Binghamton Game Notes in PDF Format
Game Information
Match Up: Lafayette vs. Binghamton
Tip: 1:00 p.m.
Site: Binghamton, N.Y.
Arena: West Gymnasium (2,275)
Series: First Meeting
Radio: WEST-AM 1400, www.lafayette.edu
Commentators: Dick Hammer
Television: None
Commentators: None
THE STORY LINE: Lafayette opens the 2002-03 season on Saturday. The Leopards are coming off a 15-14 campaign in 2001-02 when they finished in a tie for third place in the Patriot League. Lafayette chose to forego exhibition games this preseason, instead deciding to hold scrimmages vs. St. Joseph's and Monmouth. This is also the season opener for Binghamton which ended 2001-02 at 9-19.
BREAKING THE SEAL: The Lafayette basketball program is 60-32 all-time in season openers, including a 20-19 mark in season opening games on the road. Since Fran O'Hanlon's arrival on College Hill in 1995-96, Lafayette has begun every season on the road. The Leopards have won their last four season-opening games with wins over Dartmouth (56-41), Columbia (59-52), Cornell (72-62) and most recently Albany (80-72).
ON THE SIDELINE: Head coach Fran O'Hanlon (Villanova, 1970) begins his eighth season as the Leopards' mentor. He has twice been named Patriot League Coach of the Year of the Lafayette non-scholarship program and lists two NCAA Tournament appearances and three Patriot League regular-season titles among his credentials. O'Hanlon's career record stands at 110-91, a mark that includes two 20-win seasons.
THE STARTING FIVE: Lafayette returns three players to the starting five. Senior point guard Andrew Pleick started 11 of 21 games he played in after becoming eligible in December following a transfer. Shooting guard Justin DeBerry started 26 of 29 games in 2001-02 and averaged 11.4 ppg. Power forward Mike Farrell started 28 games on his way to 10.0 ppg. Winston Davis made five starts last season while Rob Dill did not start in any games. Dill, however, did play in all 29 games.
ABOUT BINGHAMTON: Binghamton, the alma mater of reknowned Washington Post columnist and brilliant ESPN personality Tony Kornheiser, is coming off a 9-19 mark in 2001-02, its first season of competition on the Division I level. Binghamton finished sixth out of nine teams in the America East Conference. A trio of seniors who are also the team's captains will be looked to for leadership on the 2002-03 Bearcat squad. Charles Baker (5.6 ppg, 2.2 rpg) and Anthony Green (10.0 ppg, 3.4 rpg) return in the backcourt. The duo spent just four games together in the starting lineup in 2001-02 due to injuries. Forward Jeffrey St. Fort averaged 12.9 points and 6.5 rebounds per game last season and has led the Binghamton program in scoring in each of his three college seasons. The Bearcats also welcome back seven-foot center Nick Billings who missed the final month of the season due to injury. In the summer, Binghamton added two transfers from the JUCO ranks in Billy Williams and Brandon Carter. Binghamton is coached by Al Walker, a 1981 graduate of SUNY-Brockport. Walker had previous head coaching stints at Chaminade (1996-2000) and Cornell (1993-96).
COMING UP: For the third straight season, Lafayette has three road games to open the season. Lafayette next travels to La Salle on Tuesday, Nov. 26 and Arizona State on Saturday, Nov. 30. The Sundevils were picked to finish fourth in the Pac-10. The Leopards open up at home on Dec. 3 against Drexel.
INJURY REPORT: Sophomore wing Eric Mugavero, who was expected to see increased playing time this season, has been hobbled by severe lower back pain. He has been unable to practice the past two weeks and will not be available to play today. Mugavero has undergone several tests to determine the cause. Junior forward Rob Dill has been bothered by an ankle injury. He re-aggravated the injury that he originally suffered this summer while playing in his home country of Germany. He has been practicing and is expected to play today.
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. Hammer is joined by Carl Schumacher at home games and by either Scott Morse (Lafayette Director of Athletic Communications) or Phil LaBella (Lafayette Sports Information Coordinator) on the road.
ALL-TIME AT LAFAYETTE: In the 92 seasons of men's basketball at Lafayette College, the Leopards hold an overall record of 1120-966 (.537). Lafayette's first season of basketball was in 1900-01.
CO-CAPTAINS: Senior Andrew Pleick and junior Mike Farrell will serve as team captains for the 2002-03 season. Farrell is the first non-senior to serve as a captain since the 1997-98 season.
ASCENDING THE CHARTS: With two full seasons of collegiate basketball left, Justin DeBerry ranks ninth in career three-point field goals. DeBerry has hit 84 career trifectas and ranks sixth in career three-point percentage (.398). If he keeps on pace, DeBerry could move as high as second all-time, trailing only Tyson Whitfield '01 who had 271.
INTERNATIONAL FEEL: Lafayette has three players from foreign countries on the roster to start the season. Junior Rob Dill hails from Isernhagen, Germany. Incoming freshman Andrei Capusan comes from Bucharest, Romania, home country of 2000 graduate Stefan Ciosici who was from Timisoara. Freshman Miran Omanovic is originally from Mostar, Bosnia. Both he and Capusan spent the 2001-02 academic year attending schools in the United States.
PRESEASON POLL: Lafayette has been picked to finish seventh in the Patriot League Preseason Poll. The poll, which is voted on by the conference coaches and men's basketball sports information directors, picked the Leopards to finish seventh in 2001-02 when Lafayette ended in a tie for third.
TOURNAMENT TIME?: The 2002-03 season marks the second in a row that Lafayette will not participate in an in-season tournament. Prior to the 2001-02 season, Lafayette had competed in an in-season tournament every season since 1993-94. SHARP SHOOTERS: In 2001-02, Lafayette led the Patriot League in every shooting category, including field goal percentage (.464), free throw percentage (.747) and three-point shooting percentage (.358).
MAY I HAVE YOUR ATTENDANCE PLEASE?: The Lafayette men's basketball program has led the Patriot League in home attendance the past five seasons. In 2001-02, Lafayette averaged 2,563 fans per home contest, welcoming nearly 300 more fans than any other school in the Patriot League.
LAFAYETTE ATHLETICS ON THE WEB: The quickest and most comprehensive source for information on Lafayette athletics is the world wide web. Go to www.lafayette.edu and click on "Sports." The athletics site is continuously updated with gameday press releases, schedules and results, rosters, statistics, player features, photos and more. On gameday, you can listen to the radio broadcast of all of Lafayette's men's basketball games and watch a live stats feed of home games.
POWER FORWARD TRANSFERS TO LAFAYETTE: Sean Knitter, who played two seasons at the University of Delaware, will join the Lafayette men's basketball program for the 2003-04 season. NCAA rules require that he sit out one season after transferring. The 6-8, 260-pound forward played in 23 games in 2001-02 and averaged 5.0 points and 3.0 rebounds per game on a 14-16 squad. As a freshman, Knitter played in 27 games (3.3 pts., 1.6 reb.) on a 20-10 squad. He will have two seasons of eligibility remaining when he joins the team.
FARRELL ON TARGET: Mike Farrell was the Leopards most solid inside player in 2001-02 and his shooting was evidence of that. The 6-8 power forward finished second in the Patriot League in field goal percentage in 2001-02, shooting at a 57 percent clip.
FARRELL ON THE WORLD WIDE WEB: Mike Farrell will be chronicling the 2002-03 season in his weekly journal on www.GoLeopards.com. Farrell will run down the season and give insight into the life of a student-athlete.
DOWN TO THE WIRE: Twenty-three of Lafayette's games in 2001-02 were decided by 10 points or less. Three ended with a four-point margin, three were decided by three points and one ended in a one-point decision. POSSIBLE STARTERS?: Fran O'Hanlon used nine different starting lineups in 2001-02. Mike Farrell started all but one game, giving way to Rob Worthington on senior day. Ten different players spent time in the opening five.
IN THE HOUSE THAT THE KIRBYS 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 254-108 record in 29 seasons. Twenty-three of those seasons have been winning campaigns. In 2001-02, Lafayette went 9-4 with wins over St. Peter's, Cornell, Scranton, Howard, Holy Cross, Bucknell, American, Navy and Lehigh and losses to Marist, Rider, Colgate, Army.
