Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell Men's Basketball Hosts La Salle Monday in Final Game Before Exam Break
12/2/2007 7:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Dec. 2, 2007
WHAT: Bucknell (2-4) vs. La Salle (3-2)
WHERE: Sojka Pavilion, Lewisburg, Pa.
WHEN: Monday, December 3, 2007, 7 p.m.
TICKETS: Available (570-577-1000 or order ONLINE)
TV: None
RADIO: Eagle 107 and SportsJuice.com
LIVE VIDEO: SportsJuice.com
COMPLETE PRESS NOTES
NOTE: A limited number of tickets still remain for the 7 p.m. contest. To purchase tickets in advance, call 570-577-1000, go online to www.bucknell.edu/boxoffice or stop by either of the two Campus Box Office locations at the Weis Center or Bucknell Bookstore. If tickets still remain, walk-up sales will begin two hours before game time at the Sojka Pavilion ticket office. Tickets for men's basketball games are $8 for adults and $4 for children and senior citizens.
Probable Starters
Bucknell:
G, 11 John Griffin, Sr., 12.0 ppg
G, 13 Darryl Shazier, Fr., 3.3 ppg
C, 0 Todd O'Brien, Fr., 6.8 ppg
F, 15 Stephen Tyree, So., 5.0 ppg
F, 31 Patrick Behan, So., 11.7 ppg
La Salle:
G, 10 Rodney Green, So., 13.4
G, 11 Darnell Harris, Sr., 13.8
F, 20 Jerrell Williams, 6-8, 9.0
F, 12 Yves Mekongo Mbala, So., 6.0
F, 31 Paul Johnson, Jr., 7.0
With a Victory over La Salle, Bucknell Would ...
-- ... snap a four-game losing streak and improve to 3-4 on the season.
-- ... avoid its first five-game losing streak since 2003-04.
-- ... win for only the fourth time in 19 games against La Salle.
-- ... defeat the Explorers for the first time since the 1979-80 season.
About the Game
Since beginning the season with two victories and a close loss at nationally ranked Villanova, Bucknell has hit a rough stretch in the last week, falling at Wagner and dropping back-to-back home games to Marist and Saint Francis (Pa.). The Bison look to get back on track on Monday when they renew acquaintances with La Salle at Sojka Pavilion. The main source of Bucknell's recent difficulties have come at the offensive end of the floor. Slow starts resulted in big early deficits against Wagner and Marist, but against Saint Francis the Bison played well in the first half and had a nine-point lead early in the second before a 10-minute scoring drought resulted in a game-changing run for the Red Flash. Bucknell will face a La Salle team that comes in with a 3-2 record, including back-to-back home wins over Saint Francis (Pa.) (65-59) and Central Connecticut (59-55). Darnell Harris (13.8) and Rodney Green (13.4) are the Exlporers' top scorers, while Jerrell Williams (9.0 ppg, 7.2 rpg) is the top inside threat.
Bucknell vs. La Salle
La Salle has won 15 of the previous 18 meetings in a series that dates back to 1903. This will be the first meeting between the Bison and Explorers since the 1982-83 season, when both schools played in the East Coast Conference. It will be La Salle's first visit to Lewisburg since Dec. 7, 1981. Bucknell's last win over La Salle came during Pat Flannery's senior year in 1979-80.
Bucknell vs. The Atlantic 10
Bucknell is 32-86 (.271) all-time against the teams that currently comprise the Atlantic 10. In addition to their 3-15 record against La Salle, the Bison are 5-29 vs. Temple, 3-17 vs. St. Joseph's, 7-2 vs. George Washington, 5-8 vs. Fordham, 3-5 vs. Duquesne, 3-5 vs. Rhode Island, 1-3 vs. St. Bonaventure, 1-0 vs. Saint Louis, 1-0 vs. Xavier, 0-1 vs. Richmond and 0-1 vs. Dayton. Bucknell has never played Charlotte or Massachusetts. Bucknell is 3-1 against the A-10 in the last three years, however, including two wins over St. Joseph's and a big victory at Xavier last season. Pat Flannery is 5-5 against the A-10.
Last Time vs. La Salle
On Dec. 1, 1982 in Philadelphia, La Salle edged the Bison 68-66, despite 14 points and 10 rebounds from Eric Hegedus for Bucknell. One of Bucknell's senior co-captains that season was Jay Wright, now the head coach at Villanova. La Salle departed the East Coast Conference following that season, and the two teams have not met since.
Last Time Out
One of the stranger games in recent memory took place at Sojka Pavilion on Saturday night, when Saint Francis (Pa.) rallied from nine points down, then nearly blew a 16-point lead with 2:00 left before holding on for a 57-54 win at Sojka Pavilion. The Red Flash held the Bison without a field goal for 10:49 and went on a 32-7 run to flip a 33-24 deficit into a 56-40 lead with 2:08 to play. But Bucknell almost pulled off a miracle comeback, scoring 14 points in 53 seconds without allowing Saint Francis to cross halfcourt. A swarming press produced five straight steals, each leading to points. By the time Justin Castleberry hit two free throws with 1:04 left, it was a 56-54 game. A Marquis Ford free throw made it 57-54, and John Griffin had a great look at a 3-pointer rim in and out with about 15 seconds left. Griffin had a second try at tying trey in the final five seconds but could not get it to drop.
Inside the Saint Francis Boxscore
-- The loss dampened a breakout performance from freshman center Todd O'Brien, who made his first career start and produced 14 points, 13 rebounds, four blocks and two assists in 33 minutes -- all career highs.
-- Justin Castelberry scored eight of Bucknell's 14 points in that wild comeback attempt. He finished with 11 points, his third double-digit scoring effort of the season.
-- Bucknell had nine of its season-high 11 steals in the second half, including three each from Castleberry, John Griffin, and G.W. Boon.
-- Saint Francis outrebounded Bucknell 44-32 and came up with 19 offensive rebounds.
-- Stephen Tyree scored a career-high eight points for the Bison on 3-for-4 shooting.
-- Bucknell continued its cold shooting from long-range, making only 4 of 18 3-point attempts. The team shot 50.0% from the field in the first half but only 27.6% in the second. The starting backcourt of Griffin and Darryl Shazier finished 4-for-21.
Frosty Shooting
Since connecting on a school-record 15 3-pointers at Villanova on Nov. 18, Bucknell has gone ice cold in the three games since. In losses to Wagner, Marist and Saint Francis, the Bison have gone just 12-for-47 (.255) from the arc, and their season 3-point percentage is down to 31.2%. Overall, Bucknell has shot just 34.9% in the last three games after shooting 43.6% in the first three.
Lineup Change
Coach Pat Flannery altered his starting lineup a bit on Saturday, inserting freshmen Todd O'Brien and Darryl Shazier. O'Brien replaced Josh Linthicum in the starting five and had a big game, while Linthicum got in quick foul trouble and was limited to only seven minutes of action. Shazier started at point guard, with John Griffin sliding over to the two spot and Justin Castleberry going back to a reserve role.
Rare Home Losses
Bucknell had only lost nine games in Sojka Pavilion since the facility opened in January 2003, but it has now dropped back-to-back home games for only the third time in Sojka. The team's last three-game home losing streak came all the way back in 1994-95, Pat Flannery's first season as Bucknell head coach.
Rebound Turnaround
Last season Bucknell was the best rebounding team in the Patriot League, outrebounding opponents by 5.0 boards per game. With a smaller lineup, the Bison have struggled in that area early this season. They have been outrebounded five times and been even once thus far. Bucknell is -6.2 in rebounding margin thus far, and Monday's opponent, La Salle, is +6.0 and has five players averaging at least four rebounds per game.
Defending the Perimeter
Bucknell's perimeter defense has been strong early in the season, as the Bison are holding opponents to 26.5% shooting from the 3-point arc, the best figure in the Patriot League. Only Wagner (7-21) has made more than 28% of its 3-point tries through six games. Bucknell ranks second in the conference in overall field goal percentage defense (.393) and third in scoring defense (59.2).
Who's Got Next?
Following the La Salle game, the Bison will take a 13-day break for final exams before resuming the schedule on Dec. 16 at Wake Forest. This will be a rematch of last year's thriller at Sojka Pavilion, when the Demon Deacons prevailed 86-83 in overtime. Wake Forest is off to a 5-1 start and will travel to a pair of Southeastern Conference sites in Vanderbilt and Georgia before hosting Bucknell.
