March 2, 2009
LIVE COVERAGE: 
Game Notes 
GAME 29 • FEBRUARY 28, 2009
Matchup: Lafayette (8-21, 4-10) vs. American (21-7, 13-1)
Tip-off: 7:30 p.m.
Site: Easton, Pa.
Arena: Bender Arena (4,500)
Television: None
Radio: WSAN-AM Fox 1470
Dick Hammer (Play-By-Play), Phil LaBella (Color Analyst)
Internet:
THE MATCHUP: Lafayette enters the Patriot League Tournament as a No. 8 seed and faces No. 1 seed American for the second straight time in four days. The Eagles ride a 10-game winning streak into the tournament after receiving a scare in an overtime victory in Easton on Saturday. The winner of Wednesday's game will move on to the semifinal round on March 8 to face the winner between No. 4 seed Army and No. 5 seed Lehigh (7 p.m. in West Point, N.Y.).
RISING STAR: One week after being named Patriot League Rookie of the Week, freshman Ryan Willen was named to the All-Patriot League Rookie Team on Monday. He ranks among the top rookies in the league statistically (see graphic on page 2). Just among the class of 2012, he ranks first for 3FG percentage (38.1%), second for rebounding (4.9) and free throw percentage (78.4%) and fourth for scoring (9.5 ppg).
LAST TIME OUT: Michael Gruner waited anxiously in the corner as Ryan Willen kicked out the rebound to Andrew Brown at the top of the key. With 27 seconds on the clock and the Leopards down 60-57 to American, Brown swung it to Gruner, who fired away without a moment's hesitation.
The ball sailed through the net, sending the game into overtime and bringing Kirby Sports Center to its feet. In the end, the momentum wasn't enough to dethrone Patriot League regular season champion American and the Leopards fell in a 75-68 decision on Saturday.
Garrison Carr took control in overtime as he drained three threes en route to a game-high 23-point performance despite a 6-of-20 outing from the field to lift the Eagles to victory.
Jeff Kari led the Leopards with 19 points while Gruner notched career highs in points (17) and rebounds (10) for the first double-double of his career. Brown converted a perfect 8-of-8 from the free throw line as part of a 14-point performance in his final game at Kirby Sports Center.
TRIPLE THE DEFENSE: The Leopards face the conference's top two defensive teams in the league in three-consecutive games. Heading into the Army game on Feb. 25, the Black Knights were ranked second in the league for scoring defense, limiting teams to 61.7 points per game. American is the only team that ranks better, limiting opponents to 58.1 points per game.
CAREER DAY: Guard Michael Gruner was a force against American, tallying his first career double-double with 17 points and 10 rebounds.
His 17 points topped his previous career high of 16, which he set against Bucknell on Feb. 18. His 10 rebounds finally broke his career high of six, which he had grabbed four times previously. It was also the most rebounds brought down by a guard since Feb. 23, 2008, at Lehigh when Bilal Abdullah tallied 13.
The junior joins Ryan Willen and Jared Mintz in Lafayette's double-double club this season.
PICK YOUR POCKET: Of American's season-high 21 turnovers versus Lafayette on Saturday, nine were the result of Leopard steals. It was the sixth time this season Lafayette posted nine steals in a game, and the production was one shy of team's season high (10; Colgate, 1/14/2009). The Eagles' 21 turnovers were also the most committed by a Lafayette opponent this season.
LAFAYETTE VS. THE PATRIOT LEAGUE: Lafayette has played 638 games against the seven members of the Patriot League, and has a 346-292 record in all games against them. In Patriot League play, Lafayette is 105-151 in the regular season and 10-16 in the Patriot League Tournament. Under Fran O'Hanlon, the Leopards are 90-98 in conference regular-season play.
American 16-23 Army 34-22 Colgate 38-45 Lehigh 137-73 Holy Cross 14-30 Navy 23-40 Bucknell 84-59
D.C. DANDIES: Though players from 11 states and three countries are represented on Lafayette's roster, the Leopards do have a preference for the D.C. area. Prior to arriving on College Hill, three of Lafayette's guards attended schools within 25 miles of the nation's capital. Michael Gruner shined at Walt Whitman High School, where he led his team to a state championship. Sophomore Ben Wheeler played at Chantilly where he garnered first team all-district and second team all-region accolades his senior year. Freshman Nick Petkovich is the most recent addition from the D.C. area, an All-IAC Conference First-Team selection from Bullis Prep.
BEST THINGS IN LIFE ARE FREE: The Leopards have been solid from the free throw line as of late. In conference play, Lafayette has hit 76.1 percent from the line in 273 attempts.
Senior Andrew Brown is the team's most consistent free throw shooter at 85.7 percent, and freshman Ryan Willen is right behind him at 78.4 percent. Lafayette is shooting a Patriot League best 74.6 percent (405-of-543) from the charity stripe this season, ranking 22nd in the nation in games through March 1.
MAKING HIS MARK: With his two treys against Bucknell, senior Andrew Brown became one of the top five career three-point shooters in Patriot League history. He has since upped his total to 282 career three-pointers, surpassing Lafayette's Tyson Whitfield '01 for the No. 3 spot. He needs 13 more to claim the No. 2 spot currently occupied by Bucknell's Kevin Bettencourt (294, 2002-06). Army's Mark Lueking (1992-96) owns the record with 300.
STEPPING UP HIS GAME: Sophomore Jared Mintz's numbers are up since the start of league play. In the 12 league games he has played in, he averages 10.3 ppg, converting 56.0 percent of his shots in 84 attempts. He averages 4.8 rpg and has swatted nine shots. In non-conference play, Mintz averaged 8.1 ppg and 3.2 rpg and accumulated two blocks in 14 games. Mintz is second in the league in field goal percentage (55.3 percent) this season.
FROM DOWNTOWN: After sinking 63 treys this season, Andrew Brown has solidified himself as Lafayette's all-time three-point leader, smashing Tyson Whitfield's mark of 271 in 2001. Brown's second three against Holy Cross on Feb. 7 broke the record and he hasn't slowed down. His career total to date rests at 282.
Brown's hot hand from behind the arc last year helped him cement his name in the Lafayette record books. He owns the school record for most three-pointers in a game (nine), most three-point field goal attempts in a season (247) and most treys made in a season (99).
ON THE SIDELINE: The all-time winningest coach in Lafayette history and the longest tenured coach in the Patriot League, Fran O'Hanlon (Villanova, '70) is in his 14th 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 194-209 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.
CRASH THE BOARDS: Lafayette outrebounded its opponent for the eighth time this season on Feb. 23, out-muscling Army 41-37. The total fell one shy of the Leopards' season-best 42 against Lehigh on Jan. 24. Lafayette holds a 3-5 record when outrebounding opponents this season.
KEEPING IT FRESH: The Class of 2012 made the most of its extended minutes against Army on Feb. 25. Freshman Alex Orchowski grabbed a game-high eight rebounds, breaking his career high. He matched his previous career high (6), which he set at Colorado in eight minutes of the first half. Guard Rob Delaney scored a career-high seven points during a career-high 17 minutes on the floor. Center J.D. Pelham drained two three-pointers from the top of the key for a career-high night in points (6) in seven minutes at the end of the game. He matched his career high in rebounds with four and swatted two shots.
Lafayette also experimented with lineups during the second half of the Colgate game on Feb. 11. With fewer than seven minutes to go, five freshmen were on the floor: Alex Orchowski, Andy Moore, Rob Delaney, Jim Mower and J.D. Pelham. Sophomore Ben Wheeler was later joined by a quartet of freshmen (Ryan Willen, Mower, Orchowski, and Moore) with fewer than four minutes remaining.
As a result, several of the rookies capitalized on the playing time. Mower posted his second double-digit game of the season (13 points). Moore chipped in four points, a career high, in six minutes, and Pelham grabbed four rebounds and converted his first field goal of the year in a season-high 14 minutes.
PAIRING UP: Andrew Brown and Jared Mintz combined to score 47 of Lafayette's 68 points against Lehigh on Feb. 22. The last time two players each scored at least 20 points in a game occurred on March 1, 2008, when Bilal Abdullah posted 23 points and Matt Betley scored 21 in an 84-72 loss to American in Washington, D.C.
A LITTLE PIECE OF HISTORY: Senior Andrew Brown is one of four active 1,000-point scorers in the Patriot League who also rank among the top assist men in conference annals. Brown, Navy's Kaleo Kina, American's Derrick Mercer and Lehigh's Marquis Hall are all part of a group of 14 players in Patriot League history to record at least 1,000 career points and 300 career assists.
TO CATCH A THIEF: Junior guard Michael Gruner's quick hands have made him one of the conference leaders in steals this year. Despite a six-game layoff earlier this season due to injury, Gruner ranks second in the league with 1.8 steals per game. He also averages 8.1 points and 3.6 rpg and has notched double figures eight times, most recently against American on Saturday with a career-high 17 points.
Gruner is a Marquis Scholar, the most prestigious academic scholarship awarded to Lafayette students. He was a mainstay in the starting lineup in 2007-08 and proved to be Lafayette's steadiest ballhandler, dishing out 72 assists to 46 turnovers for a 1.6 assist/turnover ratio.
IN THE CLUTCH: Ryan Willen may only be a freshman, but under pressure, he possesses the poise needed to get the job done. In the first game of the season, Willen's clutch free throw shooting helped secure Lafayette's win at Wagner. In the last four minutes, the Seahawks went on an 8-3 run, closing in on Lafayette's lead 70-67, before fouling Willen with 11.4 seconds remaining. The rookie sank both free throws, making it a two-possession game. Willen finished with seven points and three rebounds.
The rookie has maintained his cool into league play. Against Navy, Lafayette built a 12-point lead early in the second half before the Mids attempted a comeback. Kaleo Kina drove for a layup at 7:28, slicing the Leopards' advantage to one point, but Willen came up with a big three on the next possession to stop the momentum and Lafayette went on to an 84-69 win.
As part of a career-high 20-point performance on Feb. 18, his last-second free throws stopped Bucknell from overcoming a 16-point second-half deficit and secured Lafayette's seventh win of the season.
SEEING DOUBLE: Freshman Ryan Willen posted the third double-double of his career at Navy on Feb. 14 with 14 points and a career-high/game-high 12 rebounds. With a trio of double-doubles, the Cape Girardeau, Mo., native owns the most by a freshman and third overall in the conference.
He is the first Lafayette freshman since 1995-96 to record more than one double-double in his rookie year. That season, Stefan Ciosici '00 posted double-doubles in two of his first three games as a Leopard and went on to tally seven for the year.
Willen's first double-double of the season (15 points, 10 rebounds; Stony Brook, 11/18/08) was the first double-double performance since Feb. 23, 2008, when Bilal Abdullah '08 tallied 19 points and 13 rebounds against Lehigh. His second double-double came against Lehigh (1/24) with 11 points and a game-high 10 rebounds. Even more impressive -- of those 10 rebounds, six were offensive.
Willen has nearly achieved two more double-doubles throughout the year: 13 points and nine rebounds against Rider (11/23) and 17 points and seven rebounds vs. Holy Cross (2/7).
LEOPARD LEADERSHIP: Senior guard Andrew Brown and junior guard Jeff Kari are serving as the team captains. Brown is the lone member of the class of 2009 and is the team's leading scorer (13.6 ppg). He has played in 116 games in his career. Kari played in 30 games in his first season on College Hill after transferring from East Carolina. After averaging 4.0 ppg and 1.7 rpg in 2007-08, he is now averaging 10.6 ppg and 3.8 rpg.
INJURY REPORT: Sophomore Deirunas Visockas suffered a season-ending knee injury at the three-minute mark against American on Jan 31. Visockas underwent knee surgery in the off season and missed the first 13 games while recovering. He saw his first minutes of the season against Penn on Jan. 6 and had averaged 3.1 ppg and 1.1 rpg in eight games off the bench.
Freshman guard Nick Petkovich is out for the season with a foot injury. He averaged 2.9 ppg and 1.1 rpg in 6.8 minutes off the bench. Sophomore forward Darion Benbow, who has missed the last three games with a shoulder injury, is doubtful for tonight's game.
BEAST ON THE BOARDS: Freshman forward Ryan Willen has consistently led the team in rebounding this season despite earning his first starting nod on Jan. 10. He averages 4.9 boards per game and is the first freshman since the 1995-96 season to lead the Leopards in rebounding. That year, Stefan Ciosici '00 brought down 7.6 rpg.
IN WINS AND LOSSES: In their eight wins, the Leopards have held opponents to 41.0 percent from the field. In losses, however, Lafayette allows opponents to hit 48.8 percent from the floor. Free throws are a major factor as Lafayette averages five more made free throws than its opponents in wins. In losses, opponents hold the advantage with nearly three more made free throws per game. The Leopards also control the boards in wins with a +0.8 rebounding margin over their opponents compared to their -5.0 margin in losses.
BLOCK PARTY: Junior center Marek Koltun has 24 blocks on the season, surpassing his career total from his previous two seasons combined. He is tied with Craig White '91 for 15th place on the school's single-season blocks leader list in records dating back to 1977-78. With 37 stuffs to his name, he now ranks 20th among Lafayette's leading blockers in records dating back to 1977-78. He edged Winston Davis '04 (36) and needs two more to pass Dave Klaus '99 (38) for the No. 19 spot.
TALE OF TWO HALVES: Lafayette put up its most points in the first half (43) for the third time this season against American on Jan. 31. However, in the second half, the Leopards were held to their lowest point total (22 points) after halftime at that point in the season.
LIGHTING UP THE LINE: Five different Leopards sank every free throw they attempted against Navy (1/17). Jeff Kari led the team with a season best 8-of-8 production, followed by Jared Mintz (7-of-7), Andrew Brown (4-of-4), Michael Gruner (3-of-3) and Deirunas Visockas (2-of-2).
Brown's team-best streak of 20-consecutive free throws broke at FDU (2/2). The streak spanned nine games dating back to Mount St. Mary's (1/2).
SINKING THE MIDS: Lafayette's win over Navy on Jan. 17 snapped a five-game winning streak for the Midshipmen and gave them their first league loss in three games. Lafayette became the first team in 26 games to shoot better than 50.0 percent against Navy.
The Leopards played some of their best basketball against Navy. Lafayette's 84 points were the most points scored in a game this season. The Leopards also produced season-best outings from the field (54.2 percent; 26-of-48) and the free throw line (27-of-30, 90 percent) up until that point in the season. The 15-point spread was the team's largest margin of victory for the season and its first victory of the season in games decided between 11-20 points. The Leopards were previously 0-7 in such games and now hold a 1-10 record in those contests.
1,400 CLUB: When senior Andrew Brown chipped in a layup with 7:10 remaining against Lehigh on Feb. 22, the guard tallied his 1,400th career point, becoming the 10th player in school history to achieve the feat. He laid in one more basket in the game to finish with 1,424 points.
The most recent player to score at least 1,400 points in his career was Brian Ehlers '00, who finished with 1,836 to rank as the third leading scorer in program history.
HOW DID HE DO IT?: Prior to his injury, freshman Nick Petkovich always seemed to make the most of his time on the floor. He grabbed three rebounds in one minute of playing time at Bucknell. Some of his other notable stat lines include Rider (7 pts, 1 ast, 1 blk in 9 mins), at Fordham (5 pts, 3 reb, 1 stl, 1 blk in 7 mins) and at Penn (9 pts, 2 reb, 1 ast, 1 blk in 13 mins).
MIXING IT UP: Head coach Fran O'Hanlon swapped the starting five against vs. Holy Cross (2/7), inserting Marek Koltun into the mix along with Andrew Brown, Ryan Willen, Michael Gruner and Jeff Kari. The quintet was the Leopards' seventh starting lineup this season.
BEHIND THE ARC: Lafayette is averaging 7.7 three-pointers per game, good enough to place the Leopards 52nd in the nation through games of March 1. In 2007-08 Lafayette ranked fifth in the nation with 10.0 three-pointers made per game. Individually this season, Andrew Brown leads the team with 63 three-pointers (2.2 per game) and made a season-high seven vs. Robert Morris on Dec. 17.
CHIPPING IN: All 12 Lafayette players that recorded minutes against Colgate (1/14) scored in the game. The last time every player scored in one game was Feb. 16, 2008, when Lafayette lost to Navy, 82-80 in Annapolis, Md.
FIELD DAY: On Jan. 14, the Leopards pulled out their first win in games when the opponent shoots a better field goal percentage after an 0-9 drought. Colgate sank 44.2 percent from the field while Lafayette hit 40.8 percent. So what accounted for the win? The Leopards outrebounded the Raiders (37 to 33), swiped more steals (10 to six), converted more from the free throw line (82.8 percent to 52.0 percent) and swatted more shots (four to one).
WHAT A WIN: Lafayette's win over Princeton on Dec. 30 was the program's 1200th in 99 seasons.
PRESEASON ALL-PATRIOT FOR BROWN: Senior guard Andrew Brown was selected to the Preseason All-Patriot League Team in late October. Brown was an All-Patriot League Second-Team pick at the end of the 2007-08 season after leading the Leopards in scoring 14 times and averaging a team-best 15.9 ppg. He also led the team in assists (85).
SOARING UP THE SCORING CHARTS: Brown is climbing the career scoring list. This season his 393 points have catapulted him from 35th to seventh among career scoring leaders, and he now has 1,424 career points. He recently surpassed Gary Bennett '86 (1,419) and needs 21 points to catch Todd Tripucka '76 in sixth place.
ASCENDING THE ASSISTS LIST: Brown is also moving up the career assists list. With two assists against American on Saturday, Brown increased his total to 89 for the season and 352 for his career, passing Brian Burke '02 (308) and claiming seventh place. He needs 20 more to tie Bob Falconiero '80 (372) for the sixth spot on the list.
MOVING UP THE STEALS CHARTS: Brown continues to creep up the steals chart. He began the season with 97 career steals and has since increased his total to 127, matching Mike Whitman '82 for 12th place. He needs six more to tie Chet Brightful '96 (133) in the 11th spot.
AT THE HALF: The Leopards entered halftime with a 23-21 lead over Princeton on Dec. 30. The combined 44 points were the fewest at halftime of Lafayette's 29 games this season and the fewest since Jan. 13, 2007. On that date, Navy headed into the locker room with a 28-16 lead over the Leopards. The Leopards have lost two games this season (8-2) when leading at the half, falling to Rider after leading 41-30 and to American after holding a 43-39 advantage at the break.
THE LOW OF LOWS: The Leopards held two conference foes to season-low production in back-to-back games. Lafayette held both Lehigh (1/24) and Army (1/28) to 19 field goals. The Leopards also limited the Mountain Hawks to 31.7 percent from the field and two assists before holding Army to 22 rebounds. All were season-low statistics for a Lafayette opponent this year.
ABOUT LAFAYETTE COLLEGE: Located in Easton, Pa. (70 miles west of New York City and 60 miles north of Philadelphia) on the banks of the Delaware and Lehigh Rivers, Lafayette is a small liberal arts school with a renowned engineering program. Lafayette, which has 23 Division I sports with a student body of 2,382 undergraduates, competes in the Patriot League with Army, Navy, Bucknell, Holy Cross, Colgate, American and Lehigh. Lafayette is the alma mater of Pete Carril and Tampa Bay Rays manager Joe Maddon.
KEEP IT UP, KARI: Junior guard Jeff Kari has either set or tied his career high in points in five games this season. He set his career high with 15 points in the season opener at Wagner. He reset his career high against Stony Brook with 16 points, and again hit for 16 points against Temple. He then bested that mark with a 21-point performance against Rider.
His 19 points against American on Feb. 28 marked the seventh time this season he has led the Leopards in scoring, but Kari isn't just a scoring threat. He tied his career high in assists (seven) against Hartford and grabbed a career high in rebounds (nine) against Rider. In the Rider and Temple games, he led the team in scoring, rebounding, assists and steals.
Kari averages 10.6 points and 3.8 rebounds per game and is second and third on the team in those categories, respectively.
THRIVING WITH THIRTY: Andrew Brown's 30-point production against Robert Morris on Dec. 17 was the fourth such game of his career. Brown first drained 30 points as a sophomore on Jan. 20, 2007, at archrival Lehigh. He accomplished the feat twice as a junior, scoring 32 at Mount St. Mary's on Dec. 21, 2007, before notching his career high against Army (34 points) on Jan 30, 2008.
WHAT CAN BROWN DO FOR YOU?: Andrew Brown can distribute the ball. The Littleton, Colo. native led the team in assists his first three years on College Hill. Brown dished out 94 assists (3.1 apg) as a 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. Brown finished his junior year with a team-high 85 assists in 30 games (2.8 apg), despite taking a more active scoring role. This season, Brown has 89 assists through 29 games (3.1 apg).
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. In 2007-08, Brown led the Leopards in scoring 14 times and has continued that trend 12 times this season, averaging 13.6 ppg.
Brown is stellar from the line. In his sophomore year, he shot 91 percent from the charity stripe, connecting on 42-of-46 attempts. Last season, Brown went to the line 82 times and hit for 83 percent. He reached the line a career-high 10 times in the season opener, connecting on eight, and is shooting 85.7 percent this season in 98 attempts.
Brown makes big shots. Last year 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.
IN THE RANKS: Seven of Lafayette's non-conference opponents were picked to finish within the top five of their respective leagues in the pre-season polls. At No. 1, Mount St. Mary's is the highest ranked non-conference opponent the Leopards will face. Lafayette will tip off against five opponents from the Northeast Conference -- the most of any one conference on the Leopards' schedule.
THE PRESEASON POLL: Lafayette was picked eighth in the Patriot League Preseason Poll voted on by the conference head coaches and sports information directors. Defending champion American was selected to repeat followed by Lehigh, Holy Cross, Colgate, Bucknell, Navy and Army.
LOOKING BACK: The last time Lafayette started off the season with a 2-0 record was in 1998-99. In that season, the Leopards defeated Dartmouth, 56-41, and Princeton, 63-47. Lafayette went on to earn a 22-8 record, including a 10-2 record in the Patriot League, and secured a berth to the NCAA Tournament after winning its first Patriot League championship (against Bucknell).
Even more impressive, Lafayette achieved all that success despite losing the preseason Player of the Year Stefan Ciosici for the entire season and the 1997-98 Rookie of the Year Tyson Whitfield for seven games in the middle of the conference schedule.
LOTS OF THREE BALLS AT HARTFORD (12/4): Lafayette made a season-high 15 three-pointers at Hartford on Dec. 4, which stands as a Patriot League best this year. It was the first time since Jan. 2, 2008 at Pittsburgh when they made 15 or more. Those 17 treys at Pitt were the most allowed by a Panther opponent in the program's history.
In a related note, Lafayette's 21 assists at Hartford also marked the first time the team dished out 20+ assists since it recorded 21 assists against Army on Jan. 30, 2008. It stands as a season-high performance in 2008-09.
WORKING OVERTIME IN 2007-08: 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) in 2007-08. The lone win at home in overtime came Nov. 20 vs. UMBC (87-84) to give the team a total of six overtime victories and tie 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 16-10 in overtime.
BASKETBALL IQ: Lafayette placed a program-best five student-athletes on the Patriot League Academic Honor Roll during the 2007-08 season. The distinction recognizes those who have earned a varsity letter and maintained a 3.2 GPA during the spring semester. Junior Michael Gruner and sophomores Deirunas Visockas and Ben Wheeler along with graduated players Matt Betley and Paul Cummins earned the nod.
ON THE RADIO: The entire 2008-09 Lafayette men's basketball season will air on WSAN-AM 1470 "The Fox." Entering his 42nd season as the radio voice of Lafayette athletics, Dick Hammer will continue to call the play-by-play action. Joining Hammer courtside at home contests is Scott Morse, Lafayette Director of Athletic Communications and Promotions and Executive Director of the Maroon Club. Lafayette Sports Information Director Phil LaBella will join Hammer for road contests.
LAFAYETTE ON TELEVISION: The Leopards have 15 games televised at home. Fourteen telecasts will be produced by the Lafayette Sports Network (LSN). The Leopards garnered national exposure on ESPNU when they visited Penn State on Dec. 21 and again when they traveled to Lehigh on Feb. 22. Emmy-nominated local sports broadcaster Gary Laubach handles all of LSN's play-by-play duties for the 12th straight season. Former Lafayette men's basketball coach John Leone provides color analysis for the 11th season and is joined by Dan Mowdy on the sidelines.
