Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell University
3-8
Hofstra
5-7
Bucknell Men's Basketball Downs Hofstra 68-60
12/29/2001 7:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Dec. 29, 2001
TAMPA, Fla. - Boakai Lalugba registered 13 points and nine rebounds and Bucknell overcame shaky free throw shooting and an injury to its leading scorer to defeat Hofstra 68-60 in the consolation game of the South Florida Shootout Saturday at the Sun Dome.
The Bison snapped a two-game losing streak and improved to 3-8 on the year, while Hofstra dropped its fifth straight and fell to 5-7.
Bucknell used a 16-5 run over a span of 7:23 to turn a 47-46 deficit into a 62-52 lead with 1:39 to play. But the Bison kept Hofstra in the game by converting only 8 of 20 free throws in the final 6:18. Wendell Gibson's put-back with 32 seconds remaining cut the Pride's deficit to 64-60, but Brian Werner pushed the lead back to six by making both ends of a two-shot foul and Chris Rodgers iced it with two more free throws with nine seconds left.
The see-saw contest featured six ties and 13 lead changes, but it was Ben Slater's inside bucket that gave Bucknell the lead for good at 48-47 with 8:50 to play. Matt Quinn followed with a fastbreak layup and Roland Webber made a long 3-pointer to cap a 7-0 run and give the Bison a 53-47 lead with 7:35 left. Dan Blankenship added another trey and Quinn made 1 of 2 free throws to give the Bison their largest lead of 10 points at 62-52.
Hofstra jumped out to a quick start with some hot shooting, taking a 13-4 lead following Rick Apodaca's jumper with 4:10 into the contest. The Pride made seven of their first nine shots to start the game. Bucknell answered with an 8-0 run keyed by four Slater points to claw back within 13-12, and Hofstra never led by more than four the rest of the way.
Bucknell was forced to play virtually the entire second half without All-Patriot League guard Bryan Bailey, who suffered a sprained right knee 30 seconds into the stanza and did not return.
Hofstra outrebounded Bucknell 49-29 and got double-doubles from both Gibson (17 points, 10 rebounds) and Kenny Adeleke (10 points, 12 rebounds). The Pride shot only 29 percent in the second half after 48-percent shooting in the opening 20 minutes.
While Hofstra's shooting slowed, the Bison heated up in the second stanza despite the loss of Bailey, shooting 54.2 percent from the field. Bucknell, which also got 13 points from Werner and 11 from Quinn, committed a season-low 10 turnovers while coming up with 15 steals and 13 assists.
The Bison forced 24 turnovers and outscored Hofstra 19-6 off miscues.
The Bison won for the first time in eight tries this season away from Davis Gym and continue their five-game road swing on Jan. 2 at Mount St. Mary's.
Hofstra (60)
Adeleke 4-8 2-3 10, Radziejewski 2-3 0-0 5, Gibson 6-11 5-5 17, Souffrant 0-9 4-4 4, Apodaca 5-18 3-4 14, Miller 2-4 0-0 6, Grubler 0-0 0-0 0, Petit 2-3 0-0 4. Totals 21-56 14-16 60.
Bucknell (68)
Lalugba 6-13 1-2 13, Werner 3-10 6-8 13, Hardenbergh 0-0 0-0 0, Blankenship 2-7 1-7 6, Bailey 4-8 1-1 9, Skornik 0-0 0-1 0, Slater 3-6 0-0 6, Rodgers 0-3 3-4 3, Santos 2-2 0-1 4, Webber 1-1 0-0 3, Quinn 3-6 4-7 11. Totals 24-56 16-31 68.
Halftime: Hofstra 29, Bucknell 28. 3-Point Field Goals: Hofstra 4-17 (Miller 2-3, Radziejewski 1-2, Apodaca 1-10, Souffrant 0-2), Bucknell 4-12 (Webber 1-1, Quinn 1-2, Werner 1-3, Blankenship 1-3, Bailey 0-1, Rodgers 0-2). Rebounds: Hofstra 49 (Adeleke 12), Bucknell 29 (Lalugba 9). Assists: Hofstra 10 (Souffrant 7), Bucknell 13 (Lalugba, Rodgers 3). Total Fouls: Hofstra 21, Bucknell 18. Fouled Out: Adeleke. Att.: 385.
