Bucknell University
13-12 (7-5PL)
Army
5-19 (0-12PL)
Blankenship's Free Throws Lift Bucknell Past Army, 66-65
2/23/2003 7:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Feb. 23, 2003
WEST POINT, N.Y. - Senior guard Dan Blankenship made two free throws with eight seconds remaining and Bucknell survived Army's red-hot 3-point shooting in a 66-65 victory over the Black Knights Sunday afternoon at Christl Arena.
The hard-fought victory was Bucknell's third in a row, and with American's one-point loss at Colgate Sunday the Bison climb into a tie for third place with American and Colgate at 7-5 in the Patriot League. Bucknell (13-12 overall) has two games remaining in its regular season, at home against league-leading Holy Cross and Colgate next weekend.
Army (5-19, 0-13) came ever so close to handing head coach Jim Crews his 300th career victory, but Matt Collins' turnaround baseline jumper fell off the iron as time expired. The Black Knights were unconscious from long-range, making 11 of 17 3-point attempts, including several late in the contest to put themselves in position to end their eight-game losing streak.
Bucknell used a 12-0 run over a six-minute span midway through the second half to turn a five-point deficit into a 55-48 lead. But Mike Canty and Sean O'Keefe hit 3-pointers to spark an 8-2 run, and forward Bill Mohr drilled two straight game-tying bombs.
After Mohr's second triple tied the game at 62-all with 2:09 to play, O'Keefe intercepted a pass and scored a breakaway layup to put Army back on top 64-62.
Kevin Bettencourt, who tied his career-high with 20 points, tied it again with a pull-up jumper in the lane with 1:34 left. On Army's next possession, Mike Canty drew a foul on a baseline drive and made one of two free throws with 52 seconds remaining, giving Army a 65-64 lead.
Chris Niesz missed a 3-pointer on Bucknell's next trip, but Canty missed the front end of a 1-and-1 with 30 seconds remaining. Canty fouled out 15 seconds later after getting tangled up with Blankenship on the perimeter, but Blankenship missed the front end of a 1-and-1 to keep the lead on Army's side. Bucknell immediately fouled Collins on the rebound, the free-throw struggles continued as Collins missed the front end.
Blankenship tried to go coast-to-coast but was fouled by Mohr on the way to the basket. This time, Blankenship cashed in on his charity attempts, swishing both for a 66-65 lead.
Army elected not to call timeout and went right to Collins in the low post. Collins got a clean look at the basket from the left side, but the shot just ticked the front iron and skipped over the rim.
Bucknell outscored Army 32-20 in the paint and got outstanding contributions from the frontcourt tandem of Boakai Lalugba and Tarik Viaer-McClymont. Lalugba registered his 15th double-double of the season with 19 points and 10 rebounds, while Viaer-McClymont added nine points and five rebounds in 24 bench minutes. The duo combined to make 12 of 19 from the field.
Army shot 59 percent in a back-and-forth first half that featured four ties and seven lead changes. Andy Smith scored 13 points in the opening period, making all three of his 3-point tries and 5 of 6 shots overall. The Black Knights made 5 of 7 first-half treys and came within two points of their game total in a 53-38 loss to the Bison in Lewisburg on Jan. 24.
Army's 36 points in the first half were the most allowed by the Bison since Arizona State opened with 39 on Dec. 27. The Bison improved to 4-8 when trailing at the half.
Kevin Bettencourt made his first four shots from the floor and helped Bucknell take an early five-point lead, but Army battled back behind the hot hand of Smith to lead by as many as five points twice late in the half. Smith scored 11 straight Army points in an 11-4 run to give the hosts a 34-29 lead with 2:16 left.
Smith led Army with 16 points, while Canty added 13, O'Keefe 12 and Collins 10. The Black Knights shot an even 50 percent from the field and outrebounded Bucknell 28-26.
Bucknell shot 51.1 percent from the field but went 0-for-6 from 3-point range in the second half.
The Bison swept the season series from Army and are now 26-4 against the Black Knights since the two teams joined the Patriot League in 1990-91.
Bucknell hosts Holy Cross next Friday, Feb. 28, at 9 p.m. in the Patriot League TV "Game of the Week.
