Bucknell University
10-10, 4-3PL
Holy Cross
16-4, 6-1PL
Bucknell Men Drop Game to Holy Cross, 69-47
2/2/2003 7:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Feb 2, 2003
WORCESTER, Mass. - Tim Szatko scored 12 of his game-high 18 points in the second half to lead Holy Cross to a 69-47 victory in Patriot League men's basketball action on Sunday afternoon before a sellout crowd of 4,000 at the Hart Center.
Holy Cross (16-4, 6-1), the defending Patriot League champions, broke open a tight first half by outscoring Bucknell 39-22 in the second stanza. The Bison had their three-game winning streak come to an end and fell to 10-10 overall, 4-3 in the conference.
Leading by only five at 36-31 four minutes into the second half, Holy Cross embarked on a tide-turning 25-7 run that made it 61-38 with 7:58 to play. The Crusaders did not make a 3-point basket in the first half, but they drained five in that run, with three coming from Mark Jerz and two from Brian Wilson.
Bucknell regrouped with a 9-0 run to close within 14, but after a timeout the Crusaders blanked the Bison 8-0 over the last four minutes.
The first half featured four lead changes, three ties, 28 fouls and 32 free throws. Bucknell played much of the first half with starters Boakai Lalugba, Dan Blankenship and Davorin Skornik on the bench with three fouls each. Despite the foul trouble the Bison built a 21-16 lead after Kevin Bettencourt's three free throws with 7:10 remaining.
But Bucknell went without a field goal for the final 9:41 of the half and the Crusaders surged ahead with a 14-4 run to close the period. Jave Meade's 12-foot bank shot as the shot clock expired snapped a 24-all tie and gave the hosts the lead for good.
Lalugba finished with 11 points and 10 rebounds for his fourth straight double-double and 12th of the season. Dan Blankenship also had 11 points, and Kevin Bettencourt, playing in front of nearly 100 hometown friends and family, scored 10 points, all in the first half. Chris Niesz made all three of his 3-point tries and matched his career high with nine points.
The Bison shot 31.8 percent from the floor.
Wilson finished 12 points and Meade and Jerz had 11 each for the Crusaders. Holy Cross shot 46.3 percent from the field and outrebounded Bucknell 37-31.
