Leopards Play Back-to-Back

Leopards Play Back-to-Back

Lafayette hosts Princeton and Susquehanna


Lafayette welcomes Ivy League favorite Princeton on Tuesday.
Nov. 29, 2010


EASTON, Pa. -


Complete Game Notes in PDF Format

GAME 7 • November 30, 2010


Matchup: Lafayette (1-5) vs. Princeton (3-3)
Tip-off: 7:00 p.m.
Site: Easton, Pa.
Arena: Kirby Sports Center (3,500)
TV: Lafayette Sports Network (RCN-4&8, WBPH-60), Gary Laubach, John Leone, Scott Barr
Internet: LSN All-Access on www.GoLeopards.com
Radio: WJRH-FM 104.9 Dick Hammer


GAME 8 • December 1, 2010


Matchup: Lafayette vs. Susquehanna (1-4)
Tip-off: 7:00 p.m.
Site: Easton, Pa.
Arena: Kirby Sports Center (3,500)
TV: None
Internet: LSN All-Access on www.GoLeopards.com, Matt Provence, Scott Morse
Radio: WJRH-FM 104.9 Dick Hammer


MATCH UP: The Leopards play games two and three of their five-game homestand early in the week, hosting Princeton (3-3) on Tuesday and Susquehanna (1-4) on Wednesday.

BACK-TO-BACK: Lafayette is playing back-to-back games for the first time since the 2000-01 season when Lafayette played Yale and La Salle on consecutive days of the University of California Golden Bear Classic in Berkeley, Calif.

LAST TIME OUT: Jared Mintz led Lafayette with 22 points and a career-high six assists in a 67-64 loss to Delaware on Saturday. Mintz drilled a pair of free throws to tie the game 59-59 with 1:30 left. Jim Mower contributed 11 points while sophomore Tony Johnson brought down a career-high 10 rebounds to go along with nine points before fouling out in the final seconds. REBOUNDING FROM AN UNEXPECED PLACE: Sophomore guard Tony Johnson had a career-high 10 rebounds on Saturday against Delaware. Johnson is leading the team with 5.3 rpg.

REBOUNDING IS A TEAM EFFORT: Against Delaware, eight Lafayette players had a rebound and six players had two or more. For the season, Tony Johnson (5.3 rpg), Jared Mintz (4.3 rpg) and Ryan Willen (4.3 rpg) lead the team on the glass. On average, however, the Leopards are being out-rebounded by nearly seven boards per game.

BACK HOME: Lafayette's five-game homestand is the longest since 2007-08. It is just the second time during Fran O'Hanlon's 16 seasons that Lafayette has played five straight at home and the fifth time playing four or more. The Leopards were 13-3 at home in 2009-10, including two wins in the Patriot League Tournament to advance to the conference championship game.

BENBOW's BACK: Senior small forward Darion Benbow was certainly in the coaching staff's game plan entering the season, but a broken thumb suffered during preseason practice forced him to miss the first four games of the season. Benbow made his season debut at Penn and Fran O'Hanlon wasn't hesitant to use him, especially after his defensive contributions early on. Benbow finished the game having played 15 minutes with two points, two rebounds and a block. Against Delaware, Benbow took the start instead of guard Jim Mower and played 20 minutes with three rebounds, a block and an assist.

NEXT UP: After playing back-to-back games with Princeton and Susquehanna, Lafayette hosts Sacred Heart on Monday.

Meet the Captains: Jared Mintz, a preseason All-Patriot League selection, and Ben Wheeler are holding the leadership reins for the 2010-11 season. Mintz is the team's leading scorer (16.3 ppg) and second in rebounding (4.3 rpg). Wheeler averages 5.2 ppg, 2.8 rpg and has 19 assists this season.

NATIONAL LEADER: According to the latest NCAA report of Division I institutions, Lafayette College ranks third in the nation in student-athlete graduation success rate (GSR). The Leopards post an impressive 97 percent GSR, ranking well above the national GSR for Division I student-athletes of 79 percent.

CONTRIBUTING IN OTHER WAYS: As the team's point guard, sophomore Tony Johnson's first inclination is to pass. That said, he leads the team with 23 assists (3.8 per game) eight steals (1.3 spg) and 32 rebounds (5.3 rpg). In terms of scoring, he is contributing 5.7 ppg.

VS. THE IVY LEAGUE: The Leopards take on their second Ivy League opponent of the season. Lafayette is 85-124 all-time vs. the Ancient Eight.

Brown 11-8 Harvard 2-3 Columbia 28-12 Penn 5-39 Cornell 11-7 Princeton 18-44 Dartmouth 3-2 Yale 7-9

AT THE LINE: The Leopards are shooting 81 percent from the free throw line for the 2010-11 season. Lafayette has converted 84-of-104 from the stripe led by a 34-of-40 (85%) seasonal clip from Jared Mintz and a 23-of-26 (89%) effort from Ryan Willen. Last season, Lafayette shot 76 percent from the foul line and was ranked eighth in the nation.

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 16th season as the Leopards' head coach. A three-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 214-228 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.

NATIONALLY RANKED FOES: It's not a weekly occurrence that Lafayette faces nationally-ranked opponents which it did vs. No. 6/7 Villanova on Nov. 20 and will again on Dec. 29 at Gonzaga. The last time Lafayette beat a nationally ranked opponent was Dec. 2, 1978, a 77-70 victory over Rutgers. The last conference game that pitted Lafayette against a ranked opponent was Feb. 15, 2006, a 69-49 loss to Bucknell.

AT THE LINE: The Leopards are shooting 81 percent from the free throw line for the 2010-11 season. Lafayette has converted 84-of-104 from the stripe led by an 23-for-26 (89%) seasonal clip from Ryan Willen and a 34-for-40 (85%) effort from Jared Mintz. Last season, Lafayette shot 76 percent from the foul line and was ranked eighth in the nation.

LEAGUE HISTORY: Jared Mintz was the first player in conference history to lead the Patriot League in free throw and field goal percentage in the same season. Mintz shot a Patriot League-best 54.2 percent from the floor and 87.3 percent (131-150) from the line.

30+ CLUB: Junior Jim Mower scored 31 points against Rider, going 8-for-11 from three-point range. Andrew Brown '09 was the last Leopard to reach 30 points when he scored 31 points against Robert Morris on Dec. 17, 2008.

THE PRESEASON POLL: Lafayette was selected third in the Patriot League Preseason Poll. The Leopards, who received two first-place votes and 73 points overall, were selected behind American (seven first-place votes, 79 points) and Bucknell (three first-place votes, 76 points) but ahead of Holy Cross (two first-place votes, 70 points), Lehigh (two first-place votes, 69 points), Navy (35 points), Colgate (31 points) and Army (15 points). The poll is voted on by the conference head coaches and sports information directors.

IN THE RANKS: Nine of Lafayette's non-conference opponents were picked to finish within the top five of their respective leagues in the preseason polls. Three teams were selected to finish atop of their conferences, NJIT, Princeton and Gonzaga. Lafayette will tip off against five opponents from the Northeast Conference -- the most of any one conference on the schedule.

2009-10 NCAA INDIVUDAL RANKINGS: In 2009-10, Jim Mower ranked third nationally for three-point field goal percentage (47.5%) and 32nd in three-point field goals per game (2.9). Jared Mintz was 23rd in the country in free throw percentage (87.3%). As a team, Lafayette finished fifth in free-throw percentage (76.4). The 2010-11 NCAA rankings will not be available until December.

THE NEW GUY: Head coach Fran O'Hanlon added a new face to his coaching staff this season. Donovan Williams is in the midst of his first season at Lafayette under O'Hanlon. Williams came to College Hill from Holy Family University in Philadelphia where he was an assistant coach under first-year Holy Family head coach and former Lafayette assistant coach John O'Connor. The Williams name is well-known in coaching, as Williams' father, George, was a high school coach for more than 30 years in Georgia and Alabama. Williams' brother, Pershin, was an assistant at Lafayette under O'Hanlon in 2008-09, before taking an assistant coaching job at Georgia Southern University prior to the 2009-10 season.

NEW PLAYERS: Head coach Fran O'Hanlon brought in three new players to the Lafayette roster this season. The first, Jake Kreuser, comes from Mendota Heights, Minn. The 7-0, 225-pound center adds size and depth to the frontcourt, provides solid defensive presence and will supplement Leopards' rebounding efforts. Les Smith hails from Cotati, Calif. The 6-0 guard is versatile combo guard who can play multiple positions. He is a natural scorer but can play the point guard position if called upon. Smith defends well and has proven to be very good at penetrating to the basket. The final freshman, Jack Detmer comes from Scarsdale, N.Y. Detmer is a tough player who has an excellent feel for the game. He shows a knack for making hustle plays while being a solid team defender. His brother, Ted '08, was a four-year letterwinner for the Leopards.

LAFAYETTE ON TELEVISION: Lafayette will lead the Patriot League with at least 13 of its regular-season games televised during the 2010-11 season. The Leopards will also lead the Patriot League with at least nine nationally-televised games, as MASN (available through both DIRECTV and DISH Network) will air Lafayette's entire slate of home league contests on a tape-delay basis for the third straight season. Emmy-nominated local sports broadcaster Gary Laubach will handle all of Lafayette's play-by-play duties for the 14th straight season. Former Lafayette men's basketball coach John Leone will provide color analysis for the 12th season.

BASKETBALL IQ: Lafayette placed six student-athletes on the Patriot League Academic Honor Roll during the 2009-10 season. The distinction recognizes those individuals who have earned a varsity letter and maintained a 3.2 GPA during the spring semester. Michael Gruner '10, senior Deirunas Visockas, juniors Rob Delaney, Jim Mower, Ryan Willen and Alex Orchowski (transferred to Tufts) were honored.

TOPS IN THE NATION: The Leopards made all 19 of their free throws against Colgate (2/10/10), the best mark in the nation in 2009-10. It topped Kentucky's mark of 18-of-18 on Dec. 19, 2009.

PATRIOT HONORS: In 2009-10, Lafayette head coach Fran O'Hanlon was named Patriot League Men's Basketball Coach of the Year and two of his student-athletes earned All-Patriot League recognition with forward Jared Mintz earning first-team honors and forward Ryan Willen collecting second-team laurels. O'Hanlon received his third Patriot League Coach of the Year award, and first since claiming back-to-back honors in 1997-98 and 1998-99, the first Patriot League coach to win the award consecutively. Mintz was likely the most-improved player in the conference and was the first Lafayette player to earn first-team honors since Winston Davis and Justin DeBerry in 2003-04. Willen was an All-Rookie pick in 2008-09 before securing second-team honors. He averaged 12.0 points and 4.4 rebounds per game overall and 13.9 ppg and 4.9 rpg in conference action.

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.

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

ON THE RADIO: All of the 2010-11 Lafayette men's basketball regular season and each of the Leopards' postseason games will air WJRH-FM 104.9. In his 44th 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, Philip LaBella to provide color analysis.

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