Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell University
7-7, 1-0PL
Navy
10-6, 0-1PL
Bucknell Men Open Patriot League Play with 59-51 Win over Navy
1/6/2007 7:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Jan. 6, 2007
Box Score |
Photo Gallery 1 
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Dirk Sojka Slam Dunk Photo Gallery
LEWISBURG, Pa. - Donald Brown had 15 points and nine rebounds and John Griffin posted a career-high eight assists without a turnover to go with his 11 points, leading Bucknell to a 59-51 victory over Navy in the Patriot League openers for both teams Saturday night at Sojka Pavilion. Chris McNaughton added 12 points for the Bison, who improved to 7-7 on the season with their 22nd straight victory over Patriot League foes and 27th in a row against the league at home.
Greg Sprink finished with 18 points, five rebounds and five assists to lead Navy (10-6), which fell to 0-5 against Bucknell at Sojka Pavilion and 0-6 all-time here, including a neutral-site game in the Patriot League Tournament.
After falling behind 21-16 after Navy's 12-0 run, the Bison finished the first half strong and led for the final 21:24 of the contest. Only their lowest percentages of the season from both the free-throw line (15-27, .556) and 3-point arc (2-13, .154) kept them from pulling away. Other than that, Bucknell was solid in all areas. The Bison finished 19-for-30 (.633) inside the arc, outscored Navy 30-8 in the paint and finished with a terrific 18-to-6 assist-to-turnover ratio, setting a Sojka Pavilion record for fewest miscues.
Bucknell led 28-24 at the half and Navy cut it to one at 30-29 when Adam Teague banked in a 3-pointer from the left corner 47 seconds into the second period. But the Bison scored seven straight points to start a 10-3 run. Three straight Darren Mastropaolo free throws gave them their largest lead to that point, 40-32 with 10:52 left.
After Kaleo Kina hit two free throws for Navy, McNaughton scored inside and drew a foul, but that led to a nervous sequence for Bucknell. McNaughton missed the free throw and Brown rebounded, but he missed the point-blank layup. Navy rebounded and Sprink hit a 3-pointer at the other end. Instead of a nine or 10 point lead, it was only five at 42-37 after the Sprink bomb.
But the Bison quickly regrouped, scoring four straight to go up 46-39 on a Brown jumper from the right baseline and another McNaughton finish inside. Stanton hit a 3-pointer at the other end to make it 46-40, and the Midshipmen missed a golden opportunity to draw even closer when Stanton and Corey Johnson missed back-to-back front ends of 1-and-1 opportunities.
Then with the score still 46-40 with 6:11 to play, Griffin hit the biggest shot of the night for the Bison, a 27-foot 3-pointer from the top of the arc with the shot clock about to expire. Griffin later went 4-for-4 from the line and made a tough layup inside, and Navy never got closer than six in the final minutes.
In addition to scoring nine of his 11 points in the final 6:11, Griffin posted his career-high eight assists without a single turnover. His previous career best was six assists against Wake Forest, and he equaled that total by halftime. He now has a Patriot League-best 45-to-12 assist-to-turnover ratio on the season.
Bucknell has now posted single-digit turnover totals in three straight games after going 44 in a row without accomplishing the feat. The team's three guards who handled the bulk of the ballhandling duties - starters Griffin and Abe Badmus along with reserve Justin Castleberry - combined for 12 assists and no turnovers. It was a topsy-turvy first half, as the Bison went up 16-9 with an 8-0 run, only to see Navy surge back ahead with 12 straight points over a five-minute span. Trailing 24-21, Bucknell scored the last seven points of the half on a tip-in from Mastropaolo and a 3-pointer and two free throws from Castleberry.
At halftime, Bucknell honored its 1986-87 team, which won the East Coast Conference championship and became the first Bison men's basketball squad to play in the NCAA Tournament 20 years ago. Among the many featured guests in attendance was legendary head coach Charlie Woollum, the winningest coach in Bucknell history.
The Bison next play their second straight home game to start the league schedule on Tuesday night at 7 p.m. against American.
