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Sunday, January 22, 2006
(Originally posted Sat. 10:29 p.m., links added 8:53 a.m.)
How good is Bucknell playing defense right now? Consider this, since league play began Jan. 7, Bucknell has played 10 halves of basketball. In eight of those 10, the opposition has shot less than 30 percent from the field.
Saturday night in Lewisburg they did it again, holding Colgate to 7-26 from the field in the second half to pull away for a 62-43 win.
Chris McNaughton had 16 points and Donald Brown came off the bench to score 14 on perfect 6 for 6 shooting. As a team, the Bison knocked down 24 of 46 (52.2 percent), finishing above 50 percent from the field for the seventh time this season. The Bison dished out 18 assists, including 8 by Abe Badmus, who also had 9 points.
It was a solid offensive show, to be certain, but it was the defense that was the key.
In the first half, the Bucknell defense played well enough to keep the Bison in the game despite a stretch of almost eight minutes without a bucket. In the second half, it was even stingier, holding the Raiders to 7 buckets on 26 shots (26.9 percent). The Bison forced 17 turnovers, turning them into 15 points.
Brown was responsible for a lot of that. He is big enough to defend the power forward spot and quick enough to jump out on the shooters in the corners to take away the open three. Against a quick, perimeter oriented team like Colgate, that is essential. Colgate missed 13 of the 18 three-pointers they put up, and the ones that fell, including three by Alvin Reed (4-12, 3-9 from the arc) that were basically answered off-balance prayers.
"It (provides a spark) every time Donald comes in, somehow we get going," said McNaughton.
"WIth (Brown) out there we are capable of extending on defense," said Badmus.
After talking in the preseason about pressing more this season, Pat Flannery turned the dogs loose in the second half, creating turnovers with a combination of full and halfcourt traps that fueled the decisive 15-0 run that put Colgate away.
What provided the energy surge that sparked the run was Brown, who skyed over a crowd around the basket to guide home a missed layup by Jason Vegotsky and added another bucket during the spurt. Brown also had a steal during that stretch.
"I know in order to help this team, I had to be aggressive both defensively and offensively. That was the way I was going to get on the floor," Brown said.
Bucknell came in averaging six three pointers per game, but shot just 9 and made only 2. Kevin Bettencourt was 0-for-4 from the arc, 3-9 overall, finishing with just 6 points, but he had four assists. Instead of bombing away from outside, the Bison pounded it inside, outscoring Colgate 20-4 in the paint and out rebounding the Raiders 33-23.
"Coach tells us every day, you're not going to get the same thing every time. You have to go through your progressions. If something is not working, something else is going to be working. We have enough weapons and enough options on this team to never be in a position where we
just can't find a way to score," Badmus said.
Reed and Kyle Roemer each with 11 for the Raiders, who have lost four straight, seven of their last nine.
The win for Bucknell sets up a first place showdown in Bethlehem Wednesday against Lehigh. Both Bucknell and the Mountain Hawks are 5-0 in conference play.
Game Blog
How good is Bucknell playing defense right now? Consider this, since league play began Jan. 7, Bucknell has played 10 halves of basketball. In eight of those 10, the opposition has shot less than 30 percent from the field.
Saturday night in Lewisburg they did it again, holding Colgate to 7-26 from the field in the second half to pull away for a 62-43 win.
Chris McNaughton had 16 points and Donald Brown came off the bench to score 14 on perfect 6 for 6 shooting. As a team, the Bison knocked down 24 of 46 (52.2 percent), finishing above 50 percent from the field for the seventh time this season. The Bison dished out 18 assists, including 8 by Abe Badmus, who also had 9 points.
It was a solid offensive show, to be certain, but it was the defense that was the key.
In the first half, the Bucknell defense played well enough to keep the Bison in the game despite a stretch of almost eight minutes without a bucket. In the second half, it was even stingier, holding the Raiders to 7 buckets on 26 shots (26.9 percent). The Bison forced 17 turnovers, turning them into 15 points.
Brown was responsible for a lot of that. He is big enough to defend the power forward spot and quick enough to jump out on the shooters in the corners to take away the open three. Against a quick, perimeter oriented team like Colgate, that is essential. Colgate missed 13 of the 18 three-pointers they put up, and the ones that fell, including three by Alvin Reed (4-12, 3-9 from the arc) that were basically answered off-balance prayers.
"It (provides a spark) every time Donald comes in, somehow we get going," said McNaughton.
"WIth (Brown) out there we are capable of extending on defense," said Badmus.
After talking in the preseason about pressing more this season, Pat Flannery turned the dogs loose in the second half, creating turnovers with a combination of full and halfcourt traps that fueled the decisive 15-0 run that put Colgate away.
What provided the energy surge that sparked the run was Brown, who skyed over a crowd around the basket to guide home a missed layup by Jason Vegotsky and added another bucket during the spurt. Brown also had a steal during that stretch.
"I know in order to help this team, I had to be aggressive both defensively and offensively. That was the way I was going to get on the floor," Brown said.
Bucknell came in averaging six three pointers per game, but shot just 9 and made only 2. Kevin Bettencourt was 0-for-4 from the arc, 3-9 overall, finishing with just 6 points, but he had four assists. Instead of bombing away from outside, the Bison pounded it inside, outscoring Colgate 20-4 in the paint and out rebounding the Raiders 33-23.
"Coach tells us every day, you're not going to get the same thing every time. You have to go through your progressions. If something is not working, something else is going to be working. We have enough weapons and enough options on this team to never be in a position where we
just can't find a way to score," Badmus said.
Reed and Kyle Roemer each with 11 for the Raiders, who have lost four straight, seven of their last nine.
The win for Bucknell sets up a first place showdown in Bethlehem Wednesday against Lehigh. Both Bucknell and the Mountain Hawks are 5-0 in conference play.
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