Bucknell University Athletics
Kevin Bettencourt Wins Record Eighth PL Rookie of Week Nod
2/25/2003 7:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Feb. 25, 2003
LEWISBURG, Pa. - After pocketing 37 points in a pair of crucial road victories, Bucknell freshman guard Kevin Bettencourt (Peabody, Mass./Peabody) was selected as the Patriot League Rookie of the Week for a record eighth time.
The odds-on favorite to capture Patriot League Rookie of the Year honors next week, Bettencourt broke the league record of seven rookie of the week citations, set last season by Nate Lufkin of Holy Cross. In their first 11 years in the Patriot League, the Bison had a total of nine rookies of the week, but Bettencourt has nearly matched that by himself in 2002-03.
Bettencourt was the game's leading scorer in both Bucknell wins this weekend - a 70-53 win at Lafayette on Friday and a 66-65 triumph at Army on Sunday. He made 5 of 10 3-point tries en route to a 17-point ledger against Lafayette, then he matched his career high with 20 points against the Black Knights.
The 6-2 guard also collected seven rebounds this week and did not commit a turnover 72 minutes of court time.
Bettencourt made his first four shots against Army and finished that game 7-for-11 from the field. He hit a clutch 10-foot jumper with Bucknell trailing by two points with 1:34 left, and the Bison went on to post the one-point win.
Bettencourt currently ranks second on the team and 14th in the Patriot League with a 10.9 ppg scoring average. He is the highest scoring freshman in the conference. With 55 3-pointers, Bettencourt is just three away from sliding into Bucknell's single-season top-10 list.
With the two victories over the weekend, Bucknell improved to 7-5 in Patriot League play and climbed into a three-way tie for third place in the conference standings with American and Colgate. The Bison wrap up their regular season with two home games this coming weekend - Friday against Holy Cross (9 p.m., DirecTV channel 611) and Sunday against Colgate (3:15 p.m.).
