Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell University
9-8, 3-1
Lafayette
7-12, 1-3
Bucknell Rallies for 67-61 Win at Lafayette
1/17/2007 7:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Jan. 17, 2007
EASTON, Pa. - Donald Brown scored 19 points and Jason Vegotsky had 18 to lead Bucknell to a come-from-behind 67-61 victory over Lafayette on Wednesday night at Kirby Sports Center. The Bison (9-8, 3-1 Patriot League) trailed by as many as 10 points in the first half but 15 straight made free throws to close the game helped complete the rally.
Lafayette (7-12, 1-3) received 14 points from Andrew Brown and 11 from Matt Betley. The Leopards were fueled by some terrific 3-point shooting, as they made six of their 10 treys in the first half, when they led wire-to-wire.
Chris McNaughton equaled his career high with 11 rebounds and scored nine points. Bucknell outrebounded Lafayette 39-23, with 16 of the caroms coming on the offensive glass. After starting the game 4-for-12 from the free-throw line, the Bison finished 15-for-15, with the final 14 points all coming from the stripe in the final three minutes.
After a strong finish to the first half cut the 10-point deficit to two, Bucknell came alive offensively in the second half and finally took its first lead at the 11:48 mark after Vegotsky hit back-to-back 3-pointers to make it 41-40. He hit another triple about four minutes later to spark a 16-6 Bison run, but Lafayette's shooting kept it alive.
Betley hit a 3-pointer and Marcus Harley made two free throws and Ted Detmer had a free throw, steal and dunk to put the Leopards back in front 52-51 with 6:09 to play. The lead changed hands twice more before McNaughton hit his two critical free throws to put the Bison ahead 55-53. Betley followed an Andrew Brown miss at the other end to tie it back up with 2:31 to play.
The Bison got the next six points, however, all coming from the free-throw line. Brown was fouled on a defensive rebound and made both with 1:09 to play, putting the Bison ahead 57-55. After Bilal Abdullah was whistled for a travel, Vegotsky was fouled on the perimeter and made both, then Darren Mastropaolo came up with a steal, leading to two John Griffin free throws and a 63-57 lead with 36 seconds left.
Two more Griffin free throws and four from Vegotsky iced it.
Bucknell struggled mightily in the early going, committing turnovers on each of its first five possessions while the Leopards streaked to a 10-1 lead. McNaughton finally made Bucknell's first field goal 6:07 into the game, but Marcus Harley answered with one of the Leopards' six first-half 3-pointers to make it 13-3.
Brown's own personal 7-0 run, highlighted by an acrobatic follow-up jam, got Bucknell within 13-10, but Abdullah and Brown hit back-to-back 3-pointers to push Lafayette's lead back to nine. Later in the half Betley made two straight layups to keep the lead at seven, but Justin Castleberry's slashing layup and Griffin's first 3-pointer after four straight misses reduced Bucknell's deficit to just two (29-27) at the half.
The Bison had averaged only 10 turnovers per game in its first three Patriot League outings, but they had 10 miscues in the first half alone an 20 overall against Lafayette's zone defense. They also made only 3 of 12 3-point tries in the first half against that zone and missed six of their 10 free-throw attempts. But thanks to eight offensive rebounds, 12 forced turnovers and 10 points from Brown, they were able to stay in the game.
Bucknell finished 6-for-23 from 3-point range, with four of the treys coming from Vegotsky. Bucknell shot 42.0 percent from the field overall, while Lafayette shot 44.7 percent with 10 of its 21 field goals coming from the arc.
The Bison will now play their next three games at home, beginning Saturday against Colgate. The 2 p.m. tip-off will air live on ESPNU.
