Jan. 5, 2010
EASTON, Pa. -
GameNotes 
GAME 15• January 6, 2010
Matchup: Lafayette (8-6) vs. Columbia (6-6)
Tip-off: 7 p.m.
Site: Easton, Pa.
Arena: Kirby Sports Center (3,500)
Radio:None
TV: Lafayette Sports Network (RCN-4&8, WBPH-60) (Gary Laubach, John Leone, Dan Mowdy)
Internet: LSN All-Access on GoLeopards.com
MATCH UP: Lafayette (8-6) bounced back after an overtime loss at Delaware to beat Penn 77-62 on Sunday afternoon. Columbia faced Patriot League foe American in a
56-51 win Monday night.
SO FAR, SO GOOD: With eight wins and a minimum of 15 games remaining in 2009-10, Lafayette has already matched its season win total for all of 2008-09 (8-22).
NEXT UP: Lafayette will begin conference play on Saturday when the Leopards welcome Patriot League preseason to Kirby Sports Center on Saturday at 1 p.m.
LAST TIME OUT: Lafayette had four players in double figures led by sophomore Jim Mower's 21 points in a 77-62 win against Penn on Sunday afternoon at Kirby Sports Center.
Mower was 6-for-10 from three-point range and leads the team with 37 three-pointers for the season. Ryan Willen finished the afternoon with 12 points and was Lafayette's leading scorer, Jared Mintz, ended with 10 as did senior Jeff Kari. Willen also grabbed a team-high eight rebounds.
A LITTLE BIT OF STREAKING: Lafayette pieced together a pair of three-game win streaks this season, beating St. Francis (Pa.), NJIT and Hartford the first time around and Fairleigh Dickinson, Long Island and St. Francis (N.Y.) in the second three-game stint.
SCOUTING COLUMBIA: Columbia is coming off a 56-51 win over American on Monday night that brought the Lions to .500 (6-6). Including the American win, Columbia has a 3-0 record against Patriot League opponents, beating Bucknell (73-59) and Lehigh (75-70). The Lions also have wins over Longwood, Wagner and Bryant. Columbia's losses have come to DePaul, Syracuse, Sacred Heart, Stony Brook, Quinnipiac and Maine.
Columbia is led by sophomore guard Noruwa Agho with 17.3 ppg. The nation's leading three-point shooter, Agho made all three of his shots from long range against American, improving his season three-point shooting percentage to 63.5 percent while leading the team with 21 points. Senior guard Niko Scott is an 89 percent free throw shooter and is averaging 8.1 ppg. Classmate Patrick Foley has 37 assists from his guard spot and is scoring 9.9 ppg.
Junior forward Brian Grimes is averaging 10.4 ppg and leads the team with 6.7 rpg. Freshman forward John Daniels has started nine games at forward with 4.2 rpg.
Columbia is coached by Joe Jones (SUNY Oswego '87) who is in his seventh season. The Lions have compiled 21 Ivy League wins over the past three seasons, the most for any Columbia team during a three-year span since 1991-94.
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 418th 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).
MOWER'S MAJOR MINUTES: Sophomore guard Jim Mower played the first seven games off the bench and has started the last seven. Mower enjoyed a breakout game vs. Fairleigh Dickinson (12/9), scoring 23 points on 10-of-16 shooting.
Mower broke his own career scoring mark a game later when he scored 25 points on 6-of-7 shooting from the three-point range against LIU. That performance helped earn him his first Patriot League Player of the Week nod. In Mower's last outing, he helped shoot down Penn, hitting 7-of-13 from the floor while knocking down six three-pointers to finish with 21 points.
The Harleysville, Pa. native is second on the team in scoring with 13.4 ppg in 24 minutes per game. The number that stands out the most for Mower is his assist/turnover ratio which is +2.4 (33/14), a stat he bolstered with four assists to one turnover at Delaware.
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 61.2 percent from the floor after a 5-of-11 game Penn on Sunday. 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 87 percent, making 53-of-61 attempts. He was 8-of-8 from the line at Delaware and also had an 8-of-8 shooting night to open the season vs. Wagner (11/13).
NATIONAL RANKINGS: The latest NCAA rankings feature three players in tonight's game. Jared Mintz is ranked ninth in the country for field goal percentage, shooting 61.2 percent. Sophomore Jim Mower is 11th nationally for three-point field goal percentage, shooting 48.7 percent. The national leader in that category is Columbia's sophomore Noruwa Agho who has made 63.5 percent (33-of-52) as of Jan. 3.
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 202-216 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.
A HELPING HAND: Lafayette has dished out assists on 59 percent of its baskets in the 2009-10 season. The Leopards had 22 assists on 26 buckets at St. Francis, N.Y. (85 percent), 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 making 26-of-31 free throws. In the last outing, Lafayette had 10 assists on 25 buckets (40%).
HANDLING THE BALL: More than a third of the way through the season Lafayette boasts a positive season assist/turnover ratio for the first time since 2000-01
(+1.03 • 434/422). Lafayette is +1.11 (204/184) this season. Lafayette had a 1:1 assist/turnover ratio in 2003-04 (429/429).
THE HARDWOOD AND THE GRIDIRON: Lafayette's win over Penn on Sunday afternoon 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.
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 7.2 points and 2.6 rebounds per game and has 39 assists. Willen's last solid outing came against Penn when he had 12 points and eight rebounds.
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.
LEADING THE LEAGUE: Jared Mintz leads the Patriot League in field-goal percentage (62%), is second in free throw percentage (87%), fourth in scoring (15.2 ppg) and is also eighth in rebounding (5.6 rpg). Sophomore Jim Mower leads the league in three-point percentage (48.7%) and fourth for three-pointers made (2.6 per game). Marek Koltun and Darion Benbow rank fifth (0.8 bpg) and seventh (0.7 bpg), respectively, in blocked shots while Michael Gruner is sixth in steals (1.5 spg) and ninth in assists (2.8 apg). Jeff Kari ranks 12th in three-point field goals made (1.5 per game).
Lafayette leads the league in five categories: field goal percentage (46.3%), free throw percentage (73.8%), three-point field goal percentage (37.5%), blocked shots (3.6 bpg) and assist/turnover ratio (1.1). The Leopards are second in scoring offense (71.6 ppg), assists (14.6 apg), three-point field goals made (7.6 pg) and steals (7.1 spg).
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.
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 is 2-2 in those meetings.
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 12 games.
FACEBOOK/TWITTER: Fans can follow Lafayette basketball on Facebook at
facebook.com/lafayette.leopard and Twitter at twitter.com/goleopards .
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.
FRESH IMPACT: Freshman Tony Johnson has made a positive impact on the court for the Leopards. Johnson is averaging 18.2 minutes per game and has 25 assists to 17 turnovers, solid numbers for a freshman who has been asked to handle the ball often. Johnson is also third on the team in steals (14th in the Patriot League) and fourth 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 11 games while averaging 1.5 points and 0.6 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.
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.
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 2.2 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 7.2 ppg and leads the team with 39 assists (2.8 apg) and 21 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 of Montrose Christian.
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.
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.
THE PRESEASON POLL -- WE'LL GO AHEAD AND PLAY THE GAMES ANYWAY: Lafayette was chosen eighth in the Patriot League Preseason Poll. The poll was voted on by the conference head coaches and sports information directors. Holy Cross was picked to finish first with 13 first-place votes, followed by Lehigh, Bucknell, Army, Colgate, American and Navy. Patriot League play kicks off for the Leopards on Saturday at home against league favorite Holy Cross.
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.
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.
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.
AROUND THE WORLD: Five 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). Columbia's roster includes Asenso Ampim (Accra, Ghana) and Max Craig (Quebec, Canada).
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.
