Nov. 18, 2010
Complete Game Notes in PDF Format 
GAME 4 * November 20, 2010
Matchup: Lafayette (1-2) at Villanova (3-0)
Tip-off: 7:00 p.m.
Site: Villanova, Pa.
Arena: The Pavilion (6,500)
TV: None
Internet: ESPN3.com (Scott Graham, Dereck Whittenburg)
Radio: WJRH-FM 104.9 (Dick Hammer, Phil LaBella)
MATCH UP: Lafayette will take the short ride down the Northeast Extension of the Pennsylvania Turnpike to face No. 6/7 Villanova for the first time since the 1999-00. The game is a homecoming for Lafayette head coach Fran O'Hanlon, a 1970 graduate of Villanova. O'Hanlon was inducted into the school's Hall of Fame in 1992 and still holds the Wildcats' single-game assists record with 16 vs. Toledo in 1969-70.
NATIONALLY RANKED FOES: It's not a weekly occurrence that Lafayette faces nationally-ranked opponents which it will on Saturday vs. No. 6/7 Villanova and on Dec. 29 at Gonzaga. The Leopards' last matchup with a ranked opponent came against No. 18/19 Georgetown on Nov. 28, 2009 (97-64 L). The last time Lafayette beat a nationally ranked opponent was Dec. 2, 1978, a 77-70 victory over Rutgers. The last conference game that pitted Lafayette against a ranked opponent was Feb. 15, 2006, a 69-49 loss to Bucknell.
LAST TIME OUT: After five- and seven-point losses to open the season, Lafayette broke into the win column with a 72-68 win over St. Francis (Pa.) in the Leopards' home opener on Wednesday night at Kirby Sports Center. Ryan Willen scored a game-high 26 points for the Leopards who led by as many as 18 at different points in the first and second halves. Jared Mintz, who was limited to 20 minutes due to foul trouble, contributed 14 points.
NEXT UP: Lafayette continues its mini tour of the Big 5 (Lafayette also scrimmaged St. Joseph's in the preseason) when the Leopards travel back to Philly to face Penn on Tuesday. The Leopards have never beaten the Quakers at the storied Palestra. Tip is set for 7 p.m.
THROUGH THREE: Through three games, Lafayette has had three different scoring leaders. Senior forward Jared Mintz contributed 21 in the season opener, including a 9-for-9 stint at the line. Junior guard Jim Mower had a career-high 31 points at Rider thanks to eight three-pointers. Junior forward Ryan Willen chimed in with 26 vs. St. Francis (Pa.). Each player is averaging in double figures. On the rebounding side of things, Mintz has at least tied for the team high in each game with seven, five and eight to average 6.7 per game.
MEET THE CAPTAINS: Jared Mintz, a preseason All-Patriot League selection, and Ben Wheeler are holding the leadership reins for the 2010-11 season. Mintz is the team's second leading scorer (15.3 ppg) and top rebounder (6.7 rpg). Wheeler averages 7.3 ppg and has nine assists this season. NATION'S LEADERS: According to the latest NCAA report of Division I institutions, Lafayette College ranks third in the nation in student-athlete graduation success rate (GSR). The Leopards posted an impressive 97 percent GSR, ranking well above the national GSR for Division I student-athletes of 79 percent.
ABOUT VILLANOVA: Villanova enters Saturday's game with a 3-0 record. The Wildcats beat head coach Jay Wright's alma mater, Bucknell, 68-53 in the season opener. Victories over Marist (84-47) and Boston University (82-66) followed. Villanova's first game away from home will be Nov. 24 vs. UCLA in New York City. Four players are averaging double figures in scoring for Villanova led by senior guard Corey Fisher at 16.7 pg. Sophomore Maalik Wayns and senior Corey Stokes join Fisher at the guard position. Wayns averages 14.7 ppg and leads the team in assists (22) while Stokes boasts 10.3 ppg. Senior forward Antonio Pena is Villanova's leading rebounder with 7.0 rpg and is also chipping in 10 ppg. Sophomore Mouphtaou Yarou (8.3 ppg, 6.0 rpg) stands alongside Pena in the front court and leads the team with five blocks. Wright (Bucknell '83) is in his ninth season as the head coach of the Wildcats. A two-time Big East Coach of the Year, Wright has led the team to four Sweet 16 appearances, two Elite Eight berths and one Final Four visit.
SERIES NOTES: Lafayette and Villanova will meet for the seventh time on Saturday. The Wildcats have won the last five meetings and hold a 5-1 record.
AT THE LINE: The Leopards are shooting 83 percent from the free throw line for the 2010-11 season. Lafayette has converted 48-of-58 from the stripe led by an 18-for-20 seasonal clip from Jared Mintz and a 14-of-16 effort from Ryan Willen. Last season, Lafayette shot 76 percent from the foul line and was ranked eighth in the nation.
LEAGUE HISTORY: Jared Mintz is the first player in conference history to lead the Patriot League in free throw and field goal percentage in the same season. Mintz shot a Patriot League-best 54.2 percent from the floor and 87.3 percent (131-150) from the line.
TALE OF TWO HALVES: In Lafayette's first two games, the Leopards averaged 28 points in the first half compared to 37.5 in the second. At Wagner, Lafayette shot 22 percent from the field in the first half en route to 22 points and 54 percent in the second on the way to 38 points. At Rider, the Leopards gave up 43 points in the first half while scoring 36. The two teams each managed 37 in the second half. Against St. Francis, Lafayette reversed its tendency, scoring 39 points on 54 percent shooting in the first half compared to 33 points and 37 percent shooting after intermission.
30+ CLUB: Junior Jim Mower scored 31 points against Rider, going 8-for-11 from three-point range. Andrew Brown '09 was the last Leopard to reach 30 points when he scored 31 points against Robert Morris on Dec. 17, 2008.
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 16th season as the Leopards' head coach. A three-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 214-225 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.
THE PRESEASON POLL: Lafayette has been selected to finish third in the Patriot League Preseason Poll. The Leopards, who received two first-place votes and 73 points overall, were selected behind American (seven first-place votes, 79 points) and Bucknell (three first-place votes, 76 points) but ahead of Holy Cross (two first-place votes, 70 points), Lehigh (two first-place votes, 69 points), Navy (35 points), Colgate (31 points) and Army (15 points). The poll is voted on by the conference head coaches and sports information directors.
NCAA INDIVUDAL RANKINGS: In 2009-10, Jim Mower ranked third nationally for three-point field goal percentage (47.5%) and 32nd in three-point field goals per game (2.9). Jared Mintz was 23rd in the country in free throw percentage (87.3%). As a team, Lafayette finished fifth in free-throw percentage (76.4).
THE NEW GUY: Head coach Fran O'Hanlon added a new face to his coaching staff this season. Donovan Williams is in the midst of his first season at Lafayette under O'Hanlon. Williams came to College Hill from Holy Family University in Philadelphia where he was an assistant coach under first-year Holy Family head coach and former Lafayette assistant coach John O'Connor. The Williams name is well-known in coaching, as Williams' father, George, was a high school coach for more than 30 years in Georgia and Alabama. Williams' brother, Pershin, was an assistant at Lafayette under O'Hanlon in 2008-09, before taking an assistant coaching job at Georgia Southern University prior to the 2009-10 season.
NEW PLAYERS: Head coach Fran O'Hanlon brought in three new players to the Lafayette roster this season. The first, Jake Kreuser, comes from Mendota Heights, Minn. The 7-0, 225-pound center adds size and depth to the frontcourt, provides solid defensive presence and will supplement Leopards' rebounding efforts. Les Smith hails from Cotati, Calif. The 6-0 guard is versatile combo guard who can play multiple positions. He is a natural scorer but can play the point guard position if called upon. Smith defends well and has proven to be very good at penetrating to the basket. The final freshmen, Jack Detmer comes from Scarsdale, N.Y. Detmer is a tough player who has an excellent feel for the game. He shows a knack for making hustle plays while being a solid team defender. His brother, Ted '08, was a four-year letterwinner for the Leopards.
AROUND THE WORLD: Three international players are featured between the two rosters of tonight's matchup. Lafayette has two international competitors in Jared Mintz (Toronto, Canada) and Deirunas Visockas (Kaunas, Lithuania) while Villanova adds Mouphtaou Yarou (Natitingou, Benin).
IN THE RANKS: Nine of Lafayette's non-conference opponents were picked to finish within the top five of their respective leagues in the preseason polls. Three teams were selected to finish atop of their conferences, NJIT, Princeton and Gonzaga. Lafayette will tip off against five opponents from the Northeast Conference -- the most of any one conference on the schedule.
BASKETBALL IQ: Lafayette placed six student-athletes on the Patriot League Academic Honor Roll during the 2009-10 season. The distinction recognizes those individuals who have earned a varsity letter and maintained a 3.2 GPA during the spring semester. Michael Gruner '10, senior Deirunas Visockas, juniors Rob Delaney, Jim Mower, Ryan Willen and Alex Orchowski (transferred to Tufts) were honored.
TOPS IN THE NATION: The Leopards made all 19 of their free throws against Colgate (2/10/10), the best mark in the nation in 2009-10. It topped Kentucky's mark of 18-of-18 on Dec. 19, 2009.
PATRIOT HONORS: In 2009-10, Lafayette head coach Fran O'Hanlon was named Patriot League Men's Basketball Coach of the Year and two of his student-athletes earned All-Patriot League recognition with forward Jared Mintz earning first-team honors and forward Ryan Willen collecting second-team laurels. O'Hanlon received his third Patriot League Coach of the Year award, and first since claiming back-to-back honors in 1997-98 and 1998-99, the first Patriot League coach to win the award consecutively. Mintz was likely the most-improved player in the conference and was the first Lafayette player to earn first-team honors since Winston Davis and Justin DeBerry in 2003-04. Willen was an All-Rookie pick in 2008-09 before securing second-team honors. He averaged 12.0 points and 4.4 rebounds per game overall and 13.9 ppg and 4.9 rpg in conference action.
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.
FACEBOOK/TWITTER:Fans can follow Lafayette basketball on Facebook at facebook.com/lafayette.leopard and Twitter at twitter.com/goleopards .
ON THE RADIO: All of the 2010-11 Lafayette men's basketball regular season and each of the Leopards' postseason games will air WJRH-FM 104.9. In his 44th season as the radio voice of Lafayette Athletics, Dick Hammer will continue to call the play-by-play action. Joining Hammer courtside will be Lafayette Sports Information Director, Phil LaBella to provide color analysis.
LAFAYETTE ON TELEVISION: Lafayette will lead the Patriot League with at least 15 of its regular-season games televised during the 2010-11 season. The Leopards will also lead the Patriot League with at least nine 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 for the third straight season. Emmy-nominated local sports broadcaster Gary Laubach will handle all of Lafayette's play-by-play duties for the 14th straight season. Former Lafayette men's basketball coach John Leone will provide color analysis for the 12th season.
