Lafayette

When: Saturday at 6 p.m., Franklin Field   (ESPN3.com, WNTP-AM 990). Records: Lafayette, 0-2; Penn, first game . Series: The Quakers lead, 62-21-4, having won last season's game, 19-14, at Franklin Field. Coaches: Penn, Al Bagnoli (20th season, 131-57); Lafayette, Frank Tavani (12th season, 62-62). THREE THINGS TO WATCH Leopards opponents have averaged more than 200 yards passing and 125 yards rushing, which could mean big games for Penn quaterback Billy Ragone and tailback Brandon Colavita . With the graduation Andrew Samson , the Quakers hand over their place-kicking duties to freshman Connor Loftus , a highly recruited kicker out of southern Calfornia.

When: Saturday, 6 p.m. Where: Fisher Stadium, Bethlehem, Pa. Records: Penn (0-0), Lafayette (1-0) TV/Radio: Pennathletics.com/WFIL-AM (560) Coaches: Penn, Al Bagnoli (21st season at Penn, 222-81 overall, 136-62 at Penn); Lafayette, Frank Tavani (13th season, 67-69) Series: Penn leads, 62-22-4, but Lafayette won last year, 37-12. THREE THINGS TO WATCH Will Lafayette have a letdown after a 17-14 win at William and Mary, a week after the Tribe barely lost to Maryland, 7-6?

Germantown Academy's Nick Lindner, a 5-foot-10 junior guard, has committed to play basketball at Lafayette. In 30 games last season, Lindner averaged 17.8 points and helped lead the Patriots to a 20-10 overall record and a 6-4 mark in the Inter-Academic League. He was a first-team all-Inter-Ac selection. - Rick O'Brien

Lafayette felt familiar to Roman Catholic senior Joe McCourt. It felt as if he had been there before. McCourt, The Inquirer's city football player of the year last season, made an oral commitment to Lafayette on Thursday. He said he was impressed with the coaching staff during the recruiting process and the campus during his official visit. But he also liked that Lafayette was not too big - just like Roman. And he liked that Lafayette was in a rebuilding process - just like Roman when he arrived four years ago. "It just reminded me of Roman," McCourt said.

Greg McCleary had just finished an OK, but nothing special junior basketball season at West Catholic High when coach Bill Ludlow sat him down for an evaluation. "Coach Ludlow said he thought I could become a Patriot League or Ivy League player," McCleary said. "Was I surprised? Well, what I thought was that coach Ludlow knows basketball pretty well, so it must be possible. " It was. McCleary, a 6-5 forward for the Burrs' Catholic League runners-up, announced last night that he had made an oral commitment to Lafayette, the Patriot champ and NCAA Tournament participant, that is coached by former Penn assistant Fran O'Hanlon.

The French Mint has struck a series of commemorative coins honoring Gilbert, Marquis de Lafayette. The 100-franc coin is the sixth in a series commemorating people and events that shaped French history. The coin, cast in platinum, gold, silver and palladium, will be issued in proof and uncirculated condition. The silver coin also will be struck in piedfort (double weight) in both proof and uncirculated condition. This coin is noteworthy in the series because the portrait on the obverse has been struck from 200-year-old dies preserved by the French Mint after it issued a medal in 1789 marking Lafayette's appointment as commander of the French National Guard.

Going into last night's game with Penn, Lafayette's basketball team had lost seven of its last eight games, and had its coach wondering if the Leopards were ever going to win again. But Lafayette looked like a worldbeater in its 83-72 win over the Quakers, a game that was not as close as the final score indicates. Lafayette (5-13) led by 24 points with just over three minutes to play. The Quakers cut the final margin to just 11 in the remaining garbage time. "We were down to our last thread," Lafayette senior point guard Bruce Stankavage said.

OF LA SALLE'S 15 non-conference opponents, eight won at least 18 games last season. The Explorers' season opens with Patriot League finalist Lafayette Nov. 11 at the Gola Arena. The Explorers will be at Villanova Nov. 15 and Pittsburgh a week later. They host NCAA participants Bucknell (Dec. 3) and Boston University (Dec. 29). Two other postseason qualifiers, James Madison (Nov. 19) and Rider (Nov. 26), also come to Philadelphia. The Rider game will be played at the Palestra as part of the Hoop Group Classic.

Lafayette midfielder Ana White (Strath Haven) was named first team all-Patriot League in women's lacrosse. The Patriot League rookie of the year in 2011, White was named the league's player of the week five times this season when she set a league record with 113 draw controls. White scored 36 goals. Navy's Kathy Young (Villa Maria Academy) also was named first team all-Patriot League at midfield. Melissa Scanzano (Haverford) scored five goals as Cabrini (8-8)

THREE WEEKS AGO, awaiting trial on vehicular-homicide charges, Wade Lohse walked out of a separate trial on gun charges in Lafayette, La., setting off a courtroom drama. Two weeks after that, while still on the run, Lohse made a shaky conspiracy video in a wooded area, "Blair Witch" style, in which he railed against authorities and the justice system. Then, he posted it to YouTube. "They're lying to you," he says in the video, referring to the government. "They've been lying to you all along.

BET Investments of Horsham has purchased the 216-unit garden-style Lincoln Woods Apartments on Germantown Pike in Lafayette Hill for $25.5 million. The 10-year loan for the purchase of the complex, built in 1991, was arranged through Fannie Mae by Berkadia Commercial Mortgage L.L.C. in Horsham. It represented 80 percent of total acquisition costs plus short-term capital budget. BET has acquired 1,000 apartment units in the region in the last six months.

A 12-POINT LEAD had dwindled to three when anxious Bucknell fans pleaded for center Mike Muscala to get the ball. Just as he has all season, the Bison's big man delivered to help get his team back into the NCAA Tournament. Muscala scored six of his 20 points during a decisive second-half stretch to help Bucknell capture its second NCAA Tournament berth in three seasons with a 64-56 win over visiting Lafayette on Wednesday night in the Patriot League title game. Joe Willman had 14 points and eight boards to form a potent frontcourt duo with Muscala, the conference player of the year for the top-seeded Bison (28-5)

          LEWISBURG, Pa. - Mike Muscala scored six of his 20 points during a decisive second half Wednesday night to help Bucknell capture its second NCAA tournament berth in three seasons with a 64-56 win over Lafayette in the Patriot League title game. Muscala also had 11 rebounds. Joe Willman added 14 points and eight boards for the Bison. Just like two years ago, top-seeded Bucknell (28-5) beat Lafayette (19-15) on its home floor to advance.

Connecticut freshman Omar Calhoun scored 15 points, including three three-pointers, in a deciding second-half run that shocked No. 6 Syracuse, 66-58, in Hartford, Conn., Wednesday in the last Big East game between the two national powers. Syracuse (20-4, 8-3) will play next season in the Atlantic Coast Conference while the Huskies will stay in the realigned Big East. Their last game was close until Calhoun started the run with a three-pointer that gave the Huskies (17-6, 7-4) the lead for good at 45-42.

A former Middlebury (Vt.) College provost and a Glenside native will become Lafayette College's first female president, officials announced Wednesday. Alison R. Byerly, a visiting scholar in literature at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology this year, will take over July 1 at the 2,400-student liberal arts and engineering college in Easton, Pa. She replaces Daniel H. Weiss, who served for eight years and will become president of Haverford College in July. An expert on the use of technology in higher education, Byerly, 51, served for 13 years in leadership positions at Middlebury, most recently as provost and executive vice president, a post she held from 2007 to 2012.

A former Middlebury College provost and Glenside native will become Lafayette College's first female president, officials announced Wednesday. Alison R. Byerly, a visiting scholar in literature at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology this year, will take over at the 2,400-student liberal arts college in Easton on July 1. She replaces Daniel H. Weiss, who served for eight years and will become president of Haverford College in July....

SCORES AREA MEN Lafayette 85, Penn 83 Northeastern 63, Drexel 58 (ot) AREA WOMEN Penn 79, Morgan St. 73 NATIONAL MEN EAST Boston U. 63, Vermont 53 Lehigh 81, Muhlenberg 46 Pittsburgh 73, Georgetown 45 Brown 75, Niagara 74 (ot) Dartmouth 75, Army 58 Holy Cross 78, Columbia 69 Lehigh 81, Muhlenberg 46 UConn 99, DePaul 78 SOUTH Appalachian St. 50, Wofford 49 Duke 68, Clemson 40 Alcorn St. 80, Grambling St. 46 Southern University 80, Jackson St. 67 Alabama St. 69, Mississippi Valley St. 65 MIDWEST Creighton 91, Drake 61 Missouri 84, Alabama 68 Missouri St. 62, Illinois St. 55 Ohio St. 74, Purdue 64 SOUTHWEST Baylor 82, Texas Tech 48 Texas-Pan American 70, Houston Baptist 60 Arkansas-Pine Bluff 77, Alabama A&M 61 AREA RESULTS MEN Wilmington 69, Goldey-Beacom 60: Isiah Mason scored 16 points and James Pee added 15 for Wilmington (3-11)

Exactly a month had passed between Penn's last home game and Tuesday night's return to the Palestra. Forty days had passed since the Quakers' last win. A matchup with Lafayette - a team that had never beaten Penn in 22 previous meetings on 33d Street - seemed to be the perfect midwinter pick-me-up. It proved to be just the opposite. The Leopards rode an early second-half surge and staved off a frantic Penn comeback to deal the Quakers an 85-83 loss. Penn's offense found a good rhythm in the first half, registering 11 assists while scoring 40 points.

PENN HAD NOT won a game since Nov. 28. Penn had not played a game at the Palestra since Dec. 8. Penn had never lost a game at the Palestra to Lafayette. Penn trailed Lafayette by 15 points with 7 1/2 minutes to go at the Palestra. With 3 minutes to go, it was tied. With 3 seconds to go and his team trailing by two points, Penn's Steve Rennard, the lone starter on the floor, was wide open on the left wing beyond the three-point arc. He set his feet and took his time. Lafayette is now 1-22 against Penn at the Palestra.