Bucknell Men's Basketball Opens League Play Saturday at Navy on ESPNU

Jan. 8, 2009

WHAT: Bucknell (3-11, 0-0 PL) vs. Navy (11-4, 0-0 PL)
WHERE: Alumni Hall, Annapolis, Md.
WHEN: Saturday, January 10, 2009, 5 p.m.
RADIO: Eagle 107 and SportsJuice.com
SATELLITE RADIO: Sirius 144
TV: ESPNU
STREAMING VIDEO: None
LIVE STATISTICS: navysports.com
COMPLETE PRESS NOTES

Bucknell Basketball Luncheon video camera

With a Victory over Navy, Bucknell Would ...

... snap a five-game losing streak and improve to 4-11 on the season.

... win for the first time on the road this season and snap a nine-game road losing streak dating back to year's Patriot League Tournament quarterfinal game at Alumni Hall.

... hand the Midshipmen their first home loss of the year and snap their seven-game home winning streak dating back to the triple-overtime loss to Bucknell in the 2008 postseason.

... win its Patriot League opener for the fifth straight year.

About the Game
The 19th season of Patriot League basketball gets underway on Saturday with all eight conference teams in action. The last of those four contests to tip will be Bucknell and Navy from Alumni Hall in an ESPNU-televised game. This will be the first meeting between the two teams since last year's epic triple-overtime game in the Patriot League Tournament quarterfinals, won by the Bison 87-86 on John Griffin's 40-foot bank shot at the final buzzer. That game represents Bucknell's last road victory and Navy's last home loss. The Bison are 0-8 on the road this season and are looking to snap a five-game losing streak, while Navy has won three straight and is 7-0 at home. Bucknell's hottest players of late have been freshmen Bryan Cohen and sophomore G.W. Boon. Cohen has scored in double figures in seven straight games and is averaging 15.1 points per game over that span. Boon is averaging 12.1 ppg over his last 10 as one of the team's top reserves. Justin Castleberry continues to lead the team in scoring at 12.5 ppg, followed by Cohen (12.3), Patrick Behan (11.7) and Boon (9.6). Navy is coming off a 66-62 victory at Elon on Monday night to get to 11-4 on the season, its best pre-conference record since joining the Patriot League. The Midshipmen feature the league's top scorer in Kaleo Kina (19.2 ppg) and two of the league's best 3-point shooters in Chris Harris (16.1 ppg, 48 3FGs) and Adam Teague (10.9 ppg, 36 3FGs). Kina has had some of his best games against Bucknell. He scored 24, 27 and 13 points in the three meetings with the Bison last season.

How to Get the Game
The Bucknell-Navy game will be televised live on ESPNU, with Bob Socci and John Feinstein handling the play-by-play and color commentary, respectfully. The game can be heard locally on the radio on Eagle 107 (WEGH 107.3 FM), with Doug Birdsong and Ed Sigl 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. The game will also air on Sirius Satellite Radio on channel 144. Live statistics are available on GameTracker at navysports.com.

Bucknell vs. Navy Series Notes

This will be the 56th all-time meeting between the Bison and Midshipmen, with Navy owning a 30-25 series lead.

The Bison have won eight of the last nine meetings with Navy, with the lone setback over that span a 78-72 loss at Alumni Hall last season.

The Mids won 12 of 16 from the Bison prior to joining the Patriot League in 1991-92.

As conference rivals Bucknell holds a slim 21-18 advantage but is only 6-15 against Navy in Alumni Hall during that time.

Bucknell vs. Navy Last Season

On Jan. 11, 2008, Justin Castleberry scored 19 points to lead four Bucknell players in double figures, and the Bison came back from a seven-point halftime deficit to defeat Navy 85-77 at sold-out Sojka Pavilion in the first game of the 2008 Patriot League schedule. Greg Sprink scored 26 points and Kaleo Kina tied his career high with 24 for Navy.

On Feb. 9, 2008 at Alumni Hall, Kina set a new career high with 27 points, and Sprink and Chris Harris both hit back-breaking 3-pointers in a close game in the final minutes, leading Navy to a 78-72 win. John Griffin hit five 3-pointers and scored 19 points to lead the Bison, while Castleberry, Darren Mastropaolo and Stephen Tyree scored a dozen each.

On March 5, 2008 at Alumni Hall, Griffin banked in a 40-foot prayer at the final buzzer to lift Bucknell to an 87-86 triple-overtime win in the Patriot League Tournament quarterfinals. The finish seemed improbable when the Bison trailed by 17 points with 15:42 to play in regulation, but they staged a furious rally and ended up winning the longest game in Patriot League postseason history. Both teams made dozens of clutch, pressure shots in the overtimes. Just in the final minute of triple OT, Griffin hit a tying 3-pointer for Bucknell, Harris countered with a go-ahead trey, G.W. Boon tied it again with a three, T.J. Topercer put back a missed shot to give Navy an 86-84 lead with three seconds left, and finally Griffin won it for Bucknell with a running bank shot from just inside half court. Griffin finished with 21 points to lead Bucknell, while Greg Sprink had 37 for Navy.

Patriot League Success
The Bison are 162-76 (.681) 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 18 seasons. The Bison won a league-record 23 straight contests against conference foes from Feb. 23, 2005 to Jan. 12, 2007. Bucknell had a streak of 35 straight wins at home against conference opponents come to an end last season.

Consistent Winners
Since the start of Patriot League play in 1990-91, Bucknell has posted only three sub-.500 seasons in regular-season conference action. The Bison have finished either first or second eight times in that 18-year span. Season Rec. Pct. Reg. Ssn. Fin. 1990-91 7-5 .583 4th 1991-92 11-3 .786 2nd 1992-93 13-1 .929 1st 1993-94 6-8 .429 5th 1994-95 11-3 .786 1st (T) 1995-96 8-4 .667 3rd (T) 1996-97 9-3 .750 2nd 1997-98 8-4 .667 3rd 1998-99 9-3 .750 2nd (T) 1999-00 8-4 .667 3rd 2000-01 4-8 .333 5th (T) 2001-02 8-6 .571 3rd (T) 2002-03 7-7 .500 5th 2003-04 9-5 .643 3rd (T) 2004-05 11-3 .786 2nd 2005-06 14-0 1.000 1st 2006-07 13-1 .929 1st (T) 2008-09 6-8 .429 5th (T)

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 8-10 in conference openers. When the Patriot League opener is a home game, the Bison are 7-3. Bucknell and Navy have kicked off PL play on nine previous occasions, with Bucknell winning five of those, including three in a row. Last season, the Bison got off to a 1-0 league start with an 85-77 win over Navy at Sojka Pavilion.

Numbers to Watch
Some relevent stats involving Bucknell and Navy:

This one could be a high-scoring affair, as Bucknell and Navy rank 1-2 in the Patriot League in shot attempts. The Bison average 61.6 attempts per game, while Navy launches 58.2. Both teams allow better than 70 points per game.

After doing very well defending the 3-point shot early in the year, Bucknell has suddenly allowed three of its last four opponents to shot 45% or better from the arc, including an 8-for-14 showing by Cornell on Tuesday. The Bison will have to shore up that area against a Navy team that features two of the league's top four 3-point marksmen in Chris Harris and Adam Teague.

Bucknell has produced five or more steals in three of its last four games, including a season-high 11 against St. Bonaventure. The Bison will look for more of the same against a Navy team that averages 15.2 turnovers per game.

Bucknell and Navy have not faced any common opponents thus far.

Last Time Out
Bucknell made a valiant comeback attempt in Ithaca, N.Y., on Tuesday, but in the end the 22-point second-half deficit was just too much to overcome. The Bison cut that margin down to six with a late-game flurry, but Cornell held off the Bucknell charge at the free-throw line. Bryan Cohen scored 20 points and G.W. Boon had 15 off the bench to lead Bucknell, while Louis Dale had 20 points, 10 rebounds and five assists for the Big Red.

Inside the Cornell Boxscore

Bucknell had its best defensive half and its worst defensive half of the season in the same game. In the first half the Bison held Cornell 23 points on 28.0% shooting and forced nine turnovers. In the second half Cornell scored 52 points and shot 65.2%, including 5-for-6 shooting from 3-point distance.

With 4:13 left in the game Bucknell trailed 61-41 and was just 15-for-52 (.288) from the field. Then suddenly the Bison made nine of their next 10 shots, including four 3-pointers and a 3-point play, to get back in the game.

In that late flurry, G.W. Boon scored nine points in 23 seconds, while Cohen had seven points in about three minutes.

For the game, Boon had 15 points in 20 minutes off the bench. He made 6 of 10 shots from the field, including the two highly contested 3-pointers late in the game.

Bucknell had only four turnovers in the first 19 minutes of the second half and finished with 14 in the game.

Darryl Shazier was limited to only 24 minutes due to foul trouble. Shazier sat out the last 13 minutes of the first half after picking up two quick fouls, and he was collared for two more fouls in the second half, both coming on could-have-gone-either-way block/charge calls. In those 24 minutes, Shazier did not commit a turnover, the second straight game he has gone without a miscue.

Bucknell did hold Cornell scoring leader Ryan Wittman (20.8 ppg coming in) in check. Wittman managed four field goals in 10 attempts (although he did hit two big threes in the second half in Cornell's run) and had five turnovers.

Freshman walk-on Ryan Ebner played a career-high 19 minutes and grabbed a career-high five rebounds. Starting center Josh Linthicum was whistled for two fouls in the first three minutes of the game and did not return.

The Long Road
Tuesday's loss to Cornell dropped the Bison to 0-8 on the road this season and extended their road losing streak to nine games dating back to last season. It is Bucknell's longest road losing streak since the 1989-90 season, when the squad also dropped nine in a row away from home.

`Berry Good
Bison senior guard Justin Castleberry averaged 20.0 points in two games last week and now leads the team in scoring at 12.5 ppg. Castleberry has been hot and cold this season. He has scored 17 or more points six times, but he has also been held to seven or less six times. He had a career-high 31 points in a win over Old Dominion earlier this season, one of four 20-plus-point games this year and seven in his career.

Ebner's Role Expanding
Freshman Ryan Ebner, a walk-on forward who will also pitch for the Bison baseball team in the spring, has earned himself some playing time in the last two weeks. Ebner played a career-high 19 minutes at Cornell on Tuesday and has now earned double-digit minutes in three of the last four games. He has 13 points and 12 rebounds in 54 minutes this season.

Rave Rookie Reviews
Bison freshman guard Bryan Cohen has been one of the Patriot League's top newcomers so far in 2008-09. Cohen has scored in double figures in seven straight games and 10 total, and he is averaging 15.1 points per game over that span. His 12.3 ppg average ranks ninth overall in the Patriot League and second among freshmen to Holy Cross' R.J. Evans (13.5). Cohen leads PL freshmen in 3-pointers (29), 3-point percentage (.354) and minutes played (32.4). He is the only freshman in the league to have started all of his team's games so far this season.

A Pat on the Back for Behan
Bison junior Patrick Behan is having his best season, averaging 11.7 points and a team-high 5.9 rebounds per game so far. More comfortable setting up outside the paint, Behan has been asked to play quite a bit at the "5" spot this season due to Bucknell's depth concerns in the low post. He has responded well and ranks fifth in the conference in rebounding.

A Boon Off the Bench
Sophomore wing G.W. Boon missed a large portion of preseason practice with a shoulder injury, and his offensive production has recently begun to flourish. After totaling 14 points in the first four games of the year, Boon has 121 points in his last 10 games (a 12.1 ppg average). That includes a career-best 24-point showing against Wagner on Nov. 29, a 15-point effort at Cornell and three 14-point games. Boon leads the Bison in points per minute (.441) this season.

Shazier's Shooting Improved, Assists Up
Point guard Darryl Shazier has been much-improved from long range in 2008-09. The sophomore is 15-for-40 (.375) from the arc this season, tied for sixth-best in the Patriot League with Navy's Chris Harris. As a freshman Shazier made just 10 triples all season in 48 attempts (.238). Shazier also ranks second in the Patriot League in assists at 4.57 per game.

Tough Schedule
Bucknell's 14 non-conference opponents have a combined record of 113-75 (.601). Wake Forest, which is now ranked No. 4 nationally, heads the list with a perfect 13-0 record. Only four of those 12 teams have losing records. The three teams that Bucknell has defeated have a combined 23-15 (.605) record.

Tough Schedule, Part 2
Bucknell has a national strength-of-schedule ranking of 74 (out of 343 teams), according to the latest RPI rankings (through games of Jan. 6). That figure is by far the highest in the Patriot League. Team SOS Ranking Bucknell 74 American 154 Lafayette 259 Holy Cross 267 Colgate 272 Navy 323 Lehigh 337 Army 341

Bison Missing Tyree
Bucknell suffered a major blow when junior Stephen Tyree suffered a season-ending knee injury in a September intrasquad pick-up game in Sojka Pavilion. Tyree was developing into one of the Patriot League's best young players, and in fact he won the PL Defensive Player of the Year Award last season as a sophomore. Tyree led the Bison in assists (2.8), rebounds (4.8) and field-goal percentage (.579) last season, and he averged 7.0 points per game (9.8 in league play).

Castleberry, Vegotsky on 3-point Chart
Bucknell seniors Jason Vegotsky and Justin Castleberry have both moved into the top 11 on Bucknell's career list for 3-point field goals. Vegotsky has 112 in his career, ninth in program history. Castleberry recently hit the century mark as well and now has 110 career treys, tied with Sekou Hamer (1992-96) for 11th.

Who's Got Next?
Bucknell begins Patriot League play on Saturday at Navy at 5 p.m. The game will be televised on ESPNU. It will be Bucknell's first trip to Alumni Hall since last season's Patriot League Tournament semifinals, when the Bison won 87-86 in triple overtime on John Griffin's 40-foot bank shot at the final buzzer.

Bucknell University Athletics

Bucknell Men's Basketball Opens League Play Saturday at Navy on ESPNU

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