March 4, 2008
2008 Patriot League Men's Basketball Championship Page
Quarterfinal Tickets Available
Center Valley, Pa. - After one of the most competitive regular seasons in League history, it's win or go home time as the Patriot League Men's Basketball Tournament tips off with the quarterfinal round on Wednesday.
The two contests on the bottom half of the bracket begin at 7 p.m., with No. 7 seed Bucknell at No. 2 Navy and No. 6 seed Lafayette at No. 3 Colgate. The games on the top half of the bracket tip off at 7:30 p.m. and include No. 8 Holy Cross at No. 1 American and No. 5 Army at No. 4 Lehigh. The quarterfinal round features three rematches from last year's Tournament, as Navy played Bucknell and Army played Lehigh in the quarterfinals and American met Holy Cross in the semifinals.
The Patriot League Tournament will continue with the semifinals on Sunday, when the Bucknell/Navy and Lafayette/Colgate winner will face off in one contest and the Holy Cross/American and Army/Lehigh winners play in another. The Patriot League Championship game is set for March 14 at 4:45 p.m. on ESPN2. All Patriot League Tournament games are played at the site of the higher seed.
The quarterfinal and semifinal rounds of the Patriot League Men's Basketball Tournament can be seen live via the Patriot League All-Access broadband package, and Tournament games will also be heard on SIRIUS satellite radio. Two quarterfinal games have been picked up by local cable stations, with the Lafayette/Colgate contest airing via the Lafayette Sports Network on RCN-4 and WBPH-60, and the Army/Lehigh game on Service Electric 2 Sports.
Holy Cross won the 2007 Patriot League Men's Basketball Tournament, and leads all schools with five titles overall. Navy has won three titles, while Colgate, Bucknell and Lafayette have each claimed two. Lehigh has one title to its name. American and Army are both seeking their first Patriot League crown.
American clinched the No. 1 seed on the final day of the regular season with a victory over Lafayette and Navy's loss at Colgate. The Eagles finished 18-11 overall and 10-4 in Patriot League games, and will play as the No. 1 seed for the first time since 2002. They rank in the NCAA top 50 in scoring defense, free throw percentage and three-point field goal percentage. They are sixth in the nation with a 40.8 three-point field goal percentage, led by a 44.7 percent clip and a Patriot League record 117 three-pointers from First-Team All-League representative junior guard Garrison Carr. Second-Team All-Patriot League junior guard Derek Mercer had 12.9 points and 4.1 assists per game. The Eagles are 9-6 in Patriot League Tournament history, with every game coming with eighth-year Head Coach Jeff Jones. They have advanced to the semifinals in each of their first six seasons in the Patriot League.
Holy Cross plays as the No. 8 seed for the first time in Patriot League Tournament history. The Crusaders finished 15-13 overall and 5-9 in the Patriot League. The Crusaders led the Patriot League in scoring defense, field goal percentage defense and rebounding margin. They are 17th nationally in scoring defense at 60.4 points allowed per game. Holy Cross is led by First-Team All-Patriot League senior center Tim Clifford, who averages 17.8 points, 5.4 rebounds and a Patriot-League best 2.3 blocks per contest. Holy Cross Head Coach Ralph Willard has the best all-time Tournament winning percentage with a 15-4 record, and has led his team to four League titles in his first eight seasons.
The Crusaders and Eagles split their season series, with each team winning on the other's home court. Holy Cross has a 3-0 mark against American in the Patriot League Tournament, with victories in the Championship tilt in 2002 and 2003 and in last year's semifinals.
Lehigh receives the No. 4 seed in the Tournament after winning its final two contests to finish 14-14 overall and 7-7 in the Patriot League. The Mountain Hawks are led in scoring by sophomore guard Marquis Hall, who earned Second-Team All-Patriot League recognition after posting 14 points, 2.9 rebounds and a League-high 4.4 assists per game. Senior forward Bryan White led the Patriot League with 8.1 rebounds per game, while Patriot League Rookie of the Year Rob Keefer tallied 8.1 points per contest. The Mountain Hawks are led by first-year Head Coach Brett Reed. They had a three-year streak of semifinal appearances snapped last year.
Army climbed up to the No. 5 seed by notching victories in its last two games and finishing 13-15 overall and 6-8 in League action. Senior guard Jarell Brown led the way throughout the year, and finished second in the Patriot League with 18.5 points per game to earn First-Team All-League honors. The Black Knights also used solid defense throughout the year, placing in the NCAA top 50 in scoring defense and field goal percentage defense. Army Head Coach Jim Crews is in his sixth season at the helm, and earned his first Patriot League Tournament win with a victory in the quarterfinals at Lehigh a year ago.
The Black Knights and Mountain Hawks have only met once in Patriot League Tournament history, and it came last year with Army claiming a 47-46 victory at Lehigh in the quarterfinals to win its first tourney game since 1996. Lehigh gained some revenge by sweeping this year's season series with a pair of five-point victories.
Navy earns the No. 2 seed after being picked to finish seventh in the League's preseason poll. The Mids finished with a 16-13 overall and 9-5 Patriot League record, with wins in 13 of their last 18 games and a six-game winning streak in League play before losing the season finale at Colgate. Senior guard Greg Sprink earned Patriot League Player of the Year honors after leading the League with 21.2 points per game and placing second with 6.3 rebounds per contest. Sprink is 19th in the nation in scoring. Sophomore guard Chris Harris received Second-Team All-Patriot League honors and connected on 42.2 percent of his three-point shots. The Mids are eighth nationally with 9.5 three-pointers per game, and also in the top 25 in the country in free throw percentage and steals. Navy Head Coach Billy Lange earned Patriot League Coach of the Year honors, and is seeking to lead the Mids to the semifinals for the first time since 2000-01 while notching his first Tournament win.
Bucknell dropped its last two contests to fall to the No. 7 seed and draw the matchup at Navy. The Bison finished the year 11-18 overall and 6-8 in League play with a balanced effort on the court. First-Team All-Patriot League senior guard John Griffin led the team with 13.2 points per game, while Patriot League Defensive Player of the Year sophomore Stephen Tyree had 7.1 points and 4.8 rebounds per game. The Bison have advanced to the semifinals for the past seven seasons under Head Coach Pat Flannery, who has an 18-11 Tournament record and two titles to his name.
Navy and Bucknell split their season series, with each team holding its home court. The Mids have a 3-1 advantage in Patriot League Tournament games, but the Bison knocked off Navy, 62-43, in last year's quarterfinals.
Colgate won its final three Patriot League contests, and its final four overall, to claim the No. 3 seed with a 16-13 overall and 7-7 Patriot League record. The 16 wins were the most for the team since the 2001-02 season. The Raiders are led by Second-Team All-League junior guard Kyle Roemer, who averaged 15.3 points per game for the year. Senior forward Kendall Chones tallied 12 points and 5.4 rebounds per contest. The Raiders led the League by connecting on 44.4 percent of their shots from the field. Head Coach Emmett Davis is in his 10th season at the helm, and has a 3-9 record in Patriot League Tournament games with the last victory coming in 2004 against Lafayette.
Lafayette lost seven of its final eight games to close the season, but still finished 15-14 overall and 6-8 in the Patriot League to claim the No. 6 seed. The Leopards have a pair of Second-Team All-Patriot League players, with junior guard Andrew Brown scoring 16.0 points per game and senior guard Bilal Abdullah averaging 14.7 points per contest. The Leopards made their living from long range, placing fifth in the NCAA with 10 three-pointers per contest and coming in the top 25 in three-point percentage. Lafayette has not been to the semifinals since 2003. Head Coach Fran O'Hanlon has a 9-10 all-time mark in the Patriot League Tournament, with titles in 1999 and 2000.
The Raiders and Leopards split an extremely competitive season series, with each team claiming a one-point victory on the road. The Patriot League Tournament history is equally competitive, with the Raiders holding a 4-3 edge and four of the seven meetings decided by five points or less.
For more information on Patriot League men's basketball and the quarterfinal matchups, see the Patriot League Men's Basketball Quarterfinal Release. Also, read Monday's release for the 2007-08 All-League Teams and Major Awards.
To read the game notes from each Patriot League team, click on the school name below.
No. 8 Holy Cross at No. 1 American
No. 5 Army at No. 4 Lehigh
No. 7 Bucknell at No. 2 Navy
No. 6 Lafayette at No. 3 Colgate
