Bucknell University
23-4, 14-0PL
Army
5-21, 1-13PL
Bucknell Men's Basketball Beats Army 70-47 to Finish Perfect 14-0 in Patriot League
2/25/2006 7:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Feb. 25, 2006
LEWISBURG, Pa. - Senior co-captains Charles Lee and Kevin Bettencourt scored 18 and 13 points, respectively, in their final regular-season home games, leading Bucknell to a 70-47 victory over Army at sold-out Sojka Pavilion Saturday night. With the victory, Bucknell becomes the first team to go undefeated in Patriot League play at 14-0.
Now 23-4 overall and one win shy of the school record, Bucknell will be the No. 1 seed at next week's Patriot League Tournament and host a rematch with Army in the opening round at Sojka Pavilion on Friday at 8 p.m. The Black Knights, who were led by 16 points from Matt Bell, fell to 5-21 overall and 1-13 in the Patriot League.
The Bison also received 12 points from John Griffin and 11 from Chris McNaughton and captured their 24th straight home victory over a Patriot League opponent. It was Bucknell's 10th straight overall home win and its 11th in a row over Army.
Prior to the game, seniors Lee, Bettencourt, Holland Mack and Tarik Viaer-McClymont were honored with their families in an emotional Senior Night ceremony before the standing-room-only crowd. Mack and Viaer-McClymont made their first career starts, while Bettencourt tied the Bucknell record by playing in his 118th career game. It was the 74th victory for this senior class, moving them into a tie for fifth in Bucknell history.
Both teams struggled offensively in the first half in this one, as Army shot 35 percent from the field and Bucknell 36 percent. The Bison trailed 15-14 inside eight minutes remaining in the half before closing on an 11-3 run, with all 11 points coming from Lee. His 3-pointer gave the Bison the lead for good at the 7:45 mark, and later had a 3-point play and a tough fallaway jumper to make it 25-18 at the half.
Bucknell put the game away in the first 1:11 of the second half, scoring nine points in only two possessions. First, McNaughton went to the line and made the front end but missed the second. Darren Mastropaolo corralled the rebound, though and kicked it out to Bettencourt for a 3-pointer. About a minute later Mastropaolo scored inside and was fouled. He missed the free throw but the rebound was swatted out to Bettencourt behind the arc for another three and a five-point possession. That made it 34-18, and the Bison would go up by 21 before Army made a late rally.
The Black Knights scored eight straight points behind a Jarell Brown 3-pointer - the first field goal of the night for Army's leading scorer - and five free throws. Bell's free throw brought Army within 52-39 with 6:42 left.
The last eight minutes of the game were loaded with fouls, and Bucknell answered Army's run with six straight from the stripe, two each from McNaughton, Viaer-McClymont and Griffin. Lee's 3-pointer with 4:16 to play restored the 20-point cushion at 61-41, and Mack provided one last exclamation point with a crowd-pleasing put-back while drawing a foul in the final minute.
 Holland Mack with his father, Holland Sr., during Senior Night ceremonies.  |
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Bucknell was solid defensively, forcing 17 turnovers while holding Army to 36.6 percent shooting. Brown, who scored 25 points against the Bison on Feb. 1 and averaged 14.9 points per game coming in, was held to seven points on 2-for-8 shooting.
The Bison committed only 11 miscues, shot 40.8 percent from the floor and outrebounded Army 38-27.
Since the Patriot League's inception in 1990-91, six teams had finished the league slate with one loss, including Bucknell in 1993, but no team had ever run the table. The Bison became the 200th Division I team in NCAA history to complete a perfect conference season and the 90th to do it with at least 14 wins. Duke, George Washington, Gonzaga and Memphis are the only remaining league unbeatens in the nation this season, in addition to Bucknell.
With a victory over Army in Friday's Patriot League Tournament opener, the Bison would tie the school victory record of 24 wins, set by the 1983-84 team. Tip-off for that contest is 8 p.m., with No. 4 American and No. 5 Lafayette to come first at 5:30 p.m.
