Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell and Northwestern to Meet for First Time in Men's Basketball
12/2/2003 7:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Dec. 2, 2003
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Bucknell faces its second of three Big Ten opponents Wednesday night when it makes its first-ever trip to Evanston, Ill., to face Northwestern. The Bison have already squared off against then-third-ranked Michigan State, throwing a major scare into the Spartans before succumbing 64-52 on opening night, and Bucknell will also battle Penn State on the road on Jan. 3. Up against one of their most difficult early season schedules in recent history, Bucknell fell to 0-3 following Saturday's 90-71 loss to Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference power Niagara, which is one of the most talented and athletic teams the Herd will face all season. Like Bucknell, Northwestern is in the middle of a busy non-conference stretch. The Wildcats defeated Northwestern State (La.) 69-61 at home on Saturday - no doubt confusing many a sportscaster in the process - then traveled to Florida State on Monday where they took a 71-53 loss despite leading at the half in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge. Northwestern is 2-3 on the season, with its other victory coming on Nov. 23 against Chicago State (76-60).
key stats
* Guard Kevin Bettencourt is averaging 21.0 ppg (9-22 3FG) on the road.
* Center Chris McNaughton is shooting 78.6% from the field through three games.
* Bucknell shot a season-high 52.2% from the field last time out vs. Niagara.
* Bucknell's bench is averaging 25.0 ppg this season.
* The Bison have been outrebounded 112-92, including 44-31 on the offensive glass, this season.
* Bucknell has steadily improved from the free-throw line since making only 1 of 17 against Michigan State on opening night. The Bison were 16-for-25 (.640) vs. Niagara on Saturday.
last time out ... purple eagles sprint past bison
At the Blue Cross Arena in Rochester, David Brooks scored 23 points and all five Niagara starters scored in double figures as the hot-shooting Purple Eagles soared past Bucknell 90-71 (see boxscore, page 16). Niagara's first five buckets were 3-pointers and Brooks made five of his six treys in the first half as the Purple Eagles used a late 16-1 run to take a 46-30 halftime lead. Kevin Bettencourt led the Bison with 21 points, matching his career high set on opening night at Michigan State, while Chris McNaughton came off the bench to tally 14 points. Niagara shot 70.0% from the field in the second half and outrebounded Bucknell 37-23, including 18-8 on the offensive glass.
bison throw major scare into spartans
Kevin Bettencourt scored a career-high 21 points, but the Bison just missed what would have been its most impressive victory in school history as third-ranked Michigan State scrambled from behind for a 64-52 victory (see boxscore, page 15) on opening night in East Lansing. The Bison trailed by just one at the half (33-32) and took the lead on Bettencourt's fourth of five 3-pointers just over a minute into the second half. Back-to-back treys by Chris Niesz moments later gave the Herd a 43-39 lead, its largest of the night. The lead changed hands seven times in the second half, the last with 4:49 remaining on Shannon Brown's fastbreak layup. The Spartans scored the final 10 points of the game for a misleading final margin of 12 points. Michigan State was the highest-ranked team Bucknell had ever faced.
honors
Rookie center Chris McNaughton picked up the first Patriot League Freshman of the Week honor of his promising career on Monday, after averaging 13.0 ppg on 10 of 13 shooting in two games last week. It is the second time in two weeks that a Bison was saluted by the media panel that votes on the weekly awards. Kevin Bettencourt was named the Patriot League Player of the Week on Nov. 24 in recognition of his 21-point showing at Michigan State.
bench help
Pat Flannery said before the season that he thought this could be one of his deepest Bison teams, and that has proven true thus far. Flannery has been able to go 11 deep in the first three games, and last Wednesday against Yale the bench produced 33 points on stellar 14-for-19 shooting (.737). The bench added 27 more points Saturday against Yale.
home, sweet home
The trip to Northwestern represents a homecoming for Bucknell freshman guard Abe Badmus, a native of Chicago and a 2003 graduate of Notre Dame High School for Boys in Niles, Ill. Badmus, who was the East Suburban Catholic League MVP and a fourth-team all-state selection, has appeared off the bench in all three games for the Bison thus far.
first meeting
Bucknell and Northwestern have combined for more than 206 years of basketball (Bucknell, Yale and Minnesota are the nation's oldest college programs, now in their 109th seasons), but the two teams have never met along the way. In fact, this will be Bucknell's first basketball game in the state of Illinois. The only other team from Illinois that the Bison have ever faced is Illinois State, with two games against the Redbirds coming at neutral sites in the early 1990s.
a rare sight
The 90 points posted by Niagara against Bucknell on Saturday was indeed a rare sight for Bison fans. Pat Flannery's teams have always been among the nation's leaders in scoring defense and had only given up an average of 63.5 ppg to two very good teams in Michigan State and Yale to start the season. The most points Bucknell had allowed in the last two-plus seasons (60 games) was 80 in an 80-77 loss at George Washington last Nov. 30, almost exactly one year prior to Niagara's explosion. The Bison had not allowed 90 points in a game since a 99-49 loss to Virginia in 2000-01, a span of 80 games, and they have surrendered 90 points in a game only seven times in Flannery's 10-year career at Bucknell.
two preps ink national letters of intent
Pat Flannery last month announced that two exciting prospects have signed National Letters of Intent to play basketball at Bucknell beginning in the 2004-05 season. John Griffin, a 6'2" guard from St. Joseph's Prep in Philadelphia, and Darren Mastropaolo, a 6'8" forward/center from Falmouth (Maine) High School, will join the Bison next season.
