Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell University
1-5
La Salle
3-3
| Team | 1 | 2 | F |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bucknell | 25 | 40 | 65 |
| La Salle | 28 | 40 | 68 |
Bucknell Men's Basketball Falls at La Salle, 68-65
12/2/2008 7:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Dec. 2, 2008
PHILADELPHIA, Pa. - Kimmani Barrett scored 15 points and La Salle outscored Bucknell 18-2 over a six-minute span in the second half in a 68-65 win over the Bison Tuesday night at Tom Gola Arena. Justin Castleberry scored 20 points, G.W. Boon had 14 and Patrick Behan 10 and nine rebounds for the Bison, who made a valiant comeback attempt from 16 down in the second half but came up just short.
Darryl Shazier, the Patriot League assists leader at 6.0 per game coming in, added nine more with only one turnover, but the Bison were outrebounded 51-37 and outscored 13-5 from the foul line as La Salle was whistled for only seven fouls all night.
The Bison fell to 1-5 on the season, while La Salle improved to 3-3.
There were three lead changes and two ties in the first three minutes of the second half. A short leaner by Patrick Behan and Josh Linthicum's layup off a drive and dish from Castleberry gave the Bison a 35-32 lead, flipping around their three-point halftime deficit.
But Jarrell Williams hit a tying three at the other end, igniting a game-changing 18-2 La Salle run. In a 39-37 game Boon came up with a steal in the backcourt but tried a tough reverse layup and came up empty. Vernon Goodridge had a tip-in at the other end, then Ruben Guillandeaux hit a 3-pointer to make it 44-37.
La Salle went up by double figures for the first time at the 12:33 mark on Guillandeaux's layup, then Goodridge hit a short turnaround to make it 50-37. Behan's shot in the lane ended an 0-for-9 shooting run and a 5:18 scoreless drought for Bucknell. But with 7:14 left Green made a layup to give the Explorers a 16-point lead at 58-42.
Bucknell rallied from a 16-point deficit to defeat La Salle at home last season, and the Bison tried to do it again, cutting the deficit to seven with a late 11-2 run. Five different players scored in the run, which was capped by Bryan Cohen's 3-pointer that made it 60-53 with 3:53 to play.
Bucknell had a chance to draw closer, but Behan missed a short jumper, and after Green made two free throws, Cohen made a nice move to draw a defender off his feet, but his short bank shot rimmed out.
Goodridge missed the front end of a 1-and-1, though, and Castleberry hit a 3-pointer with 1:06 left to make it 64-58. The Bison played tough defense and forced a turnover with the shot clock winding down, and Shazier made two free throws after being fouled driving to the basket to make it a four-point game.
Barrett made 1 of 2 free throws, but Bucknell missed two straight layups and Barrett closed it out with two more from the line with 13 seconds left.
Bucknell trailed by just three (28-25) at halftime despite a 9-2 foul differential. La Salle went just 6-for-12 from the line in the half, however, and Boon's 12 points helped keep the Bison close.
After Bucknell trailed by six points early on, Boon's 3-pointer capped a 7-1 run that gave the Bison their first lead of the night at 18-17. Castleberry rattled in a three with 5:48 left in the half to give Bucknell a 21-19 lead, but the Explorers responded with a 9-0 run keyed by Paul Johnson's put-back and a 3-pointer from Barrett. Green's free throws gave La Salle its largest lead of the half, seven points at 28-21 with 2:05 left.
Boon's layup and Darryl Shazier's pull-up jumper in the paint brought the Bison within 28-25, but they came up empty on their final possession of the half when Shazier was called for a charging foul.
Bucknell shot 36.6 percent from the field while La Salle shot 40.3 percent. The Bison had 10 steals - four from league-leader Castleberry - and forced 18 turnovers while committing only 10 themselves.
Bucknell is back on the road on Saturday night, facing No. 17 Wake Forest in Winston-Salem, N.C.
