Bucknell University Athletics
Bettencourt, McNaughton Earn Bucknell Men's Basketball Team MVP Honors
4/19/2004 8:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
April 19, 2004
LEWISBURG, Pa. - Sophomore Kevin Bettencourt (Peabody, Mass./Peabody H.S.) and freshman Chris McNaughton (Leutershausen, Germany/Dientzenhofer Gymnasium) walked off with team MVP honors as part of the annual Bucknell Basketball Backcourt Club Awards Banquet, held Sunday afternoon in the Terrace Room on campus.
Bettencourt and McNaughton shared the Benton A. Kribbs Memorial Award for Outstanding Contribution. Like all the awards handed out on Sunday, the winners were selected by a team vote.
Bettencourt led the team and ranked second in the Patriot League with a 14.9 points-per-game scoring average in 2003-04. A Second Team All-Patriot League selection, Bettencourt ranked second in the league and tied a Bucknell record with 72 3-point field goals. He also ranked second in the league in free-throw percentage (.819), seventh in assists and eighth in steals. Bettencourt's 42-point performance against Saint Francis (Pa.) early in the season was the second-highest scoring output in school history, and his 11 3-pointers in that game not only shattered school and league records, but it held up as the most made in a game in the nation this season. Bettencourt scored at least 20 points in a game eight times this season and led the league with four Patriot League Player of the Week honors.
McNaughton became only the second freshman, and first since Bob Barry in 1976-77, to win the Kribbs Award. The 6'11" center quickly developed into one of the Patriot League's premier post players this season. He was named to the league's all-freshman team after averaging 11.5 points and 5.5 rebounds per game to rank ninth and fifth, respectively, in the conference. McNaughton shot a sizzling 66.4 percent from the field (142-214) on the season. He finished just three made field goals shy of the minimum to qualify among the national leaders - he would have been third in the country - but he did lead the Patriot League in shooting accuracy by a wide margin. McNaughton scored in double figures 19 times, including a season-high 22 points at Northwestern in December.
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Sophomore guard Charles Lee (Gaithersburg, Md./Quince Orchard H.S.) earned the Coaches Award. Lee's rapid development was a major reason for Bucknell's late-season surge to the top of the Patriot League standings this winter. Averaging just 5.2 ppg entering league play in January, Lee averaged 13.8 ppg - fifth-best in the league - in Patriot League games. His emergence led to Second-Team All-Patriot League honors at season's end. Overall he averaged 10.1 ppg, and his 5.0 rebounding average was good for seventh in the league and tops among guards. He also ranked 10th in field-goal percentage (.461), third in free-throw percentage (.818) and fifth in steals (1.62).
Senior center Davorin Skornik (Sentjur, Slovenia/Berkeley Prep (Fla.)) earned the Thomas A. Thompson Award for "spirit, intensity and outstanding defensive play." Skornik enjoyed his best season in Orange & Blue in 2003-04 and was a key reserve for the Bison. He averaged 3.4 ppg, nearly triple his career average entering the season. Skornik shot 57.7 percent (45-78) from the field and led the team in blocked shots with 16. He scored a career-high 13 points against College of Charleston and grabbed 11 rebounds in Bucknell's near-upset of Michigan State on opening night in East Lansing, Mich.
The Malcolm E. Musser Award for Leadership went to senior co-captains Matt Quinn (Montville, Conn./St. Thomas More) and Roland Webber (Bay Shore, N.Y./Bay Shore H.S.). The duo was lauded for their terrific leadership throughout the season, particularly given the fact that the Bison had the league's youngest rotation for most of the season, with three freshmen and two sophomores comprising the starting lineup. While both captains took on a reserve role this season, both were tremendous competitors. Quinn averaged 3.0 ppg and graduates ranked 18th on Bucknell's career list for 3-pointers with 71. Webber scored 11 points in 15 games this season.
Quinn, Webber, Skornik and fellow seniors Jeremiah Bennett (Lookout, W.Va./Fork Union Military Academy) and Jack Namvou (Yaounde, Cameroon/Georgetown Prep) were all presented Senior Awards. Webber's father, Roland Webber Sr., was presented the program's Backcourt Club Award, given each year to a friend of the Bison basketball program. Donning his trademark bright green New York Jets jacket, the elder Webber was a fixture at Bucknell games, home and away. He was presented with a brand new Jets jacket by head coach Pat Flannery and the Bison staff.
Bucknell finished 14-15 overall and 9-5 in the Patriot League in 2003-04. The Bison advanced to the semifinals of the Patriot League Tournament for the 11th time in 14 years.
