Bucknell University Athletics
Postcards from Europe 2014: Day 2 in Bruges and Ghent
5/22/2014 6:25:00 PM | Men's Basketball
GHENT, Belgium – Thursday marked the first full day in Belgium for the Bucknell men's basketball team, and after a much-needed restful night's sleep, the Bison had a jam-packed day that was highlighted by a tour of the charming city of Bruges followed by the team's first of five games on this 10-day European adventure.
Let's get to the game first. Unfortunately it did not go as planned, as the Bison fell to the Ghent Hawks 75-67 at the Ghent Sportstad. The Hawks play in the second division of the Belgian professional league, and they went 16-14 this past season to finish in eighth place out of 16 teams. Tonight's roster featured the league's 2014 player of the year in 30-year-old Senne Geukens, who averaged 20.9 points for Sint-Jan Antwerpen. Geukens, who will be moving up to the Belgian first division next year, upped that total with a game-high 29 points against Bucknell, including a big bucket with about four minutes left after the Bison had just made a nice run to narrow a double-digit deficit down to four.
The Ghent team had some very experienced, crafty players, but from Bucknell's perspective it was a bit of a ragged opening performance. The Bison missed their first six shots and quickly fell behind 8-0. The deficit was 23-11 after the first quarter – they play four 10-minute quarters in international basketball – and Bucknell found itself fighting from behind all night.
The Bison annually rank among the national leaders in free-throw percentage, but tonight they were just 9-for-23 from the foul line, 6-for-22 from 3-point range, and they shot 38.2 percent overall from the floor.
Bucknell crept within eight at 33-25 by halftime and it was a six-point game (55-49) after three periods. The Hawks went back up by 13 early in the fourth quarter, but Dom Hoffman and Chris Hass both got hot and Cory Starkey grabbed two key offensive rebounds as the Bison made a run. Hass, who scored a team-high 23 points, canned his fourth 3-pointer of the night with 4:10 remaining to pull Bucknell within 64-60.
But then moments later Geukens spun through the lane for a layup that started a decisive 7-0 Ghent run. Bucknell helped out with some missed free throws in that late stretch, and the home team held on for the eight-point win.
Hass finished 8-for-18 from the field and 4-for-11 from 3-point range, which is set at 22' 1” under FIBA rules compared to the NCAA's 20' 7”. He also had three blocked shots and pair of steals. Starkey recorded a double-double with 10 points and a game-high 10 rebounds, and Hoffman added 12 points and nine boards. Bucknell finished with a 39-35 rebounding edge, including 15 offensive boards.
John Azzinaro tallied six points, and Joshea Singleton and Cameron Ayers both had five. With coach Dave Paulsen using this trip as an opportunity to look ahead to the future, the 2014 seniors will likely be seeing limited action this week. Ayers was the only senior to participate tonight – Ben Brackney is not on the trip due to a conflict with his new job – and he went 3-for-4 from the field in about 12 minutes. The Bison are also without the services of freshman D.J. MacLeay, who has accompanied the team to Europe but is not available to play as he recovers from offseason shoulder surgery.
While jet lag, two days of sightseeing and the adaptation to the European rulebook and style of play might have contributed to the loss, Coach Paulsen would not allow any excuses from his side after the game, and he will be looking for a tougher, smarter effort when they get right back at it tomorrow night in Antwerp.
After the game, the teams exchanged gifts, and the Bucknell players were presented with red and white rope “necklaces” that have very significant meaning in Ghent. The pieces refer to stropke, which is the round part of a rope or noose through which a prisoner places his head before being hanged. In the mid-1500s, the citizens of Ghent rebelled against high taxes under Emporer Charles V. Among other punishments, Charles V forced the protesters to walk about town wearing these ropes around their necks as a reminder that they would be hanged at a moment's notice if another transgression should occur. Today stropke has become a point of pride in Ghent. Typically the symbolic nooses are black and white in color, but the Ghent Hawks had them made up in red and white, which are their team colors. In the photo below, Bucknell's John Azzinaro sports his gift while posing with Hawks point guard Robin Spaens.
Earlier in the day, the Bucknell traveling party took a 60-kilometer bus ride to Bruges, another medieval Belgian city. A quick passing rainshower did nothing to dampen the visit, as everyone in the group quickly fell in love with Bruges.
Bruges is located all the way in the northwest corner of Belgium, only about 12 kilometers from the North Sea. The oval-shaped city of about 120,000 inhabitants is encircled and interlaced with canals, which give it the nickname “Venice of the North.”
Small sightseeing boats zip through the canals, and the clip-clop sounds of the many horse-drawn carriages can be heard constantly as one roams the streets of Bruges. Today's tour guide, Theo, is an expert on ancient architecture, and Bruges is filled with beautiful old structures from the Gothic, Romanesque, Baroque and Neo-Classical eras. Theo taught the group how to determine a building's age within a few decades simply by following a few simple clues such as window and gable shapes, brick color and the parallelness of the bricks in a façade.
The city of Bruges has origins dating back to the first century, and it received its charter in 1128. Thanks to its many canals and the Zwin tidal inlet that allowed direct access to the North Sea, Bruges was one of the world's most prominent trading hubs for a period of almost 300 years. But around 1500, major storms brought significant silt deposits that choked off the Zwin channel, and Bruges' economy went in the tank as access to the city was severely hindered. Theo told us that the industry that helped revive Bruges was lace. During that post-1500 period of economic hardship, many folks in Bruges started to tat lace. The lace industry, along with the refurbishing of the canals and the city port, were major factors in the city's recovery, although even today the population is not back to where it was in the Golden Age of Bruges.
Today Bruges is still known for its beautiful handmade lace, and lace boutiques are prominent throughout the streetside marketplaces. One shop in particular was crowded with folks wearing Orange & Blue, and – Spoiler Alert! – a number of the Bison players and staff members were spotted buying gifts and souvenirs to bring home.
Other notable scenes in Bruges included the 13th-century belfry tower, the Church of Our Lady with a very tall brick spire, and two refurbished ancient hospitals that now house museums and restaurants.
Tomorrow (Friday) everyone will have a free morning to shop and sightsee on their own in Ghent, and around noon the team will head to Antwerp for a quick tour, followed by a 7 p.m. game against the Antwerp Giants, another Division II Belgian club.
Check back tomorrow evening for another report!
