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Thursday, February 22, 2007
The Bison's senior center plays up to his preseason player of the year hype in road win.
By CHRIS A. COUROGEN
If all you know of Patriot League basketball is what has gone down this season, then you might have caught yourself wondering how Bucknell's Chris McNaughton could ever have been chosen the preseason Player of the Year.
Struggling against physical double-teams, picking up frustration fouls at the other end, McNaughton's start to this season was unimpressive. He failed to reach double figures in Bucknell's first two games, a trend that continued much of the first half of the season. Through 15 games, McNaughton reached double figures seven times.
Hardly Player of the Year stuff. Really not even an all-league caliber performance. After a tough January night in Worcester, where McNaughton had just 2 rebounds and 4 points, some even questioned his commitment.
Since that loss at Holy Cross, though, McNaughton has done a Peter Frampton, coming alive to look like the dominating force he was expected to be. Wednesday night he put up another in his series of big games, leading Bucknell to a 69-56 win at Lehigh.
When Donald Brown broke his hand, McNaughton was averaging 10.3 points and 5.1 rebounds per game. In six games since Brown went out, mcNaughton has upped his game, averaging 15.7 points and 8 boards per outting.
Wednesday night at Lehigh McNaughton stepped up again. Scoring in double figures for the ninth time in Bucknell's 11-game win streak, McNaughton poured in 14 points. The 6-11 senior from Germany also pulled down a game-high 7 rebounds, dished off 4 assists and blocked a pair of shots. The three guys Lehigh rotated against him picked up a combined 9 personal fouls trying to guard him.
McNaughton well all night, but it was his performance during a 4:44 stretch of the second half that really showed what a difference it makes having him on the floor. Despite power forward Darren Mastropaolo sitting on the bench in foul trouble after picking up his third and fourth personals in quick succession early in the second half, the Bison managed to keep their lead in double figures for most of the first seven minutes of the half.
When McNaughton sat down for a breather heading towards the second media timeout, Lehigh made a run, using three straight three-pointers -- two by Phil Anderson, who scored all of his 9 points from the arc -- and an old fashioned three-point play by Jose Olivero to cut the Bison lead to 43-41 with 10:53 to play.
"You knew their run was going to come. They were going to hit some shots," said Bucknell guard John Griffin.
And Bucknell knew what its response would be when that happened.
"We executed and got what we wanted down the stretch," Griffin said.
What Bucknell wanted was to put the ball in McNaughton's hands. They did just that on three of their first four possessions after he reentered the game.
The first trip down the floor, McNaughton caught the ball in good position and connected with a sweet baby hook. On his next touch, McNaughton beat a double team by kicking the ball out to Jason Vegotsky for a wide-open three. He added two more points on a little jumper his next touch.
"We got Chris the ball where we needed to get him the ball and he finished," Griffin said.
After the teams traded a series of empty possessions, McNaughton pretty much took away any wind still in Lehigh's sails by blocking an Olivero jumper, triggering a break that resulted in an Abe Badmus layup and a 7-point Bison lead.
Bucknell pulled away from there.
McNaughton was not the only guy who hurt Lehigh. Griffin had a team-high 16 points, including three big treys, one the result of another McNaughton kick out. Griffin also finished with 4 assists and 3 steals while turning the ball over just once.
Badmus, who set the tone by knocking down a three on Bucknell's first possession, finished with 13 points and also turned in another in what has become a series of shutdown defensive efforts on an opponent's leading scorer.
"McNaughton got double figures. Griffin got double figures. Badmus had double figures . . . That certainly wasn't our game plan -- to allow their three best players to score in double figures," Lehigh coach Billy Taylor said.
Olivero finished with 14 points, sharing team honors with Kyle Neptune. But for most of the game, Olivero was not a factor. Not coincidentally, most of the game he was guarded by Badmus. Olivero was 1 for 5 in the first half, his lone field goal coming on Lehigh's second possession. That bucket came at the 18:38 mark. It was almost 25 minutes later until he made another, dropping a leaning jumper with 13:57 to play.
That shot seemed to get Olivero on track. It started a four-minute stretch where Olivero scored 7 of his 11 second half points. Not coincidentally, Badmus was sitting beside McNaughton most of that stretch while Flannery tried to use the upcoming media timeout to give some of his starters and extended break.
"We know Olivero is their horse. We put "The Glove" on him," Griffin said.
Olivero finished 5 of 13 from the field, 0 for 3 from the three-point arc, with 1 assist, 3 turnovers.
His were not Lehigh's only offensive struggles. The Mountain Hawks shot 32.6 percent from the field (15 of 46), 6 for 20 from the arc. Rookie point guard sensation Marquis Hall, who had reached double figures in eight straight games, was held to 4 points, going 1 of 8 from the field, 0 for 4 from the arc.
Kyle Neptune scored 14 points and grabbed a team-high 6 rebounds off the bench for Lehigh.
Bucknell had only 7 field goals in the first half, but five were three-pointers and they added 13 of their 32 points from the foul line. In the second half the Bison shot 65 percent (13 of 20) from the field.
"We couldn't get that crucial stop. They shot 65 percent in the second half," lamented Taylor.
Box score | Gameblog | Postgame audio (Taylor, Olivero, Neptune; Flannery, Griffin, McNaughton | Daily Item | Express-Times | Morning Call (gamer)
By CHRIS A. COUROGEN
If all you know of Patriot League basketball is what has gone down this season, then you might have caught yourself wondering how Bucknell's Chris McNaughton could ever have been chosen the preseason Player of the Year.
Struggling against physical double-teams, picking up frustration fouls at the other end, McNaughton's start to this season was unimpressive. He failed to reach double figures in Bucknell's first two games, a trend that continued much of the first half of the season. Through 15 games, McNaughton reached double figures seven times.
Hardly Player of the Year stuff. Really not even an all-league caliber performance. After a tough January night in Worcester, where McNaughton had just 2 rebounds and 4 points, some even questioned his commitment.
Since that loss at Holy Cross, though, McNaughton has done a Peter Frampton, coming alive to look like the dominating force he was expected to be. Wednesday night he put up another in his series of big games, leading Bucknell to a 69-56 win at Lehigh.
When Donald Brown broke his hand, McNaughton was averaging 10.3 points and 5.1 rebounds per game. In six games since Brown went out, mcNaughton has upped his game, averaging 15.7 points and 8 boards per outting.
Wednesday night at Lehigh McNaughton stepped up again. Scoring in double figures for the ninth time in Bucknell's 11-game win streak, McNaughton poured in 14 points. The 6-11 senior from Germany also pulled down a game-high 7 rebounds, dished off 4 assists and blocked a pair of shots. The three guys Lehigh rotated against him picked up a combined 9 personal fouls trying to guard him.
McNaughton well all night, but it was his performance during a 4:44 stretch of the second half that really showed what a difference it makes having him on the floor. Despite power forward Darren Mastropaolo sitting on the bench in foul trouble after picking up his third and fourth personals in quick succession early in the second half, the Bison managed to keep their lead in double figures for most of the first seven minutes of the half.
When McNaughton sat down for a breather heading towards the second media timeout, Lehigh made a run, using three straight three-pointers -- two by Phil Anderson, who scored all of his 9 points from the arc -- and an old fashioned three-point play by Jose Olivero to cut the Bison lead to 43-41 with 10:53 to play.
"You knew their run was going to come. They were going to hit some shots," said Bucknell guard John Griffin.
And Bucknell knew what its response would be when that happened.
"We executed and got what we wanted down the stretch," Griffin said.
What Bucknell wanted was to put the ball in McNaughton's hands. They did just that on three of their first four possessions after he reentered the game.
The first trip down the floor, McNaughton caught the ball in good position and connected with a sweet baby hook. On his next touch, McNaughton beat a double team by kicking the ball out to Jason Vegotsky for a wide-open three. He added two more points on a little jumper his next touch.
"We got Chris the ball where we needed to get him the ball and he finished," Griffin said.
After the teams traded a series of empty possessions, McNaughton pretty much took away any wind still in Lehigh's sails by blocking an Olivero jumper, triggering a break that resulted in an Abe Badmus layup and a 7-point Bison lead.
Bucknell pulled away from there.
McNaughton was not the only guy who hurt Lehigh. Griffin had a team-high 16 points, including three big treys, one the result of another McNaughton kick out. Griffin also finished with 4 assists and 3 steals while turning the ball over just once.
Badmus, who set the tone by knocking down a three on Bucknell's first possession, finished with 13 points and also turned in another in what has become a series of shutdown defensive efforts on an opponent's leading scorer.
"McNaughton got double figures. Griffin got double figures. Badmus had double figures . . . That certainly wasn't our game plan -- to allow their three best players to score in double figures," Lehigh coach Billy Taylor said.
Olivero finished with 14 points, sharing team honors with Kyle Neptune. But for most of the game, Olivero was not a factor. Not coincidentally, most of the game he was guarded by Badmus. Olivero was 1 for 5 in the first half, his lone field goal coming on Lehigh's second possession. That bucket came at the 18:38 mark. It was almost 25 minutes later until he made another, dropping a leaning jumper with 13:57 to play.
That shot seemed to get Olivero on track. It started a four-minute stretch where Olivero scored 7 of his 11 second half points. Not coincidentally, Badmus was sitting beside McNaughton most of that stretch while Flannery tried to use the upcoming media timeout to give some of his starters and extended break.
"We know Olivero is their horse. We put "The Glove" on him," Griffin said.
Olivero finished 5 of 13 from the field, 0 for 3 from the three-point arc, with 1 assist, 3 turnovers.
His were not Lehigh's only offensive struggles. The Mountain Hawks shot 32.6 percent from the field (15 of 46), 6 for 20 from the arc. Rookie point guard sensation Marquis Hall, who had reached double figures in eight straight games, was held to 4 points, going 1 of 8 from the field, 0 for 4 from the arc.
Kyle Neptune scored 14 points and grabbed a team-high 6 rebounds off the bench for Lehigh.
Bucknell had only 7 field goals in the first half, but five were three-pointers and they added 13 of their 32 points from the foul line. In the second half the Bison shot 65 percent (13 of 20) from the field.
"We couldn't get that crucial stop. They shot 65 percent in the second half," lamented Taylor.
Box score | Gameblog | Postgame audio (Taylor, Olivero, Neptune; Flannery, Griffin, McNaughton | Daily Item | Express-Times | Morning Call (gamer)
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