Feb. 23, 2010

EASTON, Pa. -

Game Notes

GAME 28 • February 24, 2010

Matchup: Lafayette (16-11, 7-5) at Army (14-12, 4-8)

Tip-off: 7 p.m.

Site: West Point, N.Y.

Arena: Christl Arena (5,043)

Radio: 1470 AM The Fox (Dick Hammer, Phil LaBella)

TV: none

Internet: LSN All-Access on GoLeopards.com and www.1470wkap.com

Series: Lafayette leads 35-22

First Meeting: 02/03/1926 • Army 44, LC 9 in West Point

Last Meeting: 01/27/10 • LC 77, Army 68 in Easton

Last Army Win: 02/25/09 • Army 79, LC 55 in Easton

Last Lafayette Win: Same

Fran O'Hanlon vs. Army: 22-8

MATCH UP: Lafayette (16-11, 7-5) travels to Army (14-12, 4-8) on Wednesday for a 7 p.m. tip. The Leopards are coming off a 90-75 win over archrival Lehigh in a nationally televised game on Sunday while Army beat its archrival Navy, 69-50, on Saturday.

TOURNAMENT SEEDING: Lafayette needs one win in its final two games to ensure a home game in the Patriot League Tournament quarterfinals. Lafayette can also clinch a home game if Navy beats American on Wednesday night. The Leopards have not hosted a home game since the "tournament" initially went to campus quarterfinals at the top two seeds (2005) and then morphed into the top four seeds hosting a quarterfinal game (2007).

WE GO AS WE SHOOT: There is a definite correlation between Lafayette's shooting percentage and its team's success in 2009-10. Lafayette is 14-0 when shooting 45% or better from the field and 2-11 when shooting 44% or worse.

SCOUTING ARMY: With seven seniors on the roster, Army (14-12, 4-8) is the most experienced team in the Patriot League. It showed through the non-league schedule when Army posted a 10-4 mark. In league play, Army is 4-8 with the Black Knights winning their last outing 69-50 over Navy on Feb. 20. The Black Knights' man-to-man defense has been a key to success. Army leads the league in scoring defense at 60.1 ppg, holding 11 opponents to 55 points or fewer. The Black Knights shut down Navy's Chris Harris, limited the senior to four points. Army has two players averaging double figures in senior forward Cleveland Richard (13.0 ppg) and sophomore guard Julian Simmons (12.0 ppg). Senior guards Josh Miller and Marcus Nelson complete the backcourt. Miller is third on the team in scoring at 8.3 ppg and leads the team with 3.7 assists and 4.7 rebounds per game. Nelson (5.7 ppg, 3.6 rpg) has started 19 games and is shooting 54 percent from the floor. Senior forward Chris Walker (4.9 ppg, 4.2 rpg) helps the undersized Richard, who is 6-3, patrol the frontcourt. Army is coached by Zach Spiker (Ithaca '00) who is in his first season as a head coach after serving as an assistant at Cornell for five seasons. Spiker replaced Jim Crews who was let go in September.

MINTZ'S MINUTES: After missing the Bucknell (2/17) game with a severe ankle sprain, Jared Mintz saw significant action vs. Lehigh. Despite not practicing for five days, the Leopards' leading scorer played through pain for 25 minutes, contributing nine points, four rebounds and a season-high three blocks off the bench.

NATIONWIDE: The Lafayette at American game on Saturday will be televised live on CBS College Sports Network. The game will be carried through the Patriot League's television package as the second "flex" game on the schedule. Bob Socci and John Feinstein will call the action.

100 AND STILL GOING: The 2009-10 season marks the 100th season of men's basketball. Lafayette's first season was 1900-01, but the school did not field a team from 1903-04 to 1912-13.

CONTRAST OF STYLES: Lafayette and Army play two different styles of basketball. The Leopards prefer to play their games in the 70's and 80's (points, not decades) and are second in the league in scoring at 73.4 ppg (74.1 in conference games). On the other side of things, Army plays a straight man-to-man grind-it-out style and prefers to keep the game in the 50's and 60's. Army leads the Patriot League in scoring defense at 60.1 ppg (60.7 ppg in conference games).

FIRST TIME FOR EVERYTHING?: There is still plenty of basketball to be played, but Jared Mintz has a chance to become the first Patriot League player to lead the league in free throw and field goal percentage in the same season. Mintz is shooting 57.4% from the floor (first in the Patriot League), ahead of Lehigh's Gabe Knutson 51.9%. Mintz is shooting 88.1% from the line, trailing only Navy's Chris Harris (88.4%) by a slim margin.

NCAA INDIVUDAL RANKINGS: The latest national rankings (2/21) show Jared Mintz ranked 13th in the country in field goal percentage (57%) and 23rd in the country in free throw percentage (88%). Sophomore Jim Mower is fifth nationally for three-point field goal percentage (46%).

AT THE LINE: Lafayette is ranked ninth in the nation (2/21) and first in the Patriot League in free throw percentage (76.0). The Leopards made all 19 of their free throws against Colgate, the best mark in the nation (as of Feb. 21), topping Kentucky's 18-of-18 effort from Dec. 19.

NEXT: Lafayette plays its final regular season game at American on Saturday at 4 p.m.

AT HOME: Coming into the season, head coach Fran O'Hanlon and the team set "taking care of our home court" as a goal for the squad. Lafayette has responded, registering a 11-3 mark at Kirby Sports Center. Lafayette is 5-8 on the road.

SEVEN-ELEVEN: Eleven of Lafayette men's basketball players earned a 3.0 or better GPA in the fall semester led by Mike Gruner's 3.8 GPA. Seven managed a 3.2 or better.

ACADEMIC ALL-DISTRICT: Senior guard Michael Gruner has been named to the ESPN The Magazine/CoSIDA Academic All-District II Men's Basketball First Team, the only Patriot League player to achieve the honor. Gruner holds a 3.63 GPA while majoring in Economics & Business. Coming to Lafayette from Walt Whitman High School, Gruner was named a Marquis Scholar, the highest academic award given by Lafayette. To be eligible for selection, a student-athlete must be a starter or key reserve while maintaining a minimum GPA of 3.3. District winners will be placed on a national ballot to compete for spots on the Academic All-America Team.

LAST TIME OUT: A near capacity Kirby Sports Center crowd witnessed the Leopards hitting a season-high 16 three-pointers and a 90-75 win over Lehigh on Sunday afternoon. The nationally televised game featured four Leopards in double figures led by sophomore Ryan Willen with 22 points who hit 9-of-11 from the field and grabbed seven rebounds. On senior day it was appropriate that Marek Koltun dropped in Lafayette's first bucket of the game after receiving his third start of the season. Fellow senior Jeff Kari scored 18 points, including a career-high six three-pointers while classmate Michael Gruner added 12 points and a game-high six assists. Jim Mower knocked down 16 points on four three-pointers for Lafayette which sits in a third-place tie with Navy.

MINTZ=CONSISTENCY FROM THE FLOOR: Junior forward Jared Mintz has been the mark of consistency for the Leopards in 2009-10. He has scored in double figures in 21 of 26 games and has been the Leopards' leading scorer from the outset of 2009-10. The Toronto, Ontario native has been an efficient scorer, shooting 57 percent from the floor. His season shooting percentage includes a 9-of-9 night at St. Francis (Pa.), an 8-of-10 stint at NJIT, a 6-of-7 performance vs. Hartford and a 5-for-7 day at Georgetown.

...AND THE LINE: Jared Mintz is even more efficient when he gets to the free throw line. Mintz is shooting a team-best 88 percent, making 126-of-143 attempts. Mintz shot a perfect 10-of-10 from the line in a win against Army (1/27). He was 8-of-8 from the line at Delaware and vs. Wagner (11/13), 6-of-6 against Holy Cross, 8-of-9 at Colgate, 8-of-9 at Navy and 7-of-7 at home versus Colgate. Against Navy (2/13), Mintz shot 9-for-9 from the line. Mintz is currently second in the Patriot League in free throw shooting.

ON THE SIDELINE: The all-time winningest coach in Lafayette history and longest-tenured coach in the Patriot League, Fran O'Hanlon (Villanova, '70) is in his 15th season as the Leopards' head coach. A two-time Patriot League Coach of the Year, O'Hanlon has twice led Lafayette's program to the NCAA Tournament and lays claim to three Patriot League regular-season titles. 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 210-221 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 seven, 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.

LIVE BY THE THREE...DIE BY THE THREE: Lafayette is 51st in the nation (as of 2/21) in three-point field goal percentage (37.5) and 32nd for three-pointers made per game (8.0), but just 328th of 334 teams for three-point field goal percentage defense (39.3%).

STREAKING: Lafayette had a season-long six-game winning streak snapped at Lehigh (1/23). In that span, the Leopards beat Bucknell, Navy, Colgate, Holy Cross, Columbia and Penn. Lafayette also managed two three-game winning streaks earlier in the season. The Leopards also own a four-game and a three-game losing streak.

IF YOU'RE SCORING AT HOME...: Lafayette is averaging 76.8 points per game at home and 69.8 ppg on the road.

DOUBLE-DOUBLE MINTZ: Junior Jared Mintz posted his third double-double of the season with 17 points and 11 rebounds in the Leopards' win over Bucknell on Jan. 20. It was also the fifth double-double of his career. The junior contributed 20 points and 10 rebounds in the season opener vs. Wagner (11/13) and had 18 and 10 against Hartford (11/24).

200 AND STILL GOING: Lafayette head coach Fran O'Hanlon reached the 200-win plateau on Dec. 12 with the Leopards' victory over Long Island. He is the only Lafayette coach to win 200-plus games.

"O" REACHES P.L. LONGEVITY MARK: With his 431st game at the helm of the Lafayette program, Fran O'Hanlon holds the Patriot League all-time mark for games coached. He surpassed retired Bucknell coach Pat Flannery (412).

PLUS EIGHT: With a minimum of three games remaining on the 2009-10 ledger, Lafayette has improved its season win total by eight following an 8-22 campaign in 2008-09.

HANDLING THE BALL: Lafayette boasts a positive season assist/turnover ratio for the first time since 2000-01 (+1.03 • 434/422). Lafayette is +1.13 (404/356) this season. Lafayette had a 1:1 assist/turnover ratio in 2003-04 (429/429).

WILLEN ... PLAYER OF THE WEEK X 2: Sophomore guard Ryan Willen earned Patriot League Player of the Week honors in consecutive weeks. Willen averaged 22.5 points and 6.5 rebounds in two games for the Leopards, who won contests at Colgate (1/13) and Navy (1/16) to win Jan. 18. Willen had 19 points and five boards in 19 minutes in a 95-82 win at Colgate and followed that with 26 points (one shy of his career high), eight rebounds and five assists to lead Lafayette to a 90-77 win at Navy. Willen was Lafayette's first player to receive the honor in consecutive weeks since Brian Ehlers on Feb. 15 and 22, 1998. His first Player of the Week honor (1/11) followed a span when he scored a career-high 27 points on 9-of-11 shooting vs. Columbia (1/6) and registered a 20-point, seven-rebound night vs. Holy Cross in the conference opener Jan. 9. Academically, the Biology major posted a 3.42 GPA in the fall semester while enrolled in Organic Chemistry, Ethics, Introduction to Psychology, Religions in World Cultures and two labs.

WILLEN IN LEAGUE PLAY: Ryan Willen is contributing 13.6 points and 5.1 rebounds per game in the Leopards' Patriot League games and is second on the team in scoring and second in rebounding in those games.

FOR WHAT IT'S WORTH -- THE PATRIOT LEAGUE PRESEASON POLL: Lafayette was chosen eighth in the Patriot League Preseason Poll. The poll was voted on by the conference head coaches and SID's. Holy Cross was picked to finish first with 13 first-place votes, followed by Lehigh, Bucknell, Army, Colgate, American and Navy.

ON THE BLOCK: Senior center Marek Koltun needs just one more block to move into Lafayette's all-time top 10. "Kolt 54" has 51 and one more would tie him with Andrei Capusan '06.

A HELPING HAND: Lafayette has dished out assists on 61 percent of its baskets in the 2009-10 season. At Holy Cross, Lafayette had 14 assists on 16 buckets (88%), the Leopards' worst shooting night all season. That assist percentage mark topped 22 assists on 26 buckets (85 percent) at St. Francis, N.Y. Lafayette's worst performance of the year in terms of assists per basket came in a win against Wagner (9 assists, 25 FG) when the Leopards made up for it by hitting 26-of-31 free throws. In its last outing, Lafayette had 21 assists on 32 baskets (66%) against Lehigh.

D.C. DANDIES: Though players from 11 states and three countries are represented on Lafayette's roster, the Leopards feature three from the geographic cluster that is the D.C. Metro 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. Junior Ben Wheeler played at Chantilly where he garnered first team all-district and second team all-region accolades his senior year. Sophomore Nick Petkovich was an All-IAC Conference First-Team selection from Bullis Prep.

MOWER'S MAJOR MINUTES: Sophomore guard Jim Mower played the first seven games off the bench and has started every game since. Mower enjoyed a breakout game vs. Fairleigh Dickinson (12/9), scoring 23 points on 10-of-16 shooting and has been one of the team's most consistent shooters ever since. Mower knocked down a career-high 25 points against LIU (12/12) on 6-of-7 shooting from the three-point range, a performance that helped earn him his first Patriot League Player of the Week nod. In his last outing, Mower had 16 points vs. Lehigh. The Harleysville, Pa. native is second on the team in scoring with 13.5 ppg in 26 minutes per game. The statistic that stands out the most for Mower is his assist/turnover ratio which is +2.4 (59/25).

FABULOUS FRESHMAN TO SUPER SOPHOMORE?: Sophomore forward Ryan Willen was named to the Patriot League All-Rookie team in 2008-09, the seventh freshman in school history to earn the accolade. This season, Willen is averaging 11.7 points and 4.4 rebounds per game and has 46 assists. Willen had a career-high 27 points against Columbia when he was 9-for-11 from the field (82%). In addition to his work on the court, Willen is enrolled in Organic Chemistry, Introduction to Neuroscience, Quantitative Methods, Applied Behavior Analysis and a lab for the spring semester.

FRESH IMPACT: Freshman Tony Johnson has made a positive impact on the court for the Leopards. Johnson is averaging 18 minutes per game and has 38 assists to 28 turnovers, solid numbers for a freshman who has been asked to handle the ball often. Johnson is also third on the team in steals (26) (13th in the Patriot League). A 6-0 native of Folsom, Calif., Johnson is the only true point guard on the team. Johnson was 7-for-7 from the line and finished with nine points while also adding three assists in 18 minutes against FDU (12/9). He has missed three games due to an ankle injury. Fellow first-year player Levi Giese has seen action in 24 games while averaging 1.3 points and 1.0 rebounds per game. A 6-9 forward, Giese comes from Tulsa, Okla. and brings solid perimeter skills. Giese played 18 minutes with two three-pointers and five rebounds at Bucknell.

NEC TITLE?: The Leopards finished a slate of six games against Northeast Conference (NEC) teams with a 5-1 record, beating Wagner, St. Francis (Pa.), Fairleigh Dickinson, Long Island and St. Francis (N.Y.) with the only loss coming to Sacred Heart.

FACEBOOK/TWITTER:Fans can follow Lafayette basketball on Facebook at facebook.com/lafayette.leopard and Twitter at twitter.com/goleopards .

MEET THE CAPTAINS: Senior guards Jeff Kari and Mike Gruner are holding leadership roles for the 2009-10 season. Kari, who served as a co-captain last season, played in all 30 games as a junior, starting 27 and was second on the team in scoring. This season, the Lisle, Ill. native is averaging 9.8 ppg and 2.3 apg. Coming out of high school, Kari was an all-state selection at Lisle Senior High School where he set seven school records and was a two-way player on the football team (wide receiver and defensive back). Gruner is averaging 7.4 ppg and leads the team with 70 assists (2.5 apg) and 43 steals (1.6 spg). He was a mainstay in the lineup the past two seasons. In 2008-09, he was the team's steadiest ballhandler, dishing out 61 assists to 44 turnovers for a 1.4 assist/turnover ratio and 196 points (8.2 ppg). Gruner is also a Marquis Scholar, the college's most prestigious academic scholarship. Coming out of Bethesda, Md., Gruner led his Walt Whitman high school squad to the Maryland 4A state title while earning Gazette Co-Player of the Year honors along with the NBA's 2007-08 Rookie of the Year Kevin Durant then of Montrose Christian.

SOLID START: The Leopards' 4-1 start was the best since 2003-04 when Lafayette began the season 6-1. Lafayette finished 18-10 that season.

LAFAYETTE VS. THE PATRIOT LEAGUE: Lafayette has played 651 games against the seven members of the Patriot League, and has a 353-298 record in all games against them. In Patriot League play, Lafayette is 111-156 in the regular season and 10-17 in the Patriot League Tournament. Under Fran O'Hanlon, the Leopards are 97-103 in conference regular-season play. American 16-25 Army 35-22 Bucknell 85-60 Colgate 39-46 Holy Cross 15-31 Lehigh 138-74 Navy 25-40

SIX IS GOOD: The Leopards had six players score in double figures against Hartford on Nov. 24. Jared Mintz led the way with 18, followed by Darion Benbow (career-high 15), Michael Gruner (13), Jim Mower (13), Jeff Kari (10) and Ryan Willen (10). The last time Lafayette had six players score in double figures, including all five starters, was Nov. 28, 2007 in an 81-69 win over Penn. Gruner is the only Lafayette player to have scored 10+ in both of those games.

THE HARDWOOD AND THE GRIDIRON: Lafayette's win over Penn on Jan. 3 marked the third time the Leopards defeated the Quakers in both football and basketball. The 77-62 victory over Penn combined with the 20-17 (OT) Lafayette football win at Fisher Stadium on Sept. 26, 2009, marked the third time the Leopards defeated Penn in football and basketball in the same season. In 2007, the basketball team defeated Penn 81-69 and defeated its football team 8-7. In 1999, football won 20-12 at Franklin Field and the basketball team notched an 83-72 win.

FRESH FACES: Head coach Fran O'Hanlon added two new coaches to his staff this season. Pat Doherty is a familiar face to the Lafayette program, graduating from Lafayette in 2004. Doherty was an assistant coach at Williams College in 2008-09, helping lead Williams to a 17-9 overall record. In 2007-08 Doherty served as an assistant coach at The College of New Jersey (TCNJ). Matt Blue holds down the final assistant coaching spot. Blue, a 2007 graduate of St. Lawrence comes to Lafayette after spending the 2008-09 season at Susquehanna University in Selinsgrove, Pa. He helped lead the Crusaders to an 18-8 overall mark and a 13-3 finish in the Landmark Conference.

BASKETBALL IQ: Lafayette placed a program-best three student-athletes on the Patriot League Academic Honor Roll during the 2008-09 season. The distinction recognizes those individuals who have earned a varsity letter and maintained a 3.2 GPA during the spring semester. Senior Michael Gruner and sophomores Rob Delaney and Andy Moore each earned a nod.

AROUND THE WORLD: Three international players are featured on the roster for tonight's matchup. Lafayette boasts three international players in Jared Mintz (Toronto, Canada), Marek Koltun (Krakow, Poland) and Deirunas Visockas (Lithuania).

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 2,403 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.

ON THE RADIO: The road games of the 2009-10 Lafayette men's basketball season will air on WSAN-AM 1470 "The Fox." Entering his 43rd season as the radio voice of Lafayette athletics, Dick Hammer will continue to call the play-by-play action. Joining Hammer courtside for most contests will be Lafayette Sports Information Director Phil LaBella.

LAFAYETTE ON TV: The Leopards had 13 of their regular-season games televised during the 2009-10 season. The Leopards also led the Patriot League with seven nationally-televised games, as MASN (available through both DIRECTV and DISH Network) aired six of Lafayette's home league contests on a tape-delay basis. Emmy-nominated local sports broadcaster Gary Laubach handled all of Lafayette's play-by-play duties for the 13th straight season. Former Lafayette men's basketball coach John Leone provided color analysis for the 11th season. CBS College Sports carried the Lehigh game (2/21) and will carry the Lafayette-American game on Saturday, Feb. 27.