Jan. 14, 2003

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GAME INFORMATION
Match Up: Lafayette (6-7) at Army (4-8)
Tip: 7:00 p.m. E.S.T.
Site: West Point, N.Y.
Arena: Christl Arena (5,043)
Series: Lafayette leads, 24-18
Radio: WEST-AM 1400, www.lafayette.edu
Commentators: Dick Hammer, Phil LaBella

THE STORY LINE: The Leopards remain on the road in Patriot League action, traveling to West Point, N.Y. on Wednesday to face Army. Lafayette is coming off a tough two-point road loss to Colgate on Saturday that opened the conference portion of the season. Army (4-8) is coming off a 61-45 loss to Holy Cross. Tonight's game in No. 2,100 in Lafayette's 93 seasons.

TURNOVERS: After committing nine turnovers in the first half at Colgate, Lafayette did not turn the ball over at all in the final 20 minutes. The Leopards' finished the game with a season-low nine turnovers.

THE HALF OF IT: Getting a strong start from the opening tap has been a key in Lafayette wins in 2002-03. Lafayette is 4-0 when leading at halftime.

PLEICK'S PASSING: Senior point guard Andrew Pleick leads the team and is second in the Patriot League in assists per game. Pleick is averaging 5.0 assists per game and has established new career highs three times this season. His best efforts were nine- assist performances vs. Cornell and Centenary.

ACCURATE THREATS: Lafayette's post players have been deadly accurate this season. Starting center Rob Dill is shooting at a 63 percent (59-94) clip and leads the Patriot League in that statistical category. Power forward Mike Farrell is shooting 57 percent (50-88) and ranks fourth in the conference in field goal percentage.

SHORT BENCH: In 2002-03, head coach Fran O'Hanlon hasn't had the luxury of a deep bench that he has had in past seasons. The Lafayette bench is averaging just 10.8 points per game. Lafayette did not get any points off the bench in wins over Massachusetts and Albany. For the season, the Lafayette starters have averaged 30.3 minutes per game, while the bench players have averaged 8.7 minutes per game.

ALL-TIME VS. THE PATRIOT LEAGUE: Lafayette has played 532 games against the seven members of the Patriot League, and has a 306-226 record in all games against them. In Patriot League play, Lafayette is 67-88 in the regular-season and 9-10 in the Patriot League Tournament. Under Fran O'Hanlon, the Leopards are 52-35 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, 8-6 in 2001-02 and 0-1 this season.

American 13-10; Colgate 30-37; Lehigh 130-66; Army 24-18; Holy Cross 11-18; Navy 17-32; Bucknell 81-47

COMING UP: Lafayette plays its first Patriot League home game of the season on Saturday, when the Leopards welcome preseason favorite Holy Cross. The contest is "Take A Kid To the Game" sponsored by the NCAA and the Department of Athletics. Adults purchasing a ticket for the game will receive free tickets for all accompanying youth ages 13 and under.

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 Lafayette's 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 116-98, a mark that includes two 20-win seasons.

ABOUT ARMY: The Black Knights enter tonight's Patriot League match-up at 4-8 overall, 0-1 in the Patriot League. Army dropped a 61-45 decision to preseason league favorite Holy Cross on Saturday. Junior guard Andy Smith spearheads the Army attack, averaging 12.2 points and 3.0 rebounds per game. Smith also is shooting 47 percent from behind the arc. Classmate Sean O'Keefe joins Smith in the backcourt and chips in 10.9 ppg and 3.0 apg. They are the only two players to have started all 12 games. Sophomore Joey Payton (4.7 ppg, 3.2 rpg) has started six games. In the Army froncourt, junior forward Bill Mohr averages 4.8 ppg and 2.1 rpg. Junior forward Josh Wilson (6.9 ppg, 3.3 rpg) had a breakout game against Holy Cross, scoring 19 points. This season Army is without any of the vaunted Spatola bretheren that have caused past Lafayette teams defensive fits. Chris graduated and younger brother J.P. left the team. Army is coached by Jim Crews who is in his first season at the helm of the Black Knights. He spent the previous 17 years as the head coach at Evansville, where he was 294-209.

THE ALL-TIME SERIES: This is Lafayette's 43rd series meeting with Army in the Leopards' 93 seasons of basketball. The Leopards hold a 24-18 advantage in the series. Army won both meetings last season, but Lafayette has won 11 out of the last 14 meetings...The first series meeting came on Feb. 3, 1926, in West Point, N.Y. (See complete series breakdown above)

PATRIOT LEAGUE STATISTICS: Lafayette has six players who are ranked among the Patriot League's top 10 in statistical categories.

Scoring * DeBerry 4th 15.4 ppg * Davis 5th 14.2 pp
Rebounding * Farrell 6th 6.5 rpg * Dill 8th 5.8 rpg
Assists * Pleick 2nd 5.0 apg
Field Goal % * Dill 1st 62.8% * Farrell 4th 56.8%
Free Throw % * Davis 6th 73.3
3-PT FG Per Game * DeBerry 3rd 2.8
3-PT FG% * DeBerry 7th 38.7
Blocked Shots * Dill 2nd 1.4 bpg * Hughes 3rd 1.1 bpg * Davis 9th 0.8 bpg

PLAYING UP: Lafayette has faced some formidable competition this season. The Leopards have played teams from the Pac-10 (Arizona St.), Atlantic 10 (La Salle and Massachusetts), CAA (Drexel) and the Ivy League (Princeton).

MOVIN' ON UP: Justin DeBerry's fourth three-pointer at St. Peter's on Dec. 19 was the 100th in his career. He has hit 20 more since and recently passed Larry Spigner '93 to move into seventh place in career three-point field goals with 120. DeBerry needs eight more three-pointers to move him into sole possession of sixth place ahead of Brian Burke '02 who has 127. 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.

FARRELL POUNDING THE BOARDS: Mike Farrell has been doing the bulk of the work on the boards for Lafayette. He has managed to collect seven or more rebounds on seven different occasions this season. The junior set a new career mark versus Drexel (12/3) when he ripped down 14 rebounds, nine defensive and five of the offensive variety. He is currently averaging 6.5 rebounds per game.

DAVIS A SCORING THREAT IN HIS JUNIOR SEASON: Winston Davis has emerged as one of the Leopards' top scorers. After averaging just 4.2 ppg in 2001-02, Davis is now contributing 14.3 ppg and he has led the Leopards in scoring in four games this season.

INJURY REPORT (presented by Athletic Trainer Stephanie Conley): Freshman forward Miran Omanovic injured his ankle in practice on Dec. 1 in Arizona. X-rays revealed no fractures, but he was diagnosed with a severe sprain and had also suffered bone bruises. Omanovic has not practiced since and is wearing a walking boot and is still on crutches. 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.

TRANSITIVE PROPERTY OF BASKETBALL: Beat writers and SIDs often spend time extrapolating unrealistic, but interesting, results from potential matchups based on games played by common opponents. In basketball, like in that painful division of mathematics called Geometry, if A=B and B=C, then A=C. So in the interest of honing math skills: Lafayette beat UMass and UMass beat then No. 24 ranked NC State, then by the transitive property of basketball, Lafayette would come out on top in a matchup vs. NC State. Similarly, but in a more confusing fashion, Lafayette should win potential matchups with Kansas, North Carolina and Stanford. Lafayette beat St. Peter's which beat Manhattan two days later. Manhattan then beat Iona which beat North Carolina, which beat both Kansas and Stanford.

REBOUNDING BY COMMITTEE: Five different players have led the team in rebounding over 13 games. Mike Farrell (6.5 rpg) and Rob Dill (5.8 rpg) have each been the team's top rebounder four times, Jamie Hughes (3.0 rpg) twice and Andrei Capusan (2.0 rpg) once . In the backcourt, Andrew Pleick (4.2 rpg) has led the team in rebounding twice, while Winston Davis (5.1 rpg) has been the team's top rebounder once.

A NEAR RECORD-BREAKING WIN (1/7): Lafayette's 55-point win over Centenary was the second largest margin of victory in Lafayette history, behind a 57-point defeat of Swarthmore on Dec. 10, 1997. The game also marked the first time since Jan. 17, 1996 that Lafayette had six players score in double digits.

BENCH ABBERATION (1/7): Lafayette received 53 points off the bench vs. Centenary, a departure from the norm caused by a runaway game. Andrei Capusan contributed 17 points followed by Jamie Hughes (15), Chris Saunders (12) and Pat Betley (9). The Lafayette starters played less than half (89) of the 200 minutes in the game.

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 258-110 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 4-2, having beaten Albany, Ursinus, Columbia and Centenary while losing to Drexel and Princeton.

ALL-TIME AT LAFAYETTE: In the 92 seasons of men's basketball at Lafayette College, the Leopards hold an overall record of 1126-973 (.536). Lafayette's first season of basketball was in 1900-01.

DOUBLE FIGURES FOR ALL FIVE (12/30): Lafayette's starting five of Mike Farrell, Rob Dill, Justin DeBerry, Andrew Pleick and Winston Davis all managed to score in double figures in Lafayette's 83-75 win over Albany on Dec. 30. It was the first time since Feb. 7, 1998 at Bucknell that Lafayette managed the feat. 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.

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.

A HELPING HAND (12/30): Lafayette dished out a season-high 23 assists against Albany, topping its previous best by three. The Leopards had 13 assists in the first half for their 17 field goals. The crisp passing led to easy buckets for Lafayette in the opening session, as 32 of Lafayette's 37 points came in the paint.

DILL TURNS IN CAREER NIGHT (12/30): Junior center Rob Dill had a career night against Albany, scoring 24 points while grabbing 15 rebounds for the Leopards' first double-double performance of the season. It was also the first 15+ rebounding performance for a Lafayette player since Dec. 6, 2000. Dill was nearly unstoppable in the first 20 minutes when he scored 16 points and grabbed eight rebounds.

DeBERRY PLAYER OF THE WEEK (12/23): Justin DeBerry was named Patriot League Player of the Week for Dec. 23. DeBerry won the award for the first time in his career after averaging 20.3 points, 3.3 rebounds, 4.3 assists and 2.7 steals in three Lafayette victories. He registered a game-high 20-point performance in the Leopards' win over Massachusetts. He hit four three-pointers, dished off five assists and did not commit a turnover in 38 minutes. DeBerry had 19 points in a 64-53 road win vs. St. Peter's and scored a career-high 22 points in an 87-70 home victory over Ursinus. For the week, DeBerry shot slightly better from three-point land (13-for-28, 46.4%) than his overall field goal percentage (22-for-48, 45.8%).

DEFENSIVE DELIGHT (12/19): Lafayette's defense held the then No. 2 scorer in the nation in check at St. Peter's on Dec. 19. The Leopards' Andrew Pleick, aided by frequent double teams, stifled freshman phenom Keydren Clark, who was averaging 29.3 ppg, to just 12 points and only two in the second half. Pleick did more than play defense, as he ripped down a career-high 11 rebounds and doled out six assists.

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.

DAWSON SETS CAREER BEST (12/7): 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.

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. This season Farrell is shooting 58 percent from the floor.

FARRELL ON THE WORLD WIDE WEB: Mike Farrell is chronicling the 2002-03 season in his weekly journal on www.GoLeopards.com. Farrell runs down the season and gives insight into the life of a student-athlete.

LAFAYETTE ON TELEVISION: For the fifth-straight season, Lafayette features the most expansive television package in the Patriot League. The Leopards have 13 games televised with the possible addition of three more television contests in the Patriot League Tournament. The Lafayette Sports Network will air 10 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.