Bucknell University Athletics
Men's Basketball Visits Villanova Saturday
11/30/2001 7:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Nov. 30, 2001
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The State of the Bison
After four straight losses on the road to open the season, Bucknell desperately needed a victory Monday night against Cornell in its home opener. Things looked dismal after the Big Red sprinted to a 20-4 lead midway through the first half, but the Bison fought back to take the lead late in the second period, fell behind again by five points with 1:12 remaining, then forced overtime on Boakai Lalugba's 3-pointer at the final buzzer of regulation. A 9-0 run in the extra session propelled Bucknell to a 71-62 victory. The outlook could brighten even more if star guard Bryan Bailey returns to the lineup this weekend. Bailey has missed the last two-and-a-half games with a high ankle sprain and is listed as questionable for Villanova. Junior forward Brian Werner and sophomore forwards Jack Namvou and Kevin Welch remain out of the lineup with foot injuries. Bucknell's schedule takes a tough turn starting this week, with three of the Herd's next five games coming against "major" conference opponents - Villanova (Big East), Penn State (Big Ten) and South Florida (Conference USA).
Scouting Villanova
The Wildcats opened the 2001-02 season with home victories over Grambling State (82-68) and Dayton (59-57) before falling to crosstown rival LaSalle 61-58 in overtime at The Pavilion on Tuesday. Villanova is led by junior guard Gary Buchanan, a former Big East All-Rookie Team member who has averaged 21.0 ppg. thus far, including a 30-point night against Dayton. Buchanan set an NCAA record by draining 73 straight free throws last season. Junior forward Ricky Wright is the only other Wildcat averaging in double figures thus far (15.0 ppg.), and he also leads the squad in rebounding at 8.7 rpg.
Quinn Connection
A pair of Villanova players - guards Reggie Bryant and Gary Buchanan - played a year of prep school basketball at St. Thomas More in Oakdale, Conn., under head coach Jere Quinn, who is the father of Bucknell sophomore forward Matt Quinn. Quinn and Bryant were teammates on the 1999-2000 squad that won a New England Prep championship.
Meeting an Old Friend
Jay Wright, Bucknell Class of 1983, is in his first year as Villanova's head coach. A co-captain of the Bison's 17-11 team in 1982-83, Wright was the team's leading scorer as a junior (11.9 ppg.). A three-year letterman, Wright averaged 6.4 ppg. in 74 career games. As a freshman in 1979-80, he played on the Bison junior varsity squad while current Bison head coach Pat Flannery captained the varsity squad. Wright, who built Hofstra into one of the powers of the America East conference, is 1-0 against his alma mater as a head coach, leading Hofstra to a 69-55 win over the Bison at the Fairfield Tournament in 1997-98.
Series Notes
Saturday's contest will be the 19th between Bucknell and Villanova, but the first since Feb. 27, 1948. The Wildcats won that meeting 80-41, while Bucknell's last series victory was a 43-32 decision on Dec. 8, 1945. Villanova leads the series 10-8. The teams first met in 1927 and met annually from 1943-44 through 1947-48 before ending the series.
Bravo Boakai
Junior forward Boakai Lalugba turned in the best performance of his career Monday against Cornell. In addition to racking up 30 points and 15 rebounds, Lalugba picked a perfect time to sink his first collegiate 3-pointer, draining a trey at the final buzzer of regulation to send the game into overtime. It was his first career 30-point game, while the 15 boards were one shy of his career high.
Quinn, Blankenship Post Career Bests vs. Big Red
Junior guard Dan Blankenship and sophomore swingman Matt Quinn both recorded personal bests with 16 points in Monday's 71-62 overtime win over Cornell. Blankenship made 4 of 8 shots from the field and 8 of 10 from the line, a sharp improvement over his 3-for-11 start from the charity stripe this season. Quinn drained a career-high four 3-pointers, none bigger than the trey he nailed early in the OT session that gave the Bison the lead for good.
Milestone Win
Monday's win over Cornell was win No. 1,100 in school history. Bucknell is the 105th Division I school to reach that milestone.
