Bucknell University
4-0
Niagara
2-2
Bucknell Maintains Unbeaten Start with 66-63 Win at Niagara
11/30/2005 7:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Nov. 30, 2005
NIAGARA FALLS, N.Y. - Kevin Bettencourt hit two go-ahead free throws with 48 seconds left and Bucknell used an extraordinary defensive effort in the second half to knock off Niagara 66-63 on Wednesday night, ending the Purple Eagles' 18-game winning streak at the Gallagher Center.
Charles Lee scored 17 points and Bettencourt had 13 for the Bison who erased a nine-point halftime deficit by holding Niagara to 3-for-22 shooting in the second half. Bucknell is now 4-0 for the first time since 1983-84, with three of those victories coming on the road.
Bucknell held Niagara without a field goal for the first 11 minutes of the second half while surging ahead with a 21-4 run. Seven straight points by Bettencourt midway through the half gave the Bison a 51-44 lead, but Niagara, the defending Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference champion and one of the nation's highest-scoring teams, was able to rally late.
Charron Fisher, who had 18 points and 14 rebounds, finished a 3-point play after an offensive rebound with 3:42 to play to pull Niagara within a point at 60-59. The play was also big because Bison all-star center Chris McNaughton fouled out on the play.
Niagara had a big size edge with the Bison using a four-guard lineup down the stretch, but ultimately it was McNaughton's replacement, senior Tarik Viaer-McClymont, who turned in the game's most crucial play in crunch time.
The Purple Eagles took a 63-62 lead on J.R. Duffy's free throws with 57 seconds left, but Bettencourt drove the lane and was fouled on Bucknell's next possession. He swished both free throws to make it 64-63.
Niagara then went in the paint to strong forward James Mathis, but Viaer-McClymont forced Mathis into a tough fallaway 15-footer, then Viaer-McClymont leaped high for the team's biggest rebound of the night. He got the ball to Lee, who hit two big insurance free throws with 26 seconds left.
Duffy then missed a 3-pointer, again contested by Viaer-McClymont, and the rebound squirted out of bounds to the Bison. Bucknell turned it over on the inbounds, but Duffy misfired on a long 3-point attempt at the buzzer.
Niagara overcame an early eight-point deficit to take a 40-31 halftime lead. The Bison made 10 of their first 15 shots from field and led 21-13 after Donald Brown's short jumper at the 10:35 mark. The bucket capped a 10-2 run that featured field goals from five different players.
But after starting 10-for-15, the Bison made only 3 of 16 field-goal attempts to close the first half. Meanwhile Niagara went on an 18-2 run, highlighted by 3-pointers by Miles and Duffy and capped by a breakaway layup and free throw from Miles.
Suddenly trailing 31-23, Bucknell stemmed the tide with back-to-back 3-pointers by Lee, but the Purple Eagles closed the half with another 9-2 spurt. With 16 seconds left in the half, Duffy hit an off-balance 18-footer with Bettencourt draped all over him as the shot clock expired, making it 40-31 at the break.
Niagara got 36 of its 40 first-half points from Duffy (13), Miles (13) and Fisher (10). Miles finished with 17 points, Duffy 16 and James Mathis 10.
McNaughton scored 12 points and Viaer-McClymont seven for the Bison. Bucknell also got a big bench performance from Donald Brown, who scored a season-high eight points.
The Bison shot 49 percent from the field, but 61.1 percent in the second half. They also made 14 of 18 from the free-throw line.
Bucknell returns to action on Saturday at DePaul at 2 p.m. Eastern.
