Bucknell University
17-3 (8-0PL)
Army
5-15 (1-7PL)
Bucknell Outlasts Army 67-54 To Match Best-Ever Start at 17-3
2/1/2006 7:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Feb. 1, 2006
WEST POINT, Pa. - Charles Lee registered 19 points, five rebounds, five assists and a career-high-tying six steals to lead first-place Bucknell to a 67-54 win over a persistent Army squad Wednesday night at Christl Arena. With the victory, the Bison equaled their best-ever start at 17-3 and improved to 8-0 in Patriot League play for the first time.
Jarell Brown poured in a game-high 25 points for the Black Knights (5-15, 1-7), who led by as many as 10 points in the first half and trailed by only one at the midpoint of the second period.
Abe Badmus and Chris McNaughton added 10 points each for Bucknell, which defeated Army for the 10th straight time.
Clinging to a 46-45 lead, the Bison scored nine straight points, with McNaughton scoring two on a hook shot, then assisting on a Kevin Bettencourt 3-pointer and a Badmus layup that made it 55-45 with 6:28 to play.
The Black Knights drew within five at 57-52 on Dan Borcherdt's layup, but Army would manage only one more field goal the rest of the way. Badmus hit a big 15-foot jumper to make it a nine-point game again at 61-52, and Lee and Bettencourt iced it from the free throw line late.
Army came out of the gate strong in the opening minutes, taking a 19-9 lead after sinking eight of its first 14 shots. Brown had nine points, including the 3-pointer that gave the Black Knights the 10-point lead, and Bates had seven Army points in a row.
Lee almost singlehandedly got the Bison back in the game, directly contributing to all the points in a 12-2 run that tied the game at 21-all. First Lee drove baseline for a 3-point play, then after a Cory Sinning jumper for Army, Lee turned up the defense. He stole a pass and hit Kevin Bettencourt for a breakaway layup, then turned another steal into his own spinning transition layup.
After another defensive stop Lee fed Darren Mastropaolo for a layup, then he came up with his third steal of the half and found John Griffin free on the right wing for a tying 3-pointer.
With the game tied at 26 it was Badmus' turn for a big defensive play. He stripped Matt Bell near midcourt and drew and intentional foul on Bell with 12 seconds left in the half. Badmus hit both free throws, then after the ensuing inbounds he broke free under the basket and scored off a nice feed from Bettencourt.
Bucknell began the game 3-for-13 from the floor and shot only 38.5 percent (10-26) in the first half. Army on the other hand made 10 of 17 attempts for 58.8 percent. The Bison warmed up to 61.1 percent in the second half and shot 47.7 percent for the game. Army finished the night at 51.2 percent.
Bucknell returns to action on Saturday at 1:30 p.m. at Colgate. The Bison defeated the Raiders 62-43 in Lewisburg on Jan. 21.
