Bucknell University
Delaware (BracketBusters)
Delaware Scores Game's Final 25 Points in 81-68 Men's Hoops Victory over Bucknell
2/21/2009 7:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Feb. 21, 2009
LEWISBURG, Pa. - After playing 33 minutes of its best basketball of the season, Bucknell abruptly ran out of gas in its BracketBusters matchup with Delaware on Saturday afternoon, and the Blue Hens scored the game's final 25 points to steal an 81-68 win at Sojka Pavilion. Jawan Carter scored 26 points for Delaware, while Patrick Behan produced 23 for the Bison, his third straight game with 20 or more points.
With seven minutes to play in the game Bucknell was shooting 52.1 percent from the field and had a seemingly commanding 68-56 lead. But from that point forward, the Bison went 0-for-11 from the floor, 0-for-2 from the foul line and committed five turnovers. Delaware took advantage, making six of nine shots, including two critical 3-pointers from Carter and one from Brian Johnson, and the Blue Hens polished things off by making 9 of 10 free throws in the final 1:38.
G.W. Boon scored 16 points, while Justin Castleberry and Bryan Cohen added 11 each. Darryl Shazier dished out eight assists, but it was not enough as the Bison fell to 6-21 on the season.
Marc Egerson had 18 points and 13 rebounds and Alphonso Dawson also recorded a double-double with 15 points and 11 boards for the Blue Hens (12-17). Johnson added 13 points and eight assists.
It was an up-tempo game throughout, with both offenses operating effectively. There were five ties and eight lead changes in the first half alone, and Delaware went to the locker room with a 38-37 lead after Bucknell had rallied back from an early 14-6 deficit.
In the second half, the Bison trailed 42-39 after Jim Ledsome's alley-oop dunk, but back-to-back 3-pointers by Castleberry keyed a 10-0 Bison run. Behan tipped in his own miss and Boon went coast-to-coast for a layup to put Bucknell in front 49-42.
Two Behan free throws pushed the margin to double figures for the first time at 57-47, and at the 12:33 mark Cohen hit a left-corner 3-pointer on an inbounds play to put Bucknell up 60-49. Back-to-back baskets by Behan, the last coming on a pretty drive and dish by Shazier on a press break, made it 68-56 with 7:03 to play. But stunningly, those would be Bucknell's final points of the night.
A jumper by Carter and a layup by D.J. Boney pulled Delaware within 68-60, then Carter followed up two Bison misses with 3-pointers and suddenly it was just a two-point game at 68-66. With 3:01 left, Egerson got behind the defense and caught a 60-foot pass from Carter, then made the breakaway layup and was fouled. His 3-point play gave Delaware a 69-68 lead.
Bucknell turned the ball over on its next possession and Johnson hit a big 3-pointer to make it a multi-possession game at 72-68 with 2:25 to play. That would be the Blue Hens final field goal of the day, but with the Bison tiring on offense, Delaware put the game away at the free-throw line.
Bucknell had been 10-for-16 from the field in the second half before missing their final 11 shots, and it finished at 42.4 percent for the game. Delaware shot 46.0 percent. Both teams made nine 3-pointers. Delaware was 14-for-17 from the foul line, while Bucknell was 9-for-12.
The Blue Hens had a 37-33 rebounding edge and committed only eight turnovers, compared to 14 for Bucknell, which is now 1-3 in BracketBusters games.
Behan became the first Bucknell player in more than six years to record three straight 20-point games. The last to do it was Boakai Lalugba, who scored 34 against George Washington, 21 against Canisius and 24 against Saint Francis (Pa.) early in the 2002-03 season.
The Bison finish up the regular season with two straight home games, on Wednesday against Lehigh and Saturday against Army.
