Jan. 29, 2008

Complete Notes in PDF Format

GAME 21
January 30, 2008
Matchup: Lafayette (13-7, 4-1) vs. Army (9-10, 2-3)
Tip-Off: 7:00 p.m.
Site: Easton, Pa.
Arena: Kirby Sports Center (3,500)
Television: Lafayette Sports Network (RCN-4, WBPH-60, SE-TV 2) Dan Mowdy (Play-By-Play), Gary Laubach (Analyst), John Leone (Courtside)
Radio: WSAN-AM FOX 1470
Dick Hammer (Play-By-Play), Phil LaBella (Analyst)
Webcast:

Series: Lafayette leads 33-19
First Meeting: Feb. 3, 1926 • Army 33, LC 9
Last Meeting: Feb. 21, 2007 • Army 83, LC 65 (2OT)
Last Lafayette Win: Jan. 24, 2007 • LC 76, Army 65 (2OT)
Fran O'Hanlon vs. Army: 20-5

AT A GLANCE: Lafayette (13-7, 4-1) returns to Kirby to take on Army (9-10, 2-3) on Wednesday night. The Leopards hope to maintain their spot atop the Patriot League standings after suffering their first conference loss in Bethlehem. While the Black Knights look to put two conference wins together after defeating Navy 69-67 on Saturday.

LAST TIME OUT: Lafayette had its five-game winning streak come to an end and the Leopards suffered their first Patriot League loss in a 60-55 decision at Lehigh's Stabler Arena. Michael Gruner's (11) buzzer-beating layup captured Lafayette's first lead of the game, 28-27, at halftime. The Leopards opened the second half with a 13-0 run to take a 41-27 lead. Andrew Brown scored seven points in the run and Bilal Abdullah (14) finished it with a three-point play. Lehigh's 17-3 run gave the game its first tie at 44-44 with 9:52 to play. Lehigh tied the game again at 51-51 at 2:56 before Ted Detmer put Lafayette ahead 53-51 with 2:37 left. Lehigh's Dave Buchberger hit a three-pointer for the 54-53 Lehigh lead.Free-throws by Gruner gave the game its 60-55 final.

A SOLID PATRIOT START: The last time a Lafayette team started the conference slate 4-1 was 1993-94 when Lafayette went finished Patriot League play with a 4-10 record.

WORKING OVERTIME: Lafayette did more than score over 100 points for the first time since 2004 with its 103-99 winning effort in overtime at Navy (1/19). The Leopards set an NCAA single-season record with five overtime wins on the road (at Navy 103-99 on Jan. 19 -- at Colgate 69-68 on Jan. 16, at Princeton -- 76-71 on Jan. 9, at Towson -- 79-69 on Dec. 19 and at Stony Brook -- 78-67 on Nov. 12). The lone win at home in overtime this season was Nov. 20 vs. UMBC (87-84) to give the team a total of six overtime victories, tying the NCAA team record for overtime victories in a season. Wake Forest (6-1 in 1988-89) and Chattanooga (6-0 in 1983-84) share the mark. Fran O'Hanlon is 16-9 in overtime.

ANOTHER RECORD ON THE WAY?: Lafayette has won 10 straight overtime games in a span that began on Dec. 13, 2004 vs. Cal State Northridge. The NCAA record for consecutive overtime victories is 11 and is shared by Louisville, Massachusetts and Virginia.

FIRST TIME IN A LONG TIME: Lafayette's win over Holy Cross is the first defeat the Crusaders had suffered at the hands of a Patriot League opponent other than Bucknell since Feb. 20, 2004 (65-51 at American). It was also the first Patriot League opener that Holy Cross has lost since the 1998-99 season. The last time a Lafayette team beat Holy Cross and Bucknell in the same season was 2003-04. The victory over the Bison on Jan. 23 snapped a 14-game regular-season Bucknell winning streak dating back to a 2007 loss to Holy Cross.

A SEASON AWAY: At 13-7, Lafayette has already eclipsed its win total from all of 2006-07. Those Leopards posted a 9-21 mark and finished eighth (last) in the Patriot League standings. This season, Lafayette was picked to finished eighth in the preseason poll, but through five games is in possession of first place at 4-1. The Leopards' 13-7 start is the program's best through 20 games since 2003-04 when Lafayette was 17-3.

P.L. ACCOLADE FOR ABDULLAH: Senior guard Bilal Abdullah secured Patriot League Men's Basketball Player of the Week honors for the first time in his career, after averaging 26 points and 5.5 rebounds per game in a 2-0 week for the Leopards. He tipped in the game-winning basket with 3.5 seconds remaining in overtime to lift Lafayette to the 69-68 victory at Colgate and finished the night with a game-high 18 points. At Navy, Abdullah scored a career-high 34 points and snatched five rebounds. He scored 21 points in the second half and sent the game to overtime with a three-point play with 18 seconds left. For the week, Abdullah shot 68 percent (19-of-28) from the floor, including 8-of-10 from three-point range. He is averaging 18.8 ppg through Lafayette's first five conference clashes.

DIALING UP LONG DISTANCE: A huge part of Lafayette's offense has been its perimeter play, as three-point attempts account for 45 percent of the team's shots. As of Jan. 27, the Leopards were averaging 10.4 three-pointers per game, which ranked them fourth in the nation, and were shooting 40.4 percent from long range (19th in the nation). Lafayette has hit 10 or more three's in every game with the exception of Wagner (11/9), Mississippi State (1/5), Princeton (1/9) and Lehigh (1/26). The high-water mark was 17 at Pittsburgh (1/2), the most allowed by a Pitt opponent in the program's history. Andrew Brown is 20th in the NCAA in three's per game, averaging 3.3 per game. Last season, Lafayette made a single-season record 256 three-pointers to finish 25th in the country in three-pointers per game (8.5 per game). The total snapped a seven-year-old mark from 1999-2000 when Lafayette hit for 249 trifectas led by Tyson Whitfield's '01 single-season record of 91. This season, the Leopards are on pace to make 311 over the course of 30 games. Through 20 games, Lafayette has hit 207 compared to 181 at this point last season.

LEOPARD LEADERSHIP: Senior forward Matt Betley is serving as the team captain for 2007-08. Betley came into the season as the team's top returning scorer and rebounder and has played in 105 career games. Betley is averaging 10.0 points and a team-best 6.3 rebounds per game this season. In the classroom, Betley finished the fall with a 3.83 grade-point average (GPA) and has a 3.45 cumulative GPA. The Mount Laurel, N.J. native posted his fifth career double-double, and second of the season at Rutgers with 13 points and 10 boards. At Pittsburgh, Betley went 6-for-6 from three-point land, scoring a career-high 20 points. Betley had seven points and a team-high nine rebounds at Lehigh.

LAFAYETTE VS. THE PATRIOT LEAGUE: Lafayette has played 614 games against the seven members of the Patriot League, and has a 341-273 record in all games against them. In Patriot League play, Lafayette is 100-128 in the regular season and 10-15 in the Patriot League Tournament. Under Fran O'Hanlon, the Leopards are 85-76 in Patriot League regular-season play.

American    16-19   Army        33-19   Bucknell    83-57Colgate     38-41   Holy Cross  14-27   Navy        22-38Lehigh      135-72

PASSING THE BALL: According to Lafayette head coach Fran O'Hanlon, a key to the Leopards' success has been sharing the ball in their motion offense. Lafayette is averaging 14.8 assists per game in contrast to its opponents who are doling out 12.4 assists per game. Lafayette has handed out an assist on 61 percent of its baskets. At Lehigh, Lafayette finished with nine assists to 15 turnovers. Led by three assists from Michael Gruner. Lafayette had 22 assists at Navy, matching a season-high set at Towson (12/19). For what it's worth, Army is averaging 14.4 apg and has recorded an assist on 64.6 percent of its baskets.

SHOOTING PERCENTAGE=SUCCESS: Lafayette has a 5-0 record in games it has shot at or above a 50 percent clip from the floor, including a recent overtime victory at Navy (52.1 percent). The Leopards' shot above 50 percent in wins against Penn (11/28), NJIT (12/3) and Mount St. Mary's (12/21) and recorded a season-high shooting effort at Columbia (12/8) with a 57.4 afternoon.

ON THE SIDELINE: The all-time winningest coach in Lafayette history and the second-longest tenured coach in the Patriot League, Fran O'Hanlon (Villanova, '70) is in his 13th season as the Leopards' head coach. A two-time Patriot League Coach of the Year recipient, O'Hanlon has twice led Lafayette's program to the NCAA Tournament and lays claim to three Patriot League regular-season titles among his credentials. With a 75-71 double-overtime victory over Lehigh on Feb. 18, 2007, O'Hanlon became the winningest coach in Lafayette history and now holds an all-time record of 184-180 on College Hill. O'Hanlon's overall record does not necessarily tell an accurate 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 based 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.

IVY LEAGUE CHAMPS?: Lafayette went a perfect 3-0 against its Ivy League opponents in 2007-08. The wins over Penn and Princeton marked the first time in Lafayette history that the Leopards have beaten both of those schools in the same season.

A TURNOVER CORRELATION?: Lafayette has averaged 16.2 turnovers per game in its seven losses while averaging 16.9 turnovers per game in its 13 wins, which includes six overtime victories. The Leopards have forced 18.6 turnovers per game in games won and just 15.3 in games lost. Lafayette committed a season-low 11 turnovers against Bucknell (1/23).

THREE-POINTERS: Lafayette's 17 three-pointers against No. 13 Pittsburgh on Jan. 2 fell one three-pointer of tying the school-record. It was also the highest single-game total by a Pitt opponent in school history. The school record is 18, set at Fordham on Dec. 11, 2000 and vs. Howard on Dec. 30, 2001. At Pitt, the Leopards hit 11 in the first half, including five from Matt Betley. For the game, Betley finished with six while Bilal Abdullah had four and Andrew Brown and Paul Cummins each had three.

GRAND ACHIEVEMENT FOR ABDULLAH: With his second of four three-pointers at Princeton (1/9), senior guard Bilal Abdullah became the 35th player in Lafayette history to reach the 1000-point scoring plateau. Abdullah finished the game with 14 points and now has 1,102 for his career after scoring in double digits for the ninth straight game with 14 points at Lehigh. He claimed the 25th spot on Lafayette's all-time scoring list from Preston Denby '65 (1,095) and needs just six more to take 24th from Mike Bellamy '78 (1,108). For the season, Abdullah is averaging 14.9 ppg.

BROWN SETS SCHOOL RECORD: Andrew Brown's nine three-pointers at Mount St. Mary's (12/21) set a Lafayette single-game record. Brown snapped his own record of eight that he netted at Holy Cross last season (2/28/06), a mark he shared previously with Tyson Whitfield (12/29/00 vs. La Salle) and Larry Spigner (12/3/91 vs. Yale).

UNPACK YOUR BAGS...FINALLY: This season Lafayette faced a span in which it played 10 of 11 games on the road. The Leopards finished an eight-game road trip at Princeton (1/9). It was the longest stretch of road games since the 1970-71 season when they also played eight straight away from home. In the 98 seasons of basketball, Lafayette has played eight in a row on the road on four previous occasions (1951-52, 1956-57, 1966-67, 1970-71). The Leopards' longest stretch away from home was a 10-game span in 1969-70 (12/5 to 1/14).

STREAKING: The loss in Bethlehem snapped Lafayette's five-game winning streak that started with an overtime win at Princeton (1/9) and included two other OT wins on the road (Colgate, Navy). The Leopards had already posted four-game win streak. The Leopards won four straight (UMBC, CCSU, Penn and NJIT) from Nov. 20 to Dec. 3. It was the first time since the 2003-04 campaign that the program has put together four or more in a row. That season, Lafayette finished 18-10. Lafayette's three-game win streak included victories over Columbia, Towson and Mount St. Mary's and was snapped with a loss at Robert Morris.

FROM THE FIELD: Lafayette's top-shooting effort was a 57 percent clip (31-of-54) at Columbia on Dec. 8. The team had its worst shooting night of the season at Mississippi State when it shot 26 percent. Lafayette took a season-high 72 shots, but made just 19 of them (a season-low).

SENIOR FIVE: Lafayette will go as far as its corps of five seniors takes the squad in 2007-08. Bilal Abdullah, Matt Betley, Paul Cummins, Ted Detmer and Everest Schmidt will all play key roles, with three of the five expected to be in the starting lineup against Army. As a group, the seniors have played in 501 games with 258 appearances in the starting lineup.

THE PRESEASON POLL: Lafayette was chosen to finish eighth (of eight) in the Patriot League Preseason Poll. The poll is voted on by the conference head coaches and sports information directors. Holy Cross was selected first in the poll followed by Bucknell, Colgate, Lehigh, American, Army and Navy.

OUT OF CONFERENCE: Lafayette played in 15 non-conference games in 2007-08. Of that group, eight of the teams were picked to finish in the top five of their conference while one opponent (NJIT) has no conference affiliation. Pitt is currently ranked in the top 25 while, Mississippi State sits in first place in the SEC West.

WHAT CAN BROWN DO FOR YOU?: Andrew Brown can distribute the ball. The Littleton, Colo. native led the team in assists his first two seasons on College Hill. Brown dished out 94 assists (3.1 apg) as sophomore and started 27 of 30 games. He had 84 assists as a freshman, starting all but three games, and was the first freshman during the Fran O'Hanlon era to lead the team in assists. This season, Brown has 53 assists in 19 games (2.9 apg) and again leads the team in assists, despite taking a more active scoring role.

Brown can shoot the ball too. He averaged 9.3 ppg as a freshman when he hit 51 three-pointers and followed that by scoring 10.4 ppg while netting 69 three-pointers in his second season on College Hill. This season, Brown has led the Leopards in scoring 10 times in 19 games, scoring 21 points at Stony Brook (11/12), 18 against FDU (11/16), 15 vs. UMBC (11/20), 17 against CCSU (11/25), 15 vs. Penn (11/28), 17 at Rutgers (12/5), 22 at Columbia (12/8), a career-high 32 at Mount St. Mary's (12/21), 21 at Robert Morris (12/30) and a game-high 28 points against Bucknell (1/23). Brown is averaging a team-best 16.1 points per game and has 63 three-pointers.

Brown is stellar from the line. Last season, he shot 91 percent from the free throw stripe, connecting on 42-of-46 attempts. This season, Brown has been to the line 53 times and is shooting 83 percent from the foul line.

Brown makes big shots. At Stony Brook, Brown went 7-for-8 at the line with five of those makes coming in overtime. Brown was responsible for the tying baskets that sent the Stony Brook and UMBC games to overtime. At Mount St. Mary's, Brown's ninth three-pointer of the game came in overtime and gave Lafayette a 76-72 win. With 48 seconds left in overtime at Navy a Brown three claimed the lead for the Leopards (97-94) before they went on to win it 103-99.

BROWN, VISOCKAS SWEEP HONORS (12/24): Guards Andrew Brown and Deirunas Visockas were named Patriot League Player and Rookie of the Week, respectively, for Dec. 24. Brown sat out the Dec. 19 game at Towson, but his return at Mount St. Mary's on Dec. 21 saw him drop in a career-high 32 points and a school-record nine three-pointers in a 76-72 win. It was his first ever Anaconda Player of the Week nod. Visockas, poured in 14 points including four three-pointers in Lafayette's 79-69 overtime victory over Towson on Dec. 19. He connected on a three-pointer and a layup as Lafayette outscored Towson, 17-7, in the extra session. He made 5-of-9 shots and 4-of-8 three-pointers in the game. Visockas also chipped in by making his only shot of the game, a three-pointer, at Mount St. Mary's. He is shooting 50 percent for the season from three-point range. Visockas earned his first Rookie of the Week honor.

DOUBLE TIMES FIVE TIMES FOUR: Including Lafayette's win at Towson (12/19), Lafayette has had five or more players score in double figures in four games this season. Lafayette holds a 3-1 record in those games, the only loss coming at Rutgers. At Towson, Matt Betley, Bilal Abdullah, Michael Gruner, Deirunas Visockas and Ted Detmer all reached double figures and combined to score 66 of the team's 79 points. Five players hit double figures vs. UMBC (11/20) and Rutgers (12/5) while Lafayette had six players do it against Penn (11/28), including all five starters.

MOVING UP THREE AT A TIME: Junior Andrew Brown is ranked third all-time at Lafayette with 183 three-pointers. Brown is already on the single-season record list with 63 made in 2007-08 and is six three's shy of tying his previous mark of 69 from 2006-07. Brown needs 18 more three's to take over the second spot from Justin DeBerry '04 (201) on the all-time list. Senior Paul Cummins (151) rests sixth on Lafayette's all-time three-point field goals list, needing 11 more treys to to take the fifth spot from Brian Ehlers. Cummims is tied with Ehlers for his 2005-06 single-season record 51 three's. Seniors Bilal Abdullah (8th) and Matt Betley (15th) are also on the list with 142 and 97, respectively.

MOVING ON UP: Senior Ted Detmer is in eighth place on the career blocks list at Lafayette with 59. Captain Matt Betley is 21st in career rebounding with 508 rebounds.

WIN NUMBER 175: Fran O'Hanlon coached his 350th game at Lafayette against Penn on Nov. 28. The 81-69 victory over the school where he spent six seasons as an assistant coach evened his career record at 175-175. His career coaching mark now stands at 184-180.

ON THE STEAL: Lafayette's 15 steals vs. NJIT (12/3) were a season-high and the most by a Patriot League team this season. The mark surpassed the 14 that Navy recorded vs. Longwood earlier in the year. The last time Lafayette recorded at least 15 steals was Feb. 15, 2006 vs. Bucknell. Lafayette has had five or more steals in all but three games (UMBC, Rutgers, Pittsburgh) and is averaging 7.5 steals per game. At Lehigh, the Leopards finished with nine steals.

A RARE MISS: Andrew Brown has made at least one three with exception of one game this season (Princeton), marking the first time since Feb. 18, 2007 against Lehigh. He had made a three in 17 straight games. Brown has made at least four threes in eight games this season. He hit a school-record nine against Mount St. Mary's (12/21).

IN THE CLASSROOM: The Lafayette men's basketball team received the NCAA Public Recognition Award for recording an NCAA Division I Academic Progress Rate in the top 10 percent of all men's basketball teams. Lafayette College was also recognized by the NCAA for recording an 83 percent graduation rate, 20 percent better than the average federal graduation rates of all student-athletes. The information was collected from students entering Lafayette in 2000. Overall the Division I graduation rate for student-athletes in the fall of 2000 was 63 percent and the Patriot League conference have scored at least 20 percent better than the national average graduation rate for all student-athletes who have entered school from 1997-2000.

GRUNER GETS IT DONE: Sophomore Michael Gruner has been a mainstay in the starting lineup this season. Gruner worked his way into the rotation with his defense and has remained there because he handles the ball efficiently, doling out 47 assists to just 30 turnovers while also chipping in with 8.0 points and 2.7 rebounds per game. He is also one of the Leopards' top perimeter defenders. Gruner is a Marquis Scholar, recipient of the most prestigious academic scholarship awarded to Lafayette students. Coming out of high school in Bethesda, Md., Gruner led his Walt Whitman squad to the Maryland 4A state title while earning Gazette Co-Player of the Year along with Montrose Christian's Kevin Durant.

MINUTES FOR THE FRESHMEN: Guard Deirunas Visockas and forward Jared Mintz have seen the most playing time of any of the freshmen. Visockas and Mintz have each missed five games this season due to injury. Visockas has played in 14 games. He made his first collegiate start at Stony Brook. He is averaging 9.2 minutes per game. Mintz has played in 14 games and has averaged 10.6 minutes per outing. He pulled down a critical offensive rebound and capitalized on both free throws against UMBC (11/20), giving Lafayette the 79-77 lead with two and half minutes remaining in overtime. Guard Ben Wheeler has played in 13 games and forward Darion Benbow seven.

LAFAYETTE ON TELEVISION: For the 11th straight season, Lafayette features the most expansive television package in the Patriot League. The Leopards have 13 games televised with the possible addition of three more televised games during the three rounds of the Patriot League Tournament. The Lafayette Sports Network will produce 12 of the 13 games that will air. Each of those broadcasts will air live regionally to more than 10 million viewers in the Lehigh Valley, Pocono region and all of Philadelphia on RCN-4 and WBPH-60. CSTV, Fox Sports Net Pittsburgh and MASN will continue as LSN national distribution partners, airing three telecasts. Emmy-nominated 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. The Leopards will also garnered national exposure on ESPNU when they battled Pittsburgh in January and on SportsNet NY vs. Rutgers in December.

ON THE RADIO: The 2007-08 Lafayette men's basketball season will air on two of the top-rated AM stations in the Lehigh Valley, WGPA-AM 1100 and WSAN-AM 1470. Entering his 41st season as the radio voice of Lafayette athletics, Dick Hammer will continue to call the play-by-play action. Joining Hammer courtside for most contests will be Lafayette Sports Information Director Phil LaBella. WSAN 1470 will broadcast 18 games, including seven of the first eight, while WGPA 1100 will handle six contests.

ON THE BOARDS: The rebounding battle is one that Lafayette has looked to make strides in during the 2007-08 season. Lafayette out-rebounded an opponent for the first time since Jan. 13, 2007 (Navy) when the Leopards snatched 44 rebounds to UMBC's 43 on Nov. 20. They continue to be out-rebounded by an average of 3.5 rebounds per game and have out-rebounded their opponents three times - UMBC (44-43), Mount St. Mary's (33-27) and Navy (44-41). Lafayette was even on the boards at Rutgers, Pittsburgh and Princeton...Lafayette finished 319th out of 325 teams in Division I in rebounding margin in 2006-07, out-rebounded by an average of 3.1 rpg.

HALF WAY THERE: Lafayette is 8-3 (CCSU, Penn, NJIT, Columbia, Mount St. Mary's, Robert Morris, Pittsburgh, HOLY CROSS, Colgate, BUCKNELL) when leading at halftime in 2007-08, the three losses coming vs. RMU, Pitt and Lehigh. Lafayette is 5-4 when trailing at halftime. In 2006-07, Lafayette was 8-2 when holding a lead at halftime, but just 1-19 when trailing at halftime.

THE HARDWOOD AND THE GRIDIRON: Lafayette did something it hadn't done in 15 years with its 81-69 victory over Penn on Nov. 28. The victory, combined with the 8-7 Lafayette football win at Franklin Field on Sept. 15, 2007, marked the first time the Leopards defeated Penn in football and basketball in the same season since 1991. In that year the football team won 20-12 at Franklin Field and the basketball team won 83-72.

BENCH SCORING?: Lafayette received 63 percent (41.1 of the Leopards' 65.0 points per game) of its scoring from the starting five and 36 percent from the bench in 2006-07. In 2007-08, Lafayette is receiving 52.3 of its 75.8 points per game from the starting five, a 69 percent clip.

IN THE COMMUNITY: The Lafayette men's basketball team led by assistant coaches Drew Dawson and Mike Farrell finished first in their support of Juvenile Diabetes Research as they ran (not walked) the Manhattan JDRF Walk in October. Farrell, a type-1 diabetic, made a few calls and the Leopards answered. The entire team participated in the 12K walk through New York City.

FROM THE LINE: Lafayette ranked 67th in the nation in free throw percentage in 2006-07, shooting 72.4 percent. Lafayette is shooting 68.8 percent this season.

INSIDE-OUTSIDE: Senior Matt Betley made the move from guard to forward for the 2006-07 season to bolster the team's rebounding efforts, but was still certainly 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. With 33 three-pointers, Betley was one of five Lafayette players who made 30 or more three-pointers in 2006-07. After a slow start, Betley is 30-of-77 (39.0%) from three-point land. At Lehigh, Betley led the team with nine rebounds and contributed seven points.

PETE CARRIL RETURNS HOME: On Nov. 16 vs. Fairleigh Dickinson, National Basketball Hall of Famer and 1952 graduate of Lafayette Pete Carril returned to Lafayette to honor former Lafayette head coach Butch van Breda Kolff who passed away in September. Carril, who was an All-American during his Leopard playing days, went on to coaching stardom at Princeton and recently served as an advisor to the Sacramento Kings.

JOINING O'HANLON: The assistant coaching staff features two former Lafayette players in top assistant Drew Dawson '03 and third assistant Mike Farrell '04. Pete Schwethelm is the team's second assistant and comes to Lafayette from the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy (USMMA) where he was an assistant coach with former Lafayette assistant coach and currently USMMA head coach, John Krikorian. The Lafayette staff is a young one with Dawson (28), Schwethelm (32) and Farrell (25).

THE O'HANLON SHUFFLE: The scorer's table has been a busy place during Fran O'Hanlon's 13 seasons at Lafayette. O'Hanlon frequently shuffles in players to keep them fresh while also looking for the best matchups on both ends of the court. The moves also force the 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 have consistently gone 10 deep.

...IN A RELATED NOTE: In 2006-07, O'Hanlon used 13 different starting lineups. This season, only five different starting fives have graced the floor at the opening tip.

AN EARLY START: Lafayette's season opener on Nov. 9 marked the earliest start in program history. This season, Lafayette has played six games by Dec. 1. By contrast, in 1992-93, Lafayette did not open the season until Dec. 1. As recently as 2003-04, Lafayette did not open until Nov. 22.

HI, MY NAME IS...: Jeff Kari, who maintains sophomore eligibility after transferring from East Carolina University, is new on the Lafayette roster. Kari, who formerly went by Jeff Robinson, changed his name in 2007, taking his mother's maiden name as she was the one who raised him. Kari has played in 20 games with three starts and is averaging 14.9 minutes per game.

REPRESENTING IRELAND: Senior Paul Cummins had the opportunity to represent his home country of Ireland this summer. He traded in his Maroon and White for the green of the Emerald Isle. Cummins competed with talented players from several different leagues around the world against other European teams. Ireland's squad went on to a third-place finish in the qualifying tournament after facing several teams with multiple NBA players.

THE GARBAGE MAN: Senior forward Matt Betley spends a lot of time cleaning the glass, diving for loose balls and occasionally even picking up a "garbage" basket in the paint. Betley is certainly willing to get his hands and body a little dirty by diving on the court, but it's nothing compared to his summer job in 2006. Betley collected garbage on a garbage truck in his hometown of Mount Laurel, N.J. As one of the scrappiest players in the Patriot League, Betley has determined that he is also one of the most hated opponents because of his style of play.

ALL-TIME AT LAFAYETTE: In the 98 seasons of men's basketball at Lafayette College, the Leopards hold an overall record of 1194-1055 (.531). Lafayette's first basketball season was in 1900-01 when the team had a winning record of 4-3.

ON THE WEB: As an element of Lafayette's long-term agreement with CSTV, all LSN telecasts are streamed live on the internet an available world-wide through LSN All-Access on www.GoLeopards.com .

INTERNATIONAL FLAVOR: Lafayette features four players from foreign countries. Senior 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. Sophomore Marek Koltun hails from Krakow, Poland and spent a year in Bear, Del. at Caravel Academy. Freshmen Jared Mintz is from Toronto, Canada while Deirunas Visockas is originally from Kaunas, Lithuania and currently resides in Los Angeles.