Bucknell University
12-3, 3-0PL
Holy Cross
9-8, 2-1PL
Big First Half Leads Bucknell Men's Basketball to 56-42 Win over Holy Cross
1/14/2006 7:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Jan. 14, 2006
LEWISBURG, Pa. - Chris McNaughton scored 10 of his 15 points in a dominant first half, leading Bucknell to a 56-42 victory over Holy Cross in a rematch of last year's Patriot League championship game at sold-out Sojka Pavilion on Saturday afternoon. Bucknell won its 17th straight home game against Patriot League opponents and improved to 12-3 overall, 3-0 in the conference.
With the victory, Bucknell head coach Pat Flannery broke the Patriot League record for most conference coaching wins with 94. Former Navy coach Don DeVoe won 92 PL games from 1992-2004.
The Bison, who were playing at home for the first time since Dec. 21, held Holy Cross (9-8, 2-1) to only three field goals in the first half and led 34-14 after 20 minutes. The Crusaders rallied within eight points in the second half, but Bucknell held them at bay with some solid free-throw shooting down the stretch.
McNaughton made 6 of 9 field-goal attempts for his 15 points, while Charles Lee added 12 points, nine rebounds, four assists and three steals.
Reigning Patriot League Player of the Year Kevin Hamilton led all scorers with 18 points for Holy Cross. Hamilton was held to just a pair of free throws in the first half, but he scored 12 of his team's points in a 17-6 run to open the second half. His driving layup seven minutes into the half cut the Crusaders' 20-point deficit to just nine at 40-31.
Bucknell's Abe Badmus (5) drives past Holy Cross's Tim Clifford, left, and Alex Vander Baan (21) as Bucknell's Donald Brown (4) watches from behind during the first half of a college basketball game Saturday, Jan. 14, 2006, in Lewisburg, Pa. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)  |
|
Holy Cross got as close as eight at 43-35 on Alex Vander Baan's only bucket of the night, but the Bison answered with a 8-3 run, with all the points coming from the free-throw line, to push the lead back to double digits.
A driving layup by Abe Badmus and a layup by McNaughton off a pretty feed from Kevin Bettencourt sealed it.
Four minutes into the game Torey Thomas hit a 3-pointer to tie the game at 6-6, but the Crusaders would manage only one more field goal the rest of the half against Bucknell's suffocating defense. Holy Cross, which had scored 86 and 84 points in its two wins to open Patriot League play, was held to only 3-for-17 shooting from the floor and a season-low 14 points in the half.
McNaughton spun along the baseline and dunked with one hand to give Bucknell the lead for good at 8-6. The bucket ignited a 14-1 run over a span of 7:40. During that time Holy Cross missed eight straight shots and had five turnovers.
Six different Bison scored during that decisive run. Badmus drove for an acrobatic reverse layup, Donald Brown made two free throws, Jason Vegotsky hit a 3-pointer from the left wing, Darren Mastropaolo scored inside, and Lee canned a 3-pointer to give Bucknell a 20-7 lead.
Thomas halted the surge with a 3-pointer at the eight-minute mark, but Bucknell scored six more points in succession - a McNaughton driving layup, two Vegotsky free throws and a Brown layup - to go up 26-10. Later, John Griffin scored four straight points to make it 32-13.
Hamilton made 1 of 2 free throws with 8.5 seconds left in the half, but Bucknell perfectly executed a set play, resulting in a short baseline jumper from McNaughton that made it 34-14.
Holy Cross matched its field-goal output from the first half in just 2:05 to start the second half. Hamilton hit a 15-footer and a 3-pointer, and Keith Simmons put back his own miss to get the Crusaders back in it.
After shooting 60.0 percent in the first half, the Bison shot 26.3 percent in the second and finished at 43.6 percent for the game. They made 20 of their first 24 free throws before missing three straight in the closing seconds. Bucknell attempted only nine 3-pointers, making two.
Holy Cross shot 29.3 percent overall, marking the fourth time this season the Bison have held an opponent under 30 percent. Simmons scored 12 points and Thomas had 10 for the Crusaders, who received points from only four players, with Hamilton, Simmons and Thomas accounting for 40 of their 42.
Bucknell had eight players score in the first half alone. Badmus scored six points, grabbed a season-high eight rebounds and had three steals to move into sole possession of seventh place on Bucknell's all-time list. Brown came off the bench to log six points, four rebounds and two assists.
Bucknell is 3-0 in Patriot League play for the second straight year and for the fourth time in 16 years in the conference. The Bison, who defeated Holy Cross 61-57 for the Patriot League championship last March, improved to 22-18 all-time against the Crusaders.
Now 5-1 at home this season, the Bison play the middle game of a three-game homestand on Wednesday against Lafayette at 7 p.m.
