Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell Opens Home Hoops Slate Friday vs. Rider
11/19/2004 7:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Nov. 19, 2004
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After jump-starting their season with a pair of games at the Coaches vs. Cancer Classic at the Carrier Dome last week, the Bison open their 2004-05 home slate Friday evening against a Rider squad that is expected to be among the contenders for a Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference title. Bucknell split its two contests in Syracuse, falling 61-48 to defending Ivy League champ Princeton in the opening round, then bouncing back to dispatch Northern Colorado 67-54. The Bison were led by guard tandem Kevin Bettencourt and John Griffin, who combined for 62 points in the two contests. Griffin was particularly impressive, starting at point guard in place of injured returning starter Abe Badmus. The freshman scored 18 points against Princeton in his collegiate debut, then tossed in 16 against Northern Colorado. He made all 10 of his field-goal attempts, five in each tilt. Rider, a former conference mate of Bucknell in the now-defunct East Coast Conference, is also led by a high-scoring point guard in Jerry Johnson. A strong MAAC Player of the Year candidate, Johnson averaged 18.7 ppg a year ago and made a team-high 84 3-pointers. The Broncs, who were 17-14 last season, defeated Susquehanna 93-48 in their lone exhibition outing this past Saturday.
about the bison
Bucknell's challenging early season schedule continues with back-to-back home games against Rider and Saint Francis (Pa.) over the next four days. The Bison are hoping to have point guard Abe Badmus back from a hip flexor injury, which would give them a potentially outstanding three-guard rotation along with high-scoring co-captain Kevin Bettencourt and freshman John Griffin. In his collegiate debut last week, Griffin took the Carrier Dome by storm, sinking all 10 shots from the floor en route to 34 points in two games at the Coaches vs. Cancer Classic. After struggling against Princeton, center Chris McNaughton came back with a strong game against Northern Colorado, scoring 14 points despite being limited by foul trouble. Bucknell shot only 30.4% from the field in a frustrating loss to Princeton, but the Bison shot 54.3% against Nothern Colorado.
last time out
Kevin Bettencourt scored 18 points and Bucknell survived a spirited comeback from Northern Colorado in a 67-54 win in the consolation round of the Coaches vs. Cancer Classic last Saturday at the Carrier Dome (see boxscore, page 16). Bucknell led 40-16 early in the second half, but the Bears whittled the 24-point deficit to as little as six before the Bison pulled away with a big bucket by Charles Lee and 9-for-11 free-throw shooting down the stretch. John Griffin added 16 points and Chris McNaughton had 14 for the Bison.
hot start puts bison in carrier dome record book
In its 67-54 win over Northern Colorado, Bucknell stunned the Bears with a 20-0 run that turned a 4-2 deficit into a 22-4 lead. The Bison led 30-9 at the half and set a Carrier Dome record for fewest points allowed in a half. Syracuse held Princeton to 11 points in a half in 1999.
sojka streak
Bucknell puts a nine-game home winning streak on the line against Rider. A year ago the Bison dropped two of their first three home games, falling to Yale and Penn, but they did not lose in Sojka Pavilion after Dec. 20. Bucknell was 7-0 at home in Patriot League play.
the Bison in home openers
Bucknell is 6-4 in home openers under Pat Flannery. Last season the Bison fell to Yale 63-62 in their opener in Sojka Pavilion, but they would lose only one more home game the rest of the season.
the last time against rider
Mario Porter scored 27 points and Jerry Johnson added 12 as Rider beat Bucknell 75-62 at Alumni Gym in the last meeting between the two teams on Nov. 20, 2001. Bucknell grabbed an early 18-16 lead, but Rider went on a 15-2 run late in the first half and never trailed again. Bucknell cut the lead to 58-47 on a 3-pointer by Matt Quinn midway through the second half but that was as close as the Bison got. Porter shot 11-for-16, including 2-for-3 from 3-point range. He also pulled down seven rebounds. Boakai Lalugba had 20 points and seven rebounds and Quinn had 13 points, including three 3-pointers, for Bucknell. The Bison were hurt by the loss of all-star guard Bryan Bailey, who went down with an ankle injury late in the first half and would miss several weeks of action.
griffin makes big splash
John Griffin received plenty of attention after leading St. Joseph's Prep to the Philadelphia Catholic League championship a year ago, and the Bison rookie lived up to the billing last week in his collegiate debut at the Coaches vs. Cancer Classic. In two games against Princeton and Northern Colorado, Griffin started both games at point guard (he played mostly shooting guard in high school), scored 34 points on 10-for-10 shooting from the floor and committed only three turnovers in 69 minutes of action.
more on griffin
John Griffin's 18 points against Princeton was tied for the third-highest scoring total by a freshman on opening night, and the most since Mike Bright scored 20 against Susquehanna in 1989. Bob Barry, a classmate of Pat Flannery, scored a record 28 points in his collegiate debut against Bloomsburg in 1976. Jeff Werner also scored 18 points against South Carolina in 1974. Griffin is the first Bucknell player since at least 1970 to make the first 10 shots of his career.
Pat Flannery now dean of patriot league coaches
Now in his 11th season as head coach at Bucknell, Pat Flannery became the longest-tenured head coach in the Patriot League when Navy's Don DeVoe retired at the end of last season. Flannery notched his 150th career win last Friday, a total that ranks second in school annals, trailing only the legendary Charlie Woollum, who won 318 games from 1975-94. Woollum notched many of those wins with Flannery as his point guard in the late-1970s.
wearing the bulls-eye
With all five starters returning from a squad that finished 9-5 in the Patriot League and advanced to the semifinals of the conference tournament a year ago, the Patriot League head coaches and sports information directors have tabbed Bucknell as preseason favorites. Defending champion Lehigh was picked second, followed by American, Holy Cross, Colgate, Lafayette, Navy and Army. The Bison also claimed three-fifths of the Preseason All-Patriot League Team in Kevin Bettencourt, Charles Lee and Chris McNaughton. Preseason MVP Andre Ingram of American and Kevin Hamilton of Holy Cross rounded out the team.
national respect
This week's issue of Sports Illustrated, the annual college basketball preview issue, picked Bucknell to win the Patriot League title. The preview cited Kevin Bettencourt and Chris McNaughton as players to watch. Athlon and Lindy's magazines also picked Bucknell as preseason favorites, while Street & Smith has the Bison ranked second behind defending champion Lehigh.
bettencourt, lee named captains
For the first time in his tenure as head coach, Pat Flannery announced that two underclassmen will serve as co-captains this winter. Juniors Kevin Bettencourt and Charles Lee, both returning All-Patriot League selections, were picked for the honor in a team vote.
bison ink three early signees
Pat Flannery announced last week the signing of three student-athletes who took advantage of the NCAA's early signing period to ink national letters of intent to join the Bison next season. The three new additions will be 6-11 center Josh Linthicum of Virginia Episcopal School (Lynchburg), 6-1 guard Justin Castleberry of Archbishop Spalding High (Upper Marlboro, Md.) and 6-2 guard Jason Vegotsky of Pennsbury High (Yardley, Pa.).
long-distance connections
One area the Bison hope to improve this season is their 3-point shooting. Bucknell shot a Patriot League-low 29.0% from 3-point range last season, despite ranking second in the league in overall field-goal percentage at 46.1%. Bucknell was 2-for-13 against Princeton in the season opener, but then bounced back with a 6-for-10 long-range performance against Nothern Colorado.
cleaning the glass
Bucknell led the Patriot League in rebound margin a year ago at +4.6 per game, and the Bison return their top five rebounders from last season. In 2003-04 Bucknell was 13-4 when outrebounding its opponent but 1-11 when losing the battle on the glass. The Bison have outrebounded both opponents this season and are +9.5 overall on the glass.
patriot league powers
No Patriot League team has won more regular-season conference games than Bucknell since the start of league play in 1990-91. The Bison carry an impressive 118-64 (.656) conference ledger and have posted 12 winning or even conference records in 14 years.
setting the standard of excellence
Bucknell garnered a 2003 USA Today Academic Achievement Award after leading the nation in graduation rates with a perfect 100% showing, and the Bison again ranked in the top 10 in the most recent graduation rates survey that was released last week with an 88% figure. Bucknell also ranks third among all Division I institutions (behind Nebraska and Notre Dame) in total number of Academic All-Americans, with 107 since 1970. Bison teams also get it done on the playing fields, winning the Presidents' Cup -- the Patriot League's all-sports crown -- in 11 of 14 years, including the last seven in a row.
sojka pavilion
Bucknell will be playing its second full season in its new 4,000-seat arena -- Sojka Pavilion (pronounced SOY-ka). The facility is a part of the new Kenneth G. Langone Athletics & Recreation Center, which also includes a 16,000-square foot fitness center, a state-of-the-art natatorium featuring a 50-meter-by-25-yard pool, a new sports medicine center and new office suites for coaches and staff. Bucknell went 10-2 at home last season, including a nine-game winning streak that remains intact heading into the 2004-05 campaign.
lights, camera, action
Bucknell is scheduled to appear on College Sports Television (CSTV) twice this winter, with both broadcasts originating from Sojka Pavilion. On Jan. 8, the Bison's Patriot League opener against Holy Cross will be televised. The start time of that contest moved to 2 p.m. to accommodate CSTV. Bucknell's Feb. 11 home game against American will also air on CSTV as part of the network's Patriot League package.
bison briefs
Chris McNaughton needs to make just one more field goal to become eligible for Bucknell's career field-goal percentage list -- when he does he will likely move right into the No. 1 position ... Kevin Bettencourt, only a junior, needs only 66 3-pointers to break Mike Bright's Bucknell career record ... Bettencourt tied the school record with 72 last season, and he needs 14 treys to catch Gordon Mboya for fourth on the BU career chart ... Bettencourt also needs 219 points to become Bucknell's 30th 1,000-point scorer ... Donald Brown led the Bison with eight rebounds against Northern Colorado ... it was the first-ever meeting between the Bison and the Bears ... the two squads could meet again at Iowa State's tournament next week ... Bucknell has lost its last six games against MAAC foes, dating back to a 64-50 win over Rider in 2000-01 ... this time last year much was made of Bucknell's 1-for-17 showing from the free-throw line against Michigan State, but the Bison are off to a much better start from the charity stripe in 2004-05 ... they made 41 of 55 (.745) at the Carrier Dome last week.
