Bucknell University
1-1
Northern Colorado
0-2
Bucknell Men's Basketball Routs Northern Colorado, 67-54
11/12/2004 7:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Nov. 12, 2004
SYRACUSE, N.Y. - Kevin Bettencourt scored 18 points and John Griffin tallied 16 to lead Bucknell to a 67-54 victory over Northern Colorado Friday night at Coaches vs. Cancer Classic. The Bison's first victory of 2004-05 wasn't easy, as the Bears (0-2) cut a 24-point deficit to just six late in the game before Bucknell finished the game on a 13-6 run.
Griffin, a freshman point guard who started both games at the Carrier Dome in place of injured sophomore Abe Badmus, still has not missed a shot this season. He scored 18 points of 5-for-5 shooting against Princeton on Thursday, then connected on 5 of 5 again, including all three 3-point tries against Northern Colorado.
Bettencourt was 3 of 5 from 3-point range and added a team-high five assists. Chris McNaughton added 14 points and Donald Brown had eight rebounds for Bucknell.
Sean Taibi came off the bench to score 16 points for the Bears, while Erik Olson added 10.
Bucknell seemingly took control of this one right not long after the opening tip. After falling behind 4-2 in the first 90 seconds, the Bison rattled off 20 straight points, holding the Bears scoreless for more than 11 minutes.
Bettencourt's 3-pointer from the right wing put Bucknell ahead 5-4 at the 17:50 mark. McNaughton and Tarik Viaer-McClymont combined for six inside points and Griffin hit two 3-pointers and a fastbreak pull-up in the lane to spearhead the decisive surge.
Bucknell made eight of its first 11 shots from the floor, while Northern Colorado missed 11 shots in a row after starting 2-for-3. A one-handed follow-up slam dunk by Donald Brown, another Bettencourt trey and a McNaughton layup made it 30-7 with 39 seconds left in the half.
Kirk Archibeque's tip-in just before the buzzer made it 30-9 at the half. Bucknell held the Bears to 4-for-24 shooting and forced 11 turnovers in the opening 20 minutes.
The nine points allowed in the half is a Carrier Dome record, surpassing the 11 scored by Princeton against Syracuse in 1999.
Northern Colorado made a serious run in the second half, outscoring Bucknell 12-2 over a nearly three-minute span to pull within 14 at 42-28. Sean Taibi and Matt Kline hit back-to-back 3-pointers during the surge, the Bears' first two treys of the night after 11 straight long-range misses. Sean Nolen's 3-pointer with 7:45 to play made it a single-digit game at 53-44. Inside six minutes to play James Randle hit a baseline jumper and Archibeque hit a free-throw to make it 54-48 with 5:17 to play.
Charles Lee helped stem the tide, however, with a pull-up 15-footer followed by a pair of free throws to make it 58-48 with 3:47 left. The Bison made nine of their final 11 free throws and held the Bears to two field goals in the last 5:50.
Bucknell shot 54.3 percent from the field and made 6 of 10 from 3-point range.
Bucknell returns to action next Friday, Nov. 19 against Rider in its home opener at Sojka Pavilion.
