Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell Men's Basketball Opens Patriot League Play Friday vs. Navy on ESPNU, Tickets Remain for 7 p.m. Tip
1/8/2008 7:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Jan. 8, 2008
WHAT: Bucknell (5-9, 0-0 PL) vs. Navy (7-8, 0-0 PL)
WHERE: Sojka Pavilion, Lewisburg, Pa.
WHEN: Friday, Jan. 11, 2008, 7 p.m.
TICKETS: Available (570-577-1000 or order ONLINE)
TV: ESPNU
RADIO: Eagle 107 and SportsJuice.com
SATELLITE RADIO: Sirius 110
PROMOTIONS: Dirk Sojka's Slam Dunk with Bison Basketball, benefitting Suncom Industries
COMPLETE PRESS NOTES
Probable Starters
Bucknell:
G, 11 John Griffin, Sr., 12.5 ppg
G, 10, Justin Castleberry, Jr., 11.6 ppg
C, 42, Josh Linthicum, Jr., 6.0 ppg
F, 15 Stephen Tyree, So., 4.9 ppg
F, 21 G.W. Boon, Fr., 5.5 ppg
Navy:
G, 24 Kaleo Kina, Jr., 13.6 ppg
G, 5 Chris Harris, So., 11.3 ppg
G, 15 Romeo Garcia, Fr., 3.0 ppg
C, 44 Mark Veazey, Fr., 4.6 ppg
F, 3 Greg Sprink, Sr., 19.1 ppg
NOTE: 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. 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.
Support Suncom Industries and Honor the Memory of Dirk Sojka
In conjunction with Friday's Bucknell-Navy game will be the Fourth Annual "Dirk Sojka's Slam Dunk with Bison Basketball" event, benefitting Suncom Industries. Co-sponsored by Bucknell Athletics, 94.1 WQKX Radio, Geisinger Sports Medicine and Weis Markets, there will be a silent auction on sports and other memorabilia, a raffle drawing (top prize: Dell Inspiron 1501 laptop computer), and fun mini-competitions between the WQKX All-Stars and members of the Bucknell athletics staff. Suncom Industries was the workplace of Dirk Sojka, the son of Gary and Sandy Sojka, until Dirk's passing in July 2002.
With a Victory over Navy, Bucknell Would ...
-- ... snap a two-game losing streak and improve to 6-9 on the season.
-- ... win its conference opener for the fourth straight year.
-- ... win its seventh straight overall against the Midshipmen and its eighth straight home game against the Mids.
-- ... post its 36th straight home victory over a Patriot League foe.
-- ... win its 12th straight regular-season Patriot League game.
-- ... improve to 4-3 at home this season.
About the Game
After an up-and-down non-conference season in which its record was hampered injuries and inexperience, Bucknell gets to wipe the slate clean as it begins its 18th season of Patriot League play Friday night against Navy at Sojka Pavilion (ESPNU, 7 p.m.). The Bison have dropped two straight and four of their last five, while Navy comes in riding a four-game winning streak that has it back within a game of .500 after a 3-8 start. After enduring a four-game shooting slump, Bucknell shot the ball much better last time out at St. Bonaventure, but it faltered on the glass and at the free-throw line late in the game and allowed the Bonnies to come from behind and steal a 65-62 win in Olean, N.Y., on Saturday. Leading scorer John Griffin (12.5 ppg) was held to four points in that one, but No. 2 scorer Justin Castleberry (11.6 ppg) had the best game of his career with 22 points on 8-for-12 shooting, 6-for-9 from 3-point range. The Midshipmen have averaged 81. 8 ppg during its current hot streak, which features wins over Maryland-Eastern Shore (85-61), St. Francis (N.Y.) (85-83), NJIT (84-55) and Longwood (73-55). Navy's go-to player is senior Greg Sprink, who ranks second in the league in scoring at 19.1 ppg and fourth in rebounding at 5.9 rpg. Kaleo Kina (13.6 ppg) and Chris Harris (11.3 ppg) also score in double figures for the Mids, who rely heavily on the 3-point shot. Navy has made 132 treys this season (8.8 per game), 55 more than its opponents. Four players -- Sprink, Kina, Harris and Adam Teague -- have made 20 or more treys this season.
How to Get the Game
The Bucknell-Navy game will air live on ESPNU as part of the Patriot League television package. Bob Socci will handle the play-by-play and John Feinstein is the color analyst. The contest 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.
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. Bucknell's Jan. 18 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. In addition, Friday's home game vs. Navy will also air through Navy's contract with Sirius on channel 110.
Patriot League All-Access is Here
The eight Patriot League institutions and College Sports Television Online will air more than 100 men's and women's basketball games live on the Internet as part of the Patriot League All-Access package beginning this weekend. Nearly every intraleague contest, including Bucknell's men's and women's games, will be available through video streaming on www.PatriotLeague.com or www.BucknellBison.com. The Patriot League All-Access package is available for $7.95 per month. The monthly fee allows a subscriber to watch any Patriot League basketball games that are part of the package. ESPNU telecasts are excluded from the lineup.
Bucknell vs. Navy
This will be the 53rd all-time meeting between the Bison and Midshipmen, with Navy owning a 29-23 series lead. The Mids won 12 of 16 meetings prior to joining the Patriot League in 1991-92, and as conference rivals Bucknell holds a slim 19-17 advantage. The Bison have won the last six meetings with Navy, including a 62-43 victory in the Patriot League Tournament quarterfinals last Feb. 28 in Sojka Pavilion. Bucknell has won all six meetings with Navy in Sojka Pavilion and has won seven straight home games with Navy dating back to the Davis Gym era. Pat Flannery is 15-15 all-time against the Midshipmen.
Bucknell in League Openers
Despite boasting more Patriot League victories than any other team since the league's inception in 1990-91, Bucknell is only 7-10 in conference openers. When the Patriot League opener is a home game, the Bison are 6-3. Bucknell and Navy have kicked off PL play on eight previous occasions, with each team winning four of those. Last season, the Bison got off to a 1-0 league start with a 59-51 win over Navy at Sojka Pavilion.
Patriot League Success
The Bison are 155-69 (.692) 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 35 straight wins at home against conference opponents, with their last home league loss coming on March 2, 2003 against Colgate.
Last Time Out
Bucknell suffered perhaps its most frustrating loss of the season last Saturday at the Reilly Center, falling 65-62 to St. Bonaventure after leading for most of the second half. The Bison led by eight points with 6:30 to play and were up three with the ball with 40 seconds left, but they just could not make that one additional play to put the game away. Leading 62-59 in the final minute, Jason Vegotsky had a potential game-clinching 3-pointer go in and out, and the Bonnies were fouled on the rebound. A weird sequence followed where St. Bonaventure shot six free throws in three seconds. They only made two of them, but it might have been zero had the Bison not allowed offensive rebounds twice on a second miss and sent St. Bonaventure right back to the line. Finally, Patrick Behan came up with a rebound and was fouled with Bucknell clinging to a 62-61 lead with 35 seconds left, but Behan missed both free throws. St. Bonaventure went inside to leading scorer Michael Lee (game-high 24 points), who scored and was fouled, and his 3-point play gave the Bonnies a 64-62 lead. St. Bonaventure had a defensive breakdown at the other end, leaving John Griffin all alone in the left corner, but Griffin's 3-point try also ticked in and out. After Lee left the door open by making only 1 of 2 free throws, Griffin missed a contested three just before the final buzzer that could have tied it. All told, in the final five minutes Bucknell went 3-for-8 from the foul line, 2-for-6 from the field (0-4 3FG), allowed three big offensive rebounds and committed two costly turnovers. The loss overshadowed a brilliant game by junior guard Justin Castleberry, who scored a career-high 22 points and had three big assists.
Inside the St. Bonaventure Boxscore
-- Justin Castleberry's career-high 22 points came on 8-for-12 shooting from the floor, including a career-high six 3-pointers in nine attempts.
-- Josh Linthicum was held to six points, but he had a big sequence in the second half when he scored on a reverse layup then finished a 3-point play, giving the Bison their largest lead of eight points at 55-47 with 6:30 to play.
-- It was a tough day for senior guard John Griffin, who went 0-for-7 from the floor and finished with four points and six turnovers. He did have a season-high seven rebounds, however, to go along with three assists.
-- Castleberry was not the only Bison to record a career scoring high. Sophomore Stephen Tyree made all four of his field-goal attempts and finished with 10 points and five rebounds.
-- Freshman Darryl Shazier had a game-high four assists.
-- The Bison came out smoking from 3-point range, making seven of their first 12 attempts from long distance. They made only two of their final 12, however, and finished 9 of 24 (.375) on the day.
-- Bucknell was outrebounded 34-29, including 12-5 on the offensive glass. The Bonnies had a 17-3 edge in second-chance points and a 26-14 advantage in the paint.
Numbers to Watch
Some relevent stats involving Bucknell and Navy:
-- Navy and Bucknell rank 1-2 in the Patriot League in 3-point defense. Navy opponents are a meager 77-for-267 (.288) from 3-point distance, while Bison foes are just 87-for-280 (.311). The Midshipmen have outscored their opponents 396-231 from the arc, the biggest disparity in the league.
-- Bucknell has struggled in the rebounding department at times this season, but Navy actually ranks last in the league in rebound margin at -4.2 per game.
-- Bucknell has improved its turnover numbers in recent games, but the Bison will have to be wary of an aggressive Navy defense that leads the Patriot League in steals per game (8.9). The Mids also lead the league in turnovers per game (18.5), however.
-- These two teams have faced two common opponents thus far. Both teams lost at Drexel (Bucknell 65-53 and Navy 86-70), and both defeated Towson (Bucknell won 71-57 at Towson, Navy won 73-59 at home).
Record-Setting Year for Patriot League
Even though Bucknell struggled during non-conference play, the Patriot League as a whole is on pace for its best-ever out-of-conference record. Through Sunday's games, the league's combined record was 59-51. The PL record for non-league wins is 60, set last season. There are seven regular-season OOC games still to come.
Bison Have League's No. 1 Strength of Schedule
Bucknell will enter Patriot League play with the league's worst non-conference record, but it came against the toughest strength of schedule. According to Ken Pomeroy's RPI simulation, the league's strength of schedule rankings are as follows:
1. Bucknell 199 2. Holy Cross 214 3. Lafayette 228 4. American 274 5. Colgate 286 6. Army 321 7. Lehigh 336 8. Navy 338 as of Jan. 7
Mastropaolo Returns
Less than five months removed from surgery to repair a torn anterior cruciate ligament, hard-working senior co-captain Darren Mastropaolo returned to the floor last Wednesday against Ohio. Mastropaolo checked in for the first time at the 15:23 mark of the first half and scored his first points of the season at the free-throw line moments later. All told, Mastropaolo played 18 minutes and scored six points on 2-for-3 shooting from the field, 2-for-2 from the line. He also had a rebound and an assist. Mastropaolo, who had played in 95 career games prior to this season, injured his knee in a summer pickup game.
Defending the Perimeter
Bucknell's perimeter defense has been strong early in the season, as the Bison are holding opponents to 31.1% shooting from the 3-point arc, the second-best best figure in the Patriot League. Bucknell now leads the conference in overall field goal percentage defense (.405) and is third in scoring defense (62.6). The Bison will put that defense to the test against a Navy team that averages better than 74 points per game and has topped the 80-point barrier in three of their last four.
Regular-Season Co-Champs
Bucknell captured a share of the 2007 Patriot League regular-season title, tying Holy Cross for first place with a 13-1 conference record. After winning PL titles in 2005 and 2006, the Bison advanced to the championship game for the third straight season, where they dropped a close one on Holy Cross' home floor. The Bison are now 27-1 in the league over the last two seasons, and they have not lost to a PL team other than Holy Cross in regular-season or tournament play since Jan. 30, 2005, a span of 45 games.
Who's Got Next?
The Bison are back home on Wednesday with a Patriot League date against American. Tip-off is slated for 7 p.m. at Sojka Pavilion.
