Bucknell University
11-3 (2-0PL)
American
4-11 (0-2PL)
Bucknell Earns Second Straight PL Road Win, 58-50 at American
1/11/2006 7:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Jan. 11, 2006
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Kevin Bettencourt scored 14 points, Chris McNaughton had 13 and Charles Lee finished with 12 points and nine rebounds to lead Bucknell to a hard-fought, come-from-behind 58-50 victory over American on Wednesday night at Bender Arena.
The Bison improved to 2-0 in Patriot League play, with both wins coming on the road, and they are 11-3 overall. Bucknell snapped a five-game losing streak at American and won there for the first time since 1983-84.
Garrison Carr scored nine points to lead American, which fell to 4-11, 0-2.
With the victory, Bucknell head coach Pat Flannery tied former Navy coach Don DeVoe with a record 93 Patriot League wins.
Bucknell trailed 10-2 early and 30-26 at halftime, but the Bison finally opened up some breathing room with a 7-0 run late in the second half. Lee hit a free throw and then a huge 3-pointer as the shot clock expired to give Bucknell a 49-40 lead at the 4:52 mark.
American scored six quick points on a 3-point play by Jordan Nichols and a 3-pointer from Andre Ingram, but Lee scored two more critical buckets in a 6-0 run that pushed the lead back to nine at 55-46. Lee hit a pull-up jumper, then Abe Badmus drove the lane for a layup and Lee ran down a loose ball in the backcourt and scored on a breakaway layup.
Bucknell was ice cold at the start, making just one of their first nine field-goal attempts while American ran out to a 10-2 lead. But five different Bison scored in a 10-0 run, and Bucknell took the lead for the first time at 12-10 on Badmus' foul-line jumper.
There would be four ties and four lead changes in the opening half, and four points by Arvydas Eitutavicius in the final 17 seconds gave the Eagles a 30-26 halftime lead.
The Bison shot only 37.5 percent (9-24) in the opening half, while American shot 44.0 percent (11-25). For the game, Bucknell shot 44.4 percent and the Eagles shot 34 percent. American made only 6 of 24 shots in the second half and went one eight-minute stretch with only one field goal.
Bucknell returns home for the first time since Dec. 21 on Saturday, taking on Holy Cross at 1 p.m. at Sojka Pavilion. The rematch of last year's Patriot League championship game will be televised live on CSTV.
