[MoonlightGraham]

December 3, 2012
LaSalle 66, Lafayette 64
This one hurts. Playing against an Atlantic 10 team on the road, we fall behind by 10 in the first half. We rally, and with three minutes left, it's tied, 58-58. The Explorers' class reveals itself down the stretch. A Hubert Song three at the buzzer makes the final score even more heartbreaking. Our first year trio of Song (12 points), James Sanders (11), and Venceslás Castillo (10) lead the scoring, while another frosh, reserve Rhett King, leads us with 9 rebounds.
Record: 3-2.


December 14, 2012
St. John's 78, Lafayette 72 (2 OT)
When John McGrath sinks two free throws to give St. John's a 50-43 lead with 4:03 remaining, I figure I'll be telling you about how we gave a Big East team a decent game, that the result indicates some progress for our program, etc. But the Red Storm don't manage to score again during regulation time, and a fairly routine baseline jumper by Stephen Thames ties the score at 50 with almost two minutes to play. A series of ugly possessions ensues. McGrath and Billy Weiler both have chances to play the hero in the game's final seconds, but neither can convert them.

Both teams score at will during the overtime period, and as it dwindles down, we're tied again, 67-67. McGrath fires a three-pointer from the right corner. No good. Rhett King rebounds the ball for us, and gets it ahead to Weiler. Weiler tries a 30-footer. No good. Let's play five more minutes.

St. John's pulls away during the second extra period, and that's that.

Weiler leads all scorers with 19 points. Hubert Song contributes 15, and Mr. Offense, Stephen Thames, pours in 14 in 17 minutes. Venceslás Castillo pulls in 10 rebounds.
Record: 3-3.


December 16, 2012
Lafayette 69, Rider 54
Two days after a tough loss in double overtime, the Leopards pounce back with a tidy road victory. Good King Venceslás Castillo, our leading scorer, drops in 17. Even more impressively, he's making 63% of his shots so far this year. We don't shoot well as a team, but we defend tenaciously, and Clark Nolan dominates the boards with 14 rebounds. Remember John Spitzer, whom we recruited last year? He's had a decent season for Rider, serving as their first guard off the bench. We hold him to only two points.
Record: 4-3.


December 18, 2012
Temple 72, Lafayette 70
I've given Coach Sims and the Leopards a much more demanding non-conference schedule this year, and we've managed to hang pretty tough. Today, we take a very good Temple team down to the wire. We have the ball with 55 seconds left, behind 71-69, and the Owls force us into a shot clock violation. It's that close.

Hubert Song is our high man with 12 points, but Stephen Thames is right behind him with 11, in only 17 minutes this time. However, Willard Davis provides even more instant offense. He needs only six minutes to score three baskets, one a three-ball, and knock down three foul shots for 11 points.

Temple starts three Green players and two Blue players. Our boys--two Yellows, two Oranges, and a Red--don't back down one bit.
Record: 4-4.


December 23, 2012
Dayton 64, Lafayette 43
The parade of tough opponents continues with a 9-1 Flyers team that probably should be nationally ranked. We're never really in this game. James Sanders and Hubert Song are our only double-figure scorers, with exactly 10 points apiece.

I move Stephen Thames into the starting lineup, in place of Billy Weiler. Perhaps this isn't the right time for the move, as neither of them play well. I'll try the new lineup against a more manageable opponent and see what happens.
Record: 4-5.


December 26, 2012
#22 Baylor 91, Lafayette 79
This time, our opponent really is ranked, and again, we perform creditably against a team that should wipe us off the court. We do several things well; we make 53% of our shots and go 23-25 from the line.

Our freshmen again demonstrate how ready they are to play at this level. Hubert Song scores 17 points, and James Sanders adds 12. Rhett King, who sees a lot of action in relief of foul-plagued Clark Nolan, finishes with 10, including two 3-pointers. Rhett is 7-15 from long range this year.
Record: 4-6.


December 28, 2012
Seton Hall 62, Lafayette 56
Again, we play well against a strong team, making up a good portion of a first-half deficit and making our opponent play hard to the final buzzer. Ian Crook, the Hall's high-scoring Aussie guard, gets his usual 20 points, the first player to score that many against us this season.

Venceslás Castillo is finding it more difficult to score against these superior opponents; for the fourth straight game, he's held to fewer than 8 points. Hubert Song and Billy Weiler combine for 23 points--12 for Hubert, 11 for Billy--but they require 24 shots to score them.
Record: 4-7.


December 31, 2012
Lafayette 64, Loyola-Maryland 55
If you'd told me before the game that Venceslás Castillo would not score a single point, I would predict we'd lose. Hubert Song, however, has other plans.

The freshman sensation scores 29 points, making 5 of his 10 shots from behind the arc. He adds 5 rebounds and 4 assists for good measure. Stephen Thames supports him with 13 points, as the Leopards close out the calendar year with a victory that breaks our four-game losing streak.
Record: 5-7.