Feb. 24, 2005
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Tip Off: 1:00 p.m. EST
Match Up: Lafayette (8-18, 4-9) vs. Lehigh (13-13, 7-6)
Site: Easton, Pa. (Kirby Sports Center - 3,500)
Series: Lafayette leads 132-69
Radio: WEST-AM 1400, www.goleopards.com
Commentators: Dick Hammer, Carl Schumacher
TV: CSTV (DIRECTV Channel 610); Tape-delay at 4 p.m. on WFMZ-69
Commentators: Bob Socci, John Feinstein
THE STORY LINE: The Leopards finish the regular season with the 202nd renewal of the Lafayette-Lehigh rivalry. The Mountain Hawks claimed the first round with a 63-55 win on Jan. 12. Senior co-captains Jamie Hughes and Sean Knitter will be honored before the game, and Lafayette's 2004 Patriot League champion football team will be recognized at halftime. Saturday's game has significant postseason ramifications for the Mountain Hawks, as a loss guarantees Lehigh a spot in the 4/5 game and a potential second-round match-up with No. 1 seed Holy Cross in Worcester, Mass. American, Colgate and Lehigh are all 7-6 heading into the final day of league play.
LAST TIME OUT: Navy clinched the No. 6 seed in next weekend's tournament with a 76-57 win over Lafayette on Wednesday in Annapolis, Md. The Leopards will be the No. 7 seed in the bracket. Taj Mathews led the Mids with 24 points and Navy had 71 rebounds to tie a PL record. Bilal Abdullah scored 14 points to lead Lafayette, and Ted Detmer had a career-high seven rebounds.
COMING UP: Lafayette will play Bucknell, the No. 2 seed, in the first round of the Patriot League tournament on Friday, March 4 at 8 p.m. in Lewisburg, Pa. The winner will play at 1 p.m. on Sunday. The Bison won both regular season meetings, 71-54 on Jan. 21 and 89-69 on Feb. 4.
SENIOR DAY: Co-captains Jamie Hughes and Sean Knitter will be playing their final home games this afternoon. Hughes has started 25 games this season and is tenth with 45 career blocks at Lafayette. Knitter is the team's leading scorer with 10.9 ppg and will make his first start of the season today.
NATIONALLY-RANKED: As of the last NCAA rankings (2/21) Jamaal Hilliard ranks fifth in the nation and second in the PL in free throw percentage. The sophomore guard has been perfect from the line in 10 or more attempts in three games (11-11 vs. American, 10-10 vs. Navy, 10-10 at Duquesne). He currently stands at 90.1 percent (82-91). Hilliard is 44-48 (91.7 percent) from the line in league play, and teammate Sean Knitter ranks first at 35-38 (92.1 percent). Knitter has made his last 28 free throws.
SOPHOMORES HIT THEIR STRIDE: Starting point guard Marcus Harley has hit double figures in each of the last five games. Harley is averaging 13.2 points per game in that stretch, and has made 12 three's. Power forward Jamaal Douglas has scored at least seven points in the last nine contests while averaging 15.3 ppg and shooting 55 percent (47-85).
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 149-135, a mark that includes two 20-win seasons.
ABOUT lehigh: Lafayette and lehigh square off in the rivalry's 202nd meeting. The match-up will go a long way in determining the mountain hawks' fate in the Patriot League Tournament. lehigh has lost its last three games, including two straight at home, after starting 7-3 in the league. The mountain hawks are coming off a 65-61 loss to American. Jose Olivero (13.5 ppg) teams with Joe Knight (12.1 ppg) to give lehigh a pair of scorers in the backcourt, but the two have combined to shoot just 34 percent from the field. Jason Mgebroff (8.7 ppg, 4.3 rpg) is shooting 49 percent from the floor, and Nick Monserez is averaging 9.0 points and 4.8 boards, stretching the defense at a 42 percent clip from three-point distance. Earl Nurse is the leading rebounder with 5.7 per game. Few teams in the league have more contrasting styles. Lafayette is third in scoring offense (68.0) and last in scoring defense (74.1) in PL play, while lehigh is seventh in offense (61.9) and third in defense (60.7). The mountain hawks are coached by Billy Taylor (Notre Dame '95), who is 49-36 in his third season.
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