Dec. 8, 2010
EASTON, Pa. -
Complete Game Notes in PDF Format 
GAME 10 • December 8, 2010
Matchup: Lafayette (3-6) vs. NJIT (2-4)
Tip-off: 7:00 p.m.
Site: Easton, Pa.
Arena: Kirby Sports Center (3,500)
TV: None
Internet: GoLeopards.com (Matt Provence, Scott Morse)
Radio: WJRH-FM 104.9 (Dick Hammer)
MATCH UP: Lafayette wraps up its five-game homestand with NJIT on Wednesday night at Kirby Sports Center. The Leopards have won three straight in the series with NJIT, the team picked to win the Great West Conference.
LAST TIME OUT: Five players scored in double figures for Lafayette, guiding the Leopards to a 76-71 victory over Sacred Heart on Monday night at Kirby Sports Center. Jim Mower led the way for the Leopards with 16 points, including four three-pointers. Rob Delaney and Ben Wheeler added 15 and 11, respectively, while Ryan Willen (12) and Jared Mintz (10) also reached double digits.
CAREER NIGHTS: Junior Rob Delaney and senior Ben Wheeler are coming of career-high scoring nights vs. Sacred Heart. Delaney had four three-pointers on his way to 16 points while Wheeler contributed a career-high 11 points while matching his career best with six assists.
FIVE IN DOUBLE FIGURES: For the second straight game, Lafayette featured five players in double figures. Against Susquehanna on Dec. 1, Jared Mintz, Ryan Willen and Nick Petkovich had 14 points apiece while Rob Delaney and Levi Giese each contributed 10. Prior to that game, the last time the Leopards had five players score in double digits was against Bucknell on Feb. 20, 2008.
NEARLY A DOUBLE-DOUBLE: Senior forward Jared Mintz fell a rebound shy of his first double-double of the season and sixth of his career when he posted 10 points and nine boards vs. Sacred Heart. His last double-double came on Jan. 20, 2010 vs. Bucknell when he had 17 points and hauled in 11 rebounds.
FEELIN' FINE AT THE LINE: The Leopards are shooting 82 percent from the free throw line for the 2010-11 season. Lafayette has converted 133-of-163 from the stripe led by a 37-for-41 (90%) seasonal clip from Ryan Willen and a 45-for-53 (85%) effort from Jared Mintz. Last season, Lafayette shot 76 percent from the foul line and was ranked eighth in the nation. The Leopards are currently (as of Dec. 5) ranked third in the nation in free throw percentage.
TOP OF THEIR LEAGUE: Lafayette faces three teams this season that have been picked to finish win their conference titles. The Leopards lost to Ivy League favorite Princeton 82-64 on Nov. 30. The Maroon and White face Great West preseason favorite NJIT on Wednesday and ends their swing against West Coast Conference pick Gonzaga on Dec. 29.
NEXT UP: On Saturday, Lafayette hits the road for the first time since Nov. 23, heading to Brooklyn to face the Blackbirds of Long Island University. Tip off is set for 7 p.m.
BACK HOME: Lafayette's five-game homestand is the longest since 2007-08. It is just the second time during Fran O'Hanlon's 16 seasons that Lafayette has played five straight at home and the fifth time playing four or more. The Leopards were 13-3 at home in 2009-10, including two wins in the Patriot League Tournament to advance to the conference championship game.
SCOUTING NJIT: The presesaon favorite to win the Great West Conference title, NJIT comes into Wednesday's game with a 2-4 record. The Highlanders have wins against NYU-Poly (96-49) and St. Joseph's (N.Y.) 65-57. Their four losses came at the hands of Manhattan (75-70), Army (63-60), Vermont (69-50) and Rutgers (66-54). Junior guard Isaiah Wilkerson leads the Highlanders with 11.0 points and 5.3 rebounds per game. He is joined in the backcourt by senior Jheryl Wilson who averages 10.2 ppg and is tied for the team lead with 3.2 assists per game. Sophomore guards Chris Flores (10.2 ppg, 2.5 rpg) and P.J. Miller (7.5 ppg, 3.2 apg) round out the backcourt. Freshman Dytanya Johnson is the lone forward in the group and averages 4.2 ppg and 3.3 rpg.The Higlanders handle the ball well, dishing out 90 assists to 75 turnovers, and limit their opponents to 63.2 ppg. Jim Engles (Dickinson '90) is in his second year at the helm of NJIT's program. Last season, he led the Highlanders to a 10-21 record, 4-8 in conference play.
ALL-AROUND EFFORT: Despite playing limited minutes in a runaway game vs. Susquehanna, Jared Mintz led the team in points (14), rebounds (6) and assists (5). The last person to do that in a game was Ryan Willen who had 26 points, eight boards and five assists at Navy on Jan. 16, 2010.
REBOUNDING IS A TEAM EFFORT: Against Susquehanna, 12 Lafayette players had a rebound and six players had three or more. For the season, Jared Mintz (5.2 rpg), Tony Johnson (4.9 rpg), and Ryan Willen (3.9 rpg) lead the team on the glass. On average, however, the Leopards are being out-rebounded by 3.4 boards per game.
UNEXPECTEd REBOUNDING: Sophomore point guard Tony Johnson is second on the team in rebounds with 4.9 caroms per game. Johnson had a career-high 10 rebounds against Delaware on Nov. 27.
BENBOW's BACK: Senior forward Darion Benbow missed the first four games of the season with a broken thumb. He made his season debut at Penn and Fran O'Hanlon wasn't hesitant to use him, especially after his defensive contributions. Benbow has started the last four games, playing 17 minutes per outing. He chipped in with eight points vs. Sacred Heart.
Meet the SENIOR CO-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 leading scorer (15.4 ppg) and rebounder (5.2 rpg). Wheeler averages 5.2 points, 3.4 assists and 2.2 rebounds per game this season. Wheeler had a break-out game against Sacred Heart, scoring a career-high 11 points and dishing out six assists for the second time this season.
NATIONAL LEADER: 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 post an impressive 97 percent GSR, ranking well above the national GSR for Division I student-athletes of 79 percent.
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 216-229 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.
NATIONALLY RANKED FOES: It's not a weekly occurrence that Lafayette faces nationally-ranked opponents which it did vs. No. 6/7 Villanova on Nov. 20 and likely will again on Dec. 29 at Gonzaga. 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.
LEAGUE HISTORY: Jared Mintz was 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.
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.
THE PRESEASON POLL: Lafayette was selected third in the Patriot League Preseason Poll. The Leopards, who received two first-place votes and 73 points overall, were picked 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.
IN THE RANKS: Nine of Lafayette's non-conference opponents were selected to finish within the top five of their respective leagues in the preseason polls. Three teams were tabbed as their conference's preseason favorite: NJIT, Princeton and Gonzaga. Lafayette will tip off against five opponents from the Northeast Conference -- the most of any one conference on the schedule.
2009-10 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).
AROUND THE WORLD: Lafayette features two international players in Jared Mintz (Toronto, Canada) and Deirunas Visockas (Kaunas, Lithuania). Visockas is currently sidelined with a broken foot.
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.
THE FRESHMEN: Head coach Fran O'Hanlon added three players to the Lafayette roster this season. Center Jake Kreuser (Mendota Heights, Minn./Sibley) checks in at 7-0, 225 pounds. Kreuser has played in seven games, averaging 7.7 minutes per game. Les Smith (Cotati, Calif./Marin Catholic/Kimball Union Academy) is a 6-0 guard who can play multiple positions. Smith has seen time in all nine games, primarily spelling Tony Johnson at the point. Jack Detmer (Scarsdale, N.Y./Scarsdale/Hill School) has played in three games. His brother, Ted '08, was a four-year letterwinner for the Leopards.
LAFAYETTE ON TELEVISION: Lafayette will lead the Patriot League with at least 11 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.
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 for road contests will be Lafayette Sports Information Director Philip LaBella to provide color analysis.
