Posted on by jonathanychang

Around the League: You Lose Some, You Win Some

A lot of games are determined in “clutch” moments, and that’s no exception in the Patriot League.

Entering the second week of the college basketball season, the conference holds a 10-11 record against its opponents. Of those 21 games, eight finished with a margin of 5 points or less. It just so happened that Patriot Leaguers claimed five of those eight, and that projects a much brighter future than perhaps expected for this conference.

Those types of close wins say much about the team’s character—whether it’s being able to fight to make a comeback or hold onto the league. As the season continues, we’ll see what this league is made up of.

Below are updates from teams around the Patriot League:

American Eagles (1-0)

AU’s season opener against George Mason was a great success. Not only did the Eagles come away with a a 78-75 win in overtime, but they also were able to show off their talents: Preseason Player of the Year Sa’eed Nelson impressed with 24 points and 4 steals; sophomore forward Sam Iorio posted a double-double with 17 points and 13 rebounds; and returning from injury is junior Mark Gasperini who recorded 14 points.

Is this real? Sophomore guard Marvin Bragg has certainly been a capable shooter, but his 16 points off the bench was a huge help for American on Friday. The Eagles are heavy up top, but if they can add depth off the bench, they’ll be scary.

The notable: Nelson joined the 1,000-point club in the season opener, but perhaps more impressive was his game-winning 3-point play with 35 seconds remaining in the game.

Army Knights (1-1)

Is it fair to even give the Patriot Leaguer this loss on the record books? After all, you always lose to the devil, especially when they’re the Duke Blue Devils. Army actually stayed in the game during the first half, entering halftime, 50-42, before getting blown out in the second half. We’ve seen that when BU faced Kentucky before.

In the season opener, the Knights topped Marist, 73-69, after a big three from junior guard Thomas Funk:

After leading his team in back-to-back games to start the season, junior forward Matt Wilson (19.5 PPG) seems to have stepped into the role as Army’s primary scorer. Funk (8.5 APG) looks like he may repeat as the conference’s assist leader.

The big number: 22 of the Knights’ 28 field goals were assisted on Sunday against Duke. That type of ball movement can only make you better.

Bucknell Bison (1-1)

The Bison battled and beat a tough St. Bonaventure team, 88-85, in overtime, before falling to Fairfield, 60-58, in their home opener. They played the second game without injured senior forward Nate Sestina, who posted 15 points and 16 rebounds against the Bonnies in the season opener. Senior guard Kimbal Mackenzie lead he team’s scoring with 21.5 points per game.

After losing superstar bigs Zach Thomas and Nana Foulland, the Bison bigs still look destined to thrive in the Patriot League, though it certainly won’t be to the dominance of the past class. Along with Sestina, sophomore center Paul Newman impressed in his first career start against Fairfield. Size is always an advantage in this conference.

Colgate Raiders (2-1)

Colgate entered the season with junior forward as the lone preseason all-conference team honoree, but sophomore guard Jordan Burns and a transfer from Northwestern (more on that in a moment) seem to be all-conference team-bound at the end of the season. Burns is averaging 19 points per game, highlighted by 30 points against Monmouth.

The transfer: The Raiders seems to have struck gold with junior transfer Rapolas Ivanauskas from Northwestern. After three games, the 6-foot-10 forward is averaging 15.7 points and 11.3 rebounds per game, while scoring from any distance.

Holy Cross Crusaders (1-1)

After a strong showing in the 93-81 win over Sacred Heart, the Crusaders are now competing in the Basketball Hall of Fame Tip-Off. That means Holy Cross had to suffer a miserable 56-37 loss against No. 19 Michigan and has another tough matchup against Providence on Tuesday.

Their stats may be misleading due to their dismal performance against the Wolverines, but sophomore guard Austin Butler leads the team with 14 points and 13 field goal attempts per game.

The unexpected: Senior forward Jehyve Floyd dropped career-high 11 dimes in the season opener. Outside-of-the-paint production will be a huge weapon for him, whether it’s setting consistently solid screens or dishing passes like this one:

Lafayette Leopards (1-1)

The Leopards let a first-half lead slip away and lost their season opener against Saint Peter’s in overtime, but against La Salle, they flipped the script when sophomore guard Alex Petrie’s 3-point play capped a second-half comeback for the 77-76 win:

The 2017-18 Patriot League Rookie of the Year is off to a slow start—shooting 33.3 percent from the field on 18 attempts per game—but in the meantime, fellow sophomore Justin Jaworski has stepped up with 20.5 points per game. A pair of juniors in Kyle Stout (15.5 PPG) and Myles Cherry (12 PPG, 11.5 RPG) has also impressed.

Led by Jaworski and Stout, Lafayette has hit 23 3-pointers in the first two games. The two guards have averaged 4.5 3-pointers made per game, and that’s not sustainable. As those numbers fall back on earth, we’ll find out exactly how much impact good versus out-of-this-world shooting has on winning.

Lehigh Mountain Hawks (1-1)

Speaking of 3-pointers, conference favorite Lehigh has split their first two games to start the season. The Mountain Hawks have faced Monmouth (W, 85-61) and Miami (L, 83-62).

Star guard Lance Tejada has been off to a slow start, but speaking of 3-pointers, the Mountain Hawks still remain the biggest threats from deep in the Patriot League. Trio of junior forward Pat Andree (20.5 PPG, 7.5 rebounds), senior guard Kyle Leufroy (11.5 PPG, 9.0 rebounds) and Tejada have combined for 38 3-point attempts in the early season.

Foul trouble: Freshman center Nic Lynch, a 3-star recruit, is averaging 10 points and 6.5 rebounds in just 17.5 minutes per game. But his play’s been limited by his 4 fouls per game. He’ll have to stay on the floor first, but he certainly has the potential to become an impact big in this league.

Loyola (MD) Greyhounds (0-2)

After taking a 21-point beating against St. John’s, Loyola lost a nail-biter against Dartmouth, 82-80. While the record could use some work, the second game provided the Greyhounds a glimpse of hope with four players scoring in double-digits. Without a clear-cut star on the roster, well-rounded scoring is going to be particularly important.

Junior guard Andrew Kostecka should pick things up—he’s currently shooting 26.9 percent from the field—but the upside for this team is still in question. Underclassmen Brent Holcombe and Kenny Jones impressed with 30 combined points off the bench against Dartmouth.

Navy Midshipmen (0-2)

The sample size is small, but Navy’s offense has been disastrous. Not a single player is averaging above 8.5 points per game, and the Midshipmen are shooting 30.6 percent from the field as a team, the fifth worst mark in the country as of now, according to basketball-reference.com.

From a numbers standpoint, it doesn’t help that they’ve been challenged by Old Dominion and Maryland, both of whom are excellent. Navy should look infinitely better once they return to a milder schedule, especially come Patriot League time.

Jonathan Chang can be reached at jchang19@bu.edu; follow him on Twitter @jonathanychang.

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