Bucknell University
3-0
Yale
2-2
Bucknell Men's Basketball Improves to 3-0 with 87-60 Rout of Yale
11/26/2005 7:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Nov. 26, 2005
LEWISBURG, Pa. --Kevin Bettencourt scored 17 points and dished eight assists to lead Bucknell to its third straight victory to start the season, an 87-60 rout of Yale on Saturday in the home opener at Sojka Pavilion. Chris McNaughton had 15 points on 7-for-7 shooting from the field and Abe Badmus and Charles Lee scored 12 each for the Bison, who won their 12th straight home game.
Eric Flato scored 12 points and Ross Morin and Travis Pinick tallied 11 apiece for Yale (2-2).
Coming off a 14-for-17 second-half shooting performance in Tuesday's win at Syracuse, the Bison continued that offensive efficiency against Yale. Bucknell shot 64.2 percent from the field and made 10 of 17 3-point attempts, and it had a solid 24-to-13 assist-to-turnover ratio.
The 87 points ties Bucknell's own Sojka Pavilion record, and the 34 field goals made is a new arena mark.
This one had the makings of a mismatch right from the start, as Bucknell sprinted to a 16-2 lead over the first seven minutes. Bettencourt and freshman Jason Vegotsky hit 3-pointers over that stretch and McNaughton had two jumpers and a dunk.
But Yale stormed back with a 15-0 run over a span of only 3:31. Flato's 3-pointer at the 12-minute mark gave the Bulldogs only their second field goal of the night, but Morin and Pinick followed with four points each to give Yale a 17-16 lead.
The Elis led once more at 19-18, but McNaughton hit a baseline jumper on Bucknell's next possession to give the Bison the lead for good. With 4:30 to play in the half Bucknell led by five at 31-26, but Bettencourt's jumper ignited a 16-3 run that boosted the home team's cushion back to double digits, where it would stay for the rest of the night.
Lee's layup with 1:10 left restored a 15-point lead at 42-27, and Lee made it 47-29 with a pair of free throws with 14 seconds left. Flato hit a three with six seconds left to make it 47-32 at the break.
The Bison made 19 of 28 shots from the field in the first half, and they made 33 of 45 over a 40-minute stretch including the second half at Syracuse and first half against Yale.
Bettencourt's 3-pointer early in the second stanza pushed Bucknell's lead over the 20-point mark at 55-33, and the Bison went up by 30 for the first time at 78-48 on Darren Mastropaolo's bucket with 6:29 to play.
Bucknell led by as many as 32 at 80-48 with 6:07 left.
Despite the 27-point loss, Yale outrebounded Bucknell 32-28 and outscored the Bison 25-9 from the free-throw line. But Bucknell's defense harassed the Bulldogs into 19 turnovers and 33.3 percent shooting. Yale was 3-for-14 from 3-point range.
Bettencourt (8), Badmus (5) and Lee (3) combined for 16 assists without a single turnover. Bettencourt's total was one shy of his career high. Bettencourt made 6 of 11 shots from the field, including four 3-pointers, one of which he converted into a 4-point play.
With his perfect shooting night, McNaughton is now 20-for-26 from the field this season.
Bucknell is 3-0 for the first time since 1999-2000. The Bison return to action on Wednesday night at Niagara at 7 p.m. The Purple Eagles went to the NCAA Tournament last season after winning the MAAC Tournament. Bucknell defeated Niagara last season 76-74 on Lee's buzzer-beater.
