Dec. 20, 2004

EASTON, Pa. (www.lafayette.edu) - Lafayette freshman guard Bilal Abdullah (Anchorage, Alaska/Tabor Academy) has been named Patriot League Men's Basketball Rookie of the Week for the week ending Dec. 19. Abdullah scored 21 points, grabbed 10 rebounds and dished off nine assists in a 95-89 overtime win over Cal State Northridge on Dec. 13.

The 21 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists were all career-highs for the 6-5, 200-pound freshman. He also managed three steals and a block in 38 minutes of action against essentially the same Cal State Northridge team that handed a then veteran Lafayette squad a 23-point road loss in 2003-04.

Abdullah has started three games this season and is third on the team in scoring (8.6 ppg) and leads the team in assists (3.3 a.pg.). He is one of three freshmen who have figured prominently in the Leopards' lineup.

Lafayette (2-6) returns to action on Wednesday when the Leopards host Lehigh Valley foe Moravian at 7 p.m.