Bucknell University
8-9, 2-2
Army
5-11, 0-4
Bison Men Stifle Army 53-38 for First Win in Sojka Pavilion
1/24/2003 7:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Jan. 24, 2003
LEWISBURG, Pa. - Matt Quinn scored 13 points and Boakai Lalugba registered his ninth double-double of the season with 11 points and 10 rebounds as Bucknell recorded a suffocating 53-38 win over Army Friday night before 2,249 at Sojka Pavilion.
Bucknell scored the last 19 points of the first half to grab a commanding 32-11 halftime lead, and despite making only five second-half field goals of their own, the Bison maintained a double-digit lead the rest of the way.
Sean O'Keefe scored 11 points to lead Army (5-11, 0-4), which could not come up with career win No. 300 for head coach Jim Crews.
Bucknell (8-9, 2-2), which snapped a three-game losing streak, fell behind early 8-3 before using a barrage of 3-pointers surge ahead for good. Back-to-back buckets by Quinn gave the Bison a 9-8 lead at the 11:31 mark, then two treys by Kevin Bettencourt and one each from Quinn, Jordan Hardenbergh and Chris Niesz contributed to an overwhelming 29-3 run to close the half.
The Bison added the first five points of the second half to stretch the run to 24-0 and 34-3, before O'Keefe halted the barrage with a 3-pointer of his own.
Bucknell twice led by as many as 26 points in the second stanza, but the hosts went cold just as Army began to find its offensive footing. While the Bison managed only two field goals in the last 13 minutes of the game, the Black Knights were able to close within 13 at 47-34 after an Andrew Pawling 3-pointer with 4:02 to play.
Army never got closer, however, as Bucknell converted 6 of 8 free throws in the final 3:29.
The 38 points were the fewest allowed by Bucknell since a 75-37 win at Army in 1995-96, a span of 204 games. The Black Knights shot only 20 percent (4-20) in the first half and 31 percent in the game.
Bucknell shot 46.2 percent in the opening half but cooled to 26.3 percent after the break and finished at 37.8 percent. Led by Davorin Skornik's career-high 11 rebounds, the Bison finished with a 35-25 edge on the glass. Bucknell committed a season-low 11 turnovers.
Bucknell returns home on Sunday to face Lafayette at 3:15 p.m., while Army visits Lehigh Sunday at 3:15.
