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Friday, March 10, 2006
25 minutes (give or take) till tip off
Reports of the Bucknell student section's demise have proved premature. The Psyhcos are here, and they are already loud.
Chants of "This is our house" and the call and reply "'Ray" "Bucknell" have been going on for about 20 minutes now.
Despite spring break, Holy Cross has mustered about a dozen musicians for a pep band. But the color purple is definitely in the minority here. This is a very orange crowd.
The officials just came out. Surprise, surprise, no Rich Giallella.
Last word on start time from ESPN was to expect a 4:45 tip. One of the facts of mid major life is that you don't get to start your championship game until the ACC finishes the quarterfinal game being shown just before your game, in this case Wake Forest and North Carolina State.
5 minutes till tip
The students in the section behind the bucket HC will shoot at first are equipped with long, tubular, blue and orange balloons, which they are already waving enthusiastically, even before any Crusaders have gone to the free throw line.
About the only Bucknell fans not wearing orange are a bunch of Blue Man Group imitators in the stands at the north end.
Among the signs:
Holy Cross' Last Crusade
Bucknell Bison Patriot league,uNdefeated
We must protect this house
and the usual ESPN variations designed to get the holders their 5 seconds of fame.
And in the Holy Cross student section, one with a picture of a buffalo saying "Endangered Species"
They did a countdown to air time on ESPN, and when they hit zero, this place was nearly as loud as it was when McNaughton finished a fast break with a dunk during the semifinals win over American
Bucknell 7, HC 7 (15:54 first)
HC a turnover on its first possession, a Thomas carry
Bucknell with three offensive rebounds on its first, but can't convert
Tim Clifford's first personal comes at the 17:20 mark. The 'Saders cannot afford for him to get in foul trouble
McNaughton, hedging a screen at the top of the key, gets a steal when Thomas loses the handle and takes it in for a huge slam, hanging on the rim long enough for Clifford to beg the refs for a technical. None is called.
HC is shooting 75 percent (3-4). Bucknell is 3-8 (37.5 percent), most of the misses on that first possession. McNaughton 2 for 2, 4 points for BU
Bucknell 17, HC 14 (11:40 first)
A handful of empty seats in the HC section, otherwise this place is pretty full.
Vander Baan picks up two fouls in the space of 20 seconds. Not good for HC.
Torey Thomas just came up limping after missing a layup trying to drive on Badmus in transition. Another bad omen for HC?
Team fouls stand at HC 6, BU 4 ... both starting power forwards -- Vander Baan and Mastropaolo with 2 each
Bucknell 17, HC 17 (11:18 first)
Officials check the TV monitor on a Hamilton shot at the 11:18 mark to see where his feet where. They rule it a three-pointer, tying the score at 17-17.
So far HC's big men are 2 for 5 from the field. Bucknell's bigs are 3-5, with McNaughton accounting for all three makes and four of the shots.
Bucknell 27, HC 21 (9:08)
Thomas is back in but the ankle looks tender. He is moving very gingerly
Vander Baan gets his third personal at the 9:43 mark. Donald Brown makes the free throw to convert an old-fashioned three-point play.
Bison on a 7-2 run
Bucknell 29, HC 28 (7:52 first)
McNaughton's second personal comes on a horrible call by an official who called it on the wrong guy. Even if he had called it on Donald Brown, it would have been a bad call, since all Brown touched was the ball and the officials was on the far side of the court, completely screened. Maybe he has x-ray specs?
Minutes later an equally horrendous call on Lee when the officials first miss the jump ball when Mastropaolo ties up Clifford, then misses the travel as Clifford tries to get out of the double team.
Hard to believe these guys are the best the Patriot League can muster. But with Big East and ACC Tournaments underway, as well as A-10 ... the cream of the crop is elsewhere and we are stuck with these guys.
Bucknell 34, HC 34 (3:46 first)
McNaughton gets his third personal around the 7:15 mark. Clifford is living at the line without even being at all aggressive going to the basket. He has shot 6 free throws, making them all.
The officials are keeping Holy Cross in the game. They have already shot 14 free throws, making 13. Bucknell 5 for 5 at the line.
It's curious, given that HC has mostly been shooting jumpers while Bucknell is aggressively attacking the hoop.
So much for defense, eh? The Bison shooting 44.4 percent from the field, the Crusaders 45 percent
Bucknell 42, HC 38 (halftime)
It is becoming a habit in Sojka, big Bucknell buckets at the buzzer of the first half. This time it is Bettencourt, who drains his fourth trey of the half to send Bucknell to the break with momentum.
The cheers as the Bison leave to floor quickly turn to a much-deserved chorus of boos as the officials follow out the same corridor.
By the way, the guy who made the phantom call for McNaughton's second was John Hughes. Jeff Plunkett has certainly not distinguished himself with the whistle in the first half either.
In the first half, Bucknell called for 13 fouls, three each on McNaughton and Mastropaolo. Tim Clifford has been to the line 8 times and has made all 8. Overall, HC is 17 for 20 from the stripe in the half.
Bucknell has shot just 6 free throws, making 5. Vander Baan with three personals for HC. Hamilton with two, nobody else withg more than 1 for the Crusaders.
Hamilton with 12 points to lead HC, Clifford with 10.
For Bucknell, Lee and Bettencourt each with 12, McNaughton with 8 before sitting the last 7:17 of the half with three fouls.
Bucknell shooting 15 of 32 from the field (46.9 percent), 7 for 12 from the arc.
Holy Cross 9 for 21 (42.9 percent), 3-8 at the arc.
HC has 10 turnovers, BU 5. Rebounds 18-13 HC.
Riddle me this: How can the team with 14 points in the paint have shot just 6 free throws while the team with 6 points in the paint has shot 20? The answers: Jeff Plunkettt, John Hughes and, to a much lesser extent, Billy McCarthy.
At one point, Kevin Hyland shot two free throws with a foot on the foul line, and no call.
Almost makes you miss Giallella.
To Bucknell's credit, they have played through all that.
Bucknell 49, HC 42 (14:36 to go)
Lee on a breakaway is grabbed by Simmons, right in front of Hughes, negating a breakaway and no intentional foul call.
McNaughton with two buckets already in the half, he now has 12 points. Lee with a trey has 15 now.
Holy Cross turned it over its first two possessions, then got buckets from Simmons and Hamilton to cut it to 45-42 before McNaughton's two buckets.
Bucknell 54, HC 44 (11:52 to go)
D. Brown's dunk off a baseline drive and dish from Badmus gives Bucknell the first double digit lead of the game. It followed Bettencourt's fifth trey.
Bucknell 56, HC 44 (11:27 to go)
Brown's dunk brought an HC 30 sec. timeout. On Bucknell's next possession, the ran the same thing, with Brown laying it in and drawing a foul on Clifford.
Bucknell 57, HC 44 (10:04 to go)
Give the refs credit, they are bad both ways. Vander Baan's fourth comes on a ticky-tack call in the backcourt after a BU rebound. These guys are not just bad, they are inconsistent. Team fouls stand at 4 for HC, 1 for BU now.
All-tournament team ballots have been distributed on press row. My ballot has Hamilton, Simmons, Lee, Bettencourt and McNaughton. Tournament MVP I won't fill in until the game is decided.
Bucknell 58, HC 44 (7:53 to play)
Turnovers re killing the Crusaders. They now have 18 in the game, 8 this half.
Simmons just picked up his fourth personal, three in this half. Team fouls now at HC 6,BU 1.
Brown now in double figures for Bucknell, the fourth Bison to reach double digits.
Brown has 10 on 4 for 9 shooting after starting the game 1 for 5.
HC shooting percentage down to 37.5 percent (12-32), they are 3 for 11 this half.
Bucknell 66, HC 53 (3:27 left)
Simmons stays in with four, what choice does Willard have? He drains a three to end an 11-0 Bucknell run, but Brown answers at the other end to keep the lead at 15.
Brown's second personal, at the 6:48 mark, is just Bucknell's second team foul. Some consistency eh?
Thomas spending a long stretch on the bench. Must be the ankle.
HC using threes to stay in the game, two by Simmons and one by Kyle Cruze since Bucknell's run. But they are trading baskets. Bucknell is now 9 for 16 in the second half and is shooting 24-48 (50 percent) for the game.
Bucknell 72, HC 57 (1:32 left)
HC gets it down to 11, only to see Bettencourt convert a 4-point play on a made three and one with the shot clock running down. What did Jeff Jones say about his threes being like daggers.
My Tournament MVP ballot: 1) Lee, 2) Hamilton, 3) McNaughton ... they have no room for honorable mention, but if they did it would go to Simmons, who has played like a warrior this afternoon. He just came out after falling while trying to chase down a BU fast break. Looked like he had nothing left to give.
Bucknell 74, HC 59 (FINAL)
Bucknell lets the shot clock run out on its last possession as bedlam breaks out in Sojka. Definitely the loudest moment of a loud season here.
The Pscyhos storm the court and no criticizing it this time, after a championship game, it is fitting.
Bucknell finishes the game shooting 52 percent from the field, 26 of 50, including 10 of 18 from the arc.
Championship hats already on the Bison player's heads.
Reports of the Bucknell student section's demise have proved premature. The Psyhcos are here, and they are already loud.
Chants of "This is our house" and the call and reply "'Ray" "Bucknell" have been going on for about 20 minutes now.
Despite spring break, Holy Cross has mustered about a dozen musicians for a pep band. But the color purple is definitely in the minority here. This is a very orange crowd.
The officials just came out. Surprise, surprise, no Rich Giallella.
Last word on start time from ESPN was to expect a 4:45 tip. One of the facts of mid major life is that you don't get to start your championship game until the ACC finishes the quarterfinal game being shown just before your game, in this case Wake Forest and North Carolina State.
5 minutes till tip
The students in the section behind the bucket HC will shoot at first are equipped with long, tubular, blue and orange balloons, which they are already waving enthusiastically, even before any Crusaders have gone to the free throw line.
About the only Bucknell fans not wearing orange are a bunch of Blue Man Group imitators in the stands at the north end.
Among the signs:
and the usual ESPN variations designed to get the holders their 5 seconds of fame.
And in the Holy Cross student section, one with a picture of a buffalo saying "Endangered Species"
They did a countdown to air time on ESPN, and when they hit zero, this place was nearly as loud as it was when McNaughton finished a fast break with a dunk during the semifinals win over American
Bucknell 7, HC 7 (15:54 first)
HC a turnover on its first possession, a Thomas carry
Bucknell with three offensive rebounds on its first, but can't convert
Tim Clifford's first personal comes at the 17:20 mark. The 'Saders cannot afford for him to get in foul trouble
McNaughton, hedging a screen at the top of the key, gets a steal when Thomas loses the handle and takes it in for a huge slam, hanging on the rim long enough for Clifford to beg the refs for a technical. None is called.
HC is shooting 75 percent (3-4). Bucknell is 3-8 (37.5 percent), most of the misses on that first possession. McNaughton 2 for 2, 4 points for BU
Bucknell 17, HC 14 (11:40 first)
A handful of empty seats in the HC section, otherwise this place is pretty full.
Vander Baan picks up two fouls in the space of 20 seconds. Not good for HC.
Torey Thomas just came up limping after missing a layup trying to drive on Badmus in transition. Another bad omen for HC?
Team fouls stand at HC 6, BU 4 ... both starting power forwards -- Vander Baan and Mastropaolo with 2 each
Bucknell 17, HC 17 (11:18 first)
Officials check the TV monitor on a Hamilton shot at the 11:18 mark to see where his feet where. They rule it a three-pointer, tying the score at 17-17.
So far HC's big men are 2 for 5 from the field. Bucknell's bigs are 3-5, with McNaughton accounting for all three makes and four of the shots.
Bucknell 27, HC 21 (9:08)
Thomas is back in but the ankle looks tender. He is moving very gingerly
Vander Baan gets his third personal at the 9:43 mark. Donald Brown makes the free throw to convert an old-fashioned three-point play.
Bison on a 7-2 run
Bucknell 29, HC 28 (7:52 first)
McNaughton's second personal comes on a horrible call by an official who called it on the wrong guy. Even if he had called it on Donald Brown, it would have been a bad call, since all Brown touched was the ball and the officials was on the far side of the court, completely screened. Maybe he has x-ray specs?
Minutes later an equally horrendous call on Lee when the officials first miss the jump ball when Mastropaolo ties up Clifford, then misses the travel as Clifford tries to get out of the double team.
Hard to believe these guys are the best the Patriot League can muster. But with Big East and ACC Tournaments underway, as well as A-10 ... the cream of the crop is elsewhere and we are stuck with these guys.
Bucknell 34, HC 34 (3:46 first)
McNaughton gets his third personal around the 7:15 mark. Clifford is living at the line without even being at all aggressive going to the basket. He has shot 6 free throws, making them all.
The officials are keeping Holy Cross in the game. They have already shot 14 free throws, making 13. Bucknell 5 for 5 at the line.
It's curious, given that HC has mostly been shooting jumpers while Bucknell is aggressively attacking the hoop.
So much for defense, eh? The Bison shooting 44.4 percent from the field, the Crusaders 45 percent
Bucknell 42, HC 38 (halftime)
It is becoming a habit in Sojka, big Bucknell buckets at the buzzer of the first half. This time it is Bettencourt, who drains his fourth trey of the half to send Bucknell to the break with momentum.
The cheers as the Bison leave to floor quickly turn to a much-deserved chorus of boos as the officials follow out the same corridor.
By the way, the guy who made the phantom call for McNaughton's second was John Hughes. Jeff Plunkett has certainly not distinguished himself with the whistle in the first half either.
In the first half, Bucknell called for 13 fouls, three each on McNaughton and Mastropaolo. Tim Clifford has been to the line 8 times and has made all 8. Overall, HC is 17 for 20 from the stripe in the half.
Bucknell has shot just 6 free throws, making 5. Vander Baan with three personals for HC. Hamilton with two, nobody else withg more than 1 for the Crusaders.
Hamilton with 12 points to lead HC, Clifford with 10.
For Bucknell, Lee and Bettencourt each with 12, McNaughton with 8 before sitting the last 7:17 of the half with three fouls.
Bucknell shooting 15 of 32 from the field (46.9 percent), 7 for 12 from the arc.
Holy Cross 9 for 21 (42.9 percent), 3-8 at the arc.
HC has 10 turnovers, BU 5. Rebounds 18-13 HC.
Riddle me this: How can the team with 14 points in the paint have shot just 6 free throws while the team with 6 points in the paint has shot 20? The answers: Jeff Plunkettt, John Hughes and, to a much lesser extent, Billy McCarthy.
At one point, Kevin Hyland shot two free throws with a foot on the foul line, and no call.
Almost makes you miss Giallella.
To Bucknell's credit, they have played through all that.
Bucknell 49, HC 42 (14:36 to go)
Lee on a breakaway is grabbed by Simmons, right in front of Hughes, negating a breakaway and no intentional foul call.
McNaughton with two buckets already in the half, he now has 12 points. Lee with a trey has 15 now.
Holy Cross turned it over its first two possessions, then got buckets from Simmons and Hamilton to cut it to 45-42 before McNaughton's two buckets.
Bucknell 54, HC 44 (11:52 to go)
D. Brown's dunk off a baseline drive and dish from Badmus gives Bucknell the first double digit lead of the game. It followed Bettencourt's fifth trey.
Bucknell 56, HC 44 (11:27 to go)
Brown's dunk brought an HC 30 sec. timeout. On Bucknell's next possession, the ran the same thing, with Brown laying it in and drawing a foul on Clifford.
Bucknell 57, HC 44 (10:04 to go)
Give the refs credit, they are bad both ways. Vander Baan's fourth comes on a ticky-tack call in the backcourt after a BU rebound. These guys are not just bad, they are inconsistent. Team fouls stand at 4 for HC, 1 for BU now.
All-tournament team ballots have been distributed on press row. My ballot has Hamilton, Simmons, Lee, Bettencourt and McNaughton. Tournament MVP I won't fill in until the game is decided.
Bucknell 58, HC 44 (7:53 to play)
Turnovers re killing the Crusaders. They now have 18 in the game, 8 this half.
Simmons just picked up his fourth personal, three in this half. Team fouls now at HC 6,BU 1.
Brown now in double figures for Bucknell, the fourth Bison to reach double digits.
Brown has 10 on 4 for 9 shooting after starting the game 1 for 5.
HC shooting percentage down to 37.5 percent (12-32), they are 3 for 11 this half.
Bucknell 66, HC 53 (3:27 left)
Simmons stays in with four, what choice does Willard have? He drains a three to end an 11-0 Bucknell run, but Brown answers at the other end to keep the lead at 15.
Brown's second personal, at the 6:48 mark, is just Bucknell's second team foul. Some consistency eh?
Thomas spending a long stretch on the bench. Must be the ankle.
HC using threes to stay in the game, two by Simmons and one by Kyle Cruze since Bucknell's run. But they are trading baskets. Bucknell is now 9 for 16 in the second half and is shooting 24-48 (50 percent) for the game.
Bucknell 72, HC 57 (1:32 left)
HC gets it down to 11, only to see Bettencourt convert a 4-point play on a made three and one with the shot clock running down. What did Jeff Jones say about his threes being like daggers.
My Tournament MVP ballot: 1) Lee, 2) Hamilton, 3) McNaughton ... they have no room for honorable mention, but if they did it would go to Simmons, who has played like a warrior this afternoon. He just came out after falling while trying to chase down a BU fast break. Looked like he had nothing left to give.
Bucknell 74, HC 59 (FINAL)
Bucknell lets the shot clock run out on its last possession as bedlam breaks out in Sojka. Definitely the loudest moment of a loud season here.
The Pscyhos storm the court and no criticizing it this time, after a championship game, it is fitting.
Bucknell finishes the game shooting 52 percent from the field, 26 of 50, including 10 of 18 from the arc.
Championship hats already on the Bison player's heads.
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