Jan. 15, 2002
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GAME INFORMATION
Match Up: Lafayette (7-7, 1-1) at American (8-7, 2-0)
Tip: 7:30 p.m.
Site: Washington, D.C.
Arena: Bender Arena (4,500)
Series: Lafayette leads, 11-9
Radio: WEST-AM 1400, www.lafayette.edu
Commentators: Dick Hammer, Phil LaBella
Television: None
THE STORY LINE: Lafayette takes to the road for the first of four straight games away from Kirby Sports Center. The Leopards face American which introduced itself to the Patriot League by winning its first two games, the only team to remain undefeated.
NEXT UP: The Leopards stay on the road, traveling to West Point, N.Y. on Saturday for a 3:15 p.m. tipoff with a much-improved Army squad. Journeys to Penn (Jan. 21) and Navy (Jan. 23) follow. Lafayette returns home on Jan. 26 to host Colgate.
DEBERRY DA MAN VS. HOLY CROSS: Sophomore guard Justin DeBerry had a stand out performance in Lafayette's 64-58 win over preseason favorite Holy Cross. DeBerry hit 5-of-6 three point attempts en route to a career-high 20 points vs. the Crusaders. DeBerry made three-straight three-pointers late in the second half to maintain the Leopards' lead. He also sank two free throws in the final 29 seconds to seal the victory.
GET THAT SHOT OUT OF HERE: Lafayette swatted away a season-high nine shots vs. Holy Cross. Rob Dill led the way with three blocks off the bench with starting post players Mike Farrell and Mick Kuberka each blocking two. The Leopards lead the Patriot League in blocks with 4.14 per game.
PLEICK HITS CAREER-HIGH: Junior guard Andrew Pleick scored a career-high 10 points off the bench vs. Holy Cross. Pleick hit two crucial three-pointers on a perfect 3-for-3 shooting day. He also managed three rebounds, two assists and two steals in 20 minutes.
AMERICAN: The Eagles enter the game with an 8-7 record in 2001-02 and a 2-0 mark in Patriot League play having beaten Colgate (76-59) on the road and Army at home (58-40). American notched a key non-league win over Florida State on Dec. 22. American posted a 7-20 record in 2000-01 and two starters return from that squad. This season senior center Patrick Doctor leads the team in scoring (12.6 ppg) and rebounding (5.5 rpg). Guard Steven Miles is also managing double figures at 11.5 ppg.Glenn Stokes (guard), Keith Gray (forward) and Vladimir Buscaglia (forward) round out the starting lineup.
American is coached by Jeff Jones who is in his second season with the Eagles. Jones, a 1982 Virginia graduate, holds a 15-27 record at American.
LEAGUE STATS: Lafayette currently ranks first or second in 15 Patriot League statistical categories through Jan. 15 games.
STATS RANK OUTPUT STATS RANK OUTPUT Assists (per game) 1st 15.43 Blocks (per game) 1st 4.14 Assist/Turn. Ratio 2nd 1.00 FG % 1st 46.3 Scoring Offense 2nd 72.2 FG% Defense 2nd 41.6 Scoring Margin 2nd +3.3 3FG Made (per game) 1st 8.36 Free Throw % 2nd 73.5 3FG % 1st 39.0 Steals (per game) 2nd 8.00 3FG % Defense 2nd 33.5
YOUR ATTENDANCE PLEASE: Lafayette is again leading the Patriot League in attendance with an average of 2,167 fans taking in each home game at Kirby Sports Center. It's nothing new for the Leopards who have led the league in attendance the past four seasons. Lafayette averaged 2,508 fans in 2000-01, 2,474 in 1999-00, 2,864 in 1998-99 and 2,045 in 1997-98. THE COACH: Head coach Fran O'Hanlon (Villanova '70) is in his seventh season at Lafayette. O'Hanlon has garnered two Patriot League Coach of the Year honors, while restoring the Lafayette program to a championship level. He guided the Leopards to consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances in 1998-99 and 1999-00. O'Hanlon's career record stands at 102-84, including two 20-win seasons.
DOWN TO THE WIRE: Eleven of Lafayette's games have been decided by 10 points or less. Two have ended with a four-point margin, one was decided by three points and one by one point. The Leopards' game vs. Holy Cross ended with a six-point differential. BURKE ASCENDING CAREER LISTS: Brian Burke is steadily ascending Lafayette's career assist and three-pointer charts. Against Holy Cross, Burke cranked out four assists to move into 12th place with 240 career assists. Burke needs eight to move into 11th and 47 to reach the top 10. With 101 career three-pointers, Burke occupies eighth place all-time and needs seven threes to move into seventh place and nine three's to slide into sixth.
THE ALL-TIME SERIES: This is Lafayette's 21st all-time meeting with American in the Leopards' 92 seasons of basketball. However, it is the first Patriot League contest between the two. The Leopards are 11-9 all-time versus the Eagles...The first series meeting was Feb. 2, 1962, as the two teams squared off in Washington in a game that American won 84-72. (See complete series breakdown in PDF version)
ALL-TIME VS. THE PATRIOT LEAGUE: Lafayette has played 500 games against the six members of the Patriot League, and has a 288-212 record in all games against them. In Patriot League play, Lafayette is 60-82 in the regular-season and 8-9 in the Patriot League Tournament. Under Fran O'Hanlon, the Leopards are 45-29 in Patriot League regular-season play. Lafayette was 10-2 in 1997-98 and 1998-99, 11-1 in 1999-00, 4-8 in 2000-01 and is 1-1 this season.
American 11-9, Colgate 29-33, Lehigh 128-66, Army 23-16, Holy Cross 11-17, Navy 15-32, Bucknell 80-47
FARRELL CLEANING THE GLASS: Forward Mike Farrell has taken on the weight of the rebounding duties. Farrell is averaging 5.2 rebounds per game and has already matched his career high in rebounds when he snatched eight versus Rider on Jan. 2.
SAXTON HELPING WITH THE BOARDS: Sophomore guard Ben Saxton has also been doing his part. Saxton is the Leopards' top rebounding perimeter player with 4.1 rebounds per game and ranks third on the team behind post players Mike Farrell and Mick Kuberka. Saxton grabbed a career-high nine rebounds at Princeton on Dec. 21.
LAFAYETTE OUTSHOOTING OPPONENTS: Lafayette has outshot its opponent in 10 of 13 games this season, excepting Princeton, Rider and Bucknell. The Leopards are shooting 46 percent from the floor compared to their opponents' 42 percent. Lafayette has shot above 50 percent in four games and hit a season-high 61 percent to open the season at Albany. Opponent FG% LC FG% Opponent FG% LC FG% Albany 48.4 61.2 Cornell 32.0 42.1 Penn State 39.7 45.6 Scranton 32.7 57.4 Miami 38.3 39.6 Princeton 54.0 37.3 St. Peter's 45.8 46.3 Howard 38.8 47.2 Marist 45.2 52.9 Rider 45.5 34.5 Columbia 38.6 39.5 Bucknell 49.1 41.7 Drexel 36.1 56.4 Holy Cross 39.6 45.2
FROM THE LINE: Lafayette is shooting 74 percent (216-294) from the stripe. Brian Burke, a career 88 percent free throw shooter, leads the Leopards this season with an 88 percent clip. Burke holds the Patriot League record for consecutive free throws with 49, a mark he set in 1999-00.
SOPHOMORE STARTERS: Four of the players who have been in the Lafayette starting lineup are members of the sophomore class. Justin DeBerry is holding down the shooting guard position along with Ben Saxton and Winston Davis who have both started at shooting guard and Mike Farrell who has started every game at power forward. Nine of the 14 players on the Lafayette squad are freshmen or sophomores. Freshman point guard Kenny Grant has started the Leopards' last eight games. O'HANLON REACHES 100 VICTORIES (Dec. 19): Lafayette head coach Fran O'Hanlon reached the 100-win plateau with the Leopards' victory over Scranton on Dec. 19. O'Hanlon started the season with 95 wins. The seventh-year head coach joined George Davidson (170 wins), Bill Anderson (139), Butch van Breda Kolff (132) and Tom Davis (116) in the 100-win club. O'Hanlon has twice been named Patriot League Coach of the Year and has led Lafayette to two NCAA Tournament appearances.
INJURY REPORT: Head coach Fran O'Hanlon expects to have his full complement of 14 players available for tonight's game.
STEPPIN' UP: Senior center Mick Kuberka has seen a significant increase in playing time this season. He went from averaging 10.5 minutes per game last season to 21.6 mpg this season. His numbers have drastically improved and he is posting 8.2 ppg and 4.4 rpg. He has set new career-highs for points (16), rebounds (8), blocks (4) and assists (3). ...AND OUT: Kuberka has the green light to launch an occasional three-pointer. He has taken 33 three's this season, making 15 for 46 percent. Kuberka went 4-6 from long range against Howard on Dec. 30. A month earlier vs. Marist, Kuberka made 4-5.
BURKE SERVING UP A TASTY DISH: Senior Brian Burke is leading the team with 4.3 assists per game. Burke dished off for eight assists vs. Howard. On Dec. 5 in front of a hometown crowd at Drexel, Burke recorded a season-high 10 assists. The co-captain led the team in assists last season, despite missing two months of the season.
LETTING IT FLY: Fran O'Hanlon's Lafayette teams have been known to hoist it up from the perimeter. Lafayette has hit 200 or more three-pointers in each of the last four seasons, recording 225 in 2000-01, 249 in 1999-00, 238 in 1998-99 and 207 in 1997-98. This season, Lafayette has made 117 of 300 three-point attempts for a 39 percent clip.
LINE CHANGE: For those seeing Lafayette basketball for the first time, Fran O'Hanlon's substitution patterns may more closely resemble hockey than basketball. O'Hanlon frequently substitutes three or four players at a time, often looking for an advantage in offensive and defensive matchups. The frequent substitutions also force opposing coaches and players to be constantly aware of personnel changes.
FOUR-GUARD SET: Many teams employ a three-guard set, but few rarely play four guards on the floor at a time. Head Coach Fran O'Hanlon has been using combinations of Justin DeBerry, Brian Burke, Winston Davis, Kenny Grant, Ben Saxton and Reggie Guy along with forward Mike Farrell or center Mick Kuberka. With Grant or Guy in the lineup, DeBerry moves to shooting guard, his true position. Defensively, the Leopards cope by having their tallest guards, Davis (6-6), Burke (6-5) and Saxton (6-5), guard post players.
DEEP INTO THE BENCH: Fran O'Hanlon has always gone fairly deep into his bench in his tenure at Lafayette. This season is no exception, as 10 players have participated in every game.
IN THE HOUSE THAT THE KIRBY'S BUILT: Lafayette has enjoyed plenty of success in Kirby Sports Center. Since the building's inaugural season in 1973-74, the Leopards have posted a 250-106 record in 29 seasons. Twenty-two of those seasons have been winning campaigns. This season, Lafayette is 5-2 with wins over St. Peter's, Cornell, Scranton, Howard and Holy Cross and losses to Marist and Rider.
GEOGRAPHY FOR $300 PLEASE, ALEX: The 14 members of the Lafayette basketball team hail from eight states and three countries. In the Leopards' starting lineup, Justin DeBerry is from Arizona, Winston Davis and Mike Farrell from Florida, Mick Kuberka from New York and Brian Burke is from Pennsylvania. On the remainder of the roster, Minnesota (Rob Worthington), California (Andrew Pleick), New Jersey (Eric Mugavero) and Virginia (Jamie Hughes) are represented. Canada, often called the 51st state by chauvinistic Americans, is home to Brad Anderson. Rob Dill resides in Germany.
ON THE RADIO: Today's game can be heard live on WEST-AM 1400, the 66th year of broadcasting Lafayette Athletics. Dick Hammer is in his 35th year of calling the play-by-play for Lafayette men's basketball.
ALL-TIME AT LAFAYETTE: In the 92 seasons of men's basketball at Lafayette College, the Leopards hold an overall record of 1112-959 (.537) that spans back to the first season in 1900-01.
BURKE'S WEEKLY JOURNAL: Brian Burke is chronicling the 2001-02 season through his weekly journal on www.GoLeopards.com. He is in his second season of writing journals and his latest contributions are posted intermittently on the web.
SENIOR C0-CAPTAINS: Seniors Brian Burke and Rob Worthington are serving as the team captains for the 2001-02 season. Burke is the top returning scorer for Lafayette, having averaged 14.0 points per game in 2000-01. Worthington is the team's top returning rebounder and started 32 games in his sophomore and junior seasons. Burke and Worthington were selected co-captains by head coach Fran O'Hanlon. The two have been roommates since their freshman years and are both English majors.
LAFAYETTE ON THE WEB: The best source for information on the Lafayette basketball program is on the web. Click on "Sports" at www.lafayette.edu. The site is continuously updated with press releases, game notes, schedules, rosters, statistics, players features, photos and more.
LAFAYETTE ON TELEVISION: For the fourth-straight season, Lafayette features the most expansive television package in the Patriot League. The Leopards have 14 games televised, with the possible addition of three more television contests in the Patriot League Tournament. The Lafayette Sports Network will air 12 games to more than 5.2 million viewers in the Lehigh Valley, Pocono region and Philadelphia, central New Jersey, New York City and Boston. Locally the telecasts can be seen on RCN Cable channels 4 and 60, Service Electric Cable channel 51, Blue Ridge Cable channel 5 and broadcast channel 60. Lafayette will also be seen on the Patriot League Television Network at Colgate. Locally, that game will be broadcasted on WFMZ-TV 69. The Lafayette at Lehigh game on Feb. 20 can be seen on Service Electric TV-2.
MEDAL OF HONOR: Following the 2000-01 season, Brian Burke was selected as one of four 2000-01 recipients of the Eastern College Athletic Conference Award of Valor. It is awarded annually to ECAC student-athletes whose courage, motivation and relentless determination serve as an inspiration to all. The recipients of the Award of Valor exemplify strength of character, perseverance, and most importantly, accomplishment deserving recognition as being truly triumphant.
Burke led the team in assists and finished third on the team in scoring despite missing 13 games after suffering a punctured lung in a game at Fordham on Dec. 11. Burke was playing the best game of his career, having scored a career-high 24 points, including five three-pointers. With five minutes left in the game, Burke's night came to an end as he was removed from the arena on a stretcher after complaining of chest pain and shortness of breath.
The junior suffered severe internal bleeding and was later diagnosed with a punctured lung, losing one third of his blood supply. After an initial 10-day hospital stay, Burke suffered another setback as he was preparing to return home. On Dec. 21 when the doctors removed the chest tubes, Burke's lung collapsed and prolonged his hospital stay. Burke's recovery was slow but determined and he returned to classes in late January. The coaches and doctors planned on Burke missing the remainder of the season and concerns arose that he may never play competitive basketball again. On February 11, exactly two months after a punctured lung left his career and health in jeopardy, Burke returned to the court, scoring a game-high 23 points, just one point shy of his career-high. His effort helped lead Lafayette to an 87-78 win over Navy. Burke went on to play in Lafayette's six remaining games. He was presented with the award two weeks before the start of the 2001-02 season.
