Nov. 22, 2005
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Match Up: Alvernia (2-0) at Lafayette (0-2)
Tip: 7:00 p.m. EST
Site: Easton, Pa.
Arena: Allan P. Kirby Sports Center (3,500)
Series: First meeting
Radio: WEST-AM 1400, www.goleopards.com
Dick Hammer
EASTON, Pa. (www.lafayette.edu) - THE STORY LINE: Lafayette comes into tonight's match-up hoping to kickstart the home season with a win. The team completed its toughest road stretch of the season last weekend, traveling to Saint Joseph's and Notre Dame. The Leopards lost both contests and are looking to snatch their first win of the young season. This is the first meeting with the Alvernia Crusaders out of Reading, Pa.
START ME UP: The Leopards are 71-23 in home-openers, including 24-8 at Kirby Sports Center. Overall, Lafayette posts a 281-121 (.699) mark inside the walls of the APK. Since head coach Fran O'Hanlon's arrival on College Hill in 1995-96, Lafayette has gone 7-3 in home-openers, including a five-game win streak stretching from the 1997-98 season until 2001-02.
PERIMETER POWER: Coming off a 9-19 campaign in 2004-05, the Leopards combine seven returners with five incoming freshmen in 2005-06. The changes do not stop there, as this year's team will depend heavily on a perimeter-oriented offense, pushing the ball up the court. Over the team's opening two games, the Leopards shot 38 percent from three-point range. Ten of the Leopards' 13 field goals at St. Joe's on Nov. 18 were of the three-point variety. Lafayette has depth at the guard position, giving the coaching staff many available combinations in the early going. Pat Betley is the lone senior in the backcourt and will serve as a team co-captain. Joining him are sophomores Bilal Abdullah and Matt Betley, who are both coming off solid rookie campaigns. Also expected to become an integral component of the Leopards' long-range capabilities is freshman guard Andrew Brown.
POSTING UP: After losing two big men at the end of last season, an undersized group of post players is led by senior co-captain Andrei Capusan. A mobile forward and athletic defender, Capusan boasts the most experience on a young Lafayette team. Joining Capusan are sophomores Ted Detmer and Everest Schmidt, both who recorded career-highs at ND.
ON THE SIDELINE: Two-time Patriot League Coach of the Year Fran O'Hanlon (Villanova, '70) is in his eleventh season as the Leopards' head coach. He has twice led Lafayette's non-scholarship program to the NCAA Tournament and lays claim to three Patriot League regular-season titles among his credentials. O'Hanlon's career record stands at 150-138, a mark that includes two 20-win seasons.
INJURY REPORT: An injury plagued Lafayette team is looking forward to bulking up the bench in the near future. However, that will not happen tonight. Marcus Harley and Jamaal Hilliard are out with stress reactions, while Derek Heckendorn had surgery on both shins, leaving him week-to-week. Brian Young will be out indefinitely due to an illness sustained prior to the season.
LEOPARDS COMPLETE TOUGH WEEKEND AWAY: The Leopards opened the 2005-06 season against a pair of solid opponents, playing at St. Joe's on Friday (11/18) and Notre Dame on Sunday (11/20) afternoon. Both games ended in losses, but the weekend away gave the Leopards a chance to form a semblence of team identity. As shown last weekend, the undersized Leopards will rely heavily on an up-tempo, perimeter game. Lafayette dropped a 70-47 decision in Philadelphia to open the season. Four players led the team with nine points, led by senior guard Pat Betley's 3-for-3 from behind the arc in the first half. On Sunday, the Leopards showed significant improvement despite an 84-66 loss. Three players scored in double-figures, led by sophomore guard Bilal Abdullah with 14. Sophomore forwards Ted Detmer and Everest Schmidt chipped in with 13 and 10 points, respectively. Lafayette led ND by four on two occasions midway through the first half before the Irish closed the half riding a 20-7 run that the Leopards did not recover from.
DETMER, SCHMIDT BREAKOUT AT ND: Sophomore forwards Ted Detmer and Everest Schmidt both registered new career-high point totals at Notre Dame on Sunday. Detmer finished with 13 points on 5-of-8 shooting, while Schmidt went 4-of-8 from the floor for 10 points. The pair's improvement will be vital in establishing a solid presence under the basket. Both also found the open shooters on Sunday, primarily along the perimeter, and established career highs with three assists each.
PATRIOT LEAGUE PRESEASON POLL: Picked to finish seventh in the Patriot League preseason poll, the Leopards have plenty of work ahead of them to silence the critics. Behind 14 first-place votes, Bucknell topped the list as the favorite heading into the season.
MANNING THE WHEEL: At the start of the season, seniors Pat Betley and Andrei Capusan were named captains for the 2005-06 team. With a combined 142 collegiate games under their belt, Fran O'Hanlon will look for this duo to adopt a leadership role, which will be vital to integrating a plethora of young players. Betley averaged 2.1 points per game from the guard position, while Capusan chipped in with 7.0 ppg and 3.8 rebounds per game.
COACH "O" RANKS NO. 2: Fran O'Hanlon is the second winningest coach in Lafayette history with 150 victories. He needs just 21 wins to reach George Davidson's record of 170 wins at Lafayette. In 2003-04, he surpassed Butch Van Breda Kolff who had 132 career wins.
FIVE FRESH BODIES FOR MAROON AND WHITE: Head coach Fran O'Hanlon and his staff had a busy offseason, inking five new student-athletes, three of which hail from South Jersey. Additions to the Lafayette roster include guard Andrew Brown (Littleton, Colo.), forwards Derek Heckendorn (Haddonfield, N.J.), Brian Young (Cherry Hill, N.J.) and Dave Smith (Cape May Court House, N.J.), and center Tom Leszczynski (West Babylon, N.Y.).
CUMMINS, BETLEY EARN PL HONOR ROLL ACCOLADES: Sophomores Matt Betley and Paul Cummins earned Patriot League Academic Honor Roll status following the spring semester, while recent graduate Jamie Hughes also earned mention. Betley, currently an undeclared major, carried a 3.50 grade point average in his first year on College Hill. Cummins boasted a 3.28 GPA as a freshman biology major.
THE PLACE TO BE: Lafayette has led the Patriot League in men's basketball attendance in six of the last eight seasons, making Kirby Sports Center the place to be for Leopard basketball fans. Lafayette averaged 2,569 fans over 13 home contests last year, and brought in 2,546 to finish second in 2004-05.
ABDULLAH ROOKIE OF THE WEEK (x3): Sophomore Bilal Abdullah is aiming to improve on an already solid career in the Maroon and White. In 2004-05, the three-time Patriot League Rookie of the Week honoree averaged 8.7 points per game and 1.0 assists per game as a rookie. He scored 15 points and contributed five rebounds, three assists and three steals against Navy on Jan. 8 to give the Anchorage, Alaska native his third Rookie of the Week honor in 2004-05. He was also named Rookie of the Week on Dec. 20 after a 21-point, 10-rebound, nine-assist performance in Lafayette's 95-89 overtime win over Cal State-Northridge. Abdullah also earned the honor on Jan. 3.
HOOPING IT UP OVERSEAS: Top Lafayette assistant John Gallagher coached a team of current college players, including Lafayette sophomore forwards Ted Detmer and Everest Schmidt, while they toured Belgium, France and Holland. The team represented Global Sports, a full service sports and enterainment marketing, public relations, advertising and management agency.
YEP, THEY'RE RELATED: At the start of last season, senior co-captain Pat Betley welcomed his first cousin Matt Betley to the Lafayette basketball program. Bearing the same surname, their fathers are brothers. Both players have New Jersey roots, as Pat hails from Haddonfield, while Matt calls Mount Laurel home.
THE EUROPEAN CONNECTION: A pair of European natives appear on Lafayette's roster, along with student-athletes from seven different states. Four years ago, senior co-captain Andrei Capusan came to College Hill from Bucharest, Romania. Teammate and sophomore guard Paul Cummins crossed the Atlantic from Kildare, Ireland to Easton, Pa. just a year ago.
ALL-TIME AT LAFAYETTE: In the 95 seasons of men's basketball at Lafayette College, the Leopards hold an overall record of 1160-1011 (.534). Lafayette's first season of basketball was in 1900-01 when the team posted a winning record of 4-3.
LAFAYETTE ON TELEVISION: For the ninth straight season, Lafayette features the most expansive television package in the Patriot League. The Leopards have 12 games televised and have the possibility of adding three more televised contests in the Patriot League Tournament. The Lafayette Sports Network is airing 11 games to more than 9.1 million viewers in the Lehigh Valley, Pocono region, Philadelphia, central New Jersey and New York City. Locally the telecasts can be seen on RCN Cable channels 4 and 60, Service Electric Cable channel 51, Blue Ridge Cable channel 5 and broadcast channel 60. Nationally, they can be picked up for the sixth straight year by various DIRECTV and DISH Network outlets. Emmy-nominated local sports broadcaster Gary Laubach will handle all of the Leopards' play-by-play duties, while former Lafayette men's basketball coach John Leone will provide color commentary. Additionally, RCN's Dan Mowdy will provide sideline reports.
ON THE RADIO: One of the longest running radio broadcast relationships in college basketball, WEST-AM 1400 enters its 70th year as the radio home of Lafayette Athletics. Dick Hammer is in his 39th season of calling the play-by-play for Lafayette men's basketball. Hammer is joined by Carl Schumacher at home games and most road contests by Phil LaBella (Lafayette SID). WEST-AM Sterio 1400 continually enjoys one of the highest AM ratings in the Lehigh Valley. WEST's broadcasts can also be heard live worldwide through www.lafayette.edu.
