Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell University
7-23
Holy Cross
17-13
| Team | 1 | 2 | F |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bucknell | 25 | 31 | 56 |
| Holy Cross | 32 | 43 | 75 |
Bucknell Men's Basketball Season Ends with 75-56 Loss at Holy Cross in Patriot League Tournament Quarterfinals
3/4/2009 7:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
March 4, 2009
WORCESTER, Mass. - R.J. Evans scored a career-high 31 points to lead Holy Cross past Bucknell 75-56 in the first round of the Patriot League Tournament on Wednesday night at the Hart Center. Patrick Behan tallied 15 points and 12 rebounds for the Bison, who finish their season at 7-23.
Bryan Cohen added 14 points and Justin Castleberry 12 for Bucknell, which bowed out in the first round for only the fourth time in the 19-year history of the Patriot League Tournament. It was its first opening-round loss since 2000.
Andrew Beinert added 15 points and Colin Cunningham 10 for the Crusaders, who broke open a three-point game early in the second half behind the play of Patriot League Rookie of the Year Evans and the 3-point shooting of Beinert.
Bucknell hit nine 3-pointers in a 72-66 win over Holy Cross at the Hart Center last month, but went just 4-for-18 in this one and shot 40.7 percent overall. The Bison saw their three-game winning streak at the Hart Center come to an end.
The key sequence in the second half came with Holy Cross up 38-35 with 15:34 to play when Cohen, Bucknell's best defender, was whistled for his third foul. Evans scored six straight points with him on the bench to extend the Crusaders' lead to nine at 44-35.
Beinert got hot later in the half, canning three straight 3-pointers just 1:33 apart to give Holy Cross leads of 10, 11 and 14, all game highs at the time. Bucknell got back within 12, but Evans' 3-point play with 3:25 left made it 68-53.
The Bison trailed 24-23 with two minutes remaining in the first half when Evans and Cunningham hit back-to-back 3-pointers from opposite corners of the floor to give the Crusaders a seven-point lead. G.W. Boon made the only two free throws of the first half to bring the Bison within 30-25, but Beinert rebounded Cunningham's air ball and put it back in at the buzzer to put Holy Cross ahead 32-25 at halftime.
Evans scored 14 in the first half for Holy Cross and hit two of the Crusaders' four 3-pointers.
Holy Cross shot an even 50 percent from the floor, becoming only the second team to do that against the Bison this season. The Crusaders finished with a 36-31 rebounding edge.
The two teams were meeting for the 12th time in 19 Patriot League Tournaments, making it the most-played tourney rivalry. Both teams have now won six times.
Bucknell seniors Castleberry, Jason Vegotsky and Josh Linthicum saw their careers come to an end with the loss. Castleberry and Vegotsky both finished in the top 10 on Bucknell's career 3-point field goal list.
Behan was trying to tie the Bucknell record for most consecutive 20-point games, but his run ended at five straight despite another strong all-around outing.
