Bucknell University
12-4, 3-0
Army
2-13, 0-3
Bucknell Men Make it Nine Straight with 63-46 Win over Army
1/15/2005 7:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Jan. 15, 2005
LEWISBURG, Pa. - Charles Lee led all players with 15 points and nine rebounds to pace Bucknell to a 63-46 victory over Army on Saturday night at Sojka Pavilion. The Bison won their ninth straight contest and improved to 12-4 overall, 3-0 in the Patriot League, while Army dropped its seventh in a row and fell to 2-13, 0-3.
Chris McNaughton scored all 12 of his points in the second half and Abe Badmus added 11 points, eight rebounds and three steals for Bucknell. Assistant coach Nathan Davis called the shots for the Bison in place of Pat Flannery, who missed the game while attending to a personal family matter.
Bucknell extended several impressive streaks in this one. In addition to the nine straight overall wins, which is now the longest run during Flannery's 11-year tenure at Bucknell, the Bison also won their ninth straight Patriot League home game and posted their eighth straight win against Army.
Bucknell did most of its damage in the second half, rallying from a miserable shooting performance over the first 20 minutes. The Bison made only three of their first 19 shots from the field and led just 21-19 at the break. Bucknell shot 23.3 percent overall in the first half (7-30) and made just 1 of 12 3-point tries.
They doubled their scoring output with a 42-point second stanza, buoyed by 50-percent shooting from the field (13-26). McNaughton picked up two quick fouls and was limited to only eight first-half minutes, but Bucknell made a concerted effort to get the 6-11 center the ball early in the second period. He drew a foul and made both free throws on the first possession of the half, then followed up his own miss one minute later. After a Lee jumper, McNaughton made another layup off a nice feed from Kevin Bettencourt to cap an 8-0 run that opened up the largest lead of the night at 29-19.
Army pulled within 32-26 on a Marshall Jackson backdoor layup at the 12:09 mark, but a 17-6 Bucknell run over the next five minutes helped seal the verdict. Lee, Chris Niesz and John Griffin all buried 3-pointers, and McNaughton completed the surge with a short baseline jumper that made it 49-32 with 7:13 to play.
Five straight points by Colin Harris brought Army as close as 12 with 6:31 left, but the Black Knights could get no closer. Bucknell would go on to lead by as many as 19 at 60-41 after Bettencourt's free throws with 1:50 left.
Army led for about five minutes in the opening period while both teams struggled shooting the ball. Matt Bell's 3-pointer gave Army an 8-7 lead at the second media timeout as Bucknell managed only two field goals in the first nine minutes of play.
A Marshall Jackson trey gave Army its largest lead of five points at 15-10, but the Bison regained the lead for good with a 10-0 run. Badmus' tip-in, coming on one of his five offensive rebounds on the night, made it 15-12, and Tarik Viaer-McClymont's 3-point play tied it. Bettencourt's fastbreak layup after a Badmus steal put the Bison ahead, and Lee converted another 3-point play to make it 20-15.
Army pulled back within a point at 20-19 on Bell's free throw, and Badmus made 1 of 2 from the stripe in the final minute to make it 21-19 at intermission.
Harris led Army with 14 points and Bell had seven points and four steals. The Black Knights shot 34.0 percent from the floor and made 7 of 19 3-point tries.
Bucknell outrebounded Army 42-32 and blocked a season-high seven shots. The Bison outscored Army 17-7 from the free-throw line.
The Bison continue a three-game Patriot League homestand next Friday night against Lafayette.
