Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell and American to Meet in PL Tournament Semifinal on CSTV
3/5/2005 7:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
March 5, 2005
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For the 12th time in 15 years, Bucknell finds itself in the semifinals of the Patriot League Tournament. Sunday afternoon's televised contest features the second-seeded Bison and third-seeded American in a battle of two teams who had markedly different paths to the semis. On Friday American battled to a hard-fought 85-83 overtime victory over Navy, while Bucknell breezed to a 70-34 win over Lafayette. This will be the first time the Bison and Eagles have been matched up in the Patriot League Tournament. The teams split their regular-season games, with the home team prevailing both times. American won 68-59 in Washington on Jan. 28, and two weeks later Bucknell returned the favor at Sojka Pavilion, 65-52. Winning at home is something the Bison have done very well. They have won 10 straight in Lewisburg and 15 in a row at home against Patriot League competition. Friday's trouncing of Lafayette gave the Bison their seventh 20-win season in school history and first since 1992-93. In the process they set Patriot League records for fewest points and field goals (11) allowed in a tournament game. American received 30 points from Matej Cresnik and a go-ahead layup from Linas Lekavicius with 4.7 seconds left in the tense win over Navy. The Eagles have advanced to the championship game in each of their three seasons in the Patriot League but have come up short in the title bout each time. In the Worcester, Mass., half of the bracket, top-seeded Holy Cross outscored Army 47-15 in the second half and won 76-42, while No. 4 Lehigh topped No. 5 Colgate behind 45 points from guard Joe Knight. It is the first time since 1998 that each of the top four seeds advanced to the semifinals.
how they got here
Bucknell earned the No. 2 seed and home-court advantage for at least the first two rounds of the Patriot League Tournament on the strength of a 10-4 Patriot League record. The 10 conference wins were the team's most since 1994-95. For the second straight year, the Bison were unbeaten at home in Patriot League play. They officially clinched the No. 2 spot after beating Army on Feb. 19.
with a victory over american, bucknell would ...
• ... advance to the championship game of the Patriot League Tournament for the fifth time, and first time since 1999.
• ... win its 11th straight home game and improve to 12-1 at home this season.
• ... reach 21 wins for the sixth time in school history.
• ... move to 12 games over .500 for the first time this season.
bucknell tournament history
Bucknell has an all-time record of 16-14 in 15 Patriot League Tournaments, but it has never faced American. The Bison have reached the championship game four times and reached at least the semifinals now in 12 of 15 years. Bucknell is one of four teams (Holy Cross 18-10, Navy 13-11, American 7-3) to have a winning tournament record, but the Bison are still looking for their first PL championship.
history kind to second seeds
Historically, No. 2 seeds have fared well in Patriot League Tournaments, although they have not been immune to upsets. Teams seeded second are now 11-4 in their first-round games. Three of the upsets came in successive years from 1994-96. First Lafayette knocked off Fordham 83-65, then Army stunned Bucknell 94-78 in Pat Flannery's first tournament game, and Army toppled Navy 64-58 in 1996. In 1999, Lehigh upset Navy 53-45. The Bison have been seeded second three times previously, in 1992, 1995 and 1997. In 1992 and 1997 they advanced all the way to the championship game. In league history the No. 2 seed has advanced to the title game nine times and won it four times.
pl tournament in lewisburg
Prior to this season only three Patriot League Tournament games have been played on Bucknell's campus, all coming in 1993. That season the league experimented with a setup in which every tourney game was hosted by the higher-seeded team. Bucknell was the No. 1 seed and pulled out close wins over Lehigh and Colgate in Davis Gym, before falling to Holy Cross in the title game.
five bison earn postseason awards
Bucknell fared very well in the All-Patriot League awards balloting, conducted by the league's eight head coaches. Charles Lee and Chris McNaughton earned First Team All-Patriot League honors, while Kevin Bettencourt was named to the second team. Abe Badmus was the first-ever receipient of the Patriot League Defensive Player of the Year Award, while John Griffin was named to the all-rookie team.
all-league notes
Bucknell has now had a first-team all-conference performer in 21 of the last 22 years ... Lee made the first team after being a second-team pick last season ... Bettencourt is a second-team selection for the second straight year ... McNaughton, an all-rookie pick last season, made his first all-league squad ... Griffin gives the Bison an all-rookie pick for the fourth year in a row, following in the footsteps of McNaughton, Bettencourt and Chris Niesz.
last time out
Bucknell controlled every aspect of Friday night's quarterfinal matchup against seventh-seeded Lafayette and picked up their most lopsided win of the season, 70-34. The Bison set the tournament records for fewest points and field goals (11) allowed, while forcing 20 turnovers and holding the Leopards to 25.6% shooting. They outrebounded Lafayette 46-28 (17-6 at the offensive end), committed only 10 turnovers and had 13 steals to two for the Leopards. Bucknell jumped out to an 11-0 lead and held a double-digit advantage for 33 of 40 minutes. Charles Lee posted his third double-double of the season with 19 points and 11 rebounds, while Abe Badmus added 13 points as 12 different Bison entered the scoring column.
inside the boxscore
Darren Mastropaolo had a career-high nine rebounds ... the backcourt duo of Abe Badmus and Kevin Bettencourt finished with seven assists and no turnovers ... Donald Brown stuffed the boxscore with six points, six rebounds and three steals ... John Griffin added eight points off the bench ... the Bison had a strong 17-10 assist-turnover margin ... the Bison shot 39.7% from the floor, their third-lowest percentage in a victory this season.
bettencourt breaks career 3-point mark, single-season record could be next
Bucknell junior guard Kevin Bettencourt broke the Bucknell career record for 3-point field goals in Friday's semifinal victory over Lafayette. Bettencourt hit three trifectas, giving him 207 for his career, one more than Mike Bright (1989-93). He and Bettencourt are the only two Bison ever to make 200 trifectas. Bettencourt has 70 3-pointers this season, which is two shy of the Bucknell single-season mark. Bettencourt hit 72 last season, as did J.R. Holden in 1996-97.
next up
Obviously, the Bison need to defeat American to stay alive in the Patriot League Tournament. A victory puts them in the championship game either at Holy Cross or home against Lehigh on Friday, March 11 at 4:30 p.m. (ESPN2). A Patriot League Tournament loss means Bucknell's fate rests in the hands of the NCAA, or more likely the NIT, selection committees.
