Feb. 5, 2003
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GAME INFORMATION
Match Up: Lafayette (9-11, 3-4) vs. Colgate (9-11, 4-3)
Tip: 9:00 p.m. E.S.T.
Site: Easton, Pa.
Arena: Kirby Sports Center (3,500)
Series: Colgate leads, 37-30
Radio: WEST-AM 1400, www.lafayette.edu
Commentators: Dick Hammer, Carl Schumacher
TV: Lafayette Sports Network (RCN-4, WBPH-60)
Commentators: Gary Laubach, John Leone, Dan Mowdy
TV: Patriot League TV (DirecTV Channe 611)
Commentators: Bob Socci, John Feinstein
THE STORY LINE: That "dinging" in the distance is the bell for the second round of Patriot League play or the eighth round depending upon your perspective. At 3-4 in the conference, the Leopards find themselves in sixth place after the first seven Patriot League games, but just one game out of a three-way tie for third. Two of the teams in that three-way tie (Colgate and Bucknell) have yet to play Lafayette on its home court. Lafayette is coming off a 2-0 weekend that included wins over American and Navy. Colgate enters the game at 9-11, 4-3. The Raiders are coming off a 1-1 weekend at home, losing to Bucknell (62-42) on Friday but rebounding to beat Lehigh (77-68) on Sunday.
PLAYER OF WEEK PART II: Junior Justin DeBerry has been named the Patriot League Player of the Week for Feb. 3. DeBerry opened the Leopards' second Friday-Sunday weekend of the season with a career-high 29 points. He hit 11-of-19 field goals and was 4-for-4 from the line in a 67-66 win over American. DeBerry also registered four assists, the final of which fed Mike Farrell for the game-winning layup. In the Leopards' second game of the weekend, DeBerry scored 15 points as one of four Lafayette players in double figures. DeBerry again was 4-for-4 from the stripe as Lafayette posted a 70-52 win over Navy. DeBerry leads the team and the Patriot League in scoring with 16.4 ppg. This week's honor is the second of the year for DeBerry who also earned player of the week recognition on Dec. 23 following a 20-point performance in a win over Massachusetts.
THE STARTING FIVE: The Lafayette starting five has been on the floor significantly more than in recent seasons, playing an average of 31.1 minutes per game and 32.3 mpg in league play. Justin DeBerry, Winston Davis, Andrew Pleick, and Mike Farrell have started all 20 games. Center Rob Dill has started all but two games.
COMING UP: Lafayette has just one game this weekend after playing on Friday and Sunday the past two weekends. The Leopards return to action on Wednesday, Feb. 12 when they host Army at 7:00 p.m. Please note that the starting time for Army game has been pushed up to 7 p.m. from 7:30 p.m. to accommodate television. Gary Laubach and John Feinstein will call the game on the Lafayette Sports Network.
IRON MIKE HITS 75: Despite having to deal with the daily physical challenges posed by diabetes, junior forward Mike Farrell has never missed a game in his three seasons on College Hill. Farrell played in 28 games and started four as a freshman, played in 29 games and started 28 as a sophomore and has started all 20 games in this, his junior season. His game against American was his 75th straight. Tonight's game will mark his 77th in a row.
BOMBING AWAY UNDER O'HANLON: Perimeter shooting, specifically from three-point land, has been a hallmark of Fran O'Hanlon's offenses. O'Hanlon squads have hit at least one three-pointer in every one of O'Hanlon's 220 games. In O'Hanlon's first season, Lafayette connected for 201 three-pointers, surpassing the previous team record by 54 three's. Lafayette has since eclipsed the 200-three-pointer plateau in all but one of his eight seasons. The Leopards have set three new season marks, with the top one coming in 1999-00 when Lafayette dialed up long distance 249 times. Lafayette has 150 three-pointers this season and is averaging 7.5 three-pointers per game.
THE HALF OF IT: Getting a strong start from the opening tap has been a key in Lafayette wins in 2002-03. Lafayette is 7-1 when leading at halftime, the lone loss coming against Holy Cross on Jan. 18 after holding a five-point lead at the intermission.
MOVIN' ON UP: Justin DeBerry continues his ascent up the career three-point charts at Lafayette. He currently has 134 career three's and recently passed Brian Burke '02 (127) and Andy Wescoe '90 (128) to move into fifth place all-time at Lafayette and 20th all-time in the Patriot League. Next on the college list is Craig Kowadla '96 with 147 career three's. 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 only Tyson Whitfield '01 who had 271 career three-pointers.
ACCURATE THREATS: Lafayette's post players have been deadly accurate this season. Starting center Rob Dill is shooting 58 percent (84-146) from the floor and is third in the Patriot League in that statistical category. Power forward Mike Farrell is hitting 54 percent (67-125) and ranks fifth in field goal percentage.
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 119-102, a mark that includes two 20-win seasons.
ABOUT COLGATE: Colgate enters tonight's contest with a 9-11 overall record and is tied for third in the Patriot League with a 4-3 mark. This is the second match-up between the two teams this season with Colgate winning the earlier meeting 66-64 in Hamilton, N.Y.
The Raiders split their last two contests last weekend, losing to Bucknell (62-42) and then beating Lehigh (77-68). Colgate is just 2-8 on the road this season, with wins coming at Dartmouth and Navy.
Junior forward Howard Blue leads Colgate in scoring and rebounding, with 12.4 ppg and 6.7 rpg. Joining Blue in the frontcourt is sophomore center Andrew Zidar (8.2 ppg, 4.7 rpg).
Senior Dave Hardy handles the point-guard duties and dishes out 4.5 assists a game and chips in 9.5 points. Senior Tim Sullivan adds 6.7 ppg and 2.5 rpg for the Raiders. Junior Mark Linebaugh has been averaging double figures off the bench with 10.8 ppg to go along with 3.9 rpg. Freshman guard Alvin Reed scores 5.6 ppg and has twice been named the league's Rookie of the Week.
Colgate is coached by Emmett Davis (St. Lawrence '81) who is in his fifth season with the Raiders. He has compiled a 66-67 record during his tenure in Hamilton.
BENCH SCORING?: 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 9.8 points per game of the Leopards' 68.4 points per game. Lafayette did not get any points off the bench in wins over Massachusetts and Albany or in its loss to Holy Cross.
DILL"Y" FROM THE BLOCK: Rob Dill swatted away a career-best five shots against Holy Cross on Jan. 18. More impressive than the total was the competition he was facing, the biggest front line in the conference, featuring a 6-10 center and 6-8 power forward in the starting lineup and 6-11 and 7-6 centers off the bench. He is currently averaging 1.6 blocks per game, second best in the conference.
ALL-TIME VS. THE PATRIOT LEAGUE: Lafayette has played 538 games against the seven members of the Patriot League, and has a 309-229 record in all games against them. In Patriot League play, Lafayette is 70-91 in the regular season and 9-10 in the Patriot League Tournament. Under Fran O'Hanlon, the Leopards are 55-38 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 is 1-4 this season.
American 14-10; Bucknell 81-48; Colgate 30-37; Lehigh 130-67; Army 25-18; Holy Cross 11-19; Navy 18-32;
PATRIOT LEAGUE STATISTICS: Lafayette has six players who are ranked among the Patriot League's top 10 in statistical categories.
Scoring
DeBerry 1st 16.4 ppg
Davis 7th 14.1 ppg
Rebounding
Farrell 4th 6.6 rpg
Dill 7th 5.8 rpg
Assists
Pleick 3rd 4.4 apg
Assist/Turnover Ratio
Pleick 5th 1.35
Steals DeBerry 7th 1.5 spg
Pleick 9th 1.4 spg
Field Goal %
Dill 3rd 57.5%
Farrell 5th 53.6%
3-PT FG%
Davis 4th 40.6
Pleick 7th 39.0
DeBerry 8th 37.9
3-PT FG Per Game
DeBerry 4th 2.5
Davis 6th 2.2
Blocked Shots
Dill 2nd 1.6 bpg
Hughes 5th 0.9 bpg
Davis 10th 0.7 bpg
PLAYING UP: Lafayette has faced some formidable competition on its non-conference slate 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 (Penn and Princeton).
PLEICK'S PASSING: Senior point guard Andrew Pleick leads the team and is third in the Patriot League in assists per game. Pleick is averaging 4.4 assists per game and has established new career highs three times this season. His best efforts were nine-assist performances vs. Cornell and Centenary.
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 10 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. Farrell is currently averaging 6.6 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 14.1 ppg and he has led the Leopards in scoring in four games this season.
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 260-112 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, American and Navy while losing to Drexel, Princeton, Holy Cross and Penn. The Leopards have four home games remaining.
REBOUNDING BY COMMITTEE: Five different players have led the team in rebounding over 20 games. Rob Dill (5.9 rpg) and Mike Farrell (6.6 rpg) have each been the team's top rebounder seven times, Jamie Hughes (2.6 rpg) twice and Andrei Capusan (2.5 rpg) once. In the backcourt, Andrew Pleick (4.2 rpg) has led the team in rebounding twice, while Winston Davis (4.8 rpg) and Justin DeBerry (2.9 rpg) have each led the team once.
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 will likely miss the rest of the season. 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.
ALL-TIME AT LAFAYETTE: In the 92 seasons of men's basketball at Lafayette College, the Leopards hold an overall record of 1129-977 (.536). 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.
PROBABLE STARTERS: Fran O'Hanlon used nine different starting lineups in 2001-02 and 10 different players spent time in the opening five. By contrast, O'Hanlon has used just two starting lineups with only six different players occupying starting positions. He has not made a starting lineup change in 16 games. (see chart to right)
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.
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.
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 54 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 contests by Phil LaBella (Lafayette Sports Information Coordinator) on the road.
THE NOTES CELLAR... Where game notes age like a fine wine
DOUBLING UP ON THE BOARDS (1/27): For the first time in two years, Lafayette had two players register double figures in rebounding, as Mike Farrell pulled and Rob Dill pulled down 11 and 10, respectively at Lehigh. Lafayette last accomplished the feat on Jan. 27, 2001 when Frank Barr grabbed 12 and Tyson Whitfield 10.
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.
GOOD NEWS, BAD NEWS FOR TURNOVERS (1/11): Against Colgate, the bad news was that Lafayette committed nine first-half turnovers. The good news, however, came in the second half when Lafayette did not hand it over at all in the final 20 minutes. The Leopards finished that game with a season-low nine turnovers.
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.
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.
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.
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, scoring 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.
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.
