I've decided I prefer my "old" format for writing up the events of a season. It made me feel more connected to my game, so I'm returning to it.
November 12, 2023
Philadelphia Invitational, First Round
(4) Lafayette 77, (5) Hawai'i 69
When I saw we had a game against the Rainbow Warriors in November, I figured Graham and the boys were heading to the tropics. Instead, we bus it down to Philly and play Hawai'i there.
Kenton Lashley sinks 4 of 6 treys and scores 16 points in his Lafayette debut, but he also turns the ball over 5 times.
Byron Shores leads all scorers (you might want to get used to that phrase) with 24, and
Kurt Ritchie snags 9 rebounds and blocks 4 shots in a nice imitation of
Samuel Davis.
Micah Rodriguez rolled his ankle, so he'll sit out the next game and let it heal properly.
Record: 1-0.
November 14, 2023
Philadelphia Invitational
(4) Lafayette 91, (1) #9 Kentucky 82
An arena filled with roaring Lafayette fans gets a treat, as the Leopards win a catfight against the blue-blooded Wildcats.
Code:
Lafayette 91, Kentucky 82
---------------------------------------------------------
Lafayette (2-0, 0-0):
Player Pos Min Fgm-a Ftm-a Off Reb Ast PF Pts
Kurt Ritchie C 24 2-3 1-2 1 11 0 4 5
Jeffrey Hampton PF 23 2-4 6-6 4 11 3 1 10
Byron Shores SF 30 3-14 2-2 4 5 3 3 9
Kenton Lashley SG 28 11-15 1-3 1 3 1 4 28
Kamari Stone PG 23 1-2 1-1 0 2 0 0 3
Charles Allen PG 20 4-8 3-3 0 1 1 1 14
Carl McGriff PF 15 2-6 0-1 3 5 1 1 4
Carter Todd C 17 2-4 1-2 1 3 4 1 5
Carlton McFadden SF 8 2-4 2-2 0 2 1 0 8
W. Carrasquillo SG 9 1-1 2-2 0 1 0 1 5
Micah Rodriguez PG 1 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0
John Joy C 1 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0
Turnovers: 14 (K.Ritchie 2, J.Hampton 1, B.Shores 6,
K.Lashley 2, K.Stone 1, C.Allen 1, W.Carrasquillo 1)
Blocked Shots: 7 (K.Ritchie 3, J.Hampton 1, C.McFadden
3)
Steals: 3 (K.Lashley 2, C.McFadden 1)
3P FGs: 12-31 (K.Ritchie 0-1, J.Hampton 0-1, B.Shores
1-9, K.Lashley 5-9, C.Allen 3-6, C.McFadden 2-4,
W.Carrasquillo 1-1)
Kentucky (1-1, 0-0):
Player Pos Min Fgm-a Ftm-a Off Reb Ast PF Pts
Robert Rodriguez C 21 6-10 0-0 2 3 0 3 14
Thomas Collier C 22 2-5 0-0 2 3 3 4 4
Leland Mack SF 27 6-14 0-0 5 9 1 3 13
Dario McWhirter SG 29 3-14 2-4 1 2 4 0 9
Joseph Elwell PG 32 2-8 0-0 2 4 2 1 6
Fredric Werner SG 19 5-11 2-4 1 6 6 2 15
Joesph Courtney PF 15 3-5 0-0 1 4 1 2 6
James Hicks C 10 1-1 0-0 1 1 1 3 2
David Leggett PF 16 3-4 1-2 1 3 1 1 7
Kobe Dudek PG 5 1-1 0-0 0 0 1 0 3
Chris Echevarria PF 2 1-1 0-0 0 0 1 0 3
Edmundo Templin SG 1 0-1 0-0 0 0 0 0 0
Turnovers: 9 (R.Rodriguez 1, T.Collier 1, L.Mack 2,
D.McWhirter 2, J.Elwell 2, F.Werner 1)
Blocked Shots: 0
Steals: 7 (R.Rodriguez 1, T.Collier 1, L.Mack 3,
J.Courtney 1, C.Echevarria 1)
3P FGs: 11-25 (R.Rodriguez 2-3, L.Mack 1-3, D.McWhirter
1-3, J.Elwell 2-6, F.Werner 3-7, K.Dudek 1-1,
C.Echevarria 1-1, E.Templin 0-1)
Player of Game: SG Kenton Lashley (LFYTE)
Welcome to Pennsylvania, Mr. Lashley.
We lead by 15 at the half, and Kentucky, who went to the Final Four last year, never gets back into the game.
Record: 2-0.
November 16, 2023
Philadelphia Invitational, Championship Game
(4) Lafayette 82, (2) #2 Texas 73
We beat a second Top Ten team to capture the Philadelphia Invitational trophy!
Micah Rodriguez is at 85% and he wants to play, so I suit him up. He powers through 28 minutes, made necessary when
Kenton Lashley gets into foul trouble. Micah scores 21 points, supporting
Byron Shores' 22.
Kurt Ritchie misses a double double by a point, ending up with 9 and 12 rebounds.
Record: 3-0.
November 18, 2023
@Lafayette 91, Siena 68
Former Lafayette assistant
Thomas Liang receives a warm welcome back as he arrives with his Siena team, but that's the last pleasant thing Coach Liang experiences.
Micah Rodriguez nets a career-high 30 points, going 7-10 from deep, and
Byron Shores adds 17.
Kurt Ritchie controls the paint with 10 rebounds and 7 blocks, and
Kamari Stone scores 10 with 5 boards and 4 assists. Foul trouble again plagues
Kenton Lashley, who scores 10 more in 17 minutes.
Record: 4-0.
November 19, 2023
I'm doing away with the poll update posts, but this moment deserves to be captured...
Code:
Mid Major Top 25
# Team FPV Record Points Prv Conference
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Lafayette (62) 5-0 1769 3 Patriot League
2. George Mason (3) 2-0 1563 6 Colonial Athletic Association
3. Indiana State (6) 3-0 1412 19 Missouri Valley Conference
4. Towson 2-0 1361 7 Colonial Athletic Association
5. Missouri State 2-1 1284 NR Missouri Valley Conference
6. Rider 4-0 1152 NR Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference
7. Central Florida 2-0 1100 NR Conference USA
8. Idaho (1) 2-1 884 NR Western Athletic Conference
9. Navy 2-0 819 NR Patriot League
10. Eastern Kentucky 2-0 813 NR Ohio Valley Conference
11. Robert Morris 3-0 703 NR Northeast Conference
12. North Dakota State 2-0 694 NR Summit League
13. Murray State 3-0 644 NR Ohio Valley Conference
14. Tulsa 2-0 644 12 Conference USA
15. Rice 2-0 630 NR Conference USA
16. Florida Atlantic 2-1 594 NR Sun Belt Conference
17. Portland 2-0 588 25 West Coast Conference
18. Miami-Ohio 1-1 519 NR Mid-American Conference
19. Sacramento State 2-1 518 NR Big Sky Conference
20. Charlotte 2-1 379 2 Atlantic 10 Conference
21. Albany 3-0 378 NR America East Conference
22. North Florida 2-0 373 NR Atlantic Sun Conference
23. Toledo 1-0 284 NR Mid-American Conference
24. Utah State 2-1 271 NR Western Athletic Conference
25. Arkansas State 3-0 267 NR Sun Belt Conference
Others Receiving Votes:
Montana State 1-0 234 Big Sky Conference
Florida International 2-0 227 Sun Belt Conference
Howard 2-0 202 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference
Sam Houston State 2-0 201 Southland Conference
UL-Lafayette 2-0 199 Sun Belt Conference
Furman 2-0 198 Southern Conference
Mount St. Mary's 2-1 198 Northeast Conference
Wichita State 1-0 195 Missouri Valley Conference
Georgia Southern 2-0 167 Southern Conference
St. Peter's 1-0 163 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference
South Dakota State 1-0 146 Summit League
Texas State 2-1 145 Southland Conference
Eastern Michigan 1-0 129 Mid-American Conference
Prairie View A&M 1-1 128 Southwestern Athletic Conference
Columbia 1-0 123 Ivy League
USC Upstate 2-0 121 Atlantic Sun Conference
Texas-Pan American 1-1 119 Great West Conference
Chattanooga 0-0 111 Southern Conference
Stephen F. Austin 1-0 109 Southland Conference
Manhattan 1-1 107 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference
Sacred Heart 1-0 102 Northeast Conference
St. Francis-NY 0-0 80 Northeast Conference
North Texas 1-1 78 Sun Belt Conference
Morgan State 1-0 62 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference
Creighton 0-2 61 Missouri Valley Conference
Southern 1-0 58 Southwestern Athletic Conference
North Dakota 0-0 44 Great West Conference
Pennsylvania 0-0 42 Ivy League
Hawaii 2-1 6 Western Athletic Conference
Southern Illinois 3-1 2 Missouri Valley Conference
It's our
first #1 ranking in the Mid Major poll, which looks more realistic now that the Big Ten has regained its major conference status.
November 21, 2023
#22 Lafayette 83, @Creighton 75
Newly ranked in the top 25, we travel to Nebraska and beat the Blue Jays in a mid major showdown.
Tonight's star is
Byron Shores, who makes 5 of his 11 threes and finishes with 25 points.
Jeffrey Hampton contributes his first career double double (17p/12r), and
Kurt Ritchie is productive, too (13p/10r). Ritchie also blocks 7 shots. Those
Samuel Davis comparisons are becoming even more accurate.
It's a tough night at the office for
Kenton Lashley (1-for-7 from three, 5 points, 5 rebounds, 4 fouls).
Record: 5-0.
November 24, 2023
@#22 Lafayette 61, Canisius 38
This isn't the game for you if you like offense, as neither team lights up the scoreboard.
Kenton Lashley regains his touch for a game-high 20 points.
Byron Shores (14) and
Micah Rodriguez (12) also reach double figures, and
Jeffrey Hampton (10) does so in rebounds.
Kurt Ritchie blocks 3 more shots and grabs 8 boards.
Record: 6-0.
November 26, 2023
#22 Lafayette 75, @#18 Vanderbilt 68
Going into tonight's game, Graham's teams were 0-7 against Vanderbilt. The only team to have beaten Lafayette more often is American, against whom Graham's gone 18-8.
Behind 22 points from
Byron Shores, a scoresheet-filling POG performance from
Kenton Lashley (14p/5r/4a/1s), and an authoritative 12 rebounds and 6 blocks from
Kurt Ritchie, the Leopards secure their first-ever win against the Commodores.
It's also Lafayette's third victory against ranked opponents this year.
Record: 7-0.
November 29, 2023
@#17 Lafayette 62, Virginia 57
A winless Virginia team comes to the Kirby Center and leaves with another loss. We don't score much, but we keep them from scoring, too.
Byron Shores leads the way with 23 points (5-10 from three).
Kenton Lashley (12) and
Micah Rodriguez (10) break double digits, and while
Kurt Ritchie doesn't score, he gets 11 rebounds. One more point and one more rebound would have earned
Jeffrey Hampton a double double too.
A fan in the student section gets some TV time by holding up a sign that reads
BYRON SCORES. I wonder why it took them so long to come up with that one.
Record: 8-0.