Dec. 16, 2002
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GAME INFORMATION
Match Up: Lafayette (0-5) vs. Ursinus (6-1)
Tip: 7:30 p.m. E.S.T.
Site: Easton, Pa.
Arena: Kirby Sports Center (3,500)
Series: First meeting
Radio: WEST-AM 1400, www.lafayette.edu
Commentators: Dick Hammer, Carl Schumacher
THE STORY LINE: The Leopards, who have had a nine-day break from game action to prepare and take finals, are looking for their first win of the season. Lafayette enters the game with an 0-5 record, its first such mark since 1992-93. Tonight's game vs. Ursinus is the final contest of a three-game homestand. Ursinus (6-1) has won six straight and is coming off a 93-89 victory over Haverford on Sunday.
FOUR FOR NOT: For the second time this season, Lafayette had four players score in double figures, this time coming against Princeton (12/7). Mike Farrell dropped in a season-high 17, Andrew Pleick 14 and Justin DeBerry and Winston Davis 12. Lafayette managed the same feat in the season-opener at Binghamton with Rob Dill instead of Farrell managing double digits. Unfortunately for the Leopards, both games have resulted in losses.
DAVIS EMERGING AS A SCORER: In his junior season, Winston Davis has emerged as one of the Leopards' top scorers. He is averaging 14.8 points per game, contributing 16 at Binghamton, 18 at La Salle, 14 at Arizona State, 14 vs. Drexel and 12 vs. Princeton . He has led the Leopards in scoring in four of five games this season.
TOUGH COMPETITION: Lafayette has faced some formidable competition in its first five games. The Leopards' five opponents are a combined 18-11 at this point in the season. Lafayette has played teams from the Pac-10 (Arizona St.), Atlantic 10 (La Salle), CAA (Drexel) and Ivy League (Princeton).
DAWSON SETS CAREER BEST: Senior Drew Dawson turned in a career-night vs. Princeton. The frequent defensive sub off the Lafayette bench contributed a career-high eight points and passed off for two assists in 26 minutes. Dawson hit two three-pointers at crucial points in the game.
COMING UP: The Leopards take back to the road on Thursday, traveling to Jersey City, N.J. for a non-conference matchup with St. Peter's. The road does not get any easier as the Leopards' travel to face Massachusetts on Saturday.
ABOUT URSINUS: Ursinus, a Division III opponent from Collegeville, Pa., comes into Tuesday night's game with a 6-1 record. The Bears lost their season-opener versus Springfield on Nov. 22, but have rattled off six straight wins. Ursinus is coming off a 93-89 win at Haverford on Sunday. Junior guard Dennis Stanton and senior forward Dan Luciano are leading the way in the scoring department. Stanton is averaging 21.6 points per game and is coming off a 16-point performance at Haverford. Stanton is the leader of a young backcourt, joining freshman Mike McGarvey (8.3 ppg, 4.3 apg) and sophomore Naquan Williams (4.1 ppg, 2.4 rpg) in the starting lineup. In the frontcourt, Luciano has averaged a double-double, posting 18.7 points and 12.7 rebounds per game at power forward. Fellow senior Steve Erfle has also started all seven games and is managing strong numbers with 15.7 points and 9.0 rebounds per game. The duo has helped Ursinus outrebound its opponents by over 10 rebounds per game. Ursinus is coached by Kevin Small, a 1991 graduate of St. Joseph's. Small, who is in his third season at Ursinus, has a 30-26 career record.
INJURY REPORT (presented by Asst. Athletic Trainer Stephanie Conley): Freshman forward Miran Omanovic injured his ankle in practice on Dec. 1 in Arizona. X-rays revealed no fractures and he was diagnosed with a severe sprain. Omanovic has not practiced since and will be out for three weeks. Sophomore guard 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 since the season began and is out indefinitely.
ON THE SIDELINE: Head coach Fran O'Hanlon (Villanova, 1970) is in 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 110-96, a mark that includes two 20-win seasons.
FARRELL GRABS CAREER HIGH REBOUNDS: Mike Farrell has been the one constant performer in the Lafayette lineup this season and his rebounding is a reflection of it. The junior set a new career mark versus Drexel (12/3). He ripped down 14 rebounds, nine defensive and five of the offensive variety. His previous career high was nine, which he managed in the Leopards' first game of the season at Binghamton and once last season vs. Lehigh. He is averaging 7.8 rebounds per game.
CAPUSAN'S CONTRIBUTIONS: Freshman Andrei Capusan turned in his best game of the young season against Drexel (12/3), pulling down a career-best five rebounds in just 12 minutes of action off the bench. Capusan has played in all five games.
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 254-110 record in 30 seasons. Twenty-three of those seasons have been winning campaigns. In 2001-02, Lafayette went 9-4 at Kirby. This season, Lafayette is 0-2, having lost to Drexel and Princeton.
PATRIOT LEAGUE STATISTICS: Lafayette has several players ranked among the Patriot League leaders at this point in the season. Winston Davis (14.8 ppg) and Justin DeBerry (11.2 ppg) are ranked fourth and 12th, respectively, in scoring. Andrew Pleick is third in assists per game (4.2 apg). Fellow co-captain Mike Farrell is currently the second-best rebounder in the Patriot league with 7.8 rpg. Winston Davis sits third in the conference in free throw shooting (85.0%).
GUARDS CRASHING THE GLASS: Power forward Mike Farrell (7.8 rpg) isn't the only one doing solid work on the boards. Guards Winston Davis (5.8 rpg) and Andrew Pleick (4.2 rpg) rank second and third, respectively, on the team in rebounding. Davis is currently the top rebounding guard in the Patriot League.
ALL-TIME AT LAFAYETTE: In the 92 seasons of men's basketball at Lafayette College, the Leopards hold an overall record of 1120-971 (.537). Lafayette's first season of basketball was in 1900-01.
CO-CAPTAINS: Senior Andrew Pleick and junior Mike Farrell are serving 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 less than two full seasons of collegiate basketball left, Justin DeBerry ranks ninth in career three-point field goals. DeBerry has hit 91 career trifectas and needs 18 more to surpass Mike Homer '00 for eighth place. Entering the season, DeBerry ranked sixth in career three-point percentage (.398). If he keeps on pace, DeBerry could move as high as second all-time, and would trail Tyson Whitfield '01 who had 271 career three-pointers.
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.
INTERNATIONAL FEEL: Lafayette has three players from foreign countries on the roster. Junior Rob Dill hails from Isernhagen, Germany. 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).
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 was 3-for-4 from the floor at Binghamton. This season Farrell is shooting 44 percent from the floor.
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.
POSSIBLE STARTERS?: Fran O'Hanlon used nine different starting lineups in 2001-02. Ten different players spent time in the opening five. This season, Fran O'Hanlon has used just two starting lineups. (see chart to right)
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 by one point. This season, two of Lafayette's losses have been by less than 10 points, including one four-point loss.
LAFAYETTE ON TELEVISION: For the fifth-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 14 games to more than 9.1 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 appears on the Patriot League Television Network on Jan. 24 at Lehigh and on Feb. 7 vs. Colgate. Locally, those games will be broadcasted on WFMZ-TV 69. They will also be carried on DirecTV.
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 select road contest and by either Scott Morse (Lafayette Director of Athletic Communications) or Phil LaBella (Lafayette Sports Information Coordinator) on the road.
