Feb. 13, 2009

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Game Notes

GAME 25 • FEBRUARY 14, 2009

Matchup: Lafayette (6-18, 2-7) vs. Navy (16-8, 5-4)
Tip-off: 7:00 p.m.
Site: Annapolis, Md.
Arena: Alumni Hall (5,710)
Television: None
Radio: WSAN-AM Fox 1470
Dick Hammer (Play-By-Play)
Internet: LSN All-Access

THE MATCHUP: Lafayette looks for its second win over Navy and its first win since the Leopards' 84-69 victory over the Midshipmen on Jan. 17. The last time Lafayette swept the series was the 2001-02 season.

LAST TIME OUT: Freshman forward Ryan Willen led the Leopards with 16 points, all scored in 13 minutes in the second half, in Lafayette's 71-54 loss at Colgate on Wednesday night. The performance was the rookie's sixth straight double-digit performance.
Colgate's sophomore guard Mike Venezia (20 points) and Patriot League Rookie of the Week Yaw Gyawu (16 points) led the Raiders in their offensive attack. The Raiders converted 58.7 percent from the field while the Leopards managed a 33.9 percent outing.

MAKING HIS MARK: With his two treys against Bucknell, senior Andrew Brown became one of the top five career three-point shooters in Patriot League history. He has since upped his total to 274 career three-pointers, surpassing Lafayette's Tyson Whitfield '01 for the No. 3 spot. He needs 25 more to claim the No. 2 spot currently occupied by Bucknell's Kevin Bettencourt (294, 2002-06). Army's Mark Lueking (1992-96) owns the record with 300.

LEOPARD LEADERSHIP: Senior guard Andrew Brown and junior guard Jeff Kari are serving as the team captains. Brown is the lone member of the class of 2009 and is the team's leading scorer (13.5 ppg). He has played in 111 games in his career. Kari played in 30 games in his first season on College Hill after transferring from East Carolina and is one of the most improved players in the league. After averaging 4.0 ppg and 1.7 rpg in 2007-08, he is now averaging 11.0 ppg and 3.8 rpg.

CONFERENCE PLAY: The Leopards have kicked it into gear in terms of scoring since the start of conference play. Three Leopards average double figures in scoring since the season opener at Holy Cross (1/10). Ryan Willen leads the charge with 11.9 ppg and is followed by Andrew Brown (10.9 ppg) and Jared Mintz (10.4 ppg), while Jeff Kari sits just under the mark with 9.6 ppg.

STAR ROOKIE: Freshman Ryan Willen ranks among the top rookies in the league statistically. Just among the class of 2012, he ranks first for three-point field goal percentage (41.9), second for both rebounding (4.5) and free throw percentage (77.4) and third for scoring (9.4 ppg) in the conference.

NO. 1 vs. NO. 2: Lafayette and Navy rank as the top free-throw shooting teams in the league. The Leopards hit 74.8 percent (338-of-452), and the Mids are right on their heels at 72.2 percent (400-of-554). The two teams are also top dogs behind the arc. Lafayette drains a league-best 7.8 three-pointers per game while Navy puts up 7.3 treys per game.

BEST THINGS IN LIFE ARE FREE: The Leopards have been solid from the free throw line as of late. Since conference play began, Lafayette has hit 77.5 percent from the line in 182 attempts.
Senior Andrew Brown is the team's most consistent free throw shooter at 83.5 percent, and junior Jeff Kari is right behind him at 80.6 percent. Lafayette is shooting a Patriot League best 74.8 percent (338-452), ranking 14th in the nation, from the charity stripe this season in games through Feb. 8.

FROM DOWNTOWN: After sinking 55 treys this season, Andrew Brown has solidified himself as Lafayette's all-time three-point leader, smashing Tyson Whitfield's mark of 271 in 2001. Brown's second three against Holy Cross on Feb. 7 broke the record and he hasn't slowed down. His career total to date rests at 274.
Brown's hot hand from behind the arc last year helped him cement his name in the Lafayette record books. Brown owns the school record for most three-pointers in a game (nine), most three-point field goal attempts in a season (247) and most treys made in a season (99).

THE LOW OF LOWS: The Leopards held two conference foes to season-low production in back-to-back games. Lafayette held both Lehigh (1/24) and Army (1/28) to 19 field goals. The Leopards also limited the Mountain Hawks to 31.7 percent from the field and two assists before holding Army to 22 rebounds. All were season-low statistics for a Lafayette opponent this year.

STEPPING UP HIS GAME: Sophomore Jared Mintz's numbers are up since the start of league play. In the seven league games he has played in, he averages 10.4 ppg, converting 58.1 percent of his shots in 43 attempts. He averages 4.3 rpg and leads the team with 1.0 blocks per game. In non-conference play, Mintz averaged 8.1 ppg and 3.2 rpg and managed two blocks in 14 games. Mintz is second in the league in field goal percentage (55.8 percent) this year.

TALE OF TWO HALVES: Lafayette put up its most points in the first half (43) for the third time this season against American on Jan 31. However, in the second half, the Leopards were held to their lowest point total (22 points) after halftime at that point in the season.

NEXT UP: The Leopards finish three of their final four regular season games at home, beginning with a 7 p.m. tip against Bucknell on Wednesday.

INJURY REPORT: Sophomore Deirunas Visockas suffered a season-ending knee injury at the three-minute mark against American on Jan 31. Visockas underwent knee surgery in the off season and missed the first 13 games while recovering. He saw his first minutes of the season against Penn on Jan. 6 and had averaged 3.1 ppg and 1.1 rpg in eight games off the bench.
Freshman guard Nick Petkovich is also out for the season with a foot injury. He averaged 2.9 ppg and 1.1 rpg in 6.8 minutes off the bench.
Sophomore forward Jared Mintz, who has missed the last two games with an ankle sprain, is probable for Saturday's game.

SEEING DOUBLE: Freshman Ryan Willen seems to be adjusting to college just fine. The Cape Girardeau, Mo. native posted the second double-double of his career against Lehigh (1/24) with 11 points and a game-high 10 rebounds. Even more impressive -- of those 10 rebounds, six were offensive.
He is the first freshman since 1995-96 to record more than one double-double in his rookie year. That season, Stefan Ciosici '00 posted double-doubles in two of his first three games as a Leopard and went on to tally seven for the year.
Willen's first double-double of the season (15 points, 10 rebounds; Stony Brook, 11/18/08) was the first double-double performance since Feb. 23, 2008, when Bilal Abdullah '08 tallied 19 points and 13 rebounds against Lehigh.
He has nearly tallied two more double-doubles throughout the year: 13 points and nine rebounds against Rider (11/23) and 17 points and seven rebounds vs. Holy Cross (2/7) .

BEAST ON THE BOARDS: Freshman forward Ryan Willen has consistently led the team in rebounding this season despite earning his first starting nod on Jan. 10. He averages 4.5 boards per game and is the first freshman since the 1995-96 season to lead the Leopards in rebounding. That year, Stefan Ciosici '00 brought down 7.6 rpg.

LAFAYETTE VS. THE PATRIOT LEAGUE: Lafayette has played 633 games against the seven members of the Patriot League, and has a 344-289 record in all games against them. In Patriot League play, Lafayette is 103-148 in the regular season and 10-16 in the Patriot League Tournament. Under Fran O'Hanlon, the Leopards are 88-95 in conference regular-season play.

American 16-22 Army 34-21 Colgate 38-45 Lehigh 136-73 Holy Cross 14-30 Navy 23-39 Bucknell 83-59

IN WINS AND LOSSES: In their six wins, the Leopards have held opponents to 40.6 percent from the field. In losses, however, Lafayette allows opponents to hit 48.5 percent from the floor. The Leopards also control the boards in wins with a +1.8 rebounding margin over their opponents compared to their -4.8 margin in losses.

BLOCK PARTY: Stay out of Marek Koltun's way. The junior center has 22 blocks on the season, surpassing his career total from his previous two seasons combined. With 35 stuffs to his name, he now ranks 21st among Lafayette's top 25 leading blockers in records dating back to 1977-78. He edged Brian Ehlers '00 (33 blocks) and needs two more to pass Winston Davis '04 (36) for the No. 20 spot.

LAFAYETTE ON TELEVISION: The Leopards have 15 games televised at home. Fourteen telecasts will be produced by the Lafayette Sports Network (LSN). The Leopards garnered national exposure on ESPNU when they visited Penn State on Dec. 21 and will again when they travel to Lehigh in late February. Emmy-nominated local sports broadcaster Gary Laubach will handle all of LSN's play-by-play duties for the 12th straight season. Former Lafayette men's basketball coach John Leone will provide color analysis for the 11th season and will be joined by Dan Mowdy on the sidelines.

ON THE SIDELINE: The all-time winningest coach in Lafayette history and the longest tenured coach in the Patriot League, Fran O'Hanlon (Villanova, '70) is in his 14th season as the Leopards' head coach. A two-time Patriot League Coach of the Year recipient, O'Hanlon has twice led Lafayette's program to the NCAA Tournament and lays claim to three Patriot League regular-season titles among his credentials. With a 75-71 double-overtime victory over Lehigh on Feb. 18, 2007, O'Hanlon became the winningest coach in Lafayette history and now holds an all-time record of 192-206 on College Hill.
O'Hanlon's overall record does not necessarily tell an accurate 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 based 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.

CAREER DAY: Jared Mintz's performance against Navy culminated in his first double-double of his career. Mintz recorded career highs in both points (17) and rebounds (10). He joins Ryan Willen as the only other player to achieve the feat in a game this season.

LIGHTING UP THE LINE: Five different Leopards sank every free throw they attempted against Navy (1/17). Jeff Kari led the team with a season best 8-of-8 production, followed by Jared Mintz (7-of-7), Andrew Brown (4-of-4), Michael Gruner (3-of-3) and Deirunas Visockas (2-of-2).
Brown's streak of 20-consecutive free throws broke at FDU (2/2). The streak spanned nine games dating back to Mount St. Mary's (1/2).

SINKING THE MIDS: Lafayette's win over Navy on Jan. 17 snapped a five-game winning streak for the Midshipmen and gave them their first league loss in three games. Lafayette became the first team in the 26 games to shoot better than 50.0 percent against Navy.

TOP OF THEIR GAME: The Leopards played some of their best basketball against Navy on Jan. 17. Lafayette's 84 points were the most points scored in a game this season. The Leopards also produced season-best outings from the field (54.2 percent; 26-of-48) and the free throw line (27-of-30, 90 percent) up until that point in the season. The 15-point spread was the team's largest margin of victory for the season.

1,300 CLUB: When senior Andrew Brown chipped in a layup 42 seconds remaining against Bucknell, the guard tallied his 1,300th career point, becoming the 13th player in school history to achieve the feat. He has since upped his total to 1,355 points.
The most recent player to score at least 1,300 points in his career was Justin DeBerry '04, who finished with 1,378 to rank as the 10th leading scorer in program history.

HOW DOES HE DO IT?: Prior to his injury, freshman Nick Petkovich always seemed to make the most of his time on the floor. He grabbed three rebounds in one minute of playing time at Bucknell. Some of his other notable stat lines include Rider (7 pts, 1 ast, 1 blk in 9 mins), at Fordham (5 pts, 3 reb, 1 stl, 1 blk in 7 mins) and at Penn (9 pts, 2 reb, 1 ast, 1 blk in 13 mins).

DID YOU KNOW?: With its 15-point victory against Navy, Lafayette earned its first victory of the season in games decided between 11-20 points. The Leopards were previously 0-7 in such games and now hold a 1-10 record in those contests.

MIXING IT UP: Head coach Fran O'Hanlon swapped the starting five against vs. Holy Cross (2/7), inserting Marek Koltun into the mix along with Andrew Brown, Ryan Willen, Michael Gruner and Jeff Kari. The quintet was the Leopards' seventh starting lineup this season.

BEHIND THE ARC: Lafayette is averaging 7.8 three-pointers per game, good enough to place the Leopards 35th in the nation through games of Feb. 8. In 2007-08 Lafayette ranked fifth in the nation with 10.0 three-pointers made per game. Individually this season, Andrew Brown leads the team with 55 three-pointers (2.3 per game) and made a season-high seven vs. Robert Morris on Dec. 17.

CHIPPING IN: All 12 Lafayette players that recorded minutes against Colgate (1/14) scored in the game. The last time every player scored in one game was on Feb. 16, 2008, when Lafayette lost to Navy, 82-80 in Annapolis, Md.

FIELD DAY: On Jan. 14, the Leopards pulled out their first win in games when the opponent shoots a better field goal percentage after an 0-9 drought. Colgate sank 44.2 percent from the field while Lafayette hit 40.8 percent. So what accounted for the win? The Leopards outrebounded the Raiders (37 to 33), swiped more steals (10 to six), converted more from the free throw line (82.8 percent to 52.0 percent) and swatted more shots (four to one).

WHAT A WIN: Lafayette's win over Princeton on Dec. 30 was the program's 1200th in 99 seasons.

PRESEASON ALL-PATRIOT FOR BROWN: Senior guard Andrew Brown was selected to the Preseason All-Patriot League Team in late October. Brown was an All-Patriot League Second-Team pick at the end of the 2007-08 season after leading the Leopards in scoring 14 times and averaging a team-best 15.9 ppg. He also led the team in assists (85).

AT THE HALF: The Leopards entered halftime with a 23-21 lead over Princeton on Dec. 30. The combined 44 points were the fewest at halftime of Lafayette's 20 games this season and the fewest since Jan. 13, 2007. On that date, Navy headed into the locker room with a 28-16 lead over the Leopards. The Leopards have lost two games this season (6-2) when leading at the half, falling to Rider after leading 41-30 and to American after holding a 43-39 advantage at the break.

WELCOME TO COLLEGE: Head coach Fran O'Hanlon hasn't been afraid to use the seven members of his freshman class this season. Ryan Willen has played in all 24 games with 10 starts, Nick Petkovich and Alex Orchowski 21 each, Jim Mower 19, Andy Moore and Rob Delaney (with one start) 13 each, while J.D. Pelham clocked 12.
Willen continues to lead the team in rebounding with 4.5 per game while also contributing 9.4 ppg in 21.8 minutes per game. Willen's clutch free throw shooting helped secure Lafayette's win at Wagner. In the last four minutes, the Seahawks went on an 8-3 run, closing in on Lafayette's lead 70-67, before fouling Willen with 11.4 seconds remaining. The rookie sank both free throws, making it a two-possession game. Willen finished with seven points and three rebounds.
The rookie has maintained his cool into league play. Against Navy, Lafayette built a 12-point lead early in the second half before the Mids attempted a comeback. Kaleo Kina drove for a layup at 7:28, diminishing the Leopards' advantage to one point, but Willen came up with a big three on the next possession to stop the momentum and Lafayette went on to an 84-69 win.

ABOUT LAFAYETTE COLLEGE: Located in Easton, Pa. (70 miles west of New York City and 60 miles north of Philadelphia) on the banks of the Delaware and Lehigh Rivers, Lafayette is a small liberal arts school with a renowned engineering program. Lafayette, which has 23 Division I sports with a student body of 2,382 undergraduates, competes in the Patriot League with Army, Navy, Bucknell, Holy Cross, Colgate, American and Lehigh. Lafayette is the alma mater of Pete Carril and Tampa Bay Rays manager Joe Maddon.

WELCOME BACK, GRUNER: Since returning from his six-game layoff due to injury, junior guard Michael Gruner is back to his old self. He averages 6.7 points and 3.2 rpg and led the team for the first time in scoring this season with 12 points against Army (1/28). He posted a career-high 15 points against Princeton on Dec. 30. Gruner, who sat out six games from Nov. 18 to Dec. 4 with a thigh contusion, returned to the court with a five-minute stint at Fordham on Dec. 8.
Gruner was a mainstay in the starting lineup in 2007-08 and proved to be Lafayette's steadiest ballhandler, dishing out 72 assists to 46 turnovers for a 1.6 assist/turnover ratio. Gruner is a Marquis Scholar, the most prestigious academic scholarship awarded to Lafayette students.

KEEP IT UP, KARI: Junior guard Jeff Kari has either set or tied his career high in points in five games this season. He set his career high with 15 points in the season opener at Wagner. He reset his career high against Stony Brook with 16 points, and again hit for 16 points against Temple. He then bested that mark with a 21-point performance against Rider.
His 19 points against Lehigh marked the fifth time this season he has led the Leopards in scoring, but Kari isn't just a scoring threat. He tied his career high in assists (seven) against Hartford and grabbed a career high in rebounds (nine) against Rider. In the Rider and Temple games, he led the team in scoring, rebounding, assists and steals.
Kari averages 11.0 points and 3.8 rebounds per game and is second on the team in both categories.

THRIVING WITH THIRTY: Andrew Brown's 30-point production against Robert Morris was the fourth such game of his career. Brown first drained 30 points as a sophomore on Jan. 20, 2007, at archrival Lehigh. He accomplished the feat twice as a junior, scoring 32 at Mount St. Mary's on Dec. 21, 2007, before notching his career high against Army (34 points) on Jan 30, 2008.

SOARING UP THE SCORING CHARTS: Brown is climbing the all-time career scoring list. This season his 324 points have catapulted him from 35th to 11th among career scoring leaders, and he now has 1,355 career points. He recently surpassed Keith Brazzo '94 (1,323) and needs 23 points to catch Justin DeBerry '04 in 10th place.

ASCENDING THE ASSISTS LIST: Brown is also moving up the career assists list. With one assist against Colgate, Brown increased his total to 77 for the season and 340 for his career, passing Brian Burke '02 (308) and claiming seventh place. He needs 32 more to tie Bob Falconiero '80 (372) for the sixth spot on the list.

MOVING UP THE STEALS CHARTS: Brown continues to creep up the steals chart. He began the season with 97 career steals and has since increased his total to 119, passing Reggie Guy '02 (108) to claim the No. 16 spot. He needs one more to tie Craig White '92 (120) for 15th place.

LOTS OF THREE BALLS AT HARTFORD (12/4): Lafayette made a season-high 15 three-pointers at Hartford on Dec. 4. It was the first time since Jan. 2, 2008 at Pittsburgh when they made 15 or more. Those 17 treys at Pitt were the most allowed by a Panther opponent in the program's history.
In a related note, Lafayette's 21 assists at Hartford also marked the first time the team dished out 20+ assists since it recorded 21 assists against Army on Jan. 30, 2008.

WHAT CAN BROWN DO FOR YOU?: Andrew Brown can distribute the ball. The Littleton, Colo. native led the team in assists his first three years on College Hill. Brown dished out 94 assists (3.1 apg) as a sophomore and started 27 of 30 games. He had 84 assists as a freshman, starting all but three games, and was the first freshman during the Fran O'Hanlon era to lead the team in assists. Brown finished his junior year with a team-high 85 assists in 30 games (2.8 apg), despite taking a more active scoring role. This season, Brown has 77 assists through 24 games (3.2 apg).
Brown can shoot the ball too. He averaged 9.3 ppg as a freshman when he hit 51 three-pointers and followed that by scoring 10.4 ppg while netting 69 three-pointers in his second season on College Hill. In 2007-08, Brown led the Leopards in scoring 14 times and has continued that trend 11 times this season, averaging 13.5 ppg.
Brown is stellar from the line. In his sophomore year, he shot 91 percent from the charity stripe, connecting on 42-of-46 attempts. Last season, Brown went to the line 82 times and hit for 83 percent. He reached the line a career-high 10 times in the season opener, connecting on eight, and is shooting 83.5 percent this season in 85 attempts.
Brown makes big shots. Last year at Stony Brook, Brown went 7-for-8 at the line with five of those makes coming in overtime. Brown was responsible for the tying baskets that sent the Stony Brook and UMBC games to overtime. At Mount St. Mary's, Brown's ninth three-pointer of the game came in overtime and gave Lafayette a 76-72 win. With 48 seconds left in overtime at Navy, a Brown three claimed the lead for the Leopards (97-94) before they went on to win it 103-99.

THE PRESEASON POLL: Lafayette was picked eighth in the Patriot League Preseason Poll voted on by the conference head coaches and sports information directors. Defending champion American was selected to repeat followed by Lehigh, Holy Cross, Colgate, Bucknell, Navy and Army.

IN THE RANKS: Seven of Lafayette's non-conference opponents were picked to finish within the top five of their respective leagues in the pre-season polls. At No. 1, Mount St. Mary's is the highest ranked non-conference opponent the Leopards will face. Lafayette will tip off against five opponents from the Northeast Conference -- the most of any one conference on the Leopards' schedule.

D.C. DANDIES: Though players from 11 states and three countries are represented on Lafayette's roster, the Leopards do have a preference for the D.C. area. Prior to arriving on College Hill, three of Lafayette's guards attended schools within 25 miles of the nation's capital. Michael Gruner shined at Walt Whitman High School, where he led his team to a state championship. Sophomore Ben Wheeler played at Chantilly where he garnered first team all-district and second team all-region accolades his senior year. Freshman Nick Petkovich is the most recent addition from the D.C. area, an All-IAC Conference First-Team selection from Bullis Prep.

LOOKING BACK: The last time Lafayette started off the season with a 2-0 record was in 1998-99. In that season, the Leopards defeated Dartmouth, 56-41, and Princeton, 63-47. Lafayette went on to earn a 22-8 record, including a 10-2 record in the Patriot League, and secured a berth to the NCAA Tournament after winning its first Patriot League championship (against Bucknell).
Even more impressive, Lafayette achieved all that success despite losing the preseason Player of the Year Stefan Ciosici for the entire season and the 1997-98 Rookie of the Year Tyson Whitfield for seven games in the middle of the conference schedule.

WORKING OVERTIME IN 2007-08: The Leopards set an NCAA single-season record with five overtime wins on the road (at Navy -- 103-99 on Jan. 19, at Colgate 69-68 on Jan. 16, at Princeton -- 76-71 on Jan. 9, at Towson -- 79-69 on Dec. 19 and at Stony Brook -- 78-67 on Nov. 12) in 2007-08. The lone win at home in overtime came Nov. 20 vs. UMBC (87-84) to give the team a total of six overtime victories and tie the NCAA team record for overtime victories in a season. Wake Forest (6-1 in 1988-89) and Chattanooga (6-0 in 1983-84) share the mark. Fran O'Hanlon is 16-10 in overtime.

BASKETBALL IQ: Lafayette placed a program-best five student-athletes on the Patriot League Academic Honor Roll during the 2007-08 season. The distinction recognizes those who have earned a varsity letter and maintained a 3.2 GPA during the spring semester. Junior Michael Gruner and sophomores Deirunas Visockas and Ben Wheeler along with graduated players Matt Betley and Paul Cummins earned the nod.

ON THE RADIO: The entire 2008-09 Lafayette men's basketball season will air on WSAN-AM 1470 "The Fox." Entering his 42nd season as the radio voice of Lafayette athletics, Dick Hammer will continue to call the play-by-play action. Joining Hammer courtside will be Lafayette Sports Information Director Phil LaBella.