Lafayette, American meet in conference play

Lafayette (5-3, 5-3) vs. American (2-2, 2-2)

Bender Arena, Washington; Saturday, 2 p.m. EST

BOTTOM LINE: Lafayette pays visit to American in a Patriot League matchup. Lafayette came up short in a 64-61 game at home to Boston University in its last outing. American is coming off an 81-79 overtime win at Loyola (Md.) in its most recent game.

ARE YOU EXPERIENCED: Lafayette has relied on senior leadership while American has been fueled heavily by freshmen this year. For the Leopards, seniors Justin Jaworski, E.J. Stephens and Neal Quinn have scored 60 percent of the team's points this season, including 72 percent of all Leopards points over their last five. On the other bench, freshmen Jamir Harris, Johnny O'Neil and Stacy Beckton Jr. have combined to account for 66 percent of American's scoring this season.

PATRIOT LEAGUE IMPROVEMENT: The Eagles have scored 74.3 points per game against Patriot League opponents thus far, an improvement from the zero per game they managed in non-conference play.

CREATING OFFENSE: Harris has accounted for 40 percent of all American field goals over the last three games. The senior guard has 19 field goals and 12 assists in those games.

ASSIST DISTRIBUTION: The Leopards have recently used assists to create baskets more often than the Eagles. American has 31 assists on 77 field goals (40.3 percent) across its previous three contests while Lafayette has assists on 45 of 77 field goals (58.4 percent) during its past three games.

BALL SECURITY: The diligent Lafayette offense has turned the ball over on 14.8 percent of its possessions, the 10th-best mark in Division I. 24.2 percent of all American possessions have resulted in a turnover (the Eagles are ranked 336th, nationally).

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