Bucknell University
5-1
Villanova
5-0
No. 4 Villanova Holds off Upset-Minded Bucknell
12/6/2005 7:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Dec. 6, 2005
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LEWISBURG, Pa. - In front of a record-setting, standing-room-only crowd of 4,433 orange-clad fans at Sojka Pavilion, Chris McNaughton scored a career-high 29 points on 12 of 21 shooting as the Bucknell men's basketball team hung tough against No. 4 Villanova, but fell by a 79-60 score Tuesday night in a battle of unbeatens. Randy Foye led the Wildcats with 28 points, while Allan Ray chipped in 20.
Bucknell which was ranked just outside the top 25 this week, saw its 12-game home winning streak come to an end against the highest-ranked team ever to play on campus. The Bison were looking to go to 3-0 against the Big East this season, following earlier wins over Syracuse and DePaul.
The Bison reduced an early 19-point deficit to as little as three in the second half, but Villanova (5-0) had too much firepower from its vaunted four-guard lineup, as Foye, Ray, Kyle Lowry (15) and Mike Nardi (9) combined for 72 of the team's 79 points.
The Wildcats, who are coached by 1983 Bucknell graduate Jay Wright, jumped out to a 26-7 lead after reeling off an early 16-0 run. Villanova, which made 10 of 24 3-pointers in the contest, connected on four during that stretch with Nardi and Foye each making a pair.
Bucknell (5-1) answered that with a 9-0 spurt of its own to draw within 10 points. Badmus keyed the run with a pair of driving layups, while McNaughton registered five of his points during the run.
Villanova extended the lead back out to 18 points (37-19) with an 11-3 run that was keyed by four points from both Foye and Lowry.
The Bison then outscored the Wildcats 12-3 over the final four minutes of the fist half as Badmus, who scored eight points and dished out a game-high five assists, scored on a length-of-the-court drive and a pretty reverse layup with five seconds remaining to close the score to 40-31. McNaughton tallied 16 of his points in the first half on 6 of 11 shooting after making his final three field-goal attempts of the half.
A layup by McNaughton, who scored six of Bucknell's first nine points of the second half, brought the Bison to within three points at 44-41, their smallest deficit since the opening minutes of the game. Bucknell kept its deficit under 10 points until Ray, who connected on four 3-pointers in the game, made one with just under 10 minutes to play to put the Wildcats up by nine, and on the next possession Foye drew the fifth foul on Donald Brown and made both free throws.
Ray hit two 3-pointers in 40 seconds to key a 12-0 run that gave Villanova a 66-48 lead. Bucknell was able to narrow the gap to 13 points, but could not draw closer. Foye's 3-point play at the 4:08 mark pushed the lead back to 16 at 70-54, and the 19-point final margin matched the largest of the night.
In addition to his 28 points, Foye, who scored 32 against Oklahoma Saturday, grabbed a career-high 11 rebounds. He shot 8-for-15 from the floor and 9-for-10 from the free throw line.
McNaughton led Bucknell with five rebounds and shot 12 of 21 from the floor and 5-for-6 from the free-throw line. His previous career scoring high was 29 points against Wisconsin in last year's NCAA Tournament.
As a team, Bucknell made 45.5 percent of its field goals, but Villanova, which shot 50.0 percent, outscored the Bison 30-3 from 3-point range and 17-9 from the free throw line.
Bucknell's leading scorer entering the game, Charles Lee, was held to a season-low three points on 1 of 10 shooting.
The 79 points scored by Villanova was the most the Bison have ever given up in Sojka Pavilion, which opened in 2003. Niagara's 74 points in a 76-74 Bucknell victory last season was the previous high.
The electric crowd of 4,433 was the largest to ever see a basketball game on Bucknell's campus, and the throng exceeded Sojka Pavilion's listed capacity of 4,000.
The Bison are idle until Dec. 17 when they host Cornell at 1 p.m. at Sojka Pavilion. That contest begins a stretch of three home games in five days.
