Bucknell University
27-4
Arkansas (NCAA 1st Round)
22-10
BUCKNELL INTO SECOND ROUND OF NCAA TOURNAMENT FOR SECOND STRAIGHT YEAR AFTER 59-55 VICTORY OVER ARKANSAS
3/17/2006 7:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
March 17, 2006
DALLAS, Texas - After stunning Kansas in the first round of the 2005 NCAA Tournament, college basketball fans wanted to know what Bucknell could do for an encore. The answer came Friday afternoon at the American Airlines Center, where the gritty Bison knocked off eighth-seeded Arkansas 59-55 in a tense affair that wasn't decided until the final seconds.
Charles Lee equaled his career high with 24 points and fellow senior co-captain Kevin Bettencourt knocked down five 3-pointers and scored 18 points for the Bison, who improved to 27-4 on the season and will play top-seeded Memphis on Sunday afternoon at a time still to be determined.
While Lee and Bettencourt played obvious starring roles, it was junior point guard Abe Badmus and junior reserve forward Donald Brown who came up big down the stretch. Badmus, who did not attempt a single field goal all day yet finished with seven assists and only two turnovers in 34 minutes, knocked down two monumental free throws with seven seconds left to stretch a two-point lead to four.
 Bucknell guard Kevin Bettencourt (12), left, and center Chris McNaughton (32) celebrate at the end of their game against Arkansas in the first round of the NCAA tournament in Dallas, Friday, March 17 2006. Bucknell won 59-55. (AP Photo/ Donna McWilliam)  |
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Brown struggled all day, finishing 0-for-6 from the floor, but he made three critical plays in the final minute. The Bison had led the entire second half until Arkansas rallied to tie the game at 55-all on Jonathon Modica's free throws with 1:15 to play. On the ensuing inbounds Bucknell barely avoided a 10-second violation against the Razorbacks' press, but Brown made a heady look-ahead pass to Lee for a layup and a 57-55 leads with 1:02 to play.
Moments later Brown leaped high to corral the rebound of Eric Furguson's missed 3-point attempt. He handed off to Lee, who was fouled but missed the front end of a 1-and-1. Brown again pulled down a critical rebound and kicked it out to Bettencourt.
Bettencourt uncharacteristically missed two free-throw tries - the Bison had been 12-for-13 in the game until missing three late free throws - but at the other end Ronnie Brewer missed a jumper and Badmus dove on the floor to get the loose ball after a wild scramble. Badmus was fouled on the play, and after Arkansas called timeout to ice him, Badmus calmly stroked both free throws to ice the game.
Bucknell, which won its sixth straight game, extended it's school-record victory total to 27. The Bison, who are the only Patriot League team to have won an NCAA Tournament game, improved to 3-6 all-time against the Southeastern Conference, including two straight wins. Bucknell defeated Alabama 72-64 in 1995 in its last game against an ACC foe.
Bucknell took a four-point lead into halftime, then Bettencourt struck for six quick points to open the second half - the first three on free throws after being fouled behind the arc and the other on a 3-pointer -- to give the Bison their largest lead of the night, 33-23. Bucknell would hit five more treys in the second half and a season-high 11 in 21 attempts on the day.
 Bucknell guard John Griffin, left foreground, and Arkansas forward Vincent Hunter scramble for control of the ball during the first half of their NCAA tournament first-round basketball game in Dallas, Friday, March 17, 2006. (AP Photo/Eric Gay) |
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John Griffin swished a heave in front of his own bench as the shot clock expired, while Bettencourt and Lee hit two more each. Lee's final bomb, a face-up jumper again coming at the end of the shot clock, gave Bucknell a 53-46 lead with 3:43 to play.
But the Razorbacks frantically fought back. The crawled within two on a 3-pointer and then two free throws by Brewer. Lee made it 55-51 after hitting both ends of a 1-and-1, but Modica made four straight from the line to tie the game, setting up the wild finish.
Bucknell hit five of its first seven 3-point attempts of the day, including two each from Bettencourt and Lee, en route to a 27-23 halftime lead.
Arkansas opened the scoring on Modica's inside bucket, but the Bison quickly scored eight straight points in under two minutes to take its first lead. Lee had the last six points of the run, then after the Razorbacks pulled within 8-6, Lee hit the team's first 3-pointer of the night.
Jason Vegotsky got a friendly bounce on a 3-pointer from the right corner and Bettencourt hit a pair of treys to maintain small leads for the Bison. Arkansas regained the lead on back-to-back dunks from Brewer and Darian Townes, but the Bison answered with a jumper from McNaughton and a short hook shot from Darren Mastropaolo.
Lee's 3-pointer with 40 seconds left in the half made it 27-23. After a Steven Hill miss the Bison had the last possession of the half, but Bettencourt's 3-point try from the left corner rimmed out at the buzzer.
Modica led Arkansas with 19 points, while Brewer had 14 and five assists. The Bison held the Razorbacks 19 points below their season scoring average and forced them into 40.4 percent shooting.
Despite shooting 52.4 percent from 3-point range, Bucknell shot only 38.6 percent from the field overall. After committing nine first-half turnovers, the Bison had only five miscues in the second half.
