I made it back from the beautiful Northeast extension of the Pennsylvania Turnpike, and am ready to wrap up the Broncs' 69-68 win over the Mountain Hawks.

First, a link to my gamer in today's paper and one to the box.

Now, a few thoughts:

* Man, what a game! A 12-point second-half comeback, an old fashioned 3-point play that proved decisive, and a buzzer-beater that WOULD have tied the game if it were a 3, not a 2. Too bad virtually no one was there to watch it, which gets me to my next point ...

* The people at Lehigh were great and even provided Dominoes pizza in the media room, so this is nothing against them. But would it have killed any of the students or basketball fans in the area to have actually showed up? Stabler Arena's capacity is listed at 5,600. The crowd today was 982, which I'm willing to bet will be the smallest crowd at a Rider game this year other than the one played at Saint Peter's.

* Harris Mansell has a mild elbow sprain and probably won't play Sunday against Lafayette, but will be back the following Saturday when the Broncs host Cal State Northridge in their home opener. Tommy Dempsey said he's hopeful Justin Robinson and Jermaine Jackson are back for that one too. Jackson, whose knee injury and subsequent arthroscopic surgery occured after Robinson's, is ahead of schedule, while Robinson remains on schedule.

* Seven players combined for 197 of Rider's 200 minutes, but fortunately for the Broncs, nobody appeared tired in the second half, when Rider's full-court press took Lehigh out of its offensive flow and aided the comeback. This team was built for track meets, not low-post battles, so it'll be interesting to see how much Dempsey decides to run and press when everyone's healthy.

* A few more stats that stood out: Novar Gadson shot 3-for-13 from the floor against Saint Joe's (seven points) and 6-for-8 last night (17). ... Rider had eight assists and 15 turnovers against Saint Joe's. Those numbers were 17 and 9, respectively, last night. ... Lehigh out-rebounded the Broncs 45-34 . ... Lehigh's Marquis Hall came in averaging 18 points per game. Last night, he scored seven on 2-for-11 shooting. ... Zahir Carrington, last week's Patriot League Player of the Week, was impresive, scoring 15 oints on 5-of-10 shooting. The big guy even made five of six free throws. ... This isn't really a stat, but chasing after a loose ball in the second half, Pat Mansell jumped up on the press table and nearly knocked over Daryl Fein and Steve Rudenstein's radio equiptment. ... Rider was only 14 of 25 from the line. Mike Ringgold (1-for-4 with an air ball) and Brandon Penn (2-for-5) were a combined 3-for-9.

What a thriller. Would have loved to have live blogged it, but like the Broncs' ability to score and play defense, my wireless capability only kicked in late in the game, when it was too late to even start a thread.

There's plenty of stuff I couldn't fit in my gamer -- which will be online in a few hours -- and I'll put it up when I get home, which should be in about two hours.

In many ways, Jimmy Patsos is simply a prototype of the man who was his boss at Maryland.

Like Gary Williams, Patsos can be a sideshow on the sidelines. He yells, screams, jumps up and down, and in typical College Park fashion, sweats through his shirt in every game.

Yet since becoming the head coach at Loyola -- and reviving a program that was one of the worst (THE worst?) in the country when he took over -- he has taken sideline antics to a level rarely seen in college basketball.

I don't know Patsos, though I've talked to him on a couple of occasions and attended several of his postgame press conferences. Most people I've talked to who know him say off the court, he's a good guy -- friendly, fun-loving, and enthusiastic. On the court, though, his antics -- often not only yelling at officials, but at opposing players and assistant coaches -- have offended some people and at times gotten him in trouble.

Few scenes, though, were more unusual than the one from Tuesday night, when, after being assessed a technical in the first half, he retreated to the end of the Greyhounds' bench, talking to the players sitting near him but not those on the court, and letting his assistants essentially coach the game.

In the second half, the situation became more unusual. When according to Patsos, official John Gafney came over near the Hounds' bench and inexplicably confronted him, the coach jumped up into the stands, where he sat with Loyola athletic director Joe Boylan before returning to the bench.

The incident, which took place during Loyola's 82-72 loss to Cornell in the preseason NIT, has provoked Patsos to do some soul-searching, as this piece in the Baltimore Sun details.

Attitudes around the MAAC are mixed toward Patsos, with some coaches regarding him as unusual but relatively harmless and others taking great offense at his antics. Patsos' behavior toward officials and his penchant for over-the-top sideline celebrations often draw attention, but are sometimes not THAT far removed from the norm in a sport that was dominated for decades by the official-harassing, chair-throwing Bob Knight.

What has irked opposing coaches has been Patsos' attempts to engage opposing players and assistant coaches in trash talk.

The situation nearly boiled over in the 2007 MAAC tournamnet when Patsos and Ed Cooley got into a shouting match at halfcourt, and the Hounds were also involved in a verbal sparring match last year at Niagara that nearly turned into a postgame brawl.

It's these kind of actions that have to make Boylan and others in the Loyola administration uncomfortable, and it's strange antics such as those Patsos exhibited Tuesday -- producing the picture featured above of him sitting wide-eyed on the bench as his team huddles with assistants 10 feet away -- that are turning into an embarrassment for the school.

Patsos the basketball coach has been one of the biggest mid-major successes in the past decade. He took a program that went nearly an entire season without a win and turned it into one that, even in a rebuilding year, was picked fifth in the preseason MAAC coaches' poll last month.

That success on the court has certainly earned him enough good will in Baltimore that his job can't be in immediate jeopardy, no matter his behavior.

But if I were the Loyola administration, I'd stage a serious sit-down meeting with Patsos to tell him he can get excited on the sidelines without demonstrating poor sportsmanship toward 20-year old college students or embarrassing the program and the university.

And if I were Patsos, I'd make a serious effort to get my act together.

It's freezing in New York, making me wish I was covering Fairfield this morning in Puerto Rico instead of Rider at Lehigh in Bethlehem, Pa. But what are you gonna do?

Last night provided some excitement, particularly in Riverdale, where Antoine Pearson's last-minute offense and Darryl Crawford's last-second defense helped Manhattan get past Morgan State.

As Sean Brennan writes, it's a game the Jaspers may not have won last year, but in Barry Rohrssen's third year and with a more veteran-filled roster, they made the big plays when they needed to and improved to 2-0.

Down in Philly, Niagara turned in a respectable outing against an injury-plagued Villanova team, keeping the deficit in single digits for most of the game before falling 77-62.

That's the kind of game that, even against a team battling some injuries, can has the ingredients -- ranked team, hostile environment -- to get out of hand, so credit Niagara for hanging in there.

Saint Peter's, meanwhile, did nothing to demonstrate any improvement.

In Princeton, the Tigers lost another heartbreaker.

Ed Cooley says Fairfield fans have to be patient if the Stags slip up in Puerto Rico, where they're set to tip off in less than 90 minutes.

Lastly, here's the preview of tonight's Rider-Lehigh game. I'm not sure if the gym at Lehigh has wireless. If it does, I'll have live updates. If not, we'll have to wait until after the game.

Three MAAC teams -- Niagara, which plays at Villanova, Manhattan, which hosts Morgan State, and Saint Peter's, which takes on Wagner -- are in action tonight.

The Philadelphia Inquirer notes that the Purple Eagles are loaded with local guys, including former Wildcat Bilal Benn and Bucks County native Tyrone Lewis.

It'll be interesting to see how the 1-0 Purple Eagles handle a ranked team in a hostile environment, which the Pavilion can certainly be. If they can keep Nova's lead in single digits for most of the game, it'll be a good sign, especially coming off a blowout win in their opener. The Wildcats are 2-0, with wins over Albany and Fordham.

Those of you blessed with ESPNU can watch it on TV.

It should also be interesting to see how Manhattan does in its first game against a legitimate Division I opponent. (The Jaspers cruised past NJIT in their opener, helping the Highlanders tie the NCAA record for consecutive losses). The Bears, whose football team was in the Tri-State area in September to play Rutgers, are 1-1 with a win over UMBC and a close loss at LaSalle.

This link gets you to the Manhattan game notes.

Saint Peter's and Wagner are both looking for their first win as the sqaure off on Staten Island.

In New Jersey, Princeton is looking for its first win as it hosts Maine at Jadwin Gym.

Apologies again for the down time, but we're back with a look at last night's games, and will be back later on today with a look at tonight's games.

Last night, Fairfield took care of business and beat cross-town rival Sacred Heart for the second straight year. The good news for Fairfield, as Chris Elsberry writes, is that Herbie Allen had a solid game after disappearing in the season opener against Memphis. The other good news though, that four starters -- not including Allen -- were in double figures. If Greg Nero and Anthony Johnson are clicking as a one-two post punch and if Warren Edny is a consistent scorer at the 3, this will be a big year at Harbor Yard.

More Stags-Pioneers coverage:

The gamer in the Fairfield Mirror.

The gamer in the Connecticut Post.

The box.

In Buffalo, Canisius lost a tough one when John Boyer's 3 gave local rival Buffalo a 69-64 win and sent the Golden Griffs to an 0-2 start.

Chris Gadley had 20 points off the bench and Frank Turner had 16 for the Griffs, but three of Canisius' starters combined for nine points. That can't happen if Tom Perrota's squad wants to turn thins around. Canisius' full-court pressure caused the Bulls some trouble, so expect to see more of that down the road.

Here's the box.

And in Boston, the most interesting -- and bizarre -- piece of news from Loyola's 75-63 loss to Cornell in the preseason NIT is that Jimmy Patsos essentially stopped coaching after receiving a first-half technical and even sat in the stands for about a minute of play in the second half.

Here's the box for that one.

Lastly, today's Trentonian has coverage of the Rutgers women's' thrashing of in-state rival Princeton.

Here you go, Stags fans.

WHEN: Tonight, 8 p.m.

WHERE: FedEx Forum

ON THE AIR: www.fairfieldstags.com (Bob Heussler, Joe DeSantis)

SERIES: First meeting

SCOUTING FAIRFIELD: The Stags return five starters from a team that went 14-16 and finished tied for fifth in the MAAC, making for high expectations on North Benson road for Ed Cooley’s third season. Senior point guard Jonathan Han, the MAAC leader in assists per game, minutes per game last year and 3-point percentage, is a preseason first-team all-MAAC selection. Six-nine junior center Anthony Johnson, a preseason second-team all-MAAC pick, is Fairfield’s leading returning rebounder (7.3 per game) and second leading scorer (9.6). Five-10 senior Herbie Allen will start at shooting guard, with 6-4 sophomore Warren Edney and 6-7 junior Greg Nero joining Johnson up front. Han carried the Stags last year and likely will to an extent this year, but better production from Nero – who led the team in scoring in his first six games as a freshman but has been average since – could help them contend for a conference title.

SCOUTING MEMPHIS: The Tigers came within a Mario Chalmers buzzer-beating 3-pointer of the national championship last year, and even without stars Derrick Rose and Chris Douglas-Roberts and bruising forward Joey Dorsey, they’re still the class of Conference USA and a contender to play deep into March. John Calipari’s team doesn’t return a double-figure scorer, but has several candidates to step up, led by senior guard Antonio Anderson, forward Robert Dozier and 6-6 freshman guard Tyrke Evans – on a short list of the top freshmen in the country. Junior Willie Kemp will start in the back court along with Anderson and Evans, and junior Shawn Taggert will start up front with Dozier, who led the Tigers with 21 points and 10 rebounds last week in an 83-62 exhibition victory over Christian Brothers University.

FAST FACTS: The game is part of O’Reilly’s Puerto Rico Tip-Off tournament, the duration of which takes place Nov. 20-23 in San Juan. … Memphis has won 30 or more games three times under John Calipari, including a school-record 38 last year. … Fairfield is 6-7 all-time against teams from Conference USA, including an 80-68 win over Tulane in the 2005 Hawkeye Classic. … The Stags are opening the season in Tennessee for the first time. The only time they played further south in a season opener was in 1978, when – led by DeSantis – they beat North Texas State and New Orleans to win the New Orleans Classic.