March 8, 2011

Official Lafayette Maroon Gear | 2011 Patriot League Championship Ticket Info

Complete Game Notes in PDF Format

EASTON, Pa. - Lafayette makes its second straight appearance in the Patriot League Tournament Final, traveling to Lewisburg, Pa. to face Bucknell on Friday. Tip-off is set for 4:45 p.m. in a game that will be televised on ESPN2 and will be the only conference tournament game that day to award an automatic bid. The Leopards are in search of their fourth NCAA Tournament berth and the first since the 2000 season.

As the No. 6 seed, Lafayette is the lowest-seeded team to advance to the title game. Previously, no team seeded lower than third reached the final.

Lafayette advanced to the Patriot League Tournament title game in 2009-10, but lost to archrival Lehigh 74-59 on March 12 in Bethlehem, Pa. Since the initial Patriot League Tournament in 1991, the Leopards have played in four championship games, holding a 2-2 record. Lafayette's only title game matchup came in 1999 when Lafayette beat Bucknell 67-63.

Lafayette's win at American snapped a streak of 38 games in which the higher seeded team had won in Patriot League semifinal action. On a more local level, Lafayette broke a 14-game series losing streak vs. American.

Junior forward Ryan Willen needs one point to become the 37th player in Lafayette history to score 1,000 career points.