Game to be televised nationally on CBS Sports Network - Channel 363 on NewWave Communications' cable; Channel 613 on DirecTV; and Channel 152 on Dish Network.

THE OPENING TIP

Lafayette and Holy Cross are two of the four teams tied for second place in the Patriot League standings at 2-1. The Leopards are coming off a 79-65 loss to first-place Bucknell on Saturday while Holy Cross lost 67-54 at American. The game will be televised nationally by CBS Sports Network.

Freshman guard Seth Hinrichs is making his pitch for Patriot League Rookie of the Year honors. He has been named P.L. Rookie of the Week five times this season, most recently on Jan. 16. Hinrichs tied a career high with 17 points on 6-of-8 shooting coming off the bench against Bucknell on Saturday. Hinrichs is averaging 9.3 points and 2.7 rebounds in 20.3 minutes per game. He has started 14 games.

The last time Lafayette and Holy Cross met was in the 2011 Patriot League Tournament Quarterfinal, a 77-70 Lafayette victory in Worcester. Lafayette had five players score in double figures led by 19 from Ryan Willen. Lafayette took two of three games from Holy Cross in 2010-11.

In the Leopards' last outing, Bucknell used a 9-2 run to start the second half and never looked back in a 79-65 win Saturday afternoon. Lafayette did not have an answer for Bucknell junior center Mike Muscala who had 27 points. Lafayette committed a season-low six turnovers, but were handled on the glass 34-18. Bucknell was 15-of-15 at the line, with Muscala accounting for nine of those points.

Preseason All-Patriot League selection Tony Johnson made his season debut vs. Army. Johnson, who missed 16 games with a back injury, finished with three points and four assists in 20 minutes. Against Bucknell, Johnson started the game, contributing nine points, five boards and three assists in 29 minutes.

With five rebounds against Bucknell, Ryan Willen became the 13th player in Lafayette basketball history to score 1,000 points and secure 500 rebounds. The senior forward has 1,276 career points and 503 career rebounds, joining recent addition Jared Mintz '11 (1,245 points, 516 rebounds) on the list.

Senior forward Ryan Willen has scored in double figures in six straight games and in 15 of Lafayette's 18 contests this season.

Lafayette is 4-0 when hitting 14 or more three's and 4-0 when opponents score 20 or fewer field goals.

ABOUT HOLY CROSS

Holy Cross sits in a four-way tie for second place in the Patriot League standings, beating Lehigh (84-78) and Navy (73-69) while losing at American (67-54). The Crusaders are 8-9 overall and 6-1 at home.

Statistically, Holy Cross is the conference's best team in defending the three, allowing opponents 29 percent while shooting 35 percent on their own end.

Senior guard Devin Brown, a 2011 All-League Second-Team selection, leads the team in scoring (15.7 ppg) and has a team-best 33 three's. Redshirt junior R.J. Evans has returned to form after missing the final 21 games of last season due to injury. The 2009 Patriot League Rookie of the Year is averaging 12.4 points, 4.3 rebounds and 2.9 assists per game. Freshman Justin Burrell (7.1 ppg) has taken over at point guard and is second in the Patriot League with 4.3 assists per game. Senior Mike Cavataio (6.3 ppg, 4.8 rpg) made a recent return from injury after missing the first 13 games.

Up front, sophomore forward Dave Dudzinski (10.4 ppg, 6.6 rpg) and junior center Phil Beans (6.4 ppg, 4.1 rpg) round out the starting five.

Milan Brown (Howard '93) is in his second season as head coach at Holy Cross where he has a 16-30 record.

ShowMe Scoreboard, 1.19.2012

Games played Wednesday, January 18, 2012

High School Boys

• St. Vincent 66, Herculaneum 28

High School Girls

• Cape Central 66, Saxony Lutheran 19
• St. Joseph’s 63, Notre Dame 46 

College Men

• Murray State 66, Morehead State 60
• Ole Miss 75, Mississippi State 68
• Creighton 66, Missouri State 65
• UNLV 101, TCU 78
• Nebraska 70, Indiana 69

College Women

• Texas A&M 76, Mizzou 52
• Duke 29, Georgia Tech 62
• Louisville 64, Providence 48
• Bayllor 72, Texas Tech 64 

Tonight

• Dexter Girls @ Portageville
• William Woods Women @ Columbia College
• Lafayette @ Holy Cross (CBS Sports Network)

 

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla.- The Palm Beach Atlantic University baseball program and head coach Gary Carter have announced a new addition to the 2012 coaching staff in veteran collegiate coach Scott Kingston.

Kingston will fill the role of assistant coach on the staff while working alongside associate head coach Kent Bottenfield as well as Carter who enters his third season as the head coach for PBA.

Most recently the head coach at NCAA Division III, Mitchell College during the 2011 season, Kingston also has had assistant coaching stops in his career at Frostburg State University, The University of Michigan, Keystone College, and Indian River State College.

With Carter undergoing medical treatment in his fight against brain cancer throughout the fall, bringing in another solid coach alongside Bottenfield will prove to be beneficial in a number of ways.

"Being able to bring in a guy with the background and abilities of a person like Scott will be a tremendous addition to our program," said Bottenfield.

"His passion for the game and his desire to make players better as individuals and within the team concept made him a natural fit for what we are trying to accomplish with our program," concluded Bottenfield.

Kingston will begin his duties with the team in January and will primarily be focusing on the team's hitters, base running, and recruiting efforts.

Kingston's time at Mitchell although short proved to be very successful as he led the Mariners to their first-ever New England Collegiate Conference regular season and tournament championships while also earning the program's first trip to an NCAA Regional.

Mitchell proved to flourish offensively under Kingston's leadership as they finished as one of the most prolific offensive teams in all of Division III including leading the country in team batting average (.352) and slugging percentage (.539) while concluding the season with a 23-11-1 record and a 14-4 mark in the NECC.

Before taking the reins of the Mitchell program in his first head coaching stint, Kingston honed his recruiting and player development skills at a number of other institutions around the country.

Most recently Kingston was the top assistant coach and recruiting coordinator for Indian River State College in nearby Fort Pierce, Florida where he worked under head coach Mitch Markham for the 2010 season.

Kingston began his coaching career in 2000 when he assisted at Frostburg State University while serving as the recruiting coordinator and junior varsity head coach. He would later move on to assist in the recruiting efforts at The University of Michigan (2004-05) before becoming the Associate Head Coach at Keystone College in 2009.

Before entering the coaching world Kingston played at the likes of NCAA Division II institutions, the University of West Georgia and Columbus State University. He competed at the junior college level at Middle Georgia College.

Primarily a corner infielder during his playing days, Kingston was drafted by the New York Yankees in 1995 following graduation from Columbus High School in Columbus, Georgia where he played under head coach Bobby Howard and helped lead CHS to three state championships.

Scott is married the former Christa Patrick of Clarksummit, Pennsylvania in July of 2011.

Visit pbasailfish.com for the latest news and info on Palm Beach Atlantic University Athletics.

By Andrew Cato, ShowMe Times Sports Editor

BLOOMFIELD - David Baker continues to impress with his consistent offensive production for the Bernie Mules - Baker’s 19 points led the Mules to a 65-44 win over SCAA rival Bloomfield on Tuesday night.

The Wildcats kept things close throughout the first half, and Bernie held a 29-21 lead after the second quarter.


After halftime, the Mules’ offense exploded for 18 and 19 point efforts in the third and fourth quarters to seal the 65-44 win.

“We really had a solid 2nd half. We’ve been emphasizing closing out games and finishing strong and our guys did that tonight,” Bernie head coach Brad Botsch said. “I really thought we had a good effort defensively, and offensively we converted and did a much better job executing than we have been.”


“We played a lot of kids and are preaching maximum effort when you are on the floor. Hopefully, we’ll start to turn the corner a little bit and hit our stride,” he continued. “This group is hanging in there, and we want to be a tough team to compete with come district time.”

Baker paced the Mules with 19 points, while Troy Kirkpatrick and Landon Woods added 14 and 10, respectively.

Adam Vandiver led the Wildcats with 15 points; Logan Cowart was the only other Wildcat in double-figures with 10 points.


The Mules will be in action again Friday night, when they host the Puxico Indians in their homecoming contest. Tip is set for 6:00 p.m.

By Andrew Cato, ShowMe Times Sports Editor

PUXICO - The Bearcats answered any lingering questions about their offensive production on Tuesday night when they faced the Puxico Indians on the road. The ‘Cats had three players in double-figures, shot 40% from beyond the arc, and only turned the ball over 12 times in an 82-72 victory over the Tribe.

The Bearcats were without the services of sophomore assist machine Cody Neldon, who was out with an illness, but Jordan Fitts picked up his production to compensate with a career-high 22 points.

Jake Lee dominated the paint and also had a 22 point night, while Tyler Miller contributed 19 points from his guard position.

The Bearcats had their foot on the gas from the beginning of the contest; Fitts and Chase Young both buried threes in the opening frame to compliment Miller’s 10 point and Lee’s eight point efforts in the opening frame.

Jacob Plunkett answered with a pair of treys for the Indians, but the ‘Cats put together their most productive opening of the season to hold a 26-19 lead after the opening frame.

Fitts drained two more threes in the second quarter, while Lee continued to clean up the offensive glass. The Tribe made some defensive adjustments to slow down the Bearcats’ offensive attack, but Dexter still held a 45-35 lead at the half.

The Indians used great perimeter shooting to chip away at the Bearcats’ lead in the third quarter. Matt Camden knocked down a three early in the third, while Plunkett hit his third trey a minute later. Fitts put in seven points in the frame, but Plunkett knocked down two more threes late in the frame to cut Dexter’s lead to only 56-52 heading into the fourth quarter.

The Indians had their strongest effort of the evening in the fourth quarter, with 20 total points. Garrett Payne hit a three early in the frame, while Camden hit another three midway through the fourth.

For the second game in a row, the ‘Cats iced the game with free throws; Dexter only hit six shots from the floor, but made 14 of 21 stretch free throws to take a 82-72 victory and remain undefeated in SCAA play.

The ‘Cats will be back in action on Friday (Jan 20) night when they return to the Bearcat Event Center to take on the New Madrid County Central Eagles. Tip is set for 6:00 p.m.

Thanks to Bearcat Mom Tracy Miller for the photo!