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Thursday, December 20, 2007
(Originally posted at 12:42 a.m., links added at 7:43 a.m.)
Bucknell big man sparks Bison in win over Ivy fave Cornell.
Josh Linthicum insists his benching had nothing to do with it.
"It really doesn't matter if I start or not," said Linthicum after his second career-high scoring night in as many games.. "It's a team effort."
Might be true. Or Linthiucm might be downplaying the impact it had on his game when he lost his starting job for two games early this month.
Maybe a fire was lit under the the 6-11 junior from New Mexico. Or maybe it is just a coincidence that he posted his first career double-double when he got his job back, and followed it last night with a 5 for 5, 12-point effort that keyed Bucknell's 88-75 win over Cornell.
Linthicum started the first five games for the Bison, but lost his spot in the lineup to freshman Todd O'Brien after a series of forgettable performances. His re-emergence could change the perception of the Bison, who looked a lot like a jump-shooting team with no inside presence in the early going this season.
To some extent, Linthicum was the beneficiary of a stellar showing by the Bucknell guards, especially in the first half, when the Bison ran some of the most efficient halfcourt offense you're likely to witness. But Linthicum deserves credit, too. The guards did their job, getting him the ball where he could score, and Linthicum did his part, finishing with a variety of post moves and jump hooks.
Six of his points came in a five minute span of the first half, including back-to-back buckets 50 seconds apart around the nine minute mark of the first half. At that point, it was still a close game, with Bucknell's lead in single digits. After that, 18 of Bucknell's next 27 points came on open threes made possible by the attention Cornell had to Bucknell's newfound inside presence.
"They probably were not ready for it. It opened up lanes we hadn't seen in a while," said John Griffin, who also set a career-high with his game-best 27.
Cornell came in with the lofty national ranking in three-point shooting accuracy, but it was Bucknell who put on the shooting clinic, hitting 11 of 21 from the arc while shooting 54.7 percent (29 of 53) from the field.
It was the kind of showing you want to film to show to kids when you teach halfcourt offense -- solid screens; hard, precise cuts; quick, accurate passes moving the ball with a minimum of bounces. The Bison found the open men and knocked down shots. In the first half, Bucknell recorded an assist on 15 of its 19 field goals and turned the ball over just five times.
"They had a great purpose on the offensive end," said Cornell coach Steve Donohue, whose usually sharpshooting side was held to 38.6 percent (22-57) shooting from the field. Cornell's 25 percent effort (6-24) from the arc was barely half its season average (48 percent).
"We really chopped it up," said Pat Flannery, Bucknell's cooach. "We had seven or eight layups, a bunch of mid-range jumpers, some threes. We had it all over the (shot) chart."
Already up by 11 as the half closed, Bucknell didn't wait for the second half to put Cornell away. Back-to-back threes in the last 45 seconds of the half, including one by Griffin that came from closer to the midcourt circle than the three-point arc, made it 47-30 at the break. The other came from Justin Castleberry, who equaled his career-high with 18 points.
The first half was played at a brisk pace reminiscent of the Charlie Woollum era, though Woollum's Breakin' Bison never showed the offensive patience, or defensive tenacity Flannery's sides play with. The second half was a choppy, poorly officiated free throw shooting contest, devoid of any rhythm or pace thanks to the constant whistles.
The two teams combined to shoot 50 foul shots in the second half, just one fewer than their combined 51 shots from the field. Three players fouled out, five finished with four fouls. Perhaps the best you can say about the second-half officiating is neither side was happy, both with good reason. All told the refs called 52 fouls and managed to completely piss off both coaches.
"The last 10 minutes seemed to take an eternity," said Griffin.
While it was ugly and devoid of entertainment value, it might have played into Bucknell's hands. With no flow, Cornell could never find its stride or get on any kind of run. Bucknell's margin was over 15 points most of the second half. Cornell never got closer than 11 points. The Big Red shot 27 free throws in the second half, knocking down 21. It was enough to keep them from being blown out, but not nearly enough to overcome a big deficit to a team that plays defense like Bucknell does. Especially not when you are going 2 for 17 from the arc in the half.
"Obviously that is a recipe for disaster against a good team like Bucknell," Donahue said.
BISON CHIPS: Bucknell freshman Daryl Shazier hit his first career three-pointer in the first half . . . Shazier was 0 for 12 from the arc coming into the game . . . Bison junior Jason Vegotsky, in his second game back from a foot injury that sidelined him since the start of the season, received a nice ovation when he stepped on to the Sojka Pavilion floor for the first time this season and an even louder round of cheers he knocked down the first shot he had taken this season, a three-pointer during the early 12-0 run that gave Bucknell control all night . . . Linthicum's biggest thrill didn't seem to come on any of his 5 buckets or on the shot he blocked. that moment seemed to come with 6:50 to play in the first half, when Linthicum, in the low post, found O'Brien slicing down the lane for a big dunk . . . Linthicum sported a huge grin after the play and sprinted back on defense . . . Stephen Tyree finished with three steals and 10 rebounds for Bucknell . . . O'brien had 7 points, 7 boards and two blocks . . . the two blocks give O'Brien at least two rejections in eight of his first nine games . . . Bucknell's 87 points is a Sojka Pavilion record . . . The Bison held a 36-31 adavantage in rebounds . . . It was the first time all season Bucknell has out-boarded an opponent.
Box score | Daily Item | Sun-Gazette | Ithaca Journal (gamer) | Ithaca Journal (sidebar)
Bucknell big man sparks Bison in win over Ivy fave Cornell.
Josh Linthicum insists his benching had nothing to do with it.
"It really doesn't matter if I start or not," said Linthicum after his second career-high scoring night in as many games.. "It's a team effort."
Might be true. Or Linthiucm might be downplaying the impact it had on his game when he lost his starting job for two games early this month.
Maybe a fire was lit under the the 6-11 junior from New Mexico. Or maybe it is just a coincidence that he posted his first career double-double when he got his job back, and followed it last night with a 5 for 5, 12-point effort that keyed Bucknell's 88-75 win over Cornell.
Linthicum started the first five games for the Bison, but lost his spot in the lineup to freshman Todd O'Brien after a series of forgettable performances. His re-emergence could change the perception of the Bison, who looked a lot like a jump-shooting team with no inside presence in the early going this season.
To some extent, Linthicum was the beneficiary of a stellar showing by the Bucknell guards, especially in the first half, when the Bison ran some of the most efficient halfcourt offense you're likely to witness. But Linthicum deserves credit, too. The guards did their job, getting him the ball where he could score, and Linthicum did his part, finishing with a variety of post moves and jump hooks.
Six of his points came in a five minute span of the first half, including back-to-back buckets 50 seconds apart around the nine minute mark of the first half. At that point, it was still a close game, with Bucknell's lead in single digits. After that, 18 of Bucknell's next 27 points came on open threes made possible by the attention Cornell had to Bucknell's newfound inside presence.
"They probably were not ready for it. It opened up lanes we hadn't seen in a while," said John Griffin, who also set a career-high with his game-best 27.
Cornell came in with the lofty national ranking in three-point shooting accuracy, but it was Bucknell who put on the shooting clinic, hitting 11 of 21 from the arc while shooting 54.7 percent (29 of 53) from the field.
It was the kind of showing you want to film to show to kids when you teach halfcourt offense -- solid screens; hard, precise cuts; quick, accurate passes moving the ball with a minimum of bounces. The Bison found the open men and knocked down shots. In the first half, Bucknell recorded an assist on 15 of its 19 field goals and turned the ball over just five times.
"They had a great purpose on the offensive end," said Cornell coach Steve Donohue, whose usually sharpshooting side was held to 38.6 percent (22-57) shooting from the field. Cornell's 25 percent effort (6-24) from the arc was barely half its season average (48 percent).
"We really chopped it up," said Pat Flannery, Bucknell's cooach. "We had seven or eight layups, a bunch of mid-range jumpers, some threes. We had it all over the (shot) chart."
Already up by 11 as the half closed, Bucknell didn't wait for the second half to put Cornell away. Back-to-back threes in the last 45 seconds of the half, including one by Griffin that came from closer to the midcourt circle than the three-point arc, made it 47-30 at the break. The other came from Justin Castleberry, who equaled his career-high with 18 points.
The first half was played at a brisk pace reminiscent of the Charlie Woollum era, though Woollum's Breakin' Bison never showed the offensive patience, or defensive tenacity Flannery's sides play with. The second half was a choppy, poorly officiated free throw shooting contest, devoid of any rhythm or pace thanks to the constant whistles.
The two teams combined to shoot 50 foul shots in the second half, just one fewer than their combined 51 shots from the field. Three players fouled out, five finished with four fouls. Perhaps the best you can say about the second-half officiating is neither side was happy, both with good reason. All told the refs called 52 fouls and managed to completely piss off both coaches.
"The last 10 minutes seemed to take an eternity," said Griffin.
While it was ugly and devoid of entertainment value, it might have played into Bucknell's hands. With no flow, Cornell could never find its stride or get on any kind of run. Bucknell's margin was over 15 points most of the second half. Cornell never got closer than 11 points. The Big Red shot 27 free throws in the second half, knocking down 21. It was enough to keep them from being blown out, but not nearly enough to overcome a big deficit to a team that plays defense like Bucknell does. Especially not when you are going 2 for 17 from the arc in the half.
"Obviously that is a recipe for disaster against a good team like Bucknell," Donahue said.
BISON CHIPS: Bucknell freshman Daryl Shazier hit his first career three-pointer in the first half . . . Shazier was 0 for 12 from the arc coming into the game . . . Bison junior Jason Vegotsky, in his second game back from a foot injury that sidelined him since the start of the season, received a nice ovation when he stepped on to the Sojka Pavilion floor for the first time this season and an even louder round of cheers he knocked down the first shot he had taken this season, a three-pointer during the early 12-0 run that gave Bucknell control all night . . . Linthicum's biggest thrill didn't seem to come on any of his 5 buckets or on the shot he blocked. that moment seemed to come with 6:50 to play in the first half, when Linthicum, in the low post, found O'Brien slicing down the lane for a big dunk . . . Linthicum sported a huge grin after the play and sprinted back on defense . . . Stephen Tyree finished with three steals and 10 rebounds for Bucknell . . . O'brien had 7 points, 7 boards and two blocks . . . the two blocks give O'Brien at least two rejections in eight of his first nine games . . . Bucknell's 87 points is a Sojka Pavilion record . . . The Bison held a 36-31 adavantage in rebounds . . . It was the first time all season Bucknell has out-boarded an opponent.
Box score | Daily Item | Sun-Gazette | Ithaca Journal (gamer) | Ithaca Journal (sidebar)
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