January 19, 2010

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GAME 19 • January 20, 2010

Matchup: Lafayette (12-6, 3-0) vs. Bucknell (6-13, 1-2)

Tip-off: 7 p.m. Site: Easton, Pa.

Arena: Kirby Sports Center (3,500)

Radio: Road games only on 1470 AM

TV: Lafayette Sports Network (RCN-4&8, WBPH-60) (Gary Laubach, John Leone, Dan Mowdy)

Internet: LSN All-Access on GoLeopards.com

Series: Lafayette leads 84-59
First Meeting: 01/26/1915 • BU 33, LC 32 in Lewisburg
Last Meeting: 02/18/09 • LC 71, BU 68 in Easton
Last BU Win: 01/21/09 • BU 71, LC 61 in Lewisburg
Last Lafayette Win: Same as Above
Fran O'Hanlon vs. Bucknell: 12-19

MATCH UP: Frequent rivals Lafayette (12-6, 3-0) and Bucknell (6-13, 1-2) renew acquaintances on Wednesday in Kirby Sports Center. The two teams have split the last four meetings. The Leopards are coming off a 13-point win at Navy while Bucknell lost at Holy Cross (82-69) on Saturday.

FIRST PLACE: Just three games in to the 14-game Patriot League slate, Lafayette is in sole possession of first place in the conference standings, one game ahead of Navy and Lehigh. The last time Lafayette occupied first place alone was 2007-08 when Lafayette started out 4-0 in conference action.

STREAKING: Lafayette has pieced together a five-game winning streak (current) and two three-game winning streaks this season. The Leopards have beaten Navy, Colgate, Holy Cross, Columbia and Penn and have won eight of their last nine games, the lone exception an overtime loss at Delaware on Dec. 29.
The last time Lafayette won six in a row was 2003-04 when Lafayette won seven straight conference games (1/10/04 to 2/1/04).

FIRING IT UP: Lafayette and Navy are neck-and-neck for the Patriot League lead in three-point field goal makes. Navy has made 145 for 8.1 per game while Lafayette has converted 144 attempts for 8.0 per game. Both have made 9.3 per game in conference play. Lafayette, however, is shooting at a much higher percentage (40.1%) than Navy (35.5%) for the season. In the head to head matchup, Navy made 13 to Lafayette's 11 in a 13-point Lafayette win.

SCOUTING BUCKNELL: Picked third in the Patriot League preseason poll, Bucknell comes in to Wednesday's game with a 6-13 overall record and a 1-2 conference mark. Bucknell lost a close game to Navy (69-67), beat American in overtime (72-68) and lost to Holy Cross (82-69) in the Bison's most recent outing.
The Bison have three players who score in double figures led by junior guard Darryl Shazier (10.5 ppg) and freshman guard Bryson Johnson (10.4 ppg). Shazier has started all 19 games and leads the team with 3.9 assists while Johnson has come off the bench in all but two games. Sophomore Bryan Cohen (8.3 ppg) has started 16 games.
Another player that figures in the mix is senior guard/forward Stephen Tyree. Tyree has started all 19 games and is averaging 6.3 points and 4.7 rebounds per game. He also leads the team in steals.
Up front, senior forward Patrick Behan is the third Bison player scoring in double figures (10.2 ppg) and also leads the team in rebounding (5.4 rpg). Behan has teamed up with top freshmen forwards Mike Muscala (8.2 ppg, 3.9 rpg) and Joe Willman (4.2 ppg, 3.7 rpg).
Bucknell is coached by Dave Paulsen (Williams '87) who is 13-36 in two seasons at Bucknell and 275-156 overall in 16 seasons.

SEVEN-ELEVEN: Eleven of Lafayette men's basketball players earned a 3.0 or better GPA in the fall semester led by Mike Gruner's 3.8 GPA. Seven managed a 3.2 or better.

WILLEN WINS THE WEEK...AGAIN: Sophomore guard Ryan Willen earned Patriot League Player of the Week honors for the second straight week. Willen averaged 22.5 points and 6.5 rebounds in two games for the Leopards who won contests at Colgate and Navy.
Willen had 19 points and five boards in 19 minutes in a 95-82 win at Colgate (1/13) and followed that with 26 points (one shy of his career high), eight rebounds and five assists to lead Lafayette to a 90-77 win at Navy (1/16). Willen is Lafayette's first player to receive the honor in consecutive weeks since Brian Ehlers on Feb. 15 and 22, 1998.
The player of the week honor was Willen's second straight following a span when he scored a career-high 27 points on 9-of-11 shooting vs. Columbia (1/6) and registered a 20-point, seven-rebound night vs. Holy Cross in the conference opener Jan. 9.
Willen is contributing 21.7 points and 6.7 rebounds per game in conference play while leading Lafayette to the top of the Patriot League standings.
Academically, the Biology major posted a 3.42 GPA in the fall semester while enrolled in Organic Chemistry, Ethics, Introduction to Psychology, Religions in World Cultures and two labs.

WILLEN OF LATE: Ryan Willen's numbers have taken off over the past four games. The sophomore is averaging 23.0 points and 6.3 rebounds per game in that span compared to 9.0 ppg and 3.9 rpg in the previous 14 games.

NEXT UP: Lafayette and Lehigh meet for the eight billionth time (actually the 211th time) at 7 p.m. on Saturday at Stabler Arena in Bethlehem, Pa.

SO FAR, SO GOOD: With 12 wins and a minimum of 12 games remaining on the 2009-10 ledger, Lafayette has already surpassed its season win total for all of 2008-09 (8-22).

ON THE BLOCK: Senior center Marek Koltun needs just one more block to move into Lafayette's all-time top 10. "Kolt 54" has 51 and one more would tie him with Andrei Capusan '06.

LAST TIME OUT: Lafayette finished with three players in double figures led by forward Ryan Willen (26) in a 90-77 win at Navy Saturday night at Alumni Hall. Willen went 10-of-16 from the field and had a team high eight rebounds, five assists and two steals. Jim Mower added 20 and Jared Mintz chipped in 18 points going 8-of-9 from the line.

FOR WHAT IT'S WORTH -- THE PATRIOT LEAGUE PRESEASON POLL: Lafayette was chosen eighth in the Patriot League Preseason Poll. The poll was voted on by the conference head coaches and SID's. Holy Cross was picked to finish first with 13 first-place votes, followed by Lehigh, Bucknell, Army, Colgate, American and Navy.

IF YOU'RE SCORING AT HOME: Lafayette posted its second highest scoring output of the season vs. Columbia (1/6), ringing up 91 points. Lafayette is averaging 78.1 points per game at home and 69.0 ppg on the road.

TAKING CARE OF THE HOME COURT: Coming into the season, head coach Fran O'Hanlon and the team set "taking care of our home court" as a goal for the squad. The Leopards have responded, registering a 7-1 mark thus far at Kirby Sports Center, the only loss a two-point setback vs. St. Peter's on Nov. 30. On the flip side, Lafayette is 4-5 on the road.

A HELPING HAND: Lafayette has dished out assists on 60 percent of its baskets in the 2009-10 season. The Leopards had 22 assists on 26 buckets at St. Francis, N.Y. (85 percent) on Dec. 22, their best mark of the season, topping the La Salle and St. Peter's efforts of 72 percent. Lafayette's worst performance of the year (in terms of assists per basket) came in a win against Wagner (9 assists, 25 FG) when the Leopards made up for it by hitting 26-of-31 free throws. In the last outing against Navy, Lafayette had 20 assists on 29 buckets (69%).

HANDLING THE BALL: Halfway through the season Lafayette boasts a positive season assist/turnover ratio for the first time since 2000-01 (+1.03 • 434/422). Lafayette is +1.22 (276/227) this season. Lafayette had a 1:1 assist/turnover ratio in 2003-04 (429/429).

200 AND STILL GOING: Lafayette head coach Fran O'Hanlon reached the 200-win plateau on Dec. 12 with the Leopards' victory over Long Island. He is the only Lafayette coach to win 200-plus games.

"O" REACHES P.L. LONGEVITY MARK: With his 422st game at the helm of the Lafayette program, Fran O'Hanlon holds the Patriot League all-time mark for games coached. He surpassed retired Bucknell coach Pat Flannery (412).

D.C. DANDIES: Though players from 11 states and three countries are represented on Lafayette's roster, the Leopards feature three from the geographic cluster that is the D.C. Metro 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. Junior Ben Wheeler played at Chantilly where he garnered first team all-district and second team all-region accolades his senior year. Sophomore Nick Petkovich was an All-IAC Conference First-Team selection from Bullis Prep.

MOWER'S MAJOR MINUTES: Sophomore guard Jim Mower played the first seven games off the bench and has started the last 11. Mower enjoyed a breakout game vs. Fairleigh Dickinson (12/9), scoring 23 points on 10-of-16 shooting and has been one of the team's most consistent shooters ever since. Mower knocked down a career-high 25 points against LIU (12/12) on 6-of-7 shooting from the three-point range, a performance that helped earn him his first Patriot League Player of the Week nod. In Mower's last outing, he contributed 20 points at Navy.
The Harleysville, Pa. native is second on the team in scoring with 13.8 ppg in 25 minutes per game. The number that stands out the most for Mower is his assist/turnover ratio which is +2.2 (38/17).

MINTZ, FROM THE FLOOR: Junior forward Jared Mintz has been the Leopards' leading scorer from the outset of 2009-10. The Toronto, Canada native has been an efficient scorer. Mintz is currently shooting 60 percent from the floor after a 5-of-7 night at Navy on Saturday. His season shooting percentage includes a 9-of-9 night at St. Francis (Pa.), an 8-of-10 stint at NJIT, a 6-of-7 performance vs. Hartford and a 5-for-7 day at Georgetown.

...AND THE LINE: Jared Mintz is just as efficient when he gets to the free throw line. Mintz is shooting a team-best 89 percent, making 69-of-78 attempts. He was 8-of-8 from the line at Delaware and vs. Wagner (11/13), 6-of-6 against Holy Cross, 8-of-9 at Colgate and another 8-of-9 at Navy. Mintz is second in the Patriot League in free throw shooting behind Holy Cross' Andrew Beinert who has 38 fewer attempts.

NCAA RANKINGS: The latest national rankings (1/17) show Jared Mintz ranked 10th in the country in field goal percentage (60%) and 30th in the country in free throw percentage (89%). Sophomore Jim Mower was sixth nationally for three-point field goal percentage (49%).

100 AND STILL GOING: Other than Nike sneakers, what do North Carolina basketball and Lafayette basketball have in common? For both teams, the 2009-10 season marks the 100th season of men's basketball. Lafayette's first season was 1900-01, but the school did not field a team from 1903-04 to 1912-13.

ON THE SIDELINE: The all-time winningest coach in Lafayette history and longest-tenured coach in the Patriot League, Fran O'Hanlon (Villanova, '70) is in his 15th season as the Leopards' head coach. A two-time Patriot League Coach of the Year, O'Hanlon has twice led Lafayette's program to the NCAA Tournament and lays claim to three Patriot League regular-season titles.
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 206-216 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 seven, 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.

FABULOUS FRESHMAN TO SUPER SOPHOMORE?: Sophomore forward Ryan Willen was named to the Patriot League All-Rookie team in 2008-09, the seventh freshman in school history to earn the accolade.
This season, Willen is averaging 12.1 points and 4.4 rebounds per game and has 30 assists. Willen's had a career-high 27 points against Columbia, 9-for-11 from the field (82%). In his last outing, Willen led the team with 26 points, eight rebounds and five assists at Navy.
In addition to his work on the court, Willen was enrolled in Organic Chemistry, Ethics, Introduction to Psychology, Religions in World Cultures and two labs for the fall semester.

FRESH IMPACT: Freshman Tony Johnson has made a positive impact on the court for the Leopards. Johnson is averaging 19 minutes per game and has 31 assists to 20 turnovers, solid numbers for a freshman who has been asked to handle the ball often. Johnson is also third on the team in steals (19) (11th in the Patriot League) and fifth in assists. A 6-0 native of Folsom, Calif., Johnson is the only true point guard on the team. Johnson was 7-for-7 from the line and finished with nine points while also adding three assists in 18 minutes against FDU (12/9). Fellow first-year player Levi Giese has seen action in 15 games while averaging 1.1 points and 0.7 rebounds per game. A 6-9 forward, Giese comes from Tulsa, Okla. and brings solid perimeter skills. Giese played eight minutes with three points and two rebounds at Delaware.

NEC TITLE?: The Leopards finished a slate of six games against Northeast Conference (NEC) teams with a 5-1 record, beating Wagner, St. Francis (Pa.), Fairleigh Dickinson, Long Island and St. Francis (N.Y.) with the only loss coming to Sacred Heart.

IN THE RANKS: Seven of Lafayette's non-conference opponents were picked to finish within the top five of their respective leagues in the preseason polls. At No. 2, Long Island and Princeton were the highest ranked non-conference opponents the Leopards faced. Lafayette tipped off against six opponents from the Northeast Conference -- the most of any one conference on the Leopards' schedule.

DOUBLE YOUR PLEASURE: Junior forward Jared Mintz has been the Leopards' go-to guy during the 2009-10 season. Mintz's hard work in the off season has led to increased scoring output and solid work on the glass. The junior has a pair of double-doubles, contributing 20 points and 10 rebounds in the season opener vs. Wagner (11/13) and following up with 18 and 10 against Hartford (11/24). Mintz has four double-doubles for his career. For the season, he has scored in double figures in 16 of 18 games.
FACEBOOK/TWITTER:Fans can follow Lafayette basketball on Facebook at facebook.com/lafayette.leopard and Twitter at twitter.com/goleopards .

WHAT GARDEN STATER IS IN THAT JERSEY?: With its proximity to the Garden State (about two miles away from the border), Lafayette has played four New Jersey schools this season: NJIT, Fairleigh Dickinson, Princeton and St. Peter's. Lafayette was 2-2 in those meetings.

Meet the Captains: Senior guards Jeff Kari and Mike Gruner are holding leadership roles for the 2009-10 season. Kari, who served as a co-captain last season, played in all 30 games as a junior, starting 27 and was second on the team in scoring. This season, the Lisle, Ill. native is averaging 9.9 ppg and 2.6 apg. Coming out of high school, Kari was an all-state selection at Lisle Senior High School where he set seven school records and was a two-way player on the football team (wide receiver and defensive back).
Gruner is averaging 6.9 ppg and leads the team with 48 assists (2.6 apg) and 26 steals (1.5 spg). He was a mainstay in the lineup the past two seasons. In 2008-09, he was the team's steadiest ballhandler, dishing out 61 assists to 44 turnovers for a 1.4 assist/turnover ratio and 196 points (8.2 ppg). Gruner is also a Marquis Scholar, the college's most prestigious academic scholarship. Coming out of Bethesda, Md., Gruner led his Walt Whitman high school squad to the Maryland 4A state title while earning Gazette Co-Player of the Year honors along with the NBA's 2007-08 Rookie of the Year Kevin Durant then of Montrose Christian.
SOLID START: The Leopards' 4-1 start was the best since 2003-04 when Lafayette began the season 6-1. Lafayette finished 18-10 that season.

LAFAYETTE VS. THE PATRIOT LEAGUE: Lafayette has played 642 games against the seven members of the Patriot League, and has a 349-293 record in all games against them. In Patriot League play, Lafayette is 107-151 in the regular season and 10-17 in the Patriot League Tournament. Under Fran O'Hanlon, the Leopards are 93-98 in conference regular-season play.

American 16-24
Army 34-22
Bucknell 84-59
Colgate 39-45
Holy Cross 15-30
Lehigh 137-73
Navy 24-40

SIX...IS GOOD: The Leopards had six players score in double figures against Hartford on Nov. 24. Jared Mintz led the way with 18, followed by Darion Benbow (career-high 15), Michael Gruner (13), Jim Mower (13), Jeff Kari (10) and Ryan Willen (10). The last time Lafayette had six players score in double figures, including all five starters, was Nov. 28, 2007 in an 81-69 win over Penn. Gruner is the only Lafayette player to have scored 10+ in both of those games.

THE HARDWOOD AND THE GRIDIRON: Lafayette's win over Penn on Jan. 3 marked the third time the Leopards defeated the Quakers in both football and basketball. The 77-62 victory over Penn combined with the 20-17 (OT) Lafayette football win at Fisher Stadium on Sept. 26, 2009, marked the third time the Leopards defeated Penn in football and basketball in the same season. In 2007, the basketball team defeated Penn 81-69 and defeated its football team 8-7. In 1999, football won 20-12 at Franklin Field and the basketball notched an 83-72 win.

FRESH FACES: Head coach Fran O'Hanlon added two new coaches to his staff this season. Pat Doherty is a familiar face to the Lafayette program, graduating from Lafayette in 2004. Doherty was an assistant coach at Williams College in 2008-09, helping lead Williams to a 17-9 overall record. In 2007-08 Doherty served as an assistant coach at The College of New Jersey (TCNJ). Matt Blue holds down the final assistant coaching spot. Blue, a 2007 graduate of St. Lawrence comes to Lafayette after spending the 2008-09 season at Susquehanna University in Selinsgrove, Pa. He helped lead the Crusaders to an 18-8 overall mark and a 13-3 finish in the Landmark Conference.

BASKETBALL IQ: Lafayette placed a program-best three student-athletes on the Patriot League Academic Honor Roll during the 2008-09 season. The distinction recognizes those individuals who have earned a varsity letter and maintained a 3.2 GPA during the spring semester. Senior Michael Gruner and sophomores Rob Delaney and Andy Moore each earned a nod.

AROUND THE WORLD: Three international players are featured on the roster for tonight's matchup. Lafayette boasts three international players in Jared Mintz (Toronto, Canada), Marek Koltun (Krakow, Poland) and Deirunas Visockas (Lithuania). Bucknell's roster includes Bryson Johnson (Pictou, Nova Scotia) and Probese Leo (Nassau, Bahamas).

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 2,403 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.

ON THE RADIO: The road games of the 2009-10 Lafayette men's basketball season will air on WSAN-AM 1470 "The Fox." Entering his 43rd 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.

LAFAYETTE ON TV: The Leopards will have 13 of their regular-season games televised during the 2009-10 season. The Leopards will also lead the Patriot League with seven nationally-televised games, as MASN (available through both DIRECTV and DISH Network) will air Lafayette's entire slate of home league contests on a tape-delay basis. Emmy-nominated local sports broadcaster Gary Laubach will handle all of Lafayette's play-by-play duties for the 13th straight season. Former Lafayette men's basketball coach John Leone will provide color analysis for the 11th season.