Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell Men's Hoops Back Home Wednesday vs. American
2/7/2006 7:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Feb. 7, 2006
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Bucknell's only home tilt in a six-game stretch comes Wednesday evening when American visits Sojka Pavilion for the second of two scheduled meetings between the two teams this season. On Jan. 11 the Bison defeated the Eagles (58-50) at Bender Arena for the first time since American joined the Patriot League in 2001-02. Bucknell is currently one of the nation's hottest teams, having won nine straight games since the Jan. 2 loss at Duke. At 18-3, the Bison have the 10th-best record in Division I basketball, and they have the fourth-longest winning streak in the country. Wins No. 17 and 18 both came on the road last week, although neither was easy. Bucknell overcame double-digit deficits in both games, rallying from 10 down to defeat Army and from 12 down in the second half to overcome Colgate. The Bison are now 9-2 on the road this season, while they will put an 8-1 home ledger on the line against American. The Eagles are coming off a 65-58 loss at second-place Lehigh on Saturday. American has dropped three of its last four, but at 3-5 in the conference the Eagles are tied with Lafayette for fourth place. All-Patriot Leaguer Andre Ingram leads the team in scoring at 11.7 ppg, while Arvydas Eitutavicius also scores in double figures at 10.8 ppg. Center Paulius Joneliunas, a transfer from South Carolina who became eligible in December, had his best game of the season with 21 points last time out against Lehigh. Including a 53-35 victory in last year's Patriot League Tournament semifinals, Bucknell has won three straight from American.
with a victory over american, bucknell would ...
• ... go to 19-3, which would equal the best 22-game start in school history (1983-84).
• ... become the second Patriot League team to start 10-0 in conference play.
• ... win its 14th straight game against Patriot League foes (including PL Tournament).
• ... win its 22nd straight home game against Patriot League foes (including PL Tournament).
• ... win its eighth straight home game overall.
• ... remain in sole possession of first place in the Patriot League.
last time out: bison rally past raiders for ninth straight win
When Kyle Roemer hit two free throws with 17:15 to play on Saturday, it gave Colgate a 32-20 lead over Bucknell. At that point, the Bison were 8-for-27 from the field, 3-for-11 from the free-throw line and had committed 12 turnovers. Over the final 17 minutes, however, Bucknell shot 14-for-19 from the field, 16-for-17 from the line, committed only five more turnovers and outscored Colgate 48-27 en route to an inspiring 68-59 win. The tale of two halves allowed Bucknell to sweep the season series from the Raiders. Kevin Bettencourt led four Bison in double figures with 17 points, including two critical 3-pointers in the second half. The first of those treys erased a 42-40 deficit and gave Bucknell the lead for good. Roemer led Colgate with 19 points.
inside the boxscore
Kevin Bettencourt scored 10 of his 17 points in the second half ... also in double figures were Charles Lee (13), Chris McNaughton (12) and Abe Badmus (10) ... Lee also had a career-high-tying seven assists, six rebounds, two steals and a big blocked shot late in the game ... Badmus, who has scored in double figures in a career-high four straight games, also had three assists and four steals ... off the bench Donald Brown chipped in nine points, three rebounds, two blocks and three steals ... Bucknell missed its first seven shots and started the game 2-for-17 from the field ... the Bison held Colgate to 7-for-21 shooting in the second half ... Todd Checovich had a career-high 13 points off the bench for the Raiders.
comeback kids
Bucknell is now 6-3 this season when trailing at halftime, with all six comeback wins coming on the road. The Bison have outscored opponents 752-602 in the second halves of games this season.
Down at the Half Final Result at Rider, 29-24 Won, 56-54 at Syracuse, 28-27 Won, 74-69 at Niagara, 40-31 Won, 66-63 Villanova, 40-31 Lost, 79-60 at Santa Clara, 37-26 Lost, 77-68 at Duke, 42-19 Lost, 84-50 at American, 30-26 Won, 58-50 at Lehigh, 26-23 Won, 59-54 at Colgate, 28-20 Won, 67-54
charles in charge
Senior co-captain Charles Lee enjoyed one of his best weeks of the season and was named the Lewisburg Hotel Bison Athlete of the Week on Monday. He registered 19 points, five rebounds, five assists and six steals against Army, then logged 13 points, six rebounds, seven assists and a pair of steals in the win over Colgate. When the Bison found themselves down 10 in the first half at Army on Wednesday, it was Lee who put the team on his shoulders. In a three-minute stretch late in the half, Lee logged five points, three steals and three assists. Bucknell pieced together a 12-2 run to tie the game, with Lee either scoring or assisting on all 12 points. In the second half Lee hit a big 3-pointer to put Bucknell up six, and he made two big game-icing free throws with a minute to play. In the second half against Colgate he had eight points and five assists.
the first bucknell-american meeting
Bucknell used a stellar defensive effort in the second half to rally from a slow start and defeat American 58-50 on Jan. 11 at Bender Arena. Kevin Bettencourt scored a game-high 14 points, Chris McNaughton added 13 and Charles Lee had 12 points and nine rebounds to lead the Bison. Bucknell trailed 10-2 early and 30-26 at halftime, then held the Eagles to only six field goals in the second half.
lee tough in the clutch against au
With the Jan. 11 American game in doubt in the late stages, senior Charles Lee came up with one of his best clutch performances. Lee scored eight of Bucknell's final 13 points, all of them critical.
• Leading 46-40 with 4:54 to play, Lee hit a 3-pointer as the shot clock buzzer sounded, giving Bucknell its largest lead of the night.
• After American rallied to 49-46, Lee hit a pull-up 13-footer to stem the Eagles comeback.
• With a minute to go in the game and Bucknell leading by seven at 53-46, Lee blocked Andre Ingram's layup. After American rebounded and threw an errant pass back to the top of the key, Lee came all the way from the baseline to outhustle an Eagle guard for the loose ball in the backcourt and converted the breakaway layup to seal the victory.
more bucknell-american notes
Bucknell held American to 24.0% shooting (6-24) in the second half and 34.0% for the game ... the Bison shot 52.4% in the second half and 44.4% for the game ... Bucknell tied its season-low with 11 turnovers ... no American player scored in double figures, as Garrison Carr scored a team-high nine points ... the Bison struggled from the free-throw line making 56.0% (14-25) ... Darren Mastropaolo grabbed a season-high eight rebounds, one shy of his career best ... Donald Brown had an excellent game off the bench with nine points, five rebounds, three steals and two blocked shots.
bison keep ingram in check
American junior Andre Ingram has been one of the league's best players over the last three seasons. He was the Patriot League Rookie of the Year in 2003-04 and a first-team all-conference pick last season, but Bucknell has done an outstanding job defending Ingram. In six career games against the Bison, he has averaged 8.3 ppg, made 17 of 78 field-goal attempts (.218) and 7 of 30 3-point tries (.233), and has a 6-to-15 assist-to-turnover ratio. In three games against AU last season the Bison held Ingram to a total of only 13 points on 5 of 37 shooting (.135).
hot starts
Bucknell has become only the third Patriot League team to start a season 9-0.
Best Starts in Patriot League play Fordham, 1990-91 Started 11-0 Finished 11-1 Navy, 1997-98 Started 9-0 Finished 10-2 Bucknell, 2005-06 Started 9-0 Finished ?-? Holy Cross, 1992-93 Started 7-0 Finished 12-2 Bucknell, 1994-95 Started 7-0 Finished 11-3 Lafayette, 2003-04 Started 7-0 Finished 9-5
in good company
Bucknell is one of 22 Division I men's basketball teams to have a winning percentage of .800 or better, and the Bison have the 10th-best record in the nation (through Monday's games). The list:
1. Duke 21-1 .955
2. Connecticut 20-1 .952
3. George Washington 18-1 .947
4. Memphis 21-2 .913
5. Florida 20-2 .909
6. Villanova 17-2 .895
7. Illinois 20-3 .870
Texas 20-3 .870
9. Gonzaga 19-3 .864
10. BUCKNELL 18-3 .857
streaking
Bucknell's current nine-game winning streak is one of the longest in the nation (through Monday's games). George Washington, Gonzaga and Memphis have all won 10 straight games, while Bucknell and Connecticut have won nine in a row. No other team has won more than seven straight.
streaking, part 2
Bucknell's current nine-game winning streak is the second-longest longest in Pat Flannery's 12-year tenure as head coach. The Bison had an 11-game streak last season and an eight-game streak under Flannery's watch in 1995-96. The longest overall winning streak in school history is 17 games (1902-04), and the longest within a season is 12 games (1907-08).
Longest Bucknell Winning Streaks Under Pat Flannery (Since 1994-95): 11 12/4/04 - 1/23/05 9 1/7/06 - pres. 8 1/13/96 - 2/7/96 7 1/30/04 - 2/22/04 5 1/11/97 - 1/25/97 5 1/9/99 - 1/23/99 5 1/31/99 - 2/17/99 5 1/15/00 - 1/26/00 5 2/9/00 - 2/23/00Longest Winning Streaks in Bucknell History (broken up by) 17 3/1/1902 - 2/19/1904 (vs. Allegheny) 15 2/5/1901 - 2/11/1902 (at Princeton) 14 1/10/1908 - 1/27/1909 (at State College) 13 3/9/1906 - 3/9/1907 (at Harrisburg Collegians) 13 2/15/1918 - 2/8/1919 (at Lehigh) 11 2/6/1920 - 1/13/1921 (at Temple) 11 2/1/1993 - 3/6/1993 (vs. Holy Cross) 11 12/4/2004 - 1/23/05 (at American) 10 2/16/1919 - 12/20/1919 (at Syracuse) 10 1/14/1983 - 2/8/1983 (at Lafayette) 9 3/3/1956 - 12/28/1956 (vs. West Virginia Tech) 9 2/19/1958 - 12/10/1958 (at Cornell) 9 1/7/1974 - 1/25/1974 (Rutgers) 9 1/21/1987 - 2/21/1987 (at Lafayette) 9 1/7/2006 - pres.
balanced attack
The Bison are off to an 18-3, 9-0 start, and they have done it with terrific defense and a deep, balanced rotation. Despite its gaudy record, Bucknell has had only one Patriot League Player of the Week all season (Kevin Bettencourt on Nov. 28), and they have no players ranked in the top nine in scoring in Patriot League play. Only three times all year have the Bison had the same high scorer in back-to-back games.
