Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell Hosts Navy in PL Men's Basketball Game of the Week
2/14/2003 7:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Feb. 14, 2003
Complete Release in PDF Format
Download Free Acrobat Reader
Two teams looking to snap out of three-game losing streaks square off tonight in the Patriot League TV "Game of the Week." Bucknell's three-game losing streak comes on the heels of a three-game winning streak. The slide has dipped the Bison back under .500 at 4-5 in PL play, placing them in a tie for fifth place with Colgate. Navy has had a frustrating season, dropping three straight, 5 out of 6 and 9 of 11. At 2-7 in the conference, the Midshipmen sit in seventh place. Bucknell and Navy meet for the second time this season (the Mids won 66-53 in Annapolis on Jan. 18) and for the first time ever in Sojka Pavilion. These two teams have treated fans to some hard-fought battles in recent years, including Navy's 76-75 victory over the Bison in the 1997 Patriot League championship game.
the state of the bison
An oasis in the middle of a long road stretch, the Bison are hoping to find comfort in the friendly confines of Sojka Pavilion tonight in order to shake off a three-game losing streak. Thanks to a quirky conference schedule, Bucknell is in the middle of a stretch of six out of seven games on the road, with tonight's contest against Navy the only home game in a span of 33 days. Bucknell, which is 6-2 at home and 2-9 on the road this season, must regain some offensive consistency. The Orange and Blue are averaging only 50.7 ppg in their current losing streak and 59.4 ppg on the season. Still atop the Patriot League and among the national leaders in scoring defense, Bucknell has not allowed more than 70 points since Dec. 27, but the Herd has not scored 70 since Dec. 9.
scouting navy
The Midshipmen, under the direction of highly regarded head coach Don DeVoe, have struggled in 2002-03 and come to Lewisburg with a 6-16 overall record, 2-7 in the Patriot League. DeVoe has experimented with many lineups - 12 different players have started at least one game - and he may have found a keeper in freshman David Hooper, who scored a career-high 24 points in Navy's 64-61 loss to American on Wednesday. Fowrards Scott Long (11.9 ppg) and Francis Ebong (10.4 ppg, 7.5 rpg), along with guard Jason Jeanpierre (10.5 ppg), are mainstays in the Navy lineup. Center Mitch Moore (5.8 ppg) also provides quality minutes, and he hurt Bucknell with several big shots early in the second half in the Midshipmen's 66-53 win in Annapolis last month. Navy comes in averaging 62.2 ppg, while allowing 64.8 ppg.
all-time series vs. Navy
This is the 43rd all-time meeting in a series that dates back to 1920, with Navy holding a 28-14 series lead. Home teams have dominated in this series, with Navy leading 25-3 in Annapolis and Bucknell holding an 11-3 edge in Lewisburg. Since the Midshipmen joined the Patriot League in 1991-92, Navy has won 16 of 26 meetings, including a 3-0 mark in PL Tournament games. Navy defeated Bucknell 76-75 in the 1997 Patriot League championship game at Alumni Hall. Bucknell head coach Pat Flannery is 6-14 all-time against the Mids, with all six wins coming in Davis Gym. (for a complete recap of this year's first Bucknell-Navy contest, please see page 27).
last year's bucknell-Navy meetings
On Jan. 12, 2002 in Annapolis, Jehiel Lewis scored 19 points, set a Navy record with 12 steals and grabbed nine rebounds to lead the Midshipmen to a suffocating 64-49 win over Bucknell. Navy forced Bucknell into a whopping 36 turnovers and used a 16-0 run to break open a one-point contest early in the second half. The Bison were outrebounded 40-27 and allowed the Mids to grab 23 offensive caroms. Boakai Lalugba was saddled by foul trouble but still led the Bison with 11 points and six rebounds in 13 minutes. In the rematch in Davis Gym on Feb. 6, 2002, Bucknell rode the hot hand of Chris Rodgers and dominated the Midshipmen 76-56. Rodgers scored a career-high 23 points on 8 of 9 shooting from the floor (4-4 3FG), while Brian Werner added 16 points and 10 rebounds. Lalugba again got in foul trouble and scored a season-low four points, but the Bison did not need him on that night as they shot 58.7 percent as a team.
notes from the lehigh game
Bucknell committed a season-low nine turnovers, but were hampered by 32.8% shooting in Tuesday's 61-49 loss at Lehigh ... the Bison made only 7 of 32 shots in the first half and only 3 of 20 from 3-point range in the game ... junior Jeremiah Bennett came off the bench to score a career-high nine points in 11 minutes ... senior Boakai Lalugba was held to just six points and five rebounds, ending his streak of 23 straight games scoring in double figures ... Lalugba did dish a career-high five assists, however ... sophomore Chris Niesz made his first start since the season opener at Notre Dame in place of junior Matt Quinn, who did not travel because of the flu.
bison missing key components
In Bucknell's loss at Lehigh Tuesday, coach Pat Flannery's bench was short four players who most certainly would have played a role in the outcome. Senior Brian Werner, in his third year as a starting forward, has not played since Dec. 9 after dislocating his right shoulder in practice during the final exam period. Werner is unlikely to play again this year. In addition, junior guard Chris Rodgers (personal), Bucknell's "sixth man," has missed the last six games; freshman swingman Charles Lee (academics) is sitting out the second semester to concentrate on his studies; and junior guard/forward Matt Quinn (flu), a starter in 19 games this season, missed the Lehigh game. Quinn is probable to return to the lineup against Navy.
lights, camera, action!
The Patriot League in 2002-03 has a new television deal with DirecTV, which airs six regular-season conference games on Friday nights. Bucknell is slated to play in two of the six televised games, both in Sojka Pavilion, with the first coming tonight 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. Bob Socci (play-by-play) and noted author John Feinstein (color) will call all of the action.
ups and downs
In its most recent six-game stretch, Bucknell won three straight games, all by 10 or more points, then lost three in a row, all by 10 or more points. The last time that happened was 91 years ago, during the 1911-12 season, when the Bison defeated Susquehanna (39-21), Lebanon Valley (46-10) and Franklin & Marshall (39-12) before losing to Swarthmore (31-14), St. John's (28-18) and Penn State (35-19).
milestones
Dan Blankenship needs 23 assists to become only the seventh Bison with 300 career assists ... Boakai Lalugba played in his 100th career game last week at American ... Jeremiah Bennett collected both his 100th career point and 100th career rebound Tuesday at Lehigh ... Davorin Skornik needs three rebounds for 100 in his career.
free-throw record goes down
Bison senior Boakai Lalugba on Tuesday shattered former Bison all-star guard Bill Courtney's school record for career free-throw attempts. Lalugba now has 511 career attempts, while Courtney racked up 509 during his outstanding career from 1988-92.
