Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell University
8-9 (3-0)
Holy Cross
9-7 (0-3)
Tough Down Stretch, Bison Outlast Holy Cross 73-65
1/19/2008 7:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Jan. 18, 2008
WORCESTER, Mass. - Justin Castleberry tied his career high with 22 points, 15 of them coming in the final 7:30, leading Bucknell to a 73-65 victory over Holy Cross in an intense, back-and-forth affair between two arch rivals Friday night at the Hart Center.
Jason Vegotsky scored 14 points on 4 of 5 3-point shooting, and Stephen Tyree matched his career high with 10 points for the Bison, who are now 3-0 in Patriot League play and 8-9 overall. Preseason Patriot League Player of the Year Tim Clifford had 16 points for the Crusaders (9-7, 0-3) before fouling out with 4:30 to play.
These two teams had met in each of the last six Patriot League Tournaments and in each of the last three championship games, and this one had a playoff-like feel to it. The physical battle played in front of a boisterous sellout crowd and an ESPNU audience featured big momentum swings throughout the night. Bucknell built a 13-point lead, then Holy Cross rallied to take the lead with an 11-0 second-half run, then the Bison finished with a flourish, outscoring the Crusaders 27-19 over the last nine minutes.
While a number of Bison shined in crunch time, Castleberry was perhaps the biggest star. The junior guard scored the last eight Bison points in a game-changing 10-2 run that broke open a 46-46 tie. Tyree's hanging layup at the end of the shot clock gave Bucknell a 48-46 lead, and Castleberry followed with a deep 3-pointer with 7:30 left to put Bucknell up 51-46.
Pat Doherty, who returned to the Holy Cross lineup after missing all but one minute of the last three games due to a foot injury, halted the momentum briefly with a tough layup in traffic, but Castleberry made five straight free throws, the last three coming with 6:04 left after he was fouled trying a 28-footer as the shot clock ran out.
Senior Rob Thomas, who earlier in the half tracked down two offensive rebounds and made a layup all in one sequence to give the Bison a 44-41 lead, made perhaps the biggest play of the game with 4:30 remaining. Thomas drove the lane, elevated over Clifford and not only made the tough runner, but he drew Clifford's fifth foul. Thomas missed the free throw, but Bucknell had an eight-point lead and the Crusaders' biggest scoring threat was on the bench.
Bucknell shot 16 of its season-high 38 free throws in the final 2:09, and Castleberry made two from the line with 1:09 left to give the Bison a 10-point lead at 64-54. He made 7 of 8 from the stripe down the stretch to help salt away the victory and finished a career-high 13-for-15 from the line on the night.
Tyree had a breakaway jam after breaking a Holy Cross press with 47 seconds left, and Darren Mastropaolo put the final nail in the coffin with two free throws that put the Bison back up 10 with 12 seconds left.
Bucknell played a sharp first half and took a 33-23 lead into the locker room. Holy Cross scored first on a Kyle Cruze layup, but on Bucknell's first possession Vegotsky knocked down a long, contested 3-pointer with the shot clock down, and the Bison led for the rest of the half.
The Bison made their first three 3-pointers of the night - two from Vegotsky and one from Castleberry - and 6 of their first 10. Bucknell led by just two at 20-18 before back-to-back treys from John Griffin and Vegotsky ignited an 11-0 run.
The Crusaders were held scoreless for a span of 6:49, and by the time Patrick Behan made two free throws at the 2:39 mark, Bucknell had a 31-18 lead. Greg McCarthy's layup ended Holy Cross' drought, but Griffin followed with a tough reverse layup in traffic off a back-door feed from Behan.
Cruze was fouled trying to toss up a desperation 3-pointer at the halftime buzzer, and he made all three free throws to bring the Crusaders within 10 at the half.
A key sequence in Holy Cross' comeback came just over a minute into the second half, when the Crusaders cut into a 13-point deficit with a five-point possession that also cost Mastropaolo his third and fourth fouls.
Mastropaolo bumped Clifford on a fadeaway jumper in the lane, and Clifford converted the 3-point play. On the made free throw, Mastropaolo got tangled up with Alex Vander Baan and was whistled for his fourth foul. On the same possession, Cruze hit a baseline leaner to bring Holy Cross within 36-28.
Tyree's tip-in gave Bucknell a 10-point lead back at 40-30, but the Crusaders began heating up from long range, with 3-pointers from Cruze, Doherty and Adam May accounting for nine points in an 11-0 run that gave them a 41-40 lead with 13:54 to play. It was Holy Cross' first lead since 2-0, but it would also prove to be its final lead of the night.
Patrick Behan's baseline jumper ended Bucknell's 5:12 scoreless drought and put the Bison back in front 42-41. Holy Cross tied the game twice more but was never able to retake the lead.
Doherty made 3 of 4 free throws to tie the game at 44 after a double-technical foul led to Bucknell coach Pat Flannery's ejection with 9:40 to play, but the Bison answered with the big finish.
Bucknell shot 46.3 percent from the floor and made 8 of 21 3-pointers, six of those treys coming in the first half. The Bison were also 27 of 38 (.711) from the free-throw line. Holy Cross shot 45.3 percent overall, 33.3 percent (6-18) from the arc and made 11 of 14 free throws.
Holy Cross, the Patriot League's best rebounding team coming in, held a slim 30-27 edge on the boards, but Bucknell had a 14-13 advantage in second-chance points.
Bucknell is now 3-0 in league play for the third time in the last four years, and the Bison won their 14th straight Patriot League regular-season game. They are now 18-4 on the road in league play since the start of the 2004-05 season.
Bucknell is back on the road on Wednesday, taking on a Lafayette team that was also unbeaten in the Patriot League heading into Saturday's game against Navy.
