Bucknell University
3-2
Stephen F. Austin
1-2
Bucknell Men Oust Stephen F. Austin 62-49, Advance to Championship of Cyclone Challenge
11/26/2004 7:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Nov. 26, 2004
AMES, Iowa - Chris McNaughton scored 16 points and Kevin Bettencourt added 12 points on four 3-pointers to lead Bucknell to a 62-49 victory over Stephen F. Austin in an opening-round game of the American Family Insurance Cyclone Classic on Friday at Iowa State. Charles Lee added 11 points, five assists and five rebounds for the Bison, who advance to Saturday's championship game against either Iowa State or Northern Colorado.
Backed by two Bettencourt treys, Bucknell (3-2) closed the first half on a 16-4 run and took a commanding 38-22 lead to the locker room. The Lumberjacks (1-2) closed within eight 12 minutes into the second half, but the Bison held them to only three field goals the rest of the night and pulled away.
Bettencourt's fourth 3-pointer of the night gave Bucknell a 43-26 lead in the opening minutes of the second half, but Bucknell would manage only one field goal and four free throws over the next 10 minutes. Back-to-back baskets by Josh Porter, who led SFA with 17 points, reduced the Lumberjacks' deficit to 49-41 with 8:02 to play.
John Clark ended Bucknell's eight-minute field goal drought with a put-back of McNaughton's miss, and McNaughton sandwiched four free-throws around a clutch 3-pointer by John Griffin at the end of the shot clock to restore the 17-point cushion, 58-41 with 3:58 to play.
Point guard Abe Badmus, who made his first start of the season and had nine points, four assists and four steals, inserted the final dagger with a steal and no-look feed to Lee for a fastbreak layup with 2:09 left.
The Bison finished with 15 assists on 21 field goals and only 12 turnovers. They shot 50 percent in the first half and 44.7 percent in the game, and outrebounded SFA 27-25. Bucknell was 13-for-16 from the free throw line and 7 of 15 from 3-point range.
Clark finished with four points, four assists and a team-high seven rebounds in 23 minutes off the bench, while freshman Darren Mastropaolo scored his first five collegiate points.
Stephen F. Austin shot 45.2 percent from the field, but the Bison harassed the Lumberjacks into 18 turnovers. It was the first-ever meeting between Bucknell at Stephen F. Austin, a team that won 21 games last season and advanced to the championship game of the Southland Conference Tournament.
