Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell University
0-1
Princeton University
1-0
| Team | 1 | 2 | F |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bucknell | 22 | 26 | 48 |
| Princeton | 30 | 31 | 61 |
Bison Cagers Drop Season Opener to Princeton, 61-48
11/11/2004 7:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Nov. 11, 2004
SYRACUSE, N.Y. - Freshman John Griffin scored 18 points in his first collegiate game, but Princeton got 21 from Luke Owings and turned back Bucknell 61-48 in the first Division I game of the season at the Coaches vs. Cancer Classic Thursday at the Carrier Dome.
Bucknell, which played its earliest season opener in school history, will play Northern Colorado in the consolation game of the Syracuse bracket at 5:30 p.m. on Friday. The host Orange will play Princeton at 7:30 p.m.
The Bison shot only 26.1 percent from the field in the first half and trailed 30-22 at halftime, but they opened the second half on a 15-9 run and climbed within 39-37 on Chris McNaughton's inside layup with 12:17 to play. But the Tigers answered with seven straight points, four coming on patented Princeton backdoor layups from Will Venable and Owings. A steal and layup by Scott Greenman stretched the run to 14-4 and gave Princeton a 53-41 cushion with 5:37 to play.
Bucknell played without starting point guard Abe Badmus, who sat out with a hip flexor injury, but Griffin was more than a capable replacement. He made all five of his shots from the field, including two 3-pointers, and was 4 of 6 from the free-throw line. Griffin also had two assists and just one turnover in 34 minutes.
Kevin Bettencourt added 10 points for the Bison, while McNaughton finished with seven points and Charles Lee had five points and a team-high six rebounds.
Bucknell shot 30.4 percent from the floor and 78.3 percent from the line.
Backup center Mike Stephens, who saw considerable playing time with reigning Ivy League Player of the Year Judson Wallace saddled with early foul trouble, scored 11 points, nine coming on 3-pointers. Venable finished with nine points and Greenman eight.
The first half featured two ties and four lead changes. Bucknell fell behind 8-1 early and made just one of its first 11 field goal tries, but a 3-pointer from Griffin and two free throws from Bettencourt gave the Bison an 18-16 lead.
Two more Bettencourt free throws gave Bucknell a 20-19 lead with 3:53 to play in the half, but the Tigers closed on an 11-2 run, capped by a Stephens layup just before the buzzer.
Princeton shot 56.4 percent from the field and made 8 of 18 3-point attempts.
