Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell Men's Basketball Hosts Lafayette Wednesday Night
1/17/2006 7:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Jan. 17, 2006
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Bucknell looks to remain unbeaten in Patriot League play when Lafayette visits Sojka Pavilion Wednesday night for the middle game of a three-game homestand. Since falling to top-ranked Duke on Jan. 2, the Bison have won three straight, all in the league. On Saturday they turned back Holy Cross 56-42 in a rematch of the 2005 Patriot League championship game. Bucknell's other PL wins have both come on the road, at Navy (74-52) on Jan. 7 and at American (58-50) on Jan. 11. Lafayette saw its two-game winning streak come to an end on Monday night in a 105-73 loss to Penn at The Palestra. The Leopards have beaten Colgate (85-74) and Navy (80-67) at home and lost to Holy Cross (86-57) on the road in league play. Lafayette ranks second in the Patriot League in scoring offense at 70.2 ppg, but they also rank second-to-last in scoring defense at 72.8 ppg. The Leopards have received balanced scoring this season, with 10 players averaging 5.0 ppg or better. Six players have hit at least 10 3-pointers. Guard Bilal Abdullah leads the team in scoring (10.8 ppg), while Andrei Capusan (9.9 ppg) shoots 61.7% from the floor, second in the Patriot League to Bucknell's Chris McNaughton. Lafayette leads the all-time series 82-53, but the Bison have won the last four meetings, including a 70-34 decision in the opening round of last year's Patriot League Tournament. Bucknell has won all four meetings in Sojka Pavilion by an average margin of 20.3 points. The Bison have beaten the Leopards five straight times at home, dating back to the Davis Gym days.
with a victory over lafayette, bucknell would ...
• ... go to 13-3 for the first time since 1983-84.
• ... go to 4-0 in the Patriot League for the second straight year and for the fourth time in 16 years in the conference.
• ... win its 18th straight home game against a Patriot League foe.
• ... extend its overall winning streak against the Leopards to five games.
• ... improve to 5-0 against the Leopards in Sojka Pavilion.
• ... win its sixth straight against the Leopards in Lewisburg.
last time out: bucknell wins championship rematch with holy cross
In a rematch of the 2005 Patriot League championship game, Bucknell parlayed a dominant first half into a 56-42 victory over Holy Cross on Saturday at Sojka Pavilion. In the opening 20 minutes the Bison held the Crusaders to a meager three field goals and 14 points. Bucknell led 34-14 at the half, but Holy Cross rallied within eight in the second half. The Bison stemmed the tide with some excellent free-throw shooting and key buckets from Abe Badmus and Chris McNaughton. Holy Cross, which had been averaging 85.0 ppg in league play coming in, was held to 29.3% shooting and the Bison forced 18 turnovers. McNaughton led the team with 15 points, while Charles Lee added 12 points, nine rebounds, four assists and three steals.
inside the boxscore
The Bison shot 60.0% in the first half en route to the 20-point halftime lead ... they finished the night at 43.6% ... Bucknell made 20 of its first 24 free throws before missing its final three in the last 30 seconds ... Chris McNaughton scored 10 of his 15 points in the first half ... Donald Brown continued his fine play off the bench with six points, four rebounds and two assists ... Abe Badmus had eight rebounds, one shy of his personal best ... Kevin Hamilton, Keith Simmons and Torey Thomas combined for 40 of Holy Cross' 42 points.
league foes find points hard to come by
In three Patriot League games thus far in 2006, Bucknell has allowed only 48.0 ppg and has held teams to 30.8% shooting. That continues a trend of stellar defense dating back to last season, when the Bison allowed 34, 35 and 57 points in three Patriot League Tournament wins. In their last six games against PL foes, the Bison have allowed an average of only 45.3 ppg. Bucknell has allowed less than 70 points in each of its last 23 games against league competition.
bison fare well against leopards in sojka
Since Sojka Pavilion opened in 2003, Bucknell is unbeaten there against four Patriot League opponents -- American, Army, Lafayette and Navy. The Leopards have found Sojka Pavilion particularly unfriendly, falling four times by an average score of 72-49.
Bucknell vs. Lafayette in Sojka Pavilion:
1/26/03 Bucknell, 68-48
2/20/04 Bucknell, 79-61
1/21/05 Bucknell, 71-54
3/4/05 Bucknell, 70-34
Pat Flannery ties record for pl coaching wins
Saturday's victory over Holy Cross was the 94th Patriot League coaching victory for Pat Flannery, breaking former Navy coach Don DeVoe's league record. DeVoe won 93 league games with the Midshipmen from 1993-2004.
Patriot League Coaching Wins:
1. Pat Flannery, Bucknell 1995-pres. 94-51
2. Don DeVoe, Navy 1993-2004 93-63
3. Fran O'Hanlon, Lafayette 1996-pres. 74-57
4. Ralph Willard, Holy Cross 2000-pres. 57-26
5. Jack Bruen, Colgate 1990-97 55-37
in good company
Bucknell is one of 29 Division I men's basketball teams to have a winning percentage of .800 or better (through Monday's games). Of those 29, 18 are ranked in this week's AP Poll.
protecting the lead
Bucknell is 8-0 this season and 39-5 over the last three seasons when leading at halftime.
last year vs. lafayette
• Jan. 21, 2005 at Sojka Pavilion: Chris McNaughton scored 17 points and Bucknell's bench contributed 33 points in a 71-54 win. It was Bucknell's 10th straight victory. The Bison held Lafayette 15 points below its season scoring average by forcing 23 turnovers and 32.1% shooting. Bilal Abdullah led Lafayette with 11 points.
• Feb. 4, 2005 at Kirby Center: Kevin Bettencourt paced Bucknell's best offensive night of the season with 29 points to lead the Bison to an 89-69 win in Easton. Bucknell broke the Patriot League record for free-throw accuracy (20-for-20), shot nearly 60 percent from the field and placed four players in double figures in the scoring column. Bettencourt made his final seven 3-point tries and finished 10-for-16 from the field. Chris McNaughton, Charles Lee and John Griffin all scored 14 points. Sean Knitter and Jamaal Douglas scored 20 points each for the Leopards.
• March 4, 2005 at Sojka Pavilion: In the first round of the Patriot League Tournament, Bucknell used a stifling defense that limited Lafayette to 25.6% shooting and a tournament record-low 34 points in a 70-34 rout. Bucknell set new quarterfinal and school tournament records with the 36-point margin of victory. Charles Lee had a double-double with 19 points and 11 rebounds, while Abe Badmus scored 13 points. Jamaal Douglas led Lafayette with 12 points.
