Bucknell University
2-2
George Washington
2-1
George Washington Survives Gritty Bison in Red Auerbach Classic Championship, 80-77
11/30/2002 7:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
WASHINGTON- Despite a dominating performance from senior Boakai Lalugba, Bucknell came up just short in the championship game of the Red Auerbach Colonial Classic, falling 80-77 to host George Washington Saturday night at the Smith Center.
Lalugba scored a career-high 34 points and collected 13 rebounds en route to tournament MVP honors. It was the first time in the nine-year history of the tournament that a George Washington player did not take home the MVP trophy. The Colonials have now captured their tourney all nine years.
The Bison (2-2) were piping hot from long range in the opening half, connecting on 9 of 11 3-point attempts. The dazzling shooting display, which even included treys from post players Lalugba and Ben Slater, helped Bucknell build a lead of as many as 10 points at 44-34.
George Washington (2-1) chipped away at the lead with spurts at the end of the first half and beginning of the second. Mike Hall's tip-in at the buzzer capped a 6-2 run to close the half and cut Bucknell's lead to 46-40. Chris Monroe's four-point play sparked a 12-4 run to start the second stanza, with Pops Mensah-Bonsu's alley-oop jam giving the Colonials a 52-50 edge, their first lead since the nine-minute mark of the first half.
Lalugba, who was seemingly scoring at will against the Colonials' big, athletic front line, answered with three straight inside baskets to put the Bison back on top 60-55 with 13:32 remaining.
George Washington took the lead for good with 6:56 to play, as Mensah-Bonsu's jump-hook made it 67-66 and sparked a 15-4 run. Greg Collucci's leaner in the paint gave GW its largest lead of the night at 78-70 with 3:40 to play.
But the resilient Bison would not go away. While holding the Colonials without a field goal after Collucci's basket, Bucknell ripped off seven straight points, with Dan Blankenship's free throws cutting George Washington's lead to 78-77 with 57 seconds remaining.
Monroe missed a long 3-pointer at the other end, but Omar Williams corralled the rebound, and the Bison fouled Collucci with 15 seconds left. Collucci made only 1 of 2 free throws to make it 79-77, but Lalugba's contested eight-footer to tie was just strong off the glass. Hall added one more free throw with three-tenths of a second remaining.
Lalugba, who recorded his third straight double-double, made 14 of 20 shots from the field and added two assists and three steals. Kevin Bettencourt made four first-half 3-pointers and finished with 15 points. Blankenship had seven assists and only one turnover in 37 minutes.
Mensah-Bonsu led GW with 24 points on 11-of-12 shooting from the field. Hall added 16 points and 13 rebounds. Monroe, the Colonials' All-America candidate, scored 12 points despite a rough shooting night. Monroe made 3 of 15 from the field and just 3 of 7 from the line.
Bucknell shot 54.0 percent from the field and had a positive assist-turnover ratio (16-12) for the second straight night. The Bison did cool off from 3-point range in the second half, missing all seven attempts after the early barrage.
Bucknell makes its 2002-03 home debut Tuesday night against Canisius at 7:30 p.m.
