Bucknell University
7-9
Cornell
6-8
Bucknell Falls To Cornell, 64-60
1/21/2003 7:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Jan 21, 2003
ITHACA, N.Y. - The trio of Eric Taylor, Ka'Ron Barnes and Cody Toppert combined to make all of Cornell's field goals and score 60 of the team's 64 points in the Big Red's 64-60 victory over Bucknell Tuesday in a non-league game at Newman Arena.
Taylor and Barnes scored 21 points each, while Toppert added 18 as Cornell (6-8) won for the first time in nine tries this season when trailing at the half.
Kevin Bettencourt scored 17 points to lead the Bucknell, which fell to 7-9 with its third straight loss. Boakai Lalugba, the Patriot League's leading scorer and rebounder, was held to just two field goals and finished with 10 points and eight rebounds.
Bettencourt's hot hand shot Bucknell to an early lead. The freshman guard made his first four shots, three coming from 3-point range, as the Bison claimed an early 13-6 lead. Two treys by Chris Niesz late in the opening half helped stake Bucknell to a 33-28 halftime edge.
After Davorin Skornik's inside basket opening the second half pushed Bucknell's lead back to seven, Cornell ripped off a 15-2 run, with all 15 points coming from Taylor and Toppert. A 3-pointer by Toppert with 17:31 remaining gave Cornell a 37-35 advantage and proved to be the game's final lead change.
After Lalugba picked up his third and fourth fouls in an 18-second span, the Big Red stretched their lead to as many as seven at 47-40 after Barnes' 3-pointer with 11:25 to play. But Niesz answered with his career-high third 3-pointer of the day and Bucknell hung around the rest of the way.
After Barnes and Bettencourt exchanged long 3-pointers, the Bison trailed by only two at 54-52, but their chances were hampered by a key 4-point possession with 100 seconds to play. Taylor appeared to knock down a Bison defender in the low post but was credited with a basket and awarded a free throw. His foul shot crashed off the backboard and rim, and Cornell's Grant Harrell chased down the carom and was fouled in the scramble on the floor.
Harrell made both free throws with 1:40 to play - becoming the first Big Red player other than Taylor, Barnes or Toppert to score - to give Cornell a 58-52 lead.
The Bison had a possession with a chance to tie when Blankenship hit a 3-pointer with 34 seconds left and Cornell immediately turned it over on the inbounds. But Blankenship was whistled for a charging call as he tried to penetrate across the lane with 23 seconds left.
Harrell and Barnes sandwiched four free throws around Bettencourt's fifth 3-pointer as the Big Red prevailed.
Bucknell shot 43.2 percent from the field and earned assists on 17 of 19 field goals. The Bison made a season-high 11 3-pointers in 25 attempts against Cornell's zone. Niesz had a career-high nine points, all from long range.
Cornell shot 45.8 percent and gained a 33-25 rebounding edge. The team's "big three" scorers combined to shoot 22-for-36 from the field, while the rest of the team was 0-for-12.
The Bison, who had not lost three games in a row since the start of the 2001-02 season, return to the hardwood on Friday night at 7:45 p.m. against Patriot League rival Army at Sojka Pavilion.
