Bucknell University
20-3, 11-0
Holy Cross
14-11, 7-3
Bucknell's Comeback Kids Rally From 15 Down in Second Half for 11th Straight Win, 57-52 at Holy Cross
2/11/2006 7:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Feb. 11, 2006
WORCESTER, Mass. - Charles Lee scored a career-high 24 points, including the 1,000th of his career, to lead a comeback from a 15-point second-half deficit as Bucknell defeated Holy Cross 57-52 Saturday afternoon at the sold-out Hart Center. The victory was the 11th in a row for Bucknell (20-3, 11-0), which clinched home court for the first two rounds of the Patriot League Tournament.
The Bison trailed 40-25 with 16 minutes to play but outscored Holy Cross (14-11, 7-3) 32-12 the rest of the way.
Bucknell's 11-game winning streak equals the program's longest since 1919. Bucknell has also equaled Fordham's record for most wins to start a Patriot League season, and Bison have their eighth 20-win season in program annals. It is their sixth straight road win, which is the team's longest since 1974-75.
Lee's 24 points came on 6 of 12 shooting from the floor and a perfect 10-for-10 showing from the line. He also had seven rebounds, four steals and two assists. Donald Brown had nine points and nine rebounds off the bench, while Bettencourt and McNaughton had eight points each.
Keith Simmons led Holy Cross with 13, while Kevin Hamilton had 12 and Tim Clifford 10.
Bucknell took the lead for the first time in the game at 53-51 on Bettencourt's 3-pointer with 2:02 left. The Bison had two chances to extend the lead, but Lee and McNaughton had point-blank layups rim out. The Crusaders couldn't take advantage, however, as Hamilton missed the front end of a one-and-one and Torey Thomas missed a long 3-pointer in the final minute.
Lee rebounded the Thomas miss and with 17 seconds left gave Bucknell its first two-possession lead with a pair of free throws. Thomas made 1 of 2 from the line with 11 seconds left, but Bettencourt sealed it with two free throws with 7.8 seconds left.
Holy Cross led for all but 33 seconds of the first half, using an early 12-2 run to grab a 14-4 lead. The Bison committed seven turnovers in the first eight minutes of the contest, but they were able to cut a 10-point deficit down to four with a Bettencourt 3-pointer, a Brown free throw and a steal and breakaway layup from Abe Badmus.
The Crusaders answered with two free throws from Clifford, a 3-point play from Alex Vander Baan and a Kevin Hyland layup to go up 30-19. Simmons' 3-pointer with 2:22 left in the half gave Holy Cross its largest lead of the half, 12 points at 33-21.
Bucknell picked up the last four points of the half to pull within eight at 33-25 at intermission.
Holy Cross started the half on a 7-0 run, capped by a Simmons' 3-point play, to take the 40-25 lead. But the Bison cranked up the defense and held the Crusaders to only four field goals in their last 16 attempts.
Bucknell's first significant run came after Simmons' short jumper made it 43-31. Lee hit a 3-pointer from the right wing, Brown dunked off a nice feed from McNaughton and McNaughton made two free throws to pull the Bison within five at 43-38.
Hamilton, who had to sit with four fouls for much of the second half, hit a 3-pointer with 7:33 to play to put Holy Cross back up by eight at 46-38. But Lee, in one of the defining performances of his career, struck back with another 3-pointer with 7:17 to play that put him over the 1,000-point mark. He is also now the 15th player in school history to have 1,000 points and 500 rebounds.
After Hamilton missed a trey at the other end, Brown rounded a Bettencourt miss and finished inside to make it 46-43. Clifford's dunk off a pretty pass from Thomas temporarily halted Bucknell's momentum, but the Crusaders failed to extend their five-point lead when Vander Baan missed the front end of a one-and-one with 5:13 to play.
Bucknell made them pay when McNaughton banked in a 12-foot jumper from the left side and Badmus followed with his only field goal of the second half, a critical 3-pointer with 4:03 to play that tied the game for the first time since 2-2. The bucket sent the orange-clad Bucknell fan contingent of more than 300 into a frenzy.
Hamilton brought the home crowd out of its seats with a tie-breaking 3-pointer with 3:35 left. Lee drove past two defenders for a layup on Bucknell's next possession, making it 51-50. Clifford missed a short jumper at the other end and Brown skied for the rebound. Lee was long on a 3-point attempt, but Brown pulled down yet another critical rebound and kicked it out to Bettencourt for the go-ahead 3-pointer that rimmed in and out and spun back in again.
The Bison, who were returning to the Hart Center for the first time since winning the Patriot League championship game there last March, swept the season series from Holy Cross for the first time since 1999-2000.
Bucknell also continued a recent trend of overcoming large leads on the road. The Bison rallied from an early 10-point hole against Army on Feb. 1, then came back from 12 down in the second half to beat Colgate seven days ago. Bucknell has now won seven times this season when trailing at the half.
With three Patriot League games remaining, Bucknell has a 1.5-game lead on Lehigh, which defeated Army on Saturday. Holy Cross is now 3.5 games behind.
Bucknell, which has held all 11 Patriot League opponents under 60 points, limited Holy Cross to 38 percent shooting. The Crusaders were just 3-for-14 from 3-point range and 11-for-20 from the free-throw line. The Bison shot 45 percent and outrebounded the Crusaders 31-28.
Bucknell returns to action on Wednesday evening at 6 p.m. at Lafayette. The game will be televised live on College Sports Television (CSTV).
