Bucknell University
18-9, 9-4PL
Holy Cross
21-5, 12-1
Holy Cross Wins Battle of Top Two PL Teams, 69-54
2/23/2005 7:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Feb. 23, 2005
WORCESTER, Mass. - Kevin Hamilton led five Holy Cross players in double figures with 16 points, and the first-place Crusaders defeated second-place Bucknell 69-54 on Wednesday night at the sold-out Hart Center. Holy Cross (21-5, 12-1) won its 13th straight game and clinched the No. 1 seed at next week's Patriot League Tournament.
Bucknell (18-9, 9-4), which has clinched the No. 2 seed at the tournament, received 15 points from John Griffin and 11 each from Charles Lee and Kevin Bettencourt.
Also for Holy Cross, Keith Simmons scored 14 points, Torey Thomas had 12 points and seven assists, John Hurley had 11 points and nine rebounds and Greg Kinsey finished with 10. The Crusaders have not lost since Jan. 8 at Sojka Pavilion, 59-43.
Bucknell shot 37.2 percent from the field and struggled at the free-throw line, missing nine of their first 14 before finishing 15-for-27.
Leading 32-31 five minutes into the second half, Holy Cross opened up some breathing rrom with an 11-2 run. Just off the bench, Simmons hit a 3-pointer, then after Chris McNaughton made 1 of 2 from the foul line, Thomas scored twice inside and Greg Kinsey finished a driving layup for a 41-32 lead.
Bucknell drew within five at 43-38 on Donald Brown's short jumper and a 3-pointer from Griffin, but the Bison would go five minutes without another field goal as the Crusaders stretched its lead into double figures. Simmons made 5 of 6 free throws in a 50-second span to make it 48-38. After four straight Bison free throws from McNaughton and Lee, Holy Cross scored nine points in a row to open up a 15-point lead.
Trailing 50-42 with 6:35 left, Bucknell's Andrew Morrison missed two free throws, and Lee fouled Hurley on the rebound. Hurley made both at the other end, and Hamilton followed with a back-breaking 3-pointer. Kinsey's layup at 5:20 mark put the Crusaders up 57-42. A 3-pointer by Kinsey on their next possession gave them their largest lead of 16 points at 60-44.
The teams swapped long runs in the first half. First it was the Crusaders exploding for 11 straight points in just over two minutes to grab an early 13-4 lead. Hurley, who scored seven of Holy Cross' first nine points, had a short bank shot and a 3-point play during the run. Hurley then made an open-court tap pass to Thomas for a layup, and Nate Lufkin completed the run with a pair of free throws.
Holy Cross took its largest lead of the half at 24-12 on Hurley's inside bucket with 8:53 left, but Bucknell held the Crusaders scoreless for the next 6:38 and rattled off 12 straight points to draw even at 24-all.
Lee's fastbreak layup started the run. Lee and Bettencourt then hit back-to-back 3-pointers, Darren Mastropaolo made two free throws and Bettencourt hit another jumper just inside the arc to tie it. The Bison had two chances to take the lead but McNaughton missed two from the line and Mastropaolo had a layup rim out.
Kinsey finally ended the Holy Cross drought with a 3-pointer, and Lufkin's tip-in at the 1:46 mark ended the first half scoring with the Crusaders up 29-24.
Bucknell concludes the regular season at home Saturday against Colgate. Tip-off is slated for 7 p.m. at Sojka Pavilion.
