Dec. 9, 2004
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Match Up: Lafayette (1-5) at Marist (3-4, 1-1 MAAC)
Tip: 7:30 EST
Site: Poughkeepsie, N.Y.
Arena: McCann Center (2,998)
Series: Marist leads 4-2
Radio: WEST-AM 1400, www.goleopards.com
Dick Hammer, Phil LaBella
THE STORY LINE: Lafayette travels to Marist in search of its second win of the season. The Leopards have dropped all five contests since a season-opening 85-71victory at Duquesne on Nov. 20. Marist is coming off an 82-76 win over St. Peter's on Monday, while Lafayette lost 75-72 at Cornell. The Red Foxes defeated the Big Red, 72-67, on Nov. 19 in each team's opening game.
LAST TIME OUT: Bilal Abdullah's game-tying three-point attempt bounced off the rim as time expired, leaving Lafayette with a 75-72 setback at Cornell on Monday night at Newman Arena. Lafayette trailed 54-40 early in the second half before a 14-2 spurt pulled the Leopards within two with 11:31 to go. Cornell held a 73-68 lead with 1:17 left before Jamaal Douglas, who scored a career-high 16 points, hit a jumper and Abdullah knocked down a pair of free throws with nine seconds remaining. Jason Canady made both foul shots for Cornell, and Lafayette got a look for Abdullah in the corner but the shot didn't go down. Sean Knitter scored 11 points and Matt Betley and Abdullah each had 10 to complement Douglas' offensive output on 7-of-8 shooting.
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. Head coach Fran O'Hanlon has gone with five unique starting lineups in the season's first six games. The five on the floor at the tip of the first two contests were senior center Jamie Hughes and sophomore forward Jamaal Douglas in the frontcourt, with junior Pat Betley and sophomores Marcus Harley and Jamaal Hilliard at the guard spots. Since then, junior forward Andrei Capusan has earned two starts, and three freshmen guards (Bilal Abdullah, Matt Betley and Paul Cummins) have also seen time in the lineup replacing Pat Betley, who is sidelined until mid-to-late December with a shin injury. Harley is the only Leopard to start in each game, while Douglas, Hughes and Hilliard have garnered five starts each.
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 142-122, a mark that includes two 20-win seasons.
COMING UP: Lafayette will host Big West opponent Cal State Northridge on Monday, Dec. 13 in the return game of last year's match-up in Northridge, Calif. The Matadors beat the Leopards, 99-76, on Dec. 30, 2003 in the only previous meeting. Moravian will make the short trip to Easton on Wed., Dec. 22 for the Leopards' final game before Christmas break. Lafayette will not rest easy, however, as a trip to Atlanta to play 2004 national runner-up Georgia Tech on Dec. 28 is on the horizon.
THREE VS. TWO: For the first time since Dec. 2, 2002 (vs. Princeton) the Leopards made more three-point field goals than two-point buckets when Lafayette made 10 three-pointers vs. Louisville and nine two-point field goals. The Leopards took a season-high 39 three-pointers at Louisville
AGAINST NATIONALLY-RANKED OPPONENTS: Lafayette faced Louisville, which was ranked 17th in the nation when the two teams played, on Dec. 4. The Leopards also play defending 2004 national runner-up and current consensus No. 3-ranked Georgia Tech on Dec. 28. Prior to this season, the last time Lafayette faced a nationally-ranked opponent was March 17, 2000 against No. 5 Temple in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. Lafayette, the 15th seed in the East Region, lost to the Owls 73-47 in Buffalo.
TURNOVER TRIALS: Not surprising for a young team, turnovers have been an issue for the Leopards in 2004-05. Lafayette is averaging 17.3 turnovers per game and forcing an average of 11.5 for a difference of 5.8. The Leopards gave the ball up just four times in the second half on Monday at Cornell, but only forced six turnovers in the contest.
ON THE BOARDS: Lafayette has yet to put a rebounder in double figures this season. Instead, the glass work has been by committee, as the team's top five scorers all average at least four boards per game. Sophomore Jamaal Douglas leads the Leopards with 6.5 rpg, while freshman guard Matt Betley has grabbed 22 in the last three games.
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 93-31. This year, the Leopards have 13 home contests, but started the season 0-2 at Kirby.
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. Lafayette was 22-for-25 (88 percent) from the line at Cornell. The Leopards are second in the Patriot League in free throw percentage at 76.9 percent (80-for-104).
CAPTAIN COMBO: Seniors Jamie Hughes and Sean Knitter have been selected as co-captains for 2004-05. Knitter was one of the Leopards' top players off the bench last season and is the team's leading scorer with 10.7 per game as the sixth man this year. Hughes' role has increased steadily with his experience. He has started five games in 2004-05, averaging 4.2 ppg while shooting 9-of-12 from the field.
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 dropped a career-high 14 points vs. Drexel on Nov. 30, and is averaging 11.0 ppg and 7.3 rpg in the last three contests.
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.
LAFAYETTE VS. MAAC: Lafayette has played 120 games against the 10 current members of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference, and has a 59-61 (.492) record in those contests. Under Coach O'Hanlon, the Leopards are 6-5 versus MAAC teams, facing only Marist, Rider and St. Peter's. Today's game is the second of a pair of contests against MAAC foes in 2004-05. Lafayette lost to St. Peter's, 81-64, on Nov. 23. This season, Lafayette will play one team each from the A-10, ACC (Georgia Tech) and Conference USA (Louisville).
CLIMBING THE CHARTS: Senior Jamie Hughes enters the 2004-05 season ranked 15th in career blocks at Lafayette. Hughes needs just six 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 moved into the top 20 with two three-pointers at Louisville. He now has 52 career three-pointers. Harley also is a career 40.0 percent shooter from behind the arc, which is the seventh highest percentage in Lafayette history.
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.
INJURY REPORT: Junior Pat Betley, the Leopards' only returning starter, has missed the last three games due to severe shin splints. He is not expected to return until mid-to-late December.
ALL-TIME AT LAFAYETTE: In the 95 seasons of men's basketball at Lafayette College, the Leopards hold an overall record of 1152-997 (.538). Lafayette's first season of basketball was in 1900-01.
