Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell University
3-10 (0-1)
American
7-8 (1-0)
American Holds off Bison Men in Overtime Thriller, 58-55
1/10/2004 7:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Jan. 10, 2004
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Charles Lee scored a career-high 18 points, including seven of Bucknell's last nine points in regulation, but American hit just enough free throws down the stretch to outlast Bucknell 58-55 in a tense overtime battle Saturday at Bender Arena.
In the Patriot League opener for both teams, neither team led by more than one basket for the final 9:19 of regulation, setting the stage for a thrilling finish.
After an American throw-away on an inbounds pass, Lee tipped in Chris McNaughton's miss with 1:14 left in regulation, giving Bucknell a 46-44 lead. But American freshman Andre Ingram made back-to-back layups in the final minute to put the Eagles back in front 48-46.
After a timeout, Bucknell got the ball in the hands of its leading scorer, Kevin Bettencourt. The sophomore guard, who had a tough shooting night and finished without a field goal for just the second time this season, drew a foul while shooting an off-balance 3-pointer with 4.8 seconds remaining.
Bettencourt made the first and third free-throw attempts, tying the game at 48, and the contest went five extra minutes after Jason Thomas' left-wing jumper rimmed out at the buzzer.
In overtime, Lee's 10-footer in the lane tied the game for the 11th time with 1:55 remaining, but Jernavis Draughn's layup off an Andres Rodriguez feed put the Eagles ahead to stay.
Abe Badmus, a freshman who made his first career start, made 1 of 2 free throws for Bucknell with 0:59 left and McNaughton was whistled for a foul on the rebound. Matej Cresnik made two from the stripe at the other end to make it 56-53.
After Bettencourt missed a 3-pointer, Rodriguez made it a four-point lead with 1 of 2 free throws with 36 seconds left. Bettencourt and Davorin Skornik both missed inside with 20 seconds remaining and Cresnik made it 58-53 with another 1-for-2 trip to the line.
The Bison nearly extended the game in the final nine seconds, when Badmus made a driving layup and Bettencourt tied up Ingram on the inbounds pass, giving Bucknell the ball back on the possession arrow.
After Badmus missed a potential tying 3-pointer, Lee tracked down the rebound, sprinted to the left corner and drew iron on a fallaway three, but it fell away as the final buzzer sounded.
Bucknell led for the final 13 minutes of the first half, taking a 27-25 lead to intermission. Donald Brown's 3-pointer with 5:32 left gave Bucknell its largest lead of eight points at 22-14.
American closed the half on an 11-5 run, with Linas Lekavicius scoring the team's final seven points, including a 3-pointer with 49 seconds left.
Bucknell fell to 3-10 overall with its fourth straight loss. The Bison had been 9-0 in overtime games under coach Pat Flannery.
Ingram led American with 13 points, while Draughn tallied 10 points and 12 rebounds. Rodriguez played all 45 minutes at the point and logged eight points, six rebounds and seven assists. The Eagles shot 42 percent from the field but only 3-for-11 from 3-point range. They also committed 24 turnovers.
Bucknell shot 31.6 percent for the game and also struggled from long range, canning 3 of 13 from beyond the arc. American held a 45-33 rebounding edge, but both teams were aggressive on the offensive glass, with American grabbing 17 offensive rebounds and Bucknell 15.
Brown joined Lee in double figures with 10 points for the Bison. McNaughton, who entered the game shooting 71.2 percent from the field, finished 3-for-11 but led the team with eight rebounds.
The Bison return to action on Wednesday at Lehigh at 7:30 p.m.
