Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell, Holy Cross Renew Rivalry Friday Night on ESPNU
1/17/2008 7:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Jan. 17, 2008
WHAT: Bucknell (7-9, 2-0 PL) vs. Holy Cross (9-6, 0-2 PL)
WHERE: Hart Center, Worcester, Mass.
WHEN: Friday, Jan. 18, 2008, 9 p.m.
TV: ESPNU
SATELLITE RADIO: Sirius 121
RADIO: Eagle 107 and SportsJuice.com
COMPLETE PRESS NOTES
Probable Starters
Bucknell:
G, 11 John Griffin, Sr., 12.4 ppg
G, 10, Justin Castleberry, Jr., 12.3 ppg
G, 14 Jason Vegotsky, Jr., 5.2 ppg
F, 15 Stephen Tyree, So., 5.5 ppg
C, 1 Darren Mastropaolo, Sr., 6.0 ppg
Holy Cross:
G, 22 Andrew Beinert, Fr., 4.3 ppg
G, 2 Kyle Cruze, Sr., 3.7 ppg
C, 00 Tim Clifford, Sr., 16.4 ppg
F, 21 Alex Vander Baan, Jr., 9.2 ppg
F, 33 Colin Cunningham, Jr., 8.8 ppg
With a Victory over Holy Cross, Bucknell Would ...
-- ... improve to 3-0 in the Patriot League for the third time in the last four years.
-- ... win its 14th straight regular-season Patriot League game.
-- ... snap a two-game losing streak in the Hart Center and win there for the first time since Feb. 11, 2006 (57-52).
-- ... get back to .500 (10-10) against the Crusaders at the Hart Center.
-- ... improve to 18-4 on the road in Patriot League play since the start of the 2004-05 season.
About the Game
Another chapter in the Patriot League's most competitive rivalry unfolds Friday night at the Hart Center, when Bucknell visits Holy Cross (9 p.m., ESPNU) in the first of two scheduled regular-season meetings. The last time these two teams met was in the 2007 Patriot League championship game, the third year in a row the two teams faced off for the title. The stars of those title games -- Charles Lee, Kevin Bettencourt, Chris McNaughton, Abe Badmus, Donald Brown, Kevin Hamilton, Keith Simmons, Torey Thomas -- have moved on (six of those eight are now playing overseas), and now both teams are moving forward with slightly different looks. Bucknell is finally getting healthy after compounding the McNaughton-Brown-Badmus graduation loss with early season injuries to veterans Darren Mastropaolo, Jason Vegotsky and Rob Thomas. The Bison have started out 2-0 in league play for the fourth straight year, coming from behind in wins over Navy and American. Holy Cross got out to a 9-3 start, buoyed by impressive wins over Saint Joseph's, Ohio, Harvard and Hofstra, but the injury bug has invaded Worcester in recent weeks, and the Crusaders have suddenly dropped three in a row, including Patriot League setbacks to Lafayette and Army. The latter, a 53-39 loss to the Black Knights, snapped their 23-game home winning streak. Center Tim Clifford (16.4 ppg), the Patriot League Preseason Player of the Year, leads the team in scoring. But Holy Cross has struggled without point guard Pat Doherty (9.2 ppg, 4.3 apg), who has missed all or most of the last three games with an achilles tendon injury.
How to Get the Game
The Bucknell-American game will be televised live on ESPNU at 9 p.m. (EST). Bob Socci and John Feinstein will call the action. In addition, the game can be heard locally on Eagle 107 (WEGH 107.3 FM), with Doug Birdsong and Doug Byerly on the call. The pregame show begins 30 minutes before tip-off. The audio feed is available free of charge via BucknellBison.com and SportsJuice.com. Due to contractual obligations, live video of this game is not available online via Patriot League All-Access.
Patriot League Back on Sirius
The Patriot League announced recently that for the second straight season, Sirius Satellite Radio will feature a league game of the week beginning in January. Friday's game at Holy Cross (channel 121) and the Jan. 26 home game against Colgate (channel 110) are part of the package. The February schedule will be announced at a later date. All seven games of the Patriot League Tournament will also be available on Sirius.
The Bucknell-Holy Cross Rivalry
The Patriot League has deep-rooted rivalries based on geography (Lehigh-Lafayette) and military brethren (Army-Navy), but there has been no better basketball rivalry in the league than Bucknell-Holy Cross. Some of the highlights:
-- The Bison and Crusaders have combined to win six of the last seven Patriot League titles, and they are the only two league teams to have won in the postseason (Bucknell in the 2005 and 2006 NCAA Tournaments, Holy Cross in the 2005 NIT).
-- These two teams have met 11 times in the 17 Patriot League Tournaments, including four times in the championship game. Bucknell defeated Holy Cross in the 2005 and 2006 title tilts, while the Crusaders topped the Bison in the final in 1993 and 2007.
-- Excluding games against each other, Bucknell and Holy Cross are a combined 83-5 against the rest of the Patriot League since the start of the 2004-05 season. The Bison have not lost to a PL team other than the Crusaders since Jan. 30, 2005 at Navy.
-- The Bison and Crusaders had never met until the formation of the Patriot League in 1990-91, but in 17 years since then they have clashed 45 times, an average of 2.65 meetings per season.
-- Bucknell had won four straight and six of the last seven in the series before Holy Cross ended that streak with a 65-60 win at the Hart Center last season. Bucknell now leads the series 25-20.
-- Bucknell is 9-10 against Holy Cross at the Hart Center and 11-12 overall in that building, including a handful of neutral-site games in the Patriot League Tournament.
Bucknell vs. Holy Cross Last Season
A year ago both teams won on their home floors in the regular season, then the Crusaders captured the rubber match with a win in the Patriot League championship game.
-- On Jan. 12 at the Hart Center, Bucknell's league-record 23-game winning streak against conference opponents came to an end, as Keith Simmons scored 22 points to lead Holy Cross to a 65-60 victory. Justin Castleberry scored a then-career-high 16 points for the Bison, who trailed 59-46 with 6:40 left before making a valiant comeback try. They pulled within 61-60 in the final minute, but Alex Vander Baan's offensive rebound of a missed free throw proved big, and John Griffin could not connect on a long 3-pointer that could have tied the game with 12 seconds left.
-- Bucknell avenged that loss on Feb. 9 before a standing-room-only crowd at Sojka Pavilion, prevailing 48-45 in a classic defensive struggle. Holy Cross started the game 5-for-6 from the field and led 12-2 early, but the Bison held them to only nine more baskets the rest of the game, including only four in 18 attempts in the second half. With 1:04 left and Bucknell clinging to a 43-42 lead, Griffin drained a high-arcing 3-pointer from the right corner that put the Bison ahead 46-42. Torey Thomas had a chance to tie it at the buzzer, but his left-corner jumper drew only iron.
-- A 26-7 run helped Bucknell overcome a 19-point second-half deficit, but the Bison never managed to take the lead and the two-time defending champs succumbed 74-66 in the Patriot League championship game at the Hart Center on March 9. Thomas (28 points) and Simmons (23) combined to score 51 of Holy Cross' 74 points, while Griffin led a balanced Bucknell attack with 15 points. After falling behind 46-27 early in the second half, Bucknell held Holy Cross scoreless for more than five minutes while reeling off 13 straight points. The Bison had two chances to take the lead in the final minutes, but Castleberry missed a 3-pointer with Bucknell trailing 51-49, and Abe Badmus missed two free throws in a 53-all tie.
Bison, Crusaders Have Long Tournament History
Last year's championship game was the 11th meeting between Bucknell and Holy Cross in 17 Patriot League Tournaments, making it the most-played tournament rivalry. The Bison have a 6-5 lead in those tournament showdowns, with plenty on the line in each of them.
-- 1992 Semifinals (Bucknell 86, Holy Cross 77): The rivalry began to heat up, as the Bison erased a 6-point halftime deficit and outscored the Crusaders 46-31 in the second half. Bill Courtney scored 26 points and PL Player of the Year Patrick King had 25.
-- 1993 Championship (Holy Cross 90, Bucknell 73): Bucknell clinched the No. 1 seed with a 112-99 win on the last day of the regular season, but Holy Cross returned the favor with a 17-point blowout in the championship game in Davis Gym. Roger Breslin led the Crusaders with 17 points and 10 assists.
-- 1994 Quarterfinals (Holy Cross 96, Bucknell 91): In Charlie Woollum's last game as Bucknell's head coach, Holy Cross used a 30-11 run in the second half to take command. The late Gordon Hamilton scored 37 points for the Crusaders, nullifying 24 from Bison point guard Sekou Hamer.
-- 1998 Quarterfinals (Bucknell 60, Holy Cross 56): Down 10-0 right out of the gates, the Bison rallied behind 15 points each from J.R. Holden and Martin Gilliard. The duo combined to go 6-for-6 from the foul line in the final 46 seconds to ice the win.
-- 1999 Quarterfinals (Bucknell 76, Holy Cross 52): Bucknell's second-largest win in the series was not as easy as it looks on the stat sheet. The Bison trailed 37-36 at the half but outscored Holy Cross 40-15 in the second period. Brian Muckle scored 15 points on 5-for-5 shooting for the Bison.
-- 2002 Semifinals (Holy Cross 64, Bucknell 57): The teams alternated the first 11 baskets in a second half that featured 14 lead changes and seven ties. A controversial technical foul call against Bucknell with HC leading by two in the final 30 seconds of the game helped propel the Crusaders, who were led by Tim Szatko's 19 points and 12 rebounds.
-- 2003 Semifinals (Holy Cross 75, Bucknell 50): Kevin Hamilton scored 15 points to lead Holy Cross, which jumped out to a 15-5 lead and led by 17 at the half. Boakai Lalugba, a 1,300-point scorer, tallied 21 for Bucknell in his final game.
-- 2004 Quarterfinals (Bucknell 66, Holy Cross 60): Charles Lee and Chris McNaughton combined for 39 points on 14-for-18 shooting for the Bison, who overcame 28 turnovers by shooting 61.8% from the field.
-- 2005 Championship (Bucknell 61, Holy Cross 57): Bucknell raced to a 33-13 first-half lead but had to hold off a furious Holy Cross rally. Chris McNaughton led the Bison with 17 points on 7 of 8 shooting, while Kevin Bettencourt scored 13, including two clinching free throws with 0:08 left.
-- 2006 Championship (Bucknell 74, Holy Cross 59): Kevin Bettencourt's 23 points helped Bucknell to a clean sweep of Patriot League competition, a 14-0 regular-season league record followed by three tournament wins.
-- 2007 Championship (Holy Cross 74, Bucknell 66): Torey Thomas scored a career-high 28 points for the Crusaders, who avenged title-game losses in each of the two previous years. Bucknell rallied from 19 down in the second half to tie the game, but could never get the lead.
Last Time Out
For the second straight game Bucknell overcame a halftime deficit to win a conference home game. This time the Bison trailed American 37-26 at intermission and won a 66-62 nailbiter on Wednesday at Sojka Pavilion. A 15-5 run to start the second half got Bucknell back in it, and after trailing by seven with nine minutes to play, Bucknell scored nine straight points to take a 58-54 lead. American rallied to tie it at 58-all, but Jason Vegotsky's 15-foot jumper with 1:04 to play gave Bucknell the lead for good. Justin Castleberry (team-high 15 points) went 6-for-6 from the foul line in the last 25 seconds, each time stretching a two-point lead to four.
Inside the American Boxscore
-- After struggling from the free-throw line in its previous two games, Bucknell went 16-for-20 (.800), including Justin Castleberry's clinching 6-for-6 performance at the end. The Bison outscored American 16-7 from the charity stripe.
-- The Bison had a fantastic 17-to-6 assist-to-turnover ratio. The six turnovers were the team's fewest since it had six against Navy in last season's conference opener. Oddly, it was the first time all year the Bison won when committing fewer turnovers than their opponent.
-- American had a decided edge on the glass, outrebounding Bucknell 37-22. In the first half the margin was 21-8, as the Bison did not manage an offensive rebound in the first 24 minutes of the game.
-- Each of Bucknell's three players who were injured at the start of the year made significant contributions. Darren Mastropaolo scored a season-high nine points, including a big layup with 3:17 to play that gave the Bison a 56-54 lead. Jason Vegotsky had seven points, including what proved to be the winning jumper with 1:04 left, and he tied his career high with three assists. And Rob Thomas played 15 minutes in his second game back from injury, scoring eight points on 3 of 5 shooting. He made two big 3-pointers, one coming with seven minutes left that cut a six-point deficit in half.
-- Freshman G.W. Boon hit two big second-half 3-pointers to help spark the comeback. The second of those tied the game at 54 with about five minutes left.
-- Garrison Carr scored a career-high 30 points for American, making 6 of 12 from 3-point range, 10 of 20 from the floor and 4 of 4 from the foul line. Carr had 18 of those points in the first half, and with Tyree guarding him in crunch time, the Bison held him to only one field goal in the last 10 minutes, that coming with eight seconds left.
Numbers to Watch
Some relevent stats involving Bucknell and Holy Cross:
-- Rebounding is a big concern for the Bison heading into this matchup. Bucknell was outrebounded 37-22 against American on Wednesday, and it is now -3.1 in rebounding margin on the season. Holy Cross is traditionally an excellent rebounding team, and this year is no excpetion. The Crusaders are +6.0 on the glass, by far the best margin in the league. Holy Cross works hard on the offensive glass, grabbing a league-high average of 13.0 offensive rebounds per game. Bucknell opponents average 12.3 offensive rebounds per game. Second-chance points could be a key.
-- Both teams come in with almost identical scoring averages -- Bucknell at 61.5 ppg, Holy Cross at 61.3 ppg. The Crusaders are averaging only 46.3 ppg in their last three games, however, while Bucknell is averaging 71.0 ppg in its last three.
-- Granted, neither had a role as a go-to scorer until this season, but it is interesting to note that the leading scorer on both teams has been held in check during this series. Bucknell's John Griffin has averaged 6.9 ppg in his career against Holy Cross, with a high of 15 points. Holy Cross' Tim Clifford has scored 5.1 ppg in his career against Bucknell, with a high of 13 points.
-- On the other hand, Justin Castleberry exceeded his own scoring average against Holy Cross last season. In 2006-07 Castleberry had six double-digit scoring games, and three of them came against Holy Cross. He scored a then-career-high 16 in the regular-season meeting in Worcester, then had 10 in each of the next two games against the Crusaders.
-- These two teams have faced just one common opponent thus far. Holy Cross defeated Ohio 62-60 at home on Nov. 26, while the Bison lost at home to the Bobcats, 53-47 on Jan. 2.
Hart Center Comebacks
Bucknell has fought back from large deficits in each of its last three games at the Hart Center, although Holy Cross prevailed in the last two:
-- In the 2005-06 regular season, Bucknell trailed 40-25 in the second half but outscored Holy Cross 32-12 the rest of the way and won 57-52.
-- In the 2006-07 regular season, the Bison trailed 59-46 with 6:40 to play. They pulled within one in the final minute and had a shot to tie in the final 15 seconds but could not complete the comeback.
-- In the 2007 Patriot League championship game, Bucknell fell behind 46-27 in the opening minutes of the second half. This time the Bison did get the game tied, but they never managed to take the lead, and Holy Cross prevailed 74-66 to win the title.
Bucknell Typically Strong on Short Rest
Bucknell has been excellent in recent years when forced to play on short rest, as it will have to do on Friday night. When playing on less than two days rest, the Bison are 2-0 this season and 12-6 since the start of the 2004-05 campaign, with two of the losses coming to Wisconsin and Memphis in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. Under Pat Flannery, the Bison are 40-25 on one or two days rest.
Tyree Picking up Scoring
Sophomore forward Stephen Tyree is playing perhaps the best basketball of his career over the last three games. Tyree had never before scored in double figures until he cashed in 10 points against St. Bonaventure on Jan. 5. He liked the feeling so much he did it again in the very next game, scoring 10 points along with seven rebounds and six assists against Navy. Last time out against American he had eight points and five assists, and he hit one of the biggest buckets of the game, a 17-foot jumper with the shot clock down and Bucknell leading by two with 2:22 to play. In his last three games Tyree is 12-for-14 from the field -- his streak of 10 straight made field goals ended in the second half against American -- and is averaging 9.3 ppg, 5.0 rpg and 4.0 apg. In two league games he has an 11-to-2 assist-to-turnover ratio.
Patriot League Success
The Bison are 157-69 (.695) in Patriot League regular-season games, the best record of any league team. They have finished at least .500 in PL play in 15 of 17 seasons. The Bison won a league-record 23 straight contests against conference foes from Feb. 23, 2005 to Jan. 12, 2007. Bucknell has an active streak of 37 straight wins at home against conference opponents, with their last home league loss coming on March 2, 2003 against Colgate.
Who's Got Next?
Bucknell is back on the road next Wednesday, Jan. 23, when it takes on Lafayette at 7 p.m. The Leopards were picked last in the Patriot League preseason poll, but they have proven their doubters wrong. Lafayette is 11-6 overall and 2-0 in the Patriot League, tied with Bucknell for first place. The Leopards play at Navy on Saturday before hosting the Bison.
