Dec. 8, 2006
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Match Up: Lafayette (4-6) vs. Columbia (6-3)
Tip-Off: 7:00 p.m. EDT
Site: Easton, Pa.
Arena: Kirby Sports Center (3,500)
Radio: WEST-AM 1400 Dick Hammer (Play By Play) • Carl Schumacher (Color)
Television: Lafayette Sports Network (RCN-4, WBPH-60) Gary Laubach (PxP) • John Leone (Color) • Dan Mowdy (Sideline)
AT A GLANCE: The Leopards play the second of four straight at home when they host Columbia in a Patriot League-Ivy League matchup on Monday. Lafayette has won three straight and is playing its best basketball of the season. The Leopards are coming off a 72-54 win over Lycoming on Thursday. Columbia enters with a 6-3 record, having won its last two over Sacred Heart and Wagner (70-44).
YES-PER: Quickly becoming a crowd favorite because he makes three's and his first name is fun to say, freshman guard Jesper Andersson has made his presence known on the court. Andersson, who had scored a total of six points in 34 minutes of seven games coming into the St. Peter's contest on Dec. 2, broke out with six three-pointers in the first half and 18 points for the game. Against NJIT, Andersson hit three three-pointers in a 28-4 run that put the game away in a 76-57 victory. In Lafayette's last game, Andersson had seven points in 17 minutes vs. Lycoming, with two three-pointers.
DIALING UP LONG DISTANCE: Lafayette is making nearly nine (8.8) three-pointers per game for the season and 12.3 three-pointers per game over the last three outings. Lafayette sank a season-high 15 three-pointers at St. Peter's (12/2). In addition to Jesper Andersson's six trifectas, Paul Cummins, Andrew Brown and Bilal Abdullah each netted two three's. Ted Detmer made just one, but his contribution came with 1.4 seconds remaining and handed the Leopards a 72-69 final margin. Lafayette followed up that performance with 13 three-pointers at NJIT (12/4). The Leopards used a 28-4 run in the second half kicked off by a Brown three-pointer at 13:16 and wrapped up with an Andersson trifecta at 6:39. Brown made four three-pointers in the spurt and finished with six three's and a career-high 20 points on the night. Lafayette shot 69 percent from beyond the arc in the second half. Against Lycoming, Lafayette made nine three-balls with Cummins hitting three.
ON THE SIDELINE: Two-time Patriot League Coach of the Year Fran O'Hanlon (Villanova, '70) is in his 12th season as the Leopards' head coach. He has twice led Lafayette's 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 166-158, a mark that includes two 20-win seasons. O'Hanlon's overall record does not necessarily tell the full story of the job he has done at Lafayette. The Philadelphia native inherited a 2-25 team when he took over in 1995-96 and won 7, 11, 19, 22 and 24 games over the next five seasons. From 1997-2000, Lafayette was 65-24 overall and 31-5 in the conference with two NCAA Tournament appearances. In 1996, the Patriot League, which was originally founded on the principle of need-based financial aid only, began allowing athletic scholarships. However, it was not until 2006 that Lafayette chose to do so. By no coincidence during that span, Lafayette posted a 79-91 mark and was 38-44 in the league. For 2006-07, Lafayette has one scholarship class in the fold.
NEXT UP: Lafayette will break for finals and will not return to action until Dec. 20 when the Leopards host King's at 7 p.m. Mount St. Mary's finishes off the homestand on Dec. 22 and then the Leopards will take several days off for the holidays.
ABOUT COLUMBIA: Columbia is the second of two Ivy League foes that Lafayette will face in 2006-07. The Lions enter Monday's game with a 6-3 mark following wins over UC Davis, NJIT (73-60), Kennesaw State, Long Island, Sacred Heart and most recently Wagner (70-44) on Dec. 5.
Columbia goes fairly deep into its bench, as 11 players have participated in at least seven games.
The Lions are led by their frontcourt junior tandem of center Ben Nwachukwu and forward John Baumann. They are 1-2 in scoring on the team at 12.4 and 12.2 ppg, respectively, and also do the majority of the rebounding work. Baumann is pulling down 7.3 rpg while Nwachukwu chips in with 6.4 rpg. Both are shooting over 50 percent from the floor on the season.
In the Columbia backcourt, a host of players see time. Junior Brett Loscalzo leads the team with 23 assists and averages 6.2 ppg. Loscalzo and Mack Montgomery (4.1 ppg, 3.1 rpg) are the only two guards to have started every game this season. K.J. Matsui (4.6 rpg, 1.6 rpg) has started six games and was in the starting five vs. Wagner. Freshmen Niko Scott, Patrick Foley and Kevin Bulger have all averaged double-digit minutes.
Columbia is coached Joseph Jones (SUNY-Oswego '87) who holds a 39-51 record at his first D-I head coaching stop.
SERIES NOTES: Lafayette and Columbia have met on the hardwood for 20 straight seasons dating back to the 1985-86 season. Lafayette leads the series 25-11 and has won three of the last four meetings. Lafayette is 12-4 when playing the Lions in Easton.
WHAT CAN BROWN DO FOR YOU?: He can average 8.5 points and 4.1 assists and 2.3 rebounds per game through the first third of the season. In the Leopards' last three games he has been distributing the ball with great efficiency, averaging 6.0 assists per game including a career-high eight vs. St. Peter's. Against NJIT (12/4), he answered the UPS question with six three-pointers and a career-high 20 points. In 2005-06, Brown led the team with 84 assists as a freshman, the first to do so in Fran O'Hanlon's tenure, and started 25 of 28 games. He led the team with 51 three-pointers and earned Patriot League All-Rookie Team status.
DETMER PICKING IT UP IN THE PAINT: Junior forward Ted Detmer has raised his level of play in the last three games. He has scored nine points in each matchup and is averaging 4.0 rebounds per game during that span. Detmer also managed a season-best three steals at NJIT (12/4).
A TOUGH SCHEDULE: Five of Lafayette's six losses have come against top-level competition. The Leopards lost to national power Indiana (Big 10), Notre Dame (Big East), St. Joseph's (Atlantic 10), Miami (ACC) and Princeton (Ivy). Those five teams are a combined 27-10 at this point of the season (12/8).
HELPING HANDS: Lafayette's motion offense has the potential to put up big assist numbers. In the Leopards' last game, they dished out 20 assists on 26 baskets vs. Lycoming, the third time this season that Lafayette has had a positive assist/turnover ratio. Lafayette handed out 20 assists on 25 baskets vs. St. Peter's. In 2005-06, Lafayette passed for 18 or more assists four times, a number Lafayette has already surpassed through 10 games. Lafayette leads the Patriot League in assists with 15.5 per game.
BETLEY'S FOUR-GAME SPURT: Junior forward Matt Betley contributed the bulk of the Leopards' offense in a recent four-game stretch. Betley scored a career-high 17 points vs. St. Joseph's (11/17) and followed that with a new career high with 18 points at UMBC (11/21). At Miami (11/25), the Mount Laurel, N.J. native again matched his career best with 18 points. He scored a team-high 11 points against Princeton (11/28). He is leading the team in scoring with 11.1 ppg ... With 11 points, seven rebounds and three assists vs. Princeton, Betley was the first Lafayette player in two seasons to lead the team in those three statistical categories. Bilal Abdullah was the last Leopard to achieve the single-game feat, scoring 21 pts, grabbing 10 rebounds and dishing out nine assists vs. Cal State Northridge on Dec. 13, 2004.
SIZE MATTERS: The answer to the question why Lafayette is being out-rebounded by an average of 8.5 rebounds per game is simply "size" - or rather a lack of it. Matt Betley (6-4, 200-pound), Everest Schmidt (6-7, 270-pound) and Ted Detmer (6-7, 200) are the team's leading rebounders with Betley leading the way at 3.7 rpg, but effort and positioning can only account for so much. Lafayette is consistently running up against bigger post men who generally have two or three inches on each of Lafayette's post players. It's an area that Fran O'Hanlon and his staff hope to continue to address with upcoming recruiting classes. Lafayette has won the rebounding battle twice this season, holding a 26-20 advantage over Princeton and a 35-31 margin vs. Lycoming... Lafayette finished 2005-06 ranked 308th in the nation in rebounding margin.
AT THE LINE: The Leopards are shooting well at the free throw line for the season. Lafayette has hit for 72 percent, including a season-high 82 percent effort at Wagner (18-for-22) to open the season. Jamaal Hilliard leads the team in free throw percentage (89%), going 23-for-26 on the season, and Matt Betley is close behind at 82% (22-for-27)...In 2005-06, Lafayette ranked 37th in the nation in free throw percentage according to the final NCAA stats and ranked as high as ninth. Lafayette finished the season at 74 percent. Hilliard, who shot at a 91 percent clip in 2005-06 (fifth in the nation), hit for 81 percent while graduated senior Andrei Capusan '06 shot a team-best 82 percent and ranked 91st in the country.
MORE STATS FROM ST. PETER'S: Lafayette committed a season-low nine turnovers, including just three in the first half at St. Peter's on Dec. 2. The Leopards also dished out 20 assists, one better than their season-high mark against St. Joseph's.
A GAME FROM (IN) THE 40's: Lafayette's 44-42 loss to Princeton (12/28) was a throwback to days gone by with crisp back-door cuts and disciplined motion offenses. The game was unusually low-scoring thanks to Princeton's ball-control style of offense and solid defensive efforts by both squads, but this type of game is not out of the norm in recent meetings between the two schools. Lafayette won a 57-46 matchup at Princeton last season, but was beaten 40-38 in 2004. The Leopards won the 2003 meeting 47-44. Lafayette and Princeton have split the last four games between the two schools, and each time the visiting team has emerged victorious.
LAFAYETTE vs. IVY LEAGUE: Lafayette has played 197 games against the eight members of the Ivy League all time, and has a 78-119 record in those contests. Under Fran O'Hanlon, the Leopards are 24-27 versus the Ivy League. Last season, Lafayette played four games against the Ancient Eight foes, finishing 2-2 after beating Cornell and Princeton and losing to Columbia and Penn. This season, Lafayette faces just two Ivy League squads, having already lost a two-point decision to Princeton (44-42).
Brown 11-8 Columbia 25-11 Cornell 11-7 Dartmouth 3-2 Harvard 2-3 Penn 3-37 Princeton 16-42 Yale 7-9
ON THE PERIMETER: The Leopards are getting much of their scoring from the outside in 2006-07, and that task has fallen to an experienced backcourt led by seniors Jamaal Hilliard and Marcus Harley, junior Bilal Abdullah and sophomore Andrew Brown. Brown is the team's second-leading scorer with 8.5 ppg while Abdullah and Hilliard are contributing 7.9 and 7.3 ppg, respectively. Harley scored a game-high 12 points vs. Lycoming and had six assists at NJIT.
INSIDE-OUTSIDE: Junior Matt Betley has made the move from guard to small forward for the 2006-07 season to bolster the team's rebounding efforts, but he is still certainly very comfortable outside. With Fran O'Hanlon's motion offense, Betley often finds himself with open three-point looks and mid-range jumpers against larger post players who will back off into the lane. Betley is one of five Lafayette players who has 10 or more three-pointers this season.
FIVE THREE'S FOR 12: One highlight in the Leopards' loss at Miami (11/25), was the shooting of junior guard Paul Cummins. Cummins made five three-pointers and finished with a season-high 15 points against the Hurricanes. His effort was one short of his career-best when he hit six three-pointers at American on Jan. 28, 2006. He is second on the team with 12 three-pointers this season.
FROM THE FIELD: Lafayette shot a season-high from the field when it hit 53 percent (28-of-53) against St. Joseph's (11/17). The Leopards were led by Matt Betley's 17 points on 7-of-13 shooting. On the other end of the floor, St. Joseph's shot 55 percent from the floor and made 53 percent (9-for-17) of its shots from behind the arc.
32 MINUTES: Lafayette gave Indiana all it could handle for 32 minutes on Nov. 13. The Leopards trailed by three points (63-60) at 7:47 when Everest Schmidt made two free throws. Lafayette was still down just six at 6:48, but Indiana put together a 21-2 spurt over the next three and a half minutes to pull away in a game in which the final score (91-66) did not really tell the true story of the contest.
IN THE PAINT: The starting duties in the lane have been filled by junior forwards Everest Schmidt and Matt Betley. Betley is averaging 10.4 ppg and 3.7 rpg at small forward. Schmidt is chipping in with 5.5 ppg and 2.6 rpg. Junior Ted Detmer is one of the first players off the bench in the frontcourt and is averaging 4.7 points and 3.0 rebounds per game. Freshman Andre Hines has also shown his ability early on in his career, averaging 4.2 points and 2.1 rebounds per game.
THE O'HANLON SHUFFLE: The scorer's table has been a busy place during Fran O'Hanlon's 12 seasons at Lafayette. O'Hanlon will frequently shuffle in players to keep them fresh while also looking for the best matchups on both ends of the court. The moves also force opponents to spend a great deal of time figuring out their own defensive matchups. O'Hanlon will often play "offense-defense" at the end of the first half and in the final minutes of the game whenever there is a stoppage of play and a chance to substitute. The Leopards will likely go nine to ten deep throughout the season...IN A RELATED NOTE: In 2005-06 with a team defined by youth and inexperience, O'Hanlon used 12 different starting lineups. Thus far this season, he has stayed with the same lineup in all but two games (St. Peter's & NJIT).
THE CAPTAINS: Lafayette's three seniors, Marcus Harley, Jamaal Hilliard and Kerry Kenny, are serving as the team captains in 2006-07. Harley was a full-time starter in his sophomore season and has spent some significant time on the floor (including one start) as a senior after missing almost all of his junior campaign due to injury. Hilliard has been in the starting lineup the past two seasons. He missed 10 games last year due to a leg injury and broken finger, but is healthy in 2006-07 where he has remained in the starting lineup. Kenny being named captain is a tribute to his perseverance. He came to Lafayette as an unrecruited player, served as a team manager as a freshman and worked his way into 17 games last season.
BENCH SCORING: Lafayette was far from dependent on its starting five for scoring in 2005-06. The Leopards' bench averaged 26.1 points per game of the team's 66.4 points per game average, 39 percent of the team's scoring. By contrast, this season Lafayette is receiving 61 percent (40 of the Leopards' 65 points per game) of its scoring from its starting five.
RANKED OPPONENTS: Since 1948-49, Lafayette has played 39 games against ranked opponents, coming away with a 3-36 record. Lafayette hosted Bucknell, ranked No. 24 in both the ESPN/USA Today and Associated Press top-25 polls on Feb. 25, 2006. Prior to that, the last time Lafayette hosted a ranked opponent was January 14, 1987 when No. 19 Navy came to Kirby Sports Center and escaped with a 75-71 win. The last time Lafayette beat a ranked opponent was Dec. 2, 1978 when Lafayette topped No. 16 Rutgers, 77-70. In 2004-05, Lafayette faced Louisville (17) and Georgia Tech (9) on the road.
THE PRESEASON POLL: Lafayette was picked to finish sixth in the Patriot League Preseason Poll. The poll is voted on by the conference head coaches and sports information directors. Bucknell was picked first in the poll followed by Holy Cross, American, Lehigh, Colgate, Lafayette, Navy and Army.
INTERNATIONAL FLAVOR: Lafayette features three players from foreign countries. Junior Paul Cummins comes from Kildare, Ireland. Cummins spent two years at Ravenscroft School in Raleigh, N.C. before spending a post-grad year at South Kent School in Connecticut. Two of Lafayette's four freshmen come from Europe with Marek Koltun hailing from Krakow, Poland and Jesper Andersson from Norrkoping, Sweden. Koltun spent the 2005-06 schoolyear at Caravel Academy in Delaware.
THE JUNIOR CLASS: Lafayette's Class of 2008 is not only the largest in terms of numbers, but is also one of the most productive recruiting classes in recent memory. Junior Bilal Abdullah is the leading returning scorer and is second this season to fellow junior Matt Betley. Fellow juniors Ted Detmer and Everest Schmidt have also seen significant minutes in the middle after tying for the team lead in rebounds in 2005-06. Paul Cummins has been an offensive spark off the bench.
LAFAYETTE ON TELEVISION: For the 10th straight season, Lafayette features the most expansive television package in the Patriot League. The Leopards have 14 games televised with the possibility addition of four more televised games during the NIT Season Tip-Off Tournament and the three rounds of the Patriot League Tournament. The Lafayette Sports Network is airing 10 games to approximately 10 million viewers in the Lehigh Valley, Pocono region and all of Philadelphia. LSN telecasts can also be viewed in central New Jersey, New York City and Boston. In the Lehigh Valley, Poconos and Philadelphia, the telecast airs on RCN-4 and WBPH-60. CSTV (DIRECTV 610, Dish Network 152) will continue as a major LSN partner, airing three telecasts. Emmy-nominated sports broadcaster Gary Laubach handles all of the Leopards' play-by-play duties, while former Lafayette men's basketball coach John Leone provides color commentary. Additionally, RCN's Dan Mowdy will provide sideline reports.
YOUTH ON THE BENCH: Lafayette features one of, if not the youngest assistant coaching staffs in the country. Top assistant Drew Dawson is just 27 years old while Andy Toole is 26 and Mike Farrell is just 24. Dawson and Farrell are intimately familiar with the program, both having played for O'Hanlon.
ALL-TIME AT LAFAYETTE: In the 97 seasons of men's basketball at Lafayette College, the Leopards hold an overall record of 1175-1030 (.531). Lafayette's first basketball season was in 1900-01 when the team had a winning record of 4-3.
NOTABLE NAMES FROM LAFAYETTE BASKETBALL: Some recognizable names in college basketball have been part of the Lafayette men's basketball program. Pete Carril '52 was an All-American at Lafayette before going on to coach Princeton to national prominence and recently serving as a Sacramento Kings' assistant coach. Tom Davis, former Iowa and current Drake head coach, served the Lafayette's head coach from 1971-77. During that span, Lafayette made three NIT appearances and accumulated a record of 116-44. Current Maryland head coach Gary Williams served as Davis' assistant basketball coach and also spent time as the head men's soccer coach from 1971-76.
ON THE RADIO: One of the longest running radio broadcast relationships in college basketball, WEST-AM 1400 enters its 71st year as the radio home of Lafayette Athletics. Dick Hammer is in his 40th season of calling the play-by-play for Lafayette men's basketball. Hammer will be inducted into the Lafayette College Maroon Club Hall of Game on Friday, Nov. 17. He will become just the second inductee who was not a player, coach or administrator at the college, joining public address announcer Jim Finnen. On the radio, Hammer is joined by Carl Schumacher at home games and most road contests by Phil LaBella (Lafayette SID).
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."
