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Patriot League Finals Previews

Lehigh, American To Battle For Patriot League Supremacy

It wasn’t easy, but top-seeded Lehigh (19-10) survived the opening two rounds of the 2004 Patriot League Tournament, and will host Sunday’s final against American (18-12). This is the third straight year American has appeared in the league title game, having lost to Holy Cross each of the past two seasons. Lehigh has never participated in a Patriot League final. The two clubs both posted 10-4 league records, finishing as regular season co-champions of the Patriot League. The Mountain Hawks gained the top seeding in the league tournament by way of a season sweep over the Eagles.

In the league quarterfinals at the Show Place Arena in Upper Marlboro, Md., Lehigh took a 62-60 overtime nail-biter from eighth-seeded Navy (5-23). The Mids tried valiantly to prolong head coach Don DeVoe’s tenure with the club, but a late Austin Rowland three-pointer did in the Academy. Rowland scored 17, including a huge three with just 17 seconds left that stood up as the game-winner. It seemed to matter little in the early going that Lehigh was the club with the number one seed, an all-league point guard (Rowland), all-rookie team shooting guard (Jose Olivero), and league coach of the year (Billy Taylor). Navy led by seven at the half, before Lehigh battled back in the second.

In the comeback, the Mountain Hawks improved their 27 percent first half shooting by knocking down 42 percent in the second half and overtime. Freshman center Jason Mgebroff keyed the comeback with a huge inside effort, racking up 19 points. He shot 8 of 9 from the floor, a welcome boost for a club that saw its top two outside shooters, Rowland and Olivero, finish a combined 8-30 from the floor.

Navy hung in there thanks to gritty efforts from forwards Chika Onyekanne (9 points, 11 rebounds) and Laramie Mergerson (22 points, 10 boards). The Mids shot a sizzling 57 percent in grabbing the 28-21 halftime lead, but then shot only 34 percent in the second half and overtime.

The game was back and forth down the stretch. Navy’s Jeff Charles (who added ten points off the bench) went to the free-throw line with three seconds remaining and his club trailing 51-50. He made the first and missed the second, sending the game into an overtime where Navy continued to struggle both with their free throw shooting and with turnovers.

Navy made just three of its nine free throws in overtime, and continued to turn the ball over, accumulating 27 turnovers on the afternoon. In the end, Lehigh was lucky to escape with the two-point victory.

Sunday’s Patriot League Semifinal against fourth-seeded Bucknell (14-15) was, surprisingly, a much easier affair for the Mountain Hawks, who took the game 60-45. The game was rarely in doubt, as Lehigh seized a 36-20 halftime lead thanks to a 23-2 spurt early in the frame. Lehigh was able to rest many of its regulars in the second half – 11 Mountain Hawks saw action in the game – and were led by Rowland and Kevin Tempest with 12 points apiece. Lehigh dominated off the glass to the tune of a 33-23 advantage, and out-shot Bucknell 54 percent to 32.

Both of American’s victories at the Show Place Arena came by double digits, 65-48 in the quarters over seventh-seeded Army (6-21) and 65-55 over sixth-seeded Colgate (15-14) in the semis. The Eagles, who have won six straight for the first time since the 1989-90 season, enter the championship game playing their best basketball of the season.

A balanced attack characterized the Eagles’ preliminary round weekend, as first-team all-league point guard Andres Rodriguez poured in 16 against Army, leading Jason Thomas (13), Patriot League Rookie of the Year Andre Ingram (13), and Jernavis Draughn (10) in double figures. Draughn led the club in rebounds with 7, as the Eagles dominated Army off the glass, 37-26. The game was never in doubt, as American jumped out to a 22-3 lead just 7:39 into the first half and cruised from there. Army never got closer than 15, and had just one player – Josh Wilson with 16 points– finish in double figures.

The next night against Colgate, a club that was coming off an overtime upset over third-seeded Lafayette (18-10), American again used steady shooting to stay the course. Draughn did an excellent job against resurgent Colgate forward Howard Blue, knocking down 7 of his 11 field goal attempts en route to a 16 point, 8 rebound performance. Rodriguez chipped in 15, and reserve Raimondas Petrauskas went 7 of 8 from the free-throw line, adding 11 points.

American overpowered a tired Colgate squad on the boards to the tune of a 43-19 advantage. The Raiders, in what would prove to be the final game for four-year standouts Mark Linebaugh and Howard Blue, battled hard after falling behind by twelve early in the second half but didn’t have enough left to finish the comeback. Andrew Zidar missed a three-pointer that would have cut the Eagles’ edge to two with just 2:31 left, and American knocked down 8 of its 10 free throws in the final 2:00 to ice the contest.

Taking a look at the regular season series between Lehigh and American, the Mountain Hawks won both games, 63-58 in overtime at American and 86-65 at Stabler Arena, where Sunday’s final will be contested.

At American’s Bender Arena on January 17, the clubs were nip and tuck the whole way. American led by one, 30-29, at the half, and had a chance to win at the regulation buzzer, but Andres Rodriguez’ jumper caromed off the iron. American failed to hit a field goal in overtime, and Lehigh used a 20 point night for Austin Rowland to claim victory. Jose Olivero joined his backcourt mate in double figures with 13 points. On the American side, Jernavis Draughn (17), Andre Ingram (13), and Raimondas Petrauskas (11) led the scoring column. Rodriguez had one of his worst games of the year, going 3 of 12 from the floor including 0 of 3 from beyond the arc.

The rematch – American’s last loss of the season – wasn’t nearly as close. Both teams were red-hot in the first half, with Lehigh grabbing a 43-39 lead at intermission thanks to 61 percent field goal shooting. The Mountain Hawks hit 7 of their 9 first-half treys.

The second half proved to be more of the same for Lehigh, which shot 53 percent from the floor after the break. American made just 35 percent of its shots in the frame. The Mountain Hawks blitzed the Eagles with a 13-0 run to break open a game that was 43-43 with 18:29 left. American never got closer than nine the rest of the way.

Austen Rowland hit 9 of his 14 field goal attempts (5 of 7 from long-distance), and all 6 of his free throws on the way to a 29 point performance. He also dished out 9 assists, perhaps inspired by the presence of Rodriguez, the league’s assists leader at 7.3 per game. Olivero netted 18 points in the winning effort.

Rodriguez and Ingram had 13 points apiece for American, but combined for only 6 in the second half on 2-9 shooting. Jason Thomas was a bright spot for American, chipping in 16 points.

Sunday’s championship game is set to tip at 12 noon from Lehigh’s Stabler Arena, and will be televised nationally by ESPN 2. Lehigh has not participated in the NCAA Tournament since 1985, while American has never appeared in the tournament.

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