Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell Men's Basketball Visits Lehigh Tuesday Evening
2/11/2003 7:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Feb. 11, 2003
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The Bison have revenge on their minds this evening as they invade Stabler Arena to battle upstart Lehigh. After winning three straight league contests to get to 4-2 in Patriot League play, Bucknell has now lost two straight and has slipped into a three-way tie for fourth place alongside Lafayette and Colgate. The Bison, who are in the middle of a stretch of 6 of 7 games on the road, lost 70-56 at American on Saturday. In the first meeting between these two clubs on Jan. 15, Lehigh rallied from an early 15-point deficit to shock the Bison 60-56 on opening night in Sojka Pavilion. Lehigh, under first-year head coach Billy Taylor, has clearly been the Patriot League's most improved team. After suffering a 5-23 season (2-12 PL) in 2001-02, the Mountain Hawks reside in second place with a 6-2 league mark, 14-7 overall. Lehigh is a perfect 10-0 at home, while the Bison are 2-8 on the road.
the state of the bison
Bucknell faces a tough test this evening in Lehigh as the Herd looks to snap out of a two-game losing streak. The Bison have not lost three straight Patriot League games since the 2000-01 season. With starting forward Brian Werner (shoulder) and sixth-man Chris Rodgers (personal) out of the lineup, the Bison have struggled offensively, averaging 57.2 ppg. in eight league games. Defense has been the team's savior, as Bucknell ranks in the top 10 nationally and second in the Patriot League, allowing 59.3 ppg. The Orange and Blue had not allowed 70 points in 11 straight games (their longest such streak since 1983-84) until falling to American 70-56 on Saturday.
scouting lehigh
The Mountain Hawks, under the direction of first-year head coach Billy Taylor, are enjoying a remarkable turnaround season. A win tonight would triple their victory total from a year ago. The guard tandem of Matt Logie (15.7 ppg) and Zlatko Savovic (14.8 ppg) has carried much of the scoring load for Lehigh, which averages 66.8 ppg, the third-best output in the league. Logie and Savovic combined for 31 of Lehigh's 40 second-half points in the Mountain Hawks' 60-56 win at Bucknell on Jan. 15. Point guard Ra Tiah (8.6 ppg), who sat out the first meeting with Bucknell with a shoulder injury, is back in the lineup. Frontcourt players Matt Crawford (7.5 ppg, 5.6 rpg) and Mike Cowgill (6.4 ppg) round out the rest of the probable starting lineup.
all-time series vs. lehigh
This is the 136th game in the 101-year-old rivalry between Bucknell and Lehigh. The Bison have an 82-53 series lead, including a 23-4 mark since the start of the 1991-92 season. Bucknell had a 20-game winning streak against Lehigh snapped in the 2000 Patriot League Tournament, when the Mountain Hawks pulled off a 73-62 upset. Including a win in Bethlehem to close to the 2002 regular season and the victory in the Sojka Pavilion opener on Jan. 15, Lehigh has now won two consecutive games over Bucknell.
last year's bucknell-lehigh meetings
On Jan. 26, 2002, Bucknell received 16 points from Bryan Bailey and used a late 13-2 run to cruise to a 69-50 victory. The Bison made only 16 of 44 field goals but converted a season-high 33 of 45 free-throw attempts. Both teams got off to sluggish starts, and the game was tied at 4-4 as late as the 10:29 mark. But Bucknell closed the first half on a 9-0 run to assume a 24-16 halftime lead. In the rematch on Feb. 24 in Bethlehem, Scott Taylor shot 8-for-8 from the field and scored 20 points to help Lehigh snap an 11-game losing streak and defeat Bucknell 75-64. Bailey led all scorers with 21 points and Boakai Lalugba had 14 points and seven rebounds for the Bison. After an even first half, Lehigh used a 14-5 run early in the second to take command.
notes from the american game
Bucknell held a 29-19 rebounding edge, but was hampered by 21 turnovers and 60% free-throw shooting in a 70-56 loss to American on Saturday afternoon ... in addition to his career-high 20 points, freshman Kevin Bettencourt tied his personal best with six rebounds ... Boakai Lalugba had 14 points and seven rebounds, ending his double-double streak at four in a row ... American became only the second team this season to shoot better than 50% against the Bison (Arizona State was the other).
lights, camera, action!
The Patriot League in 2002-03 has a new television deal with DirecTV, which will air six regular-season conference games on Friday nights beginning Jan. 24. Bucknell is slated to play in two of the six televised games, both in Sojka Pavilion, with the first coming this Friday against Navy. The other is the Feb. 28 contest against Holy Cross. All four men's and women's Patriot League Tournament semifinal games, as well as the women's championship game, will also be televised. All games will air on DirecTV channel 611, a free channel available to more than 10.7 million subscribers.
bettencourt honored (again)
Freshman guard Kevin Bettencourt is going to need a very large wall to hang all of his Patriot League Rookie of the Week citations. Of the 12 weekly awards handed out this season, Bettencourt has won seven of them, including the last five in a row. Both of those figures have tied the Patriot League record, set last season by Nate Lufkin of Holy Cross. Bettencourt was cited again on Monday, after scoring a career-high 20 points against American on Saturday. Bettencourt drained 7 of 14 shots from the field, including 3 of 7 from 3-point range. Colgate's Alvin Reed has won the award twice this season, making him the only other rookie to win it more than once.
the rookie
Kevin Bettencourt ranks second on the Bison and first among Patriot League freshmen in scoring at 10.8 ppg. Bettencourt's 20-point outing on Saturday was the highest scoring game by a Bison freshman since Gordon Mboya tallied 20 against Iona in 1993-94. Bucknell's freshman scoring record is 467 points by Gerald Purnell in 1974-75. Bettencourt has 226 in 21 games. The Bucknell single-game freshman scoring record is 31 points by Al Leslie against Rider in 1978. Leslie is Bucknell's all-time leading scorer (1,973 points).
