Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell Men's Basketball Looks for 2-0 Start Wednesday at Towson
11/13/2007 7:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Nov. 13, 2007
WHAT: Bucknell (1-0) vs. Towson (1-0)
WHERE: Towson Center, Towson, Md.
WHEN: Wednesday, November 14, 2007, 7 p.m.
TV: None
RADIO: Eagle 107 and SportsJuice.com
COMPLETE PRESS NOTES
With a Victory over Towson, Bucknell Would ...
-- ... begin the season 2-0 for the first time since 2005-06.
-- ... win its road opener for only the second time in the last 10 years.
-- ... defeat the Tigers for the third straight time and improve to 17-8 all-time against them.
-- ... win in the Towson Center for the first time since the 1990 East Coast Conference quarterfinals vs. Hofstra.
About the Game
Bucknell hits the road for the first time in 2007-08 on Wednesday evening when it travels to Towson to face the 1-0 Tigers. This is the return game from last February's O'Reilly ESPNU BracketBusters matchup, won by the Bison 73-63 at Sojka Pavilion. Both teams are coming off excellent starts. Bucknell outlasted two-time defending America East champion Albany 55-52 at home on Saturday night, while Towson routed local rival Loyola 83-69 at the Towson Center. In that game the Tigers were led by College of Charleston transfer Junior Hairston, who finished with 26 points, 21 rebounds and three blocked shots. Rocky Coleman (15) and Rodney Spruill (12) also scored in double figures, and Towson outrebounded the Greyhounds 45-30. Another of the Tigers starters in the frontcourt is junior college transfer Tony Durant, who is the older brother of Kevin Durant of the NBA's Seattle SuperSonics .
Bucknell vs. Towson
The Bison and Tigers have a rich history on the hardwood, even though the two teams had gone 15 years without playing prior to last season's BracketBusters matchup. From 1982-83 until 1989-90, Bucknell and Towson were rivals in the now-defunct East Coast Conference. Bucknell now holds a 16-8 series lead.
Good Memories of the Towson Center
Bucknell will be making its first appearance at the Towson Center since the 1990-91 season, but many longtime Bison fans still have good memories of the facility. The Towson Center was once the annual home of the East Coast Conference Tournament, and Bucknell won a pair of ECC championships on that floor. In 1987, Bucknell beat host Towson 86-74 to secure the first NCAA Tournament bid in program history. Two years later, the Bison defeated Lafayette 71-65 to capture the ECC and a return trip to the NCAA Tournament. All told, Bucknell is 8-5 against Towson and 18-10 overall at the Towson Center.
Back in Charm City
This will be Bucknell's first game inside the Baltimore Beltway since Dec. 30, 2000, when the Bison won 70-68 at UMBC.
Welcome Home
Bucknell has two Marylanders on its roster. Junior guard Justin Castleberry is from the D.C. suburb of Upper Marlboro, where he attended Archbishop Spalding H.S. Sophomore walk-on Matt Fiery grew up not far from the Towson campus in Phoenix, Md., and he played his high school basketball at Dulaney.
Last Season vs. Towson
Bison center Chris McNaughton took his Senior Day bows before the game, then went out and registered 23 points, eight rebounds, three assists and three blocks to lead Bucknell to a 73-63 BracketBusters win at Sojka Pavilion. Fellow senior Abe Badmus helped keep Towson star Gary Neal in check. Neal, who entered the game ranked fourth nationally in scoring at 25.5 ppg, did not make a field goal until the 15:43 mark of the second half, at which time the Bison had run out to a 20-point lead. Neal did manage to finish with 21 points, but it wasn't enough to overcome McNaughton's 11-for-14 shooting display. John Griffin added 15 for the Bison.
Last Time Out
It was a solid debut performance for the Bison on Saturday night against two-time defending America East champion Albany, as John Griffin hit a go-ahead 3-pointer with 1:08 to play in a hard-fought 55-52 victory. Patrick Behan scored a career-high 16 points and Stephen Tyree pulled down a career-high 13 rebounds in what was a defensive struggle from start to finish. Bucknell led by as many as nine points in the first half, but the Bison never led by more than six in the second. Albany led only once all night, after Brian Lillis (20 points) banked one in from the top of the key with 1:42 left. But on the next possession Griffin canned a long trey from the left wing for his only field goal of the night to put the Bison back in front 51-49. After a defensive rebound, Justin Castleberry hit a jumper in the lane with 0:13 left to make it a two-possession game, and Castleberry added two more free throws to seal it.
Four First-Time Starters
With stalwarts Abe Badmus, Donald Brown and Chris McNaughton having graduated, and veterans Darren Mastropaolo and Jason Vegotsky injured at the start of the season, Bucknell lined up for the season opener against Albany with four first-time starters. Senior John Griffin had 38 previous career starts, including all 31 last season, but none of the other four had ever started a game at the collegiate level. Junior guard Justin Castleberry, sophomore forwards Stephen Tyree and Patrick Behan, and junior center Josh Linthicum all made their first starts against Albany.
Freshman Contributions
Just six minutes into Saturday night's season opener against Albany, all three Bison freshmen were on the floor together, and it appears that each member of the trio will see significant playing time right away. Todd O'Brien will platoon with Josh Linthicum at center, Darryl Shazier will back up John Griffin at point guard and G.W. Boon will likely play a variety of roles on the wing. Shazier saw the most floor time of the three against Albany, spending 25 minutes at the point. He did not score, but he did come up with three rebounds, two assists, two steals and a blocked shot. In 21 minutes, O'Brien scored eight points on 3-for-5 shooting from the field, and he also blocked three shots and collected three rebounds. Boon scored four points in 11 minutes, all the points coming on back-to-back jumpers in the second half.
Inside the Boxscore
-- Patrick Behan's previous career high was seven points before he scored 16 against the Great Danes.
-- In addition to his seven points and 13 rebounds, Stephen Tyree helped hold preseason All-America East selection Brent Wilson to two points on 0-for-6 shooting from the floor.
-- Tyree's 13 rebounds were the most by a Bucknell player since Charles Lee grabbed 18 at Yale on Dec. 4, 2004.
-- Justin Castleberry finished with 11 points, including the four big ones in the last 13 seconds that helped put the game away.
-- Bucknell went 12-for-12 from the free-throw line in the second half and 19-for-24 (.792) overall. Albany was 7-for-9 from the line.
-- Defensively, Bucknell held Albany to 35.7% shooting from the field and 27.8% from the 3-point line (5-18).
-- Bucknell's seven blocked shots were its most since Feb. 15, 2005, when the Bison blocked eight shots at Villanova.
-- The victory was Bucknell's 50th in Sojka Pavilion against only nine losses.
-- Shortly after checking in for the first time, reserve wing Rob Thomas left the game with a knee injury. Thomas, who is expected to miss 4-6 weeks, blocked a shot on his first defensive possession and drew a foul driving to the basket on the play in which he was injured.
Streaks End for Mastropaolo, Vegotsky
Senior Darren Mastropaolo saw his consecutive games played streak come to an end at 92 on Saturday. Mastropaolo, who has been a mainstay in the Bison frontcourt since his freshman year, suffered a knee injury during a summer workout and is expected to miss much of the season. Junior Jason Vegotsky did not suit up for the Albany game due to a foot injury, and his games-played streak ended at 44.
Milestone Watch
-- John Griffin ranks sixth on Bucknell's career 3-point field goals list (142). He needs 12 treys to catch fifth-place Gordon Mboya. Kevin Bettencourt holds the school record with 294.
-- Griffin needs 328 points for 1,000 in his career.
-- Seniors Griffin, Darren Mastropaolo and Rob Thomas need 13 wins to become the most successful senior class in school history. The Class of 2007 won a record 87 games.
Who's Got Next?
Bucknell has quite a challenge ahead on Sunday, when it travels to Philadelphia to take on No. 23 Villanova at the Pavilion. The Wildcats, who are coached by 1983 Bucknell graduate Jay Wright, opened with an 86-64 victory over Stony Brook on Friday, led by 25 points from forward Shane Clark.
