Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell University
8-8, 2-1
Holy Cross
12-6, 3-0
Bucknell's Record Patriot League Winning Streak Ends at Holy Cross, 65-60
1/12/2007 7:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Jan. 12, 2007
WORCESTER, Mass. - Bucknell's Patriot League-record 23-game winning streak against conference opponents came to an end on Friday night at the Hart Center as Keith Simmons scored 22 points to lead Holy Cross to a 65-60 victory, despite a valiant comeback effort by the Bison. Including the postseason, the two-time defending champion Bison had not lost to a league foe since Feb. 23, 2005, also to Holy Cross on the road.
The victory kept the Crusaders (12-6, 3-0) unbeaten in Patriot League play, while Bucknell fell to 8-8, 2-1.
Justin Castleberry scored a career-high 16 points for the Bison, while Donald Brown had 13 points and eight rebounds before fouling out. John Griffin also reached double figures with 12 points and did not have a turnover for the fifth straight game.
Holy Cross never trailed, stretching a six-point halftime lead into double-digits with a 7-2 run to open the second half. Tim Clifford, who did not score in the first half but went for 13 in the second, hit back-to-back shots to give the Crusaders their biggest led to that point, 11 points at 38-27.
Bucknell, which rallied from 15 down with 16 minutes to play in a win here last year, tried to do the same again. John Griffin hit a 3-pointer and Brown drove for a 3-point play in a 25-second span to bring the Bison within four at 40-36.
It was still four at the 12-minute mark when Clifford's free throws launched an 8-2 Holy Cross run that pushed the lead back to 10 at 50-40. Clifford later answered a Griffin trey with a 3-point play of his own, and Simmons hit six straight free throws around a Castleberry triple to make it 59-46 with 6:40 left.
A Darren Mastropaolo layup and a fastbreak dunk from Brown made it 59-50. The Bison defense then came up with two straight steals, but Bucknell could not convert when Josh Linthicum and Brown both missed from close range.
Akex Vander Baan's free throw made it 60-50, but the Bison were hardly done, and even had a possession to tie with a minute left.
The last-ditch run began with a Jason Vegotsky 3-pointer with 2:47 left. After a turnover in the backcourt, Mastropaolo shook free on the inbounds and scored to make it 60-55. Simmons made 1 of 2 from the line, but Castleberry answered with a 3-pointer to make it 61-58 with 1:41 left.
Simmons threw a pass out of bounds on a drive, then Castleberry made two free throws after being fouled on a drive with 58 seconds left.
Trailing 61-60, Bucknell put Thomas at the line with 33 seconds left. He made the first and missed the second, but Vander Baan tied up McNaughton on a loose ball on the rebound. Holy Cross had the possession arrow, and Simmons was fouled on the inbounds. Bucknell caught a break when the first free throw was wiped out on a lane violation, and Simmons made the second to make it 63-60 with 29 seconds left.
At the other end, Griffin missed a 3-pointer, but another held ball on rebound went to Bucknell. Badmus was grabbed on the inbounds and went to the line with 10.3 seconds left. He missed the front end of the 1-and-1, however, and Thomas iced it with two free throws with eight seconds left.
Both teams went their first four possessions of the night without scoring until Thomas broke the ice for Holy Cross with a 3-pointer 3:16 into the game. The Bison fell behind 8-1 and didn't make their first field goal until Castleberry banked one in from the free throw line 6:50 in.
Two 3-pointers from Pat Doherty and two from Simmons helped the Crusaders maintain a lead between four and eight points the rest of the half. Despite eight turnovers and starters McNaughton and Badmus spending most of the half on the bench with two fouls (neither attempted a shot in eight and six minutes, respectively), the Bison's halftime deficit was only six at 31-25.
Holy Cross outrebounded Bucknell 31-19 and shot 47.6 percent from the field compared to Bucknell's 43.8 percent.
Bucknell returns to action on the road on Wednesday evening at Lafayette. Tip-off is slated for 7 p.m. at the Kirby Center.
