Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell University
3-2
Saint Francis (Pa.)
1-3
Bucknell Men's Basketball Wins Home Opener, 70-58 over Saint Francis (Pa.)
11/21/2009 7:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Nov. 21, 2009
| Video Highlights
LEWISBURG, Pa. - Patrick Behan registered 23 points and 12 rebounds to help the Bucknell men's basketball team win its home opener, 70-58 over Saint Francis (Pa.) on Saturday night at Sojka Pavilion. Freshman Joe Willman also had 12 rebounds to go with eight points as the Bison won their third in a row after an 0-2 start.
Devin Sweetney logged 16 points and Will Felder added 11 off the bench for the Red Flash, who trimmed a 15-point second-half deficit down to two before the Bison steadied themselves down the stretch.
Bucknell won despite struggling from the outside. The Bison shot 40 percent overall on the night but made just 2 of 16 3-point tries. Bucknell got it done inside and on the glass, however. The home team outscored Saint Francis 44-26 in the paint and parlayed 16 offensive rebounds into a 23-2 edge in second-chance points.
Willman and Behan were the catalyst on the offensive end, hustling down a combined 12 offensive rebounds (seven for Willman, five for Behan). In fact, Behan's offensive rebound and put-back with 9:34 left in the game may have been the turning point.
Bucknell extended a 30-20 halftime lead to 35-20 with a quick start to the second half, but the Red Flash got back in it with 23-10 run, with most of the damage coming from their bench. An Umar Shannon 3-pointer followed by a Felder baseline jumper made it 45-43 with 10:08 to play.
On Bucknell's next possession G.W. Boon hit the back iron with a 3-point attempt, but Behan outworked two men to grab the offensive board, and his follow-up shot ended the Saint Francis run and got the Bison going again. After a defensive stop, Stephen Tyree made a nice kick-out pass to Darryl Shazier at the top of the key, and Shazier buried the team's only 3-pointer of the second half to make it 50-43. A minute later, Shazier went coast-to-coast for a layup in traffic, and the Bucknell lead was back to nine.
Shazier came into the game as Bucknell's leading scorer at 14.3 points per game. He was held to nine in this one, but he added four rebounds and three assists without a turnover in 34 minutes. In fact, Bucknell committed a Sojka Pavilion-record low four turnovers on the night, and three of those came on charging fouls.
After Shazier's five straight points the Bison led by at least five the rest of the way. It was 52-47 when Boon turned a hanging layup into a 3-point play, and Shazier and Behan combined for three free throws to made it a double-figure lead again at 58-47.
Behan produced five points in 29 seconds, first converting another offensive rebound and stick-back, then converting a 3-point play after a pretty drive and dish from Boon. That made it 63-49 with 4:03 left. Bucknell salted it away by making 5 of 6 from the line along with a Behan 17-footer as the shot clock expired.
Bucknell jumped out of the gates quickly in front of the home crowd of 3,114, taking a 19-6 lead after 11 minutes of play. Saint Francis was 2-for-18 from the field with eight turnovers at that juncture. Willman had six points on two put-backs and a 12-foot jumper, and fellow freshman Bryson Johnson hit a 3-pointer and a floater in the lane during that span.
Sweetney's 3-pointer pulled the Red Flash within five at 22-17, but Behan scored six of Bucknell's last seven points of the half to make it a 10-point game at the break. Bryan Cohen's fastbreak layup off a Tyree feed, a Behan layup and a Tyree free throw made it 35-20 before Saint Francis mounted a rally.
Saint Francis owned the glass early, taking a 23-13 rebounding edge at one point. The Red Flash had 10 first-half offensive boards, but did not score any second-chance points off them. Bucknell then outrebounded Saint Francis 21-13 in the second half for a 43-39 overall edge.
Bucknell's bench was a factor in this one, combining for 21 points and 11 rebounds. Boon and Enoch Andoh, in particular, were important. Boon had seven points, three rebounds, an assist and a steal in 24 minutes. Andoh was very efficient, logging six points and five rebounds in six minutes of action. He scored inside twice and also got himself to the foul line, where he converted both charity tosses.
After the slow start, Saint Francis shot 50 percent in the second half and finished at 36.2 percent on the night. The Red Flash committed 12 turnovers, but they did not have a steal in the game and could produce only the four Bison turnovers.
Despite coming in with a 62-23 record in Sojka Pavilion, the Bison had never beaten Saint Francis here. The Red Flash handed Bucknell its only home loss of the season (12-1) in 2004-05, and they also won here two seasons ago.
Bucknell has now won its home opener for the fifth time in the last seven years, and it has its first three-game winning streak since January of 2008. The Bison will look to make it four in a row on Tuesday night at Columbia. Game time is 8 p.m. in New York City.
