Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell, Holy Cross Renew Men's Hoops Rivalry Friday Night on ESPNU
1/11/2007 7:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Jan. 11, 2007
WHAT: Bucknell (8-7, 2-0) vs. Holy Cross (11-6, 2-0)
WHERE: Hart Center, Worcester, Mass.
WHEN: Friday, January 12, 2007, 7 p.m.
TV: ESPNU
RADIO: Eagle 107 and SportsJuice.com
SATELLITE RADIO: SIRIUS 118
COMPLETE PRESS NOTES
One of the better intraconference rivalries in mid-major basketball resumes Friday night at the Hart Center when Bucknell visits Holy Cross. These are the two winningest programs in Patriot League history, and they have combined to win five of the last six conference titles. The Bison and Crusaders have played in each of the last two Patriot League championship games and were predicted to finish 1-2 in the league again in 2007. So it figures that both teams come into Friday's ESPNU-televised matchup riding hot streaks that include 2-0 starts in conference play. Bucknell has won three straight games and 8 of 11 dating back to Thanksgiving weekend. The 8-3 stretch came on the heels of a frustrating 0-4 start that included overtime losses to Wake Forest and Penn State. The Bison began PL play with back-to-back home wins over Navy and American, victories that were keyed by dominance in the low post. Holy Cross began the season 5-0, then endured a 2-6 stretch against tough competition, and has since won four games in a row. In league play, the Crusaders won at Lafayette (84-74) and at home against Army (66-42). All-Patriot Leaguer Keith Simmons is up to his old tricks, averaging a team-best 17.8 points, 5.8 rebounds and 2.5 steals.
with a victory over holy cross, bucknell would ...
-- ... improve to 3-0 in Patriot League play for the fifth time.
-- ... win its 24th straight game against Patriot League teams.
-- ... win its fifth in a row over the Crusaders and third straight at the Hart Center.
-- ... win its fourth straight overall to get two games over .500 for the first time this season.
-- ... win its 1,200th all-time game.
bucknell vs. holy cross
The Bison and Crusaders had never met until the formation of the Patriot League in 1990-91, but in 16 years since then they have clashed 42 times, an average of 2.6 meetings per year. Amazingly, Bucknell and Holy Cross have played in 10 of the 16 Patriot League Tournaments, including three times in championship games and three times in the semifinals. Bucknell has won four straight and six of the last seven to take a 24-18 series lead. The Bison's 69-54 setback at the Hart Center on Feb. 23, 2005 was the last time they lost to a Patriot League team in either the regular season or postseason. They have won 23 straight since then. Bucknell is 9-9 against Holy Cross at the Hart Center and 11-11 overall in that building, including a handful of neutral-site games in the Patriot League Tournament.
bucknell vs. holy cross last season
The Bison swept three games from the Crusaders a year ago, two during the regular season and one in the Patriot League championship game. All three contests were sellouts.
-- On Jan. 14 at Sojka Pavilion, Bucknell raced to a 34-14 halftime lead and held on for a 56-42 victory. Chris McNaughton led the Bison with 15 points, while Kevin Hamilton had 18 for Holy Cross.
-- On Feb. 11 at the Hart Center, the Bison authored one of their most stirring -- and unlikely -- victories during what would become an undefeated conference season. Backed by a career-high 24 points from Charles Lee, the Bison trailed by 15 points with 16 minutes left but outscored the Crusaders 32-12 the rest of the way and won 57-52. Keith Simmons led Holy Cross with 13 points.
-- On March 10 at Sojka Pavilion in the Patriot League championship game, Kevin Bettencourt hit six 3-pointers and scored 23 points to lead Bucknell to a 74-59 win. Lee added 16 points and McNaughton and Donald Brown had 14 each. Hamilton (20) and Simmons (19) were high scorers for Holy Cross.
patriot league success
No Patriot League team has won more regular-season conference games than Bucknell since the start of league play in 1990-91. The Bison carry an impressive 145-67 (.693) conference ledger and have posted 14 winning or even conference records in 16 years. Including Patriot League Tournament games, the Bison have won 23 straight contests against conference foes. Their last league loss came on Feb. 23, 2005 at Holy Cross. Bucknell has also won 28 straight home games against conference opponents, with their last home league loss coming on March 2, 2003 against Colgate.
last time out
Bucknell made it a 2-0 start in Patriot League play with a 66-60 win over American on Tuesday at Sojka Pavilion. The Bison excelled up front, getting a combined 41 points on 15-for-25 shooting from Chris McNaughton, Donald Brown and Darren Mastropaolo. Bucknell stretched a one-point halftime lead to 10 with a 9-0 run to start the second half, but the Eagles kept it close with some dynamite 3-point shooting. They hit seven treys in the second half and 10 in the game. American got as close as one point, but McNaughton hit two big baskets in a row in the final minutes and the Bison iced it with an 8-for-8 performance from the free-throw line in the final 30 seconds.
inside the american boxscore
-- Chris McNaughton's 16 points were a season high, despite being limited to only 19 minutes due to foul trouble. McNaughton had six big points in the final 1:41.
-- Bucknell outscored American 23-6 from the free-throw line. The Bison were 23-for-29 from the stripe (79.3%), one game after struggling in that department against Navy.
-- John Griffin made all 10 of his free-throw attempts, a new career high. Six came in an 18-second span late in the game.
-- Darren Mastropaolo scored 11 points, his highest total since Nov. 21 and the third-highest total of his career.
-- American's 10 3-pointers were the most by a Bison opponent this season. Wake Forest, Penn State and Central Arkansas all hit nine.
-- The Bison allowed American to grab only seven rebounds in the second half and a season-low 22 for the game.
protecting the rock
The Bison have done an outstanding job taking care of the basketball in recent games. Bucknell had gone 44 straight games without a single-digit turnover total before doing so in three recent games in a row, including a season-low six turnovers against Navy last Saturday. That was Bucknell's lowest total in 418 games,when it had six miscues in an 88-64 win over North Texas at the KYLT Industries Classic at Montana on Dec. 5, 1992 . Prior to Navy, the Bison committed a then-season-low nine turnovers against Central Arkansas on Dec. 29, and one night later Bucknell lowered that total to eight miscues in the win over Northern Illinois. Prior to those three games, the last time Bucknell committed fewer than 10 turnovers was in the historic NCAA Tournament win over Kansas in 2005, when it had nine. The Bison had 12 turnovers against American on Tuesday to end the single-digit streak, even though they only had four in the first 27 minutes of the game.
protecting the rock, part ii
Bucknell's dramatic drop in turnovers has coincided with junior John Griffin sharing more of a ballhandling role. Griffin now leads the Patriot League in assist-to-turnover ratio by a wide margin at almost 4-to-1 (46 assists, only 12 turnovers). He has gone four straight games without a single miscue, while accumulating 16 assists over that span. Griffin ranks third in the nation in assist-to-turnover ratio among players averaging at least 3.0 assists per game.
Player APG A/TO 1. Kyle Greathouse, Western Carolina 3.1 4.8 2. Engin Atsur, N.C. State 5.2 3.9 3. John Griffin, Bucknell 3.2 3.8 4. Darris Nichols, West Virginia 4.7 3.7 5. Eric Maynor, Virginia Commonwealth 5.8 3.5
post presence
Bucknell has not needed to rely heavily on the 3-point shot thus far in Patriot League play, thanks to a combined 64-20 advantage in points in the paint (30-8 vs. Navy and 34-12 vs. American). Chis McNaughton, Donald Brown and Darren Mastropaolo are a combined 29-for-46 (.630) from the field and have totaled 76 points in the two PL contests. By contrast, the Bison have made only five 3-poitners in league play compared to 18 from their opponents.
what can brown do for you?
Senior co-captain Donald Brown is enjoying one of the best stretches of his career. Eight games ago coach Pat Flannery made a lineup change, moving Brown from the "3" to the "4" spot, and over that span he is averaging 14.1 ppg while shooting 67.6% (46-68) from the field. Brown had 14 points, eight rebounds, four steals and four assists in Tuesday's win over American.
some elite company
Donald Brown is one of only three players in the Patriot League to rank in the top 10 in points, rebounds and steals. The two others are perennial all-conference players in Keith Simmons of Holy Cross and Andre Ingram of American. Brown recently took over the Patriot League lead in rebounding at 6.4 per game, and he also ranks sixth in steals and 10th in scoring.
who's got next?
Bucknell returns to action next Wednesday, Jan. 17 at Lafayette at 7 p.m. The Leopards are 7-10 overall and 1-1 in the Patriot League after a road win at Colgate on Wednesday. The Bison have won six straight against the Leopards.
