November 18, 2014
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LAST TIME OUT
The Lafayette men's basketball team suffered its first loss of the 2014-15 season at West Virginia on Sunday afternoon by a score of 83-56. The glass was the difference in the game as the Mountaineers held a 50-31 rebounding edge with 26 offensive boards compared to just four on the offensive side for Lafayette. Additionally, WVU took care of the ball, committing just six turnovers for the game to Lafayette's 20.
Senior Dan Trist led the way for the Leopards with 12 points on 6-of-10 shooting from the field, while sophomore Nick Lindner and junior Bryce Scott each added eight points apiece. The Mountaineers had four players record double-digit scoring performances, led by Jonathan Holton with a points-rebounds double-double of 18 and 15, respectively. Devin Williams picked up a double-double of his own with 15 points and 11 boards, while Jaysean Paige tallied 16 points and Big 12 Preseason Player of the Year Juwan Staten added 10 to go along with eight assists.
SCOUTING PRINCETON
Princeton, looking to improve upon a 21-9 record a season ago, opened its season with two hard-fought games, a 64-58 win over Rider at home and a 63-60 defeat on the road at George Mason. The Tigers are led by junior Hans Brace and sophomore Spencer Weisz, averaging 14.5 and 14.0 points per game, respectively. Brase also paces Princeton on the glass with 11 boards per contest. 47.4 percent of the Tigers' shots come from beyond the arc, draining threes at a 33.3 percent clip.
ALL DECIDED BUT THE FINAL STATS
In Lafayette's first two games of the 2014-15 season, the game has essentially been decided by halftime with the Leopards pulling out a 27-point win over Robert Morris after holding a 36-16 advantage at the break in the opener and West Virginia pulling away for a 83-56 win over the Maroon and White after going into the locker room holding a 15-point edge.
MANNING THE BENCH
Lafayette's Fran O'Hanlon has posted 270 wins in his career in his 20th season on the sideline for the Leopards, while Princeton's Mitch Henderson is in his fourth year at Princeton, holding a career overall mark of 59-33, all with the Tigers.
LAFAYETTE VS. THE IVY LEAGUE
Princeton is the first of three straight Ivy League opponents the Leopards will face over the next week, traveling to Penn on Saturday and Yale the following Wednesday. All-time, Lafayette is 86-132 against Ivy League opponents, holding winning records over Brown (11-8), Cornell (11-7), Dartmouth (3-2) and Columbia (27-14).
STARTING WITH A BANG
Coach O'Hanlon's bunch has never turned away from a challenge and the Lafayette schedule is certainly that to start the 2014-15 campaign. The Leopards' first three opponents went a combined 60-39 a season ago and all advanced to a postseason tournament. Robert Morris finished 2013-14 at 22-14 overall and fell in the second round of the NIT to Belmont, West Virginia went 17-16 on the season and dropped its opening-round game in the NIT to Georgetown, and Princeton went 21-9 and ended its season with a second-round loss in the CBI to Fresno State. So far, the Leopards have gone 1-1 through the opening-weekend gauntlet, dropping Robert Morris on Friday, 77-50 and falling to West Virginia on Sunday, 83-56.
