Bucknell University
16-3, 7-0PL
Navy
8-11, 1-5PL
Balanced Bison Men Cruise to 16-3 with 81-47 Win over Navy
1/28/2006 7:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Jan. 28, 2006
LEWISBURG, Pa. - Charles Lee scored 12 points to lead a balanced offensive attack and Bucknell won its seventh straight game, all in Patriot League play, 81-47 over Navy on Saturday night at sold-out Sojka Pavilion. The Bison, who never trailed in the contest, are now 16-3 overall heading into a two-game road swing to Army and Colgate.
A crowd of 4,180 - the third-largest in school history - saw 12 different Bucknell players enter the scoring column. Abe Badmus and Donald Brown tallied 11 points each, while reserve guard Rob Thomas scored a career-high nine points. Kevin Bettencourt also had nine.
The victory maintained Bucknell's hold on first place in the Patriot League standings. Lehigh, which defeated Holy Cross 64-63 in Bethlehem, Pa., on Saturday night, is one game back at 6-1, while the Crusaders are now 5-2.
It was another stifling defensive effort for the Bison, who entered the game ranked fifth nationally in scoring defense and fourth in field-goal percentage defense. Bucknell forced 26 Navy turnovers, including 10 from starting point guard Kaleo Kina, and held the Midshipmen (8-11, 1-5) to 27.7 percent shooting. Navy did not make its first field goal until 6:10 had elapsed in the game and Bucknell had sprinted to a 10-1 lead.
Later, Navy endured field-goal droughts of 6:07, 5:58 and 3:30 as the Bison stretched their lead. It was 18-14 after a Matt Fannin layup midway through the first half, but Bucknell outscored the Midshipmen 16-4 over the final nine minutes to take a 34-20 halftime lead.
Lee and Badmus combined for 11 points in a 13-6 run to start the second half. Badmus buried a 3-pointer from the right corner, then stole a pass and fed Lee in transition for a thunderous dunk that brought the crowd to its feat and gave Bucknell a 47-26 lead.
Jason Vegotsky hit a short jumper in the lane to cap a 10-0 run that made it 57-28. The Bison lead hit 30 for the first time at 60-30 on Vegotsky's 3-pointer with 10:40 left. Thomas' baseline jumper with 1:08 to play gave Bucknell its largest lead of 34 points.
Greg Sprink led Navy with 16 points, while Adam Teague added 10 off the bench. Sprink made 5 of 10 shots from the field, but the rest of the squad managed only eight buckets in 37 attempts. Navy was 3-for-16 from 3-point range.
In addition to his 11 points, Badmus collected eight assists, four rebounds and three steals. Lee, who scored 10 of his 12 points in the second half, had four thefts.
Bucknell, which received 41 bench points in a 74-52 win at Navy on Jan. 7, got 41 more from the reserves in this one. In addition to the 11 from Brown and nine from Thomas, John Griffin finished with seven points, Vegotsky had five, Tarik Viaer-McClymont and Josh Linthicum had four each and Andrew Morrison added a free throw.
No Bison starter played more than 27 minutes, and they only needed 18 minutes from center Chris McNaughton, who finished with four points and five rebounds. The Bison shot a season-high 42 free throws, making 28.
Bucknell's 16-3 start is its second-best in school history. The 1983-84 team was 17-2 after 19 games. The only other time the Bison have been 7-0 in league play was 1994-95, coach Pat Flannery's first year with the Orange and Blue.
Including Patriot League Tournament games, the Bison have won 11 straight against league foes and 20 straight against PL opponents at Sojka Pavilion.
Bucknell is now holding Patriot League opponents to 45.7 points per game and 31.0 percent shooting this season. No league team has managed more than 54 points for shot 40 percent from the field against the Bison. This was the seventh time this season they have held an opponent under 30 percent shooting and the sixth time they have allowed fewer than 50 points.
The Bison travel to Army on Wednesday night for a 7 p.m. tipoff.
