Bucknell University
3-8
Penn State
6-5
Second-Half Surge Lifts Penn State Past Bucknell, 58-46
1/3/2004 7:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Jan. 3, 2004
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Jan Jagla led seven players in double figures with 17 points and Penn State used a decisive 14-2 run early in the second half to pull away from Bucknell 58-46 Saturday afternoon at Bryce Jordan Center.
Bucknell (3-8) took a 26-25 halftime lead on Kevin Bettencourt's long 3-pointer as time expired, and Bettencourt opened the second half with another three to give the Bison a four-point lead, but they managed only one field goal over the next 9:36.
Buoyed by seven points from point guard Marlon Smith, Penn State (6-5) outscored Bucknell 14-2 over that span and took a 39-31 lead with 9:38 to play.
Bucknell closed within four on John Clark's elbow jumper at the 7-minute mark, but two free throws by Ndu Egekeze and a 3-pointer by Ben Luber made it an eight-point lead at 46-38 with 5:16 left.
The Nittany Lions went 4-for-4 from the foul line and got 3-pointers from Smith and Jagla in the final four minutes to seal the verdict.
The Bison led by as many as six points in the opening half following back-to-back layups by Chris McNaughton midway through the period. There were six ties and five lead changes in the half, the last coming on Bettencourt's buzzer-beater.
Penn State guards Smith and Luber both played 40 minutes each and combined for 26 points, six assists and five steals.
Bettencourt led Bucknell with 16 points and Chris McNaughton had 10 points and nine rebounds. The Bison shot 50.0 percent from the field in the first half but only 29.2 in the second and finished at 39.1 for the game.
Penn State shot an even 40.0 percent from the field.
Bucknell has one final non-league tuneup remaining, that coming Wednesday a Robert Morris. Tipoff is slated for 7:30 p.m.
