Leopards and Mountain Hawks Tangle at Stabler
Jan. 19, 2007
Complete Game Notes in PDF Format GAME 20 • January 20, 2007 Matchup: Lehigh (8-12, 3-1) vs. Lafayette (7-12, 1-3) Radio: WEST-AM 1400
Dick Hammer (play-by-play), Carl Schumacher (analyst) Series: Lafayette leads, 134-70 AT A GLANCE: The Maroon and White of Lafayette will take on the Brown and White of Lehigh for the 205th time in the program's history on Saturday night in Bethlehem, Pa. Lafayette (7-12, 1-3) looks to snap a two-game conference losing streak that includes a six-point loss to reigning Patriot League champion Bucknell on Wednesday. Lehigh (8-12, 3-1) eked out a 60-59 win at home over Colgate in its last outing and is currently tied for second place in the conference standings. W'S FOR FRAN "O": With 169 career coaching wins, Lafayette head coach Fran O'Hanlon needs just one more win to become the all-time winningest coach in Lafayette history. He currently trails George Davidson who had 170 career victories between 1955 and 1967. O'Hanlon ranks ahead of Butch Van Breda Kolff (132), Bill Anderson (139) and Tom Davis (116) all of whom eclipsed the 100-win plateau during their coaching stints. A coaching record breakdown is located on page 101 of the Lafayette basketball media guide. DETMER ON THE BLOCK: Despite battling foul trouble and only playing 21 minutes against Bucknell on Wednesday, Ted Detmer turned in one of his best defensive efforts of the season. The Scarsdale, N.Y. native blocked a career-high three shots, managed two steals and grabbed five rebounds. TEN OR MORE TIMES THREE: Lafayette hit 10 three-pointers against Bucknell on Wednesday. It marked the sixth time this season that Lafayette has knocked down 10 or more three-pointers, also achieving the feat versus Wagner, Miami (Fla.), St. Peter's, NJIT and King's. DIALING UP LONG DISTANCE: In the latest NCAA statistics (1/15), Lafayette is ranked 22nd in the nation in three-point field goals per game, making 8.7 three-balls per outing. Lafayette hoisted a season-high 32 three-point attempts vs. King's and connected on half of those opportunities. Andrew Brown leads the team with 39 three-pointers followed by Paul Cummins (29), Matt Betley (24) and Jesper Andersson (24). ON THE SIDELINE: Two-time Patriot League Coach of the Year Fran O'Hanlon (Villanova, '70) is in his 12th season as the Leopards' head coach. He has twice led Lafayette's 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 169-164, a mark that includes two 20-win seasons. O'Hanlon's overall record does not necessarily tell the full story of the job he has done at Lafayette. The Philadelphia native inherited a 2-25 team when he took over in 1995-96 and won 7, 11, 19, 22 and 24 games over the next five seasons. From 1997-2000, Lafayette was 65-24 overall and 31-5 in the conference with two NCAA Tournament appearances. In 1996, the Patriot League, which was originally founded on the principle of need-based financial aid only, began allowing athletic scholarships. However, it was not until 2006 that Lafayette chose to do so. By no coincidence during that span, Lafayette posted a 79-91 mark and was 38-44 in the league. For 2006-07, Lafayette has one scholarship class in the fold. NEXT UP: Lafayette will play its first home game of 2007 when school is in session on Wednesday when the Leopards host Army. Tip-off is slated for 7 p.m. BIG MAN GETS SOME MORE PT: Freshman center Marek Koltun played a career-high nine minutes against Bucknell as head coach Fran O'Hanlon tried to get some more size into the lineup vs. Chris McNaughton and Darren Mastropaolo. The big man drew two fouls on Bucknell and managed to score a bucket. BETLEY BUSTS OUT WITH DOUBLE-DOUBLE: Junior guard Matt Betley was the lone bright spot in the Leopards' 60-44 loss at Navy (1/13). Betley produced the team's first double-double of the season with career highs in points (19) and rebounds (12). The junior scored 17 of his 19 in the second half and is the first Lafayette player to pull down 10-plus boards in 2006-07. Betley had seven offensive rebounds and was 8-for-12 shooting from the floor for the afternoon. BAND OF THIEVES: Lafayette ranks third in the Patriot League with 7.6 steals per game. The Leopards spread around the "thievery," as seven different players have 10 or more steals. Ted Detmer, who led the team in steals in 2005-06 with 47, has a team-leading 22 steals this season. Bilal Abdullah and Andrew Brown have 21 apiece while Matt Betley has 19. ON THE BOARDS: For just the third time this season, Lafayette out-rebounded its opponent, pulling down 40 rebounds to Navy's 37 on Jan. 13. The Leopards received career-high efforts from Matt Betley (12) and Andrew Brown (8) and snatched 15 offensive rebounds as a team. ON THE RISE: The academic prowess of the Patriot League has been a constant since the league's formation in 1990 and the league's national profile in basketball continues to improve. The Patriot League currently ranks No. 14 in RPI among the nation's 32 Division I conferences. MAKING THE TEAM GO?: It may be an oversimplification of Lafayette's play in 2006-07, but there is at least some correlation between Andrew Brown's play and the team's success. In Lafayette's seven wins, Brown is averaging 12.4 points and 4.6 assists per game. By contrast, in Lafayette's 11 losses, he is averaging 5.7 points and 2.7 assists per game. ABOUT LEHIGH: Lehigh comes into Saturday's matchup with just one blemish on its Patriot League slate, a five-point loss at Army one week ago. The Mountain Hawks are 3-1 in Patriot play with wins over American, Navy and Colgate. Overall, Lehigh is 8-12. Lehigh leads the conference in points per game (66.6 ppg) thanks to its one-two punch of seniors Jose Olivero and Kyle Neptune. Olivero is third in the conference in scoring at 16.4 ppg and is coming off a 20-point game vs. Colgate. Olivero rarely gets a rest, averaging 32 minutes per game. The senior is joined in the backcourt by freshman Marquis Hall, a Patriot League Rookie of the Year candidate who has been named Rookie of the Week four times. Hall distributes the ball for the Mountain Hawks and is averaging 4.3 assists per game while scoring 9.3 ppg. Up front, Neptune has been doing the bulk of the work with fellow senior Jason Mgebroff having missed seven games due to injury. Neptune is averaging 11.1 points and 4.9 rebounds per game. Junior Bryan White (5.6 ppg, 5.0 rpg) and sophomore Phil Anderson (5.3 ppg, 2.8 rpg) have each spent time in the starting lineup. Lehigh is coached by Billy Taylor (Notre Dame '95) who is in his fifth season. He holds a 77-62 record in his first head coaching stop. LAFAYETTE VS. THE PATRIOT LEAGUE: Lafayette has played 598 games against the seven members of the Patriot League, and has a 334-264 record in all games against them. In Patriot League play, Lafayette is 93-121 in the regular season and 10-14 in the Patriot League Tournament. Under Fran O'Hanlon, the Leopards are 78-68 in Patriot League regular-season play. American 16-17; Colgate 36-41; Navy 21-37; Army 32-18; Holy Cross 13-25; Bucknell 82-56; Lehigh 134-70 YES-PER: Freshman guard Jesper Andersson, a crowd favorite because he makes three's and his first name is fun to say, has already made an impact on the Lafayette lineup. Named Patriot League Rookie of the Week on Dec. 27, Andersson leads the team in three-point field goal percentage at .453 (24-for-53). The freshman had scored a total of six points in 34 minutes of seven games coming into the St. Peter's contest (12/2), but then broke out with six three-pointers in the first half and 18 points for the game. Against King's (12/20), Andersson earned the first start of his career and made his first two-point field goal of the season, as his previous 15 baskets were three-pointers. Andersson has started four games and has played in 15. HALF WAY THERE: Lafayette is 7-2 when holding a lead at halftime. The two exceptions were a 67-61 loss to Bucknell when the Leopards were leading 29-27 at halftime and a 44-42 loss to Princeton when Lafayette led 22-19 at the intermission. WHAT CAN BROWN DO FOR YOU?: He can average 8.2 points and 3.4 assists and 2.5 rebounds per game. Andrew Brown tallied a career-high vs. King's (12/20) with 20 points on six three-pointers. Brown dished off a career-high eight assists vs. St. Peter's (12/2). Against NJIT (12/4), he answered the UPS question with six three-pointers and 20 points. Brown is coming off a 14-point effort vs. Bucknell. In 2005-06, Brown led the team with 84 assists as a freshman, the first rookie to do so in Fran O'Hanlon's tenure, and started 25 of 28 games. He made a team-leading 51 three-pointers and earned Patriot League All-Rookie Team status. A TOUGH NON-CONFERENCE SCHEDULE: Lafayette chose to take a tough non-conference road in preparation for Patriot League play. Six of the Leopards' nine non-conference losses came against top-flight competition. The Leopards lost to national power Indiana (Big 10), current No. 22 Notre Dame (Big East), St. Joseph's (Atlantic 10), Miami, Fla. (ACC), Princeton (Ivy), Temple (Atlantic 10) and San Diego State (Mountain West). Those seven teams were a combined 63-31 (.670) entering their conference play. THE GARBAGE MAN: Junior forward Matt Betley spends a lot of time cleaning the glass, diving for loose balls and occasionally even picking up a "garbage" basket in the paint. Betley is certainly willing to get his hands and body a little dirty by diving on the court, but it's nothing compared to his summer job. Betley worked collecting garbage on a garbage truck in his hometown of Mount Laurel, N.J. As one of the smallest forwards in the Patriot League, Betley is still managing to lead Lafayette in rebounding with 4.5 rpg. Many of his rebounds are of the unconventional variety as he taps a ball out to the perimeter instead of trying to take it from a much taller opponent and potentially drawing a foul. BENCH SCORING: Lafayette is receiving 62 percent (40.9 of the Leopards' 65.8 points per game) of its scoring from the starting five and 38 percent from the bench. By contrast in 2005-06, the Leopards' bench averaged 26.1 points per game of the team's 66.4 points per game average, 39 percent of the team's scoring. AT THE LINE: The Leopards are shooting 71 percent from the line for the season and are ranked 52nd out of 325 teams in the nation. That season percentage includes a season-high 82 percent effort at Wagner (18-for-22) to open the season. Bilal Abdullah leads the team at 78 percent (50-for-64), while Matt Betley rests at 71 percent (36-for-51). Jamaal Hilliard, who is currently out with injury is 29-for-34 on the season for 85 percent...In 2005-06, Lafayette ranked 37th in the nation in free throw percentage (74 percent) and ranked as high as ninth. Hilliard, who shot at a 91% clip in 2004-05 (fifth in the nation), hit for 81% as a junior while graduated senior Andrei Capusan '06 shot a team-best 82%. SIZE MATTERS: The answer to the question why Lafayette is being out-rebounded by an average of 9.2 rebounds per game is simply "a lack of size." Matt Betley (6-4, 200), Everest Schmidt (6-7, 270) and Ted Detmer (6-7, 200) are the team's leading rebounders with Betley leading the way at 4.5 rpg, but effort and positioning can only account for so much. Lafayette is consistently running up against bigger post men, an area that Fran O'Hanlon and his staff hope to continue to address with upcoming recruiting classes. Lafayette has won the rebounding battle just three times this season, holding a 26-20 advantage over Princeton, a 35-31 margin vs. Lycoming and a 40-37 advantage at Navy...Lafayette finished 2005-06 ranked 308th in the nation in rebounding margin and ranks 320th this season (1/15) out of 325 teams ranked. INSIDE-OUTSIDE: Junior Matt Betley has made the move from guard to forward for the 2006-07 season to bolster the team's rebounding efforts, but he is still certainly very comfortable outside. With Fran O'Hanlon's motion offense, Betley often finds himself with open three-point looks and mid-range jumpers against larger post players who will back off into the lane. With 24 three-pointers, Betley is one of five Lafayette players who have made 20 or more three-pointers this season. He is third on the team in three-point makes, as one of seven players with 10 or more three-pointers. HOLDING ITS OWN IN SAN DIEGO: Nearly 2,500 miles from College Hill, Lafayette held its own and more against San Diego State (12/30), before dropping a 78-68 decision. The Leopards pulled within six (74-68) with 33 seconds remaining on a Marcus Harley backdoor cut before having to foul in the final seconds. Bilal Abdullah and Matt Betley paced the Leopards with 16 points apiece, while Everest Schmidt and Ted Detmer each had seven boards. HIGH FOR HARLEY: Senior tri-captain Marcus Harley turned in a career-high 23 points on 9-for-14 shooting, including 5-for-7 from behind the three-point arc at Temple (12/28). The Bryn Mawr, Pa. native earned the starting nod two days later at San Diego State. Harley is averaging 5.9 ppg. HELPING HANDS: Lafayette's motion offense has the potential to put up big assist numbers, and the fact that Lafayette leads the Patriot League with 14.4 assists per game bares that out. Against King's (12/20), the Lafayette offense was clicking, doling out a season-best 25 assists on 33 baskets. It was the third time Lafayette has had 20+ assists in a game this season and fourth time that the Leopards managed a positive assist/turnover ratio. Against Lycoming (12/7), Lafayette distributed 20 assists on 26 baskets. The Leopards also had 20 assists on 25 baskets at St. Peter's. In 2005-06, Lafayette passed for 18 or more assists four times, a number Lafayette has reached six times this season. THE O'HANLON SHUFFLE: The scorer's table has been a busy place during Fran O'Hanlon's 12 seasons at Lafayette. O'Hanlon will frequently shuffle in players to keep them fresh while also looking for the best matchups on both ends of the court. The moves also force opponents to spend a great deal of time figuring out their own defensive matchups. O'Hanlon will often play "offense-defense" at the end of the first half and in the final minutes of the game whenever there is a stoppage of play and a chance to substitute. The Leopards have gone nine to ten deep throughout the season. ...SO WHO GETS THE START?: In 2005-06 with a team defined by youth and inexperience, O'Hanlon used 12 different starting lineups. Thus far this season, O'Hanlon has used 10 different starting lineups. A GAME FROM (IN) THE 40's: Lafayette's 44-42 loss to Princeton (12/28) was a throwback to days gone by with crisp back-door cuts and disciplined motion offenses. The game was unusually low-scoring thanks to Princeton's ball-control style of offense and solid defensive efforts by both squads, but this type of game is not out of the norm in recent meetings between the two schools. Lafayette won a 57-46 matchup at Princeton last season, but was beaten 40-38 in 2004. The Leopards won the 2003 meeting 47-44. Lafayette and Princeton have split the last four games between the two schools, and each time the visiting team has emerged victorious. FIVE THREE'S FOR 12: One highlight in the Leopards' loss at Miami (11/25), was the shooting of junior guard Paul Cummins. Cummins made five three-pointers and finished with a season-high 15 points against the Hurricanes. His effort was one short of his career-best when he hit six three-pointers at American on Jan. 28, 2006. He is second on the team with 29 three-pointers this season. 32 MINUTES: Before a national television audience on ESPN2, Lafayette gave Indiana all it could handle for 32 minutes on Nov. 13. The Leopards trailed by three points (63-60) at 7:47 when Everest Schmidt made two free throws. Lafayette was still down just six at 6:48, but Indiana put together a 21-2 spurt over the next three and a half minutes to pull away in a game in which the final score (91-66) did not really tell the true story of the contest. THE CAPTAINS: Lafayette's three seniors, Marcus Harley, Jamaal Hilliard and Kerry Kenny, are serving as the team captains in 2006-07. Harley was a full-time starter in his sophomore season and has spent some significant time on the floor as a senior after missing almost all of his junior campaign due to injury. Hilliard has been in the starting lineup the past two seasons. He missed 10 games last year due to a leg injury and broken finger, and this season he has been sidelined since Dec. 11 with a foot injury. Kenny being named captain is a tribute to his perseverance. He came to Lafayette as an unrecruited player, served as a team manager as a freshman and worked his way into 17 games last season. He has played in nearly every game this season and was in the starting lineup vs. Princeton. RANKED OPPONENTS: Since 1948-49, Lafayette has played 39 games against ranked opponents, coming away with a 3-36 record. Lafayette hosted Bucknell, ranked No. 24 in both the ESPN/USA Today and Associated Press top-25 polls on Feb. 25, 2006. Prior to that, the last time Lafayette hosted a ranked opponent was January 14, 1987 when No. 19 Navy came to Kirby Sports Center and escaped with a 75-71 win. The last time Lafayette beat a ranked opponent was Dec. 2, 1978 when Lafayette topped No. 16 Rutgers, 77-70. In 2004-05, Lafayette faced Louisville (17) and Georgia Tech (9) on the road. THE PRESEASON POLL: Lafayette was picked to finish sixth in the Patriot League Preseason Poll. The poll is voted on by the conference head coaches and sports information directors. Bucknell was picked first in the poll followed by Holy Cross, American, Lehigh, Colgate, Lafayette, Navy and Army. LAFAYETTE ON TELEVISION: For the 10th straight season, Lafayette features the most expansive television package in the Patriot League. The Leopards have 15 games televised with the possible addition of three more televised games during the three rounds of the Patriot League Tournament. The Lafayette Sports Network is airing 10 games to approximately 10 million viewers in the Lehigh Valley, Pocono region and all of Philadelphia. LSN telecasts can also be viewed in central New Jersey, New York City and Boston. In the Lehigh Valley, Poconos and Philadelphia, the telecast airs on RCN-4 and WBPH-60. CSTV (DIRECTV 610, Dish Network 152) will continue as a major LSN partner, airing three telecasts. Emmy-nominated sports broadcaster Gary Laubach handles all of the Leopards' play-by-play duties, while former Lafayette men's basketball coach John Leone provides color commentary. Additionally, RCN's Dan Mowdy will provide sideline reports. INTERNATIONAL FLAVOR: Lafayette features three players from foreign countries. Junior Paul Cummins comes from Kildare, Ireland. Cummins spent two years at Ravenscroft School in Raleigh, N.C. before spending a post-grad year at South Kent School in Connecticut. Two of Lafayette's four freshmen come from Europe with Marek Koltun hailing from Krakow, Poland and Jesper Andersson from Norrkoping, Sweden. Koltun spent the 2005-06 schoolyear at Caravel Academy in Delaware. THE JUNIOR CLASS: Lafayette's Class of 2008 is not only the largest in terms of numbers, but is also one of the most productive recruiting classes in recent memory. Junior Bilal Abdullah is the leading returning scorer and is second this season to fellow junior Matt Betley. Fellow juniors Ted Detmer and Everest Schmidt have also seen significant minutes in the middle after tying for the team lead in rebounds in 2005-06. Paul Cummins has been an offensive spark off the bench. YOUTH ON THE BENCH: Lafayette features one of, if not the youngest assistant coaching staffs in the country. Top assistant Drew Dawson is just 27 years old while Andy Toole is 26 and Mike Farrell is just 24. Dawson and Farrell are intimately familiar with the program, both having played for O'Hanlon. ALL-TIME AT LAFAYETTE: In the 97 seasons of men's basketball at Lafayette College, the Leopards hold an overall record of 1178-1037 (.532). Lafayette's first basketball season was in 1900-01 when the team had a winning record of 4-3. YOUTH ON THE BENCH: Lafayette features one of, if not the youngest assistant coaching staffs in the country. Top assistant Drew Dawson is just 27 years old while Andy Toole is 26 and Mike Farrell is just 24. Dawson and Farrell are intimately familiar with the program, both having played for O'Hanlon. NOTABLE NAMES FROM LAFAYETTE BASKETBALL: Some recognizable names in college basketball have been part of the Lafayette men's basketball program. Pete Carril '52 was an All-American at Lafayette before going on to coach Princeton to national prominence and recently serving as a Sacramento Kings' assistant coach. Tom Davis, former Iowa and current Drake head coach, served the Lafayette's head coach from 1971-77. During that span, Lafayette made three NIT appearances and accumulated a record of 116-44. Current Maryland head coach Gary Williams served as Davis' assistant basketball coach and also spent time as the head men's soccer coach from 1971-76. ON THE RADIO: One of the longest running radio broadcast relationships in college basketball, WEST-AM 1400 enters its 71st year as the radio home of Lafayette Athletics. Dick Hammer is in his 40th season of calling the play-by-play for Lafayette men's basketball. Hammer will be inducted into the Lafayette College Maroon Club Hall of Game on Friday, Nov. 17. He will become just the second inductee who was not a player, coach or administrator at the college, joining public address announcer Jim Finnen. On the radio, Hammer is joined by Carl Schumacher at home games and most road contests by Phil LaBella (Lafayette SID). LAFAYETTE ATHLETICS ON THE WEB: The quickest and most comprehensive source for information on Lafayette athletics is the world wide web. Go to www.lafayette.edu and click on "Sports." NOTABLE NAMES FROM LAFAYETTE BASKETBALL: Some recognizable names in college basketball have been part of the Lafayette men's basketball program. Pete Carril '52 was ON THE RADIO: One of the longest running radio broadcast relationships in college basketball, WEST-AM 1400 enters its 71st year as the radio home of Lafayette Athletics. Dick Hammer is in his 40th season of calling the play-by-play for Lafayette men's basketball. Hammer will be inducted into the Lafayette College Maroon Club Hall of Game on Friday, Nov. 17. He is just the second inductee who was not a player, coach or administrator at the college, joining public address announcer Jim Finnen. On the radio, Hammer is joined by Carl Schumacher at home games and most road contests by Phil LaBella (Lafayette SID). LAFAYETTE ATHLETICS ON THE WEB: The quickest and most comprehensive source for information on Lafayette athletics is the world wide web. Go to www.GoLeopards.com
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