Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell's Bettencourt, Griffin Earn First Patriot League Weekly Honors of the Season
11/22/2004 7:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Nov. 22, 2004
LEWISBURG, Pa. - Bucknell swept the initial Patriot League player of the week voting for the 2004-05 season, with junior guard Kevin Bettencourt (Peabody, Mass./Peabody) earning Patriot League Player of the Week honors and freshman guard John Griffin (Philadelphia, Pa./St. Joseph's Prep) scoring rookie of the week accolades.
Bettencourt averaged 15.7 points per game in the team's first three games of the year, two of which were double-digit victories over Northern Colorado and Rider. A preseason All-Patriot League pick, Bettencourt scored 19 last Friday on 7-for-12 shooting in a 69-50 win over Rider, and a week earlier he tallied 18 in a 67-54 decision over the Bears.
Bettencourt led the Patriot League with four player of the week citations last season and is off to the early lead again in 2004-05. In addition to his team-high 47 points, he was also honored for his outstanding defense. Bettencourt was assigned to MAAC Player of the Year candidate Jerry Johnson in the Rider game and held him to six points on 1-for-13 shooting. The Bison are only giving up 55.0 points per game on the season.
A highly touted recruit out of Philadelphia, Griffin was ticketed for quality playing time in the Bison backcourt this season, but he was thrust into the starting point guard role right out of the gate due to an injury to returning starter Abe Badmus. Griffin, who played mostly the shooting guard position in high school, looked like a veteran running the point in the first three games.
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He committed only five turnovers in 99 minutes of action, and his lights-out shooting turned heads as well. Griffin made his first 11 career field goals - his first and only miss of the season came on an off-balance 3-point attempt just before the halftime buzzer in the third game of the season - and is 13-for-14 on the season.
Griffin scored 18 points in an opening-night loss to Princeton at the Coaches vs. Cancer Classic at the Carrier Dome in Syracuse, which was tied for the third-highest output in school history by a freshman on opening night. He is also the only Bison player in the last 30 years to make his first 10 career shots.
Bucknell puts its 10-game home winning streak on the line on Monday night against Saint Francis (Pa.) at 7 p.m.
