Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell Men's Basketball Hosts Penn for First Time on Saturday
12/18/2003 7:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Dec. 18, 2003
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Bucknell and Penn, two squads coming off 11-day layoffs for final exams, battle Saturday afternoon at Sojka Pavilion. Both teams are under .500 entering the contest, but records can be deceiving as the Bison and Quakers have both played difficult schedules thus far. Bucknell, which played four of its first six games on the road, dropped a heartbreaker at then-third-ranked Michigan State on opening night; lost 69-61 in another Big Ten road game at Northwestern; fell to Yale and Saint Francis (Pa.) in games that came down to the final shot; and in its only lopsided loss thus far fell 90-71 to MAAC power Niagara. Penn's four losses have come to Wisconsin (64-53), Michigan State (77-52), St. Joseph's (67-59) and Villanova (73-63), while the Quakers' wins are over Drexel (79-73) and Indiana State (86-48). Bucknell and Penn have met only five times previously through the years, with the Bison winning three. The teams' only meeting in the last 28 years was a 69-62 Penn victory at Martz Hall in Pottsville in January 1998. Bucknell's last series win was a 66-64 decision at the Palestra in 1975. These two teams have never before met in Lewisburg.
key stats
* Bucknell has shot 50% or better from the field in three of its last four games and is second in the Patriot League at 46.8% for the season.
* Bucknell's bench is averaging 22.3 ppg this season.
* Bucknell leads the league in 3-pointers made with 46 per game, while Penn has allowed only 24 (in 96 attempts) this season.
* After outrebounding Dickinson 53-27, Bucknell now leads the PL in rebound margin at +2.7 per game.
last time out ... bison whip red devils for first win of season
At Sojka Pavilion on Dec. 9, all 15 players on the Bison roster collected at least one field goal and at least one rebound as Bucknell coasted to a 70-36 victory over Dickinson (see boxscore, page 18). Kevin Bettencourt led the balanced attack with 13 points and seven rebounds, while Chris McNaughton tallied 12 points and Donald Brown 10 for the hosts. Bucknell sprinted to a 16-0 lead and never looked back. The Bison led 40-16 at the half and rolled despite making only 5 of 24 3-point attempts.
the last bucknell vs. penn meeting
On Jan. 17, 1998 at Martz Hall in Pottsville, Penn's Paul Romanczuk scored 15 of his game-high 25 points from the free-throw line as the Quakers outlasted Bucknell 69-62. J.R. Holden had 21 points and Martin Gilliard 13 for the Bison, who shot 50.0% from the field but turned the ball over 22 times. The Bison led 60-59 with 3:36 to play, but Penn scored the next five points and never trailed again.
a night for the ages
Bucknell sophomore guard Kevin Bettencourt had one of the best shooting nights in school history on Dec. 6 at Saint Francis (Pa.). Bettencourt scored a career-high 42 points, in the process draining a Bucknell and Patriot League-record 11 3-pointers. He was 12-for-20 from the field and 7-for-7 from the free-throw line, and at one point in the second half he made six straight 3-point attempts (see box, right). Some other milestones surrounding Bettencourt's big night:
* The 42 points doubled his previous career high, set earlier this season against Michigan State and Niagara.
* The 42 points were tied for the second-most in a game in school history and were the most ever in a road game. Al Leslie set Bucknell's modern scoring record with 45 points against American on Jan. 12, 1980 (John Anderson is credited with scoring 80 points in a game vs. Philadelphia College of Pharmacy in 1903), and Jim Wherry also scored 42 against Penn State on Dec. 18, 1967.
* It was the sixth 40-point game in school history and first since Leslie's 41-point game against West Chester on Feb., 18, 1981.
national leaders
Kevin Bettencourt's 11 3-pointers against Saint Francis are the most by any Division I player in a game this season, and his 42 points are fourth-most in the nation. Bettencourt ranks third nationally in 3-pointers made with 26 in six games. Meanwhile, freshman center Chris McNaughton continues to lead the nation in field goal percentage. After going 4-for-4 against Dickinson, he is now 29-for-35 on the season for a sizzling 82.9%.
bison vs. ncaa field
Penn is one of three 2003-04 Division I opponents coming off a trip to the NCAA Tournament a year ago. The Quakers lost to Oklahoma State in the first round. Also on the schedule are Michigan State, an Elite Eight participant, and Holy Cross, which nearly upset Marquette in the first round. In addition, College of Charleston made it to the second round of the NIT, while Ursinus, Bucknell's next opponent, lost to former Bison assistant coach Carl Danzig's Scranton team in the second round of the 2003 Division III tournament.
free throw resurgence
While Bucknell's near-upset of Michigan State on opening night made national headlines (the Bison led with just over 5:00 to play), so did its 1-for-17 free-throw ledger. The Bison have proven that to be a fluke, however, as they are a solid 61-for-82 (.744) from the stripe since leaving East Lansing.
the comforts of home
Do you think promising young freshmen Donald Brown and Chris McNaughton like playing in their new surroundings in Sojka Pavilion? In two home games thus far the duo is a combined 18-for-20 (.900) from the field.
that is odd
Bison guard Kevin Bettencourt ought to be happy that Penn is game No. 7 on the schedule, because he has fared much better in the odd-numbered games this season. In games 1, 3 and 5, Bettencourt is averaging 28.0 ppg and is 27-for-52 from the field (.519). In the odd-numbered games, however, he is averaging 10.3 ppg and is 10-for-38 from the field (.263).
youth is served
For the first time in nearly seven years Bucknell had two freshmen in its starting lineup when Chris McNaughton and Donald Brown went out for the opening tap at Saint Francis (Pa.). The last time two freshmen started was on Feb. 5, 1997, when Dan Bowen and Dyrika Cameron started in an 80-65 win at Lehigh.
