Bucknell University
(12-12;6-5)
Lafayette
(11-13;5-6)
Bucknell Men's Basketball Scores Crucial Road Win at Lafayette
2/21/2003 7:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Feb. 21, 2003
EASTON, Pa. - Freshman Kevin Bettencourt scored a game-high 17 points Friday to lead Bucknell to a key Patriot League road victory at Lafayette, 70-53, at the Kirby Sports Center.
The win was the Bison's second in a row and lifted them back over .500 in Patriot League play at 6-5 (12-12 overall). Bucknell entered the evening in a three-way tie for fourth place with Colgate and Lafayette. The Leopards are now 11-13, 5-6, while Colgate was in action in a late game at home against Navy. The Bison swept the season series from Lafayette, winning in Lewisburg 68-48 on Jan. 26.
Bucknell used long runs in both halves to score its second-largest road win of the season. After falling behind 9-3, the Bison surged to a big early lead behind runs of 17-0 and 30-5. Bettencourt drained four 3-pointers in the run and fellow rookie Tarik Viaer-McClymont crashed the boards for six key points.
The Bison led by as many as 19 points at 33-14 with 5:46 left in the opening half, but the hard-nosed Leopards scored 12 of the final 14 points of the half to close within 35-26 at intermission. Rob Dill's tip-in with 13:19 left in regulation made it a three-point game at 42-39, but that's when Bucknell's vaunted defense stiffened.
Bucknell held Lafayette scoreless for 5:09 while scoring 12 unanswered points, and the lead was double figures the rest of the way. Matt Quinn and Chris Niesz both hit 3-pointers in the run, and Boakai Lalugba and Viaer-McClymont combined for six inside points.
The Bison salted away the contest by hitting 8 of 9 free throws in the final 3:05.
Lalugba recorded his league-high 14th double-double of the season with 14 points and 10 rebounds. Niesz also scored in double figures with 11, while Viaer-McClymont registered career-highs in scoring and rebounding with nine points and seven boards. Dan Blankenship had seven points and a game-high five assists in 40 minutes.
Bucknell shot 49 percent in the game and reached the 70-point mark for the third time this season and the first time since Dec. 9. Meanwhile, Bucknell's defense was again excellent. The Bison came in ranked third in the nation in scoring defense at 58.6 ppg, and Friday they limited Lafayette to 34 percent shooting and outrebounded the Leopards 40-28. It was the 12th time in 24 games this season that Bucknell held its opponent under 60 points.
Mike Farrell led Lafayette with 14 points, while Justin DeBerry added 12 and Andrew Pleick 11. DeBerry, the Patriot League's leading scorer at 16.7 ppg, drained his first three shots - all 3-pointers - but missed eight of his final nine attempts.
Bucknell, now 3-0 this season in the first leg of a Friday-Sunday league series, travels to Army on Sunday for a 3:15 p.m. start.
