Michael Hurley is the RTC correspondent for the America East Conference and Patriot League.

2009-10 Patriot League

1. Lafayette        5-1,  14-7
2. Lehigh        4-2,  13-8
3. Army        3-3,  12-8
4. Navy         3-3,  9-12
5. Bucknell        3-3,  8-14
6. American         3-3,  6-15
7. Colgate      2-4,  6-14
8. Holy Cross        2-4,  5-16

Hottest Team. Lafayette (3-1) – W 89-78 at Longwood University W 73-66 at Delaware State, W 86-79 vs. NJIT, W 75-69 vs. Yale, W 78-67 vs. American.  This is the second time in the last three years Lafayette has started off 5-1 in league play. This time I don’t think they will lose seven of their next eight.

Stud Player. Vlad Moldoveanu – American (23.8 ppg /7 rpg) – In the last four games Moldoveanu has been playing great ball for American including a 37-point game in the victory over Navy. American has won three out of the last four games behind Moldoveanu who is turning into a star.

Thoughts on the Patriot League:

• Marquis Hall became the fourth player in league history to hit the 500-assist mark. Hall was the first to do so with over 1,300 points. He currently sits 32d in career history in points, 19th in steals, and 4th in points. Hall is not the only one putting up impressive numbers. Kyle Roemer, the league’s active leader in points with 1,474, is five three-pointers away from reaching the top ten in league history.
• Lafayette is still playing great ball. Their 77-68 win over Army regained them first place in the league at 5-1. The Leopards have won six of the last seven and 10 of the last 12. The win over Army was accomplished with some great shooting. In the second half Lafayette shot 55% from the field including 5 for 9 from three-point range. They also shot 17 for 20 from the charity stripe. Jared Mintz led the way with 20 points, Ryan Willen totaled 17, and Jim Mower added 15 on five three-pointers.
• Lehigh at 4-2 is sitting in sole possession of second place, although they recently had their three-game winning streak snapped at Bucknell. It was an 81-76 overtime loss for Lehigh. The Mountain Hawks blew a 10-point lead at the end of regulation. Marquis Hall had a chance at the buzzer from downtown to win it, but missed. Hall did play well finishing with 21 points, six rebounds and six assists. C.J McCollum also finished with 20 points, his third straight game reaching that total.
• Army lost their second straight Patriot League game Wednesday night. The Black Knights lost 77-68 to Lafayette. At this point Army is 1-3 on the road in conference, but has played more road games than any other team in the conference. Cleveland Richard had 20 points to lead Army while Julian Simmons added 18. The Black Knights just couldn’t shoot well from the outside hitting only 7 of 21 three-pointers.
• Navy had their third loss in conference play at American 69-59. Chris Harris led the way with 21 points, remaining the league leader at 20.5 per game. Jordan Sugars added 11 points and grabbed eight rebounds. Navy shot terrible from the field including 4 for 19 from three-point range.
• Bucknell has won back-to-back games placing itself in the four-way tie for third. Their come-from-behind win against Lehigh was a work of art. They were down 10 points with three minutes to play. Their defense shut out Lehigh and they scored the final ten points to send the game to overtime. The Bison ended up scoring an 81-76 victory. This followed a win at Colgate in which they scored the final five points to win 62-61. G.W Boon came up big in the victory over Lehigh with 12 of his season-high 18 points in the final two minutes of regulation and overtime. Mike Muscala finished with a double-double with 16 points and 10 rebounds.
• American rode their star, Vlad Moldoveanu, to their second straight victory. Moldoveanu scored a career-high 37 points in the game. He shot 10 for 17 from the field and 14 for 15 from the line.  It was the most points in a Patriot League game since Navy’s Greg Sprink had 37 almost two years ago to the date. American has now won 20 straight games at home, their last loss coming a full two years ago from Saturday. American still needs to cut down on turnovers though with 20 of them in the game.
• After notching two straight victories Holy Cross is back on another two-game losing streak. The latest lost was a heartbreaker. The Crusaders dropped a 69-68 game at Colgate. Colgate scored the game winning points with three seconds to play. Holy Cross still only has one victory all year on the road. Devin Brown finished with 19 points to lead the team and Mike Cavataio had 12 points, nine assists and seven rebounds.
• Colgate scored a come from behind victory against Holy Cross Wednesday. Yaw Gyawu hit a game winning shot with under three seconds to play to give Colgate the victory. Gyawu finished with 17 points. Kyle Roemer led the way with 18 points. Colgate snapped a four-game losing streak with the victory.

Key Upcoming Matchup

01.30.10 – American at Lafayette – 1 pm.  Can American continue with their two-game winning streak at Easton? Moldoveanu has been playing the best ball in the league since he came tor the Eagles. American has won the last ten games against Lafayette, including a victory over the Leopards last time Lafayette was 5-1 which started them on a second half swoon.

Michael Hurley is the RTC correspondent for the Patriot League and America East Conference.

Patriot League Standings (conf/over):

1. Lafayette                                  2-0,  11-6
2. Navy                                          2-0,  8-9
3. Lehigh                                      1-1,  10-7
4. Army                                        1-1,  11-5
5. Bucknell                                   1-1,  6-12
6. Colgate                                      1-1,  5-11
7. American                                  0-2,  3-14
8. Holy Cross                               0-2,  3-14

Hottest Team. Lafayette (4-1)

L 82-72 OT at Delaware; W 77-62 vs. Penn; W 91-74 vs. Columbia; W 84-74 vs. Holy Cross; W 95-82 at Colgate

Lafayette has won four straight games and only has one loss since Christmas.

Stud Player. Kyle Roemer– Sr. Colgate; 28.5 PPG in conference play.

Roemer is averaging 19 PPG, but started off the conference play with a 26 point game that included a game-tying three that sent Colgate into overtime. He followed it up with a 31 point game.

Thoughts on the Patriot League:

It looks like this season will see more high-scoring games than the 2008-09 Patriot League. No player scored 30 or more points in a regular-season game last year. After the first week of conference games this year there already have been two. The longest winning streak of the season by any Patriot League team was snapped this past Thursday.

Lafayette has won seven of their last eight, with the only loss being an overtime game at Delaware. The Leopards opened up the conference schedule with a win against preseason favorite Holy Cross. Ryan Willen led the way in the game scoring 20 points. Willen was one of four Leopards in double figures. Lafayette shot 8-15 from long range in the game and 20-23 from the line in the ten-point win. Lafayette never trailed during the game. In the first conference game on the road Lafayette got another double-digit victory, and once again had a second half to remember. In the first two conference games the Leopards have put up over 50 points in the second half. Willen once again was one of four players with double-digit points. This time he had 19 points in 19 minutes. Jared Mintz led the way with 22 points.

Navy has started out 2-0 in conference play. The victories came at Bucknell and over Lehigh. Lehigh was in the midst of a six-game winning streak when Navy took them down, 94-83, at home. Senior guard Chris Harris put together an impressive offensive performance scoring 29 points while going 14-14 from the charity stripe. Harris is currently averaging 20.2 PPG to lead the Patriot League. Navy overwhelmed Lehigh in the second half scoring 58 points. The Mids used runs of 10-2 and 9-0 to stretch the lead in the last ten minutes to double digits.

Lehigh had their six-game winning streak snapped by Navy despite a career-high 31 points from freshman C.J. McCollum. In the Mountain Hawks first game of the conference schedule they scored an 11 point victory over American. Zahir Carrington put together a double-double that game with 18 points and 12 rebounds while point guard Marquis Hall added 17 points and six assists. Lehigh had a big lead at half, but allowed the Eagles to climb back into it before six straights points with under two minutes left put the game away.

Army opened up their conference schedule on the road. The first matchup was at Colgate followed by a game at Holy Cross. In the opener Army blew a four point halftime lead to Colgate. Cleveland Richard was the only player who hit double figures for the Black Knights, finishing with 20 points. Army then beat Holy Cross in Worcester. That was just the second win in the last eighteen meetings with Holy Cross, but both have come at HC in the last three years. In this matchup it was Richard’s defense that came up big, when he blocked a last-second three-pointer by Holy Cross with a chance to tie it. Army ended up winning 67-64 led by Josh Miller’s 22 points. Army’s 11-5 start is the best since the 1978-79 season.

Bucknell snapped a three-game losing streak that included their lowest output of the year with a victory at home over American. Patrick Behan led the way with 22 points in the 72-68 win over American. It was Bryson Johnson’s big three that sent the game into overtime. Johnson finished with 16 points in the contest. The Bison controlled the ball better than ever before in program history, committing just one turnover the entire game.

Colgate had won five out of six including a conference opener against Army before Lafayette came to town and beat them, 95-82. Colgate took Army to overtime in the opener. Kyle Roemer finished with 26 points including a three-pointer to force overtime. Roemer scored nine points in overtime to propel Colgate to victory. Roemer then came out against Lafayette and scored 31 points. Roemer shot a perfect 11-11 from the free throw line.

Holy Cross continued their disappointing start with two losses in league play. The first one came at Lafayette, the second one was at home against Army. Holy Cross outrebounded Army 37-28, led by Andrew Keister’s 18 rebounds, but still lost the matchup by three. Andrew Beinert had his last second three blocked. Holy Cross has now last eight of their last nine. It was Keister’s second 18 rebound game of the season.

American also continued their lackluster season with a 0-2 Patriot League start. Against Bucknell, American had the lead with less than two minutes to play before the Bison made their final run. The Eagles went 1-5 on their six game road trip with the only win being at Brown. That is also their only win since the upset of Depaul. Since Vlad Moldoveanu joined the lineup he has done everything he can, averaging 18.4 PPG and 6 RPG.

Key Upcoming Matchup

01.16.10 – Lafayette at Navy – 7 pm.

First place teams in the Patriot League face off early in the season in this matchup in Annapolis. One team will get their first conference loss of the year. If Lafayette manages to get the victory at Navy, it will give them the confidence to continue this stretch of great basketball. It will come down to whether or not they can contain superstar Chris Harris.

Michael Hurley is the RTC correspondent for the Patriot League and America East Conference.

Current Standings (overall record):

1. Army  9-2
2. Lafayette  7-5
3. Lehigh  5-6
4. Bucknell  4-8
5. Navy  4-8
6. Holy Cross  2-9
7. American  2-10
8. Colgate  1-9

Hottest Team: 

Army (3-0) — W 59-46 at Dartmouth, W 62-56 vs. Mount St. Vincent, W 54-46 vs. New Hampshire

The Black Knights continued their hot streak and are in the midst of their second four-game winning streak of the season.  They finished the road trip with a record of 2-1 winning the final game at Dartmouth before handling Mount Saint Vincent and New Hampshire at West Point.  This is the first season since 1978-79 that Army has put together two four-game winning streaks.

Stud Player:

Vlad Moldoveanu  Jr., American — 19 PPG and 4.7 RPG in 26.7 MPG

Moldoveanu has shined in his first three games since transferring over from George Mason.  He scored 26 points in the upset victory over Depaul, the conference’s biggest win to date.  Moldoveanu is shooting great from all over the floor: 45% from the field, 43.5% from downtown, and 84.6% from the charity stripe.  It is going to be great to watch this 6’9 shooter during the conference schedule.

Thoughts on the Patriot League:

The Patriot League has gotten some national recognition over the past two weeks.  The hottest team in the league received a vote in the Associated Press Top 25 for the second consecutive week and, for the second straight season, Marquis Hall was nominated for the Bob Cousy Award, an award given to the top collegiate male point guard across all divisions.  Finally, an upset by a league doormat over a Big East team brings some legitimacy to the league.

Army already has their second four-game winning streak of the season going.  In the streak the defense is giving up an average of only 47 PPG.  A big reason for that is their ability to force turnovers.  Seniors Cleveland Richard, Josh Miller, and Marcus Nelson are ranked 1-2-3 in the Patriot League in steals this year.  Richard leads the way with 2.2 per game. They also are 2-4-5 on Army’s all-time list at 128, 124, and 122, respectively.  The all-time record at Army is 143 steals held by George Tatum.  The Black Knights have some consistent scorers, too.  Richard has broken double figures in every game throughout the stretch.  Sophomore guard Julian Simmons and backcourt mate Miller also have each reached double figures in two games during the streak.

The hottest team that does not reside in West Point is the Lafayette Leopards.  They went 2-0 in the last two weeks before exams.  Lafayette is riding a three-game winning streak into the holiday break.  The next game is not until the 29th at Delaware.  The last two wins came against two New York teams.  First they beat Long Island at home by fourteen, followed by a five-point victory at St. Francis.  In Brooklyn the Leopards shot 70% in the second half, but St. Francis managed to hang with them throughout the game.  A seventeen-point lead turned into a four-point game with under two minutes to play.  Sophomore guard Jim Mower led the way with 16 points off of 4-7 shooting from three-point range.  Three other Leopards scored in double figures.  Mower is shooting over fifty percent from downtown this season, good enough to lead the Patriot league.

Lehigh went 2-1 over the past two weeks.  In the 66-55 win over Marist, Lehigh led by as many as 21 points in the second half.  Marist made a run to pull themselves within seven with under nine minutes to go.  Lehigh was then able to buckle down and stretch it back to 11, which ended up being the final difference.  Seniors Zahir Carrington and Marquis Hall each scored in double digits with 12 and 16 points, respectively.  Carrington also finished with 13 rebounds for the Mountain Hawks.  Lehigh hit fewer field goals and threes than Marist, but got to the line 21 more times.  That ended up being the difference in the game.  In the loss to St Joseph’s the two seniors couldn’t have played any worse.  Hall finished with only one basket and Carrington had ten turnovers.  The Mountain Hawks as a team committed ten turnovers. Even with their early 10-0 lead, the turnovers were too hard to overcome.

Bucknell is in the midst of a five-game winning streak.  The most recent loss was a 32-point thrashing by Notre Dame in South Bend.  Bryson Johnson had 17 point and Stephen Tyree had his best game this year with 15 points and six rebounds.  They had no answer for Notre Dame’s star Luke Harangody, with 20 points and 11 rebounds, or the Irish’s hot outside shooting.  Notre Dame went 9-15 in three-pointers in the first half.  Ben Hansbrough scored 14 points in the first half.

Navy is also suddenly on a serious slide losing the last four games in a row.  The Midshipmen played Seton Hall close in the first half before getting blown out 66-34 in the second half in Newark.  Senior guard Chris Harris was the only Navy player to finish in double figures with 12 points, but it took him 17 shots to reach that total.  In the two most recent losses he has shot an abysmal 6-31 from the field.

Holy Cross lost their only game of the most recent session, an 82-79 setback to Sacred Heart.  Sophomore guard R.J Evans led the way with 20 points and five rebounds.  Holy Cross had a five-point lead at half and was up by as many as 11 points in the second half, but could not put Sacred Heart away. Sacred Heart regained the lead with under five minutes to play and never relinquished it the rest of the way.  The Crusaders shot well from the field, 50% from three-point range.  Holy Cross also out rebounded the Pioneers 47-34, but turned the ball over 23 times.

American picked up their second win of the year over Depaul.  The win was huge for the Patriot League over the legendary Big East conference.  Vlad Moldoveanu led the way with 26 points and eight rebounds in the 62-57 victory.  Stephen Lumpkins added pulled down a career-high 14 rebounds inside and Nick Hendra scored a career-high 17 points. American led at half 32-24 and was able to hold on in the second stanza.  The Eagles were down 57-56 with three minutes to play but scored the final six points of the game for the victory.

In the last version of Checking In on the Patriot League the key upcoming matchup was Colgate’s game against Dartmouth.  It wasconsidered Colgate’s best chance at getting a win before the conference schedule started up.  The prophecy turned out correct.  Colgate was victorious against Dartmouth to break their nine-game losing streak, 63-44.  It was a five-point game with five minutes to play, but Colgate allowed only one basket the rest of the way.  It was the least amount of points they had held an opponent to since the 2008 Patriot League semifinals.  Sophomore forward Yaw Gyawu led the way with 14 points.

Key Upcoming Matchup:

01.06.10 – Holy Cross at NC State – 7 pm.

With American’s recent victory over Depaul the Patriot League can start envisioning some more upsets over teams from the bigger conferences. American has Florida on December 28th, but the above game might be a better chance for the league.  Sean Kearney is still trying to put together the parts to get this team playing how they should be.  Will they have it together by the matchup in Raleigh?

Michael Hurley is the RTC correspondent for the America East Conference and Patriot League.

2009-10 Patriot League (Conference, Overall)

1. Lafayette  (0-0, 4-1)
2. Army (0-0, 3-1)
3. Lehigh (0-0, 3-2)
4. Bucknell (0-0, 3-3)
5. Navy (0-0, 2-3)
6. Colgate (0-0, 0-4)
7. Holy Cross (0-0, 0-5)
8. American (0-0, 0-6)

Team of the week: Lafayette (4-1) – W 81-72 vs. Wagner, L 81-70 at Sacred Heart, W 88-77 at St. Francis (PA), W 69-52 at NJIT, W 86-82 vs. Hartford

Player of the week: Jared Mintz– Jr. Lafayette 18.6 ppg, 7.2 rpg, 68.8% FG, 1.0 spg

Thoughts on the AE.

Three teams are still looking for their first victory on the season, while one team has came out and surprised us all with their start by matching their non-conference win total from last year already. The top scorer in the league finally found his shooting touch last game and the preseason pick is looking like a mistake.

The surprise team so far this season is Lafayette. The Leopards have won four out of their first five, with their only blemish on the record an eleven-point loss at Sacred Heart. Offensively they look great. They are shooting over fifty percent from the field, and over forty percent from three-point range. When a team shoots as good as that it’s hard to beat them. The key to this team so far has been big man Jared Mintz. Mintz is averaging over 18 points on almost 69 percent shooting from the field. He has led the team in scoring and rebounding for four of the five games. This has opened up the floor for the shooters. Lafayette has three major contributors shooting over 44 percent from three-point range. Against Hartford, six players scored in double figures. Mintz led the way with 18 points, but it was the three-point shooting that helped Lafayette jump out to a big lead. Five different players hit a three-ball for the Leopards within the first ten minutes of the game. Lafayette was up by as many as 22 before allowing Hartford back into the game in the second half. If the Leopards keep it up they will be a hard out all year.

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Ray Floriani of College Chalktalk is an RTC correspondent for the NEC and MAAC Conferences.  He took in the Army-Navy game at West Point yesterday.

WEST POINT, NY – Everyone is familiar with the tradition, pageantry and intensity of Army-Navy. When these two distinguished service academies get together, even if its backgammon, it’s something special. On Sunday the two met for the 109th time. Navy entered Christl Arena 14-5 (3-1 Patriot League) while Army was 4-13 (0-3). It is a cliché but when these two meet you can throw out the records.

On Sunday you could have assumed both clubs entered 0-0. Army established an early seven point lead on a pair of Julian Simmons three pointers. The remainder of the first half the Cadets kept the lead around double digits thanks to some good old fashioned Army defense. The Midshipmen shot 26% the first half and had only seven field goals as they trailed 33-26 at intermission. Shades of Bobby Knight.  And why not as Army coach Jim Crews played for the ‘General’ at Indiana.

The second half saw Army expand the lead to seventeen points. Offensively the Cadets were in a good groove on both ends. The offense ran well and defense shut down Navy. Until late.  Down the stretch the Midshipman found the range from three and made a run. They got it down to a two possession game with under a minute left. Those final seconds saw Army get enough stops and hit enough free throws to seal the 76-71 victory.

Cleveland Richard of Army led all scorers with 17 points. Adam Teague of Navy started strong and finished strong. For a better part of the game he was defended but still wound up hitting five treys and leading Navy with 16 points.  “Army played a great game,” Navy coach Billy Lange said. “They defended great which is traditional Army basketball. I think by the end of the year Army will prove to be a very good basketball team and challenge the upper echelon of our (Patriot) league.”

Crews was pleased with the offense, which had been dormant, and the defensive effort over the course of the contest. “We sustained,” Crews said in reference to the tight finish. “They (Navy) can score in bunches and when you go out to stop their three point shooters they can go right around you.”  Crews noted that Army-Navy is a rivalry ”known around the world.” He also made a very good point noting that the basketball rivalry becomes more intense because both schools share the same conference affiliation.

A good hard fought rivalry such as Army-Navy is something special to behold. The neatly attired Cadets and Midshipman cheering their teams. Both institutions bringing bands, a mascot and cheerleaders. The post game playing of the alma mater of  both schools, with a packed house silently standing in reverence and respect. The epitome of good sportsmanship with not a verbal obscenity to be heard. Even the drive to Cristl Arena as you pass famed Miche Stadium along the winding hill with the majestic Hudson in your rear view mirror.

Yes, Army-Navy is special. Anytime. Everytime.