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Tickets for the American at Bucknell semifinal game of the Patriot League Tournament will go on sale at 11 a.m. Sunday at the Sojka Pavilion box office.

Bucknell officials say in addition to the approximately 300 tickets that were returned from the other three schools in the Lewisburg pod, the league will make a limited number of other tickets available knowing that most Army and Lafayette fans will not make the trip back to Lewisburg after their teams were eliminated Friday night.

The section reserved for the pep bands at the north end of the Sojka Pavilion court should also be available since American does not have a band at the tournament.

That game will tip at 1 p.m.

Forget what you heard about that jaw injury slowing down Kevin Hamilton.

Just check the lead of Rich Thompson's story on Holy Cross' 78-50 win over Navy in the Boston Herald:

Holy Cross senior guard Kevin Hamilton didn’t let a badly mangled jaw get in the way of a good night.
Wearing a protective mouthpiece and a sizable chip on his shoulder, Hamilton netted 19 points with 10 rebounds and four assists to lift Holy Cross to a 78-50 thrashing of Navy in a Patriot League quarterfinal last night at the Hart Center.

Hamilton was not the only star for the Crusaders. Keith Simmons also had 19 and Tim Clifford finished with 15 in 21 minutes of action, including 8 of HC's first 10.

Clifford and Kevin Hyland both fouled out, a curious situation given that 22 of Navy's 46 shots came from the arc and none of the Midshipmen's frontcourt players scored more than 5 points.

The game was decided before the half, with HC holding Navy scoreless for almost 7 minutes during an 18-2 run that gave the Crusaders a 33-17 lead. Hamilton, Simmons and Clifford each reached double figures before the intermission. Navy never got the deficit back to single digits.

Box score

Baltimore Sun

# posted by Hoop Time : 11:30 AM  

Last year Joe Knight torched Colgate for 45 points in the first round of the playoffs.

Friday night, the Raiders made sure Knight didn't beat them again. Did a darned good job of it, too, holding the Lehigh star to 6 points on 2 for 12 shooting.

Not only that, Colgate also found a way to limit Knight's backcourt running mate, Jose Olivero, to 9 shots and 10 points, well below his average of better than 17 per game.

So the Raiders pulled off the upset right? Err, uh, not exactly. Seems they forgot about Bryan White, and White made them pay, putting up a 13 point-10 rebound double-double. And late in the game, White made sure his contributions would count by coming up with two huge steals to seal the win.

John Conceison tells the story in the Express-Times:

With 5.1 seconds to play, Colgate had the ball, trailing 46-44. Soon after the inbound pass, White picked off Todd Checovich's feed inside intended for Kendall Chones, was fouled and connected on two free throws with 2.2 seconds left. White, who had been 1 of 6 from the line, then intercepted Colgate's inbound pass at midcourt to end it.

What Conceison's story doesn't mention is how Colgate put itself in that situation at the end by shooting 4 for 12 (33.3 percent) at the foul line, or how Lehigh could have had a more comfortable lead at the end if it had done better than its 10 for 19 (52.6 percent) showing at the stripe.

Colgate played without Kyle Roemer, the team's leading scorer, who missed the game, and the last two regular season games, due to a concussion.

Box score

Morning Call game story

Morning Call column

# posted by Hoop Time : 11:11 AM  

Too much talent, too many athletes, and way, way, too many made shots.

In a nutshell, that is what American has that Lafayette does not. That and a berth in Sunday's Patriot League semifinals after a 75-62 win over the Leopards in the first quarterfinal game at the Bucknell pod.

American had three players in double figures and shot 58.3 percent from the field, coming just shy of Colgate's tournament record (61.2 percent), thanks to a flurry of misses in the game's final four minutes.

Linas Lekavicius led American with 18 points. Paulius Joneliunas added 10 and Andre Ingram chipped in with 11.

"They present a lot of size and athleticism for us," said Lafayette coach Fran O'Hanlon. "They have all the components. They can score inside and they can score outside.

The Eagles shot an amazing 70.8 percent from the field in the first half, hitting 15 of 17 in the opening stanza. Both of the misses came from Ingram, who had 9 of his 11 in the half.

Lafayette managed to get within 7 at the break on a three by Bilal Abdullah, and was down just 6, 51-45, with 12:15 to play. Then American went on an 11-1 run to put the game away.

At that point, the only suspense was whether or not American would break Colgate's record. But the Eagles went 2 for 11 from the field the rest of the game, including 5 missed layups.

Lafayette managed to close the gap to 10 with 3:15 to play, but could get no closer.

Paul Cummins led the Leopards with 16 points. Andrei Capusan, in his last game in a Lafayette uniform, added 14.

Box score

Gameblog

# posted by Hoop Time : 11:09 AM  

(Originally posted Friday, 11:15 p.m., Links added 10:46 a.m.)

Usually when you say a team stole a game, you are referring to an underdog coming through with an upset.

Friday night in Sojka Pavilion, Bucknell gave that phrase a different twist in a 59-47 win over a stubborn Army team.

The Bison forced 17 Army turnovers, 15 the result of Bucknell steals, to advance to the semifinals of the Patriot League Tournament.

It was hardly the kind of game the crowd of 3,946 expected to see when the No. 1 seeded Bison hosted the eight seeds from West Point. Most of the orange-clad crowd seemed almost shocked when Army held a 21-19 lead with 4:07 to go in the first half.

Then came the first of two key spurts for the Bison. Fueled by a pair of steals, Bucknell closed out the first half with an 11-2 run, taking a 30-23 lead to the locker room at intermission despite hitting only 5 of 18 shots in the first 15 minutes of the half.

In another interesting twist, Bison coach Pat Flannery actually attributed the slow start to Bucknell playing to fast.

"The way it started out, our kids were a little rushed. It is the playoffs, and they played that way," said Flannery.

Bucknell swingman Charles Lee, who overcame a 1 for 5 first half to finish with 12 points, agreed. "We definitely wanted to come out and set a tone for the playoffs," said the Patriot League's Player of the Year. "Because we had that mindset, I think we came out playing a little too fast."

At the break, it seemed like the Bison has settled in. And when they stretched their lead to in the first five minutes of the half, it looked like they were ready to put Army away.

Not quite yet, as it turned out. The Bison, who again struggled from the field early in the half, hit just two buckets the first 6:12 of the half, the rest of their points in that stretch coming at the free throw line. And when Doug Williams and Matt Bell (13 points) combined for 6 straight Army points while Bucknell was going another four minute stretch without a field goal, missing the front end of two one-and-ones in that stretch as well, all of a sudden it was a 4-point game and the crowd was getting nervous.

Then Bucknell did what it does best. After Kevin Bettencourt hit a three to push the lead back to 7, Abe Badmus came up with a steal, went coast to coast for a layup, and the Bison were on their way to a 14-0 run that put Army away. Keying that run, three steals and a clamp down defense in the halfcourt that held Army without a point for almost seven minutes.

By the time the Black Knights broke the scoreless streak with a John Moonshower three-pointer, the Bison had built an insurmountable 18 -point margin.

"That is what good teams do, they get spurts," said Army coach Jim Crews.

Asked if Bucknell turned it up a notch on defense after his team got within four, Crews replied, "It felt like that, I don't know if they did."

Badmus, who finished with 5 steals and 8 assists, had his own explanation.

"Some people got in some other people's faces to step it up," he said. "I don't know about turning it up. People just had to realize the game was at stake."

It didn't hurt Bucknell any that they managed to get to the foul line 26 more times than the Black Knights, who did not shoot a free throw all night. Even though Bucknell was hardly money at the charity stripe, missing 10 of those 26, it was still a huge advantage for the Bison.

"That is what good teams do," said Crews. "They get to the line."

Good teams also advance to the semifinals of their league tournament on nights where they might not seem to hit on all cylinders on offense. The Bison finished the game 19 of 43 from the field (44.2 percent) and had three guys -- Chris McNaughton (14), Bettencourt (13) and Lee (12)-- in double figures. But take away the two spurts and the numbers would be a lot lower.

None of which matters at this time of the year, when winners live to play another day and losers pack their uniforms in a trunk with mothballs.

The Bison will take on No. 4 seed American, a 75-62 winner over Lafayette in the evening's first game, in Sunday's semifinal.

NOTES: The win pushes Bucknell's record to 24-4, equalling the school's best-ever 28-game record, which was held by the 1983-84 team that won the East Coast Conference regular season title . . . That 1983-84 team finished 24-5 . . . It was Bucknell's 219th straight against Patriot League foes and its 25th straight league win in Sojka ... Bucknell has now won 11 in a row at home since losing to No. 4 Villanova on Dec. 6 of last year . . . The Bison have beat Army 12 games in a row.

Box score

Gameblog

Daily Item

Eric Thomas

# posted by Hoop Time : 10:46 AM  

Army might be a bit relieved to see the crowd. After playing here to a full house Saturday, they see a lot of empty seats where the American and Lafayette fans were for the first game. Many of them apparently not sticking around for the nightcap.

Rich Giallella one of the three officials tonight, prompting Corky Blake of the Express-Times to ask if Giallella has earned a Bucknell varsity letter this season.

A more veteran crew than he worked with in the many other games we have seen him. Perhaps that will keep him from feeling he has to make every call.

While there are those empty seats we mentioned, there are not many of them, and none are in the student section.

The biggest BU pep band of the season, with the possible exception of the Northern Iowa game, on hand.

Bucknell 6, Army 4 (14:51 first)
Bison set the defensive tone early, forcing a turnover on Army's first possession.

Charles Lee already with 2 rebounds, a block and he just hit a 19 foot jumper for Bucknell's sixth point.

Army with three team fouls so far, Bucknell with none.

Bucknell 9, Army 6 (11:54 first)
Bison players with T.P. R.I.P. on their socks in marker, honoring 11-year-old Tylor Pfeiffer, a Bucknell ball boy who died in a tragic house fire Monday in nearby Trevorton.

Both teams 3-10 from the field so far.

Army 16, Bucknell 13 (5:50 first)
Lee, the league's Player of the Year, struggling offensively. Just missed a layup and is 1-5 from the field. Bucknell shooting 9 treys already, making just 2. They are 5 for 18 from the field, 27.8 percent.

Army 7 for 17 from the field (41.2 percent).

Army 21, Bucknell 19 (3:41 first)
Bucknell retook the lead on a foul line jumper by McNaughton, but Matt Bell put Army back up with his second three of the game. Seconds later he picked up his third personal. Charles lee at the line after the time out.

McNaughton on fire, 4 for 4, including two foul line jumpers. But Kevin Bettencourt and Lee are a combined 2 for 9 so far.

Army has 6 turnovers, Bucknell 2. Army winning on the boards 13-11.

Bucknell 25, Army 21 (1:27 first)
Bison on a 6-0 run, 4 from Donald Brown.

Bucknell now shooting 40.9 percent (9-22) , Army at 39.1 percent (9-23)

Bucknell 30, Army 23 (Halftime)
After a slow start, Bucknell hitting on all cylinders the last 3:41 of the half, outscoring Army 11-2 in that span.

McNaughton leading all scorers with 10 points. He is 5 for 6 from the field, the lone miss a three-point try at the end of the half.

Bucknell at the half, 11 of 25 (44 percent) from the field.

Army 41.7 percent (10 of 24). Bell leads the Black Knights with 6.

Team fouls in the first half: Army 9, Bucknell 2.
Turnovers: Army 9, Bucknell 3.
Bison with 7 steals.

Hurting Bucknell, a 5-10 showing at the foul line.

Bucknell 36, Army 26 (15:52 to play)
Talk about wanting it more, In one sequence around the 16 minute mark, the Bison hit the floor three times in scrambles for loose balls after an Army turnover. Then, after a missed shot, the Bison got the offensive rebound, resulting in a pair of free throws for Brown, who hit the first, missed the second, only to have a teammate grab the offensive rebound, eventually resulting in another Army foul, the Black Knights' fourth, sending Charles Lee to the line, where he made one of two.

Bucknell 41, Army 33 (11:30 to play)
Bucknell just 2 of 6 from the field the first 8 minutes of the half. But the Bison have shot 8 free throws already, making 6.

Abe Badmus finally took the open three that Army has been giving him all night and knocked it down.

Meanwhile, no sooner had Rich Giallella actually got one right, conferring with Joe DeMayo after DeMayo wrongly called a ball out of bounds off Army, than he blew a similar call on a ball that went off an Army players back under the Bison basket but was given to Army anyhow.

Army hanging around thanks to two threes by Jarell Brown and two buckets inside by Doug Williams in the second half, accounting for all 10 Army points.

Bucknell 48, Army 37 (8:05 left)
Army pulled to within 4, 41-37, on back to back buckets by Bell. Then Bucknell responded with 7 unanswered to push the lead to double digits.

The little run went like this: Bettencourt jumper and one. Badmus steal and layup, Lee 10 foot runner. Bettencourt now has 11, McNaughton 12, Lee and Donald Brown each with 7.

J. Brown and Bell with 10 each for Army.

Bucknell 55, Army 37 (3:34 left)
Bucknell on a 14-0 run. Army has not scored in 6:28.
Lee heating up, he has 7 of Bucknell's last 9, including his first trey of the evening,. Now in doubles with 12 points.

Bucknell 55, Army 43 (2:08 left)
A moonshot rainbow J by John Moonshower with 3:12 left ends the Army drought. Bell followed with a three to cut Bucknell's lead to 12.

Both teams shooting identical 18 of 42 from the field, but Bucknell is 14-24 from the line and Army has not shot a free throw.

Bucknell 59, Army 47 FINAL
The usual suspects finish in double figures for Bucknell -- McNaughton (14), Bettencourt (13), Lee (12).

Bucknell shoots 19-43 from the field (44.2 percent), including 5 of 16 from three. The Black Knights 20-47 (42.6 percent), 7-18 from three.

The big difference: Bucknell 16-26 at the foul line. Army did not shoot a free throw.
Rebounds: Bucknell 31, Army 26
Turnovers: Bucknell 11, Army 17
Steals: Bucknell 15, Army 2
For Army, Matt Bell with 13, J. Brown with 10.

A sparse crowd on had for the tip of the first game at the Bucknell pod.

Under Patriot League ticket policies, each school is guaranteed a block of 500 tickets. But Most of the three visiting teams did not take their full allotment, and even then, about 300 total were returned unsold.

Included in the crowd, the infamous Matt B., who made the trek from Washington to watch his beloved AU Eagles in the first game of tonight's twinbill. Matt asks that we let everyone know he is not dead or in jail.

At tip off Matt was one of about 300 fans in Sojka. Also in that crowd, about a half-dozen AU Blue Shirts. Not a big bunch, to be sure, but far better than the Lafayette Zoo Crew. Not a single black Zoo Crew shirt is in sight.

AU 9, Laf 2 (17:29 first)
Brayden Billbe's second bucket brings a quick timeout from Fran O'Hanlon as his team falls behind 9-2 early.

AU 11, Laf 7 (15:12 first)
AU has hit 5 of its first 6 shots, the only miss a three by Andre Ingram, who is 1-2 at the arc.

Lafayette 3 for 7 in the early going.

Pat Betley (Laf) leads all scorers with 5 on 2 for 2 shooting.

AU 18, Laf 9 (12:39 first)
Lafayette has to shoot well to win and so far they are not. Leopards 4-11 from the field.

AU now 8-11. Ingram with 5 leads American.

AU 26, Laf 15 (7:50 first)
Andrei Capusan, Lafayette's best player, has spent a lot of time on the bench already. Capusan started, but came out before the first timeout, which came at the 17:56 mark. He reentered, picked up a personal, and went back to the bench.

Capusan returned at the 11:41 mark, but thus far has only 1 rebound and 1 foul by his name in the box score. Capusan is 0-2 from the field.

He is not the only Lafayette player struggling to find his shot. The Leopards are 6 for 19, 31.6 percent from the field so far.

AU 37, Laf 29 (1:48 first)
Back to back threes by Cummins brings a quick timeout by Jeff Jones as Lafayette cuts the lead to single digits for the first time since it was 20-12 with about 12 minutes to go. Cummins now with 11 points, including 3-3 on treys.

AU 41, Laf 34 (Halftime)
Fran O'Hanlon has to be happy to be within 7 given how poorly the leopards shot most of the half. AU led by double digits much of the first half, but a trey by Abdullah at the buzzer cuts AU's lead to 7 at the break.

American is 17 for 24 from the field (70.8 percent), 15 of 17 inside the arc, yet only has a single digit lead.

Abdullah and Cummins with three treys each for Lafayette. Cummins with 11 total points, Abdullah 9. The Pards shot 12 for 29 (41.4 percent) in the first half.

For AU, Andre Ingram's 9 leads the way. Billbe with 8.

American with a 16-12 edge on the boards.

AU 47, Laf 40 (14:43 second)
Foul troubles for Lafayette: Andrew Brown picked up his third at the 18 minute mark. Capusan had three in the first half.

Seen wondering the halls of Sojka at the half -- Rich Giallella, who apparently will be one of the officials working the Bucknell-Army game. Giallella was having a tough time finding the right locker room. Imagine that, Giallella looking lost.

AU 53, Laf 45 (11:42 second)
These two continue trading baskets. Capusan has come on offensively in the second half. He now has 12 points for Lafayette.

That might have helped Lafayette close the gap, but at the other end, Paulius Joneliunas has also come on. He is also in double figures with 10.

AU 64, Laf 46 (9:25 left)
Back to back threes for Garrison Carr stretch AU's lead to 18, its largest of the game.

American is still shooting 70 percent (26-37). They are 5-11 from the arc.

Linas Lekavicius now also in double figures for AU with 11.

AU 64, Laf 48 (7:35 left)
AU has missed four straight shots, including a layup, dropping their field goal percentage to 65 percent.

The PL tournament record is 61.2 percent from the field, by Colgate against Army in 1997.

AU 68, Laf 51 (4:29 left)
Getting sloppy in Sojka. The only thing still in suspense is that field goal percentage record. AU down to 63.4 percent.

AU 71, Laf 60 (3:04 left)
With over three minutes to go, Lafayette is pressing and fouling intentionally.

If they continue, AU's FG percentage might hold up. It is down to 61.9, but if they don't shoot more field goals, they will break that Colgate record.

AU 75, Laf 62 (FINAL)
No record for AU. Bunches of misses down the stretch dropped the Eagles to 58.7 percent from the field.

Lekavicius leads all scorers with 18 points on 6 for 7 shooting. Ingram (11) and Billbe (10) also in double figures.

Cummins (16) and Capusan (14) in doubles for Lafayette.

Lafayette finishes 23-57 (40.4 percent) from the field,

When tickets for the Bucknell pod sold out in a matter of a few hours in Lewisburg, the message boards and rumor mills shifted into high gear with complaints about botched handling of the sale by the Bucknell box office.

Chief among the complaints was the fact that no limit was placed on how many tickets an individual could purchase.

That was true, there was no limit. But Bucknell officials say there was no widespread abuse as had been reported in some circles. One story that seemed to gain legs was a report that someone in line witnessed a person in front of them buying a block of 100 tickets. Adding fuel to that fire was the report that it was a "townie", not a student who bought them.

Bucknell athletic department officials heard those reports and conducted an audit of the sales. That check found that the largest single purchase of tickets was 24. And while they were not bought by students, they actually were bought by someone from the campus community.

According to Tim Pavlechko, an assistant A.D. at Bucknell, the 24 tickets were bought by a secretary from one department on campus, with money pooled by the professors, who had to teach class when the tickets went on sale.

Pavlechko said beyond that, most of the larger purchases were groups of eight, bought by students in similar situations.

There was no limit for a couple of reasons, the biggest of which being that there had never been a demand for early round tickets like there was at Bucknell this year. Also, the league has no guidelines in place, and technically, the ticket sales are uner the league's control.

That is also why tickets are not free to students and staff as they are in the regular season at Bucknell. They are simply not Bucknell's tickets to give away, although the school did purchase 800 at face value to give away to its students. Those were distributed in a random drawing.

Those who got froze out on Monday had a chance to get tickets this afternoon when about 300 that were returned from the other three schools in the Bucknell pod were placed on sale.

While nobody camped out to get them, by 3:30, a half hour before the box office opened, there was already a line stretching across the front of Sojka Pavilion.

Patriot League scoreboards
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No. 6 Colgate vs. No. 3 Lehigh, (at Holy Cross) 5:30 p.m.: Emmett Davis says his Raiders view the tournament as a chance to redeem themselves after what can only be described as horrible. The Colgate coach says he is encouraged heading into tournament play because his team played better at the end of the season, winning two of their last three.

But those two wins came against Navy, the only team, other than Army, Colgate has managed to beat in conference play. Toss Mississippi Valley State into the mix with the service academies and you account for the five wins over Division I foes that the Raiders have managed since the first week of December.

It is hard to remember a league team doing less with more. Which is why the Raiders could be a dangerous first round foe for a Lehigh team that suddenly finds itself on a two-game losing streak after winning 11 of its first 12 in the league. Colgate lives and dies by the jump shot. This season, it has mostly died. But Colgate has a bunch of guys capable of stroking threes and if more than one of them get hot at the same time, they could be a very tough out.

Of course if Joe Knight goes nuts the way he did when these two met in the first round last year, it will take an awful lot of three-pointers to beat the Mountain Hawks. If Knight scores 45 on them again, the only hope Colgate has is another NCAA intervention. That is not likely to happen, so as long as Lehigh doesn't get caught looking past Colgate to a potential rematch Holy Cross, the team it lost to in both the regular season finale, costing the Hawks the homecourt in the first two rounds, and the tournament semis last season.
Lehigh notes | Colgate notes | USA Today matchup | 'Gate radio

No. 5 Lafayette vs. No. 4 American, (at Bucknell) 5:30 p.m.: This one is pretty simple: the team that shoots the ball best wins. American swept the regular season series, winning at Lafayette last week in a game where the Eagles shot well and the Leopards did not.

American has the edge inside, at least from a size perspective. Lafayette's Andrei Capusan is better offensively than any of American's big men, but rebounding has been a problem for the Leopards all season. The 'Pards have also had problems taking care of the ball at times. But Lafayette does have a bunch of guys who can shoot the ball, and if they get it going on the perimeter, American might have trouble keeping pace.

As if Lafayette, the only team in the league with no scholarships, doesn't have enough personnel problems, Corky Blake reports in today's Express-Times:

Junior guard Jamaal Hilliard, struggling with a broken finger on his shooting hand, broke a finger on his other hand. Sophomore swingman Matt Betley, who's been a rebounding machine of late, stepped off a curb near Kirby Sports Center and badly sprained his ankle.

The matchup to watch in this one is the two freshman point guards. AU's Derrick Mercer, the league's Rookie of the Year, is lightning in a half-pint bottle. What the Gary Coleman look-alike lacks in size, he makes up for in quickness and basketball smarts.

Lafayette's Andrew Brown joined Mercer on the All-Rookie team announced Wednesday. Brown is not big -- he's listed at 5-11 -- but Mercer is one guy he has a decided height advantage over. In the two regular season games, Mercer has had the edge, averaging 9 points and 5 assists against the 'Pards. Brown averaged 5.5 points and 4 assists in two games against American. But Brown did have a 7-3 edge in steals.

In four seasons in the league, American has never lost a first round game. Lafayette was one and done the last two years.
AU notes | Lafayette notes | USA Today matchup | Morning Call preview | AU radio

No. 7 Navy at No. 2 Holy Cross, 8 p.m.: There is a long history in comic books of masked men playing hero. If that tradition extends to the basketball court, Navy might as well keep the ship running, because its visit to Worcester will be short.

HC's Kevin Hamilton was fitted for a special mask Wednesday to protect his jaw, which was injured in Sunday's win over Lehigh. Earlier in the week, HC coach Ralph Willard was skeptical about Hamilton's prognosis. But in today's Worcester Telegram & Gazette, Jennifer Toland reports Hamilton returned to practice Thursday and is expected to play.

Willard said Wednesday that even if Hamilton could play, he did not know how effective the three-time all-league pick would be. But Hamilton, last season's league Player of the Year and this year's Defensive Player of the Year, even at 75 percent, is better than anybody in a Midshipmen's uniform. So are Keith Simmons and Torey Thomas.

Depth is a problem for the Crusaders, but as long as those three are able to go, Holy Cross should return to the semifinals for the fifth time in six seasons.
Navy notes | HC notes | USA Today matchup | Gametracker | HC radio | Navy radio

No. 8 Army at No. 1 Bucknell, 8 p.m. The 8 p.m. start gives the Bucknell students an extra hour to "prepare" for the game, which should make the usually boisterous Sojka Psychos even rowdier. That could make for an intimidating atmosphere for a young Army team that has just one senior on the roster.

Not that the Bison should need an extra edge. The Bison are better at every position and that talent edge extends well down Pat Flannery's bench.

Bucknell is 12-3 all-time in first round PL tourney games. Army has not won a first round game since 1996, when the No. 7 Cadets upset No. 2 Navy. That was one of Army's two tournament wins in 15 seasons in the league. The other came the previous year, when the Black Knights beat Bucknell in another 7-2 upset. That was the last time Bucknell entered the postseason with at least a share of the regular season championship. The Bison tied with Colgate, both going 11-3 that season, but lost the top seed on a coin flip (the RPI was not a tiebreaker back then), then laid a first-round egg by allowing Army's Mark Leuking to go off for 43 points, a tournament record that stood until Joe Knight lit up Colgate last year.

That game, by the way, was on Army's homecourt. The first two rounds were played at a single, on-campus site back then and it was Christl Arena's turn in the rotation.

The coin flip was not without controversy. It was supposed to be held at the league offices, but a snowstorm forced then league executive director Connie Hurlbut to do it in her kitchen with no eyewitnesses present. Conspiracy theorists in Lewisburg theorized that the league wanted Colgate to get the top seed to protect Adonal Foyle, who was bringing the conference unprecedented exposure back then. Of course none of those folks dreamt the Bison would lose in the first round, they just were upset at the prospect of playing the final in Hamilton.

No such worries this year. Take care of business and the Bison will host the final.
Bucknell notes | Army notes | Eric Thomas preview | USA Today matchup | Bucknell Radio

TICKETS UPDATE: Bucknell's allotment sold out in a hurry when they were placed on sale Monday. But a limited number of tickets returned from other schools will be available at the door beginning at 4 p.m. Friday. One reason those returns are limited is because a lot of Bucknell fans bought tickets by phone from the other three schools after BU's sold out.

ADDITIONAL READING:

Tom Housenick's column

Andre Williams profiles Lehigh's Joe Knight

Sports Network PL tourney preview

Washington Post preview

Ken McMillan profiles HC's Keith Simmons

# posted by Hoop Time : 9:51 AM  

His team battled back after a tough home loss against Bucknell to defeat Lehigh and claim the No. 2 seed in the Patriot League tournament, avoiding a five hour bus ride by gaining the homecourt advantage for the first two rounds of the tournament. His lineup includes three all-league picks and another kid who made the All-Rookie team. The fifth starter is a 6-10 giant who came on in conference play to establish himself as one of the top big men in the league.

So why isn’t Ralph Willard smiling?

Probably because the veteran Holy Cross coach knows all too well how fragile his team’s situation is as it tries to return to the NCAA Tournament for the third time in five seasons.

All season long the Crusaders have been held together by trainers tape and Ace bandages, persevering through a run of injuries and health woes that would have relegated most teams to the second division. Sophomore point guard Pat Doherty, last season’s Rookie of the Year has missed almost the entire season with a foot injury that just would not heal. Freshman forward Colin Cunningham is just now getting fully acclimated on the court after having his early season minutes severely limited by a broken nose that slowed his development. And that’s just the guys on the bench.

Two-time all-league pick Keith Simmons has labored through an odd cramping problem that has limited his minutes much of the season, starting point guard Torey Thomas started one game with a bruised knee and strained a groin during that game, heroically playing through both injuries in no small part because with Doherty out, the Crusaders had no other point guard. Kevin Hamilton, a three-time all-league pick and last season’s Player of the Year has played through injuries to a toe, a hip and his back, not to mention a bout with the flu.

All the injuries made it tough for Willard’s team to develop on court chemistry, limiting both the time and intensity of the practices.

Still, they battled through all of that to earn the homecourt edge for the first two rounds of the tournament, only to see its odds of advancing to the final lengthened considerably by yet another injury.

“We are going into that game with a question mark about Kevin Hamilton,” Willard told the reporters on the phone line for Wednesday’s pre-tournament media conference call.

“He received a blow to the jaw at the last part of the Lehigh game. He has a sprained capsule where the jawbone meets. I am not sure of the technical term. All I know is he can’t eat anything solid; hasn’t eaten anything solid since Sunday. (Tuesday) he tried to practice and got whacked there again. He is going to spend the day today trying to get fitted for some kind of special mask that would afford him some protection. We’re not sure how that is going to go, so his status for Friday, right now, is questionable. It leaves us with some possible adjustments we will have to make going into the tournament.”

Hamilton has said he is going to play, but Willard is not as certain. Even if Hamilton does manage to take the court for Friday night’s opening round game against Navy, Willard won’t know until the game is actually underway how well or how long the league’s leading scorer will be able to play.

“I’ll be honest with you. (Tuesday) he got hit and he was in agony. There were tears rolling down his eyes. Kevin is a tough kid. He doesn’t cry. And there were tears rolling down his eyes from the pain. He hasn’t been able to eat. He really hasn’t had any solid food. My wife made him some stuff last night and put it in a blender and I brought it to school with me because he’s not eating. My question is how effective he is going to be even if he is able to be even if he can play, how effective he will be with probably not practicing from now until the game,” Willard said.

Complicating matters is the fact that Hamilton is Holy Cross’ emergency point guard when Thomas sits down. That only happens when Thomas gets into foul trouble for the most part. Thomas has been playing close to 40 minutes most nights. But now, even that backup point guard situation becomes cloudy for HC.

“It is a double-edged sword and now with Kevin’s situation, I don’t know if I am going to be able to do that. I’m asking Kevin to play 40 minutes, too. Obviously, when you have somebody that is leading in scoring, steals and rebounds, you want to have that guy fresh at the end of the game, too. We’re really in a Catch-22 with both of those guys. Both are obviously great at stealing the basketball and great defensive players, but they have had to scale back how many chances they can take because I can’t afford either one of them to get in foul trouble . . . I’d love to get Torey some rest, but right now we don’t have that luxury,” Willard said.

Simmons is another question mark. It has been over a month since he suffered the severe full body cramping he experienced earlier in the season. But he has still been forced to the bench in key late stretches in games against Lehigh and Bucknell.

“The cramping issue is something we don’t know from game to game. He has that condition where he loses a lot of sodium. There is nothing you can do about it except change your diet, hydrate and electrolyte. We’ve done all of those things. Keith is just having to deal with it,” Willard said.

“I’m trying to give him blows around the timeouts in order to give him a two, three, four minute blow during the course of the game. The problem with that is, he has to ride the bike in the locker room at halftime — I’m sure he’d rather do that than listen to me speak anyway-- because we can’t let him cool down too much. At the same time I’ve got to get his heart rate down so he doesn’t perspire too much. We’re walking a fine line with Keith. He’s done an outstanding job.”

Not knowing who will be available, or for how many minutes, is a challenge Willard and his staff are hoping they can overcome.

“I don’t know Kevin’s status or how much he will be able to play and, obviously, I don’t know how much Keith is going to be able to play. When you have your two best offensive weapons thrown into question, we have to do some preparation for this game, no question,” Willard said.

Thank heavens the league’s current tournament schedule has a day off on Saturday before Sunday’s semifinals.

“ The fact that you have a day off in between (quarterfinals and semifinals) is certainly a big plus. It is good for preparation, but more importantly, in our situation, with Keith’s cramping situation and the fact Torey and Kevin have had to play 40 minutes just about every game for the last two months, the day off is certainly going to be very helpful to this team. In years past it probably wouldn’t have made that much of a difference because we were much deeper,” Willard said.

Navy coach Billy Lange said he expects Hamilton to play in the tournament opener, and to play well.

“They have a certain sense of toughness there in that Holy Cross basketball program. He will be ready to play,” Lange said.

“That kid (Hamilton) is a warrior. To me he has been injured all year, with his turf toe and he was sick at the beginning of the year. That kid, to me, is one of the best players, in terms of overall basketball players, that I have seen. He could play on any team in any league and have any different role and be effective. We’re going to anticipate he is going to play because he is a senior and has been a great player for Ralph for four years.”

SCOUTING NAVY -- Here is Willard’s take on the Midshipmen:

“(Navy) plays very hard. They really get after you. They play a lot of people, which concerns me since we can get worn down, especially in our situation right now. When Navy shoots the ball well, they are a good basketball team. That has been an issue with them all year. When they shoot the ball well, they can beat anybody.

“I don’t want to tell you what they will have to do to beat us. Billy knows that already, I don’t want to give him any other ideas. But I know what we have to do, we have to guard them. We have to guard them and take away their three-point shooting, Sprink, and the lefty kid that plays the four spot for them (Adam Teague), and Kina and Johnson, but we’re going to have to guard those people on the perimeter. And we are going to have to do a good job on Fannin, who is a warrior. When they shoot the ball well they are a good basketball team.”

SCOUTING HOLY CROSS -- Lange’s view of Holy Cross:

“I tell my staff this about Holy Cross all the time: you don’t beat them doing one thing well. You don’t say you are going to out-execute them and outsmart them. You are not going to do that because they do that at a very high level. You’re not going to out-tough them because they are a very physical team and play very hard. You’ve got to play a very, very good basketball game and hope you can contain their ability to score in spurts.

“They have a time in the game in every game where they really try to impose their will on you and you have to fight them. That is what you have to do. It might be the difference between us trailing by six and not letting their will get them up by 17 and maybe they just get up by eight. Or maybe we can keep it to a six or four point game and have a chance. But there is not just one thing. They are incredibly balanced, incredibly smart, incredibly well coached. You have to play a very, very good game to beat Holy Cross, especially on their home floor in a tournament setting.

“That is the problem when you play a team like Holy Cross. They’re balanced. Their identity is they are a basketball team. We have to play better on both ends. I want our kids to be confident. I want us to think that we can defend them, but we’re going to have to play hard and have the ability to make some shots at some key points and not let the game get away from us.”

INSTANT REMATCHES -- In an interesting scheduling quirk, both first round games at the Bucknell pod will feature teams that played each other in the final game of the regular season.

In the first game, No. 5 Lafayette faces No. 4 American, which won the right to wear home whites for this game by virtue of a 77-67 win over the Leopards Saturday. The nightcap features regular season champ Bucknell and cellar dweller Army. Bucknell posted a 70-47 win over the Black Knights in that regular season finale.

After losing twice to Bucknell, Army coach Jim Crews knows he needs to look for another formula. At the same time, though, he is hesitant to make many changes at this late date in the season.

“We’ve evaluated what we need to do ourselves, and our scouting reports to see what we can do to make adjustments. You can’t make a whole lot of difference,” Crews said. “You can work on things. Sometimes human nature says hey, let’s change this, change this and change that and you can tweak this and change that. But you can’t make wholesale changes at this time. It is not fair to your kids.”

Lafayette lost twice to American in the regular season. But Leopards coach Fran O’Hanlon, like Crews, is not planning any wholesale changes.

“I know it is going to sound pretty simple, but we need to shoot better. We played much better this time around than we did the first time. They clearly outplayed us and we were never in the game. This time we were in the game. We did not shoot the ball as well as we can shoot it,” O’Hanlon said.

“For us, two things that have plagued us this year have been rebounding and taking care of the basketball. I am not sure whether we are going to do a great job rebounding because of our size. But we really need to take care of the basketball and when we get open shots, hopefully we knock them down. I know that is a simplistic look at the game, but it is really a realistic look.”

American coach Jeff Jones agrees shooting the ball will be a key.

“We know that we’ve got our hands full. Anyone that saw our game against Lafayette the other day knows how hard-fought that game was and how fortunate we were to win. We shot the ball extremely well. Had we not shot well, it could have been a different outcome for sure,” Jones said.

Flannery is not certain that beating Army twice gives his Bison a big advantage in the postseason.

“Having just played (Army), and Lafayette and American are going through the same thing, it is the kind of thing were the bumps and bruises from each other are very fresh. I am sure Army will come in here with a lot of confidence. They have chased our guys around and our guys have chased them around,” Flannery said.

SCOUTING BUCKNELL -- Here is Crews’ take on the Bison:

”You play guys twice. You play them once, and then you try to make some changes and adjustments and work on some things that hurt you the first time. The thing that makes Bucknell well is that when you make those adjustments, and take away one or two areas that you do better in, then something else opens up. That is where they are strong. They are strong inside and outside. They are strong defensively and they are strong on the bench. That is why they had their season.

“They have always been well set-up. They have always played hard. They are well organized. They have a system and they believe in the system. They have so many weapons individually and collectively. As you do better in certain areas, all of a sudden something else pops up.That is what makes a good team. Their kids have done a great job of growing over the years.

“Lee is a kid, if I remember right, he has just developed so much as a player over the four years. He knows he has put the work in, the same with Bettencourt. Bettencourt came in kind of on fire in this league. Here’s a kid that is part of something that is bigger than him, and he has accepted that, where maybe it was a little bit more about him four years ago.

“That’s certainly what it is all about. They get it. They understand it. They get it.”

SCOUTING ARMY --Flannery on the Black Knights:

”Coach Crews is tremendous getting them ready and the stuff that they do, and as a person as well. Army is the kind of team, they post hard, they shoot the ball, they play to the wall hard. That is what we are getting ready for. We are going to have to match that and make sure that we are ready to go after these couple days we have been off.

”Seeing Army, and seeing how they have played at times, with games all during the course of the year, you see them during the season and on tape and they can score with people in the league and defend people in the league. We know they are very capable.

”Jarell (Brown), up at Army, really got off on us and scored very well. Down here at our place the last time, we did a little better job on him, whether it was us defending or his shooting. He really got our respect when we came in here. Their other kids, like Bell and Bates and these guys, are capable scorers if you spend too much time. They are hard to guard in spots and it starts with him because he stretches the floor so well.

”Each game is in itself a game. Without going into coaching talk, we went up to Army, they came here and now this is the third one, that will be a playoff atmosphere. That is something you can't simulate regardless how many times you play somebody. Familiarity in the league alone creates a lot of real good matchups and a lot of competition. Now you go to a third time and you know each other even better. You will see many teams that their first and second teams get into practice and they really compete. Many times in the league, no matter who is playing who, you get to know each other and you get to know where kids are going, what you are trying to take away. Also the coaches have been banging it into you. That's what I said about having a week to get ready. It will be a real good matchup.”

MORE THAN YOU CAN CHEW -- In his own words, Jeff Jones’ assessment of American’s season:

“It has been a challenging one, in that things did not come as quickly or as easily as maybe sometimes in the past with more veteran or experienced players. The biggest thing for me has been trying to be patient. Not patient in the sense that it is going to take them a while to get it. What I have seen, and at times has been a little bit hard for me to understand, is that I will see us as a team, or some individuals, do some things extremely well, whether it be in practice or in game situations, and then all of a sudden, the next day, or the next half sometimes, just not perform up to those standards.

“Quite honestly, I think I had to reassess my own expectations for the team after the tough early start that we had. There is no question that I did a poor job of scheduling. What we did, with essentially our first seven games, not just being on the road, but being on the road against really strong competition, that would not necessarily have been a very good schedule for a veteran team. We lost some confidence during that time. We came out of it a little bit shell-shocked and our development was not what we would have liked.

“I remember mentioning to one of our assistant coaches sometime at the end of January that we were finally making some progress, but we were probably a full month behind of where we initially thought, or hoped, we would be.

“Give the kids credit. After that tough start, we certainly were all disappointed, but they hung in there. There haven’t been very many days that the guys showed up and weren’t ready to practice. There has been a lot of good spirit on the team. I think that is indicative of the leadership that Andre Ingram and Craig Weinstein, and some of the other upperclassmen exhibited to make sure we didn’t get down. Maybe our record wasn’t what we had been hoping for coming into the season, but we still had a chance to turn things around, get them headed in the right direction, and be playing much better at the tail end of the season.”

ROLL OUT THE CLICHES -- “This is an exciting time of the year to be in the postseason tournament. All of us at American are very excited and looking forward to Friday.” – Jeff Jones

“This is a great time of the year. Our team is really excited about the prospects of the Patriot League Tournament.” – Billy Taylor

“We’re obviously very excited about this tournament. The Patriot League Tournament is a thing that we all point to as coaches and players.” – Emmett Davis

“We’re very excited about the Patriot League Tournament. We realize we have an incredible opponent in front of us in Holy Cross, a program we have great respect for. We admire their toughness and the way they play together.” – Billy Lange

“We are looking forward to our game on Friday. We really respect our opponent, Navy, and how hard they play.” – Ralph Willard

Yes Ralph, but are you excited?

COACHES ON PLAYERS -- “Both (Charles Lee and Kevin Bettencourt) are kind of interesting guys. I have been around here for a while now and you see sometimes seniors, as you go into the tournament, and I know I have talked to other coaches in the league, they are on the job market and they have things going on. Everybody is so interview conscious at schools like our's, and the rest of the Patriot League. These two guys, Kevin and Charles, have been basketball kids. They are kids who have done the work academically-- they are both over 3.0, one is on the Dean's, the other is close-- so they have done their work their. But they have done it in the basketball arena, too. I don't mean just performing game night. They have put a lot of time into it. They have invested a lot of energy and a lot of work, whether it is the weight room, offseaon, whatever. Their fire is burning bright. That is nice to have. You know whatever happens on the floor, it is not going to happen because you have regrets that you haven't worked hard and haven't done the things. You are going to do it because you put in the time. That is a great attitude and a great compliment to these two guys.” – Pat Flannery

“(Keith Simmons) leads the league in field goal percentage. When I look at stats, I look at league stats, because that is what we are comparing, apples to apples and oranges to oranges, and in the league, he is the leading field goal percentage guy in the league as a guard. That’s incredible. He has done a great job of improving his defense. He does a lot of things that don’t even show up in the box score and obviously he is one of the top scorers in the conference. He has just made a great progression from year to year. I have not had a player that has worked any harder than Keith Simmons in all my years of coaching. He stays up all summer and works on the weights and conditioning and things.” – Ralph Willard

“We told (Derrick Mercer) in the recruiting process that if he were to come here that would be the role he would playing. It wasn’t something he was unaware of or was afraid of. That was the kind of situation he was looking for. He has handled it very well. He has learned a lot. You can see him gradually maturing, gaining confidence, and being willing to step up. There were times early in the season that I really had to encourage him that, yes, you are a freshman and you can defer to the upper classmen off the court. But on the court we really wanted him to step up and run the team. He is a very soft-spoken kid. Early on, maybe he was a little hesitant to do that, not wanting to overstep his bounds, so to speak. Certainly down the stretch he turned it up. We have seen him gain quite a bit of confidence.” – Jeff Jones

“We have two players who are capable of having the kind of impact Austen Rowland had for us. Jose Olivero now is a junior and Joe Knight is a senior. Certainly we know Joe Knight is very explosive and can go for as big number on any given night. When he is really focused the right way, and playing with a high level of energy, he is a very dangerous player with his scoring and his ability to create for others. Jose Olivero has been tremendous for us this year. His game has continued to improve and develop. He has got the best still ahead of him. I know he is really looking to step his game up at this point in the season. He is going to look to try to make amends for those last two losses we suffered.” – Billy Taylor

“Matt Bell has struggled. But he played pretty well last weekend and he has practiced a little bit better. Matt has really struggled. He has had foot problems all year and has been limited also. One thing that has hurt Matt is that Matt is such a self-made kid. He gets in the gym; he is the ultimate gym rat. When he gets in the gym, he really has purpose, he really goes at it hard and he is trying to get something done. That is really how he really stays sharp. He knows that he needs that. Unfortunately, he has not been able to do that because of his health. It has hurt him physically and it has almost hurt him mentally because Matt knows he needs that because of who he is. He is not the strongest, or the quickest guy, or the biggest guy. He needs to put that in and when he doesn’t put that in, it kind of gets to him. But he is coming around.” – Jim Crews

“Rob (Thomas) is a kid who is pretty athletic. He has come in and given us some good time. He has been able to match up with certain people defensively and that is what we have been looking for him to do, to play some things defensively. He has given us a spark off the bench. We have used him and he has played well for us, really the second half of the league season.” – Pat Flannery

“Andrei (Capusan) has done a great job for us. This is his first year, and actually he didn’t start all the games this year. But he was clearly one of our better players the whole year. He has developed so much over the course of his four years here at Lafayette. He brings a lot of athleticism. He has been a good leader for us this season. Obviously we would not have had any success without Andre in there.” – Fran O’Hanlon

“(Jarell Brown) is very important. Jarell has had a good year and a bad year. He has stepped up and he has had some really outstanding games. He is our leading scorer. That has been great. Unfortunately, his development has not been to the full strength because of his injury earlier in the year and really, lack of practice time ever since then, because of that injury. He is on the right path, but we’d like to be going down the road a little bit faster with Jarell. That’s not his fault, or anyone’s fault. That is life. Jarell has a pretty good scoring mentality. He can get off shots fairly well and he can make difficult shots at times. So we give him a lot of freedom in terms of movement around our offense. We allow him to move and come off a lot of different things and he has taken advantage of that.” – Jim Crews

“We knew going into this year we would have to have some of our younger guys step up. It has been an up and down process, mainly because of injuries. Right now, Colin Cunningham is playing well. Tim Clifford has progressed and is doing a good job for us in the low post area. Alex Vander Baan has been steady throughout the whole course of the year. Having to play starter’s minutes as a freshman is difficult at this level, especially in our league because most of the freshmen aren’t ready to do that. So I think we have made good progress.” – Ralph Willard

Has any team ever had more injury problems in a single season than Holy Cross?

Maybe, but none we know of. If Holy Cross gets banged up any more, it might have to switch to wheelchair basketball.

The latest of the Crusaders' lengthy list health problems is also the latest on Kevin Hamilton's personal list of ailments. Hamilton has played through hip, back and toe problems, with a bout with the flu tossed in for good measure. Now he is battling to find a way to play through a jaw injury first reported here yesterday.

But in today's Worcester Telegram-Gazette (subscription needed), Hamilton tells Jennifer Toland:

"I'll be fine," he said. "I'll have to get used to it." . . .

"It's more annoying than anything," Hamilton said. "You don't realize how much you open your mouth playing basketball. But I'd rather it be my jaw than my leg or ankle or something that would hamper my athletic ability."

Meanwhile, Hamilton's teammate and fellow first team all-league pick Keith Simmons tells the Times Herald-Record's Ken McMillan:

"I will do whatever my team needs me to do," Simmons said. "If Kevin can't go then I definitely have to be one of the players to pick up the slack. I accept that and will be ready to be more aggressive and be more of a leader this weekend."

Very few players in Patriot League history have accomplished what Bucknell's Kevin Bettencourt has. His freshman season, Bettencourt was an all-rookie pick, also earning the named Rookie of the Year award. The 6-2 guard from Peabody, Mass. went on to earn all-league players as a sophomore, junior and, announced yesterday, as a senior. A quick glance at the league record books shows Holy Cross' Rob Feaster and Colgate's Pat Campolieta also were Rookie of the Year and three-time all-league selections. Lafayette's Brian Ehlers was not Rookie of the Year, but he was on the All-Rookie team his fresshman season and all-leage the next three.

Wednesday night, Bettencourt sat down at his computer and answered questions from a chat room full of Patriot League basketball fans in the first-ever Hoop Time chat. For those who were busy watching Law and Order: Campus Security Detail or CSI Peoria, here is what Bettencourt had to say:

Hoop Time: For Bucknell fans, that handle KB12 is not too anonymous

Hoop Time: We are joined by Bucknell senior guard Kevin Bettencourt, who this morning was named to the All-Patriot League team for the third time in his career. His freshman season Kevin was the league’s Rookie of the Year.

Hoop Time: Kevin, welcome and thanks for being our guest in the first-ever Hoop Time chat.

KB12: Thanks for having me here

Hoop Time: Your team went through the Patriot League part of your schedule unbeaten, how special was it to become the first team in league history to do that?

KB12: It was definitely something special to our team but not something that we ever really focused on. I have personally been following the Patriot League since I was younger but I do not think many of the guys even realized that we were the first team to ever accomplish this. It is something we are very proud of though.

Hoop Time: For a team with a lot of accomplishments, where does that one rank?

KB12: Well when we entered this season we had three goals: the first was to win 20 games the second was to win the Regular Season title and the third was to win the conference tournament.Going undefeated was just an added bonus to our second goal and it will rank pretty high on our list of accomplishments in my mind but I feel if we do not achieve the third goal then it will diminish the undefeated season.

Hoop Time: Describe how it felt to play the games that you did in the Hart Center, your brother's school, with the crowd getting on you a bit.

KB12: I enjoy when the crowd gets on me a little bit. It adds to the atmosphere and I look at it as a sign of respect and not just for me but for our team as a whole. Personally, the Hart Center is really special for me because I developed my love for basketball by watching my brother play in that very gym. I have very vivid memories of games there and I cannot help but think of those things when I enter there.

Hoop Time:Your thoughts on making the 2nd team All Patriot League team for the third time and also your thoughts on Abe Badmus not making it.

KB12: I was really surprised Abe did not make it. He definitely deserved to be honored for the way he played this year and he is definitely what makes our team go. I was honored to make the All Patriot League team again and it something I appreciate. I was probably more excited to see Charles get player of the year though because he has really been play great lately and been our main man.

Hoop Time:Describe what it was like playing in Sojka this year, especially the Villanova game. When you came as a freshman, did you ever think you'd see crowds like that?

KB12: I can still remember games in Davis that maybe had 200 people there and more than half being family members. I remember walking into Sojka with my parents for the first time and turning to them saying there was no way we could fill this place but it has happened and become very special. The Villanova game was amazing and I think it gave the students a chance to see how much fun they can have at our games and the crowd has continued to show up throughout the year giving us an edge.

Hoop Time: Have you looked at the whole all-league list, and if so, is there anybody you were surprised to see not on it besides Abe?

KB12: I looked at it very quickly but can not remember everybody that was on it and that was not but I'm sure there are a few people that deserve to be recognized that were not but that is the nature of these types of rewards. There simply is not enough room for everybody, which is unfortunate.

Hoop Time: Compare Duke and Villanova. Who would be the favorite on a neutral court? And on the same line, what do you think about FSU just upsetting Duke?

KB12: I honestly think Villanova would beat Duke simply because I think what Duke does it take people out of their offense with their defensive pressure. With the guards Villanova has and the way they handle the ball I do not think Duke could do that to them. It would definitely be a fun game to watch knowing we played both teams. For the FSU/Duke game, it just seems like it has been a crazy year in terms of upsets and nothing really surprises me anymore.

Hoop Time: The Patriot League's companion league, the Ivy League, has had a number of teams go 14-0. Why do you think it took so long for the first Patriot team to do so?

KB12: That is a good question but it always seems like the Patriot League is much more balanced than the Ivy. As far as I know and my knowledge is limited it seems like Penn or Princeton always win the Ivy League which makes ya wonder whether or not they are recruiting at a different level than the rest of that league. I think the Patriot League is on a much more level playing field.

Hoop Time: How is playing for Coach Flannery? He seems like he doesn't sit still the entire game and is very emotional. You are the opposite of that. Just comment on this a little

KB12: I love playing for Coach Flannery. He is difficult to play for at times because he is so intense but we all understand that he wants to win and is always striving for us to be the best we can be. In terms of us being very different in regards to emotion, I think I am very emotional but just do it more privately maybe.

Hoop Time: Do you prefer to play man-to-man or the match-up zone? How long did it take you and the other veterans to know exactly what to do in the match-up?

KB12: I like when we are mixing up our man and match-up but neither are easier to play because you are always very accountable. It definitely took a while for our team to develop our match-up and I think our experience has definitely made that defense one of our bread and butters because we are so comfortable with one another out there.

Hoop Time: Two of the three freshmen this year have seen limited minutes. Is this a function of them still learning the defenses? How do you see them doing next year?

KB12: I think it is a function of them still learning and coming into a program that had an established rotation. I think both Justin and Josh will be an asset to the program because they do very well at practices and I would hope they would perform similarly in game situations.

Hoop Time: What have you heard about next year's 3 recruits - Zach Evans, Stephen Tyree, and Patrick Behan?

KB12: I have not heard much other than them being really excited about this class. I've met all three of them and they seem like really good guys. Tyree has arms down to his knees so I'm sure Coach Flan is excited about the type of defense he can play and Behan is a big guy who has guard skills from what I hear. I have not seen them play though unfortunately but I hear good things.

Hoop Time:During recruiting, are you asked to speak to potential recruits, what are there concerns?

KB12: I usually try and reach out to recruits because I know how hard the recruiting process can be so I like to make the recruits feel as comfortable as possible. Recruits usually ask what type of school it is? How hard are the academics? How are the girls? How Coach Flan is? Those type of questions and I usually help them out.

Hoop Time: Why did you choose to attend BU, and what other schools were you looking at?

KB12: I chose BU very early because it is the type of school that I always envisioned me being at. It gave me the opportunity to play Division 1 athletics and get a great education at the same time. I was looking at other Patriot League and Ivy League schools but BU was the only play I ever seriously considered.

Hoop Time: Looking ahead to Post Graduation What are your plans and aspirations?

KB12: I do not know exactly when it will happen but I plan on moving back home to Peabody getting involved in teaching. I would also like to coach at the high school level at some point. I plan on getting my masters in education and then continuing on from there.

Hoop Time: Were you nervous going into the Kansas game last year? What was the team's mentality going into that game?

KB12: I was extremely nervous but I think we took the approach that if we go out and give it our best shot then we have nothing to lose. Obviously, not many people gave us a realistic chance but in watching film we believed we could play with them and then once the game started we knew we could beat them. The team did truly believe we could win and we had a player's only talk before the game and left with the mentality that we can not be happy just being there, let's make our presence felt.

Hoop Time: What passed through your mind as Wayne Simien's shot was in the air in the Kansas game last March? What are your most vivid memories about the last part of that game?

KB12: Some things passed through my mind that I probably should just keep to myself but those memories really are just a big blur right now. I watched the tape and watched us all running around but I do not think any of us really knew what we were doing. It seemed like Donald was the only one that was composed at that time. It really was a great moment for us though.

Hoop Time: How do you as an individual and then as a a team get "up" for playing Army again?

KB12: Well I think me as an individual and us as a team take the same approach. We are excited about playing Army or any team because that is our next game and it is a chance to put on the uniform and play which always beats practice. Also, it is the first step in completing our third goal so we will be ready and I am sure Army will go out and play hard because they always do.

Hoop Time: What have you heard from students about how the tickets were distributed for the Patriot League Tournament?

KB12: Students have been complaining because I guess it was very difficult to get tickets for the tourney. I know I had to get a ticket for my girlfriend and they were sold out so I had to go through a student that I heard bought like thirty tickets or so. I guess they didn’t put a limit on how many an individual could buy so that caused some problems. I find it pretty cool that our ticket is such a tough thing to get so I usually get a kick out of the long lines at the box office so far in advance

Hoop Time: Kevin has to get back to the books, but before he goes, one last question, or actually, a combination of two that were asked:

Hoop Time: Before we post that thanks again for joining us in the first ever Hoop Time chat

Hoop Time: Pro athletes say they never read the press... But what about you guys? Do you guys read these message boards or other PL related web sites and/or blogs?

KB12: We do not read the message board or the blogs because we realize a lot of that stuff may not be the most flattering but I always read the newspapers and I usually visit HoopTime because it is a better source for following Patriot League Basketball than the Patriot League website but I do not think many of our players get involved in those things. If we ever do its usually on accident and it gives us a laugh.

Hoop Time: thanks for the plug!

Hoop Time: Again, a special thanks to Kevin for taking time out of his schedule at an obviously busy time

Hoop Time: Good luck to you and the Bison Friday night and in the postseason

KB12: Anytime I really appreciate you having me.

KB12: Thank you. Go Bison!

We will have a complete wrap of the coaches pre-tournament conference call later, but wanted to post a bulletin on Holy Cross standout Kevin Hamilton.

HC coach Ralph Willard said Hamilton suffered a sprained capsule in his jaw during the win Sunday over Lehigh and is questionable for the tournament opener against Navy.

Willard said Hamilton was injured when he took a blow to the jaw and reinjured it in practice yesterday. Hamilton has not been able to eat solid foods since Sunday.

According to Willard, the team's medical staff is hoping to fit Hamilton with some sort of protective mask that would enable him to play Friday.

"I don't know how effective he will be even if he is able to play," said Willard.

Player of the Year: Charles Lee, Bucknell

Defensive Player of the Year: Kevin Hamilton, Holy Cross

Rookie of the Year: Derrick Mercer, American

Coach of the Year: Pat Flannery, Bucknell

All Patriot-League (First Team):
Charles Lee, Bucknell
Chris McNaughton, Bucknell
Keith Simmons, Holy Cross
Kevin Hamilton, Holy Cross
Jose Olivero, Lehigh

All Patriot-League (Second Team):
Kevin Bettencourt, Bucknell
Torey Thomas, Holy Cross
Andrei Capusan, Lafayette
Joe Knight, Lehigh
Andre Ingram, American

All Rookie Team:
Kaleo Kina, Navy
Alex Vander Baan, Holy Cross
Jason Vegotsky, Bucknell
Derrick Mercer, American
Andrew Brown, Lafayette

The Patriot League will announce its all-league team, and hand out individual honors, during a conference call this morning at 11. We will update immediately after the announcement.

Then tonight at 9:15, one of the players expected to garner honors during the conference call, Bucknell senior guard Kevin Bettencourt, will join us for a chat in the Basketball U. chat room.

In the meantime, here's a few stories to fix your hoops jones:

Buddy story -- For those who have not heard it before, Lenn Robbins of The New York Post retells the tale of the friendship between Bucknell coach Pat Flannery and his old college teammate, Villanova coach Jay Wright. You will need to log in to read the Post online. Feel free to use the combination of hoop_time@hotmail.com and the password: hooptime. Or register yourself; it is free.

Newfound fans -- The Bucknell bandwagon continues to pick up new Bison rooters as the regular season champions roll into the league tournament. The latest trend, fans of bubble teams like California and Kentucky are now rooting for the Bison to win the league tournament. It's not that those folks have something against Holy Cross or Lehigh. They just worry that the Bison could grab one of the precious at-large bids if somebody else wins the Patriot League's automatic bid.

Buried treasures -- In the weekly Onions column at College Hoops Net, you'll find praise for Bucknell's defense, concerns about its offense, and analysis or how scholarships have elevated the Patriot League. It is a long column and you will need to scroll a little to get to the Patriot League mentions, but the stuff before it is worth the read.

# posted by Hoop Time : 7:43 AM  

We know where Terry Conrad went. Conrad, a longtime Bucknell assistant under Charlie Woollum and Pat Flannery, left Bucknell in 2000 to become head coach at Division III Lycoming, where he took the Warriors to the Freedom Conference playoffs three straight years and to the DIII dance in 2002.

From there Conrad moved to his alma mater, Division II Bloomsburg. Yesterday, after three straight 6-21 season, Bloomsburg announced it was going to look in a different direction, unceremoniously dumping Conrad with a terse, three paragraph press release.

On the surface, it might look like the right move. Three years with 6-21 records certainly look like no improvement. But realistically, Conrad deserved more than three years to get Bloom back on track.

Conrad was hired in May of 2003, after his coach, Charlie Chronister, had resigned at the start of the previous season. In the interim, one of Chronister's assistants filled the job for the 2002-2003 season, a 6-20 campaign.

That assistant was a candidate for the job when Conrad was hired, and the school forced Conrad to keep the guy on as an assistant.

It is not like such a situation can't be made to work. Conrad himself went through a similar scenario when he was a candidate for Woollum's job before Flannery was hired, then stayed on as an assistant after being passed over for the head job.

Nonetheless, Conrad's May hiring put him behind the eight-ball recruiting wise. There simply are not a lot of prospects who will sign with a school that has no head coach, and even fewer quality players who are still available in May, when Conrad was hired.

In other words, the cupboard was almost bare when Conrad took the job and the situation was not helped any when 6-8 center Seth Scott tranferred out at the end of his first year. Last season, Conrad's roster included only one senior. The rest were sophomores and freshmen. This year's roster also had no seniors. Not much size, either. Just three players 6-6 or taller suited up for the Huskies.

It is entirely possible there were other circumstances that played into Conrad's firing. The paper that covers Bloom has a ridiculous Web site that requires a paid subscription for more than headlines, so we don't know if they elaborated on reasons other than the Huskies' record.

But if wins and losses were the sole reason behind the decision, then Conrad got hosed. Two recruiting classes are not enough to turn around a losing program, and given the circumstances of Conrad's hiring at Bloom, that is really all the chance he got.

What exactly is Bracketology? According to the online encyclopedia Wikipedia, "Bracketology is a slang term for predicting the field of the NCAA Basketball Tournament."

Our definition: a bunch of hoops geeks with slide rules who spend most of basketball season devoted to mental masturbation, only to make obvious predictions the second week of March, which they then claim shows their omnipotent powers of prognostication.

Let's face it: Early season predictions of March brackets are a meaningless waste of time. And by the time Selection Sunday arrives, there really are few mysteries. With automatic bids and the now very public RPI numbers, is it really any wonder that most of the folks on the Web who claim to have psychic Bracketology powers boast that they get most of the final field of 64 correct.

We understand the fans getting excited about this stuff, especially nowadays in the Patriot League. It once was assumed that the league's champion was an automatic No. 16, or maybe a 15 if some good mid majors in one-bid leagues get bumped off in their conference tournaments,

In the first 15 seasons of Patriot League basketball, the league's entry in the Big dance has been seeded 16th six times, 15th three times. Two other seasons they have been relegated to the play-in game.

In two of the last three seasons, though, the Patriot League champ has gone in as a No. 14 seed, the best the league has seen since Holy Cross landed a 13 seed in 1993.

Bucknell was a 14 last season, and its success then, and since, has bracketologists everywhere expecting the Bison to land what would be the highest seeding ever by a league team. Many are even suggesting BU should get a single digit seed.

Folks who visited this site regularly last season might recall regular posts on what the bracketologists were thinking. This season we made a decision to ignore that stuff since, frankly, it seems like a lot of BS.

So why are we posting a bracketology roundup today? Easy answer: We have had something new to post every day since the beginning of November, could not find any real news on the league today, and we didn't want the streak to end.

Silly? sure. So is bracketology, so it seems only fitting to put together a quick wrapup of the rampant dance card speculation, which has become a cottage industry on the Web.

Bracketology 101 has the Bison as an eight seed, along with Wichita State, Arkansas, Alabama. By their figuring, that would put the Bison in home unis for a first round matchup with a No. 9. Their current projected nines include Arizona, George Mason, Missouri State, Kentucky.

Greg Doyel at CBS Sportsline has Bucknell projected as a No. 9 seed, along with Missouri State, Kentucky and UAB. That would mean, according to Doyel, a first round matchup with one of these No. 8 seeds: Arkansas, Creighton, Alabama, California.

The folks at Bracketography.com are predicting a first round meeting between two Patriot League football members, No. 6 Georgetown and No. 11 Bucknell. The bad news about their prediction, should it come true, is an expectation that Bucknell would get sent to Detroit for the first two rounds.

The guy generally credited with starting this craze is ESPN analyst Joe Lunardi. Lunardi's day job is at Saint Joseph's, where among other duties he does the color commentary on the Hawks' radio broadcasts.

Like the others, Lunardi updates every week. If we are not mistaken, last week he had Bucknell as a single digit seed with a little red arrow that indicated the Bison were trending up. This week, after winning their final two regular season games, Bucknell has dropped to an 11 seed, with a blue down arrow next to its name. Sounds like science to us.

By the way, Lunardi also predicts a Bucknell-Georgetown first round matchup, but instead of Detroit, he has the Bison headed to Jacksonville, Fla.

Some dude calling himself "Coop" (we are being presumptuous calling Coop a dude, but we have not encountered any women wasting their time on this stuff) claims he is Lunardi's "nemesis." Dunno about that, but his Bracket Racket site says Bucknell will get a 10 seed, with a first round matchup against No. 7 Washington in Dayton, Ohio.

BacketExpress, part of the Draft Express Web site, also has Bucknell seeded No. 10 and playing in Dayton, though they claim the Bison will meet Alabama.

Of course all these predictions will change by Selection Sunday, when the only bracketologists that count will share their thoughts.

As usual, the first poll out is the Mid-Major Top 25, which has Bucknell back in the No. 2 spot after wins over Lehigh and Army and stumbles by Northern Iowa, George Mason and Western Kentucky.

George Mason dropped to No. 3 with a loss to Hofstra. Northern Iowa, last week's No. 3, fell all the way to No. 10 after losing two in a row following their BracketBusters double overtime win over Bucknell. Western Kentucky, which lost to Middle Tennessee last week, drops from No. 4 to No. 6.

No room at the inn for Mid Majors in the AP and Coaches Top 25 polls. George Mason dropped out of both polls. The only new team in either is 19-8 Wisconsin, which moved into the coaches top 25 on the strength of a 1-1 week that started with a double-digits loss to 13-13 Northwestern, which sits in 10th place in the 11-team Big Ten.

Bucknell is the defacto No. 27 in that poll, second behind Nevada in the others receiving votes category. In the AP Poll, Nevada holds on to the No. 25 spot it shared with George Mason last week. Bucknell also second in others receiving, behind Marquette. No. 25 in the AP poll goes to 19-9 Michigan State, which is ranked even higher (No. 23) in the coaches poll despite losing four of its last five games.

Here are a few clicks to keep you busy until the polls come out this afternoon:

Your favorite team not playing well headed into the tournament? Take a break from basketball long enough to read this story from Tom Housenick of the Daily Item, who stepped away from the court himself to pen a fine look at how life has changed for Bucknell assistant coach Bryan Goodman and his wife, Amy, following the birth last month of the couple's first four children -- quadruplets. It's a wonderful reminder that hoops is just a game.

Another Bucknell beat writer, Eric Thomas of the Shamokin News-Item, stuck to hoops for a column on Bucknell's mindset heading into the Patriot League Tournament. The News-Item's Web site is a spotty proposition sometimes. Updates are late in the day and unpredictable at best. But Eric, who had a blog of his own before he started the full-time gig with the News-Item, has taken to posting his stuff there, in part to make it possible for us to find it for linking. Thanks E.

From the Morris (N.J.) Daily Record, a look at Delbarton H.S. junior Justin Garris, little brother of American's Gary Garris.

Over at CollegeInsider.com, Morehead St. coach Kyle Macy's weekly "Window Shopping at Macy's" column answers a lot of fans questions about Mid Major programs, with the help of other coaches, including Ralph Willard, who helps address Kevin from Richmond's concerns about Lehigh being neglected by the Mid Major Top 25 voters. When you read it, keep in mind it was written before WIllard's Holy Cross team beat Lehigh Sunday.

# posted by Hoop Time : 9:42 AM  

(Originally posted Sunday at 3:20 p.m., Updated at 7:57 a.m.)

The last sentence in Jen Toland's game story in the Worcester Telegram-Gazette might be the most important note about the Crusaders' win at the Hart Center Sunday:

The Mountain Hawks have not beaten Holy Cross at the Hart Center since 1998.

They could get another chance in the league semis, but as that one sentence points out, it won't be easy for Lehigh to make it to the league final after Sunday's loss, which dropped the Mountain Hawks to the No. 3 seed in the tournament.

The two teams finish with identical 11-3 records in the league, but HC gets the No. 2 seed for the tournament based on its higher RPI. Lehigh will travel back to Worcester to meet Colgate Friday, with a possible semifinal rematch with Holy Cross Sunday. The Crusaders open the tournament by hosting Navy.

First half defense was the key for HC. The Crusaders held Lehigh to 25 percent shooting from the field and just 16 first-half points.

Holy Cross led 33-16 at the intermission and built the lead to 21 with 12:04 to play, then held off Lehigh's attempts at a comeback. The Mountain Hawks held HC without a field goal for a seven-minute stretch in the second half and managed to pull within 7 with 4 minutes to go.

Torey Thomas stemmed the tide with a three that sparked a 9-1 Crusaders run to put the game on ice.

HC won despite an off night by Kevin Hamilton, who was 1 for 14 from the field in his final regular season game at Hart. Hamilton did manage to get to the foul line 15 times, making 10, to finish with 12 points.

Interestingly, Lehigh's Jose Olivero also struggled. Olivero and Hamilton entered the game tied for the league scoring lead. After Olivero went 4 for 15, making only 1 of 7 three-point tries to also finish with 12 points, the two ended the regular season tied at 17.5 points per game.

Torey Thomas helped pick up the offensive slack for Holy Cross, finishing with a game-high 15 points. Keith Simmons added 11, Tim Clifford 13 for the Crusaders, who turned it over only 6 times all afternoon.

Lehigh, on the other hand, had 17 turnovers. The net result: more Holy Cross possessions, which the Crusaders made the most of. HC only shot 35.2 percent from the field, but the 'Saders took 7 more shots than Lehigh and made three more. HC went 19 for 54 from the field, Lehigh 16 for 47 (34 percent).

A big difference came at the arc. While Lehigh struggled, making only 2 three-pointers (on 14 attempts), Holy Cross made 8 of 21 three-point tries.

Joe Knight, who was 0 for 3 from three-point range, finished with 11 points for Lehigh. Kyle Neptune added 14 for the Mountain Hawks, who enter the postseason on a two-game losing streak.

Box score

# posted by Hoop Time : 7:57 AM  

Congratulations to former Bucknell assistant coach Carl Danzig, who has his University of Scranton Royals headed to the NCAA Division III Tournament after a 64-63 win over Wilkes in Saturday's MAC Freedom Conference championship game.

The Albuquerque Tribune reports today NCAA hoops official Rick Hartzell is one of three finalists for the University of New Mexico's athletic director job.

Why do we mention the Lobos job hunt? Hartzell is the former Bucknell AD and currently holds that same post at his alma mater, Northern Iowa.

Given his track record at BU and UNI, both schools have enjoyed successes on and off the field under Hartzell's guidance, you'd have to figure on Hartzell being a very strong candidate.

Patriot League scoreboards
ESPN | CBS Sportsline | PennLive.com | Yahoo! | Mid-Majority

Lehigh at Holy Cross, 1 p.m.: The schedule makers got this one right, saving the only meaningful game of the final weekend of the regular season for the final day. Too bad the TV package is not on a network people can actually get so that more people would be exposed to Patriot League basketball outside of Bucknell.

These two teams have not had the non-conference success the Bison have, but in league play they have come one, proving to be better than their non-league records and the lower RPIs that came with it.

It is a pretty simple equation heading into this game. The winner sleeps in its own beds, eats home cooking and plays the first two rounds on its home floor in front of its own crowd. The loser packs its bags for a weekend of buses, motels and restaurant food, a neutral court game against the most dangerous team in the bottom of the bracket, the sleeping dog that has been Colgate most of the season. Win that first round matchup and the reward is a possible rematch of this game, played on the winner of this game's floor.

The edge in Worcester goes to Holy Cross if Keith Simmons can play the minutes Ralph Willard needs from him. Earlier in the season in Bethlehem, Simmons came out of the game suffering from cramps. It was not a coincidence that Holy Cross, which held the lead most of that game, succumbing to the late game heroics of Jose Olivero.

By the way, in a post Friday, we speculated that Lehigh might not have been in this must-win situation had it played a better schedule. If Holy Cross wins, the tiebreaker for the No. 2 seed goes to the RPI, which favors HC. The Crusaders come into the game with an RPI of 126, Lehigh 150 (according to Ken Pomeroy's calculations). We speculated that had Lehigh subbed a Division I opponent for one of its two Division III foes, its RPI might be high enough to still claim the tiebreaker if they lost to Holy Cross.

Since we hardly are RPI experts, we turned to Pomeroy for his analysis. Here is what he had to say about Lehigh's situation:

They couldn't have scheduled patsies. Honestly, and I'm just guessing, I'd say they could have scheduled (and lost) road games against teams in the top 70 or so and moved ahead. They probably could have won home games against teams in the top 120 and made it. It is a fairly
complicated question. The sad reality is that it's better to play non-D1s than teams in the bottom 100 if the goal is to pad the RPI.

In other words, replacing Eastern or Muhlenberg with another Stony Brook, Sacred Heart or Ivy League team, would not have done the trick.
Lehigh notes | HC notes | USA Today matchup | HC radio

(Originally posted 2:22 a.m., links added at 8:47 a.m.)

Bucknell coach Pat Flannery, your team just became the first team in Patriot League history to go undefeated in conference play. What is next?

“We gave a couple days off last year and I thought we really had legs coming into the tournament. We were all over the place. We will do that again this year,” said Flannery following his team’s 70-47 decision over Army in a Sojka Pavilion rumble Saturday night.

After the off days, the Bison will spend a day or two working on some of their own weaknesses, then they will put in the game plan for Friday’s Patriot League Tournament quarterfinal rematch with this same Army team.

What? No trip to Disney World? Hardly. There was barely even a celebration Saturday night after the Bison extended their 18th straight against Patriot League opponents, completing their unprecedented 14-0 run through the conference this season..

Maybe later. Right now it is all about winning the league tournament and sewing up an automatic bid for a return trip to the NCAA Tournament. Despite their 23-4 record and lofty RPI, there is no thought of any at large bids.

The prognosticators might be making pretty persuasive arguments that the selection committee ought to invite the Bison back to the dance, even if they lose in the league tournament. Bucknell prefers an indisputable argument.

“Our goal is to win the Patriot League Tournament. We’re going to focus on that,” said Kevin Bettencourt, one of four Bucknell seniors honored before the game.

The Bison know that plenty of deserving teams have been left home before. They prefer leaving nothing to chance.

“That is the mindset you have to go in. There are a lot of teams that they sit there and interview with long faces on when they don’t go. You take care of business and you go. If you don’t, then it is your own fault,” said Flannery.

That was why Bucknell’s starters were still in the game with the Bison up 20 and less than three minutes to play. Flannery began preparing for the first round tournament matchup shortly after the Bison blew the game open by scoring 9 unanswered points in the first 1:06 of the second half.

“I looked at it as a chance for us, knowing that we were going to play these guys again. We tried to play a lot of man. We tried to get their looks, their patterns and their quickness. Now the kids will know each other. Then we tried to get Rob (Thomas) and Jason (Vegotsky) and these guys a chance, some of the younger kids, John Griffin, to recognize . . . .It gave those younger guys a chance to get a feel for Army and that will help us a lot,” Flannery said.

The Bison worked on their press, and Flannery looked at different combinations on the floor, even taking a glimpse at one point at a grouping with sophomores Darren Mastropaolo, Rob Thomas and John Griffin, along with freshman Vegotsky and junior point guard Abe Badmus, a rotation seemingly pretty evenly lacking in experience and height.

As much as it helped Bucknell get ready for Friday’s first round game, it probably added to Army’s challenge. Jim Crews has gone to an even younger rotation of late, if that is actually possible with a roster that has just one senior. Crews said Bucknell’s versatility was a problem for his inexperienced tea.

“They switch some. They play a little zone, they play man. They go big with the big kid, then all of a sudden, Lee is playing a four. I don’t know what Brown is besides good. He’s not big, he’s not small. He’s good. They look different all the time and that presents problems,” Crews said.

It’s that way at both ends of the floor. Each time you think you’ve plugged a defensive leak, a different Bison steps up and soaks you. In the first half it was Lee, who scored 11 of his game-high 18 points during the run at the end of the first half that put the Bison in control. During the last 7:58 of the first half, Lee was scored almost every way possible – a layup, a jumper, a three-pointer. 4 for 5 at the foul line.

During that same stretch, Army’s only points came when Marshall Jackson converted an old-fashioned, and-one three-point play with 1:10 to go in the half.
The end result was a 25-18 Bucknell lead at the intermission.

Any confidence infusion Army might have gotten by Jackson’s play was gone before most of the crowd of 4,174 was settled into its seats for the second half. It started with a pair of free throws from Chris McNaughton, who saw the ball on Bucknell’s first possession after going scoreless the first half. McNaughton made the first, but missed the second. Mastropaolo got the rebound and the ball went to Bettencourt, who buried a three to make it an 11-point Bucknell lead.

On Bucknell’s next possession, Mastropaolo was fouled making a layup. Mastropaolo missed the second shot, the ball ended up in Bettencourt’s hands and the senior buried the three. All of a sudden the 25-18 halftime score had exploded to 34-18.

“That just kicked our rear ends. If I am not mistaken, they got three offensive rebounds and scored 10 points in the first minute-18. It went from 7 to 17 in a minute-18. That was huge,” said Crews.

By the time it was over, three other Bison joined Lee in double figures. Bettencourt had 13, Griffin 12 (including 6 for 6 at the foul line) and McNaughton 11.

Matt Bell scored 16 to lead Army. Fourteen of those came in the second half when the game had already been determined. Marshall Jackson added 10, all in the first half. But Jarell Brown, the league’s third-leading scorer, who posted 25 on Bucknell in West Point earlier this season, spent most of his night being hounded by Charles Lee, who played a key role in Brown being held to a single field goal on seven shots.

Lee was quick to share credit for stopping Brown,

“It was a great team job. A couple times he was getting to the lane and guys were stepping up trying to take charges, making all his shots difficult,” Lee said.

Overall Bucknell held Army to a 15 for 41 showing from the field (36.6 percent). It was the 17th time this season Bucknell, which is ranked fourth nationally in field goal percentage defense, held an opponent below 40 percent from the field. It was also the eighth Bucknell opponent to be held under 50 points.

The Bison did have some scares. Nearly every regular starter was hurt at least once. Sixth-man Donald Brown was hurt twice. The worst of the bunch was the first half ankle injury suffered by point guard Abe Badmus. Badmus limped off the floor and was taken to the training room for treatment. But he returned to the game, finishing with a solid 3 assists, one turnover, one steal line in 18 minutes.

“Abe certainly worried us. He’s a pretty tough kid. When he came up like that and couldn’t shake that off, we were a little worried about him,” Flannery said.

The other injuries Flannery laughed off.

“It’s a varsity limp. That is what it is called. You’re home, it is senior day, everybody has to get hurt. Everybody wants to come out. Everybody wants to get an ice pack. I mean, McNaughton was hurt. Abe was hurt. I think I saw (seldom used fan favorite) Holland (Mack) getting a drink and he was hurt,” Flannery said.

The Bison’s regular season title is their second outright in the 16 years of Patriot League hoops. Bucknell also shared the regular season championship in 1995. The other outright championship came in 1993, when Charlie Woollum’s Bison went 13-1 in the regular season. That team was one of five who had enjoyed single loss seasons, along with the 1991 Fordham team (11-1), Lafayette’s 11-1 2000 team and the two Holy Cross 13-1 teams (2003, 2005).

All of those teams were outstanding. None of them went unbeaten in conference play.

“It doesn’t happen very often,” Crews said.

“It’s obviously something we are proud of. I have followed the Patriot League since my brother played, so I know no team has ever done that before,” said Bettencourt.

These same two teams will meet again Friday night at 8 in the second game of a first round doubleheader in Sojka. No. 4 seed American will meet five-seed Lafayette in the first game. That one tips at 5:30 p.m.

Box score

Gameblog

AP story

Eric Thomas

# posted by Hoop Time : 8:47 AM  

(Originally posted Sat. at 3:14 p.m., links added at 8:39 a.m.)

American sweeps its season series with Lafayette, winning in Easton, 77-67, in a preview of Friday's No. 4 vs. No. 5 game.

Andre Ingram with the kind of game American has been waiting all season for him to have, 7 treys en route to 26 points. His first three-pointer, at the 19:22 mark of the first half, made it 3-0 AU and the Eagles never trailed. American led by six at the half and opened the second half with an 8-1 run. Lafayette never got closer than 6 the rest of the way.

Arvydas Eitutavicius (10) and Brayden Billbe (13) also in double figures for American, which shot 51 percent from the field.

Lafayette shot 21 of 64 (32.8 percent) from the field, 8 for 33 from three-point range. Bilal Abdullah had five of the Leopards' treys, finishing with 21 points. Andrei Capusan added 17.

No. 4 seed American gets to wear the home white uniforms when these two meet in the first round in Lewisburg.

Box score

Express-Times

Morning Call

# posted by Hoop Time : 8:39 AM  

(Originally posted Sat. at 6:22 p.m., links added at 8:37 a.m.)

Colgate completes a sweep of the series with Navy and now stands a win over Air Force for the Commander In Chief's Trophy. They have yet to beat anybody but the military schools since the new year. They will get, perhaps, the best chance for an upset in the first round, playing the Holy Cross-Lehigh loser on a neutral floor.

Navy will play the winner of that game on its floor in the first round.
From the AP story:

Jon Simon, Alvin Reed and Kendall Chones each topped 20 points, and Colgate rallied to beat Navy 80-72 on Saturday.

Simon led the way with a career-high 25 points, making 6 of 10 from the field and 9 of 12 free-throw attempts. Reed scored 22 points, and Chones had 21 for the Raiders (10-18, 4-10 Patriot League), who secured a sixth-place finish in the league.

Box score

Baltimore Sun

# posted by Hoop Time : 8:37 AM