December 8, 2014
LAST TIME OUT
Lafayette shot the lights out of Kirby Sports Center on Saturday afternoon, cruising to a 97-84 win over Wagner, its most points scored since Nov. 2, 2012, a 98-94 win against LIU-Brooklyn.
Senior Dan Trist paced the Lafayette (5-2) offense with a season-high 26 points on 11-of-16 shooting from the field, while classmate Joey Ptasinski tied career-highs with seven threes and 23 points. The Maroon and White put up 56 points in the first 20 minutes of action, the most points in a half for the Leopards since Dec. 20, 2006 when they dropped 58 on King's College (Pa.).
Lafayette shot its best percentage of the season from the field going 33-for-52, a 63.5 percent clip. Additionally, the Leopards went 13-for-23 from beyond the arc (56.5%) and dropped in 18 of their 23 free-throw attempts (78.3%). On the other side, Wagner (2-5) had four players score in double figures, led by Corey Henson with 16 points. The Seahawks went 31-for-75 from the field (41.3%) and 13-for-30 from behind the three-point line (43.3%).
SCOUTING THE PIONEERS
Sacred Heart, looking to improve upon a 5-26 record a season ago, has already shown vast improvement to open the season with a 4-3 record and wins over Hartford (71-53), Campbell (71-62), Colgate (71-70) and Holy Cross (81-68). The Pioneers are led by a trio of double-figure scorers in Cane Broome (13.1 ppg), Evan Kelley (11.9 ppg) and De'Von Barnett (10.0 ppg). Tevin Falzon paces Sacred Heart on the glass with 5.6 boards per game. The Knights, averaging just 66.9 points per game to start the year, have relied on clutch plays down the stretch in games to come out victorious on four occasions.
LAST MEETING
Freshman Nick Lindner scored a career-high 24 points to go along with five assists, two steals and no turnovers as Lafayette held off Sacred Heart in an 86-79 win at Pitt Center on Dec. 7, 2013. The victory was Lafayette's third straight and second away from home.
Led by Lindner's 8-for-13 effort and Seth Hinrichs' 17 points on 7-of-11 shooting and team-high eight rebounds, Lafayette connected on 33 of its 60 shots attempts (55.0 percent). Joey Ptasinski (11 points) and Dan Trist (10 points) also reached double digits in the scoring column. Sacred Heart was paced offensively by Evan Kelley and Chris Evans, who each netted 15 points. Louis Montes contributed 12 points and eight boards for the Pioneers.
LAFAYETTE VS. THE NEC
Sacred Heart is the final of four Northeast Conference opponents Lafayette will face this season. The Leopards defeated Robert Morris in the opener, 77-50, took down Fairleigh Dickinson, 82-61 and downed Wagner at home on Saturday afternoon, 97-84. Lafayette is 24-19 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 274 wins in his career in his 20th season on the sideline for the Leopards, while Sacred Heart's Anthony Latina is in his second year, holding a career overall mark of 9-29, all with the Pioneers.
JOEY P FOR THREE
Senior Joey Ptasinski has been on fire from three-point range recently. Ptasinski went 7-for-10 from beyond the arc in the win over Wagner, tying a career-high, and is 23-for-40 on the year (57.5%), good enough for sixth in the national rankings and second in the Patriot League. His 23 points against Wagner also tied a career-high for the senior.
GETTING THE TRIST OF IT
Dan Trist has become a force on the block in his final season in Easton, adding a season-high 26 points in the win over Wagner to move him to 1,044 points in his storied career on College Hill. The senior has gone 49-for-83 from the field (59.0%) and has ripped down 43 boards in seven games to pace the Leopards on the glass. His efficiency from the field ranks him first in the league in field-goal percentage and 40th in the national rankings.
Trist led the Patriot League in field-goal percentage in 2013-14, shooting 54.5 percent from the field, good enough for 37th in the national rankings. Possessing a bevy of low-post moves in his arsenal, Trist averaged 12.8 points per game a year and ripped down 5.4 boards per contest, both good enough for second on the team behind Seth Hinrichs' 16.4 points and 6.0 rebounds per game.
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 18 of its last 38 contests dating back to last season and five of its seven games this season. Against Wagner, Lafayette went 33-for-52 from the floor (63.5%), 13-for-23 from distance (56.5%) and 18-for-23 (78.3%) from the free-throw line. The Maroon and White are first in the league in field-goal percentage as a team (52.1%) and 12th in the national rankings. Additionally, the Leopards hold the top spot in shooting from beyond the arc at 44.8% and are second in free-throw percentage (75.2%), good enough for the second and 27th spots in the national rankings, respectively.
