Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell Men's Basketball Hosts Lehigh Tuesday, Looks to Continue Climb in PL Standings
2/10/2004 7:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Feb. 10, 2004
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Two teams in the Patriot League's upper division square off Tuesday night when Lehigh visits Bucknell. Over the weekend, the Mountain Hawks climbed back into a tie for first place with a 66-38 rout of Navy combined with Lafayette's first PL loss of the season, 75-66 at Colgate. Bucknell also did some climbing on Saturday, vaulting into a tie for third place with American with a 67-62 win over the Eagles. Lehigh and Bucknell are two of the league's hottest teams. The Mountain Hawks have won four straight and 7 of 8, while the Bison have won three in a row and 6 of 7. Bucknell holds an 84-54 lead in an all-time series that dates back to 1902. Lehigh has won four of the last five in the series, although the Bison's lone win in that span came in the Patriot League Tournament last season, 52-47. The Mountain Hawks spoiled Bucknell's debut in Sojka Pavilion with a 60-56 victory in the first game here last Jan. 15. Earlier this season, Lehigh topped Bucknell 75-70 at Stabler Arena. The Bison trailed by as many as 16 points in the second half of that game but drew within three before the Mountain Hawks sealed it from the free-throw line.
key stats
* Since shooting only 31.6% from the field in an overtime loss at American on Jan. 10, the Bison are connecting at a 50.8% clip (195-384) over their last eight contests. Bucknell ranks second in the PL in FG%.
* Bucknell leads the Patriot League and ranks 30th nationally in rebound margin at +5.1.
* Bucknell's freshmen and sophomores have accounted for 83.7% of the team's scoring this season.
* Lehigh (36.4) and Bucknell (35.2) are the top two teams in the Patriot League in total rebounds.
* Two of the Patriot League's top three scorers will square off in Lehigh's Austen Rowland (15.8) and Bucknell's Kevin Bettencourt (15.7). Rowland outscored Bettencourt 18-10 back on Jan. 14.
last time out
Bucknell moved into a tie for third place with American in the Patriot League standings with a 67-62 win over the Eagles on Saturday at Sojka Pavilion (see boxscore, page 26). Kevin Bettencourt scored 20 points and Charles Lee hit six big free throws in the final 64 seconds en route to a 16-point effort. Bucknell raced to a 15-point halftime lead, but American forced a bevy of turnovers off a tenacious full-court press to close within one point with 2:05 remaining. The Bison, who missed 8 of 11 free throws during one stretch late in the contest, finally sealed it thanks to Lee's 6-for-6 shooting from the stripe along with two from Bettencourt in the final seconds. Jernavis Draughn scored 17 points and Andre Ingram had 16 for the Eagles.
bucknell vs. lehigh, part one
Back on Jan. 14 at Stabler Arena, Donald Brown and Charles Lee both registered their first career 20-point games and Bucknell nearly erased all of a 16-point second-half deficit, but Lehigh made 7 of 10 free throws in the final minute to hold off the Bison 75-70. Brown shot a school-record 10-for-10 from the floor and scored 22 points, while Lee added 23 and Kevin Bettencourt 10 points and nine assists. Jose Olivero had 20 points and Austen Rowland 18 for Lehigh. Bucknell trailed 50-34 with 15:33 to play but pulled within three points at 68-65 with 1:06 left.
bucknell vs. lehigh last year
Bucknell and Lehigh met three times last season, including a postseason encounter. While the Mountain Hawks claimed both regular-season clashes, the Bison sent Lehigh home earlier than expected with a Patriot League Tournament quarterfinal upset. On Jan. 15, 2003 in the first game ever played in Sojka Pavilion, Matt Logie scored 22 points and Zlatko Savovic added 18 to help Lehigh to a come-from-behind 60-56 decision. The Logie/Savovic duo scored 31 of their 40 points in the second half, as Lehigh rallied from 32-20 halftime deficit. Bucknell, which was led by Kevin Bettencourt's 18 points, sprinted to a 23-8 lead. On Feb. 11, 2003 at Stabler Arena, Logie made four second-half 3-pointers and led all scorers with 20 points in Lehigh's 61-49 win. Logie was held without a trey in the first half but hit two straight to open the second, pushing Lehigh's 22-17 halftime lead to 28-17. Lehigh's first five buckets of the second half came from beyond the arc. Bucknell, which shot 7 for 32 in the first half, was led by 13 points from Dan Blankenship. On March 8, 2003 at The Show Place Arena, fifth-seeded Bucknell got 16 points from Bettencourt and a terrific defensive effort from Blankenship on Logie in a 52-47 upset of No. 4 Lehigh. Bucknell trailed 25-17 at the half but Bettencourt hit three treys in a row to spark a 25-6 run.
home sweet home
Bucknell is in the midst of a key stretch with 6 of 7 games at home. The Bison have won six straight at home and are now 7-2 at Sojka Pavilion this season following Saturday's win over American. Including the Lehigh game, BU still has three of its next four at home.
charles in charge
Sophomore guard Charles Lee has significantly elevated his game since the start of Patriot League play. After never having scored more than 13 points in a game in his career, Lee tallied 18 in Bucknell's overtime loss at American, including seven of Bucknell's last nine points in regulation. He backed that up with a 23-point performance at Lehigh, making 6 of 9 from the floor and 10 of 13 from the line, and he has scored in double figures in every conference tilt this season. Lee is averaging 15.9 ppg in Patriot League games, second-best in the loop, after averaging only 5.3 ppg during the non-league campaign.
lee honored
Charles Lee's emergence as a future star went recognized by the Patriot League media this week, as Lee was voted the Patriot League Player of the Week for the first time in his career. Lee, who logged 16 points, six rebounds, four assists and three steals in the win over American, was also named the Lewisburg Hotel Bison Athlete of the Week on Monday.
getting to the line
Bucknell has done an excellent job getting to the free-throw line in recent weeks, and in particular sophomores Kevin Bettencourt and Charles Lee have toed the stripe quite frequently. In Patriot League play, Lee and Bettencourt rank 1-2 in the league in free-throw attempts with 59 and 52, respectively, and both convert at better than an 80-percent clip. Bettencourt's 105 attempts in all games this season is tops in the conference. In eight PL contests, Bucknell as a team has shot 199 free throws (24.9 per game), also the most in the league.
bettencourt in race for pl scoring lead
Sophomore guard Kevin Bettencourt, a three-time Patriot League Player of the Week pick this season, is engaged in a heated battle for the league scoring title. Entering this week's action, only four points separate the top three scorers - Lafayette's Justin DeBerry (333 pts., 15.9 ppg), Lehigh's Austen Rowland (332, 15.8) and Bettencourt (329, 15.7).
