Bucknell University
13-15
Army (PL Quarterfinals)
12-16
Bucknell Men's Basketball Moves into PL Semifinals with 70-59 Defeat of Army
3/2/2002 7:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
March 2, 2002
UPPER MARLBORO, Md. (AP) - Boakai Lalugba logged 20 points and 13 rebounds an led the third-seeded Bucknell's men's basketball team into the Patriot League Tournament semifinals for the ninth time in 12 years with a 70-59 victory over sixth-seeded Army at Show Place Arena Saturday night.
Bucknell (13-15) defeated Army (12-16) for the third time this season and improved to 13-11 all-time in Patriot League Tournament play. The Bison will face second-seeded Holy Cross in the semifinals at 7:30 p.m. Sunday.
Lalugba and senior guard Bryan Bailey, both newly crowned First Team All-Patriot Leaguers combined for 33 points and 18 of Bucknell's season-high 47 rebounds.
Defensively, Bucknell limited the Black Knights to 32.7 percent shooting from the field and held Army's all-conference duo of Chris Spatola and Charles Woodruff to just two field goals apiece. Spatola, the league's leading scorer during the regular season at 16.7 points per game, scored 10 Saturday on 2-of-14 shooting.
A total of 55 fouls were whistled in the slow-moving affair. Bucknell struggled to ice the game from the free throw line, making only 6 of 12 in the final 2:15 and 26 of 44 in the game. The two teams combined to score 28 of the game's final 38 points from the charity stripe, with only five total field goals converted in the game's final 11:53.
Bucknell's last field goal was a Brian Werner put-back that gave the Bison a 64-53 lead with 2:36 remaining. The bucket capped a 6-2 run after Army had closed to within seven at 58-51 on Dax Pearson's tip-in with 6:08 remaining.
Six minutes earlier, Werner's layup capped an 11-4 run and gave the Bison their largest lead of 15 points at 53-38.
Bucknell led 32-25 at the half but quickly stretched its cushion to double digits with an 8-2 spurt in the opening 2:47 of the second stanza. Freshman Antario Glover, who made his first career start, had a key bucket during the run, while Lalugba added a tip and a pair of free throws.
Glover played a career-high 25 minutes and chipped in six points and seven rebounds after entering the game with 15 points and 10 rebounds all season. Werner added 12 points and eight boards as Bucknell shot 42.0 percent from the field. Bailey, who picked up his fourth foul with 15:44 remaining, finished with 13 points, ending his run of five straight games over 20 points.
J.P. Spatola led the Black Knights with 14 points, while Woodruff had a double-double with 13 points and 11 caroms. Army made only 3 of 20 3-point attempts.
