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Friday, January 12, 2007
Holy Cross built a big lead, then held off Bucknell's rally to get the win.
By CHRIS A. COUROGEN
It would be easy to point to Keith Simmons' line in the box score as the numbers that made the difference in Holy Cross' 65-60 win over Bucknell Friday night.
Easy, but not entirely valid.
Have no doubt, Simmons was the best player on the Hart Center floor on this night. And he was absolutely a huge factor in the Crusaders (12-6 overall, 3-0 Patriot League) snapping the Bison's 23-game Patriot League win streak. But it was Simmons' misses that had a lot to do with the outcome.
In the end, the biggest difference in this five-point game was Holy Cross' 12 second chance points. Not coincidentally, that was double the six points Bucknell (8-8, 2-1) scored following offensive rebounds. And most of the putbacks came on missed shots by Simmons and Torey Thomas, who simply were too quick on the perimeter for Bucknell's guards, especially with Abe Badmus again in foul trouble.
Time and time again the Hc pair would beat Bucknell defenders off the dribble, sometimes finishing, sometimes ending up at the foul line -- especially Simmons, who was 12 for 13 at the stripe. But what killed Bucknell weren't the makes, it was the misses. Often Bucknell's big men did a pretty fair job of coming to help and stopping the penetration. Inevitably it seemed when that happened, the Holy Cross guy they left underneath came up with the offensive board and an easy put back.
Thomas finished with 13 points and 5 assists, often kicking the ball out off penetration. Simmons led all scorers with 22 points.
"Those two kids were making basketball plays," said Bucknell coach Pat Flannery.
But the guys that put the nails in the coffin of Bucknell's conference win streak were HC center Tim Clifford, who scored all 13 of his points in the second half, and Eric Meister, who came off the bench with Clifford in foul trouble to score 6 key points, mostly on those putbacks.
"When we beat somebody off the dribble . . . someone has to step up and it creates an offensive rebound opportunity," said Simmons.
That quickness was something Holy Cross thought coming in it could take advantage of, and for most of the game, that was what they did.
"They have some different personnel (than last year). Their guards are a little smaller, a little less athletic. That was something we wanted to exploit," Simmons said.
"We tried to exploit it by going to the basket and getting (Bucknell center Chris) McNaughton in foul trouble," added Thomas.
That part of the plan worked, too. McNaughton picked up two fouls by the midway point of the first half and finished with four in just 22 minutes of action. Between keeping him off the floor, and keeping the ball out of his hands when he was on the floor, Holy Cross was able to turn the league's top center into a non-factor. McNaughton didn't have a shot in the first half and finished with just 4 points on 2 of 4 shooting.
"If you want to stop a great player, the best way to do it is to keep him from touching the ball," Clifford said.
The Crusaders did that with a combination of double teams and tremendous ball pressure on Bucknell's guards, usually applied by Simmons and Thomas.
"For a large part of the game we were able to take away McNaughton," Willard said. "We rolled the dice going in. We had to take something away."
In other words, the Crusaders decided to take away the inside, daring Bucknell to beat them from the perimeter. It worked for three quarters of the game, and by then HC had a 13-point lead that it was able to ride despite some turnovers and missed free throws that led to a furious Bucknell comeback.
Trailing 59-46 with 6:40 to play, Bucknell pulled to within 611-60 on a pair of Justin Castleberry free throws with 57 seconds to play. The Bison had a chance to tie or take the lead when thomas missed the back end of a two shot foul with 33 seconds left. But nobody boxed out Alex Vander Baan, who grabbed the offensive board, resulting in a Simmons free throw and a 3-point HC lead.
Bucknell still had a chance, with the ball and 29 seconds to go. But John Griffin missed a three to tie, and after McNaughton got the offensive board, Badmus was fouled and missed the front end of a one-and-one. Thomas rebounded the miss, was fouled, and sealed the game with two free throws with 8 seconds left.
"We box out there at the end of the game and we get a shot. I'd have loved to have the opportunity for one shot down one," Flannery said.
While the win puts Holy Cross in the driver's seat for now, Thomas was realistic about what this game means in the long run.
"We still have to go down there, and beat them in the playoffs. It's just one game," Thomas said.
Round two of what many expect to be a three-round fight will be Feb. 9 in Bucknell's Sojka Pavilion.
Box score | Postgame audio with HC players Keith Simmons, Torey Thomas, Tim Clifford and coaches Ralph Willard and Pat Flannery | Gameblog | Daily Item | Telegram & Gazette (gamer) | Telegram & Gazette (sidebar)
By CHRIS A. COUROGEN
It would be easy to point to Keith Simmons' line in the box score as the numbers that made the difference in Holy Cross' 65-60 win over Bucknell Friday night.
Easy, but not entirely valid.
Have no doubt, Simmons was the best player on the Hart Center floor on this night. And he was absolutely a huge factor in the Crusaders (12-6 overall, 3-0 Patriot League) snapping the Bison's 23-game Patriot League win streak. But it was Simmons' misses that had a lot to do with the outcome.
In the end, the biggest difference in this five-point game was Holy Cross' 12 second chance points. Not coincidentally, that was double the six points Bucknell (8-8, 2-1) scored following offensive rebounds. And most of the putbacks came on missed shots by Simmons and Torey Thomas, who simply were too quick on the perimeter for Bucknell's guards, especially with Abe Badmus again in foul trouble.
Time and time again the Hc pair would beat Bucknell defenders off the dribble, sometimes finishing, sometimes ending up at the foul line -- especially Simmons, who was 12 for 13 at the stripe. But what killed Bucknell weren't the makes, it was the misses. Often Bucknell's big men did a pretty fair job of coming to help and stopping the penetration. Inevitably it seemed when that happened, the Holy Cross guy they left underneath came up with the offensive board and an easy put back.
Thomas finished with 13 points and 5 assists, often kicking the ball out off penetration. Simmons led all scorers with 22 points.
"Those two kids were making basketball plays," said Bucknell coach Pat Flannery.
But the guys that put the nails in the coffin of Bucknell's conference win streak were HC center Tim Clifford, who scored all 13 of his points in the second half, and Eric Meister, who came off the bench with Clifford in foul trouble to score 6 key points, mostly on those putbacks.
"When we beat somebody off the dribble . . . someone has to step up and it creates an offensive rebound opportunity," said Simmons.
That quickness was something Holy Cross thought coming in it could take advantage of, and for most of the game, that was what they did.
"They have some different personnel (than last year). Their guards are a little smaller, a little less athletic. That was something we wanted to exploit," Simmons said.
"We tried to exploit it by going to the basket and getting (Bucknell center Chris) McNaughton in foul trouble," added Thomas.
That part of the plan worked, too. McNaughton picked up two fouls by the midway point of the first half and finished with four in just 22 minutes of action. Between keeping him off the floor, and keeping the ball out of his hands when he was on the floor, Holy Cross was able to turn the league's top center into a non-factor. McNaughton didn't have a shot in the first half and finished with just 4 points on 2 of 4 shooting.
"If you want to stop a great player, the best way to do it is to keep him from touching the ball," Clifford said.
The Crusaders did that with a combination of double teams and tremendous ball pressure on Bucknell's guards, usually applied by Simmons and Thomas.
"For a large part of the game we were able to take away McNaughton," Willard said. "We rolled the dice going in. We had to take something away."
In other words, the Crusaders decided to take away the inside, daring Bucknell to beat them from the perimeter. It worked for three quarters of the game, and by then HC had a 13-point lead that it was able to ride despite some turnovers and missed free throws that led to a furious Bucknell comeback.
Trailing 59-46 with 6:40 to play, Bucknell pulled to within 611-60 on a pair of Justin Castleberry free throws with 57 seconds to play. The Bison had a chance to tie or take the lead when thomas missed the back end of a two shot foul with 33 seconds left. But nobody boxed out Alex Vander Baan, who grabbed the offensive board, resulting in a Simmons free throw and a 3-point HC lead.
Bucknell still had a chance, with the ball and 29 seconds to go. But John Griffin missed a three to tie, and after McNaughton got the offensive board, Badmus was fouled and missed the front end of a one-and-one. Thomas rebounded the miss, was fouled, and sealed the game with two free throws with 8 seconds left.
"We box out there at the end of the game and we get a shot. I'd have loved to have the opportunity for one shot down one," Flannery said.
While the win puts Holy Cross in the driver's seat for now, Thomas was realistic about what this game means in the long run.
"We still have to go down there, and beat them in the playoffs. It's just one game," Thomas said.
Round two of what many expect to be a three-round fight will be Feb. 9 in Bucknell's Sojka Pavilion.
Box score | Postgame audio with HC players Keith Simmons, Torey Thomas, Tim Clifford and coaches Ralph Willard and Pat Flannery | Gameblog | Daily Item | Telegram & Gazette (gamer) | Telegram & Gazette (sidebar)
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