Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell University
3-6
Drexel
2-5
| Team | 1 | 2 | F |
|---|---|---|---|
| Drexel | 35 | 40 | 75 |
| Bucknell | 27 | 54 | 81 |
Bucknell Rallies Past Drexel, 81-75, for Second Straight Win
12/20/2008 7:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Dec. 20, 2008
Box Score |
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| Bucknell-Drexel Highlights
LEWISBURG, Pa. - Patrick Behan scored 22 points and Justin Castleberry tallied all 20 of his in Bucknell's Sojka Pavilion-record 54-point second half, leading the Bison to an 81-75 victory over visiting Drexel in a close, physical affair Saturday evening. Bryan Cohen added 16 points for the Bison, who trailed by 11 early in the second half before rallying for its second consecutive victory.
Coming off an 11-day layoff for final exams, Bucknell (3-6) struggled at the start, shooting 34.8 percent in the first half while allowing the Dragons to shoot 54.2 percent, and the Bison trailed 35-27 at intermission.
But things turned around for the home team after the break thanks to great 3-point shooting (5-7), 17 points from the foul line and a newly unveiled 1-3-1 zone defense that forced Drexel into 34.1 percent shooting in the second half.
Scott Rodgers scored 24 points and Gerald Colds added 21 for Drexel (2-5), which defeated Bucknell 65-53 in Philadelphia last season.
Rodgers' 3-pointer to open the second half scoring gave Drexel its largest lead of 11 points at 38-27. It was still an eight-point game two minutes later when Castleberry's acrobatic 3-point play ignited an 8-0 Bucknell run. Cohen's 3-pointer off a Castleberry assist brought the Bison within 42-41, and Enoch Andoh's free throw at the 14:45 mark tied the game for the first time since it was 9-9.
Colds' right-corner trey halted the Bucknell surge, but about 90 seconds later the Bison regained the lead on Behan's 3-pointer, then Castleberry drove the lane to give Bucknell a 49-45 lead. But the Bison missed two good looks that would have stretched it to six, and there would be eight ties and seven lead changes the rest of the way.
In the final seven minutes Behan and Castleberry both hit 3-pointers with the Bison trailing by two. Castleberry's bounded off the rim and high in the air before falling through to give Bucknell a 69-68 lead with 2:58 remaining.
Darryl Shazier's slashing layup snapped a 71-all tie with 1:30 to play. Moments later Evan Neisler had a chance to tie it for the Dragons, but he managed only 1 of 2 free throws. The Bison took advantage at the other end, when Behan banked in a contested leaner along the left side of the key with the shot clock set to expire.
After Samme Givins made 1 of 2 at the line to make it 75-73, Castleberry was fouled on the inbounds and made both with 28 seconds left to put the Bison ahead by two possessions at 77-73. At the other end Neisler grabbed an offensive rebound but Josh Linthicum blocked his shot, and G.W. Boon was fouled on the rebound. Drexel coach Bruiser Flint was hit with a pair of technical fouls in the aftermath, and the Bison connected of four of the six ensuing free throws to put the game out of reach.
Castleberry, who celebrated his 22nd birthday on Friday, became the first Bison to score 20 points in a half in five years. The last to do it was Kevin Bettencourt, who scored 24 in a half during his 42-point game at Saint Francis (Pa.). Castleberry was 0-for-4 from the field in the first half, but in the second he went 5-for-8 from the field, 9-for-11 from the foul line and added four assists.
Cohen (3-3) and Behan (3-5) combined to make 6 of 8 from 3-point distance, and the Bison went 7-for-14 on the night. One game after Bucknell held Binghamton to 0-for-16 shooting from the arc, Drexel missed its first five to stretch the run to 21 straight misses by Bison foes. The Dragons finished 5 of 21 from long range.
Drexel shot 41.5 percent for the game after the hot start, while the Bison finished at 48.0 percent after the cold start.
The two teams combined to shoot 67 free throws, with Bucknell making 26 of 39 and Drexel 16 of 28. The Dragons were only 10 of 20 from the line in the second half, including Tremayne Hawthorne missing all three after being fouled on a 3-point try with his team leading by nine points early in the period.
The Bison, who have now won back-to-back games for the first time this season, defeated Drexel for the first time since January of 1991 and evened the all-time series at 15 games apiece.
Bucknell now has a short turnaround before facing Richmond on the road on Monday night. The Spiders are 5-5 on the season after losing a close one against No. 10 Wake Forest on Friday.
