Lafayette News Stand: Today's Headlines

Lafayette News Stand Archive August 1, 2004 - July 30, 2005 May 9, 2003 - July 30, 2004 February 1-28, 2003 January 1-31, 2003 December 1-31, 2002 November 1-30, 2002 October 1-31, 2002 September 1-30, 2002 August 1-31, 2002 June 1 - July 31, 2002 May 1-31, 2002 April 1-30, 2002 March 1-31, 2002 February 1-28, 2002 January 1-31, 2002 December 1-31, 2001 November 1-30, 2001 October 1-31, 2001 August 11 - September 30, 2001 April 1 - August 10, 2001 March 5 - March 31, 2001 Jan. 18 - March 4, 2001

Welcome to "Lafayette News Stand," a daily listing with links to newspaper and electronic media stories from around the country on the Leopards.

While we'll try to have most stories to you early each morning, be sure to check back throughout the day as we add links at all hours when we find them.

We hope you enjoy the links to some of today's top stories below, and let us know via email if there are any other stories you think we should feature.

Thursday, July 3, 2008

TRACK & FIELD: Harbin poised to throw the distance
The Morning Call/ By Beth Hudson
Ashley Harbin never saw it coming. She liked to throw. She happily accepted the chance to compete for the track and field team at Lafayette. And Harbin kept improving, winning titles she hadn't considered before she became a Leopard: Patriot League, Penn Relays. Somehow, though, Harbin never envisioned so much success coming her way. Today may be the best example yet of what she's achieved in her sport: She's the first track and field athlete from Lafayette to qualify for the U.S. Olympic Team Trials in Oregon and one of just 24 women from around the country who will compete in the hammer throw, which kicks off with the qualifying round at 10 p.m. The top 12 throwers advance to Saturday's 4:10 p.m. final.

Tuesday, June 24, 2008

FOOTBALL: Coach's first goal evolves into First and Goal
The NCAA News/ By Leilana McKindra
Lafayette assistant football coach John Loose has an 11-year-old daughter who has been battling brain tumors since she was a toddler. Five years ago, the Leopards' defensive coordinator went on the offensive to raise awareness of and money for pediatric brain tumor research. In 2003, Loose established Lauren's First and Goal, a one-day clinic for high school football student-athletes hosted at Lafayette's Metzger Fields Athletic Complex. What began with nearly 60 volunteer coaches and more than 300 campers has exploded into a multisite operation supported by thousands of campers and hundreds of volunteer coaches. The 2008 edition of Lauren's First and Goal camp attracted 246 volunteer coaches and a clinic record 1,633 participants in the June 1 effort that generated $135,000. The charity organization raised an additional $11,000 with the inaugural Lauren's First and Goal South at the University of South Florida June 8, which attracted 325 participants and 58 volunteer coaches.

Monday, June 23, 2008

BASEBALL: Rays' Maddon is part books, baseball and rock 'n roll
Palm Beach Post/ By Tom D'Angelo
Sit down with Rays manager Joe Maddon and the conversation can at any time steer to his favorite authors, the best sushi in Tampa, Bruce Springsteen or his Trek 7.7 FX bicycle. That's not to say Maddon, 54, isn't a baseball guy. He loves the game. Why else would he have spent 31 years in the Angels organization developing a reputation as teacher before taking over a youthful Rays roster in 2006 that has started blossoming under his leadership? But baseball just scratches the surface when it comes to defining Maddon, who brings his red hot Rays team to South Florida for a three-game interleague series with the Marlins starting today. He's as likely to dissect the philosophical teachings of Dr. Wayne Dyer as he is the best situation to hit and run. "I don't know why I'm the way I am I just know it's been this way,'' Maddon said. "My education at Lafayette College (Easton, Pa.) opened up a lot of doors within my brain that caused me to want to challenge or look into different areas.''

Tuesday, June 3, 2008

BASKETBALL: Celtics vs. Lakers: Ex-Lafayette coach was at center of storm
The Morning Call/ By Don Bostrom
Even though Butch van Breda Kolff was an original, this basketball savant never marched to the beat of his own drummer. No, man. Just one drum? Boring, brother, boring. ''VBK'' boogied through life to the sweet, sweet sounds of a full orchestra. Some days he'd be moved by the street corner do-wop that echoed around in his head. Other times, Butch would be inspired by the free-flowing riffs of jazz or the heart-lifting strains of classical majesty. The genuine, eclectic VBK juke box blared whatever the mood struck him.

Monday, June 2, 2008

FOOTBALL: Lauren's First and Goal drives ahead
The Morning Call/ By Keith Groller
Nearly 1,500 high school players and more than 250 college coaches turned Lafayette's Metzgar Fields into Football City on Sunday. But in the midst of all the grunts, groans, and X-and-O chatter, one 11-year-old lady stood tall. And when Lauren Loose spoke, everyone listened. Loose drew the day's loudest ovation when it was her turn to speak at the fifth annual Lauren's First and Goal Camp. She thanked everyone for a record-breaking turnout that raised at least $118,000 for a foundation that supports pediatric brain tumor research and pediatric cancer services. In five years, the foundation dedicated in Lauren's honor has raised nearly $500,000.

Tuesday, May 27, 2008

FOOTBALL: Laubach: 'Pards, Hawks in Patriot title hunt
The Express-Times/ By Ed Laubach
College football's spring games are history. Players are either headed into offseason workouts or summer jobs -- or both. The next we'll hear from Lafayette, which produced the No. 1-ranked defense among Football Championship Subdivision schools last fall, and Lehigh, whose .632 winning percentage is best in the 21-year history of the Patriot League, is the start-up of preseason camps in mid-August. By that time, Eagles camp and preseason games will have us juiced for football. What you might appreciate knowing in the meantime is whether or not we'll have contenders among the two local teams. In Lafayette's case, it's No. 3 or 4 among the seven league teams. Lehigh will go into the new season at probably No. 5, ahead of Bucknell and Georgetown.

Sunday, May 11, 2008

WOMEN'S SOCCER: The Uneven Playing Field
The New York Times Magazine/ By Michael Sokolove
By the time Janelle Pierson sprinted onto the field for the start of the Florida high-school soccer playoffs in January, she had competed in hundreds of games since joining her first team at 5. She played soccer year-round -- often for two teams at a time when the seasons of her school and club teams overlapped. Like many American children deeply involved in sports, Janelle, a high-school senior, had traveled like a professional athlete since her early teens, routinely flying to out-of-state tournaments. She had given up other sports long ago, quitting basketball and tennis by age 10. There was no time for any of that, and as she put it: "Even if you wanted to keep playing other sports, people would question you. They'd be, like, `Why do you want to do that?' " ... From among the several colleges that vigorously recruited her, she settled on Lafayette, an academically select, Division 1 school in Easton, Pa.

SOFTBALL: Revived Leopards reach final, face rival Mountain Hawks
The Morning Call/ By Keith Groller
Lehigh-Lafayette, or, if you prefer, Lafayette-Lehigh. Either way, it has a nice ring to it, no matter the time of year or the sport. And, the phrase is even more special when a title is on the line. That's the case today as the schools' softball programs set up a special Mother's Day matchup at Lehigh's Kaufman Field for the Patriot League championship and a berth in the NCAA Tournament.

Saturday, May 3, 2008

FOOTBALL: Padilla tries to be a Chief
The Express-Times/ By Rory Faust
Lafayette College offensive lineman Jesse Padilla fulfilled a lifelong dream this weekend by reaching football's highest level. Now it's up to the 6-foot-5, 310-pound left tackle to prove he belongs. Padilla is competing for an NFL contract this weekend as an invitee to the Kansas City Chiefs rookie minicamp. The Leopards senior reported to Arrowhead Stadium on Friday morning for the three-day workout, which runs through Sunday.

Tuesday, April 29, 2008

FOOTBALL: Leopards' Curley fries up a helping of gratitude
The Morning Call/ By Don Bostrom
Rob Curley readily admits a quarterback is only as good as the unheralded offensive line in front of him. ''You have to treat those guys right,'' the Lafayette junior said. ''They're going to make or break you. You have to keep them happy.'' Curley knows a sure way to accomplish that is with food. To show his appreciation for jobs well done, Curley treated the O-line to pizza parties once he took over as starter last November. During the recent spring break, Curley invited all the guys who will be protecting him this fall over to his apartment for his version of a ''happy meal.''

Sunday, April 27, 2008

FOOTBALL: Lowe plays like there's no tomorrow
The Express-Times/ By Rory Faust
EASTON | Carlos Lowe was all smiles as he emerged from the positional meetings following Lafayette College's annual Maroon-White football scrimmage. The rising junior cornerback was elated with the performance of his defensive unit, excited about his chances of winning a starting spot and euphoric about what figures to be a promising upcoming season. Mostly, though, Lowe was just thankful to be at Fisher Stadium on Saturday afternoon. It's been roughly three months since Lowe and teammate Josh Jones were involved in a vicious automobile accident that nearly claimed their lives, a the tribulation that has given Lowe a new outlook on football -- and life.

FOOTBALL: Cool Curley makes others nervous
The Express-Times/ By Rory Faust
Rob Curley was happy to shed those pesky nerves that plagued him last season. He wished he could've shed the special yellow jersey that protected him from contact, too. The one thing that Lafayette's rising junior quarterback wasn't willing to shed, however, were the high expectations he inherited along with the starting job last season. Curley showed he was capable of carrying the load in the annual Maroon and White Game at Fisher Stadium on Saturday, leading the Maroon (offense) to a 28-22 win over the White (defense) in a controlled scrimmage. The game employed a modified scoring system that awarded the offense points for first downs and scoring plays and the defense points for stops and turnovers; the scrimmage was preceded by 7-on-7 drills and third-down situations. Curley excelled in all formats.

FOOTBALL: Defense remains dominant force for Lafayette
The Morning Call/ By Don Bostrom
At Lafayette, the defense never rests. Even in a controlled scrimmage. The Leopards showed during Saturday's annual Maroon-White spring game at Fisher Field that they have the talent to duplicate last year's amazing performance that saw them rank first in the nation in total defense (260.9 yards per game), fourth in rushing defense (85.7 ypg) and eighth in scoring defense (16.9 ppg). Patriot League defensive player of the year Andy Romans was held out, all-league corner Marvin Clecidor made only a cameo appearance, top lineman Luke Schade is away on an internship and coach John Loose kept the shackles on his multiple blitz packages. Despite that, the Leopard defense gave a command performance against an offensive team that, to be fair, was missing its top two tailbacks. Maurice White was back in Cleveland with his ailing father and Tyrell Coon is recovering from arthroscopic knee surgery. The defense kept the offense out of the end zone during the sustained drive portions of the contest and yielded only a few big gainers.

Friday, April 25, 2008

TRACK & FIELD: The golden girls
The Express-Times/ By Bruce Buratti
PHILADELPHIA | Ashley Harbin is putting on the final brush strokes to her athletic career at Lafayette College while Abby Schaffer is completing her final laps at Easton Area High School. Both athletes put their personal stamp on the 114th running of the Penn Relays on Thursday. Each repeated as individual champion in her specialty event at the University of Pennsylvania. Harbin captured her second straight gold watch in the championship division of the college women's hammer throw. She managed a personal best, too, by unleashing a throw of 201 feet, 3 inches on her second attempt of the preliminaries against a field that included some of the top NCAA Division I throwers this side of the Mississippi River. Her throw easily stood through the rest of the trials and through three finals attempts. Kimery Hern of Georgia Tech took second at 197-11. Harbin's throw raised her to No. 3 in the East Region and should put her among the top 15 in the nation.

Sunday, April 13, 2008

BASEBALL: Leading by example
Pocono Record/ By Mike Kuhns
Lafayette College baseball coach Joe Kinney likes his players to have a little toughness about them. East Stroudsburg South graduate Kevin Reese fits the mold perfectly. The Leopards' senior went to the Easton college to play football and baseball four years ago. It was on the football field where Reese left his first impression of what kind of athlete he is.

Wednesday, April 9, 2008

BASEBALL: Leopards' luck is with Luick
The Express-Times/ By Rory Faust
PHILADELPHIA | Chris Luick may not be a big fan of the Philadelphia Phillies, but he sure is fond of their ballpark. Lafayette's junior first baseman smashed three hits, including a crucial RBI triple in the seventh inning, to help the Leopards edge rival Lehigh 5-4 in the Liberty Bell Classic championship game Tuesday night at Citizens Bank Park. Lafayette coach Joe Kinney went to his bullpen early, and relievers Joe Verdon, Brad Woodfield (2-1) and Brian Mostek of Saucon Valley were lights out over the final seven innings to give the Leopards their second straight title. They also beat Lehigh (14-19) last season, 7-3, for the title. Luick was a little bummed when he heard his favorite team, the New York Mets, lost to the Phillies earlier in the day. But he was able to take comfort in the Phillies' home park.

BASEBALL: Lafayette tops Lehigh, wins Liberty Bell Classic
The Morning Call/ By Don Bostrom
PHILADELPHIA | - Bragging rights, the rare treat of playing at a major league stadium and a preview of coming attractions were all part of the mix as Lafayette rallied to edge archrival Lehigh, 5-4, to repeat as the Liberty Bell Classic champions Tuesday night at Citizens Bank Park. Many veteran players for both teams were savoring a taste of ''The Show'' for the third time in their collegiate careers.

Friday, April 4, 2008

MEN'S BASKETBALL: 'Pards looking for youth movement
The Morning Call/ By Andre D. Williams
For a break from March Madness, here's an important announcement from Lafayette coach Fran O'Hanlon: Speed, shooters and height are coming to College Hill in the fall. The veteran Leopards coach announced his second scholarship class on Wednesday, and it includes 6-10, 250-pound John David ''J.D.'' Pelham from Green Hope High in Cary, N.C. Other incoming freshmen are Ryan Willen, a 6-8 forward from Cape Giradeau, Mo., Jim Mower, a 6-3 guard from St. Joseph's Prep, Andy Moore, a 6-3 guard from Austin, Texas, and Nick Petkovich, a 6-5 swingman from Bullis Prep in Potomac, Md.

Thursday, April 3, 2008

BASEBALL: Bonus day for Lafayette
The Express-Times/ By Rory Faust
FORKS TWP. | Ryan Roberts missed out on two previous chances to play baseball in a major-league stadium. Lafayette's gritty senior leftfielder was determined not to let a third, and most likely final, opportunity slip through his hands Wednesday afternoon at the Class of 1978 Stadium. The Leopards' pesky No. 9 hitter slapped a game-tying single to left in the sixth inning, then broke the stalemate with a bases-loaded walk in the eighth to lift Lafayette past Delaware 9-4 and into the Liberty Bell Classic title game for the third straight year. The Leopards (12-9) will face cross-valley rival Lehigh on Tuesday in a rematch of last season's final. The first pitch is slated for 8 p.m. at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia. Lafayette beat the Mountain Hawks 7-3 in last year's championship; the Leopards lost to LaSalle 6-5 in the 2006 title game. Roberts didn't sniff the field in either of those games, which is why this year's trip to the Phillies' home field will be extra special.

BASEBALL: Hot-hand Luick powers Lafayette
The Morning Call/ By Don Bostrom
Some sharp penmanship, the torrid bat of Chris Luick and a decisive five-run eighth inning rally chock full of clutch hits were the key factors in Lafayette's 9-4 win over Delaware in a Liberty Bell Classic semifinal round game Wednesday at Metzgar Field. The win vaults the Leopards (12-9) into the championship game for the third consecutive season. Lafayette will try to defend its crown against Lehigh, the team it beat 7-3 in last season's Liberty Bell final. The title game is schedule for 8 p.m. Tuesday at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia.

Wednesday, April 2, 2008

MEN'S BASKETBALL: Leopards land a recruit for each of five positions
The Express-Times/ By Rory Faust
Lafayette College men's basketball coach Fran O'Hanlon won't have to wait four years to find out how good his incoming Class of 2012 is. The Leopards' third scholarship class covers all five positions and could make an impact as soon as next season. "Best case scenario for any freshman coming in is to sit and watch, but some of those kids aren't going to have that luxury," O'Hanlon said. "Some of these kids are going to have to get on the court and play because we lose too much." Lafayette loses 65 percent of its scoring with the departure of five graduating seniors and returns just three players who averaged double-digit minutes last season -- starting guards Andrew Brown and Michael Gruner and reserve guard Jeff Kari.

Saturday, March 29, 2008

FOOTBALL: No pain, lot of gain for Romans
The Express-Times/ By Rory Faust
It had been an awfully long time since Andy Romans was able to joyfully skip off the football field without grimacing through the pain of a nagging injury. Lafayette's standout linebacker ran the medical gamut last season, enduring a frustrating assortment of ailments that included cracked ribs, a bruised tailbone, a strained hip flexor and even the stomach bug. On Friday, however, Romans delightfully declared himself "100 percent" and ready to go after the first day of spring practice -- a scary proposition for opposing offenses considering the rising senior was the Patriot League's most dominating defensive player last season as a walking Band-Aid.

FOOTBALL: Leopard Spots
The Express-Times/ By Rory Faust
Jr. DB Carlos Lowe participated in drills Friday less than three months after he and Jr. QB Josh Jones were involved in a serious car accident. Lowe sustained a shoulder injury but returned to workouts a couple weeks ago. Jones, who figured to battle for the No. 2 job behind starter Rob Curley, had surgery to repair a broken wrist and will miss the entire spring.

Friday, March 28, 2008

FOOTBALL: Leopards working toward regaining Patriot League title
The Morning Call/ By Don Bostron
A determined group of leaner, stronger Lafayette Leopards begin the quest for the 2008 Patriot League football championship today with the start of spring practice. The Leopards are on a mission to reclaim the title they relinquished last fall after a three-year title run.

Wednesday, March 26, 2008

BASEBALL: Lafayette, Lehigh win Liberty Bell games
The Morning Call
The Lafayette and Lehigh baseball teams advanced to the semifinals of the Liberty Bell Classic with victories on Tuesday. The Leopards used a three-run eighth inning to earn a 6-5 come-from-behind win over Penn in an opening round game in Philadelphia.

Monday, March 17, 2008

BASKETBALL: Lafayette alum gave rise to Madness
The Morning Call/ By Don Bostrom
Former Lafayette basketball coach John Leone insists that Tom Odjakjian is ''The Father of March Madness.'' ''Tom is far too humble to ever admit that,'' Leone said. ''But way back when, he was the one convincing everyone at ESPN that there would be an audience for small-school championship games and those early round games of the NCAA Tournament. It's when they started showing those games that things really took off.'' Odjakjian, a 1976 Lafayette graduate, protests a bit when asked if he's the Dr. Frankenstein that initially brought this TV monster alive, one that begins anew Thursday with an all-day telecast of NCAA men's basketball tournament games.

Friday, March 14, 2008

TRACK & FIELD: Lafayette's Harbin is worth the weight
The Morning Call/ By Mark Wogenrich
Ashley Harbin has set two throwing records at Lafayette College and became the school's first female qualifier for both the NCAA Division I indoor and outdoor track and field championships. Still, she doesn't consider herself a trendsetter. ''It's exciting to go to these competitions and compete with the best, but I don't feel like I'm doing anything special,'' Harbin said. ''I'm just doing what I do every day.'' Harbin, a senior, will compete in the 20-pound throw today at the NCAA Division I indoor championships in Fayetteville, Ark. She qualified in February, when she broke the school record (and achieved the NCAA provisional standard) with a throw of 66 feet, 21/4 inches.

Saturday, March 8, 2008

WOMEN'S BASKETBALL: Rivalry boosts confidence of both teams
The Express-Times/ By Rory Faust
A crushing loss to Holy Cross in the regular-season finale had Alex Ross and her Lehigh women's basketball teammates feeling a little blue heading into the Patriot League Tournament. Their spirits were suddenly lifted when they discovered their first-round opponent was the rival Lafayette Leopards. A quick glance at the tournament seeds would suggest the sixth-seeded Leopards (14-15 overall, 6-8 league) are the underdog in tonight's quarterfinal game against third-seeded Lehigh (17-12, 9-5). But Lafayette swept the season series for the first time in a decade, leaving the former first-place Hawks in a foul mood.

WOMEN'S BASKETBALL: Lehigh women get another shot at Lafayette
The Morning Call/ By Andre D. Williams
The Lehigh women's basketball team has to travel 120-some miles to try and accomplish what it could not do in the Lehigh Valley. That's beat Lafayette, which swept the season series between the rivals. The Patriot League tournament quarterfinals open today at Army, and third-seeded Lehigh (17-12, 9-5) meets No. 6 Lafayette (14-15, 6-8) at 7:30 p.m. at Christl Arena in West Point, N.Y. The teams have split four postseason meetings. Lafayette has won three straight overall in the series, including 48-45 on Jan. 26 on College Hill and 59-43 on Feb. 23 at Stabler Arena. The winner advances to Sunday's semifinals, and will play either Holy Cross or Navy.

Thursday, March 6, 2008

MEN'S BASKETBALL: Comeback comes up short
The Express-Times/ By Paul Sokoloski
HAMILTON, N.Y. | Given a clean look at the basket, Matt Betley settled in at the top of the key and tried to win the game with one final shot. Like the second half of Lafayette College's basketball season, it went awry. Kyle Roemer cut loose with 32 points Wednesday and Colgate survived a furious Leopards rally over the final seven minutes to pull out a 76-74 victory in a Patriot League men's quarterfinal game at Cotterell Court.

MEN'S BASKETBALL: Raiders move past Leopards into semifinals
Utica Observer-Dispatch/ By John Pitarresi
HAMILTON -- It was Colgate's first postseason victory since 2004, and the 137th win in Emmett Davis' career. Just barely. The Raiders blew nearly all of a 17-point lead, hitting just two foul shots in the last 6:20, but hung on to edge Lafayette 76-74 Wednesday at Cotterell Court in the first round of the Patriot League men's basketball playoffs.

Wednesday, March 5, 2008

MEN'S BASKETBALL: First step to the Big Dance starts tonight
The Express-Times/ By Rory Faust
Matt Betley and Bilal Abdullah know their chances of playing another competitive basketball game at Kirby Sports Center are slim. But the way Lafayette's senior leaders see it, if you're going to dream, you may as well dream big. Betley and Abdullah have reviewed all the scenarios that would give them one more game in front of their beloved home fans. And Leopards coach Fran O'Hanlon is quick to point out all those scenarios start with a win tonight at Colgate in the Patriot League Tournament quarterfinals.

MEN'S BASKETBALL: Colgate hosting Lafayette tonight
Utica Observer-Dispatch/ By Craig Muder
The last time the Colgate Raiders hosted a postseason men's basketball game, Bill Clinton was in his first term in the White House and Adonal Foyle was a sophomore. So when tonight's Patriot League quarterfinal tips off, Colgate coach Emmett Davis is looking for a decade of pent-up excitement to rock Cotterell Court. "There's really been a buzz on campus this week," said Davis, whose Raiders host Lafayette at 7:05 p.m. "It's very exciting here right now." The Raiders enter the tournament with a 16-13 record and the No. 3 seed. They need three wins - tonight, in the March 9 semifinals and in the March 14 final - to reach the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1996, which was also the last time the Raiders hosted a playoff game. Lafayette, however, will not be a pushover. The Leopards (15-14) split two meetings with the Raiders this year, both of which were decided by one point. The road team has won each of the last four games in the series. The teams have met seven times in the Patriot League Tournament, and Lafayette leads 4-3.

Wednesday, February 27, 2008

MEN'S BASKETBALL: Tough to pick award winners in uneven Patriot League
The Morning Call/ By Stephen Miller
With one regular-season weekend left in the 2007-08 Patriot League men's basketball season, American and Navy have stamped themselves as the league's elite. Neither, however, will be confused with the 1975-76 Indiana Hoosiers. At least American and Navy have clinched winning PL records. None of the league's other six teams can finish better than .500 within the league. The parity has produced a fascinating, if uneven, PL season. It also should make it tough for coaches to select the PL's major award winners and all-league teams. Here's what my ballot (if I had one) would look like for some of the league's top honors.

Wednesday, February 27, 2008

MEN'S BASKETBALL: Enjoying the ride with pride
The Morning Call/ By Gordie Jones
The record book will note that the five seniors on Lafayette's men's basketball team lost, numbingly and regularly. Fifty-seven times in 86 games their first three years. Twelve more times this year, as things have started to turn around, with some of those defeats -- the biggest of them -- coming in the most demoralizing fashion possible. Short of affixing an asterisk, how do you explain that something good came of all that? How do you measure personal growth and private achievement? How do you calibrate persistence and resilience? How do you explain, really, that they have lost but aren't losers? The five of them -- guards Bilal Abdullah and Paul Cummins and forwards Matt Betley, Ted Detmer and Everest Schmidt -- have led the Leopards to a 15-12 record to date. Two regular-season games remain, the first tonight at Army. There will also be a first-round game in the Patriot League Tournament, but they are promised nothing beyond that.

Tuesday, February 26, 2008

BASEBALL: Leopards, Bears aim for repeat performances
The Morning Call/ By Don Bostrom
Lafayette and Kutztown are hoping for encore performances while several other area collegiate baseball programs look to crash the big time in the 2008 season. The Leopards would love to duplicate a magical 2007 season that produced a school-record 33 wins, their first Patriot League championship, and an NCAA tournament appearance.

Sunday, February 24, 2008

MEN'S BASKETBALL: Electric curtain call for LC, Bilal
The Express-Times/ By Rory Faust
EASTON | Frustrated by an inability to catch a break during their five-game losing streak, Bilal Abdullah and his senior teammates dedicated themselves to capitalizing on every opportunity Saturday afternoon against archrival Lehigh. And when that elusive break presented itself, Abdullah made sure the Leopards pounced on it. Lafayette's senior swingman made his final regular season home game at Kirby Sports Center a memorable one, scoring 18 points and grabbing a career-high 13 rebounds in a crucial -- and redeeming -- 78-60 Patriot League win over the Mountain Hawks before a frenzied capacity crowd on Senior Day. Lafayette (15-12 overall, 6-6 league) had lost six of seven games coming into Saturday's contest, a slide that began with a heartbreaking five-point loss to Lehigh last month. Abdullah insisted a little extra effort would cure all the Leopards' ills, and his unrelenting play compelled his teammates to follow suit.

MEN'S BASKETBALL: 'Pards back on track
The Morning Call/ By Stephen Miller
After suffering three straight last-second losses, Lafayette came to Kirby Sports Center determined to salvage a season in sudden peril. It would win more of the loose-ball scrums. It would pursue rebounds with renewed fervor. The losing had to end. The Leopards needed time to turn their passion into productivity. They trailed by eight points eight minutes into a Senior Day rivalry game with Lehigh. With Bilal Abdullah's hustle serving as the springboard, the Leopards owned the next 23 minutes. The eight-point deficit became an afterthought as they opened a 25-point lead. Lafayette's five seniors were rewarded for their efforts by finishing Saturday's 78-60 Patriot League win on the floor together. Abdullah did the honors of dribbling out the clock, tossing the ball high into the air before the final horn signaled an end to a five-game losing streak.

Saturday, February 23, 2008

MEN'S BASKETBALL: Momentum -- and pride -- at stake
The Express-Times/ By Rory Faust
Conventional wisdom would suggest today's Patriot League men's basketball showdown between Lafayette and Lehigh is a must-win game. Bilal Abdullah knows better. The Leopards' senior swingman is undoubtedly itching for a win against the rival Mountain Hawks in what could be his final game at Kirby Sports Center. But when it comes to jockeying for position in the Patriot League standings, Abdullah could care less. After holding first place through the entire first half of the league slate, Lafayette now finds itself tied for fourth place with Lehigh at 5-6 -- just one game out of the league basement. It's a precarious situation that would elicit a sense of urgency entering the final week of the regular season in most leagues. But not in the topsy-turvy Patriot League, where every team qualifies for the playoffs and no one receives a free pass into the next round.

Friday, February 22, 2008

MEN'S BASKETBALL: Holy Cross remains team to beat
The Express-Times/ By Ed Laubach
Basketball being what it is, a game of runs, American and Navy are sprinting for the postseason and an automatic berth in the NCAA tournament, the Patriot League's Super Bowl. The first-place American Eagles (9-3), behind guards Garrison Carr and Derrick Mercer, are on an absolute tear following Wednesday night's victory in a defensive struggle with Army. They have won six in a row and clinched no worse than the No. 2 seed in the league tournament, which begins with the quarterfinals on Wednesday, March 5. Games will be played at the home sites of the top four seeds.

MEN'S BASKETBALL: American's Carr may be PL's best
The Morning Call/ By Andre D. Williams
American University guard Garrison Carr appears to be the leading candidate to win the Patriot League's player of the year award. How can he not be? Carr, who's gone from bench warmer in his first two seasons to the most feared guard in the league as a junior, is averaging 18.3 points per game and has won the last two league player of the week honors. American has never had a player of the year, but Carr has a good chance of making school history because the Eagles (17-10, 9-3) are one win away from clinching the regular-season title.

Thursday, February 21, 2008

MEN'S BASKETBALL: Leopards' run in overtime is over
The Express-Times/ By Rory Faust
LEWISBURG, Pa. | Not even the supposedly safe haven of overtime could stop Lafayette's dramatic second-half slide. The Leopards roared back from a big deficit, then let a five-point lead slip away in the final minute of regulation in a crushing 77-75 loss to Bucknell at Sojka Pavilion on Wednesday night. Lafayette, which sat atop the Patriot League standings three weeks ago, has lost five straight games and is now a half-game out of last place.

MEN'S BASKETBALL: Overtime brings loss to Lafayette
The Morning Call/ By Gordie Jones
Overtime is usually winning time for Lafayette. Not this time, though. This time, Bucknell's Stephen Tyree dropped in a layup with 2.9 seconds left in the extra period, as the Bison nipped the Leopards 77-75 Wednesday night in Sojka Pavilion. The loss was the fifth straight for Lafayette, the last three of which have come down to the closing seconds. It dropped the Leopards to 5-6 in the Patriot League (and 14-12 overall), placing them in a fourth-place tie with Lehigh (5-6, 12-13), which visits the Kirby Center Saturday. The defeat also ended a string of 10 straight overtime victories on the part of the Leopards, dating back to a loss to Colgate in the 2004 PL Tournament. They had been 6-0 in overtime this year, tying an NCAA single-season record, and their five road wins in OT set another mark.

Tuesday, February 19, 2008

MEN'S BASKETBALL: Lafayette grad Kenny is speaking for the masses
The Morning Call/ By Don Bostrom
Former Lafayette College basketball captain Kerry Kenny is now the official voice of more than 160,000 Division I student-athletes. Kenny will get to speak on their behalf in his role as chair of the NCAA Division I Student-Athlete Advisory Committee. He was appointed chair at the NCAA Convention last month in Nashville, Tenn., and will serve a one-year term, until next year's convention in Washington. Some issues Kenny might have to address are expanding the NCAA basketball tournament, the creation of a Division I football playoff system and testing athletes for performance-enhancing drugs.

Sunday, February 17, 2008

MEN'S BASKETBALL: Injured Colbert hurts Leopards
The Express-Times/ By Paul Sokoloski
EASTON | Over the past few months, Clif Colbert's been playing with a broken hand. Over the course of Saturday's final second, he gave Lafayette a broken heart. Colbert hit the winning baseline jumper with four-tenths of a second left, lifting Navy over Lafayette 82-80 in a battle for second place in the Patriot League before 3,176 energized fans at Kirby Sports Center.

MEN'S BASKETBALL: Lafayette's slide reaches four
The Morning Call/ By Gordie Jones
Lafayette senior guard Bilal Abdullah left the court late Saturday afternoon, draping a black towel over his head as he joined his teammates in a long, silent procession toward the Kirby Center locker room. A dark cloud seems to be hovering over the Leopards as well. And a season once bright with promise grows bleaker with each passing game. The latest bit of gloom came courtesy of Navy reserve guard Clif Colbert, who swished a wide-open 12-foot jumper from the right baseline with 0.4 of a second left, lifting the Midshipmen over the Leopards 82-80.

Friday, February 15, 2008

MEN'S BASKETBALL: Lafayette needs to regroup
The Morning Call/ By Andre D. Williams
Lafayette has to play five more Patriot League war games, which is the way conference games tend to be throughout the country this time of season. Once the surprise team in the league after starting 5-1 for the first time since 1998-99, Lafayette has now lost three straight games, two coming at Kirby Sports Center. ''We're not happy about that,'' Lafayette coach Fran O'Hanlon said Wednesday night after the Leopards lost to Colgate, 76-75, in Easton. ''When you win by a point, you look at all the good.'' When you lose, you look at all the what-ifs:

Thursday, February 14, 2008

MEN'S BASKETBALL: Leopards off the mark
The Express-Times/ By Rory Faust
EASTON | The shot looked golden when it left Matt Betley's hand. But somehow, like most of Lafayette's attempts on Wednesday night, the basketball seemed predetermined not to drop through the hoop. Fouled on a 3-point attempt that spun out with seven-tenths of a second remaining, Betley saw a second chance to notch three game-tying points go awry when his third foul shot tickled the iron and fell harmlessly to the Kirby Sports Center floor. The Leopards missed seven free throws, but none stung more than the last attempt, which allowed Colgate to escape College Hill with a stunning 76-75 Patriot League victory in the teams' second wild affair in less than a month.

MEN'S BASKETBALL: Leopards' comeback attempt falls short
The Morning Call/ By Andre Williams
The free throw is the only shot in basketball that's always uncontested, but it can also be the hardest shot when there's less than a second left and your team is down by a point. That was the pressure-filled situation Lafayette senior Matt Betley was in after being fouled on 3-point attempt from way past NBA range with 0.7 of a second left in a Patriot League tug-of-war against Colgate Wednesday night at Kirby Sports Center. With the Leopards trailing 76-73, Betley, a 64-percent free throw shooter, sank his first two and then came up short on his third, and Colgate escaped with a 76-75 victory.

Sunday, February 10, 2008

FOOTBALL: College coaches live nomadic lives
The Express-Times/ By Ed Laubach
Bet you can't name the offensive and defensive coordinators for the football teams at Lafayette and Lehigh. Two correct answers means you've actually been paying attention to the local teams, three would indicate you have too much time on your hands and all four (or five) tells me you really need to get a life. It gets tricky because one coordinator left last week for Richmond. We all know the big dogs Andy Coen at Lehigh and Frank Tavani at Lafayette. But their nameless, faceless assistants put in the long hours behind the scenes. Assistant football coaches especially at the college level, hired from programs all over the country and constantly on the move in hopes of furthering their careers tend to toil in mind-numbing obscurity. Steve Spagnuolo has become the poster child for college assistants everywhere. On Sunday, the man who coached defensive linemen and special teams at Lafayette from 1984-86, earned a Super Bowl ring as the defensive mastermind for the New York Giants in his first season as an NFL coordinator. And on Tuesday night, he began 28 hours of phone and face-to-face interviews for the vacant Washington Redskins head coaching job with Daniel Snyder not one you would call a model owner.

MEN'S BASKETBALL: 'Pards cough up lead, first place
The Express-Times
WORCESTER, Mass. | The Lafayette College men's basketball team lost a sizable lead -- and its perch atop the Patriot League standings -- in the second half against last-place Holy Cross on Saturday afternoon. Preseason player of the year Tim Clifford bounced back from an early injury and sparked the Crusaders to a 77-57 win before a capacity crowd of 3,491 at the Hart Center. Clifford, a senior center, left the game early in the first half with a gash over his left eye but returned before halftime and finished with a game-high 13 points and eight rebounds, helping Holy Cross avenge a 60-52 league-opening loss on Jan. 12 in Easton. Lafayette, which has lost eight of its last nine games at the Hart Center, dropped to 14-9 overall, 5-3 league, and fell into a first-place tie with American and Bucknell.

MEN'S BASKETBALL: Injured Doherty sparks Purple
Worcester (Mass.) Telegram & Gazette/ By Jennifer Toland
Holy Cross junior guard Pat Doherty hasn't participated in a full practice in more than a month, has missed four games since the start of the New Year and played sporadically in others, all because of a strained left Achilles' tendon. But as he showed yesterday, the Crusaders are going to need him to make a late-season run. Playing through pain, Doherty totaled 6 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists and 3 steals as Holy Cross toppled first-place Lafayette, 77-57, before 3,491 fans at the Hart Center.

Friday, February 8, 2008

MEN'S BASKETBALL: American Carr passing competition
The Morning Call/ By Stephen Miller
When American University coach Jeff Jones met with guard Garrison Carr last spring, he steeled himself for talk of a transfer. Carr had averaged just 10.9 minutes and 3.8 points per game during his sophomore season. When he wasn't shooting well, he wasn't playing. But rather than telling Jones he was leaving, Carr asked his coach what he needed to do to earn more playing time. A year later, Carr has become one of the Patriot League's most prolific scorers, averaging 17.7 points per game to help the Eagles contend for the PL title. His 94 made 3-pointers leave him six shy of breaking the PL single-season record of 99 set by Army's Mark Lueking in 1995-96. The PL does not give out an award for the league's most improved player, but Carr would be the frontrunner if it did. Navy's Chris Harris, Lehigh's Zahir Carrington and Lafayette's Mike Gruner have also played their way into the conversation of PL players who have leaped forward since the end of the 2006-07 season.

Thursday, February 7, 2008

FOOTBALL: Leopards build 'excellent class'
The Express-Times/ By Rory Faust
A big, strong offensive line and a solid corps of linebackers have long been staples of the Lafayette College football program. With that considered, it's not surprising that Leopards coach Frank Tavani cited linemen and linebackers as key components in a balanced Class of 2012. Tavani released his ninth recruiting class on Wednesday's national signing day. The veteran coach called the group of 28 players split equally between offense and defense "an excellent class." The group consists of four linemen, four running backs, four wide receivers, a tight end and a quarterback on offense and six linemen, four linebackers and four defensive backs on defense.

FOOTBALL: Success, facilities help Lafayette
The Morning Call/ By Don Bostrom
The soundtrack for Lafayette's football recruiting efforts this year very well could have been the classic Joe Young-Sam Lewis song, ''How 'Ya Gonna Keep 'Em Down On the Farm (After They've Seen Paree?)'' The spectacular Bourger Varsity Football House and completely renovated Fisher Stadium complex proved to be quite a compelling selling point when coupled with the program's recent dominance of the Patriot League and the school's academic reputation. Leopards coach Frank Tavani used the mix to full advantage to land a deep, talented, balanced class.

Wednesday, February 6, 2008

FOOTBALL: Leopards strive for balanced Class of '12
The Express-Times/ By Rory Faust
EASTON | NCAA regulations prohibit Lafayette College coach Frank Tavani from commenting on his incoming Class of 2012 until today's national signing day. Even then, the Leopards' coach may be content to let his ninth recruiting class speak for itself. A number of highly touted high school athletes have already publicly acknowledged they will continue their football career on College Hill. In the days leading up to National Letter of Intent Day, all Tavani could confirm was his pleasure with the recruiting process' progression.

FOOTBALL: Leopards' Faragalli exits to be the OC at Richmond
The Express-Times/ By Rory Faust
EASTON | Mike Faragalli, Lafayette College's offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach for the past eight seasons, is leaving College Hill to become offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at the University of Richmond. Faragalli, the first assistant Frank Tavani hired after being named head coach in 1999, helped lead the Leopards to three straight Patriot League championships and NCAA FCS playoff appearances (2004-06). Faragalli oversaw the development of an offense that produced the program's No. 2 (Joe McCourt) and No. 3 (Jonathan Hurt) career rushers and the program's all-time leading passer (Marko Glavic) and receiver (John Weyrauch). Associate head coach Bob Heffner will assume the duties of offensive coordinator while remaining offensive line coach. The Leopards will hire a quarterbacks coach.

FOOTBALL: 'Pards assistant goes to Richmond
The Morning Call/ By Don Bostrom
The Lafayette football program found itself caught in a Spiders' web recently. But, not for long. Coach Frank Tavani wasn't surprised when longtime offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Mike Faragalli left to take a similar position with the Richmond Spiders. Tavani made a smooth, seamless transition by having associate head coach Bob Heffner take over Faragalli's duties. Both moves were made official Tuesday.

Tuesday, February 5, 2008

FOOTBALL: Easton's Hartzell elects to remain close to home
The Express-Times/ By Rory Faust
Ryan Hartzell has a newfound appreciation for Lehigh Valley football fans -- and offensive linemen -- after a year of prep school football. The former Easton Area High School standout cited winning tradition, an intense football atmosphere and proximity to home as his main reasons continuing his academic and athletic careers at Lafayette College.

Sunday, February 3, 2008

MEN'S BASKETBALL: Carr keys win over Leopards
The Express-Times/ By Rory Faust
EASTON | Garrison Carr was so far down on American's bench last season that he didn't even sniff the court in two double-digit wins over Lafayette. The junior guard certainly made up for lost time when the Patriot League's two startling success stories took center stage Saturday afternoon at Kirby Sports Center. Carr, who only averaged four points and 10 minutes per game last season, scored a career-high 32 points and set the Eagles' single-season record for 3-pointers in a surprisingly-easy 87-76 win over the league-leading Leopards. Despite losing two of its last three games, Lafayette (14-8 overall, 5-2 league) will head into the second half of the league schedule no worse than tied for first place. American (12-10, 4-3) is only one game back in the standings after scoring its sixth straight double-digit victory over the Leopards.

MEN'S BASKETBALL: Carr's career high lifts American over Lafayette
The Morning Call/ By Stephen Miller
With its deficit down to single digits and 101/2 minutes to play, the Lafayette men's basketball team had captured the momentum. The Leopards were imploring one another to get a stop. The Kirby Sports Center crowd roared its encouragement. Then Lafayette lost American guard Garrison Carr on the perimeter. When it did, its chances for a comeback suffered a severe blow. Carr rose up and drilled the last of his 6 three-pointers Saturday, pushing the Eagles ahead by 12. American maintained control the rest of the way to earn an 87-76 Patriot League win. Carr finished with a career-high 32 points. None of his buckets Saturday delivered more impact than that final three. It quieted the crowd of 2,748 and helped American (12-10 overall, 4-3 PL) snap Lafayette's seven-game winning streak at Kirby.

Friday, February 1, 2008

MEN'S BASKETBALL: Could this be the year for Lafayette-Lehigh final?
The Morning Call/ By Stephen Miller
Lafayette and Lehigh have met in college football more often than any other two schools in history. Their men's basketball teams also have a long-standing rivalry, playing 207 times since the series started in 1902. One place where the Leopards and Mountain Hawks have never met is in a Patriot League Tournament final, with an NCAA Tournament berth at stake. As the league schedule nears its midpoint, fans of the two Lehigh Valley schools can realistically dream of that possibility this year.

Thursday, January 31, 2008

MEN'S BASKETBALL: Brown delivers downtown 3s
The Express-Times/ By Rory Faust
EASTON | Andrew Brown relished his team's stifling defensive effort just as much as his record-setting shooting performance in Wednesday night's pivotal Patriot League contest against Army. And that's a good thing, considering the league-leading Lafayette men's basketball team will rely heavily on both in the final month of the regular season. Brown tied school and Kirby Sports Center records with nine 3-pointers en route to a career-high 34 points as the Leopards bounced back from their first league loss with a convincing 83-58 win before a crowd of 2,167. The rout was somewhat of a statement game for Lafayette (14-7 overall, 5-1 league), which squandered a 14-point second-half lead at Lehigh on Saturday. Brown and the Leopards wasted little time erasing the memory of last weekend's meltdown, blitzing the Black Knights (9-11, 2-4) with a 12-0 run to start the game.

MEN'S BASKETBALL: Lafayette regains top spot in PL
The Morning Call/ By Stephen Miller
When Lafayette played at Lehigh last weekend, its perimeter offense stalled. The Leopards missed open shots. They missed contested shots. It was an ugly game best forgotten. For the follow-up to its first Patriot League loss, Lafayette continued to fire away from long range. The Leopards have played that way all season, with plenty of success. No reason to change now. Wednesday the poetry returned to their perimeter attack. They shared the ball. They sizzled from 3-point range. Army had no answers. Lafayette started the game with the first 12 points. It pulled away in the second half for an 83-58 men's basketball win at Kirby Sports Center.

Sunday, January 27, 2008

WOMEN'S BASKETBALL: Leopards will their way to top
The Express-Times/ By Andrew Kroeckel
EASTON | The Leopards put in their time at practice over the past three seasons, always working hard, trying to figure out how to turn their program around. But they never reaped the rewards, suffering only demoralizing defeats. Well, now they're starting to see the rewards. "After four years it's about time," senior Vanessa Van De Venter said after scoring 17 points in Lafayette's 48-45 Patriot League victory over rival Lehigh at the Kirby Center on Saturday. Van De Venter, Maureen Johnson and Brittany Purr arrived at Lafayette in 2004-05, one season after the Leopards finished 1-27, 1-13 in league play. They made modest gains over the next three seasons, winning five, eight and seven games, but now instead of one league win, they have one league loss. With its victory Lafayette (12-8, 4-1) pulled into a first-place tie with Lehigh (12-8, 4-1), a half game ahead of Army (12-7, 3-1), which plays Navy today. And that's exactly the kind of success the coaching staff expected these seniors to have when they recruited them.

MEN'S BASKETBALL: Mountain Hawks' 'D' turns Leopards White
The Express-Times/ By Rory Faust
BETHLEHEM | Two weeks ago Bryan White pledged to rally his struggling Lehigh men's basketball team from the depths of despair. On Saturday night, the Mountain Hawks' lone senior almost single-handedly fulfilled his promise. The power forward frustrated the Patriot League's top team from baseline to baseline, rallying Lehigh to a shocking 60-55 win over cross-valley rival Lafayette before a packed house at Stabler Arena.

WOMEN'S BASKETBALL: Leopards leap into first-place tie with Lehigh with win
The Morning Call/ By Mandy Housenick
There was no Patriot League title at stake. No postseason berth on the line. But Lafayette's women's basketball team celebrated on Saturday like there was. And after what they've been through, the Leopards had every right to. Lafayette went 15-69 (.217) in Patriot League play over the previous six years, but moved into a tie for first place Saturday by edging rival Lehigh 48-45.

MEN'S BASKETBALL: Lehigh wins, gets back in the race
The Morning Call/ By Stephen Miller
As Dave Buchberger raced down the left side of the floor, a choice presented itself. He could fire a pass to a driving teammate, or he could stop and pop a shot. Buchberger considered the pass as he approached the 3-point line. He decided against it. He made the right choice. Buchberger drilled his pull-up 3-pointer, giving the Lehigh men's basketball team the lead with 1 minute, 33 seconds to play Saturday night. The Mountain Hawks then ran off the next six points to hold on for a 60-55 Patriot League win over rival Lafayette at Stabler Arena.

Saturday, January 26, 2008

MEN'S BASKETBALL: Road overtime games don't faze Lafayette
USA Today/ By Jim O'Connell, AP Basketball Writer
Need proof how unfair college basketball can be? On Wednesday night, No. 25 Baylor played five overtime periods on the road against No. 18 Texas A&M and the Bears' 116-110 victory was worth one win. Lafayette has played five overtime periods on the road this season and for their 25 extra minutes away from home the Leopards have gotten five wins.

Friday, January 25, 2008

MEN'S BASKETBALL: O'Hanlon still serving Leopards humble pie
The Morning Call/ By Stephen Miller
When a reporter suggested his team had already handled the best the Patriot League could offer this season, Lafayette men's basketball coach Fran O'Hanlon nixed the notion. The Leopards may have moved atop the league standings with Wednesday's win over Bucknell, but O'Hanlon won't let them enjoy their perch too much.

Thursday, January 24, 2008

MEN'S BASKETBALL: Look who is in first place!
The Express-Times/ By Rory Faust
EASTON | Andrew Brown stoically held the basketball near midcourt as the near-capacity Kirby Sports Center crowd rose to its feet in resounding approval. Lafayette's junior sharpshooter soaked in the atmosphere and subtly pumped his fist as the final seconds ticked away and officially thrust his once downtrodden team into a role it hasn't enjoyed in quite some time. In a surprising reversal of fortunes, the Leopards are now Patriot League favorites. Picked to finish last by its contemporaries, Lafayette completed an unimaginable coup d'état of the league's upper echelon with a surprisingly easy 80-68 win over perennial Patriot power Bucknell before a home crowd of 3,008 Wednesday night. The Leopards (13-6, 4-0) relegated a showdown featuring the league's two remaining unbeaten teams into a one-man show, with Brown playing the leading role.

MEN'S BASKETBALL: Leopards turn the league upside down
The Express-Times/ By Nick Fierro
More important than the aesthetic quality of Lafayette College's men's basketball team when operating at peak efficiency is its surprising effectiveness. The Leopards, picked to finish last in the Patriot League, have turned the preseason forecasts upside down. Only four games in, they've already proved they're capable of beating the best the league has to offer. Wednesday night's thorough 80-68 trouncing of Bucknell in a contest that wasn't as close as the score placed them alone atop the standings at 4-0. Holy Cross, picked to finish first before losing to Lafayette, Army and Bucknell, is last. What does it all mean?

MEN'S BASKETBALL: Lafayette tops Bucknell
The Daily Item (Sunbury, Pa.)/ By Tom Housenick
EASTON -- Lafayette coach Fran O'Hanlon walked -- his usual limp, actually -- to the podium for the post-game press conference following his team's dominant 80-68 rout of visiting Bucknell with surely plenty to speak of. Andrew Brown's seven 3-pointers and game-high 28 points. Bilal Abdullah's season-high eight assists. Four players in double figures. O'Hanlon had his choices. He chose to focus on the Leopards' defense, one which pushed the Bison out of a comfortable rhythm from the opening tip. It was a defense that never let Bucknell put together a patented big run it had done in previous league games. It was a defense that fueled the fire for an offensive juggernaut four games into Patriot League play. It is a combination of those two aspects that has Lafayette alone in first place at 4-0, 13-6 overall.

WOMEN'S BASKETBALL: Lafayette defeats Bucknell in overtime
The Daily Item (Sunbury, Pa.)/ By Tom Housenick
LEWISBURG -- Trailing by five points with less than 40 seconds left in the second half, Bucknell rallied to send Wednesday's Patriot League women's basketball game against Lafayette into overtime. But the struggles that plagued the Bison in the second half -- missed free throws and open shots -- reared their ugly head again in the overtime, leading to a Leopards' victory. Bucknell made just one field goal and one foul shot in overtime as Lafayette scored nine points from the charity stripe in a 64-58 win at Sojka Pavilion.

MEN'S BASKETBALL: Leopards take top spot
The Morning Call/ By Stephen Miller
Feel free to discard the Patriot League preseason men's basketball poll. Any relevance it carried after its October release has disappeared during the opening two weeks of league play. Lafayette has seen to that. The Leopards were picked for last place before a game was played in the 2007-08 season. Four games into their 14-game league schedule, they stand alone atop the standings. Bucknell came to Kirby Sports Center tied with Lafayette for first place. The Leopards snapped the tie with an 80-68 win Wednesday, dominating the Bison for the final 35 minutes in a game that was more blowout than nail-biter.

MEN'S BASKETBALL: Lafayette's Brown has found his niche
The Morning Call/ By Gordie Jones
Every shot was a good shot for Andrew Brown Wednesday night. Every spot was his spot. Never mind that there was a point three years ago when the senior guard wasn't sure Lafayette was the right spot for him. Now it's abundantly clear. Now he is one of the key figures on the Patriot League's surprise team. He nailed seven 3-pointers and scored 28 points in Team Pop-a-Shot's 80-68 beat-down of Bucknell, a victory that allowed the Leopards to claim sole possession of first place.

Tuesday, January 22, 2008

MEN'S BASKETBALL: Lafayette is a big winner of late in overtime
USA Today/ By Eddie Timanus
As Bachman Turner Overdrive might say, the Lafayette men's basketball team has been taking care of business and working overtime. A lot of overtime. With their 103-99 win Saturday at Navy, the Leopards broke an NCAA record with their fifth road overtime victory of the season. Now 6-0 in OT contests this season, Lafayette has tied another NCAA mark for total wins in extra time in a season, most recently by Wake Forest in 1988-89. (Print Edition in PDF Format )

MEN'S BASKETBALL: Bucknell's Flannery won't be on sideline
The Express-Times/ By Rory Faust
Pat Flannery has coaxed the Bucknell University men's basketball team through countless big games in his 14 seasons at the helm. The Bison, however, won't have the luxury of drawing on their veteran leader's moxie in Wednesday night's showdown on College Hill. The Patriot League hit Flannery with a one-game suspension on Monday following his outburst during Bucknell's nationally-televised game at Holy Cross last Friday. Carolyn Schlie Femovich, the league's executive director, said Flannery violated the league's code of conduct.

MEN'S BASKETBALL: O'Hanlon's Leopards comfortable working overtime
The Daily Item (Sunbury, Pa.)/ By Tom Housenick
Lafayette coach Fran O'Hanlon has a long-term contract that compensates him well. He's not complaining. But, maybe, he should consider renegotiating. The Leopards have been making the 13th-year head coach put in a lot of extra time this season. A record amount of time, really. Lafayette enters Wednesday's home game against fellow Patriot League-unbeaten Bucknell (8-9 overall, 3-0 PL) with a 12-6 record overall. Six of those wins have come in overtime, five on the road.

Friday, January 18, 2008

MEN'S BASKETBALL: Holy Cross, Bucknell at different ends of PL
The Morning Call/ By Stephen Miller
Holy Cross and Bucknell, top dogs in Patriot League men's basketball for the last three seasons, will renew their rivalry tonight. For once, the Crusaders and Bison have to worry about more than jockeying with one another for the inside track to the league's regular-season title. With Army earning a stunning 53-39 win at Holy Cross on Wednesday, the Crusaders saw their 23-game home winning streak end and dropped to 0-2 in the PL. Holy Cross, the league's preseason favorite, has lost three straight overall and five of its last seven, with a rash of injuries contributing to its struggles. Bucknell, meanwhile, has started PL play with two home wins to tie Lafayette for the top spot in the league standings. The Bison had injury problems of their own while compiling a 5-9 non-league record, but they are the healthier group headed into tonight's tangle at the Hart Center.

Thursday, January 17, 2008

MEN'S BASKETBALL: Abdullah, Leopards recover in overtime
The Express-Times/ By Rory Faust
HAMILTON, N.Y. | A bizarre scuffle cost Bilal Abdullah two crucial points midway through a wild extra period Wednesday night. The senior forward certainly picked an opportune time to get them back. Abdullah tipped in a missed shot with 3.5 seconds remaining in overtime then secured the game-sealing steal as time expired to give Lafayette a thrilling 69-68 win over Patriot League rival Colgate at Cotterell Court. The Leopards (11-6, 2-0) improved to 5-0 in overtime games and opened league play with two straight wins for the first time since 2003-04 when they ran the table in the first half with a 7-0 start.

Sunday, January 13, 2008

MEN'S BASKETBALL: What a way to open a season
The Express-Times/ By Rory Faust
EASTON | Fran O'Hanlon calmly brushed aside questions about Lafayette's torrid start earlier this week by quickly pointing out that his team is still picked to finish last in the Patriot League. After watching the Leopards systematically dismantle defending champion and preseason favorite Holy Cross on Saturday, league officials may want to consider an unprecedented preseason poll do-over. In a league opener that featured a championship atmosphere, the Lafayette men's basketball team dominated early then rallied late past the highly-touted Crusaders 60-52 in its first game at Kirby Sports Center in six weeks.

MEN'S BASKETBALL: 'Pard seniors finally beat Holy Cross
The Morning Call/ By Stephen Miller
When closing time came, Lafayette's senior starters wouldn't let this one slip away. They had suffered through seven straight losses to Holy Cross in their first three years on College Hill. They needed to end the skid, especially if they intended to defy those who picked them last in the Patriot League's preseason poll. Their urgency showed in the waning minutes. Matt Betley provided the sharpshooting when Lafayette needed a basket late. Everest Schmidt delivered the hustle. Bilal Abdullah did a bit of everything. Their collective endgame effort propelled Lafayette to a 60-52 win over Holy Cross in the Patriot League opener for both teams. And when time expired, Betley, Schmidt, Abdullah and their teammates reveled in the cheers from a Saturday afternoon crowd of 2,842 at Kirby Sports Center.

Friday, January 11, 2008

FOOTBALL: Tavani given 2-year extension, keeping him at Lafayette until 2014
The Morning Call/ By Don Bostrom
When Frank Tavani was introduced as the Lafayette football coach on Dec. 11, 1999, he revealed his vision quest was to make the Leopards a consistent winner, a champion and to keep the position until retirement. So far, he's on target. Tavani guided the Leopards to three consecutive Patriot League championships and NCAA playoff appearances from 2004-06 and took a big step toward reaching that retirement goal by accepting a two-year contract extension Thursday, which will keep him on board through the 2014 season.

MEN'S BASKETBALL: A hard homecoming for Leopards
The Morning Call/ By Stephen Miller
With a five-week, eight-game road odyssey complete, home beckons at last for the Lafayette men's basketball team. Its first game at Kirby Sports Center since Dec. 3 won't allow it to ease back into its surroundings. Defending Patriot League champion and preseason favorite Holy Cross will visit the Leopards on Saturday in the league opener for both teams. The Crusaders (9-4 overall) have won seven straight over Lafayette (9-6), most by comfortable margins. Holy Cross has beaten the Leopards by an average of 20 points during the seven-game winning streak, with none of its wins coming by fewer than 10 points.

Thursday, January 10, 2008

MEN'S BASKETBALL: Leopards perfect in overtime
The Express-Times/ By Rory Faust
PRINCETON, N.J. | Bilal Abdullah's grand evening had a rather inauspicious start. The senior forward drew a technical foul with a bone-rattling hit in the paint and was promptly banished to the bench by Lafayette coach Fran O'Hanlon. The second half, however, held decidedly different fortunes for Abdullah and his Leopard teammates. Abdullah scored 11 of his 14 points -- including the 1,000th of his career -- after intermission as Lafayette rallied from an 18-point deficit to beat Princeton 76-71 at Jadwin Gym on Wednesday night.

MEN'S BASKETBALL: Leopards kick it into overdrive in overtime
The Morning Call/ By Stephen Miller
All season long, overtime has been the right time for Lafayette. Four times the Leopards have been forced to play an extra five minutes. Four times they have exited the extra session with a victory. Lafayette burned Princeton with its overtime excellence Wednesday. Ted Detmer's putback with 2:56 to go put the Leopards ahead for good. Six free throws in the final minute sealed their 76-71 nonleague men's basketball win at Jadwin Gym, which came after they trailed by as many as 18 points in the first half. The win gave Lafayette (9-6) a boost headed into the start of Patriot League play Saturday. The Leopards snapped a three-game losing streak that included losses to Pittsburgh and Mississippi State and equaled their win total from all of last season, when they went 9-21.

MEN'S BASKETBALL: Cold second half leaves Rutgers seeking answers
The Star-Ledger/ By Alex Delanian
PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- If it's beginning to look like the entire Rutgers men's basketball team is suffering from the same disease, it's because they are. It's brick-itis, and Fred Hill doesn't know if he has the cure. The Scarlet Knights scored just two second-half field goals in a 76-50 blowout against the Providence Friars last night in front of 7,102 fans at the Dunkin Donuts Center. After a baseline floater by Mike Coburn with 17:41 to play, the team didn't hit another basket until JR Inman's short jump shot with 5:50 remaining.

MEN'S BASKETBALL: Dreary Dozen
The Trentonian/ By Joe O'Gorman
PRINCETON -- It went from the most impressive half of basketball to the most crushing defeat. After building a very impressive 18-point lead in the first half, Princeton saw it all painfully slip away in the second half. And then when the Tigers' Kyle Koncz hit a big shot to force overtime, it only served to delay the agony. Lafayette seized the momentum in the overtime and a much-needed win had once again evaded the Tigers as the Leopards took a 76-71 win last night in a non-conference game on the Jadwin Gym floor.

Tuesday, January 8, 2008

LAFAYETTE SPORTS NETWORK: RCN's Mowdy helps China's Olympic effort
The Morning Call/ By Keith Groller
Dan Mowdy is always comfortable behind a microphone. And, that's whether he's at Fisher Stadium working the sidelines for the RCN/Lafayette Sports Network or doing P.A. work at an international gymnastics competition in Greece or China. Mowdy, a familiar face on local cable television since 1984, recently spent several weeks in Beijing, China, helping the locals get set for the Summer Games in August.

Sunday, January 6, 2008

MEN'S BASKETBALL: Return to Coliseum invigorates Johnson
The Clarion Ledger/ By Kyle Veazey
Ravern Johnson and his Coahoma County teammates made a habit out early March trips to Mississippi Coliseum, so much so that he remembers it as "basically our home gym." It took another trip to the Big House for him to regain his form. The Mississippi State freshman and last year's Mr. Basketball turned in his best performance of his young career, scoring 11 points on 5-of-6 shooting in MSU's 77-53 win Saturday over Lafayette in front of an announced 3,044.

Saturday, January 5, 2008

MEN'S BASKETBALL: Rhodes can only sit, cheer for Dogs
The Clarion Ledger/ By Kyle Veazey
Charles Rhodes sat on a table in a Humphrey Coliseum breezeway Thursday afternoon looking as dejected as he's ever been. And probably as dejected as any star All-Southeastern Conference forward has ever been when told he probably won't play against Lafayette College. "I just don't like the 'can't' word, and everybody tells me I can't; I'm going to be able to do this and that," Rhodes said. "It's just - I don't know. Jackson's a big game for me, because it's my last one in my hometown and it's just been bothering me lately with this injury. I want to play so bad, but at the same time I want to do what's best for my team because I know the SEC is coming up." A few minutes later, MSU coach Rick Stansbury removed all doubt. Stansbury said Rhodes, who is suffering from a left ankle sprain, will miss today's 2 p.m. game against the Leopards (8-5) of the Patriot League.

WOMEN'S BASKETBALL: Lafayette hangs tough in loss
The Express-Times/ By Paul Sokoloski
EASTON | During a defeat straight out of the old days, the Lafayette College women's basketball team found a new reason to believe. And although it couldn't quite overcome a depleted but hot-shooting La Salle team, the Leopards used their new-found faith to prove a point to themselves. Margaret Elderton drilled all four of her attempts from the floor in Friday's first half as La Salle shot nearly 58 percent for the game while rolling to a 70-54 victory over the Leopards at Kirby Sports Center. But a late-game comeback that was sparked by reserve Emily Garner and cut a 19-point deficit down to eight with over three minutes remaining showed just how far Lafayette's willing to go to leave its losing attitude in the past.

WOMEN'S BASKETBALL: La Salle women wallop Lafayette
The Philadelphia Inquirer/ By Mel Greenberg
EASTON, Pa. - Reduced to eight available players because of injuries, La Salle is finding ways to overcome its depth disadvantage. Last night, for example, the Explorers shot the lights out of Kirby Arena in a 70-54 nonconference victory over Lafayette.

Friday, January 4, 2008

MEN'S BASKETBALL: Crusaders are team to beat in Patriot League
The Morning Call/ By Stephen Miller
With two months of the 2007-08 basketball season in the standings, teams have made their early impressions. In the Patriot League, a one-bid NCAA Tournament league throughout its history, what has happened to date won't matter as much as what happens between now and the end of the league tournament in March. Still, the nonleague portion of play has offered some indicators of what might come in the next two months. Here are a few developments that stand out.

Thursday, January 3, 2008

MEN'S BASKETBALL: 'New' Pitt surges to win
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette/ By Ray Fittipaldo
For one game at least, Pitt proved it could play without point guard Levance Fields. Now the real test comes. Can the Panthers play without their injured star when Big East play gets under way Sunday afternoon at Villanova? No. 13-ranked Pitt overcame a halftime deficit to defeat Lafayette, 96-75, last night at the Petersen Events Center.

MEN'S BASKETBALL: Short-handed Pitt pulls past Lafayette
Pittsburgh Tribune-Review/ By John Grupp
The Pitt men's basketball team is starting to feel a little better about itself. The short-handed Panthers got career nights from three players to pull away from hot-shooting Lafayette, 96-75, at Petersen Events Center on Wednesday night.

Wednesday, January 2, 2008

MEN'S BASKETBALL: New-look Pitt lineup in test run
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette/ By Ray Fittipaldo
Three years ago today one of the biggest upsets in the history of Pitt basketball took place at the Petersen Events Center. Bucknell, a Patriot League school better known for its academics than its athletics, visited Pitt Jan. 2, 2005, and handed the Panthers' their first loss of the season. Scouting report Tonight, another team from the Patriot League will play Pitt on the three-year anniversary of that upset. No. 13 Pitt (11-1) will play host to Lafayette (8-4) in the Panthers' final non-conference game this season.

MEN'S BASKETBALL: Hobbled Pitt looks to rebound
Pittsburgh Tribune-Review/ By John Grupp
This is a new year for the Pitt men's basketball team in more ways than just the calendar. Beginning tonight, the shorthanded and hobbled Panthers embark in what promises to be the program's biggest test since coach Jamie Dixon took over five years ago. "We're not feeling sorry for ourselves," Dixon said. "It's part of the game." With the only returning starters from last season, Levance Fields and Mike Cook, sidelined with injuries ranging from two months to season-ending, Pitt (11-1) gets a glimpse at how it will handle the challenges when Lafayette (8-4) visits Petersen Events Center at 7 tonight.

Tuesday, January 1, 2008

MEN'S BASKETBALL: Pitt surprisingly positive despite key injuries
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette/ By Ray Fittipaldo
The Pitt basketball team returned to practice yesterday one day after learning that they must play the next two months without junior point guard Levance Fields. That news came on the heels of learning that Mike Cook's and Austin Wallace's seasons were over because of knee injuries. That's a lot to absorb in three weeks of time. Coach Jamie Dixon had wondered about his team's mental outlook Sunday, but he was pleasantly surprised with the upbeat attitude they displayed at a workout yesterday, the first of two before a non-conference game tomorrow against Lafayette at Petersen Events Center.

MEN'S BASKETBALL: Wounded Pitt plots next moves
Pittsburgh Tribune-Review/ By John Grupp
Pitt coach Jamie Dixon said Levance Fields' surgery Monday was a success, and he remains hopeful his star point guard will return this season. In Fields' absence, senior Ronald Ramon will play point guard and senior Keith Benjamin will start at shooting guard, with freshman Brad Wanamaker coming off the bench. Redshirt freshman Gilbert Brown will continue to start for Cook at small forward. Ramon, hampered by shoulder injuries, said he will play when Pitt (11-1) hosts Lafayette on Wednesday at Petersen Events Center. Ramon said his right shoulder was "partially dislocated" in the Dayton game. He also has an injured left shoulder.

Saturday, December 29, 2007

MEN'S BASKETBALL: Brown typifies Lafayette
The Express-Times/ By Rory Faust
Andrew Brown is going to, and shooting from, great lengths to prove the Lafayette College men's basketball team is a championship-caliber program. Miffed by the Leopards' last-place selection in the Patriot League preseason poll, the record-setting junior guard has fueled a startling turnaround that has the veteran team thinking about a league title -- and beyond.

Saturday, December 22, 2007

MEN'S BASKETBALL: Brown's 32 leads Leopards to road victory
The Express-Times
EMMITSBURG, Md. | Junior guard Andrew Brown scored a career-high 32 points and sank a key 3-pointer in the final minute to lift Lafayette to a 76-72 men's basketball win over Mount St. Mary's on Friday night at Knott Arena. The Leopards improved to 8-3 by snapping Mount St. Mary's six-game winning streak.

MEN'S BASKETBALL: Brown scores 32 to lift Lafayette men
The Morning Call
Andrew Brown scored a game-high 32 points to carry Lafayette to a 76-72 victory over Mount St. Mary's Friday night in Emmitsburg, Md. Michael Gruner's jumper with 13:30 remaining in the game gave Lafayette a 59-37 lead and the Leopards (8-3) held a 65-45 lead with 10:05 on the clock. The Mount (6-5) responded with a 28-7 run, capped by Will Holland's 3-pointer with 40 seconds remaining to cut the Lafayette advantage to 73-72. On the ensuing possession, Brown sank his ninth 3-pointer of the game from the top of the key to seal the victory for the Leopards.

Thursday, December 20, 2007

MEN'S BASKETBALL: Tigers fall to Lafayette in OT
The Baltimore Sun/ By Todd Karpovich
Towson coach Pat Kennedy credits his team for doing a solid job moving the ball on offense to create open shots, but he acknowledges that the Tigers have struggled recently to convert those chances. While the offense played better last night against visiting Lafayette, Towson could not match the Leopards' firepower down the stretch in a 79-69 overtime loss.

MEN'S BASKETBALL: Betley leads Leopard men to win
The Morning Call
Matt Betley scored seven of his 14 points in overtime and Lafayette beat host Towson 79-69 on Wednesday night. Bilal Abdullah added 14 points and 11 rebounds, and Deirunas Visockas had four 3-pointers among his 14 points for the Leopards (7-3), who have won six of seven.

Thursday, December 13, 2007

FOOTBALL: Lafayette's Padilla is an AP All-American
The Express-Times/ By Rory Faust
EASTON | Jesse Padilla hopes his recent national accolades will serve as a prelude to an even bigger prize: an NFL contract. Lafayette College's massive offensive tackle earned his second Football Championship Subdivision All-America selection this week when the Associated Press picked him as a second-team lineman Wednesday. Padilla also was selected to the American Football Coaches Association FCS All-America team Monday. The agile 6-foot-5, 310-pound senior is the Leopards' first AP All-American since linebacker Dan Bengele was selected to the second team in 1997.

Friday, December 7, 2007

MEN'S BASKETBALL: Leopards improve from arc
The Morning Call/ By Stephen Miller
With an abundance of perimeter players and a well-documented lack of size, the Lafayette men's basketball team has used the 3-pointer as a primary weapon in recent years. The 2007-08 Leopards have improved their arc efficiency during their 5-3 start. After hitting 10 of 23 3-pointers in Wednesday's 90-79 loss at Rutgers, Lafayette is shooting 42.4 percent (86 of 203) from 3-point range this season. That's a 6.5 percent jump from last season, when it finished the year shooting 35.9 percent from the arc (256 of 713).

Thursday, December 6, 2007

WOMEN'S BASKETBALL: PM East graduate Van De Venter excels in senior year at Lafayette
Pocono Record/ By Andrew Kroeckel
Vanessa Van De Venter believes there's a simple explanation behind the best stretch of play in her college career. "Honestly, I don't know," said Van De Venter, a 2004 graduate of Pocono Mountain East. "I don't really think about it. I just go out there and have fun, to be honest." It seems to work. After scoring 73 points, including the 1,000th point of her college career, in three games last week, the Lafayette senior was named the Patriot League Women's Basketball Player of the Week. For the season, Van De Venter is averaging a team-high 19.3 points and 7.0 rebounds for the Leopards (5-3), who are riding a four-game winning streak heading into tonight's game against Penn. Playing with a visible confidence that her father pointed out to her, Van De Venter has taken her game to a new level this season. She's led the team in scoring each of the past six games, scoring a career-high 28 in a 61-53 victory over New Jersey Institute of Technology on Dec. 1. Two games before that, against St. Francis, N.Y., on Nov. 27, Van De Venter became the 14th player in school history to score 1,000 points. It was the second time in her life that she reached the millenium mark, finishing her high school career with 1,288 points.

MEN'S BASKETBALL: 'Pards beaten at own game
The Express-Times/ By Rory Faust
PISCATAWAY, N.J. | Fran O'Hanlon figured a stellar shooting performance coupled with a solid effort on the boards would give Lafayette a chance to engineer a major coup on a Big East Conference basketball court. The Leopards managed to meet their veteran coach's goals, but they didn't figure on getting beat at their own game. Rutgers hit eight of its first 11 3-point attempts and shot a season-high 44 percent from beyond the arc to hold off Lafayette 90-79 Wednesday night at the RAC. Lafayette, fourth in the nation in 3-pointers per game, also hit on 44 percent from behind the arc and held its own on the boards against the bigger Scarlet Knights. But the Leopards couldn't solve Rutgers' sharpshooters J.R. Inman (26 points), Corey Chandler (19 points), who spread the floor and each hit career scoring highs.

Tuesday, December 4, 2007

MEN'S BASKETBALL: Leopards get a breather before storm
The Express-Times/ By John Bruns
EASTON | Since it will be more than a month before the Lafayette basketball team gets a chance to play again on its home court, maybe the Leopards wanted to give the home fans something to remember as they hammered a young New Jersey Institute of Technology team 81-56 on Monday night. The Leopards (5-2) went into the game against NJIT with a 3-2 record at Kirby Sports Center. They also had a victory in their lone road game at Stony Brook. Now they embark on a run of eight straight road games before they return home on Jan. 12 to face Holy Cross in their first Patriot League game. The first of the road games is Wednesday night at Rutgers.

MEN'S BASKETBALL: Everybody gets into act for Leopards
The Morning Call/ By Stephen Miller
With a visit to a Big East school and an eight-game road swing looming, the Lafayette men's basketball team tuned up with a big, easy win in its final home game of 2007. New Jersey Institute of Technology scored the first two points Monday at Kirby Sports Center. Lafayette answered with the next 15. The referees could have stopped the game then. The rules called for 35 more minutes of basketball. Lafayette dominated them, cruising to an 81-56 non-league win.

Friday, November 30, 2007

WOMEN'S BASKETBALL: Lafayette's on a roll
The Express-Times
Vanessa Van De Venter scored 24 points and pulled down 13 rebounds, leading Lafayette to its third straight women's basketball win, 62-56 over Coppin State on Thursday night. LaKeisha Wright added 12 points and nine rebounds for the Leopards, who ended Coppin State's 22-game homecourt win streak.

WOMEN'S BASKETBALL: Lafayette women upset Coppin State
The Morning Call
The Lafayette women's basketball team (4-3) extended its win streak to three with a 62-56 upset of Coppin State at Baltimore, Md. Thursday night. Senior Vanessa Van De Venter had her second double-double of the season with a season-high 24 points and 13 boards to snap the Eagles' 22-game home court win streak, the fourth-longest streak in the nation. Lafayette freshman LaKeisha Wright joined Van De Venter in double figures with 12 points and fell just one rebound shy of a double-double with nine. Classmate Elizabeth Virgin, making her third-straight start, scored a season-best seven points in the win.

Thursday, November 29, 2007

MEN'S BASKETBALL: Leopards' win over Quakers is anything but cheesy
The Express-Times/ By Corky Blake
EASTON | No free cheesesteaks for University of Pennsylvania basketball fans Wednesday night. Lafayette defeated the Quakers 81-69 before a crowd of nearly 2,000 in Kirby Sports Center. The Leopards topped Penn for just the fourth time in 41 meetings dating to 1917. The Lafayette veterans exacted a measure of revenge for a 105-78 mauling two years ago in Philadelphia. When the Quakers hit the century mark, those in attendance at the Palestra turned in their tickets for free cheesesteaks at a local eatery.

MEN'S BASKETBALL: Leopards get rare victory over Quakers
The Morning Call/ By Stephen Miller
For 28 minutes, the long-range shooting that fueled Lafayette's first back-to-back wins of the season deserted it. For one brilliant minute, the Leopards treated the 3-point arc like a pregame layup line. It started with a bit of hustle by Bilal Abdullah, who kept a possession alive by sa