Jan. 2, 2001 - LHU'S LUCAS MERITS PSAC MEN'S BASKETBALL PLAYER OF THE WEEK RECOGNITION

(Lock Haven, Pa.) -  Lock Haven University of Pennsylvania senior men's basketball student-athlete Jason Lucas (Pottstown/Germantown Academy) was named the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Western Division Player of the Week for the week ending January 2.             Lucas helped lead Lock Haven to a 2-1 record at the Capital Key Classic in Albany, N.Y., this past week, averaging 18.0 points along with team-highs of 10.7 rebounds and 5.7 assists.  He hit 21-of-30 (.700) shots down the stretch, and also added 12-of-17 from the free throw line. The 6'7" senior forward pulled down a tournament record 18 rebounds to compliment a 19-point effort in the Bald Eagles' 91-89 overtime victory against LIU-Southampton.  Lucas posted 18 points and had a game-best eight assists in LHU's double overtime 84-80 win over the University of New Haven, and also had 17 points and six rebounds in a 67-70 loss to Binghamton University.  
            He is currently first on the squad in rebounding (8.4 rpg) and field goal percentage (.565), and is third on the team in scoring (14.6 ppg). 
            The Lock Haven Bald Eagles are 4-6 overall, and next host West Chester University on Saturday, January 6, at 3 p.m. and Cheyney University the following day on Sunday, January 7, also at 3 p.m.

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Dec. 4, 2000 - LHU'S RUFF EARNS PSAC WEST ROOKIE OF THE WEEK HONORS

(Lock Haven, Pa.) - Lock Haven University of Pennsylvania freshman Chris Ruff (Halifax/Halifax) earned Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Western Division Men's Basketball Rookie of the Week honors for the week ending December 3.
         Ruff, a 6'5" freshman forward for the Bald Eagles, helped Lock Haven to a 1-2 record over the past week of action.  He earned the start against Millersville University and Bloomsburg Unviersity, scoring 13 points and pulling down a team-best seven rebounds against Millersville.  He added two points and three boards against Bloomsburg, then grabbed six rebounds in LHU's first win of the season, a 76-72 victory over Mansfield University.  
            For the season, Ruff leads the Bald Eagles in rebounding, averaging 6.4 per game.  The rookie also averages 6.0 points a contest on 61% shooting from the floor.
            Ruff hails from 2000 PIAA AA runner-up Halifax High School, where he was a First Team All-State power forward along with the Tri-Valley League Co-MVP following his senior season.  
            The Lock Haven University men's basketball team is currently 1-4 overall, and will next travel to the University of the District of Columbia on Saturday, December 9, for a 4 p.m. contest.  

Nov. 29, 2000 -  LHU'S ABBONDANZA REACHES 1,000 POINT MILESTONE

(Lock Haven, Pa.) -  Rico Abbondanza (Pittsburgh/Seton LaSalle), a senior men's basketball player for Lock Haven University of Pennsylvania, reached the 1,000-point career milestone this evening in a 71-83 loss to Millersville University. 

            The 6-4  senior guard needed just five points going into tonight's contest, hitting his third shot of the game at the 9:25 mark of the first half.  For the game, Abbondanza posted 20 points on seven-for-11 shooting from the floor and six-for-six from the free throw line. 

            The veteran Bald Eagle is now the 14^th player in Lock Haven history to join the 1,000 point club, and the first since 1996 (Mike Shue, 1,716 points, 1993-97).  For his career, Abbondanza now has 1,015 points along with 458 rebounds.

            The Lock Haven University men's basketball team is currently 0-3, and next travels to Bloomsburg University on Saturday, December 2, for a 3 p.m. game.

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July 27, 2000 -- LHU MEN'S BASKETBALL COACH TO 
                      TRAVEL TO FRANCE

Lock Haven, Pa. -- Lock Haven University of Pennsylvania Head Men's Basketball Coach John Wilson, Jr., will spend two weeks in August overseas in Nancy, France, serving as a camp instructor at the American Basket Camp.  The American Basket Camp, directed by Roger Tank, has been in operation for 15 years, and this summer is expected to bring the game of basketball to over 300 campers from all of France. 

July 17, 2000 -- LHU Men's Basketball Announces 
                      Recruits FOR 2000-2001 SEASON

(Lock Haven, Pa.) - The Lock Haven University of Pennsylvania Men's Basketball team, under the direction of second-year head coach John Wilson, Jr., has announced its list of four top recruits for the 2000-2001 campaign. 

Those recruits include: Brian Rieben (Collegeville, Pa./Devon Prep High School), Chris Ruff (Halifax, Pa./Halifax High School), Sean Stiedler (York, Pa./York Suburban High School), and Quentin Terry (York, Pa./Central York High School). 

                The average height of the four incoming players is 6'6", which helps identify Lock Haven's focus in recruiting over the past year.  "This recruiting class will address some specific needs with our inside depth," said LHU Head Coach John Wilson, Jr.  "It also provides us a good start in building a program we feel can be successful."

                "Our returning players inside will be seniors [Cedric Hameed, Rico Abbondanza, and Millersville transfer Jason Lucas], so this will be a good year for the incoming players to cut their teeth and be ready for heavy battle during their second season," continued Wilson.  "I am also pleased with the kind of people we are adding to our program.  For me it's important to bring a young man into the program who demonstrates a commitment to academics and social responsibility as well as being good basketball players.

Brian Rieben comes to Lock Haven from Collegeville, Pa., where he was a standout player at Devon Prep High School.  At 6'7" and 190 pounds, the forward earned First Team Southern Chester County accolades in addition to First Team Main Line Times honors.  Rieben owns every school record at Devon Prep for blocked shots, swatting 19 in a single game, a total of 205 in a season, and 500 over the span of his career.  During his senior year, Rieben recorded an average of 17.0 points, 8.0 rebounds, and 8.5 blocks per contest. Among his other honors, Rieben was selected the 1999-2000 Genaurdi Markets Athlete of the Year, and also earned Philadelphia Inquirer Player of the Week honors in December of 1999.

Chris Ruff, a 6'5", 245-pound power forward, is a top prospect who hails from 2000 PIAA AA runner-up Halifax High School.   Originally from Halifax, Pa., he was named a First Team All-State player and Tri-Valley League Co-MVP following his senior season at Halifax High School.  Ruff found the bottom of the net for 17.7 points per game, and picked up an average of 7.0 boards each time out.  During his high school career, Ruff went over the millennium mark in both points and rebounds, tallying 1,890 points and a total of 1,121 boards.  He also excelled in the classroom, earning the Traverse Award for the top scholar-athlete.  Ruff is a Lock Haven Presidential Scholarship recipient and has also been admitted to the University's Honors program. 

Sean Stiedler will make his way to The Haven from York, Pa.  The 6'7", 215 pound center was named the YAIAA Division II Player of the Year after leading York Suburban High School to the county playoffs.  Also one of five York County All-Stars named in Division II and York Suburban's Defensive MVP, Stiedler posted 16.8 points, 9.3 rebounds, 2.9 blocks, and 2.0 assists per game in his senior season.     

Quentin Terry is a 6'5", 205 pound incoming player from York, Pa.  While playing at Central York High School, Terry was selected as a Second Team YAIAA Division I player.  Terry, a forward, contributed 9.7 points per game and 7.1 boards per contest to the Panthers' 1999-2000 campaign.   

The 1999-2000 Bald Eagle Men's Basketball team went 6-20 overall and had a 1-11 mark in Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Western Division action. 

(Lock Haven, Pa.) -- Lock Haven University of Pennsylvania men's basketball student-athlete Rico Abbondanza (Pittsburgh/Seton LaSalle) was named to the 1999-2000 All-Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Western Division Second Team.

            Abbondanza, a 6-4 junior guard, led The Haven in scoring (12.8 ppg) and rebounding (7.2 rpg), as well as being among the conference leaders in the same categories.  His repertoire also includes dishing out the ball for a team-high 108 assists.  The Bald Eagle co-captain also notched a squad best 47 steals.  This season, Abbondanza recorded a career high of 27 points against Baptist Bible (1/13/00) and matched his personal best of 11 rebounds in games versus Indiana (Pa.) University (2/23/00) and Mansfield University (11/20/99).

            This is Abbondanza's second selection to the All-PSAC West squad, also earning Second Team accolades in 1998-99. Looking ahead to next season, the Seton LaSalle High School product is 56 points away from being the 14^th player in Lock Haven history to reach the 1,000 point plateau. With 237 career assists, Abbondanza is also among school leaders, and needs 26 assists to move into fifth place all-time.

            Lock Haven, under first-year Head Coach John Wilson, Jr., went 6-20 this season.

Lock Haven University of Pennsylvania men's basketball student-athlete Justin Seitz (Wrightsville/Eastern York) was named Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Western Division Rookie of the Week for the week ending Feb. 26.

In the final week of The Haven's 1999-2000 basketball season, Seitz garnered 18 points and four rebounds in a 105-72 loss to Indiana (Pa.) University, and collected a team-best 14 points along with six rebounds in the squad's final contest, a 76-67 loss against Edinboro University.

This was the fifth time Seitz was selected the PSAC West Rookie of the Week (11/24,12/6, 2/7, 2/14).

The Haven's first PSAC West opponent will be Slippery Rock University, who has built a 7-5 overall ledger to date. The Rock is already one game into its conference schedule, having suffered a 51-63 loss to California University (Pa.) last Wednesday. This season's Bald Eagle team will look to better last year's 1-11 PSAC West mark.

Lock Haven University of Pennsylvania men's basketball player Justin Seitz (Wrightsville, Pa./Eastern York) was selected the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Western Division Rookie of the Week for the week ending Nov. 24.

Seitz, a true-freshman, is perfect from the floor at 15-of-15 in The Haven's opening two contests. He currently leads Lock Haven in scoring, averaging 19.0 points per game along with 6.0 rebounds per contest. Seitz recorded a team-high of 16 points in LHU's 78-72 loss to Mansfield, and added another team-best of 22 points in a 103-75 win over East Stroudsburg.

Seitz comes to The Haven after a successful four-year career at Eastern York High School, where he was named the 1999 YAIA Player of the Year and earned a Big 15 Honorable Mention.

The Lock Haven men's basketball team, now 1-1, travels to Erie, Pa., for the Gary Miller Classic, hosted by Gannon University, on Friday and Saturday, November 26-27. The Bald Eagles are slated to play Gannon at 8 p.m. on Friday evening.

The Department of Athletics at Lock Haven University of Pennsylvania has officially announced the appointment of John Wilson as its new head men’s basketball coach.

Prior to his experience at the high school level, Wilson spent ten years at Millersville University of Pennsylvania as the Associate Head Coach of the Men’s Basketball team. Marauder teams under Wilson’s tutelage advanced to the NCAA Division II Elite Eight in 1989 and qualified for the NCAA Division-II playoffs each season from 1993-95. Millersville also won two PSAC post-season tournament titles (1989, 1993), four PSAC Eastern Division crowns (1989, 1990, 1993, 1995), an ECAC Division II Tournament championship (1992), and recorded winning seasons in seven of Wilson's ten seasons on staff.

Wilson also spent five years (1980-85) as the men’s basketball assistant coach under his father, John Sr., at Malcom X Community College in Chicago, IL. Aside from coaching, Wilson worked as the Program/Facility Director at the Litiz Community Center since 1998.

"I think this a great opportunity to be able to come to Lock Haven University and to start building the program," said Wilson. "It’s important that I went through the recruiting process with my oldest boy and was impressed, as a parent, with the program and the staff. It makes me feel good about being able to recruit young men to Lock Haven."

By coming to The Haven, Wilson is reunited with the Bald Eagles’ assistant coach Doug Wingard, who served as a graduate assistant, and then a volunteer assistant, at Millersville University during Wilson's tenure. "It's a blessing that when he left Millersville, I could see the steps he has taken," said Wilson. "It is kind of like destiny that this opportunity came up a few months ago."

The LHU men's basketball squad finished with a 6-20 record last season.

 Lock Haven University has announced that Head Men’s Basketball Coach Brad Bross and Head Women’s Soccer Coach Liz Driscoll will be leaving their posts in order to accept positions at other schools. In addition, Head Women’s Softball Coach Kim Lindsey has taken another position within the department and will not return to coach the Lady Eagles next season.

Bross has accepted a position as assistant athletic director for development at Coastal Carolina University, an NCAA Division I institution located in Conway, S.C. Bross has been with LHU for the last 11 years, eight as an assistant and the last three as head coach of the Bald Eagles. During that time he has amassed a 16-62 record, including a 6-20 mark this past season.

"I congratulate Brad on getting an opportunity to pursue a long-term goal of his," says LHU Director of Athletics Sharon E. Taylor. "He has been one of the most dedicated and hardworking members of our staff for all of his time here and I’m glad to, publicly acknowledge his efforts. Coastal Carolina is fortunate to have attracted him to their program."

Lindsey has been associated with LHU softball for over 15 years, having been the captain of the Lady Eagle squad that finished as the NCAA Division II Runner’s-Up in 1988. The recipient of the Charlotte E. Smith Award that year as the Outstanding Female Athlete at The Haven, Lindsey remained at LHU in 1989 as an assistant coach.

In 1990 Lindsey became the head coach, and since that time has guided the Lady Eagles to a 152-167 mark. In her nine years as head coach, LHU has recorded two 20-win seasons, numerous playoff appearances and a multitude of All-PSAC selections. This past season the team was 14-22 overall, including a 7-13 record in PSAC action. Lindsey will remain involved in athletics at LHU as she takes on other duties within the department.

"Kim has contributed to Lock Haven University in many ways as a student-athlete and as a staff member," says Taylor. "Her decision to leave coaching was not an easy one, but I look forward to working with her in her new role."