Bucknell University
20-9
Lafayette (PL Quarterfinals)
9-19
Bucknell Men's Basketball Advances to Patriot League Tournament Semifinals with 70-34 Victory Over Lafayette
3/4/2005 7:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
March 4, 2005
LEWISBURG, Pa. - The second-seeded Bucknell men's basketball team used a stifling defense that limited seventh-seeded Lafayette to 25.6 percent shooting and a Patriot League Tournament record-low 34 points as the Bison advanced to the semifinals for the 12th time in 15 years with a 70-34 victory over the Leopards Friday night at Sojka Pavilion.
Bucknell (20-9) set new tournament quarterfinal and school tournament records with its 36-point margin of victory. The tournament record is a 39-point spread by Navy over Lafayette in the 1997 postseason.
The Bison opened the game on an 11-0 run before Lafayette (9-19) got on the scoreboard on a jumper by Sean Knitter with 13:21 left in the first half. Five different players, including four starters, accounted for Bucknell's first 11 points.
Bucknell's lead ballooned to as many as 20 points in the first half after a 5-0 spurt, capped by a three-point play from Abe Badmus, gave the Bison a 34-14 lead with 1:20 to play before halftime. A basket by Jamaal Douglas in the closing seconds of the half cut the lead to 34-16 at halftime. Douglas, the only Leopard in double figures, tallied 12 points in the game.
After leading 51-30 midway through the first half, Bucknell held Lafayette without a field goal for nearly seven minutes as it reeled off 13 straight points. Kevin Bettencourt connected on the final two of his three 3-pointers during that stretch. The last one, which came with 8:01 remaining and gave the Bison a 62-30 lead, was the 207th of Bettencourt's three-year career to move him past Mike Bright and into first place on Bucknell's career list.
Bettencourt was not the only Bucknell player hitting from behind the arc as Charles Lee made three 3-pointers, and Abe Badmus and John Griffin each connected on a pair. The Bison were 10 of 28 (35.7 percent) from long range, while Lafayette connected on 2 of 16 (12.5 percent).
Lee, who led Bucknell with a game-high 19 points, was 6 of 6 from the free throw line and grabbed a game-high 11 rebounds. The Bison, who hauled in 17 offensive boards, outrebounded the Leopards 46-28. Darren Mastroapolo hauled in nine rebounds, including four offensive for the Bison.
In addition to holding Lafayette to just 11 of 43 shooting from the field, Bucknell forced 20 turnovers, while committing just 10 miscues of its own.
The Leopards, who lost in its first Patriot League Tournament game for the second consecutive year for the first time since 1995 and 1996, had just six players tally points.
Bucknell, which won its 10th consecutive home game and improved to 11-1 at home this season, registered its first 20-win season since 1992-93, and seventh in school history. The Bison also improved to 11 games over .500 for the first time this season as they defeated Lafayette for the third time in a season for the first time since 1994-95.
Bucknell will play American, the third seed, Sunday afternoon at 1 p.m. at Sojka Pavilion. The Eagles defeated Navy 85-83 in overtime earlier in the first game of the evening at Sojka. Bucknell, which has advanced to its fifth consecutive semifinal, has not played in the championship game since 1999.
