Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell Men's Basketball Visits Saint Francis Saturday Night
12/5/2003 7:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Dec. 5, 2003
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Two in-state rivals in search of their first victory of the 2003-04 season meet Saturday night in Saint Francis' home opener at the Stokes Center. Bucknell and Saint Francis have met 20 times previously, with the Bison winning 13. The two teams have met annually since 1993-94. Bucknell has faced an extremely difficult schedule thus far, with close losses in road games in Big Ten country against then-third-ranked Michigan State and Northwestern, a neutral site game against MAAC favorite Niagara and a one-point home loss to Ivy League power Yale. The Red Flash have played exclusively on the road thus far, falling to Pittsburgh, Penn State, Youngstown State and Howard by an average margin of 13 points. Saint Francis is led by sophomore guard Darshan Luckey, who is averaging 16.0 ppg after scoring at a 21.6 ppg clip as a rookie a year ago. The Red Flash have outrebounded their opponents this season but have struggled in the turnover department with 78 miscues against only 38 assists. Sophomore Kevin Bettencourt continues to lead the Bison in scoring at 15.0 ppg, while freshman Chris McNaughton continued his rapid emergence with a 22-point showing at Northwestern on Wednesday.
key stats
* Center Chris McNaughton is shooting 83.3% from the field through four games.
* Bucknell outrebounded Northwestern 36-25 on Wednesday, the first time this season the Bison won the battle of the boards.
* Bucknell's bench is averaging 23.8 ppg this season.
* After struggling from the free-throw line early in the season, the Bison were a perfect 9-for-9 from the stripe against Northwestern.
* Bucknell's .451 team field goal percentage is second-best in the Patriot League.
last time out ... quick start lifts wildcats past bison
At Welsh-Ryan Arena in Evanston, Ill., Northwestern jumped out to a 13-2 lead and led the rest of the way en route to a 69-61 victory over the Bison on Wednesday (see boxscore, page 17). The Wildcats led by as many as 16 in the first half, but Bucknell closed within five at 44-39 on Roland Webber's 3-pointer with 13:07 to play. Northwestern answered with a 19-8 surge that restored the 16-point cushion with five minutes to play, and the hosts held of a late Bison charge. Jitim Young, a Third-Team All-Big Ten selection last season, led the Wildcats with 20 points, 12 rebounds, six assists and five steals.
bucknell vs. saint francis last year
On Dec. 7, 2002 in Davis Gym, Boakai Lalugba notched his fifth double-double in six games with 24 points and 16 rebounds in Bucknell's 57-54 victory over the Red Flash. Kevin Bettencourt, who finished with 12 points, gave Bucknell a 52-39 lead with 7:58 remaining, but the Bison had to withstand a furious comeback by the Red Flash, who outscored them 13-3 down the stretch and closed within two on Erick Wills' 3-pointer with 1:41 remaining. Saint Francis had two chances to tie the game from the free-throw line but came away empty both time, and Bucknell got two clutch free throws from Matt Quinn that pushed the lead to four with 22 seconds remaining. Bucknell shot 62.5% in the first half but only 30.0% in the second, while Saint Francis shot 36.4% overall.
it's not how you start ...
Bucknell head coach Pat Flannery has been pleased with his young team's progress, despite an 0-4 start. The Bison have been 0-4 just twice previously in Flannery's 10-year tenure, and in both cases the team recovered nicely. In Flannery's first season at Bucknell in 1994-95, the Bison dropped their first eight contests but went on to post an 11-3 Patriot League record and earn a share of the regular-season title. Two years ago a loss at Saint Francis dropped Bucknell to 0-4, but the Herd eventually finished with an 8-6 conference record and earned a No. 3 seed at the PL Tournament.
quick impact
Freshman center Chris McNaughton is only four games into his collegiate career, but already he has flashed tremendous potential. After scoring 22 points on 9 of 10 shooting against Northwestern on Wednesday, McNaughton has now made 20 of 24 from the field this season, and he ranks among the national leaders with an .833 percentage. (That figure does not include his 5-for-5 shooting performance against Big Apple Basketball in a preseason exhibition contest.) He is also shooting 76.9% from the free-throw line and has committed just one turnover in 77 minutes this season.
other freshmen contributing, too
Chris McNaughton is not the only Bison newcomer making a positive first impression. All four members of the freshman class have seen significant minutes in each game thus far. Forward Donald Brown is averaging 6.2 ppg and is shooting 55.0% from the field. Forward John Clark made a pair of 3-pointers against Northwestern and is averaging 4.5 ppg. Point guard Abe Badmus played 17 minutes Wednesday in his hometown against Northwestern and had a field goal, an assist and a steal.
honors
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 or 12 deep in the first four games, and against Yale the bench produced 33 points on stellar 14-for-19 shooting (.737). The bench is averaging nearly 24 ppg.
