Jan. 3, 2012

Lafayette plays its final non-conference game of the season on Wednesday night, when long-time foe Penn makes the short trip to Kirby Sports Center. The Leopards have lost four out of their last five while the Quakers have dropped three of their last four.

The Leopards are coming off a 78-58 setback at NJIT on Monday to open the 2012 calendar year. Lafayette shot a season-low 35 percent from the floor and was 6-of-30 from long range, also a season low performance. On the other end of the fl oor, NJIT rained in 13 three-pointers, shooting 59 percent from beyond the arc.

Penn is coming off an 85-55 loss at Duke on New Year's Day. The Quakers' six-game swing in December included games vs. Villanova, Delaware, UCLA, Marist and Davidson with wins over Delaware and Marist. Tonight's game concludes a three-game road swing, as Penn next hosts Big 5 foe La Salle on Jan. 10.

Wednesday's game marks the final of three games against Ivy League opponents. The Leopards lost at Princeton (69-54) on Nov. 30 and at Columbia (77-67) on Dec. 30.

Vanderbilt was Lafayette's fourth opponent of the season that qualified for the 2011 NCAA Tournament. Long Island was a 15-seed, Princeton earned a 13-seed, Penn State was slotted 10th in its region and the Commodores were the No. 5 seed in the Southwest region as an at-large bid.

Preseason All-Patriot League selection Tony Johnson has missed the entire 2011-12 season to this point due to a back injury but recently was able to remove his back brace and begin strengthening activities and individual workouts.

Senior Rob Delaney racked up a career-high 11 assists in the win against Monmouth - the first time a Lafayette player had double-digit assists since Justin DeBerry '04 had 10 against American on Jan. 30, 2004.

Junior Levi Giese returned to the starting five at Columbia after injuring his ankle in the season opener. He had come off the bench in the previous two games before starting at Columbia and NJIT.