Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell University
11-15, 6-6PL
Lafayette
14-12, 5-6PL
Dramatic Shots by Shazier, Tyree Lift Bison Men Past Lafayette, 77-75 in Overtime
2/20/2008 7:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Feb. 20, 2008
LEWISBURG, Pa. - Bucknell seniors John Griffin and Darren Mastropaolo both made significant contributions on Senior Night, but in crunch time it was a freshman and a sophomore who came up big for the Bison in a thrilling 77-75 overtime win over Lafayette on Wednesday at Sojka Pavilion.
Rookie guard Darryl Shazier tied it with a 3-pointer with 13 seconds left in regulation - his second dramatic tying trey in the last two weeks - and sophomore Stephen Tyree won it with a drive to the basket with 2.9 seconds left in overtime.
Five Bison scored in double figures, led by reserve forward Patrick Behan's 16 points, his most since Dec. 3. Behan made 6 of 9 shots from the field, scored five big points in overtime, and also grabbed four rebounds. Griffin had 13 points, four assists and four steals. Tyree finished with 12 points and a career-high seven assists, and Mastropaolo and Justin Castleberry finished with 10 each. Mastropaolo was 3-for-3 from the floor, 4-for-4 from the line and led the team with five rebounds.
Bucknell snapped a three-game losing streak dating back to Feb. 6, when it also won in overtime at Colgate, 91-85. Shazier hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer to send that one into an extra period. The Bison are now 11-15, overall and 6-6 in the Patriot League, and they leapfrogged Lafayette (14-12, 5-6) and Lehigh to move into sole possession of third place in the league standings.
Lafayette, which has now lost five straight and six of its last seven after a 4-0 league start, also had five players score in double figures. Andrew Brown led the way with 17 points, and it was his four 3-pointers in a nine-minute span that helped the Leopards flip a 12-point halftime deficit into a six-point lead.
Matt Betley had 15 points and eight rebounds, Bilal Abdullah tallied 14, Michael Gruner had 13 and Paul Cummins 10 for Lafayette, which fell to 0-7 at Sojka Pavilion.
Lafayette had been 6-0 in overtime this season, including an NCAA record five road OT wins. The Leopards had won 10 straight overtime games dating back to a loss to Colgate in the 2004 Patriot League Tournament.
It was all Bucknell in the first half, as the home team made 10 of its first 14 shots and held Lafayette to 6-for-19 shooting en route to a 33-21 halftime lead.
After yielding the opening basket, Bucknell rattled off 10 straight points, with five different players scoring. Josh Linthicum's dunk off a backdoor bounce bass from Griffin capped the run. Later, the Bison had another 10-2 run, with Tyree assisting on all four field goals in that three-minute span. Castleberry and Jason Vegotsky both hit 3-pointers, and Behan's 17-footer at the 8:06 mark made it 24-12.
Tyree booked his sixth assist of the first half on a pretty drive and dish to Todd O'Brien for a layup just before the halftime buzzer.
Lafayette, the Patriot League's top 3-point shooting team, finally began to heat up in the second half after going just 1-for-8 from the arc before halftime.
Griffin's 3-point play at the 14:35 mark put the Bison back up by 12 at 42-30, but the Leopards went on a staggering 24-6 run over the next seven minutes. Brown hit three straight treys in less than two minutes, the last a twisting catch-and-shoot from deep on the left wing that gave Lafayette a 50-48 lead, its first advantage since 2-0.
Four free throws by Betley and Gruner added to the run, and the Leopards led 54-48 before Castleberry ended Bucknell's 3:37 scoreless drought with a baseline jumper.
The Bison clawed within 60-59 after Tyree's fastbreak layup hung on the rim for a few terrifying seconds before falling in, but Abdullah answered with his only 3-pointer of the night, a 27-foot bomb from the top of the arc with 3:11 to play.
Tyree answered with two free throws, but the Bison turned it over on its next two possessions, and one free throw from Ted Detmer and two from Gruner put Lafayette back up by five at 66-61 with just 1:02 to play.
Grffin then got bumped on a shot and made 1 of 2 free throws, but classmate Mastropaolo swooped in for a huge offensive rebound. After a timeout, Griffin drove baseline for a layup to make it a 3-point possession and a 66-64 game with 29 seconds left.
With 23 ticks remaining, Betley made only 1 of 2 from the foul line, setting the stage for Shazier's dramatics. Griffin initially thought he was open for a 3-pointer, but he was well defended as he left his feet. Just before coming back down he guided a pass to Shazier on the left wing, and the freshman stroked the tying three with 13 seconds left.
At the other end, Brown missed a long 3-pointer, but Jeff Kari kept the offensive rebound alive and found Gruner open in the left corner, but his jumper found only iron and disappeared over the top of the backboard as the buzzer sounded.
Trying to keep its overtime streak alive, Lafayette got four straight free throws from Betley and Abdullah to go up 71-68, but Behan hit an elbow jumper, then was fouled on a defensive rebound and made 1 of 2 free throws to tie it at 71 with 2:00 to play.
Betley scored inside on Lafayette's next possession, but Behan banked in a floater in the key to answer. Abdullah was fouled trying to post up on the low block and made two free throws to put the Leopards back in front, but Griffin made two free throws at the other end to make it 75-all with 52 seconds left.
Lafayette failed to get a shot off before the shot clock expired, giving the Bison possession with 15 seconds left. Bucknell called timeout in the front court with 9.5 left, then isolated Tyree at the top of the key. Tyree drove the lane, worked his defender off balance, and shoveled in the go-ahead two-footer with 2.9 seconds left.
Lafayette advanced the ball to halfcourt and called timeout with 1.2 seconds left. On the inbounds the Leopards sent a lob into Abdullah on the low right block, but Tyree prevented him from getting off a clean shot as the buzzer sounded.
Led by Behan, the Bison got a big lift from their bench, which totaled 29 points. Freshman center O'Brien went 3-for-3 from the floor and scored eight points.
Bucknell shot 54.2 percent from the field and made 5 of 13 from 3-point range. Lafayette shot 42.9 percent overall and finished 9 of 27 from the arc. The Bison were outrebounded 28-25 but held a 28-14 edge in points in the paint.
The third member of Bucknell's senior class, Rob Thomas, did not dress in this one because of a foot injury. Thomas, Griffin and Mastropaolo were all honored prior to the game, along with senior manager Ted McGrath. The Lafayette victory was the 84th for this class, second-most in Bucknell history and now three shy of the record set by the Class of 2007.
With his 13 points, Griffin moved into a tie for 28th place on Bucknell's career scoring list with 1,029 points.
Bucknell salvaged a split of the season series with Lafayette and defeated the Leopards for the eighth straight time in Lewisburg. The Leopards fell into a tie for fourth place with Lehigh in the Patriot League standings.
The Bison take a quick break from Patriot League play on Saturday when they travel to Old Dominion for a BracketBusters game. Bucknell then finishes the regular season with conference road games at Lehigh and Army.
