Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell Men's Basketball Makes Return to Sojka Pavilion Saturday vs. Navy
1/16/2004 7:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Jan. 16, 2004
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Sojka Pavilion is the site of a men's basketball game for the first time in 26 days, as Bucknell returns home after six straight on the road to face Navy in game two of a women's and men's Patriot League doubleheader. After starting the trip with a convincing win over Norfolk State in the Saturn of North Charleston Shootout on Dec. 29, the Bison have lost five in a row and are now 0-8 on the road this season. Bucknell is coming off a pair of close losses to American and Lehigh, but now plays eight of its next 11 games at home. Navy, meanwhile, has endured a very tough start to its season. The Midshipmen are 3-12 overall, 0-2 in the Patriot League and 0-6 on the road. Navy's last three losses - to Eastern Michigan, Lehigh and American - have come by an average of 29.3 points. But the Mids historically have fared well against Bucknell, winning 28 of 43 all-time meetings, including the last 13 in Annapolis. The Bison have won the last two meetings in Lewisburg, however, including a 59-41 decision last season in Sojka Pavilion. Bucknell and Navy met in the 1997 Patriot League championship game, with the Mids prevailing 76-75 at Alumni Hall.
key stats
* Bucknell leads the Patriot League in rebound margin at +3.6, although the Bison have been outrebounded in both their Patriot League games.
* Bucknell has beaten Navy twice in a row at home, by an average margin of 19.0 ppg.
* Navy ranks next-to-last nationally in free-throw percentage at 51.4%, while Bucknell has steadily improved to 66.0%.
* Bucknell has had positive assist-to-turnover ratios in two of its last three outings.
last time out ... comeback attempt falls short at lehigh
In Bethlehem, Pa., on Wednesday, Bucknell nearly erased all of a 16-point second-half deficit but Lehigh made 7 of 10 free throws in the final minute to hold off the Bison 75-70 (see boxscore, page 23). Bucknell used a 14-4 run to pull within 68-65 with 1:06 to play, but four straight Mountain Hawk free throws kept the Bison at bay. Charles Lee scored a career-high 23 points and Donald Brown added a career-high 22, while Kevin Bettencourt and Chris McNaughton scored 10 each for the Bison. Jose Olivero led Lehigh with 20 points. The first half featured nine lead changes, including seven in a span of eight possessions, but Lehigh used a late 7-0 run to assume a 41-33 halftime lead.
bucknell vs. navy last year
Bucknell and Navy split two meetings last season, with each squad successfully defending its own hardwood. On Jan. 18, 2003, in Annapolis, Scott Long scored a game-high 19 points to lead Navy to a 66-53 victory, its 13th in a row over Bucknell at Alumni Hall. Chris Rodgers led Bucknell with 12 points and Boakai Lalugba and Dan Blankenship scored 11 each, but a 19-5 Navy run to start the second half proved fatal. On Feb. 14, 2003 at Sojka Pavilion, Chris Niesz scored a career-high 18 points, all on 3-pointers, and Lalugba had 13 points and 12 boards to lead the Bison to a 59-41 win. The Bison scored the first 11 points of the game, shutting out Navy for the first 7:27. The Mids closed the half on a 13-1 run to pull within 24-21, but Bucknell ripped off the first 16 points of the second half before Navy finally scored at the 13:38 mark.
charles in charge
Sophomore guard Charles Lee has elevated his game in the last week. After never having scored more than 13 points in a game in his career, Lee tallied 18 in Bucknell's overtime loss at American last Saturday, including seven of Bucknell's last nine points in regulation. He backed that up with a 23-point performance Wednesday at Lehigh, making 6 of 9 from the floor and 10 of 13 from the line. Lee ranks second on the team in rebounds and assists and fourth in scoring.
brownout in bethlehem
Freshman forward Donald Brown enjoyed the best game of his career Wednesday at Lehigh, and entered his name in the Bucknell record book in the process. Brown scored 22 points and made 10 of 10 shots from the field, the most field goals ever made in a game without a miss. He scored nine points in a five-minute span late in the game as Bucknell cut a 16-point deficit as close as three.
a pair of twentys
For the first time in more than a year, Bucknell had two 20-point scorers in the same game when Charles Lee tallied 23 and Donald Brown 22 against Lehigh on Wednesday. The last time that happened was Dec. 3, 2002, when Matt Quinn scored 22 points and Boakai Lalugba 21 in a 71-67 loss to Canisius.
the deans of the patriot league
Saturday's game features a clash of the two longest-tenured head coaches in the Patriot League. While Navy's Don DeVoe is in his 12th year in Annapolis, Pat Flannery is in year No. 10 at Bucknell. Not surprisingly, DeVoe and Flannery are also the two winningest active coaches in the conference. DeVoe has 182 wins at Navy and Flannery 138 at Bucknell.
