December 5, 2014
LAST TIME OUT
Senior Dan Trist recorded a points-rebounds double-double of 18 and 13, respectively, to power the Lafayette men's basketball team to an 82-61 victory over Fairleigh Dickinson in Teaneck, N.J. on Sunday afternoon.
Trist led a pair of Leopards in double-figure scoring as junior Bryce Scott picked up a season-best 13 points on 5-of-10 shooting from the field. Freshman Matt Klinewski, sophomore Michael Hoffman and classmate Monty Boykins chipped in with eight points apiece in a balanced Lafayette attack.
The Leopards won the battle on the boards for just the second time this season, 41-39, and six blocks, including three from senior captain Seth Hinrichs helped protect the rim. For FDU, Matt MacDonald paced the Knights with 15 points, while Mustafaa Jones tallied 14 and Darian Anderson added 13.
SCOUTING THE SEAHAWKS
Wagner, looking to improve upon a 19-12 record a season ago, is eyeing a return to winning form after splitting a pair of close games in its last two contests. The Seahawks downed Penn on Saturday in Staten Island, 64-61, and fell to Maine in double overtime on the road on Tuesday evening, 82-81. Wagner is led by a Marcus Burton, the Seahawks lone double-figure scorer with 15.3 points per contest. Mike Aaman and Greg Senat pace Wagner on the glass with 6.5 and 5.5 boards per game, respectively. The Seahawks have struggled on the defensive end of the floor to open the year, allowing opponents to shoot 51.2 percent from the floor and score 72.8 points per game.
LAFAYETTE VS. THE NEC
Wagner is the third of four Northeast Conference opponents Lafayette will face this season. The Leopards defeated Robert Morris in the opener, 77-50, took down Fairleigh Dickinson on Sunday, 82-61 and play host to Sacred Heart on Monday. Lafayette is 23-19 all-time against NEC opponents, including a 2-2 mark a year ago, defeating Wagner (77-65 - Dec. 3) and Sacred Heart (86-79 - Dec. 7), and falling to Robert Morris (90-81 - Nov. 12) and St. Francis Brooklyn (65-62 -Dec. 19).
MANNING THE BENCH
Lafayette's Fran O'Hanlon has posted 273 wins in his career in his 20th season on the sideline for the Leopards, while Wagner's Bashir Mason is in his second year, holding a career overall mark of 40-28, all with the Seahawks.
MR. 1,000
With five points in the loss at Yale, senior Dan Trist reached the 1,000-point plateau for his career. Trist now sits at 1,018 points over his four years on College Hill and joins Seth Hinrichs as the second active Leopard with over 1,000 points in his career. Classmate Joey Ptasinski will likely be the third to join the 1,000-point club this season, currently sitting at 860 total points.
MORE ON THE AUSSIE
Against FDU on Sunday, senior Dan Trist tallied 18 points and 13 rebounds for his first double-double since he scored 19 points and ripped down 10 rebounds in a 74-62 win over American on Feb. 15. Sunday's performance is just the third double-double of the senior's career, recording his other two a season ago.
ALL DECIDED BUT THE FINAL STATS
Against Penn, the Leopards played their only game this season that wasn't essentially decided coming out of the final media timeout. In that game the Leopards pulled away in the final minutes for a six-point victory, 83-77. In its other five games this year, the average margin has been 22.8 points as Lafayette won convincingly against Robert Morris (77-50), Princeton (83-66) and FDU (82-61), and fell by large deficits at West Virginia (83-56) and Yale (82-60).
MAKE MORE THAN YOU MISS
Offensive efficiency has been a key to the Leopards' success recently as Lafayette has shot better than 50 percent from the field in 17 of its last 37 contests and four of its six games this season. At FDU, Lafayette went 29-for-56 from the floor (51.8%), 5-for-16 from distance (31.3%) and 19-for-23 (82.6%) from the free-throw line. The Maroon and White are first in the league in field-goal percentage as a team (50.2%) and 18th in the national rankings. Additionally, the Leopards hold the top spot in shooting from beyond the arc as well at 41.9%, good enough for the 23rd spot nationally.
