(Originally posted 4:11 p.m. Saturday, updated with links 10:21 a.m.)

There were two big questions about Bucknell heading into Saturday afternoon's Sojka Pavilion matinee with Cornell: how might the Bison react after suffering their first loss of the season against Villanova and how rusty might the Bison look following an 11-day layoff after that game to study for and take finals.

Both questions were pretty obvious well before halftime, when Bucknell went on a 20-0 that sparked what eventually became a 83-39 win over the Ivy League visitors from Ithaca. Matter of fact, about the only question left after intermission was would Bucknell win by more than 50 points to set a new school margin of victory record.

They didn't; the biggest margin the reserves who played the last five or six minutes could muster was 47.

Nobody in orange and blue seemed bothered.

The Bison treated the Big Red like a piece of red carpet. They played the game like it was a variety show, with taking turns showcasing their talents.

The opening act was a duet with Chris McNaughton singing lead and Kevin Bettencourt chipping in on harmony. The pair combined for Bucknell's first 15 points, the last five -- a little 5-foot jumper off a lightning quick spin dribble by McNaughton and a Bettencourt three off a screen -- igniting the 20-0 run that was the high point of the show.

Then it was freshman Jason Vegotsky's turn. Vegotsky came into the game having made just 1-of-8 shots on the season. Pat Flannery's practice reviews, though, had been raves all season. Just wait till you see this kid get going, Flannery had been telling anyone who asked. After seeing the 6-2 guard from Pennsbury High School score 9 straight points during that run, folks know what Flannery was talking about.

"He's a great shooter," said Flannery, who quickly made it clear that was not why Vegotsky was on the floor at the time.

"He came in in the first half and played (Lenny) Collins well defensively. That got him on the floor to score some points," Flannery said.

Vegotsky started his spurt with two quick treys, then added an old-fashioned 3-point play after he was fouled while making a little baseline runner after beating his man off the dribble.

"When the first one went down, it gave me that confidence that if I got my shot it was going down," said Vegotsky, who was 4-for-4 in the half, 4-for-5 for the game.

Late in the half it was Abe Badmus stealing the offensive spotlight. Badmus jump-started a 12-0 run at the end of the half by hitting for 7 of his 11 points in that stretch. The 6-0 Chicagoan started it by scoring back-to-back buckets, one of which he turned into a 3-point play at the foul line. After Vegotsky made a nifty feed to Tarik Viaer-McClymont for a slam, Badmus got to the line for two more free throws.

"Abe is always Abe. He is just so exciting and so explosive," Flannery said after reviewing a final box that showed Bucknell's junior point guard with 11 points, 3 steals, 6 assists and just one turnover.

Vegotsky capped the run and the half with another trey that made it 51-17 at the break.

Cornell opened the second half with a 3-pointer by Collins to cut Bucknell's lead to 31. The Big Red never got closer.

How could they with Bucknell shooting the way it did and Colgate shooting the way it didn't. The Bison did not match their 20-29 (69 percent) pace from the first half in the second. But a 50-percent (9-18) half, combined with 13-19 free throw shooting and a defense that held Cornell under 30 percent both halves, it was more than enough.

"What we do really well right now is sharing the ball. We make the extra pass and get pretty good shots," said McNaughton, who finished with 12 points, hitting 5-of-6 in 20 minutes of work. Bettencourt was the fourth Bison in double figures, finishing with 11 points and 5 assists.

"We have been a pretty good defensive team up to this point," said Cornell coach Stevce Donahue. "They exposed us."

Flannery was more pleased with the defense, which held Cornell to its lowest point total in 97 games, dating back to a Feburary 2001 loss to Princeton. Bucknell has now held Cornell under 30 percent from the field two years in a row, surpassing last season's 29.4 percent effort by limiting Cornell to 13-of-49 (26.5 percent) in the game. Collins was the only Cornell player to reach double figures (12 points) and it took him 15 shots (4-15) to do it.

"We didn't give them any easy baskets," said Flannery.

It was Cornell's first loss by more than 40 points since a 1996 loss at Kansas and the widest margin of victory in the 41-game series, which dates back to 1900.

Box score

The Daily Item