Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell University
11-12, 7-3
Navy
3-20, 0-10
Bucknell Rallies for Fifth Straight Win, 54-52 at Navy
2/14/2004 7:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Feb. 14, 2004
ANNAPOLIS, Md. - Kevin Bettencourt scored a game-high 17 points, including a pivotal 3-pointer in the final two minutes, and Bucknell overcame a late deficit to hold off Navy 54-52 Saturday afternoon in Alumni Hall.
For Bucknell (11-12, 7-3), the victory was its fifth straight and eighth in nine outings, and it snapped a 13-game losing streak to Navy in Annapolis. Navy dropped its 11th straight contest and fell to 3-20, 0-10.
A game Navy squad used a slow-down offense to turn the game into a defensive struggle. And when it appeared the Bison were in serious trouble, down 44-38 with 6:45 to go, it was their defense that helped them prevail.
After Charles Lee drove the lane for a layup and Chris McNaughton hit two free throws to make it 44-42, Bucknell turned three straight defensive stops into open-court layups to complete a 10-0 run and take a 48-44 lead at the three-minute mark.
First, Abe Badmus stepped in front of a Jason Fernandez pass and went all the way for an easy game-tying layup. On Navy's next possession Badmus blocked Fernandez's 3-point attempt, Lee wrestled the ball away from a Midshipman and passed ahead to Badmus for another open layup.
Seconds later, John Clark came up with a steal, and from a seated position facing the Navy basket tossed a no-look, over-the-head pass to a streaking Lee. Lee missed the layup but Bettencourt was there for the tip-in to make it a four-point game.
Fernandez stopped the bleeding with a pair of free throws to make it 48-46 with 2:49 left, but Clark found McNaughton for a layup at the other end to make it 50-46.
Still, Navy was not through. Chika Onyekanne, a recent jayvee call-up, canned a 3-pointer to cut it to 50-49 with 2:00 left. But Bettencourt, who had missed his last five 3-point attempts, drained a big one from the left wing with 1:46 to play.
Onyekanne followed his own miss with 25.5 seconds to play to make it 53-52. Navy elected not to foul Bettencourt or Lee, who both shoot better than 80 percent from the line, and finally fouled Clark with 5.9 seconds left.
Clark missed the front end but hit the second to make it 54-52, and the Bison finally took a deep breath when Navy point guard Kwame Ofori lost his balance near the top of the key and Lee secured the loose ball as time expired.
After breaking school and league records by shooting 71.7 percent from the field in last month's 87-46 win over Navy in Lewisburg, Bucknell appeared ready to challenge that record again when it made eight of its first 12 shots en route to a 20-16 lead.
But the Bison missed nine of their last 10 to close the half. Three baskets by Mike Higgins sparked a 10-2 Navy run, giving the Mids a 26-22 lead with 3:53 left in the half. Three free throws by Bettencourt and one by Lee drew Bucknell even at 26-all at the half.
Navy built its six-point lead with an 8-0 run 13 minutes into the second half. Back-to-back 3-point plays by Onyekanne and Mike Higgins keyed the surge.
Higgins made 6 of 7 shots from the floor and scored a team-high 14 points, while Onyekanne finished with 12.
Lee had nine points, 10 rebounds and five assists, while Clark and McNaughton tallied eight points each for the Bison.
With American losing at Lehigh on Friday, Bucknell took over sole possession of third place in the Patriot League standings, two games behind first-place Lafayette and one back of Lehigh.
The Bison host Lafayette (18-5, 9-1) on Friday at 7:45 p.m.
