Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell University
14-14
Holy Cross (PL Quarterfinals)
13-15
Bucknell Men Advance to PL Semifinals with 66-60 Victory over Holy Cross
3/6/2004 7:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
March 6, 2004
UPPER MARLBORO, Md. - Charles Lee and Chris McNaughton combined for 39 points on 14-for-18 shooting to lead fourth-seeded Bucknell to the Patriot League Tournament semifinals for the 11th time in 14 years after a hard-fought 66-60 victory over No. 5 Holy Cross Saturday afternoon at The Show Place Arena.
Bucknell (14-14) won for the 11th time in its last 14 games and will face top-seeded Lehigh in the semis on Sunday at 5 p.m. The Mountain Hawks received a scare from eighth-seeded Navy earlier on Saturday but prevailed 62-60 in overtime. Holy Cross, the three-time defending Patriot League champion, finished its season at 13-15.
Lee, a second-team all-league selection, scored a game-high 20 points, making 6 of 8 shots from the field and 7 of 7 from the free-throw line. McNaughton registered his second career double-double, logging 19 points (8-for-10 field goals) and 11 rebounds.
Kevin Hamilton led Holy Cross with 19 points, while Keith Simmons added 12.
Bucknell overcame a season-high 28 turnovers by shooting 61.8 percent from the field and 73.3 percent from the line. The Bison also outrebounded Holy Cross 33-22, including 18-9 in the second half.
Bucknell committed 15 turnovers in the first half and managed only 13 shot attempts, but the Bison made eight of those and 9 of 10 from the free throw line to take a 27-23 halftime lead. Holy Cross made 10 of 31 first-half field goals and led 20-15 before Bucknell finished the half on a 12-3 run.
McNaughton's dunk with 1:17 left in the half resulted in the fifth and final lead change of the day.
Lee and Antario Glover opened the second half with driving layups to stretch Bucknell's lead to 34-27. Twice the Crusaders moved within three points, the last when Torey Thomas scored with 11:40 left to make it 40-37.
The Bison broke the game open over the next 5:30, as McNaughton and Lee scored twice each to spark a 12-2 run that gave them a 52-39 cushion with 7:15 remaining.
Holy Cross stayed close thanks to its full-court press, which caused the Bison problems for much of the afternoon. Four straight points from Nate Lufkin and a put-back from Jave Meade made it 52-45 with 4:01 left.
John Clark stopped the 6-0 run with a baseline drive for a layup and McNaughton tipped in one of his two misses in the game to push the lead back to 11 at 56-45 with 2:57 left.
Holy Cross made four 3-pointers - two from Simmons and one each from Hamilton and Josh Kremer - but the Bison countered with 10 free throws in the final 2:23 to protect the lead.
Kevin Bettencourt, Bucknell's leading scorer at over 15 points per game, was limited to just five shots in the game and finished with eight points. Glover added seven points and Abe Badmus had six points and three steals.
Holy Cross attempted 58 shots to Bucknell's 34, but the Bison made 21 for its second-highest field goal percentage of the season.
For the Bison the victory avenged semifinal losses to Holy Cross in each of the previous two seasons. Bucknell is now 4-4 against the Crusaders at the Patriot League Tournament.
The Bison split two regular-season meetings with Lehigh, winning 64-63 at home on Feb. 10 after falling 75-70 in Bethlehem, Pa., on Jan. 14. Bucknell is 4-1 against Lehigh all-time in the Patriot League Tournament, including a 52-47 win in the first round last season. The teams have met after the first round only once, that a 58-50 Bison win in the 1999 semis.
