Nov. 29, 2004
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Match Up: Lafayette (1-2) vs. Drexel (0-2)
Tip: 7:07 p.m. EST
Site: Easton, Pa.
Arena: Kirby Sports Center (3,500)
Series: Drexel leads, 19-16
Radio: WEST-AM 1400, www.goleopards.com
Dick Hammer
TV: RCN-4, WBPH-60
Gary Laubach, John Leone, Dan Mowdy
THE STORY LINE: Lafayette hosts Drexel in the Leopards' fourth game of the season. The Leopards opened the season with a road win at Atlantic 10 foe Duquesne before dropping their last two contests. Drexel, one of the favorites to win the Colonial Athletic Association, is looking for its first win of the year after losses to Penn and Rider. All-CAA honoree Sean Brooks is expected to miss several weeks after suffering a foot injury against the Quakers.
LAST TIME OUT: Princeton marred Lafayette's home opener with a 40-38 win at Kirby Sports Center on Saturday, Nov. 27. It was the first time since the advent of the shot clock that Lafayette held an opponent to 40 points or fewer and lost. The Leopards fell to Temple, 36-25, in the 1943-44 season. The two teams combined for five ties and seven lead changes in the second half, and neither squad shot above 28 percent from the floor in the final 20 minutes. After the Tigers made one of two foul shots with 33 seconds remaining to go ahead 40-38, the Leopards ran the clock down to 12 seconds before starting their offense. Marcus Harley took a running 10-footer that rimmed off, corralled the rebound and put up a six-foot jumper that also missed as time expired.
THE STARTING FIVE: With the graduation of four senior starters who started at least two seasons apiece for Lafayette, the 2004-05 starting lineup has a much younger look. Sophomore Marcus Harley runs the show from the point guard position and has been joined in the backcourt by junior Pat Betley. Betley is the Leopards' only returning starter, having played in 25 of Lafayette's 28 games a season ago. Sophomore Jamaal Hilliard has taken up the third guard spot in the Leopards' three-guard motion offense. In the frontcourt, another sophomore, Jamaal Douglas, has cemented himself at one of the forwards and has been partnered with senior co-captain, Jamie Hughes...In the Leopards' first two games, Harley, Betley, Hilliard, Hughes and Douglas were O'Hanlon's choices on the floor at the opening tip, while junior Andrei Capusan replaced Hughes on Saturday against Princeton.
ON THE SIDELINE: Two-time Patriot League Coach of the Year Fran O'Hanlon (Villanova, '70) is in his tenth season as the Leopards' mentor. He has twice led Lafayette's non-scholarship program to the NCAA Tournament and lays claim to three Patriot League regular-season titles among his credentials. O'Hanlon's career record stands at 142-119, a mark that includes two 20-win seasons.
COMING UP: The Leopards will embark on a difficult road trip, traveling to Louisville on Dec. 4, Cornell on Dec. 6 and Marist on Dec. 10 before finally returning home on Dec. 13. Lafayette will be the Cardinals' opponent in their home opener at Freedom Hall. Louisville is ranked 12th in the latest installment of the AP Top 25 poll, and 13th by ESPN/USA Today.
ON THE BOARDS: The Leopards have done the job on the boards in their first three games. In the season opener, Lafayette out-rebounded Duquesne 39-36 thanks to strong rebounding performances from Sean Knitter (8) and Andrei Capusan (8). At St. Peter's, the rebounding was even between the two teams (38-38) with Knitter accounting for eight boards and Jamaal Douglas seven. The Leopards held a 29-27 edge on the boards against Princeton, as Marcus Harley had six rebounds from his guard spot.
DEFENDING THEIR TURF: In the friendly confines of Kirby SportsCenter, Lafayette cruised to an 11-2 record at home last season. Throughout the O'Hanlon regime, the Leopards sport a home record of 93-30. This year, the Leopards have 13 home contests with today's game marking the second home game.
FROM THE LINE: In the Leopards' season-opening win over Duquesne, Lafayette shot 81 percent from the free throw stripe, hitting 20-of-26 free throws in the second half after a 6-for-6 effort in the opening session. Jamaal Hilliard led the way with a perfect 10-for-10 day at the line. It was the first time since Jan. 23, 2004 (Justin DeBerry) that a Lafayette player had made 10 or more free throws.
CAPTAIN COMBO: Seniors Jamie Hughes and Sean Knitter have been selected as co-captains for the 2004-05. Knitter was one of the Leopards' top players off the bench last season and Hughes' role has increased steadily with his experience.
COACH "O" MOVES TO NO. 2: Fran O'Hanlon is the second winningest coach in Lafayette history with 142 victories. He needs just 29 wins to break George Davidson's record of 170 wins at Lafayette. In 2003-04, he surpassed Butch Van Breda Kolff who had 132 career wins.
YES, THEY'RE RELATED: Pat Betley, a junior guard, is being joined on the squad this season by his first cousin Matt Betley, the 2004 South Jersey Player of the Year. Pat is the Leopard's lone returning starter, and averaged 6.6 points per game last season. Matt has hit a three-pointer in each of his first three games.
THE EUROPEAN CONNECTION: Freshman Paul Cummins hails from Ireland and is the next player in a long line of European standouts recruited by Fran O'Hanlon. The list includes 1998 Patriot League Player of the Year Stefan Ciosici, Lafayette's all-time leading shot blocker Rob Dill, and current Leopard Andrei Capusan.
SUMMER SEASONING: Sophomore forward Jamaal Douglas and junior Andrei Capusan spent their summers playing for their home countries. Douglas played with the Bahamas National Under-21 team and Capusan competed with the Romanian Senior National team.
CLIMBING THE CHARTS: Senior Jamie Hughes enters the 2004-05 season ranked 15th in career blocks at Lafayette. Hughes needs just eight blocks to crack the top ten.
BOMBS AWAY: Since taking over the Lafayette basketball program in 1995-96, Fran O'Hanlon has coached eight of the top ten three point shooters in school history. The latest addition to the O'Hanlon monopoly on the list is Marcus Harley, who needs to make just two three's to break into the top 20 during his sophomore season. Harley also is a career 43.0 percent shooter from beyond the arc, which is the fourth highest percentage in Lafayette history. Harley hit four three's in a two-minute stretch early in the game vs. Duquesne and nailed one vs. St. Peter's and Princeton.
PATRIOT PRESEASON POLL: Lafayette has been picked to finish sixth in the Patriot League Preseason Poll. The Leopards are coming off an 18-10 season in which they finished one game out of first place in the Patriot League standings.
