'Pards carry the flag
Another tough night for league teams, with Lehigh getting spanked at Villanova and Air Force continuing its domination of Navy. Only Lafayette managed to save face for the league, knocking off Princeton to provide an unexpected boost in the league's season series with the Ivies.
Lafayette 57, Princeton 46 -- Lafayette holds Princeton to 13 points in the first half and goes on to knock off the Tigers 57-46, raising the inevitable question: Is Princeton that bad or is Lafayette much better than expected? Ted Detmer, a 6-7 sophomore, had a big game for the 'Pards, 10 points, 8 boards, 4 steals. Bilal Abdullah, another soph, led Lafayette with 15 points. Abdullah also pulled 7 rebounds. Senior Andrei Capusan (6-7) also reached double figures with 10 points on 5-of-6 shooting. Detmer, Capusan and Abdullah were a combined 14-for-19 from the field. The rest of the Leopards: 7-for-27.
Box score AP story Express-Times Trenton Times Newark Star-Ledger
Villanova 84, Lehigh 47 --Allan Ray hit 8 threes, Randy Foye added 5 more. This is what happens to teams when Villanova shoots like that. All told, a school record 17 threes for Nova.
Potential good news for Lehigh: freshman John Gourlay had 8 points. Jose Olivero (15) was the only Lehigh player to score more.
Box score Allentown Morning Call Philadelphia Inquirer Philly Daily News Daily Local News
Air Force 64, Navy 55 -- Backup center John Frye, a 6-foot-10 junior from Fredericksburg, who had played all of 29 minutes in his first two seasons at Air Force, started for the first time and scored 26 points to lead the Fly Boys, whose seniors have never lost to Navy.
Fry, who had just 20 points in his career entering the game, filled in for injured center Nick Welch, who is out for the season.
Another tough night for Navy's Matt Fannin, who is out of the starting lineup for the Mids. Fannin played just 13 minutes, fouling out with 7 points. Guards Corey Johnson and Kaleo Kina eachhad 14 points for the Mids.
Box score AP story Baltimore Sun
Read more!
Lafayette 57, Princeton 46 -- Lafayette holds Princeton to 13 points in the first half and goes on to knock off the Tigers 57-46, raising the inevitable question: Is Princeton that bad or is Lafayette much better than expected? Ted Detmer, a 6-7 sophomore, had a big game for the 'Pards, 10 points, 8 boards, 4 steals. Bilal Abdullah, another soph, led Lafayette with 15 points. Abdullah also pulled 7 rebounds. Senior Andrei Capusan (6-7) also reached double figures with 10 points on 5-of-6 shooting. Detmer, Capusan and Abdullah were a combined 14-for-19 from the field. The rest of the Leopards: 7-for-27.
Villanova 84, Lehigh 47 --Allan Ray hit 8 threes, Randy Foye added 5 more. This is what happens to teams when Villanova shoots like that. All told, a school record 17 threes for Nova.
Potential good news for Lehigh: freshman John Gourlay had 8 points. Jose Olivero (15) was the only Lehigh player to score more.
Air Force 64, Navy 55 -- Backup center John Frye, a 6-foot-10 junior from Fredericksburg, who had played all of 29 minutes in his first two seasons at Air Force, started for the first time and scored 26 points to lead the Fly Boys, whose seniors have never lost to Navy.
Fry, who had just 20 points in his career entering the game, filled in for injured center Nick Welch, who is out for the season.
Another tough night for Navy's Matt Fannin, who is out of the starting lineup for the Mids. Fannin played just 13 minutes, fouling out with 7 points. Guards Corey Johnson and Kaleo Kina eachhad 14 points for the Mids.
Read more!
'Pards, Gate give PL lead over Ivies
Lafayette 57, Cornell 43: Look out naysayers. Fran O'Hanlon's Leopards are 3-2 and just wins over Penn and Harvard away from claiming the Ivy League crown. Or at least they would be if they played Harvard (Lafayette is at Penn Jan. 16).
How this success will translate against scholarship schools is anybody's guess, but with back-to-back wins over Princeton and Cornell, Lafayette has shown one thing for sure: The 'Pards can D it up. Lafayette limited Cornell to 17 first half points, 43 for the game, and just 30 percent shooting from the floor. This just two days after doing a similar number on Princeton.
Yes, this is the same team that gave up 80 points to Division III Alvernia. Go figure.
Bilal Abdullah again was in double figures, finishing with 10 points. Paul Cummins had 12 off the bench to lead Lafayette. Nobody in double figures for Cornell.
Combined with Colgates double OT win over Dartmouth, the Patriot League has taken the lead in the season series with the Ivy League.
Our old friend Corky Blake said it best in his game story in the Express-Times: Box score Morning Call story Ithaca Journal story Cornell Daily Sun story
Connecticut 68, Army 54: A sluggish start for No. 3 UConn allowed Army to hang around. But the Black Knights simply lacked the firepower to take advantage of the Huskies off night. UConn outscored Army 30-8 in the paint. The Huskies outrebounded the Black Knights 41-26 and scored 31 points off 19 Army turnovers.
A quick synopsis from the Stamford (Ct.) Advocate goes something like this:
AP Story Box score Play-by-play Photo gallery Record-Journal story Hartford Courant story Hartford Courant sidebar New Haven Register story Times Herald-Record story Waterbury Republican-American story
Colgate 65, Dartmouth 64 (2 OT): From the AP story:
Box score
Loyola (Md.) 68, American 60: Down 20 at the half, AU battled back to get within one, but could not quite dig themselves out of the hole they dug themselves into in the first half.
Lina Lekavicius, Derrick Mercer and Arvydas Eitutavicius each finsihed with 14 for AU. Andre Ingram was held to 6.
Box score Baltimore Sun story
Lehigh 67, Eastern 48: Kyle Neptune scored 18 points on six-of-nine shooting. Jason Mgebroff added a season-high 10 points, while freshman Greg Page was also in double figures against Division III Eastern with a career-best 10 points.
Box score
Read more!
How this success will translate against scholarship schools is anybody's guess, but with back-to-back wins over Princeton and Cornell, Lafayette has shown one thing for sure: The 'Pards can D it up. Lafayette limited Cornell to 17 first half points, 43 for the game, and just 30 percent shooting from the floor. This just two days after doing a similar number on Princeton.
Yes, this is the same team that gave up 80 points to Division III Alvernia. Go figure.
Bilal Abdullah again was in double figures, finishing with 10 points. Paul Cummins had 12 off the bench to lead Lafayette. Nobody in double figures for Cornell.
Combined with Colgates double OT win over Dartmouth, the Patriot League has taken the lead in the season series with the Ivy League.
Our old friend Corky Blake said it best in his game story in the Express-Times:
The undersized Leopards (3-2), win or lose, will be fun to watch this winter.
Connecticut 68, Army 54: A sluggish start for No. 3 UConn allowed Army to hang around. But the Black Knights simply lacked the firepower to take advantage of the Huskies off night. UConn outscored Army 30-8 in the paint. The Huskies outrebounded the Black Knights 41-26 and scored 31 points off 19 Army turnovers.
A quick synopsis from the Stamford (Ct.) Advocate goes something like this:
Frankly, UConn played like it was still five time zones away in Hawaii where it captured the Maui Invitational.Jarell Brown led Army with 26 points on 11-of-20 shooting, including 4 treys.
"We out-talented Army. But they outworked us," Calhoun said. "We were loggy (lethargic). Army grinded the game down. And we played along by making bad decision after bad decision after bad decision."
The Cadets (2-3) were skinny but disciplined Lilliputians on the court, milking the 35-second shot clock each and every possession. Army actually led 22-16 with 6:50 remaining in the first half.
Colgate 65, Dartmouth 64 (2 OT): From the AP story:
Jon Simon scored 16 points and made a 16-foot jumper with less than a second left in double overtime to give Colgate a 65-64 win over Dartmouth Tuesday night.Kendall Chones returned to the Colgate lineup and scored 8 points in 31 minutes of action. Also, Marc Daniels, the 6-9 center that Emmitt Davis raved about in the preseason, has apparently lost his starting job after averaging around 3 rebounds and 2 points per game as a starter in the 'Gate's first five contests.
Alvin Reed, Kyle Chones and Kyle Roemer each scored 11 points for the Raiders (3-3).
Loyola (Md.) 68, American 60: Down 20 at the half, AU battled back to get within one, but could not quite dig themselves out of the hole they dug themselves into in the first half.
Lina Lekavicius, Derrick Mercer and Arvydas Eitutavicius each finsihed with 14 for AU. Andre Ingram was held to 6.
Lehigh 67, Eastern 48: Kyle Neptune scored 18 points on six-of-nine shooting. Jason Mgebroff added a season-high 10 points, while freshman Greg Page was also in double figures against Division III Eastern with a career-best 10 points.
Read more!
Bison look to avoid fall
ESPN | CBS Sportsline | PennLive.com | Yahoo! | Mid-Majority.com
BUCKNELL at Niagara 7 p.m.: This is no gimme for the Bison. Niagara, who like Bucknell appeared in the NCAA Tournament last season, has an 18 game win streak in the Gallagher Center. Granted, this is a very different Purple Eagles team, one that graduated three starters, including guard Alvin Cruz, who had 21 points against the Bison in last year's 76-74 BU win at Sojka, and forward Juan Mendez, who had 18. But forward J.R. Duffy, who had 11 points and 12 rebounds against BU last season, is back. Four of Niagara's five starters are averaging in double figures, led by swingman Charron Fisher, a 6-3 sophomore who is averaging 20 ppg while shooting 54.5 percent from three-point range. Junior guard Lorenzo Miles is close behind at 17.7 ppg. Clif Brown, a 6-7 junior is averaging 14 ppg and Duffy is chipping in 10.7 ppg. The fifth starter, 6-6 senior James Mathis, is averaging 9.7 ppg.
Depth, though, is a problem for Niagara. Only two other players have scored for the Purple Eagles and between them they are averaging about 5 combined points per game.
Turnovers have also been a concern for Niagara, Through three games they have 43 turnovers and only 27 assists. Shooting has also been a concern. The Purple Eagles are shooting only 41.6 percent as a team. Neither of those stats bode well against Bucknell's defense.
One strength for Niagara has been free throw shooting. The Purple Eagles have been to the line 23 times more than their opponents (84-61) and have been taking full advantage, shooting 81 percent from the stripe.
Bucknell notes | Niagara notes | USA Today matchup |Bucknell Radio
Read more!
Perceptions have changed
Check out the headline of the prep sports roundup in today's Los Angeles Daily News:
Just another little sign of how Bucknell's stature has changed in the past 11 months.
Read more!
Bucknell-bound senior leads Chaminade boys' basketball team to victoryA year ago, the Daily News would probably have written "Chaminade's Evans leads ..." Not enough folks in L.A. would have recognized Bucknell for it to be a significant descriptor. It might have been mentioned in the story that Evans is signed with the Bison, but in a headline? In L.A.? Highly doubtful.
Just another little sign of how Bucknell's stature has changed in the past 11 months.
Read more!
Join the revolution
(Originally posted Monday at 9:32 p.m., updated at 7:38 a.m.)
Holy Cross shook up its lineup but could not shake out a win at Vermont.
Pat Doherty and Lawrence Dixon started in place of Kevin Hamilton and Torey Thomas at the guard spots, with Colin Cunningham instead of Alex Vander Baan at one of the forwards.
According to the story in the Worcester Telegram & Gazette News, Willard sat the three starters because of an unspecified attitude problem during a film session Monday:
.All three players did see action off of the bench. The loss could hardly be blamed on their not starting.
It was the Crusaders big men who were a problem. Kevin Hyland and Alex Vander Baan both fouled out and Tim Clifford had three personals in the first half. All while trying to slow Vermont junior center Martin Klimes, who finished with 22 points to lead all scorers.
Willard told the T&G:
Holy Cross battled back, cutting it to 67-64 with 16 seconds to go, but could get no closer.
HC's defense was better in the second half, holding Vermont to 36 percent shooting. But the way Vermont dominated the glass, it hardly mattered. Klimes finished with 9 boards. Forward Chris Holm chipped in with an 11-points, 11-rebounds double-double. As a team, Vermont outrebounded HC 40-22.
Guard Mike Trimboli was also a headache for HC, scoring 21 points, most of which came from the foul line.
Keith Simmons led Holy Cross with 18 points. Hamilton chipped in with 14. Doherty was 4-for-4 from the arc for 12 points. Box score Burlington Free Press
Read more!
Holy Cross shook up its lineup but could not shake out a win at Vermont.
Pat Doherty and Lawrence Dixon started in place of Kevin Hamilton and Torey Thomas at the guard spots, with Colin Cunningham instead of Alex Vander Baan at one of the forwards.
According to the story in the Worcester Telegram & Gazette News, Willard sat the three starters because of an unspecified attitude problem during a film session Monday:
"This was not a disciplinary action," Willard noted. "We do certain things in this program at a particular attitude level, and they weren't at their level at (Monday's) film session. Nobody was late and nobody missed anything. The attention to detail wasn't being done."Ironically, the situation happened a day before a story would appear in Thomas' hometown paper in which Torey talked about the need for him to play a leadershiprole on this year's team.
.All three players did see action off of the bench. The loss could hardly be blamed on their not starting.
It was the Crusaders big men who were a problem. Kevin Hyland and Alex Vander Baan both fouled out and Tim Clifford had three personals in the first half. All while trying to slow Vermont junior center Martin Klimes, who finished with 22 points to lead all scorers.
Willard told the T&G:
"We got into foul trouble right away and their 43 free throws to our 13 -- that's quite a disparity," Crusader head coach Ralph Willard said. "The rebound edge hurt us, too, but the free throws determined the game."Vermont shot 53 percent from the floor in the first half, building a 34-36 lead. The Crusaders came back to take the lead briefly in the second half, then Vermont went on a 12-0 run to take control.
Holy Cross battled back, cutting it to 67-64 with 16 seconds to go, but could get no closer.
HC's defense was better in the second half, holding Vermont to 36 percent shooting. But the way Vermont dominated the glass, it hardly mattered. Klimes finished with 9 boards. Forward Chris Holm chipped in with an 11-points, 11-rebounds double-double. As a team, Vermont outrebounded HC 40-22.
Guard Mike Trimboli was also a headache for HC, scoring 21 points, most of which came from the foul line.
Keith Simmons led Holy Cross with 18 points. Hamilton chipped in with 14. Doherty was 4-for-4 from the arc for 12 points.
Read more!
HC falls in Vermont
(Originally posted Monday at 9:32 p.m., updated at 7:38 a.m.)
Holy Cross shook up its lineup but could not shake out a win at Vermont.
Pat Doherty and Lawrence Dixon started in place of Kevin Hamilton and Torey Thomas at the guard spots, with Colin Cunningham instead of Alex Vander Baan at one of the forwards.
According to the story in the Worcester Telegram & Gazette News, Willard sat the three starters because of an unspecified attitude problem during a film session Monday:
.All three players did see action off of the bench. The loss could hardly be blamed on their not starting.
It was the Crusaders big men who were a problem. Kevin Hyland and Alex Vander Baan both fouled out and Tim Clifford had three personals in the first half. All while trying to slow Vermont junior center Martin Klimes, who finished with 22 points to lead all scorers.
Willard told the T&G:
Holy Cross battled back, cutting it to 67-64 with 16 seconds to go, but could get no closer.
HC's defense was better in the second half, holding Vermont to 36 percent shooting. But the way Vermont dominated the glass, it hardly mattered. Klimes finished with 9 boards. Forward Chris Holm chipped in with an 11-points, 11-rebounds double-double. As a team, Vermont outrebounded HC 40-22.
Guard Mike Trimboli was also a headache for HC, scoring 21 points, most of which came from the foul line.
Keith Simmons led Holy Cross with 18 points. Hamilton chipped in with 14. Doherty was 4-for-4 from the arc for 12 points. Box score Burlington Free Press
Read more!
Holy Cross shook up its lineup but could not shake out a win at Vermont.
Pat Doherty and Lawrence Dixon started in place of Kevin Hamilton and Torey Thomas at the guard spots, with Colin Cunningham instead of Alex Vander Baan at one of the forwards.
According to the story in the Worcester Telegram & Gazette News, Willard sat the three starters because of an unspecified attitude problem during a film session Monday:
"This was not a disciplinary action," Willard noted. "We do certain things in this program at a particular attitude level, and they weren't at their level at (Monday's) film session. Nobody was late and nobody missed anything. The attention to detail wasn't being done."Ironically, the situation happened a day before a story would appear in Thomas' hometown paper in which Torey talked about the need for him to play a leadershiprole on this year's team.
.All three players did see action off of the bench. The loss could hardly be blamed on their not starting.
It was the Crusaders big men who were a problem. Kevin Hyland and Alex Vander Baan both fouled out and Tim Clifford had three personals in the first half. All while trying to slow Vermont junior center Martin Klimes, who finished with 22 points to lead all scorers.
Willard told the T&G:
"We got into foul trouble right away and their 43 free throws to our 13 -- that's quite a disparity," Crusader head coach Ralph Willard said. "The rebound edge hurt us, too, but the free throws determined the game."Vermont shot 53 percent from the floor in the first half, building a 34-36 lead. The Crusaders came back to take the lead briefly in the second half, then Vermont went on a 12-0 run to take control.
Holy Cross battled back, cutting it to 67-64 with 16 seconds to go, but could get no closer.
HC's defense was better in the second half, holding Vermont to 36 percent shooting. But the way Vermont dominated the glass, it hardly mattered. Klimes finished with 9 boards. Forward Chris Holm chipped in with an 11-points, 11-rebounds double-double. As a team, Vermont outrebounded HC 40-22.
Guard Mike Trimboli was also a headache for HC, scoring 21 points, most of which came from the foul line.
Keith Simmons led Holy Cross with 18 points. Hamilton chipped in with 14. Doherty was 4-for-4 from the arc for 12 points.
Read more!
5 teams in action tonight
ESPN | CBS Sportsline | PennLive.com | Yahoo!
Dartmouth at COLGATE 7 p.m.: Dartmouth comes in 1-1 with a win over UC Davis, a loss to Boston College. Coached by Terry Dunn, former Penn State coach Jerry Dunn's twin brother, Dartmounth has eight freshmen on its 17 man roster, but only one, guard DeVon Mosley, sees significant minutes. Junior guard Leon Pattman (6-2) does not start, but he leads Dartmouth in scoring (13.5 ppg) and rebounding (6.5 rpg). 6-3 senior Mike Lang is also in double figures, averaging 12.5 ppg with 7-of-11 shooting from the arc thus far. No other Dartmouth player has more than 2 treys. Colgate's Kendall Chones, who missed the past two games with an ankle injury, is not listed as a starter in the Raiders' game notes. He is listed with the reserves, with no further update on his availability. With him, the 'Gate ought to win this one at home. Without Kendall Chones, its a pick 'em sort of game.
Colgate notes (pdf) | Dartmouth notes | USA Today matchup | Live Stats | 'Gate radio
AMERICAN at Loyola (Md.) 9 p.m.:A late start for Comcast Sports Net (Mid-Atlantic) for a game against American's most-played rivalry. In the 79 years AU has had a team, it has played Loyola 77 times. AU comes in winless in three starts. Loyola is 2-0 with wins over Towson and UMBC. Senior guard Andre COllins (6-0) leads Loyola, averaging 21.5 ppg.
AU notes | Loyola notes | USA Today matchup | Loyola radio
ARMY at Connecticut 7 p.m.: A matchup of one of the worst teams in Division I and one of the best. How great is the divide between these two programs? If Army loses by less than 25 points it would be an upset. As the preview in the Bristol Press points out, "The undersized Black Knights have nearly matched their win total from last year, when they went 3-24. But the good news for Army ends there."
Army notes (pdf) | UConn notes | USA Today matchup
Cornell at LAFAYETTE 7 p.m.: Leopards look to make it three-in-a-row when Ivy upstarts Cornell come to town. Cornell already has a win over a Kendall Chones-less Colgate and looks to make it 2-0 vs. Patriot League teams. Familiarity is the theme. The 2-3 Big Red are coached by Steve Donahue, who was an assistant to Fran O'Hanlon at Monsignor Bonner HS during the 1987-88 campaign, helping guide Bonner to the Philadelphia Catholic League championship. Both men later served as assistant coaches at Penn under Fran Dunphy. Cornell sophomore Khaliq Gant and Lafayette sophomore Bilal Abdullah were teammates Marion-Tabor Academy.
Lafayette notes | Cornell notes | USA Today matchup | Gametracker
Eastern at LEHIGH 7 p.m.: D-3 Eastern comes in 3-0 after winning the first-ever men's game played at Immaculata College. The Eagles have nobody on the roster over 6-6. The other two Eastern wins came over Valley Forge Christian and Maryland Bible, proving there are cupcakes at every level. This time, though, Eastern gets to be on the other side of that equation.
Lehigh notes | Eastern Web site | USA Today matchup
Read more!
Vitale gives Flannery props
In his weekly awards column at ESPN.com, Dick Vitale proclaims:
Read more!
COACH OF THE WEEK: Pat Flannery, Bucknell
Last season, he led the Bison to upsets over Pittsburgh and Kansas. This season, an experienced Bucknell team went into the Carrier Dome and stunned Jim Boeheim's ranked Orange. Bucknell didn't have any letdown when it beat Yale to end the week, 87-60.
Read more!
Katz meows
From this afternoon's ESPN.com: SPORTSNATION Chat with hoops guru Andy Katz:
As for the undefeated Bison at Duke in January, I am sure a network showing that game nationally would love that maybe even more than the Bucknell fans. Not sure it is very realiztic, though. Time, of course, will tell.
Read more!
Dave, Washington DC: Can you give Syracuse some respect for playing Bucknell. A mid-major that others are scared to play and we learned why. I don't want to have ESPN call Syracuse's schedule a cupcake schedule when they play the top mid majors in the country that others are afraid of.Memo to Andy: The Villanova game is the middle of a two-for-one deal, with the Bison returning to Villanova next year. That deal was done before Bucknell started knocking off people last season. It does not hurt, either, that Nova coach Jay Wright is a BU alum.
Andy Katz: (4:19 PM ET ) Syracuse has done a tremendous job this season of scheduling traditionally tough mid-major teams (UTEP, Kent State and TCU are on the schedule too although they have struggled at times this season). Bucknell got a few teams to bite this season with Villanova playing the Bison at home and Saint Joseph's returning a game. Duke could get an undefeated Bucknell on Jan. 2.
As for the undefeated Bison at Duke in January, I am sure a network showing that game nationally would love that maybe even more than the Bucknell fans. Not sure it is very realiztic, though. Time, of course, will tell.
Read more!
In the polls
ESPN | CBS Sportsline | PennLive.com | Yahoo!
HOLY CROSS at Vermont 7 p.m.: What a difference a year makes. T.J. Sorrentine is playing in Italy. Supposed NBA sure thing Taylor Coppenrath is playing in Greece. Charismatic coach Tom Brennan is now x-ing and o-ing on ESPN. It's a very different scene in Burlington, where new coach Mike Lonergan and a bunch of youngsters have struggled to a 1-3 start. The Catamounts have no seniors. Two redshirt juniors are the only non freshmen and sophomores on the roster.
Don't let the record fool yoiu, though. While they are no match for last year's team that went to the second round of the NCAA TOurnament, Vermont is still no slouch. The three losses were to three pretty fair teams: Harvard (65-57), which already has a win over HC; Providence (87-77); and Nevada (77-62). The Catamounts beat Wagner (a team that was 2-0 with a win over American) in their last outing.
According to the scouting report in the >HC game notes:
Freshman guard Mike Trimboli leads the team in scoring with an average of 17.3 points per game, in addition to handing out a team-best 26 assists. Junior center Martin Klimes has averaged 16.3 points and 4.8 rebounds so far this year, while sophomore guard Ryan Schneider has added 12.8 points and 6.0 boards per game.The Catamounts have decent size and should test Holy Cross' weakness upfront.
If Kevin Hamilton is anywhere near 100 percent, Holy Cross should have a decent shot at picking up the road win. If Hamilton is still hobbled, expect another long night for the Crusaders.
HC notes | Vermont notes | USA Today matchup | Live Stats | HC radio
Read more!
'Saders headed north to UVM
ESPN | CBS Sportsline | PennLive.com | Yahoo!
HOLY CROSS at Vermont 7 p.m.: What a difference a year makes. T.J. Sorrentine is playing in Italy. Supposed NBA sure thing Taylor Coppenrath is playing in Greece. Charismatic coach Tom Brennan is now x-ing and o-ing on ESPN. It's a very different scene in Burlington, where new coach Mike Lonergan and a bunch of youngsters have struggled to a 1-3 start. The Catamounts have no seniors. Two redshirt juniors are the only non freshmen and sophomores on the roster.
Don't let the record fool yoiu, though. While they are no match for last year's team that went to the second round of the NCAA TOurnament, Vermont is still no slouch. The three losses were to three pretty fair teams: Harvard (65-57), which already has a win over HC; Providence (87-77); and Nevada (77-62). The Catamounts beat Wagner (a team that was 2-0 with a win over American) in their last outing.
According to the scouting report in the >HC game notes:
Freshman guard Mike Trimboli leads the team in scoring with an average of 17.3 points per game, in addition to handing out a team-best 26 assists. Junior center Martin Klimes has averaged 16.3 points and 4.8 rebounds so far this year, while sophomore guard Ryan Schneider has added 12.8 points and 6.0 boards per game.The Catamounts have decent size and should test Holy Cross' weakness upfront.
If Kevin Hamilton is anywhere near 100 percent, Holy Cross should have a decent shot at picking up the road win. If Hamilton is still hobbled, expect another long night for the Crusaders.
HC notes | Vermont notes | USA Today matchup | Live Stats | HC radio
Read more!
Three games today
ESPN | CBS Sportsline | PennLive.com | Yahoo!
Air Force at NAVY 9 p.m.: The 9 p.m. start is for College Sports Television, which could not show the game earlier because it has junior college volleyball at 1 p.m, water polo at 6 p.m. and a bunch of Total Access and On the Road psuedo documentary shows between the end of the water polo match and the start of the Air Force-Navy game. (We trust there is no need for us to repeat last year's rant about how CSTV is like the Wayne's World of sports). Air Force, under first-year coach Jeff Bzdelik is 3-1, with wins over Miami of the ACC, Northern Arizona and two Division II teams. The lone loss came at Washington. With 6-8 senior center Nick Welch out of action following knee surgery, Bzdelik's seven-man rotation has just one player over 6-5. Air Force has won the last three meetings of the two, but Navy won the last time the two met in Annapolis (86-46 in Nov. 2003).
Navy notes (pdf) | Air Force notes | USA Today matchup | Gametracker
LAFAYETTE at Princeton 3 p.m.: Last year Princeton surviived for a 40-38 win in Easton. Just goes to show, you never know. This is not your father's Princeton team, but the Tigers, fresh off a 10-point win at Lehigh, should have more than enough to win this catfight with the Leopards.
Lafayette notes | Princeton notes | USA Today matchup | Gametracker
LEHIGH at No. 4 Villanova 7:30 p.m.: For what it is worth, the two have a common opponent in Stony Brook. Villanova, at home, beat Seahwaks 78-35; Lehigh won 58-54 at Stony Brook. Even with Joe Knight, this is uphill for Lehigh. Without him, ugly might be a kind description of the expected outcome.
Lehigh notes | Villanova notes | USA Today matchup | Livestats
Read more!
Bison in a blowout
(Originally posted: Saturday, 10:27 p.m.)
Pat Flannery wanted to make sure his team would not suffer from a letdown after its big upset of Syracuse Tuesday night. With Ivy League middle-of-the-packer Yale coming to town, the last thing the Bucknell coach wanted was for the Bison to be complacent about the threat the Bulldogs posed.
After all, in each of the past two seasons, Yale has been a tough game for the Bison. Two years ago, Yale came into Bucknell's Sojka Pavilion and snuck away with a one-point win. Last year the Bison returned the favor in New Haven, but not until after being pushed to overtime.
"We said this is a great game to gauge how much better we have gotten," said Flannery.
If Bucknell's 87-60 win tonight really is a measuring stick, then the Bison are much, much better.
The Bison jumped out to a 16-2 lead early, and save a brief stretch of about four minutes in the middle of the first half, they were dominant throughout.
During that four minute stretch, with some unusual combinations on the floor due to a combination of foul trouble the disciplinary benching of starting point guard Abe Badmus and sixth-man Donald Brown, the Bison struggled on offense and lost focus on defense. After making 7 of its first 10 shots, Bucknell went scoreless for a 4:01 stretch, during which it turned the ball over 4 times and missed both shots it took.
At the other end, a Yale team that had made just three of its first 11 shots, knocked down 5 out of 6, put together a 17-2 run and momentarily stunned the 2,950 fans in Sojka Pavilion by taking a 19-18 lead.
That, though, pretty much accounted for the Yale highlight film. Bucknell took the lead back on a Chris McNaughton jumper its next trip down the floor and never trailed. The Bison knocked down 11 of their next 14 shots while going almost 10 minutes without a turnover. At the other end, the defense picked up, too, holding Yale to one field goal the final 8:47 of the half.
At the break it was 47-32 Bucknell. An 8-1 run to start the second half built the margin to 55-33 and the Bison never led by less than 16 after that.
"We had a couple of hiccups, but I like what we did," Flannery said.
What was not to like. Except for that short first half stretch, much of which happened with at least one of Bucknell's three freshmen on the floor, the Bison dominated every phase of the game.
The Bison scored inside (Chris McNaughton 7-for-7, 15 points, Charles Lee 12 points) and they scored outside, hitting 10 three-pointers, including 4 by Kevin Bettencourt, who finished with a team-high 17 points, 3 by sophomore John Griffin and a pair by Badmus, who was 2-for-2 from the arc and finished with 12 points to give Bucknell four guys in double figures.
Bucknell shot 68 percent in the first half (19-28) and 60 percent in the second (15-25), making three quarters in a row the team has shot 60 percent or better.
"We re pretty confident. We are shooting the ball real well. We really are in a rhythm," Bettencourt said.
Credit much of that shooting show to good ball movement. The Bison seemed to always make the extra pass to find the open man, piling up 24 assists in the process, including 8 by Bettencourt and 5 by Badmus, neither of whom had a turnover. Bucknell's 87 points was its biggest output this season. Making the total particularly impressive was the way the Bison scored most of those points off half court offense.
"These guys are learning they can be really good when they concentrate and play smart and hard. We made the extra pass tonight and got a lot of easy looks . . . We are really tough to guard when we are unselfish," Flannery said.
On defense they held Yale to 16-48 from the floor (33 percent) and forced 19 turnovers.
"Our defense was outstanding other than that one stretch when we put a lot of young guys in," said Flannery.
Eric Flato led Yale with 12 points, but that showing was offset some by his 5 turnovers (0 assists). Ross Morin and Travis Pinick each added 11 off the bench for Yale.
The Bison now head on the road, traveling to Niagara Wednesday before flying to Chicago to face DePaul on Saturday, The Bison will return to Sojka Dec. 6 to host the No. 4 ranked Villanova Wildcats.
Box score
Read more!
Pat Flannery wanted to make sure his team would not suffer from a letdown after its big upset of Syracuse Tuesday night. With Ivy League middle-of-the-packer Yale coming to town, the last thing the Bucknell coach wanted was for the Bison to be complacent about the threat the Bulldogs posed.
After all, in each of the past two seasons, Yale has been a tough game for the Bison. Two years ago, Yale came into Bucknell's Sojka Pavilion and snuck away with a one-point win. Last year the Bison returned the favor in New Haven, but not until after being pushed to overtime.
"We said this is a great game to gauge how much better we have gotten," said Flannery.
If Bucknell's 87-60 win tonight really is a measuring stick, then the Bison are much, much better.
The Bison jumped out to a 16-2 lead early, and save a brief stretch of about four minutes in the middle of the first half, they were dominant throughout.
During that four minute stretch, with some unusual combinations on the floor due to a combination of foul trouble the disciplinary benching of starting point guard Abe Badmus and sixth-man Donald Brown, the Bison struggled on offense and lost focus on defense. After making 7 of its first 10 shots, Bucknell went scoreless for a 4:01 stretch, during which it turned the ball over 4 times and missed both shots it took.
At the other end, a Yale team that had made just three of its first 11 shots, knocked down 5 out of 6, put together a 17-2 run and momentarily stunned the 2,950 fans in Sojka Pavilion by taking a 19-18 lead.
That, though, pretty much accounted for the Yale highlight film. Bucknell took the lead back on a Chris McNaughton jumper its next trip down the floor and never trailed. The Bison knocked down 11 of their next 14 shots while going almost 10 minutes without a turnover. At the other end, the defense picked up, too, holding Yale to one field goal the final 8:47 of the half.
At the break it was 47-32 Bucknell. An 8-1 run to start the second half built the margin to 55-33 and the Bison never led by less than 16 after that.
"We had a couple of hiccups, but I like what we did," Flannery said.
What was not to like. Except for that short first half stretch, much of which happened with at least one of Bucknell's three freshmen on the floor, the Bison dominated every phase of the game.
The Bison scored inside (Chris McNaughton 7-for-7, 15 points, Charles Lee 12 points) and they scored outside, hitting 10 three-pointers, including 4 by Kevin Bettencourt, who finished with a team-high 17 points, 3 by sophomore John Griffin and a pair by Badmus, who was 2-for-2 from the arc and finished with 12 points to give Bucknell four guys in double figures.
Bucknell shot 68 percent in the first half (19-28) and 60 percent in the second (15-25), making three quarters in a row the team has shot 60 percent or better.
"We re pretty confident. We are shooting the ball real well. We really are in a rhythm," Bettencourt said.
Credit much of that shooting show to good ball movement. The Bison seemed to always make the extra pass to find the open man, piling up 24 assists in the process, including 8 by Bettencourt and 5 by Badmus, neither of whom had a turnover. Bucknell's 87 points was its biggest output this season. Making the total particularly impressive was the way the Bison scored most of those points off half court offense.
"These guys are learning they can be really good when they concentrate and play smart and hard. We made the extra pass tonight and got a lot of easy looks . . . We are really tough to guard when we are unselfish," Flannery said.
On defense they held Yale to 16-48 from the floor (33 percent) and forced 19 turnovers.
"Our defense was outstanding other than that one stretch when we put a lot of young guys in," said Flannery.
Eric Flato led Yale with 12 points, but that showing was offset some by his 5 turnovers (0 assists). Ross Morin and Travis Pinick each added 11 off the bench for Yale.
The Bison now head on the road, traveling to Niagara Wednesday before flying to Chicago to face DePaul on Saturday, The Bison will return to Sojka Dec. 6 to host the No. 4 ranked Villanova Wildcats.
Box score
Read more!
Hoop Time notebook
Quick hits and trivial tidbits from Bucknell's impressive home opener:
QUICK DRAW – Bucknell has scored first in each of its three games so far. The same guy has scored the first basket in all three, Charles Lee.
Lee scored off the break after a John Griffin steal to start Bucknell’s 16-2 early run against Yale. The 6-3 senior swingman finished with 12 points while grabbing a team-high 7 rebounds. Lee also had three assists without a turnover.
Lee’s 12-point night is his season low. He scored 18 in the win over Syracuse and 13 at Rider.
ONE OF A DOZEN – Bucknell’s Kevin Bettencourt moved into 12th place on Bucknell’s all-time scoring list with his 17-point showing against Yale. Bettencourt entered the game with 1,199 points, 14th all-time at BU. His new total of 1,216 pushes him past Joe Steiner (1,200) and Lorry Hathaway (1,208).
Next spot on the list, No. 11, belongs to Chris Simpson (1229). Bettencourt still needs 111 to reach the school’s top 10 and 302 for top 5 status. AL Leslie’s school record 1,973 seems safe. Bettencourt would need to average over 27 ppg to catch Leslie. That calculation assumes 28 more games, meaning a trip to the finals of the league and at least one postseason game of some sort.
GERMAN MARKSMANSHIP: If he keeps shooting the way he has to start the season, Chris McNaughton will easily set a school record for field goal percentage. Through three games, McNaughton, who was 7-for-7 against Yale, is shooting 2-for-26 from the field. That is just a tick under 77 percent.
The school single season record belongs to Patrick King, who shot 67 percent his junior year. King also is ahead of McNaughton on the school’s career list, but McNaughton has narrowed the gap thus far. King shot 63.8 percent over his Bison career. Entering the season, McNaughton’s career mark stood at 62.6 percent. With his hot start, McNaughton has raised that to 63.3 percent.
Knight, who had German, as well as British and American citizenship, played professionally for several years in Germany and now works as an agent there.
CAMEOS: With Abe Badmus and Donald Brown each sitting out the first 10 minutes of the game as punishment for what Pat Flannery referred to as an “academic priorities matter,” and Darren Mastropaolo and Tarik Viaer-McClymont in early foul trouble, Flannery was forced to go deeper into his bench in the first half than he had in the first two games.
Freshman point guard Justin Castleberry saw the first action of his college career, playing five minutes, four in the first half. Josh Linthicum played a season-high seven minutes and Bucknell’s third freshman, Jason Vegotsky, who has been advertised as a sniper, finally knocked down his first three-pointer after going 0-4 outside the arc, 0-5 overall. Vegotsky, who played just four minutes at Syracuse after logging 13 minutes at Rider, played 11 minutes.
The two guys at the far end of Flannery’s bench, 6-5 senior Holland Mack and 6-3 sophomore Rob Thomas, each saw their first two minutes of action this season.
BISON CHIPS: Bucknell has now won 12 straight home games . . . The Bison have not lost in Sojka in over a year. . . . the last Sojka setback was Nov. 222, 2004, a 70-65 defeat at the hands of St. Francis, Pa. . . . the 3-0 start is Bucknell’s first since 1999-2000 and only the school’s second 3-0 start since 1983-84 . . . Bucknell’s usual backcourt starters-- Bettencourt, Lee and Badmus – combined for 41 points, 16 assists, 0 turnovers against Yale . . . For his career, Lee is averaging a 13.3-points, 10.3-rebounds double-double against Yale . . . McNaughton is nearly as good, averaging 12.3 points and 8 rebounds
Daily Item story
AP story
Read more!
QUICK DRAW – Bucknell has scored first in each of its three games so far. The same guy has scored the first basket in all three, Charles Lee.
Lee scored off the break after a John Griffin steal to start Bucknell’s 16-2 early run against Yale. The 6-3 senior swingman finished with 12 points while grabbing a team-high 7 rebounds. Lee also had three assists without a turnover.
Lee’s 12-point night is his season low. He scored 18 in the win over Syracuse and 13 at Rider.
ONE OF A DOZEN – Bucknell’s Kevin Bettencourt moved into 12th place on Bucknell’s all-time scoring list with his 17-point showing against Yale. Bettencourt entered the game with 1,199 points, 14th all-time at BU. His new total of 1,216 pushes him past Joe Steiner (1,200) and Lorry Hathaway (1,208).
Next spot on the list, No. 11, belongs to Chris Simpson (1229). Bettencourt still needs 111 to reach the school’s top 10 and 302 for top 5 status. AL Leslie’s school record 1,973 seems safe. Bettencourt would need to average over 27 ppg to catch Leslie. That calculation assumes 28 more games, meaning a trip to the finals of the league and at least one postseason game of some sort.
GERMAN MARKSMANSHIP: If he keeps shooting the way he has to start the season, Chris McNaughton will easily set a school record for field goal percentage. Through three games, McNaughton, who was 7-for-7 against Yale, is shooting 2-for-26 from the field. That is just a tick under 77 percent.
The school single season record belongs to Patrick King, who shot 67 percent his junior year. King also is ahead of McNaughton on the school’s career list, but McNaughton has narrowed the gap thus far. King shot 63.8 percent over his Bison career. Entering the season, McNaughton’s career mark stood at 62.6 percent. With his hot start, McNaughton has raised that to 63.3 percent.
Knight, who had German, as well as British and American citizenship, played professionally for several years in Germany and now works as an agent there.
CAMEOS: With Abe Badmus and Donald Brown each sitting out the first 10 minutes of the game as punishment for what Pat Flannery referred to as an “academic priorities matter,” and Darren Mastropaolo and Tarik Viaer-McClymont in early foul trouble, Flannery was forced to go deeper into his bench in the first half than he had in the first two games.
Freshman point guard Justin Castleberry saw the first action of his college career, playing five minutes, four in the first half. Josh Linthicum played a season-high seven minutes and Bucknell’s third freshman, Jason Vegotsky, who has been advertised as a sniper, finally knocked down his first three-pointer after going 0-4 outside the arc, 0-5 overall. Vegotsky, who played just four minutes at Syracuse after logging 13 minutes at Rider, played 11 minutes.
The two guys at the far end of Flannery’s bench, 6-5 senior Holland Mack and 6-3 sophomore Rob Thomas, each saw their first two minutes of action this season.
BISON CHIPS: Bucknell has now won 12 straight home games . . . The Bison have not lost in Sojka in over a year. . . . the last Sojka setback was Nov. 222, 2004, a 70-65 defeat at the hands of St. Francis, Pa. . . . the 3-0 start is Bucknell’s first since 1999-2000 and only the school’s second 3-0 start since 1983-84 . . . Bucknell’s usual backcourt starters-- Bettencourt, Lee and Badmus – combined for 41 points, 16 assists, 0 turnovers against Yale . . . For his career, Lee is averaging a 13.3-points, 10.3-rebounds double-double against Yale . . . McNaughton is nearly as good, averaging 12.3 points and 8 rebounds
Read more!
Elsewhere, another tough day
The Citadel 70, Army 68 (OT): Matt Bell's 26 points and five assists are wasted in a classic example of a team that expects to lose finding a way to live down to those expectations. Army squandered a 10-point lead in the final four minutes of regulation. At home, no less. Army missed six straight foul shots in the last 1:30 of regulation and had two good looks in the final four seconds of regulation. Overall, Army shot just 16 of 28 from the line.
Box score AP story Times Herald-Record
LaSalle 75, American 63: Steven Smith lights up AU with 31 points, 13 rebounds. Andre Ingram held to 3-10 from the field, 8 points.
Box score Philadelphia Inquirer main story | sidebar
New Hampshire 60, Colgate 52: Kendall Chones still out. Colgate is not the same team without him. Kyle Roemer (17) the only Raider in double figures. UNH shot 55 percent in the first half, building a 10-point lead at the break and the 'Gate could not recover.
Box score AP story Portsmouth Herald
Read more!
Wednesday, November 30, 2005 LaSalle 75, American 63: Steven Smith lights up AU with 31 points, 13 rebounds. Andre Ingram held to 3-10 from the field, 8 points.
New Hampshire 60, Colgate 52: Kendall Chones still out. Colgate is not the same team without him. Kyle Roemer (17) the only Raider in double figures. UNH shot 55 percent in the first half, building a 10-point lead at the break and the 'Gate could not recover.
Read more!
'Pards carry the flag
'Pards, Gate give PL lead over Ivies
Bison look to avoid fall
Perceptions have changed
Join the revolution
Tuesday, November 29, 2005
HC falls in Vermont
5 teams in action tonight
Vitale gives Flannery props
Monday, November 28, 2005
Katz meows
In the polls
'Saders headed north to UVM
Sunday, November 27, 2005
Three games today
Bison in a blowout
Hoop Time notebook
Elsewhere, another tough day
