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Thursday, December 22, 2005
(Originally posted 10:02 p.m., updated with links at 8:23 a.m.)
Phil Martelli wanted to blame finals.
"Right after exams it is always a difficult challenge," said the Saint Joseph's coach after his Hawks finished on the short end of a 63-61 final at Bucknell Wednesday night.
To be fair to the Hawks, Martelli was speaking the truth. Saint Joe's had not played since losing to Ohio State back on Dec. 10. But it was Bucknell's defense that was the difference in this one.
Chet Stachitas' face wasn't buried in a book when the nation's leading three-point shooter went 2-for-11 from the arc (3-14 overall) against Bucknell. And those were not his finance notes that caused that kind of showing from a guy who came in hitting 63 percent from the arc. Those were Charles Lee's hands.
"If he was going to shoot it, he was going to shoot it," said Lee. "But I wanted to be there in his face."
Lee was not the only one in somebody from Saint Joe's face. The Hawks came in ranked seventh in the nation in 3-point shooting, hitting at a clip of better than 43 percent. They went home with that percentage lowered a little after a 5-for-22 night. Overall, Saint Joe's shot 36.2 percent from the field.
When Stachitas hit his first three of the game, it gave Saint Joe's a 13-8 lead with 13:14 to go in the first half. By the time the Hawks scored again, eight-and-a-half minutes later, Bucknell had put up 16 unanswered points to take a 24-13 lead. Stahcitas himself did not score again until he hit a three just before the break. His only other bucket came on a layup with 7:18 to play.
It's the kind of defense Bucknell hs played throughout its 8-1 start, its best since the 1956-57 season. Saint Joe's was the seventh opponent in Bucknell's last eight games to shoot under 40 percent. Only Villanova, which shot an even 50 percent against BU, has shot better than 44 percent against the Bison, who ranked 12th in the nation in field goal percentage defense coming in.
"The matchups gave us all kinds of problems. Fifty-one points and you are not going to win any Division 1 games," said Martelli.
"Our defense was outstanding," said Bucknell coach Pat Flannery, stating the obvious.
The offense was not too bad either. Shooting the ball well outside (7-12, 58.3 percent from the arc) and inside (21-39, 53.8 percent overall), the Bison showed great balance, Four players finished in double figures, led by Kevin Bettencourt, who finished with 17. Charles Lee chipped in 14, Chris McNaughton 12 and John Griffin added 10 off the bench.
The only blemish from a Bucknell point of view was the Bison's weak free throw shooting that kept Saint Joe's in the game until late. The Bison were 14-28 from the stripe, a stat that was buoyed by a 9-14 showing in the final 1:05 of the game.
Bettencourt shrugged it off though.
"We missed free throws, that happens. We hit them when we needed them," he said.
Ahmad Nivins, a 6-9 freshman out of St. Anthony's in Jersey City, led the Hawks with 17 points. Stahcitas finished with 12.
The win came in front of a crowd of 4,252 fans, the second largest in school history.
Hoop Time Gameblog
Phil Martelli wanted to blame finals.
"Right after exams it is always a difficult challenge," said the Saint Joseph's coach after his Hawks finished on the short end of a 63-61 final at Bucknell Wednesday night.
To be fair to the Hawks, Martelli was speaking the truth. Saint Joe's had not played since losing to Ohio State back on Dec. 10. But it was Bucknell's defense that was the difference in this one.
Chet Stachitas' face wasn't buried in a book when the nation's leading three-point shooter went 2-for-11 from the arc (3-14 overall) against Bucknell. And those were not his finance notes that caused that kind of showing from a guy who came in hitting 63 percent from the arc. Those were Charles Lee's hands.
"If he was going to shoot it, he was going to shoot it," said Lee. "But I wanted to be there in his face."
Lee was not the only one in somebody from Saint Joe's face. The Hawks came in ranked seventh in the nation in 3-point shooting, hitting at a clip of better than 43 percent. They went home with that percentage lowered a little after a 5-for-22 night. Overall, Saint Joe's shot 36.2 percent from the field.
When Stachitas hit his first three of the game, it gave Saint Joe's a 13-8 lead with 13:14 to go in the first half. By the time the Hawks scored again, eight-and-a-half minutes later, Bucknell had put up 16 unanswered points to take a 24-13 lead. Stahcitas himself did not score again until he hit a three just before the break. His only other bucket came on a layup with 7:18 to play.
It's the kind of defense Bucknell hs played throughout its 8-1 start, its best since the 1956-57 season. Saint Joe's was the seventh opponent in Bucknell's last eight games to shoot under 40 percent. Only Villanova, which shot an even 50 percent against BU, has shot better than 44 percent against the Bison, who ranked 12th in the nation in field goal percentage defense coming in.
"The matchups gave us all kinds of problems. Fifty-one points and you are not going to win any Division 1 games," said Martelli.
"Our defense was outstanding," said Bucknell coach Pat Flannery, stating the obvious.
The offense was not too bad either. Shooting the ball well outside (7-12, 58.3 percent from the arc) and inside (21-39, 53.8 percent overall), the Bison showed great balance, Four players finished in double figures, led by Kevin Bettencourt, who finished with 17. Charles Lee chipped in 14, Chris McNaughton 12 and John Griffin added 10 off the bench.
The only blemish from a Bucknell point of view was the Bison's weak free throw shooting that kept Saint Joe's in the game until late. The Bison were 14-28 from the stripe, a stat that was buoyed by a 9-14 showing in the final 1:05 of the game.
Bettencourt shrugged it off though.
"We missed free throws, that happens. We hit them when we needed them," he said.
Ahmad Nivins, a 6-9 freshman out of St. Anthony's in Jersey City, led the Hawks with 17 points. Stahcitas finished with 12.
The win came in front of a crowd of 4,252 fans, the second largest in school history.
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