 10 of his free throw attempts...He also dished out seven assists and pulled down six rebounds while committing only one turnover...Hall scored 11 of his points in the final five minutes...Bryan White had 14 points and seven boards, while Rob Keefer added 11 points...The Mountain Hawks held a 38-29 rebounding advantage...The last time Lehigh downed Bucknell and Holy Cross in the same season was the 2003-04 campaign...Keefer received Patriot League Rookie of the Year and All-Rookie Team honors on Monday, while Hall was a Second-Team All-League pick...Lehigh goes for its seventh win in the last eight home games in the series with Army...The Mountain Hawks have a Patriot-League best 11-3 record at home this season...Lehigh tries for a return trip to the League semifinals after missing out for the first time since 2003 a year ago.

No. 8 Holy Cross (15-13, 5-9) at No. 1 American (17-11, 9-4), Wednesday, 7:30 p.m.

Bender Arena, Washington, D.C.

Series: Holy Cross, 14-4 Streak: American, One Win Last Meeting: AU, 62-46 (2.6.08)

Holy Cross/American Tournament Notes The Eagles have only competed in six Patriot League Tournaments, but they have been eliminated by the Crusaders in three of them and are 0-3 against the Crusaders in Tournament history...Holy Cross earned a 58-54 victory at American in the 2002 League Championship, and defeated the Eagles, 72-64, in the title game at the Hart Center in 2003...Holy Cross also knocked off American, 55-53, at home in the semifinals a year ago on its way to the 2007 title...American plays as the No. 1 seed for the first time since 2002, while Holy Cross is the No. 8 seed for the first time...Holy Cross Head Coach Ralph Willard has a 15-4 record in the Patriot League Tournament, while American counterpart Jeff Jones holds a 9-6 mark...American has qualified for the semifinals in all six of its Patriot League seasons, while Holy Cross has made three straight semifinal rounds en route to three consecutive title game appearances.

2007-08 Series The road teams were victorious as the Crusaders and Eagles split the season series...Holy Cross got a jumper from Andrew Beinert with 18.5 seconds to play in the game to notch a 66-64 victory at American on Jan. 26, its first League win of the season...The Eagles responded with a 62-46 win at the Hart Center on Feb. 6 that snapped an eight-game series losing streak against the Crusaders...They outscored Holy Cross, 30-14, in the last 11 minutes of the game.

Holy Cross The Crusaders lost their third consecutive League game with a 65-58 defeat at Lehigh on Friday...The loss ended a five-game win streak against the Mountain Hawks, and dropped Holy Cross to last place for the first time in League history...The 5-9 League record is the worst for the Crusaders since finishing 3-9 in the 1999-00 campaign...The Crusaders held a 32-26 lead at halftime, and went up 36-27 early in the second half...They still had a 42-37 lead with 10:33 left, but the Mountain Hawks took over from there...Lehigh scored the next 12 points, and Holy Cross never got closer than four the rest of the way...Tim Clifford scored 25 points on 10-of-14 shooting for the Crusaders, while Colin Cunningham had 15 points...Clifford led the team in scoring for the last 14 games of the year, including the final 13 Patriot League contests...Clifford was a First-Team All-Patriot League pick, while Beinert received All-Rookie honors on Monday...The Crusaders begin defense of their Patriot League Championship on Wednesday...They are trying to make the League semifinals for the fourth year in a row...Holy Cross has not lost a Tournament game to a team other than Bucknell since falling to Colgate in the quarterfinals in 2000.

American The Eagles earned their third Patriot League regular-season title with an 84-72 win over Lafayette on Saturday and Navy's loss to Colgate...It is their first regular-season title since the 2003-04 season, and first outright title since 2001-02...They also finished 10-4 in both of those campaigns, and match those years for their best mark in League play...American won its seventh consecutive game in the series against Lafayette...The Eagles opened up a 12-point lead early in the second half, but saw Lafayette rally to tie the score at 49...The Eagles went back ahead on a three-pointer by Bryce Simon with 9:40 left...Simon canned another three to make it a six-point game, and the Eagles ended up scoring 15 consecutive points to take a 64-49 lead with 6:17 left...Lafayette cut the deficit to seven in the final minutes, but the Eagles hit 11-of-14 foul shots to seal the win...Five American players scored in double figures, led by Simon with a career-high 19...Derrick Mercer and Brian Gilmore each had 16 points...The Eagles connected on 52 percent of their shots for the game, including 10-of-15 from three-point range...The Eagles also clinch a postseason berth, since all conference No. 1 seeds that do not win their tournament automatically qualify for the NIT...Carr was named a First-Team All-Patriot League selection, while Derek Mercer made the second team...Carr has made 117 three-pointers this season, setting a Patriot League record and just eight away from cracking the NCAA single-season top 25...The Eagles try to extend their streak of Patriot League semifinal appearances to seven...They have won four consecutive home games overall, but have not defeated the Crusaders at home since 2003-04.