Dec. 5, 2008

Center Valley, Pa. - There are seven Patriot League men's basketball games this weekend, and two of those come against ranked opponents. American visits No. 20/18 Georgetown on Saturday afternoon, while Bucknell goes to No. 15/17 Wake Forest on Saturday night. Navy will be the only team to play twice over the weekend, as the Mids put their six-game winning streak on the line away from home against Penn on Friday and Virginia Tech in the BB & T Classic in Washington, D.C. on Sunday.

Patriot League Men's Basketball Release - 12.5.08

Patriot League Notebook

Navy Wins Sixth Straight Game

Navy continued its lightning fast start on Tuesday, as the Mids used an outstanding shooting effort and a big second-half to defeat Texas San-Antonio, 78-65. Navy earned its sixth consecutive victory and improved to 6-1 on the season, its best start since 1998-99. The Mids have won six straight for the first time since the 1999-00 season. Navy had to rally from a seven-point halftime deficit, and did it behind a 16-for-19 shooting performance in the second half. The Mids hit 71.4 percent (25-for-35) of their shots in the game, just off the Patriot League record of 71.7 percent. Kaleo Kina led the Mids with 29 points in the game, just one game after scoring a career-high 30. Kina leads the Patriot League with 19.4 ppg this season.

The Mids' win higlighted a tough week for Patriot League men's basketball teams, as the other seven teams lost their combined nine games. The schedule featured Colgate's loss to No. 16/20 Syracuse, and Lehigh's home defeat against St. Joseph's. Holy Cross and Colgate each lost a pair of mid-week games, while American saw its eight-game home winning streak come to an end against Mount St. Mary's.

Two Ranked Foes on Tough Weekend Slate

There are seven Patriot League men's basketball games this weekend, and two of those come against ranked opponents. American visits No. 20/18 Georgetown on Saturday afternoon in a game televised on the Mid-Atlantic Sports Network, while Bucknell goes to No. 15/17 Wake Forest on Saturday night.

Navy will be the only team to play twice over the weekend, as the Mids put their six-game winning streak on the line away from home. Navy travels to the Palestra to take on Penn on Friday night, then goes to Washington, D.C. to take on Virginia Tech in the BB & T Classic in a contest televised on MASN at 5 p.m. on Sunday. Lehigh tries to get back on the winning track at Stony Brook on Friday, while Holy Cross and Colgate will attempt to end losing skids at home on Saturday afternoon. The Crusaders play host to Western Michigan, while the Raiders take on Harvard.

Patriot League Fans Need MASN This Weekend

The Mid-Atlantic Sports Network (MASN) is the place to be for Patriot League men's basketball fans this weekend. American visits No. 20/18 Georgetown on the network on Saturday at 1 p.m., while Navy plays Virginia Tech at 5 p.m. on Sunday in the BB & T Classic in Washington, D.C. MASN also broadcast American's game against Mount St. Mary's on Monday, and will feature more Patriot League action later in the season.

Lehigh, American Both Ranked in College Insider Top 25

Lehigh and American both earned spots in Monday's College Insider.com Mid-Major top 25 ranking, while Navy and Colgate were in the receiving votes category to put half of the Patriot League with votes in the poll. The Mountain Hawks debuted in the poll at No. 16 after their strong start, while the Eagles held the No. 21 position. Navy also received a vote in the AP top 25 poll on Monday, becoming the third Patriot League team to earn a vote in those rankings.

Beating the Big East

Lehigh's 76-71 victory at Rutgers on Nov. 26 was a significant triumph for both the Mountain Hawks and the Patriot League. It was Lehigh's first win over a Big East opponent since the inception of the Patriot League in 1990, and its first over Rutgers since 1967. It was the first victory for a Patriot League team over a Big East opponent since Bucknell beat DePaul, 57-52, on Dec. 3, 2005. The win snapped a 20-game losing streak for Patriot League teams against Big East foes. Lehigh's triumph was also the first over a BCS-level opponent since American beat Maryland, 67-59, on Dec. 22, 2007.

Overtime Again.....And Again

Patriot League teams are getting familiar with overtime, with Bucknell and Navy as the two main participants in the extra session thus far. The Bison earned a double-overtime, 83-82, victory over Old Dominion on Tuesday for their first win of the season, and their first in three overtime games. Bucknell played a school-record three straight overtime games, just one off the NCAA record, before Saturday's loss to Wagner. Navy has won twice in the extra session to extend its five-game winning streak, as the Mids scored a 102-99 triple overtime win at William & Mary on Nov. 22 and a 73-71 triumph in the extra session against Radford on Saturday. That the Bison and Mids are playing so many overtime games is fitting after the two squared off in the first-ever triple overtime contest in League history in the Bison's 87-86 win in last year's Patriot League quarterfinals. Patriot League teams are already 4-3 in overtime this season, which also includes Army's loss to Quinnipiac and Holy Cross' win over St. Joseph's.

Common Opponents

Patriot League teams have already played multiple games against 11 different opponents, and the contests have delivered mixed results. The best success has come against Dartmouth, as Army, Colgate and Lehigh all own victories over the Big Green. American and Navy both knocked off Howard, while American and Lafayette each have victories over Stony Brook. American and Lehigh hold home victories over St. Francis (Pa.), but Bucknell lost the matchup on the road. Holy Cross and Lehigh both hosted St. Joseph's, with the Crusaders winning the matchup and the Mountain Hawks falling. Colgate won but Lafayette lost at Central Connecticut State, while the Leopards won and Bucknell lost against Wagner. The results were not as good against Rider, Brown, Harvard or Fairfield, as the Broncs beat both Lehigh and Lafayette and the Bears and Crimson both have wins over Holy Cross and Army. Fairfield knocked off American on Saturday and Holy Cross on Monday.

Team Notebooks

American The Eagles fell to Mount St. Mary's, 57-52, at home on Monday night...It was American's second consecutive loss, and dropped them to 4-3 on the season...The Eagles also had their eight-game home winning streak snapped...American held a 24-17 lead at halftime, but saw Mount St. Mary's use a second half rally to go up 10 with just over five minutes to play...American got back to within two with 33 seconds left, but could not tie or take the lead...Brian Gilmore had a big day with 15 points and a career-high 16 rebounds...The rebound total is the highest mark for a Patriot League player this season...Garrison Carr had 12 points, while Derrick Mercer added 11...It was American's first home game after a four-game road trip...The game was televised live on MASN...American plays another game on MASN on Saturday, as the Eagles travel to No. 20/18 Georgetown at 1 p.m...The Eagles trail the all-time series with the nationally-ranked Hoyas, 39-10, and have not posted a victory since 1982...The teams resumed the series after a 20-year hiatus last season, with Georgetown posting a 78-51 victory at home...It is the first of a five-game road trip for the Eagles, giving them nine road contests in 10-game span...American will then break for exams and return to action against George Washington on Dec. 17.

Army The Black Knights lost for the sixth consecutive time, falling at home to Presbyterian, 59-43, on Monday...Army is 1-6 on the season...Jesse Steele and Nathan Hedgecock tied for the team lead with seven points apiece...Steele was making his first career start as the Black Knights used their fourth starting lineup in the first seven games...Eight different players have started a game this year...Sixteen of Army's 17 players in uniform saw action on Monday...Army's 43 points tied a season low set in a loss to Princeton...The six-game losing streak is the longest since a seven-game skid in 2006-07 Army finished a stretch of seven games in 17 days to start the season...The Black Knights return to action on Monday when they visit Bryant...Army won the only all-time meeting between the schools.

Bucknell The Bison nearly rallied from a 16-point second-half deficit but fell at La Salle, 68-65, on Tuesday...It was the second straight loss for Bucknell, which dropped to 1-5 for the year... La Salle had an 18-2 second-half run to build its lead...Justin Castleberry led the Bison with 20 points, while G.W. Boon had 14 and Patrick Behan had 10 points and nine rebounds...Darryl Shazier had nine assists and only one turnover, and bumped his Patriot League-leading assist average to 6.5..He has 39 assists and only 12 turnovers this season...The Bison had 10 steals in the game, including four from Castleberry, who leads the Patriot League with 2.83 steals per game...The Bison have a very tough test on Saturday night as they travel to Winston-Salem to take on No. 15/17 Wake Forest...Bucknell has never beaten Wake Forest in four meetings, including a 72-56 loss on the road last year.

Colgate The Raiders fell to 2-4 with a pair of losses this week, falling at No. 16/20 Syracuse, 86-51, on Monday and going down at home against New Hampshire, 57-54, on Wednesday...Colgate has lost four consecutive games after a 2-0 start...Mike Venezia led the Raiders with 15 points against New Hampshire, while Ben Jonson had 12 points and seven rebounds...Alex Woodhouse totaled eight points and nine boards...Colgate rallied from 10 points down to claim a second-half lead, and held a 53-49 edge with 2:19 left before the Wildcats hit back-to-back threes to take the lead for good...Colgate made just 9-of-20 foul shots in the game...Venezia also led the team in scoring against Syracuse with eight points...Joe Hoban had a career-high seven points, while Alex Woodhouse notched a career-high seven blocks...Colgate was outscored by only five points in the second half in the contest...The Raiders complete a busy week when they host Harvard on Saturday afternoon...It is Colgate's last non-League home game, with the Raiders going on an eight-game road trip that spans until Jan. 17 after the matchup...Colgate has a 12-8 advantage in the series with Harvard, but the Crimson have won the matchup in each of the last four seasons.

Holy Cross The Crusaders have lost six consecutive contests after dropping a pair of games this week...Holy Cross fell at home against Fairfield, 78-66, on Monday, and went down by a nearly identical 76-66 score at Yale on Wednesday...Holy Cross is 2-6 on the season...Freshman guard Devin Brown scored a career-high 22 points against Fairfield, connecting on all 10 of his foul shots...Brown leads the Patriot League with a 96.4 free throw percentage this year, hitting 27-of-28 shots from the line...Another freshman had a strong game as well, as R.J. Evans chipped in with 13 points and three steals against the Stags...Holy Cross could not recover from a tough first half at Yale, falling behind 14 points at the break in the eventual defeat...The Crusaders would get no closer than seven points until the final minute of play...Andrew Beinert led the Crusaders with 15 points, hitting 5-of-7 shots from three-point range...Evans and Greg McCarthy each scored 12...Holy Cross concludes its three-game week when it hosts Western Michigan on Saturday afternoon...The Crusaders will be facing Western Michigan for the first time since 1991.

Lafayette The Leopards lost a shootout at Hartford, 97-82, on Thursday...It was Lafayette's fifth consecutive loss, and dropped the Leopards to 2-5 for the season...Andrew Brown led the Leopards with 20 points, connecting on a season-high six three-pointers...Jeff Kari was right behind with 19 points...The Leopards shot 50 percent from the field (27-of-54) and from three-point range (15-of-30)...Lafayette also held a 31-29 edge on the boards, but was hurt by 24 turnovers...Lafayette tied the score with 14 minutes left in the game, but Hartford took over down the stretch...Lafayette's 43 first-half points were its most this season...Nick Petkovich had a career-high eight points...Lafayette is off until Monday, when the Leopards travel to Fordham.386

Lehigh Lehigh saw its three-game winning streak come to an end with a 77-64 home loss to St. Joseph's on Tuesday...The Mountain Hawks fell to 5-2 after recording their best six-game start since the 1980-81 season...Lehigh has still never defeated St. Joseph's, as the two teams were playing for the first time since 1981...Four Lehigh players scored in double figures in the game, with Marquis Hall scoring 18 to lead the way...Zahir Carrington had 13 points, while Prentice Small had 12 and Rob Keefer added 10...Hall also had eight rebounds and seven assists, and is in the top three in the Patriot League in each category...Lehigh trailed throughout the game, but cut the deficit to four on a couple of occasions...The Mountain Hawks came in at No. 16 in the College Insider.com Mid-Major top 25 on Monday, the highest ranking for a Patriot League school this season...Lehigh is at Stony Brook on Friday...The Mountain Hawks lead the all-time series with the Seawolves, 4-1, and earned a 76-61 victory when the teams matched up in Bethlehem last season.

Navy The Mids used a huge second half effort and a great shooting performance to win their sixth consecutive game on Tuesday, knocking off UT-San Antonio, 78-65, in Annapolis...Navy improved its record to 6-1 for the season, its best start since 1998-99...The six-game winning streak is the longest for Navy since winning 13 in a row in 1999-00...The Mids shot 71.4 percent for the game (25-for-35)...That was just off the Patriot League record of 71.7 percent, and was the fourth highest mark in Navy annals...It was the highest mark for the Mids since 1987...Navy rallied from a seven-point halftime deficit by shooting 84.2 percent (16-for-19) in the second half...That was the highest percentage in a half for the Mids since 1984...The 35 field goal attempts are the second fewest in a game for Navy since the 1979-80 season...The Mids were 7-for-11 from three-point range, the fewest three-pointers attempted under Head Coach Billy Lange...The strong shooting helped Navy overcome 27 turnovers...Kaleo Kina scored 29 points in the game, one off his career high of 30 set on Saturday...Kina leads the Patriot League with 19.4 ppg...Adam Teague scored 16 points, while Mark Veazey had 14 and Chris Harris added 12...Teague connected on all six of his shots, including four three-pointers...The Mids received votes this week in both the AP top 25 and the College Insider.com Mid-Major top 25...Navy continues play when it visits Penn on Friday and takes on Virginia Tech in the BB & T Classic in Washington on Sunday...The Mids trail the all-time series with Penn, 57-22, and have lost the last seven meetings with the Quakers...Penn has beaten Navy in each of the last three seasons, with the Mids last win in the series coming in 1988...Navy's matchup with Virgina Tech will be televised live on MASN...The teams are meeting for the first time since 1964.