Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell University
20-8 (13-1PL)
Army
14-15 (4-10PL)
Late Badmus 3-Pointer Helps Bucknell Men's Basketball Claim 54-49 Victory at Army and at Least Share of Patriot League Regular-Season Title
2/24/2007 7:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Feb. 24, 2007
WEST POINT, N.Y. - Abe Badmus scored 15 points, the last three coming on the game-winning jumper with 52 seconds left, leading Bucknell to a 54-49 win at Army and at least a share of the Patriot League regular-season title. The Bison captured their 12th game in a row, equaling the program's longest winning streak since 1919, and they secured a third straight 20-win season for the first time.
The milestone victory made Bucknell 20-8 overall, and the Bison completed their Patriot League slate at 13-1. Including last season's unprecedented 14-0 league run, Bucknell ran its three-year conference record to 38-4. Saturday's win was also the team's 14th straight over Army and its sixth straight road win.
Chris McNaughton had 12 points and 10 rebounds for his fifth double-double of the year, all coming during the current winning streak. John Griffin added eight points, including the two clinching free throws with 10.8 seconds to play.
After falling by 25 in Lewisburg last month, Army (14-15, 4-10) gave Bucknell all it could handle before a Senior Day crowd of 1,878. Freshman forward Cleveland Richard, whose previous career high was eight points against New York Maritime, scored 14 points and grabbed six rebounds, while Jarrel Brown also scored 14.
Army led 29-27 in the first minute of the second half before the Bison embarked on a 10-0 run. McNaughton, who had just picked up his third foul on the first possession of the half, stayed in the game and scored six of the game's next eight points to make it 35-29 Bucknell. McNaughton then assisted on a short jumper by Patrick Behan to complete the run and give the Bison an eight-point lead, their largest of the day.
As Bucknell cooled off later in the second stanza, Army chipped away at the lead thanks to more strong 3-point shooting. The league's top 3-point shooting team coming in (.403), the Black Knights connected on nine in 19 attempts. Four of those came in the second half, the last a big one from Matt Bell that cut Bucknell's lead to two at 49-47 with 1:54 to play.
After Bucknell was whistled for a traveling violation, Brown drew a hand check foul and made both free throws to knot the game at 49-all with 1:07 left.
After a timeout, Army's defense collapsed on McNaughton inside, leaving Badmus alone on the right wing for the go-ahead 3-pointer.
Bucknell played outstanding defense at the other end, forcing Brown to heave up an air ball over two defenders with 20 seconds left. Darren Mastropaolo was off balance when he grabbed the rebound under the basket, however, and he was whistled for traveling.
With the ball back in Army's possession, Bell tried a long 3-pointer that drew back iron, and Griffin's box-out on the long rebound resulted in an over-the-back foul on Marcus Nelson with 10.8 seconds left. Griffin, who had missed the front end of a 1-and-1 just before Bell's big 3-pointer, this time drained both to make it a two-possession game and seal the win for the Bison.
Both teams shot better from 3-point range than inside the arc in a tightly contested first half that ended in a 27-27 tie. Five of Army's nine field goals came from long distance, including three from Brown. Bucknell made four of its seven baskets from 3-point range, the last coming on a Jason Vegotsky buzzer-beater from the left corner.
Bucknell led by as many as six points early before the Black Knights surged ahead. Cleveland Richard's free throw with 58 seconds left in the half gave Army a 27-22 lead, but the Bison scored the last five points of the period. Trailing 27-24, Vegotsky was the inbounder under the Army basket with 1.8 seconds left. He made a short pass to McNaughton then ran to the corner, took a pass back and drained the tying 3-pointer.
Bucknell also had a 12-game winning streak last season, the longest under coach Pat Flannery. The 12-game streaks are the sixth-longest in school history, with the last one longer than that a 13-game run that ended in 1919.
The Patriot League Tournament begins Wednesday on the campuses of the four higher seeds. Bucknell will host a first-round game at 7 p.m. at Sojka Pavilion against an opponent that will not be determined until the conclusion of Sunday's Holy Cross-Lehigh game.
If Holy Cross wins that contest, it will tie Bucknell atop the Patriot League standings, and the Crusaders would be the No. 1 seed based on a higher RPI. The Bison would be the No. 1 seed with a Holy Cross loss to Lehigh. If Bucknell is the top seed, it would host Lafayette in the first round, and if the Bison are the No. 2 seed they would host Navy.
Army will be the No. 6 seed and travel to No. 3 Lehigh on Wednesday.
