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03/07/2010 - Easton, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jared Mintz hit the go-ahead jumper with 35 seconds left and finished with 14 points, as Lafayette held on for a 66-63 win over Holy Cross in the Patriot League semifinal.

Jim Mower had a team-high 17 points, while Ryan Willen ended with 15 points for Lafayette (19-12), which will play top-seeded Lehigh for the conference title on Friday.

R.J. Evans led all scorers with 21 points to go along with seven rebounds, while Mike Cavataio went for 14 points and seven boards for Holy Cross (9-22), which defeated Bucknell in the quarterfinals. The Crusaders have dropped five of their last seven overall.

Lafayette held a 39-30 lead after the opening 20 minutes and maintained the advantage until Evans' layup allowed Holy Cross to come back and tie it at 55- all with 7:25 left.

Things would then go back-and-forth for the remaining time on the clock and with Holy Cross ahead by a point, 61-60, with 2:38 to play, Willen made a pair of free throws to put the Leopards back in front with 2:17 to go.

However, Cavataio's tip-in with 56 seconds left put the Crusaders up 63-62, but Mintz would answer with a jumper with 35 ticks remaining to make it a 64-63 game in favor of Lafayette. Mintz's two free throws gave the Leopards a three-point advantage with six seconds to go and Evans' attempted three in the final seconds was off the mark.

Final Score: Lehigh 79, American 57

Bethlehem, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - CJ McCollum poured in 22 points and Dave Buchberger added 16, as Lehigh rolled to a 79-57 victory over American to advance to the Patriot League final.

Zahir Carrington posted 10 points and 11 rebounds, and Marquis Hall chipped in 11 points for the top-seeded Mountain Hawks (21-10), who will face Lafayette for the conference title on Friday.

Stephen Lumpkins led American (11-20) with 15 points and nine rebounds. Steve Luptak scored 14, and Nick Hendra had 11 in the loss.

Lehigh scored the first 11 points of the game and made half of its 30 first- half field goals en route to taking a commanding 39-21 lead.

American improved on its 33.3 percent shooting effort from the first half but never seriously threatened the daunting deficit.

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Is there such a thing as a trap game in the NFL?

I once asked that question to Pete Korner, who at the time was office manager and a senior linesmaker for Las Vegas Sports Consultants.

Korner almost ripped my head off. There is no such thing as a trap game, he loudly berated me. It’s a myth. The numbers are made using power ratings, he said.

There are trap games, though. They just might not be what you think. The perception is of a good team, say Philadelphia, laying a small number against New Orleans.

Using the highly-respected power ranking from The Gold Sheet, you’d find the Eagles with a power rating of 4 and the Saints at 8. When you factor the game being played in New Orleans, you could see why the line opened so short at less than a field goal.

For some, this makes it enticing to take the Eagles. That’s not a real trap game, though.

A real trap game, says professional gambler Dave Malinsky, is thinking you’re getting value betting a bad team, which brings us to the Oakland Raiders-Denver Broncos matchup.

The Raiders are +15 in this long-standing division rivalry. Denver is on a short week having dispatched Baltimore Monday. However, the Raiders haven’t covered the spread their last 10 games.

Many bettors don’t trust the Raiders to give a full effort. Few think much of Art Shell and his Oakland’s coaching staff.

So oddsmakers have to do something to make Oakland attractive if they hope to get equal action.

Now Malinsky is a value shopper. But he won’t touch the Raiders even getting more than two touchdowns.

“I try to eliminate the undisciplined, unfocused teams because they’re the ones most likely to suffer the bad beats,” he said.

Near the top of Malinsky’s list of stay-away teams is the Miami Dolphins, who have yet to cover a spread this season.

“Whatever you think of Nick Saban, you have to look at the penalties and turnovers,” Malinsky said.

It’s easy to point out the Dolphins failed to get the money this past week against New England because Olindo Mare missed a field goal and had another field goal blocked. But even though the Dolphins outgained the Patriots, 283-213, they committed eight penalties.

Bad teams not only cost themselves victories, but pointspread covers as well. The Arizona Cardinals and Green Bay Packers are two more examples.

The Cardinals couldn’t have been in a better position this past Sunday, up 14-0 at home against a mediocre Kansas City Chiefs squad. But they couldn’t hold it. The Packers got a push against St. Louis, but also could have won losing by three when Brett Favre fumbled at the St. Louis 11-yard line with 44 seconds left.

“The Packers were in a position to beat Philadelphia, too,” Malinsky said. “But they couldn’t even cover double digits.

“These teams just make mistakes and it costs you … they always will look good from a value standpoint. They really will. But that’s the trap.”

Houston and Tennessee rank among the six-worst teams. Malinsky wouldn’t be afraid to take either of these teams, however, if the price were high enough.

The Texans are bad, Malinsky said, but they have some discipline. The Titans showed they could not only come up with an outstanding game plan, but execute it as well, losing by one to the Colts on the road as an 18 ?-point underdog this past Sunday.

“Jeff Fisher is a worker,” Malinsky said of the Titans coach. “I’m not sure how hard Art Shell wants to work when he gets out of bed.”

Fisher, though, could be out as Tennessee coach after this season. Is he still worth backing in the right spot, with the right price, as a lame duck coach?

“It’s in his nature to keep working hard and not worry about any possible lame duck status,” Malinsky said. “He’s coaching for his resume.”

Note: Monday night game will be picked Monday. Lines used are from football betting lines.