Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell Men's Basketball Hosts Dickinson on Tuesday
12/9/2003 7:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Dec. 9, 2003
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Bucknell looks to put the finishing touch on its first semester schedule with a victory tonight against in-state rival Dickinson. Both teams are in search of their first victory of the season. The Bison had another close call on Saturday night, falling to Saint Francis (Pa.) 84-79 after a wild second-half shootout. The two teams combined for 99 points in the second half, but the Red Flash pulled ahead on a 3-pointer with 1:38 remaining and iced the game from the free-throw line. Kevin Bettencourt is coming off one of the finest individual offensive performances in school history, pocketing 42 points on a school and league-record 11 3-pointers. Dickinson, an extremely young team that has no seniors and only two juniors on its 18-man roster, is coming off a 60-49 conference loss to McDaniel last Wednesday. The Red Devils have dropped its first five contests by an average of 20.2 ppg, and they are squaring off against Bucknell for the first time since taking a 90-41 loss in Davis Gym on Dec. 4, 1995. Bucknell holds a 37-21 lead in an all-time series that dates back to 1900.
key stats
* Bucknell has shot 50% or better from the field in two of its last three games and is second in the Patriot League at 46.1% for the season.
* Bucknell's bench is averaging 20.2 ppg this season.
* After struggling from the free-throw line early in the season, the Bison have gone 23-for-24 from the stripe over the last two contests.
* Bucknell leads the league in 3-pointers made with 8.2 per game.
last time out ... bison fall to red flash
At DeGol Arena in Loretto, Pa., on Saturday, Saint Francis (Pa.) outscored Bucknell 51-48 during a wild back-and-forth second half and held off the Bison 84-79 (see boxscore, page 17). Kevin Bettencourt starred in a losing cause, draining a Bucknell and Patriot League-record 11 3-pointers en route to a 42-point night. For Saint Francis, Darshan Luckey scored 28 and Erick Wills scored all 17 of his points during the second-half shootout. Luckey's 3-pointer with 1:38 left gave the hosts a 77-75 lead and represented the ninth and final lead change of the second half. Saint Francis shot 60.9% in the game and iced it with 6-for-6 free-throw shooting in the final 40 seconds.
he last bucknell vs. dickinson meeting
On Dec. 4, 1995 in Davis Gym, Dave Steigerwald scored 18 points and Bucknell rolled to its largest margin of victory in school history in a 91-40 victory over Dickinson. The Red Devils managed only 13 second-half points. A dozen Bison entered the scoring column, and Bucknell held a 58-30 rebounding edge. Brian Anderson finished with a double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds. Nate Brought led Dickinson with 13 points and eight rebounds.
a night for the ages
Kevin Bettencourt had one of the best shooting nights in school history Saturday at Saint Francis. 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.
honors
For the second time in three weeks this season, Kevin Bettencourt was selected as both the Patriot League Player of the Week and the Lewisburg Hotel Bison Athlete of the Week. The highlight of Bettencourt's week was his 42-point game against Saint Francis (Pa.), and he also scored 11 points in a 69-61 road loss at Northwestern. With Chris McNaughton's freshman of the week honor last week, Bucknell has had a weekly honoree in all three weeks this season.
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 Saturday 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.
