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Thursday, November 08, 2007
Here's what has been happening while we have been fighting off the flu bug this week:
-- Seems like once or twice each season the Utica paper bothers to cover Colgate. One of those times is this preview of the Red Raiders season.
Bracketeering -- ESPN is offering up at the 65 teams to make the NCAA Tournament as a free preview of its "insider coverage." Lunardi picks Holy Cross to win the league, saying: The league's Dangerfield -- Ed Laubach, the former sporst editor at the Express-Times, comes out of retirement for previewing Lafayette's Leopards, a team Laubach says is drawing motivation from its lack of respect.
50 ways to view the season -- Included in on 50 things to ponder as hoops season starts: More on Griffin -- The says in the absence of Chris McNaughton, Donald Brown and Abe Badmus, it is Griffin's turn to lead the Bison.
Dadging the 'Saders -- How bad did UConn want to avoid playing Holy Cross in the Coaches vs. Cancer tournament? Bad enough to agree to next season.
Speaking of Holy Cross -- In case you missed it, the Crusaders bounced back from that exhibition loss to Rhode Island College by Tuesday night. Tim Clifford led the way with 16 points, 5 boards and 6 blocks. ()
Another recruit for AU -- The Boca Raton News Mike Technow of Boca Raton H.S. will commit to play for American. BRHS is expected to send three players to DI schools this season. Technow is a 6-9 center. You can find more on him on his (if you have the patience for it to load). He played AAU hoops for the .
Long look at Army -- Anticipating Saturday's Minnesota home opener against the Black Knights. Scout.com takes a at this year's Army squad.
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57. HOLY CROSS. The Crusaders were 13-1 in Patriot League play last season. This season's race figures to be tighter, but Holy Cross has enough to repeat.
25. The return of 6-11 center Tim Clifford is a prime reason Holy Cross is expected to defend its Patriot League crown. Bucknell, which will look to senior John Griffin (St. Joseph's Prep) after losing three starters, and Colgate should be the top challengers to Holy Cross.
Labels: Army, AU, BU, CU, HC, Laf, Leh, previews, recruiting
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Move over Archbishop Spalding. Step aside Abington Friends. There is a new pipeline school feeding the Patriot League. This one is on the West Coast.
San Jose's Archbishop Mitty has a second player headed the Patriot League's way. Mitty forward to play his college ball at Lehigh, joining teammate Enoch Andoh, a Bucknell recruit, for the flight east.
Adams is a 6-5 inside type who Mercury News writer David Kiefer says:
Kiefer says Lehigh coach Brett Reed found damaged tapes of Adams when he took over the Lehigh job and contacted him to get new copies. The tapes impressed Reed enough to lead to a pair of trips west to watch Adams workout.
Adams is the fourth member of Mitty's team to commit to a Division I school.
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San Jose's Archbishop Mitty has a second player headed the Patriot League's way. Mitty forward to play his college ball at Lehigh, joining teammate Enoch Andoh, a Bucknell recruit, for the flight east.
Adams is a 6-5 inside type who Mercury News writer David Kiefer says:
"may have been Mitty’s most consistent performer last season on a team that reached the state Division II championship game before losing in overtime to Santa Ana’s Mater Dei. Adams was a defensive stalwert and could make a big offensive play if he had to."Adams also drew interest from Hawaii and Division III power Puget Sound, according to Kiefer.
Kiefer says Lehigh coach Brett Reed found damaged tapes of Adams when he took over the Lehigh job and contacted him to get new copies. The tapes impressed Reed enough to lead to a pair of trips west to watch Adams workout.
Adams is the fourth member of Mitty's team to commit to a Division I school.
Labels: BU, Leh, recruiting
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Sunday, November 04, 2007
Four Bucknell players reached double figures Sunday in a 93-65 exhibition win over Division II East Stroudsburg.
The Bison were hitting on all cylinders offensively, despite being without sharpshooting win Jason Vegotsky, who did not play due to what was termed a "minor leg injury."
Sophomore power forward Patrick Behan led Bucknell with 17 points on 7 for 8 shooting, including 3 for 3 from the 3-point arc. Justin Castleberry added 16 points and senior John Griffin had 13. Freshman center Todd O'Brien added 10 points and a team-high 6 rebounds in 18 minutes off the bench.
The Bison shot 29 of 53 (54.7 percent) from the field, including 12 of 19 (63.2 percent) from the arc.
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The Bison were hitting on all cylinders offensively, despite being without sharpshooting win Jason Vegotsky, who did not play due to what was termed a "minor leg injury."
Sophomore power forward Patrick Behan led Bucknell with 17 points on 7 for 8 shooting, including 3 for 3 from the 3-point arc. Justin Castleberry added 16 points and senior John Griffin had 13. Freshman center Todd O'Brien added 10 points and a team-high 6 rebounds in 18 minutes off the bench.
The Bison shot 29 of 53 (54.7 percent) from the field, including 12 of 19 (63.2 percent) from the arc.
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Two former Patriot League players were selected in Thursday's NBDL draft.
Taken in the were former American standout Andre Ingram was selected by the league's Utah Flash, an expansion franchise that of Ingram on video, The Flash made which took Ingram their when they chose him with the 10th pick in the seventh round of the draft. Bucknell grad Abe Badmus went eight picks later to the Tulasa 66ers, who grabbed the Bison point guard with the fourth pick of the eighth round.
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Taken in the were former American standout Andre Ingram was selected by the league's Utah Flash, an expansion franchise that of Ingram on video, The Flash made which took Ingram their when they chose him with the 10th pick in the seventh round of the draft. Bucknell grad Abe Badmus went eight picks later to the Tulasa 66ers, who grabbed the Bison point guard with the fourth pick of the eighth round.
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Thursday, November 01, 2007
It is a little tough to take seriously a Patriot League preview story that talks about Bucknell's Darren Mastropaolo playing a prominent role without mentioning that his season is in jeopardy after tearing up a knee during the summer.
Sure, there was no mention of Mastropaolo's injury in most of the preview magazines on the newsstands (Blue Ribbon being the prominent exception), but those pubs have early summer deadlines. The Sports Network, on the other hand, is a Web based service and its comes after Mastropaolo's situation was discussed at the league's media day.
This thing is, simply put, a sorry excuse for a preview. The Holy Cross capsule makes no mention of the questions on the wings. The American portion does not even include the phrase "junior college." There is talk of Lafayette's futility without talk of their scholarship situation and the Navy preview says nothing about how the Mids lost three key would-be returning players, including two starters.
The worst part is that this mediocrity will show up as gospel on other sites because several mainstream media players buy syndicated content from TSN.
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Sure, there was no mention of Mastropaolo's injury in most of the preview magazines on the newsstands (Blue Ribbon being the prominent exception), but those pubs have early summer deadlines. The Sports Network, on the other hand, is a Web based service and its comes after Mastropaolo's situation was discussed at the league's media day.
This thing is, simply put, a sorry excuse for a preview. The Holy Cross capsule makes no mention of the questions on the wings. The American portion does not even include the phrase "junior college." There is talk of Lafayette's futility without talk of their scholarship situation and the Navy preview says nothing about how the Mids lost three key would-be returning players, including two starters.
The worst part is that this mediocrity will show up as gospel on other sites because several mainstream media players buy syndicated content from TSN.
Labels: Army, AU, BU, CU, HC, Laf, Leh, Navy, previews
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Tuesday, October 30, 2007
The Red Flash of St. Francis held their media day yesterday. During the festivities, coach Bobby Jones spoke of the need for his team to get off to a good start. Two of their first four games are against Patriot League schools.
St. Francis opens Nov. 10 at home against American and hosts Lehigh a week later. According to the , anything less than three wins in their first four games will be a dissappointment. That would mean the Red Flash need to win at least one of those games.
The Flash, who return all five starters from last year's 8-21 team, also will face Bucknell in Lewisburg Dec. 1.
Really, really interested in St. Francis? The also covered the media day festivities.
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St. Francis opens Nov. 10 at home against American and hosts Lehigh a week later. According to the , anything less than three wins in their first four games will be a dissappointment. That would mean the Red Flash need to win at least one of those games.
The Flash, who return all five starters from last year's 8-21 team, also will face Bucknell in Lewisburg Dec. 1.
Really, really interested in St. Francis? The also covered the media day festivities.
Labels: AU, BU, Leh, scheduling
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Mike Howlett has committed to play his college ball at the University of Pennsylvania. Why should Patriot League fans care?
Howlett was supposed to be a freshman at Lehigh this fall, But after Billy Taylor left for Ball State, Howlette decided to return to New Hampshire's New Hampton School for a second year of post-graduate prep school instead of enrolling at Lehigh.http://www.blogger.com/img/gl.link.gif
According to his father, quoted in , Howlett is between 6-9 and 6-10, though recruiting sites list him at 6-8. Howlett supposedly narrowed his second-time-around list to Bucknell, Holy Cross, Davidson and Penn after eliminating several other Patriot and Ivy schools, as well as Vanderbilt, Stanford and Northwestern from consideration. His final two reportedly were HC and Penn.
Worth keeping in mond, apparently the kid's dad was the source of this story. Hard to tell if Howlett actually had offers from all those places.
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Howlett was supposed to be a freshman at Lehigh this fall, But after Billy Taylor left for Ball State, Howlette decided to return to New Hampshire's New Hampton School for a second year of post-graduate prep school instead of enrolling at Lehigh.http://www.blogger.com/img/gl.link.gif
According to his father, quoted in , Howlett is between 6-9 and 6-10, though recruiting sites list him at 6-8. Howlett supposedly narrowed his second-time-around list to Bucknell, Holy Cross, Davidson and Penn after eliminating several other Patriot and Ivy schools, as well as Vanderbilt, Stanford and Northwestern from consideration. His final two reportedly were HC and Penn.
Worth keeping in mond, apparently the kid's dad was the source of this story. Hard to tell if Howlett actually had offers from all those places.
Labels: BU, HC, Leh, recruiting
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Friday, October 26, 2007
The preseason Mid-Major Top 25 poll is out.
Holy Cross is the only league team in the top 25, checking in at No. 16 in . The Crusaders were No. 9 in last season's final poll.
Bucknell, which received 61 points, is the only other Patriot League team to receive votes. The Bison are an unofficial No. 36 in the poll.
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Holy Cross is the only league team in the top 25, checking in at No. 16 in . The Crusaders were No. 9 in last season's final poll.
Bucknell, which received 61 points, is the only other Patriot League team to receive votes. The Bison are an unofficial No. 36 in the poll.
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Sunday, October 21, 2007
It appears the Bison may have completed their recruiting class for next fall, with a third commit, AU gets more size and Ralph has landed a much-needed winger.
The 6-9 Probese Leo has chosen Bucknell over Rice, Furman and San Diego State. Leo is a Bahamas native who attends St. Pius X H.S. in Houston through the Foundation Elite Athlete Development (FREAD) Program, which brings athletes from the Bahamas to the U.S. to help prepare them to earn scholarships to U.S. universities.
Leo, who played AAU ball with the , would appear to be a bit of a project. He has only played serious basketball for about a year.
It would seem Leo completes Bucknell's scholarship recruiting class, unless he, or one of the two previous commits, is actually a need-based kid. The Bison also have commits from 6-5 swingman Bryan Cohen, out of the Philly area Abington Friends School and 6-8 Enoch Andoh from Archbishop Mitty in San Jose, Cal.
In other recruiting news, while we were busy with the aftermath of media day, we missed American's landing of 6-8 Stephen Lumpkins, a lefthanded big man from Serra H.S. in the San Francisco bay area. Lumpkins chose teh Eagles over UC Santa Barbara, Montana State and Lafayette.
Also , R.J. Evans, a 6-3 wing out of Norwich Free Academy in Conn., will take his game to Holy Cross, where he says his legs will get stronger from walking up and down all those hills. Evans, who averaged 24 points per game last season, chose H.C. over William and Mary and Harvard.
Evans flanked by classmates in purple t-shirts that said "Patriot or Ivy?" on the front. They turned around to reveal a back saying "Evans chooses (HC logo)" as he verbalized his decision.
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The 6-9 Probese Leo has chosen Bucknell over Rice, Furman and San Diego State. Leo is a Bahamas native who attends St. Pius X H.S. in Houston through the Foundation Elite Athlete Development (FREAD) Program, which brings athletes from the Bahamas to the U.S. to help prepare them to earn scholarships to U.S. universities.
Leo, who played AAU ball with the , would appear to be a bit of a project. He has only played serious basketball for about a year.
It would seem Leo completes Bucknell's scholarship recruiting class, unless he, or one of the two previous commits, is actually a need-based kid. The Bison also have commits from 6-5 swingman Bryan Cohen, out of the Philly area Abington Friends School and 6-8 Enoch Andoh from Archbishop Mitty in San Jose, Cal.
In other recruiting news, while we were busy with the aftermath of media day, we missed American's landing of 6-8 Stephen Lumpkins, a lefthanded big man from Serra H.S. in the San Francisco bay area. Lumpkins chose teh Eagles over UC Santa Barbara, Montana State and Lafayette.
Also , R.J. Evans, a 6-3 wing out of Norwich Free Academy in Conn., will take his game to Holy Cross, where he says his legs will get stronger from walking up and down all those hills. Evans, who averaged 24 points per game last season, chose H.C. over William and Mary and Harvard.
Evans flanked by classmates in purple t-shirts that said "Patriot or Ivy?" on the front. They turned around to reveal a back saying "Evans chooses (HC logo)" as he verbalized his decision.
Labels: AU, BU, HC, recruiting
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Friday, October 19, 2007
(Updated with additional links at 7:51 a.m.)
Here's what others are saying about Thursday's Patriot League basketball media day:
In Stephen Miller's , which appears in the Morning Call. there is a Fran O'Hanlon quote that pretty much sums up why people are still picking Holy Cross and Bucknell at the top of the league despite their heavy graduation losses. Says O'Hanlon" "I thought last year maybe the league would come back a little bit and be more competitive. To a certain extent [it was]. American was right there at times. Colgate and Army and Navy obviously took major steps last year, but it didn't translate into competing with Bucknell and Holy Cross. So I'm reluctant to say it's going to change."
The Examiner and concludes the Mids "will go as far as Greg Sprink carries" them.
Alexander Pyles did some blogging on CSTV's Hang Time blog from the ESPN Zone in Baltimore. Pyles, who must have sat close to the door, where the wireless actually worked, compiled a from the event.
David Ginsburg of the AP threw together based on the preseason poll and the very generic comments the coaches made before the individual interview sessions.
We'll update this in the morning.
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Here's what others are saying about Thursday's Patriot League basketball media day:
We'll update this in the morning.
Labels: Army, AU, BU, CU, HC, Laf, Leh, Navy, previews
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Thursday, October 18, 2007
More news, notes and quotes from Thursday's Patriot League basketball media day:
M*A*S*H -- Not a lot of talk about injuries from most of the coaches, but Bucknell's Pat Flannery and Holy Cross coach Ralph Willard did have some medical woes to talk about.
Flannery confirmed senior post man Darren Mastropaolo will not be ready any time soon. Flannery said Mastropaolo is working hard to rehab the knee he injured this summer, but has not begun to run on it yet. Flannery said there is no timetable for Mastropaolo's possible return. Bucknell guard John Griffin, in a separate interview, said the Bison are hopeful Mastropaolo might be able to get back for the second half of the Patriot League season. Griffin said he doesn't think Mastropaolo wants to take a medical redshirt, saying he thinks Mastropaolo wants to graduate with his classmates.
Holy Cross has two guys currently out of practice for medical reasons. Sophomore Andrew Keister has suffered another stress fracture in his leg and it appears his future is in question. Willard said there are concerns Keister, who survived childhood leukemia, may have some fragility in his bones due to the radiation treatments he underwent when he was ill. For now, the 6-9 forward is out at least six weeks.
Lawrence Dixon also has yet to practice for HC. Dixon's surgically repaired knee is structurally fine, Willard said, but he is having back and hamstring problems. Willard said it is possible Dixon's troubles could be related to favoring the injured knee.
"Lawrence could really help our basketball team if he can get healthy," Willard said.
QUOTABLE -- From the coaches opening comments:
"We have a lot of fresh faces coming in hoping to compete for some playing time." -- American coach Jeff Jones, whose roster includes six new players, including four junior college transfers
"We have a lot of young players. Nine of our 13 are in either the freshman or sophomore class." -- Lehigh coach Brett Reed, who is new to the head coach job himself
"We certainly hope to be an improved basketball team this year . . . we have lots of room for improvement." -- Colgate coach Emmett Davis
"What we found out in Europe is we graduated two really special leaders . . . we have a lot of work to do." -- HC's Ralph Willard
"We have more guys coming back this year than we have ever had." -- Army coach Jim Crews
"We don't know a lot right now. But we do have one kid -- Jarrell Brown -- who puts the ball in the bucket." -- Crews
"you can't even land in Mississippi. You have to land in Memphis." == Lafayette coach Fran O'Hanlon on the leopards trip to Mississippi State, part of nine straight road games after playing five of their first six at home
"Nobody's divulging names." -- Bucknell coach Pat Flannery, commenting on the generic remarks of the other coaches
"We are who we are, and you know who we are. We're not hard to figure out." -- Flannery on his Bison
"I don't feel like our program is young anymore." -- Navy coach Billy Lange on his experienced underclassmen
Those were the best offered. Told you they were pretty generic.
MAKING POINTS -- Expect Griffin to start the season at the point for Bucknell, but the pre-season all-league pick could end up sliding to the two if freshman Daryl Shazier develops quickly. Shazier played for the highly competitive Boo Williams AAU program in Virginia and is accustomed to high level competition, something that should speed his adjustment to the college game.
"We didn't bring him in to sit," said Flannery.
At Holy Cross, freshman Andrew Beinert was expected to back up Pat Doherty at the point this season, but difficulties finding adequate scoring from the wings could force Willard to move him to the two. Willard said that is not his preference, but he may be forced to do it.
Scoring from the wings, said Willard, "Is still (HC's) biggest question mark. That was our big bugaboo in Europe. We didn't score from the wing at all."
In August, before heading on the overseas trip, Willard spoke of the possibility of playing Alex Vander Baan at the three some. Those plans appear to be scrapped. Willard said Vander Baan is just not comfortable enough putting teh ball on the floor against smaller defenders.
STEPPING OUT -- Thus far in practice, Holy Cross' best perimeter shooter has been 6-10 senior center Tim Clifford.
"Tim may be the best three-point shooter we have on the team," said Willard.
Expect Clifford to look to spot up on the arc when trailing the break. He will also step out to shoot the three in half-court sets, Willard said.
"Tim has made the three an important part of who he is as a basketball player," Willard said.
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M*A*S*H -- Not a lot of talk about injuries from most of the coaches, but Bucknell's Pat Flannery and Holy Cross coach Ralph Willard did have some medical woes to talk about.
Flannery confirmed senior post man Darren Mastropaolo will not be ready any time soon. Flannery said Mastropaolo is working hard to rehab the knee he injured this summer, but has not begun to run on it yet. Flannery said there is no timetable for Mastropaolo's possible return. Bucknell guard John Griffin, in a separate interview, said the Bison are hopeful Mastropaolo might be able to get back for the second half of the Patriot League season. Griffin said he doesn't think Mastropaolo wants to take a medical redshirt, saying he thinks Mastropaolo wants to graduate with his classmates.
Holy Cross has two guys currently out of practice for medical reasons. Sophomore Andrew Keister has suffered another stress fracture in his leg and it appears his future is in question. Willard said there are concerns Keister, who survived childhood leukemia, may have some fragility in his bones due to the radiation treatments he underwent when he was ill. For now, the 6-9 forward is out at least six weeks.
Lawrence Dixon also has yet to practice for HC. Dixon's surgically repaired knee is structurally fine, Willard said, but he is having back and hamstring problems. Willard said it is possible Dixon's troubles could be related to favoring the injured knee.
"Lawrence could really help our basketball team if he can get healthy," Willard said.
QUOTABLE -- From the coaches opening comments:
"We have a lot of fresh faces coming in hoping to compete for some playing time." -- American coach Jeff Jones, whose roster includes six new players, including four junior college transfers
"We have a lot of young players. Nine of our 13 are in either the freshman or sophomore class." -- Lehigh coach Brett Reed, who is new to the head coach job himself
"We certainly hope to be an improved basketball team this year . . . we have lots of room for improvement." -- Colgate coach Emmett Davis
"What we found out in Europe is we graduated two really special leaders . . . we have a lot of work to do." -- HC's Ralph Willard
"We have more guys coming back this year than we have ever had." -- Army coach Jim Crews
"We don't know a lot right now. But we do have one kid -- Jarrell Brown -- who puts the ball in the bucket." -- Crews
"you can't even land in Mississippi. You have to land in Memphis." == Lafayette coach Fran O'Hanlon on the leopards trip to Mississippi State, part of nine straight road games after playing five of their first six at home
"Nobody's divulging names." -- Bucknell coach Pat Flannery, commenting on the generic remarks of the other coaches
"We are who we are, and you know who we are. We're not hard to figure out." -- Flannery on his Bison
"I don't feel like our program is young anymore." -- Navy coach Billy Lange on his experienced underclassmen
Those were the best offered. Told you they were pretty generic.
MAKING POINTS -- Expect Griffin to start the season at the point for Bucknell, but the pre-season all-league pick could end up sliding to the two if freshman Daryl Shazier develops quickly. Shazier played for the highly competitive Boo Williams AAU program in Virginia and is accustomed to high level competition, something that should speed his adjustment to the college game.
"We didn't bring him in to sit," said Flannery.
At Holy Cross, freshman Andrew Beinert was expected to back up Pat Doherty at the point this season, but difficulties finding adequate scoring from the wings could force Willard to move him to the two. Willard said that is not his preference, but he may be forced to do it.
Scoring from the wings, said Willard, "Is still (HC's) biggest question mark. That was our big bugaboo in Europe. We didn't score from the wing at all."
In August, before heading on the overseas trip, Willard spoke of the possibility of playing Alex Vander Baan at the three some. Those plans appear to be scrapped. Willard said Vander Baan is just not comfortable enough putting teh ball on the floor against smaller defenders.
STEPPING OUT -- Thus far in practice, Holy Cross' best perimeter shooter has been 6-10 senior center Tim Clifford.
"Tim may be the best three-point shooter we have on the team," said Willard.
Expect Clifford to look to spot up on the arc when trailing the break. He will also step out to shoot the three in half-court sets, Willard said.
"Tim has made the three an important part of who he is as a basketball player," Willard said.
Labels: Army, AU, BU, CU, HC, Laf, Leh, Navy, notebook
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NOTE: Griffin audio bug is fixed
Our audio of all the coaches making their comments malfunctioned. Lucky for you.
To be honest, nobody really said anything much of interest anyhow. Most of the conversation centered on tips for dealing with the insomnia coaches tend to suffer.
Had the recorder captured it all, we'd have suggested saving the money you'd spend on the sleep aid CD Ralph Willard recommends by just playing back the audio of the coaches media day comments.
We will file a media day notebook later this evening, but in the meantime, here are interviews with Holy Cross coach Ralph Willard, Bucknell coach Pat Flannery and Bucknell guard John Griffin.
Patriot League Media Day Interviews
Holy Cross coach Ralph Willard
Bucknell coach Pat Flannery
Bucknell guard John Griffin
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Our audio of all the coaches making their comments malfunctioned. Lucky for you.
To be honest, nobody really said anything much of interest anyhow. Most of the conversation centered on tips for dealing with the insomnia coaches tend to suffer.
Had the recorder captured it all, we'd have suggested saving the money you'd spend on the sleep aid CD Ralph Willard recommends by just playing back the audio of the coaches media day comments.
We will file a media day notebook later this evening, but in the meantime, here are interviews with Holy Cross coach Ralph Willard, Bucknell coach Pat Flannery and Bucknell guard John Griffin.
Patriot League Media Day Interviews
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We will have more from today's Media Day festivities later. In the meantime, here is a look at how the voting went for the major preseason honors.
The league's coaches and sports information directors voted in the preseason all-league balloting and the preseason poll. Just for fun, we also will list how we saw things back in August when we put together our previews for Blue Ribbon College Basketball Yearbook.
LEAGUE FORECAST:
2007 PreSeason All-League Selections
G- John Griffin, Sr. Bucknell
C- Tim Clifford, Sr., Holy Cross
G- Jarrell Brown, Sr., Army
G- Marquis Hall, So., Lehigh
G- Greg Sprink, Sr., Navy
Preseason Player of the Year
Tim Clifford, Sr., Holy Cross
Preseason Poll
1. Holy Cross (10 first place votes) 91 points
2. Bucknell (5) 85
3. Colgate (1) 62
4. Lehigh 56
5. American 49
6. Army 42
7. Navy 34
8. Lafayette 29
For comparison purposes, here is how I saw the league and the preseason honors in Blue Ribbon College Basketball Yearbook:
BLUE RIBBON FORECAST
1. Holy Cross
2. Bucknell
3. Lehigh
4. Army
5. American
6. Colgate
7. Navy
8. Lafayette
ALL-CONFERENCE TEAM
G-Jarell Brown, SR, Army
C-Tim Clifford, SR, Holy Cross
G-Greg Sprink, SR, Navy
G-Marquis Hall, SO, Lehigh
G-John Griffin, SR, Bucknell
PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Jarell Brown, SR, Army
NEWCOMERS OF THE YEAR
Andrew Beinert, FR, Holy Cross
Todd O'Brien, FR, Bucknell
I will tell you the standings prediction is a roll of the dice. Matter of fact, I can't remember ever having less faith in my preseason prognostications. As several coaches pointed out today, nobody knows what American has this season. Colgate has as much talent as anyone, but I have a hard time picking them higher based on the simple fact they had a lot of talent the last two seasons and failed to live up to expectations. Army might be a stretch at fourth, but they have as good a shot at being in the upper division as any of the teams I ranked 3 through 6.
We shall see.
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The league's coaches and sports information directors voted in the preseason all-league balloting and the preseason poll. Just for fun, we also will list how we saw things back in August when we put together our previews for Blue Ribbon College Basketball Yearbook.
LEAGUE FORECAST:
2007 PreSeason All-League Selections
G- John Griffin, Sr. Bucknell
C- Tim Clifford, Sr., Holy Cross
G- Jarrell Brown, Sr., Army
G- Marquis Hall, So., Lehigh
G- Greg Sprink, Sr., Navy
Preseason Player of the Year
Tim Clifford, Sr., Holy Cross
Preseason Poll
1. Holy Cross (10 first place votes) 91 points
2. Bucknell (5) 85
3. Colgate (1) 62
4. Lehigh 56
5. American 49
6. Army 42
7. Navy 34
8. Lafayette 29
For comparison purposes, here is how I saw the league and the preseason honors in Blue Ribbon College Basketball Yearbook:
BLUE RIBBON FORECAST
1. Holy Cross
2. Bucknell
3. Lehigh
4. Army
5. American
6. Colgate
7. Navy
8. Lafayette
ALL-CONFERENCE TEAM
G-Jarell Brown, SR, Army
C-Tim Clifford, SR, Holy Cross
G-Greg Sprink, SR, Navy
G-Marquis Hall, SO, Lehigh
G-John Griffin, SR, Bucknell
PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Jarell Brown, SR, Army
NEWCOMERS OF THE YEAR
Andrew Beinert, FR, Holy Cross
Todd O'Brien, FR, Bucknell
I will tell you the standings prediction is a roll of the dice. Matter of fact, I can't remember ever having less faith in my preseason prognostications. As several coaches pointed out today, nobody knows what American has this season. Colgate has as much talent as anyone, but I have a hard time picking them higher based on the simple fact they had a lot of talent the last two seasons and failed to live up to expectations. Army might be a stretch at fourth, but they have as good a shot at being in the upper division as any of the teams I ranked 3 through 6.
We shall see.
Labels: Army, AU, BU, CU, HC, Laf, Leh, Navy, previews
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Sunday, October 14, 2007
Looking for a quick fix for your basketball jones before the afternoon's NFL action kicks off. We have it here, with a quick preview of the league and a little catching up with old friends.
Gone but not forgotten (Part I): Down in the Lehigh Valley, former Express-Times sports editor Ed Laubach is supposed to be retired. But that doesn't stop him from popping out the occasional column, like bemoaning the lack of hoops excitement on six out of eight Patriot League campuses. In the process, Ed takes a quick look around the league and sizes up each team's prospects for the coming season.
Gone but not forgotten (Part II): Last time we checked in with Adonal Foyle, the Colgate grad, and only Patriot League to ever make it in the NBA, was looking for work after being left go by the Golden State Warriors. Foyle's new employer is the Orlando Magic, which is preparing to head to China for some exhibition action. Writers on the Magic beat knew who to turn to when looking to file a story about the trip; as put it, Foyle is "the kind of deep thinker who usually sticks out in an NBA locker room the way Bill O'Reilly would at a rap concert." The also checked in with Foyle for some socio-economic perspective on the trip.
Gone but not forgotten (Part III): Would any post catching up on the whereabouts of folks affiliated with Patriot League hoops be complete without an of Neil Fingleton? (Hint: The guy is 7-7, maybe you should throw another couple of shrimp on the barbie).
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Labels: Army, AU, BU, CU, HC, Laf, Leh, Navy, previews
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Saturday, October 13, 2007
Fall has finally arrived here in the Northeast. Temperatures have dropped into the 40s the last few nights, a marked difference from even a week ago when the girls of Team Hoop Time were playing in the water as the parents washed cars for a team fundraiser.
The weather is not all that feels different.
It's starting to feel like hoops time. With the season fast approaching, our weekly "open gyms" have taken a turn towards getting ready for our winter league schedule. More team concepts. a little less individual skills work. We are not alone. As noting the start of practice points out, the college season is less than a month away.
The Morning Call picked up a wire story this morning about former Lehigh coach Billy Taylor. Looks like he will have a tough season ahead in his first year at Ball State. He just kicked two guys off the team for violating unspecified team rules. Four other scholarship players had already left the team since Taylor arrived in August, two seeking transfers, and two others Taylor dismissed. Sounds like he inherited quite a mess, but Taylor ought to be the kind of guy that can straighten things out there if the school gives him a few seasons to do the job. Good luck Billy.
That mentions one of the points of emphasis with officials this season will be a quicker whistle for technicals on coaches for sideline behavior. Good luck Pat.
Speaking of the Bison, over on Scout.com's Louisville "Card Chronicle" site, the Nov. 18 Bucknell at Villanova game one of the top 50 Big East out of conference games of the season.
And in keeping with the season draws near theme of this post, a reminder that Patriot League hoops media day will be Thursday at the WWLIS zone in Charm City. We're expecting to go heavy with the audio content from that gathering, with plans to post all the coaches' comments and selected player interviews. Expect that stuff to start arriving here Thursday afternoon, as quickly as we can get the audio files posted.
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The weather is not all that feels different.
It's starting to feel like hoops time. With the season fast approaching, our weekly "open gyms" have taken a turn towards getting ready for our winter league schedule. More team concepts. a little less individual skills work. We are not alone. As noting the start of practice points out, the college season is less than a month away.
The Morning Call picked up a wire story this morning about former Lehigh coach Billy Taylor. Looks like he will have a tough season ahead in his first year at Ball State. He just kicked two guys off the team for violating unspecified team rules. Four other scholarship players had already left the team since Taylor arrived in August, two seeking transfers, and two others Taylor dismissed. Sounds like he inherited quite a mess, but Taylor ought to be the kind of guy that can straighten things out there if the school gives him a few seasons to do the job. Good luck Billy.
That mentions one of the points of emphasis with officials this season will be a quicker whistle for technicals on coaches for sideline behavior. Good luck Pat.
Speaking of the Bison, over on Scout.com's Louisville "Card Chronicle" site, the Nov. 18 Bucknell at Villanova game one of the top 50 Big East out of conference games of the season.
And in keeping with the season draws near theme of this post, a reminder that Patriot League hoops media day will be Thursday at the WWLIS zone in Charm City. We're expecting to go heavy with the audio content from that gathering, with plans to post all the coaches' comments and selected player interviews. Expect that stuff to start arriving here Thursday afternoon, as quickly as we can get the audio files posted.
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Wednesday, October 10, 2007
Bucknell has landed its second oral commitment, a 6-5 swingman from the Philadelphia area.
According to a in the Philly Daily News:
In a in The Jewish Exponent, Cohen, who played on th US team that won the U17 gold medal in the 17th Maccabiah Games, said he was recruited by Penn State and some Atlantic 10 schools.
Cohen is the second player to commit to Bucknell. Enoch Andoh, a 6-8, 245-pounder out of San Diego Jose's Archbishop Mitty H.S previously announced he will play his college ball for the Bison.
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According to a in the Philly Daily News:
Bryan Cohen, a 6-5 senior swingman at Abington Friends School, has made an oral commitment to play his college basketball at Bucknell. Cohen's brother, Aron, is a junior on the Penn basketball team.Cohen averaged almost as a junior, playing alongside , who is now a freshman at Lehigh.
In a in The Jewish Exponent, Cohen, who played on th US team that won the U17 gold medal in the 17th Maccabiah Games, said he was recruited by Penn State and some Atlantic 10 schools.
Cohen is the second player to commit to Bucknell. Enoch Andoh, a 6-8, 245-pounder out of San Diego Jose's Archbishop Mitty H.S previously announced he will play his college ball for the Bison.
Labels: BU, recruiting
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Tuesday, October 02, 2007
The league and the WWLIS have announced a 13-game television package for the upcoming season. Included is the conference tournament final, which will assume its customary Friday happy hour slot on ESPN2.
The Feb. 16 Holy Cross at Bucknell men's game will also be shown on the deuce.
The rest of the package, which includes a trio of women's games, will be on ESPNU.
Click the full post link to read the official press release.he 2007-08 Patriot League men's basketball schedule will feature eight regular-season men's games on ESPNU and one on ESPN2, as well as the Championship game on March 14 at 4:30 p.m. on ESPN2, it was announced Tuesday by Patriot League Executive Director Carolyn Schlie Femovich.
"We are pleased to once again feature Patriot League basketball games, including our Championship for men's and women's basketball, on the ESPN networks," said Femovich. "It is exciting that a regular-season matchup between Holy Cross and Bucknell, our past two champions, will be showcased on ESPN2 this year."
The ESPNU schedule also includes two Patriot League women's basketball regular-season games and the Championship contest on March 12.
The men's basketball season opens up on ESPNU, with Navy traveling to Bucknell for a7 p.m. tip-off on Jan. 11. Bucknell and Holy Cross will face off on the ESPN networks for both of their regular-season matchups, with a Jan. 18 game in Worcester at 9 p.m. on ESPNU and a Feb. 16 contest in Lewisburg at 6 p.m on ESPN2.
The ESPNU schedule features three Friday night games, four Sunday tip-offs at Noon and one Saturday contest. Two weekends will include a pair of Patriot League matchups. Lehigh visits Holy Cross on Feb. 2 at Noon and Army travels to Bucknell on Feb. 3 at Noon, while American is at Colgate at Noon on Feb. 17, one day after the Holy Cross/Bucknell tilt on ESPN2.
On the women's side, Holy Cross visits Bucknell for a Noon tip-off on Jan. 20 and Army is at Navy on Jan. 27. The Army-Navy game will be shown live on ESPN360.com and on a taped-delayed basis at 6:30 p.m.
2008 Patriot League Men's Basketball Schedule on ESPN2/ESPNU
Fri., Jan. 11: Navy at Bucknell, 7 p.m.
Fri., Jan. 18: Bucknell at Holy Cross, 9 p.m.
Sun., Jan. 27: Army at Navy, Noon
Sat., Feb. 2: Lehigh at Holy Cross, Noon
Sun., Feb. 3: Army at Bucknell, Noon
Sun., Feb. 10: Lehigh at American, Noon
Sat., Feb. 16: Holy Cross at Bucknell (ESPN2), 6 p.m.
Sun., Feb. 17: American at Colgate, Noon
Fri., Feb. 29: Holy Cross at Lehigh, 9 p.m.
Fri., Mar. 14: Championship Game (ESPN2), 4:30 p.m.
2008 Patriot League Women's Basketball Schedule on ESPNU
Sun., Jan. 20: Holy Cross at Bucknell, Noon
Sun., Jan. 27: Army at Navy, 2:30 p.m.
Wed., Mar. 12: Championship Game, TBA
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The Feb. 16 Holy Cross at Bucknell men's game will also be shown on the deuce.
The rest of the package, which includes a trio of women's games, will be on ESPNU.
Click the full post link to read the official press release.he 2007-08 Patriot League men's basketball schedule will feature eight regular-season men's games on ESPNU and one on ESPN2, as well as the Championship game on March 14 at 4:30 p.m. on ESPN2, it was announced Tuesday by Patriot League Executive Director Carolyn Schlie Femovich.
"We are pleased to once again feature Patriot League basketball games, including our Championship for men's and women's basketball, on the ESPN networks," said Femovich. "It is exciting that a regular-season matchup between Holy Cross and Bucknell, our past two champions, will be showcased on ESPN2 this year."
The ESPNU schedule also includes two Patriot League women's basketball regular-season games and the Championship contest on March 12.
The men's basketball season opens up on ESPNU, with Navy traveling to Bucknell for a7 p.m. tip-off on Jan. 11. Bucknell and Holy Cross will face off on the ESPN networks for both of their regular-season matchups, with a Jan. 18 game in Worcester at 9 p.m. on ESPNU and a Feb. 16 contest in Lewisburg at 6 p.m on ESPN2.
The ESPNU schedule features three Friday night games, four Sunday tip-offs at Noon and one Saturday contest. Two weekends will include a pair of Patriot League matchups. Lehigh visits Holy Cross on Feb. 2 at Noon and Army travels to Bucknell on Feb. 3 at Noon, while American is at Colgate at Noon on Feb. 17, one day after the Holy Cross/Bucknell tilt on ESPN2.
On the women's side, Holy Cross visits Bucknell for a Noon tip-off on Jan. 20 and Army is at Navy on Jan. 27. The Army-Navy game will be shown live on ESPN360.com and on a taped-delayed basis at 6:30 p.m.
2008 Patriot League Men's Basketball Schedule on ESPN2/ESPNU
Fri., Jan. 11: Navy at Bucknell, 7 p.m.
Fri., Jan. 18: Bucknell at Holy Cross, 9 p.m.
Sun., Jan. 27: Army at Navy, Noon
Sat., Feb. 2: Lehigh at Holy Cross, Noon
Sun., Feb. 3: Army at Bucknell, Noon
Sun., Feb. 10: Lehigh at American, Noon
Sat., Feb. 16: Holy Cross at Bucknell (ESPN2), 6 p.m.
Sun., Feb. 17: American at Colgate, Noon
Fri., Feb. 29: Holy Cross at Lehigh, 9 p.m.
Fri., Mar. 14: Championship Game (ESPN2), 4:30 p.m.
2008 Patriot League Women's Basketball Schedule on ESPNU
Sun., Jan. 20: Holy Cross at Bucknell, Noon
Sun., Jan. 27: Army at Navy, 2:30 p.m.
Wed., Mar. 12: Championship Game, TBA
Labels: Army, AU, BU, CU, HC, Laf, Leh, Navy
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Wednesday, September 26, 2007
New Lehigh head coach Brett Reed has received his first commitment -- a big man from New Jersey.
a 6-foot-8 frontcourt type, says he will become anEngineer Mountain Hawk following his senior season at Saddle Brook High School in North Jersey.
Maneri was a second-team Herald News All-Area selection last season when he averaged 21 points and 13 rebounds per game. Maneri also got a look from Lafayette, NJIT and Quinnipiac, but said Lehigh was the only school to offer a scholarship.
In other recruiting news, that big kid from the Bahamas seen roaming Lewisburg recently was , a 6-9, 220-pound senior who is playing at St. Pius X H.S. in Houston. Leo moved to Houston last year to enter the Elite Athletic Development Program. Leo plays AAU ball for the .
The Nassau Guardian says Leo, who has more than 20 offers, will also visit Lafayette, Rice, Furman and Dormont "- all private schools in which he plans to study rocket science."
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a 6-foot-8 frontcourt type, says he will become an
Maneri was a second-team Herald News All-Area selection last season when he averaged 21 points and 13 rebounds per game. Maneri also got a look from Lafayette, NJIT and Quinnipiac, but said Lehigh was the only school to offer a scholarship.
In other recruiting news, that big kid from the Bahamas seen roaming Lewisburg recently was , a 6-9, 220-pound senior who is playing at St. Pius X H.S. in Houston. Leo moved to Houston last year to enter the Elite Athletic Development Program. Leo plays AAU ball for the .
The Nassau Guardian says Leo, who has more than 20 offers, will also visit Lafayette, Rice, Furman and Dormont "- all private schools in which he plans to study rocket science."
Labels: BU, Leh, recruiting
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Monday, September 17, 2007
Bucknell grad J.R. Holden helped the Russian national team to a 60-59 win over Spain in the Eurobasket final Sunday.
Holden finished with while playing a team-high 39 minutes for the Russian side. THe biggest of his shots proved to be the with two seconds left.
If you are not familiar with the tale of how Pittsburgh native Holden, a two-time first team All-Patriot pick, became "" and a leader of the Russian national team, here is a link to .
In the process of winning the European title, Russia also qualified for the 2008 Olympic Games, which could make Holden the first Patriot League men's basketball alum to ever play in the Olympics.
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Holden finished with while playing a team-high 39 minutes for the Russian side. THe biggest of his shots proved to be the with two seconds left.
If you are not familiar with the tale of how Pittsburgh native Holden, a two-time first team All-Patriot pick, became "" and a leader of the Russian national team, here is a link to .
In the process of winning the European title, Russia also qualified for the 2008 Olympic Games, which could make Holden the first Patriot League men's basketball alum to ever play in the Olympics.
Labels: BU
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Sunday, September 16, 2007
Russia, helped by Bucknell grad J.R. Holden, plays for the Eurpoean Championship today, having clinched a spot in the 2008 Olympic games in China.
Hard as it is to believe, Russia has qualified for the Olympics one other rime since the breakup of the Soviet Unions, according to a story in . That was in 2000, when Russia finished eighth the Seoul games.
The Russians qualified with an over Lithuania. Holden scored 18 points in the win. They will meet Spain in today's final.
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Hard as it is to believe, Russia has qualified for the Olympics one other rime since the breakup of the Soviet Unions, according to a story in . That was in 2000, when Russia finished eighth the Seoul games.
The Russians qualified with an over Lithuania. Holden scored 18 points in the win. They will meet Spain in today's final.
Labels: BU
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Monday, September 10, 2007
It has been a hectic time lately here at Hoop Time's world headquarters. Between chasing down coaches for Blue Ribbon Collage Basketball Yearbook preview stories, covering the ongoing saga of the biggest mass arrest in Harrisburg history for the day job, and trapping the squirrels that are eating the tomatoes in our garden, we've barely had time to check our e-mail, let alone to keep up with the news from around the league. Here's what we missed:
: The Bison will beef up their front line next year with the addition of Enoch Andoh, a 6-8, 245-pounder out of San Diego Jose's Archbishop Mitty H.S. Andoh is one of three Mitty players who have committed to D-I schools.
: Good news in Worcester; Holy Cross coach Ralph Willard has agreed to a five-year contract extension.
: College Hoops net tabs Holy Cross to win the league in its preseason look at the Crusaders.
: Jordan Sugars, a 6-3 shooter from Millbrook H.S. in northwestern Virginia has committed to Navy.
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Labels: BU, HC, Navy, previews, recruiting
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Friday, August 31, 2007
A rumor sweeping the Bucknell campus has it that junior guard Jason Vegotsky had left school and was transferring elsewhere. That is not the case.
Vegotsky is in school and on the Bison team, sources in the Bucknell athletic department confirmed Thursday.
Turns out, the source of the rumor was the transfer of a Bison wrestler with a similar sounding name. Sophomore Eric Lapotsky, who qualified for the NCAA Tournament last season as a redshirt freshman, to grappling powerhouse Oklahoma. Lapotsky spent his original freshman season at Slippery Rock, transferring to BU after the Rock dropped its wrestling program. He was attending school on a scholarship that required he attend one of 19 schools in Pa. Oklahoma has offered the 197-pounder an athletic scholarship.
In other Bucknell news, sources say Darren Mastropaolo, Bucknell's senior center who had surgery on a torn ACL in early August, is getting around campus on crutches. Still no word on Mastropaolo's prognosis.
The Mayo Clinic's Web site says rehabbing after ACL surgery normally takes six to eight months. Bucknell coach Pat Flannery has not commented on Mastropaolo's status, citing privacy regulations. But Flannery has said the Bison are preparing for the possibility Mastropaolo might not play this season.
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Vegotsky is in school and on the Bison team, sources in the Bucknell athletic department confirmed Thursday.
Turns out, the source of the rumor was the transfer of a Bison wrestler with a similar sounding name. Sophomore Eric Lapotsky, who qualified for the NCAA Tournament last season as a redshirt freshman, to grappling powerhouse Oklahoma. Lapotsky spent his original freshman season at Slippery Rock, transferring to BU after the Rock dropped its wrestling program. He was attending school on a scholarship that required he attend one of 19 schools in Pa. Oklahoma has offered the 197-pounder an athletic scholarship.
In other Bucknell news, sources say Darren Mastropaolo, Bucknell's senior center who had surgery on a torn ACL in early August, is getting around campus on crutches. Still no word on Mastropaolo's prognosis.
The Mayo Clinic's Web site says rehabbing after ACL surgery normally takes six to eight months. Bucknell coach Pat Flannery has not commented on Mastropaolo's status, citing privacy regulations. But Flannery has said the Bison are preparing for the possibility Mastropaolo might not play this season.
Labels: BU
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Sunday, August 26, 2007
Here is a look at what has been going on while we have been busy preparing our preseason stories for the upcoming issue of the Blue Ribbon College Basketball Yearbook:
Holy Cross has Patriot League reunion on European trip
There was a familiar face in the opposing lineup when Holy Cross met C.B. L'Hospitalet in the of its summer trip abroad.
Recent Bucknell grad Chris McNaughton, a three-time first team All-Patriot pick, started at center for L'Hospitalet, a second division Spanish professional club from near Barcelona.
McNaughton scored 10 points in L'Hospitalet's 92-61 win. Eric Meister led the Crusaders with 12 points, 8 rebounds.
HC finished its trip with a 2-3 record, with wins over Spanish Division 3 side Sabadell and the Netherlands national team , and losses to the Norwegian national team and the Swiss national team .
The best news for HC on the trip may have been that Lawrence Dixon was able to play significant minutes on the tour. Prior to departing for Europe, Dixon, who underwent a second knee surgery in the offseason, had been unable to make it through a complete practice.
The bad news, Pat Doherty, who Ralph Willard sorely needs at the point, sat out several games on the trip due to back problems. Doherty did play in the final game. No word on whether the problem is chronic. The health of the oft-injured Doherty is a key concern for HC heading into the season.
Simmons follows Taylor to Ball State
As expected, Lehigh assistant Bob Simmons has joined Billy Taylor's staff at Ball State.A former D-3 head coach at Delaware Valley, Simmons was a member of Lehigh's staff since 2002. His departure left new Lehigh coach Brett Reed, Taylor's former top assistant, with just one holdover on his staff, former Quinsigamond Community College head coach Jon Weiner, who joined the Lehigh staff in the spring.
Reed has finalized his staff, but names will not be released until all the signed contracts are returned. Expect at least one Lehigh alum to be on the list when it is made public.
Butch van Breda Kolff dead at 84
Butch van Breda Kolff, who did two stints as head coach at Lafayette, in a Spokane, Wash. nursing home. He was 84.
Van Breda Kolff spent 28 seasons as a college coach, compiling a 482-272 record, with six trips to the NCAA Tournament (as the Sports Illustrated story linked above points out, in those days, there were far fewer bids handed out.) He also coached professionally, going 287-316 in 10 seasons in the old ABA and the NBA.
Head coach at Lafayette 1951-55, and again from 1984-88, van Breda Kolff also coached at Hofstra, Princeton and the University of New Orleans. His pro jobs included stints with the Lakers, the Detroit Pistons, the Phoenix Suns, the Memphis Tams of the ABA, the New Orleans Jazz and the New Orleans Pride of Women's Basketball League.
Ed Laubach of the Express-Times as one of a kind.
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There was a familiar face in the opposing lineup when Holy Cross met C.B. L'Hospitalet in the of its summer trip abroad.
Recent Bucknell grad Chris McNaughton, a three-time first team All-Patriot pick, started at center for L'Hospitalet, a second division Spanish professional club from near Barcelona.
McNaughton scored 10 points in L'Hospitalet's 92-61 win. Eric Meister led the Crusaders with 12 points, 8 rebounds.
HC finished its trip with a 2-3 record, with wins over Spanish Division 3 side Sabadell and the Netherlands national team , and losses to the Norwegian national team and the Swiss national team .
The best news for HC on the trip may have been that Lawrence Dixon was able to play significant minutes on the tour. Prior to departing for Europe, Dixon, who underwent a second knee surgery in the offseason, had been unable to make it through a complete practice.
The bad news, Pat Doherty, who Ralph Willard sorely needs at the point, sat out several games on the trip due to back problems. Doherty did play in the final game. No word on whether the problem is chronic. The health of the oft-injured Doherty is a key concern for HC heading into the season.
As expected, Lehigh assistant Bob Simmons has joined Billy Taylor's staff at Ball State.A former D-3 head coach at Delaware Valley, Simmons was a member of Lehigh's staff since 2002. His departure left new Lehigh coach Brett Reed, Taylor's former top assistant, with just one holdover on his staff, former Quinsigamond Community College head coach Jon Weiner, who joined the Lehigh staff in the spring.
Reed has finalized his staff, but names will not be released until all the signed contracts are returned. Expect at least one Lehigh alum to be on the list when it is made public.
Butch van Breda Kolff, who did two stints as head coach at Lafayette, in a Spokane, Wash. nursing home. He was 84.
Van Breda Kolff spent 28 seasons as a college coach, compiling a 482-272 record, with six trips to the NCAA Tournament (as the Sports Illustrated story linked above points out, in those days, there were far fewer bids handed out.) He also coached professionally, going 287-316 in 10 seasons in the old ABA and the NBA.
Head coach at Lafayette 1951-55, and again from 1984-88, van Breda Kolff also coached at Hofstra, Princeton and the University of New Orleans. His pro jobs included stints with the Lakers, the Detroit Pistons, the Phoenix Suns, the Memphis Tams of the ABA, the New Orleans Jazz and the New Orleans Pride of Women's Basketball League.
Ed Laubach of the Express-Times as one of a kind.
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Wednesday, August 15, 2007
ESPN.com has begun its summer ShootAround look at the nation's Division I hoops conferences. Yesterday they featured the Patriot League.
The headline on reads "Who can catch Bucknell and Holy Cross?"
Andy Glockner points out that over the past three seasons, BU and HC are a combined 80-4 against the rest of the conference, including league tournament games.
Glockner speculates it could be a two-horse race again this season, with Colgate as the darkhorse. His WWLIS colleague, bracketologist Joe Lunardi, had Holy Cross penciled in on his , projecting the Crusaders as a 14 seed.
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The headline on reads "Who can catch Bucknell and Holy Cross?"
Andy Glockner points out that over the past three seasons, BU and HC are a combined 80-4 against the rest of the conference, including league tournament games.
Glockner speculates it could be a two-horse race again this season, with Colgate as the darkhorse. His WWLIS colleague, bracketologist Joe Lunardi, had Holy Cross penciled in on his , projecting the Crusaders as a 14 seed.
Labels: Army, AU, BU, CU, HC, Laf, Leh, Navy, previews
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Tuesday, August 07, 2007
Bucknell senior big man Darren Mastropaolo is facing surgery after suffering a knee injury in a pickup game.
According to Bison coach Pat Flannery, the exact extent of the injury has not been determined, but it appears to be serious.
"We don't know the full extent of it yet, but he didn't just tweak his knee. It sounds like it will take some time," said Flannery when reached by phone while vacationing at the Jersey Shore.
Flannery said the injury happened when Mastropaolo landed wrong while making a jump stop in a pickup game.
Mastropaolo is expected to be examined further this afternoon, Flannery said.
Bucknell sports information director Jon Terry said the injury is a tear to the ACl in Mastropaolo's right knee. Terry said it was not certain how bad the tear was. Mastropaolo will likely have surgery later this week. Terry said any recovery timetable will depend on the full extent of the tear.
A two-time All-Hoop Time Team selection, Mastropaolo has played in 95 of the Bison's 96 games since he arrived in Lewisburg. A co-captain for the coming season, he started 60 games in his first three seasons, including 20 of 32 games his sophomore year. Last season Mastropaolo started the first seven games for the Bison, before becoming the team's sixth man when Flannery moved Donald Brown to the four position. When Brown was injured, Mastropaolo resumed his starting role in Brown's absence and was a key to Bucknell's drive to a share of the league's regular season title.
Best known for his tough defense and bone-jarring screens, Mastropaolo had been expected to increase his offensive production this season in the wake of the graduation of Chris McNaughton. Through his first three seasons, Mastropaolo averaged 4.2 points and 3.2 rebounds in 18.5 minutes of playing time per game.
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According to Bison coach Pat Flannery, the exact extent of the injury has not been determined, but it appears to be serious.
"We don't know the full extent of it yet, but he didn't just tweak his knee. It sounds like it will take some time," said Flannery when reached by phone while vacationing at the Jersey Shore.
Flannery said the injury happened when Mastropaolo landed wrong while making a jump stop in a pickup game.
Mastropaolo is expected to be examined further this afternoon, Flannery said.
Bucknell sports information director Jon Terry said the injury is a tear to the ACl in Mastropaolo's right knee. Terry said it was not certain how bad the tear was. Mastropaolo will likely have surgery later this week. Terry said any recovery timetable will depend on the full extent of the tear.
A two-time All-Hoop Time Team selection, Mastropaolo has played in 95 of the Bison's 96 games since he arrived in Lewisburg. A co-captain for the coming season, he started 60 games in his first three seasons, including 20 of 32 games his sophomore year. Last season Mastropaolo started the first seven games for the Bison, before becoming the team's sixth man when Flannery moved Donald Brown to the four position. When Brown was injured, Mastropaolo resumed his starting role in Brown's absence and was a key to Bucknell's drive to a share of the league's regular season title.
Best known for his tough defense and bone-jarring screens, Mastropaolo had been expected to increase his offensive production this season in the wake of the graduation of Chris McNaughton. Through his first three seasons, Mastropaolo averaged 4.2 points and 3.2 rebounds in 18.5 minutes of playing time per game.
Labels: BU
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Thursday, July 26, 2007
Prosser, who coached Wake since 2001, took the Demon Deacons to the NCAA Tournament four times, including 2003, when Wake won the Atlantic Coast Conference regular season title. The only coach to ever take three different schools to the Big Dance in his first season as coach, also coached Xavier for seven seasons, leading the Musketeers to five straight NCAA appearances. Prosser also took Loyola (Md.) to the tournament in 1994, his only year there.
The 2003 ACC coach of the year, Prosser was 126-68 in his six seasons at Wake. Overall, Prosser's career record was 291-146 (.666).
Initial reports indicated Prosser collapsed while jogging on campus. The is now reporting that Prosser collapsed in his office in the Manchester Athletic Center. Assistant coach Mike Muse administered CPR until emergency-medical technicians arrived to take Prosser to Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead.
Prosser had left the AAU National Tournament in Orlando at 6 this morning to return to Wake for a week of basketball camp. Mark was watching games in Orlando when he received a phone call around 2:40 this afternoon and immediately left the gym.
In addition to Mark, Prosser is survived by his Prosser his wife, Nancy, and another son, Scott
Labels: BU
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Friday, July 20, 2007
After just three non-conference home games last season, Bucknell is set to host at least seven contests in Sojka Pavilion this winter.
, Bucknell's 2007-08 schedule opens Nov. 10 in Sojka against Albany. Other home games will include visits by Marist (Nov. 28), St. Francis (Pa., Dec. 1), La Salle (Dec. 3), Cornell (Dec. 19) and Ohio University (Jan. 2).
Bucknell could also potentially host a BracketBusters matchup.
Road highlights include a Nov. 18 visit to Villanova and a Dec. 16 trip to Wake Forest. Bucknell will also play in Cal's Golden Bear Classic Dec. 28-29. Other non-league road games include Towson, Wagner, Drexel and St. Bonaventure.
Housenick reports five of the Bison's first seven league games are also at home, starting with the Jan. 12 conference opener against Navy.
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, Bucknell's 2007-08 schedule opens Nov. 10 in Sojka against Albany. Other home games will include visits by Marist (Nov. 28), St. Francis (Pa., Dec. 1), La Salle (Dec. 3), Cornell (Dec. 19) and Ohio University (Jan. 2).
Bucknell could also potentially host a BracketBusters matchup.
Road highlights include a Nov. 18 visit to Villanova and a Dec. 16 trip to Wake Forest. Bucknell will also play in Cal's Golden Bear Classic Dec. 28-29. Other non-league road games include Towson, Wagner, Drexel and St. Bonaventure.
Housenick reports five of the Bison's first seven league games are also at home, starting with the Jan. 12 conference opener against Navy.
Labels: BU, scheduling
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Wednesday, July 11, 2007
Bucknell recruit Darryl Shazier wrapped up his high school career Tuesday in the Virginia High School Coaches Association All-Star basketball game.
Shazier, a point guard out of Menchville High in Hampton, scored 11 points to help his East team to .
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Shazier, a point guard out of Menchville High in Hampton, scored 11 points to help his East team to .
Labels: BU, recruiting
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Sunday, July 08, 2007
Through two games in the Las Vegas NBA Summer League, Bucknell grad Charles Lee is averaging 15 minutes per game for the San Antonio Spurs entry.
Lee posted 6 points in 15:35 of action in a to Philadelphia and added 5 more in 13:41 of playing time in a Saturday night.
Lee and the will meet the Celtics Monday afternoon at 4 p.m. eastern in a game that will be available on NBA TV.
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Lee posted 6 points in 15:35 of action in a to Philadelphia and added 5 more in 13:41 of playing time in a Saturday night.
Lee and the will meet the Celtics Monday afternoon at 4 p.m. eastern in a game that will be available on NBA TV.
Labels: BU
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Saturday, July 07, 2007
Relax Bucknell folks. He says it is not happening. But apparently Bison coach Pat Flannery flirted with the idea of a return to Division 3 Lebanon Valley, where he won a D-3 national title before taking over the Bucknell program.
According to a report in the , Flannery was interested in LVC's soon to be vacant athletics director job. The story says Flannery confirmed he had some interest in the post, but has withdrawn his name from consideration.
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According to a report in the , Flannery was interested in LVC's soon to be vacant athletics director job. The story says Flannery confirmed he had some interest in the post, but has withdrawn his name from consideration.
Labels: BU
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Thursday, July 05, 2007
Bucknell grad Charles Lee, the 2006 Patriot League Player of the Year, is getting another look from the San Antonio Spurs of the NBA.
Lee, who was one of the Spurs last cuts last preseason, is the only Patriot League player listed on any NBA summer league rosters thus far. in the Las Vegas summer league with the Spurs and will also be with the team in the Rocky Mountain Revue in Salt Lake City.
Not all the teams rosters for Las Vegas (which starts Friday) have been posted, and not all teams are participating in the Sin City summerfest, so it is still possible guys like Holy Cross' Torey Thomas and Keith Simmons could end up playing someplace.
Both worked out for several NBA teams prior to last week's draft. Simmons reportedly impressed the folks with the Utah Jazz, so that could be a summer possibility for this season's league POY. The Jazz are not playing in Vegas. They host the Rocky Mountain Review.
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Lee, who was one of the Spurs last cuts last preseason, is the only Patriot League player listed on any NBA summer league rosters thus far. in the Las Vegas summer league with the Spurs and will also be with the team in the Rocky Mountain Revue in Salt Lake City.
Not all the teams rosters for Las Vegas (which starts Friday) have been posted, and not all teams are participating in the Sin City summerfest, so it is still possible guys like Holy Cross' Torey Thomas and Keith Simmons could end up playing someplace.
Both worked out for several NBA teams prior to last week's draft. Simmons reportedly impressed the folks with the Utah Jazz, so that could be a summer possibility for this season's league POY. The Jazz are not playing in Vegas. They host the Rocky Mountain Review.
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Wednesday, June 06, 2007
Any spare time we found the last few weeks was spent tying flies and getting ready for our annual fishing trip. Here's a look at a few tidbits we missed while doing the stuff most fly fishermen do during hoops season.
Bison to host Albany in their home opener. According to , the Danes will visit Lewisburg Nov. 10. The game is the second half of a home and home series that started last season at Albany.
Sad . Former Navy coach and player Dave Smalley has passed away after a battle with cancer. Smalley was 72. Joe Gross, the longtime sports editor at the Capital in Annapolis, shares some memories of Smalley in .
Just back from his team's , Lafayette coach Fran O'Hanlon will serve as a during the U.S. team trials for the Pan American Games. Head coach for the U.S. team, by the way, will be Bucknell grad Jay Wright, the Villanova head coach.
American has recruiting class, leading to the question: Are any juco players left to sign with any other schools? O.K., that is a slight exaggeration. But Jeff Jones's six incoming players include a total of four from the juco ranks.
Lehigh is also , all from the prep ranks. Four are scholarship kids, two, including another 7-foot project, are invited walk-ons. The most curious signing is a 5-8 point guard, Prentice Small, from Long Island, given the Mountain Hawks' outstanding point guard Marquis Hall will be just a sophomore. Hall is a fine three-point shooter, but he is just 5-11. Even in the Patriot League, there won't be many times Billy Taylor will be able to get away with playing the two together, as Jeff Jones discovered with Derrick Mercer and Garrison Carr.
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Labels: AU, BU, Laf, Leh, Navy, recruiting, scheduling
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Monday, May 07, 2007
Bucknell grad J.R. Holden scored 11 points on 4 for 6 shooting, but it was not enough to lift defending Euroleague champion CSKA to a second straight title.
The Russian powerhouse dropped a to Panathinaikos (Greece) in the Euroleague final. Holden, who was 2 for 3 from three-point range and 2 for 3 inside the arc, finishes the Euroleague season 10 ppg on 50.5 percent shooting inside the three-point line and 36.6 percent three-point shooting.
Holden and CSKA will return to action later this week in the Russian Superleague quarterfinals, where they currently hold a 2-0 lead in their best of five series with Spartak St.Petersburg.
Want to see some video of Holden in action? Check out the of the CSKA site.
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The Russian powerhouse dropped a to Panathinaikos (Greece) in the Euroleague final. Holden, who was 2 for 3 from three-point range and 2 for 3 inside the arc, finishes the Euroleague season 10 ppg on 50.5 percent shooting inside the three-point line and 36.6 percent three-point shooting.
Holden and CSKA will return to action later this week in the Russian Superleague quarterfinals, where they currently hold a 2-0 lead in their best of five series with Spartak St.Petersburg.
Want to see some video of Holden in action? Check out the of the CSKA site.
Labels: BU
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Monday, April 30, 2007
Must be a slow news day in Sunbury, Pa. How else do you explain a long feature story about a kid making a scrapbook for Bucknell's John Griffin?
Taking nothing away from the the nine-year old who put the book together. It no doubt took a lot of work and a great deal of effort. And it is good for youngsters to have heroes who bring to the table the combination of athletics and academics most Patriot League players do.
But a scrapbook as ? Must mean no cows got out of the pasture over the weekend.
Best part of the story? That's easy ... the chuckles it brings every time the writer refers to Griffin as "Mr. Griffin."
Gotta love that New York Times style.
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Taking nothing away from the the nine-year old who put the book together. It no doubt took a lot of work and a great deal of effort. And it is good for youngsters to have heroes who bring to the table the combination of athletics and academics most Patriot League players do.
But a scrapbook as ? Must mean no cows got out of the pasture over the weekend.
Best part of the story? That's easy ... the chuckles it brings every time the writer refers to Griffin as "Mr. Griffin."
Gotta love that New York Times style.
Labels: BU
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Saturday, April 28, 2007
A North Dakota Web site is reporting Bucknell will be one of four teams in the field for Cal's holiday tournament.
says the Bison will be one of two Bison in the event, joining the Bison of North Dakota State and two West Coast teams -- Long Beach State and host Cal -- for the Dec. 28-29 event. Cal is the only team in the field that failed to win 20 games last season.
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says the Bison will be one of two Bison in the event, joining the Bison of North Dakota State and two West Coast teams -- Long Beach State and host Cal -- for the Dec. 28-29 event. Cal is the only team in the field that failed to win 20 games last season.
Labels: BU, scheduling
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Saturday, April 07, 2007
His Bucknell team could not win a third straight Patriot League title on the court, but McNaughton has defended his classroom title for the second time, becoming the first basketball player in league history to win the league's Scholar Athlete of the Year award three times.
The award was by the league officce.
McNaughton, who carries a 3.35 cumulative GPA as a senior electrical engineering major, is the fifth Bison basketball player to win the award. The only others in league history to win it more than once were former Bison Valter Karavanic (1999 and 2000) and Dan Blankenship (2002 and 2003). All together, Bucknell players have won the awar nine times, tops in the league.
In addition to his academic credentials, McNaughton led the League in field goal percentage (56.7 percent) while averaging 12 points per game (10th in the league). He also ranked third in rebounding with 5.9 boards per game.
McNaughton got off to a slow start to the season, but came on in the Bison's last 15 games, averaging 14.3 points on 60.9 percent shooting, with just under 8 rebounds per game down the stretch. His other postseason honors included selection to the first team all-league team for the third time and a third straight selection to the league's all-tournament team.
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The award was by the league officce.
McNaughton, who carries a 3.35 cumulative GPA as a senior electrical engineering major, is the fifth Bison basketball player to win the award. The only others in league history to win it more than once were former Bison Valter Karavanic (1999 and 2000) and Dan Blankenship (2002 and 2003). All together, Bucknell players have won the awar nine times, tops in the league.
In addition to his academic credentials, McNaughton led the League in field goal percentage (56.7 percent) while averaging 12 points per game (10th in the league). He also ranked third in rebounding with 5.9 boards per game.
McNaughton got off to a slow start to the season, but came on in the Bison's last 15 games, averaging 14.3 points on 60.9 percent shooting, with just under 8 rebounds per game down the stretch. His other postseason honors included selection to the first team all-league team for the third time and a third straight selection to the league's all-tournament team.
Labels: BU
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Wednesday, April 04, 2007
Holy Cross' loss to Southern Illinois in the first round of the NCAA Tournament might have embarrassed Bill Simmons, but it did nothing to diminish the Crusaders respect among the voters in College Insider's Mid-Major Top 25 poll.
Ranked ninth at the end of the regular season, HC held on to that spot in the , released today. Southern Illinois was the unanimous No. 1 pick.
Bucknell, which was tops among the others receiving votes in the final regular season poll, taken after the conference tournament, slid to fifth on the others receiving list in the final tally.
We have long ago given up trying to understand the minds of poll voters.
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Ranked ninth at the end of the regular season, HC held on to that spot in the , released today. Southern Illinois was the unanimous No. 1 pick.
Bucknell, which was tops among the others receiving votes in the final regular season poll, taken after the conference tournament, slid to fifth on the others receiving list in the final tally.
We have long ago given up trying to understand the minds of poll voters.
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Wednesday, March 28, 2007
Thursday morning readaround
Bill Simmons, ESPN's self-appointed Sports Guy, has a plan to save Holy Cross.
Simmons shares his plan in a , where he laments HC not winning an NCAA Tournament game since 1953 and suggests the solution is, among other things, bringing in a new coach who is willing to cheat.
Not quite sure whether Simmons, who also did a stint writing for Jimmy Kimmel Live, is one of that well-recognized segment of Holy Cross alums who are still pissing and moaning about the school not joining the Big East, or a comedy writer using his alma mater for easy column fodder.
He starts the piece like the former, complaining, among other things, that joining the Patriot League ("a homeless man's version of the Ivy League") has turned HC "into a D1 school with a D3 mentality."
His suggested fixes sound more like a shot at the big time schools who will do anything to win.
Were we convinced he is serious, we'd take issue with some of the arguments he makes about his alma mater's program. We'd argue that Ralph Willard has done a helluva job and that any alum not proud of the program should have graduated from someplace like Memphis, where winning is more important than graduating.
We'd also point out HC was not exactly setting the hoops world on fire when it joined the Patriot League. We'd mention that as a 1992 grad, the glory he longs for is not from his days on Mt. St. James, but from days before he was even born. We'd remind him that the Crusaders had been to the NCAA Tournament exactly twice in the period between Ike Eienhower's second inauguration and his last undergraduate kegger (and not once in his four years as a student, although there was an NIT loss his sophomore season).
Simmons also whines about the "gutting" of the school's football program, conveniently forgetting its glorious gridiron past consists of a 1946 Orange Bowl loss and a 1983 loss in the first round of the NCAA Division I-AA playoffs.
Yes Holy Cross has a proud athletic heritage. But it has an equally, if not superior, academic reputation. There is no shame in striving to find a proper balance between the two.
That has been the Patriot League experiment, one that is still ongoing. The recent move to allow athletic scholarships shows the experiment is far from complete. Give the league credit for being willing to tinker with its formula in an effort to find that balance, even if it only did so at gunpoint when Holy Cross threatened to bolt.
It is easy to do things the wrong way, much harder to have the courage to try to set an example for all of college athletics. It is even tougher to lead when nobody else has the courage or willingness to follow.
For all its faults, and there are many, the Patriot League has the right idea. Ever see those NCAA ads about athletes going pro in things other than sports? That is the norm, not the exception, in the Patriot.
Still, Simmons is not completely off the mark -- not so much in his criticism of Holy Cross (though we can only imagine what he'd have written had he known about the band-can't-miss-classes charter flight fiasco), but in his criticism of the rest of the league (he grants Bucknell an exception). No doubt Crest and Aquafresh probably could have gone close to .500 in the Patriot this season had they actually fielded a team.
Simmons didn't even mention the Division III-style playoff system that replaced the conference tournament this season.
And we absolutely love his "Girls of the Patriot League" idea. Matter of fact, we might just start selling such a calendar in the Hoop Time store.
Stay tuned.
BONUS LINK:
(Tom Housenick column in The Daily Item)
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Bill Simmons, ESPN's self-appointed Sports Guy, has a plan to save Holy Cross.
Simmons shares his plan in a , where he laments HC not winning an NCAA Tournament game since 1953 and suggests the solution is, among other things, bringing in a new coach who is willing to cheat.
Not quite sure whether Simmons, who also did a stint writing for Jimmy Kimmel Live, is one of that well-recognized segment of Holy Cross alums who are still pissing and moaning about the school not joining the Big East, or a comedy writer using his alma mater for easy column fodder.
He starts the piece like the former, complaining, among other things, that joining the Patriot League ("a homeless man's version of the Ivy League") has turned HC "into a D1 school with a D3 mentality."
His suggested fixes sound more like a shot at the big time schools who will do anything to win.
Were we convinced he is serious, we'd take issue with some of the arguments he makes about his alma mater's program. We'd argue that Ralph Willard has done a helluva job and that any alum not proud of the program should have graduated from someplace like Memphis, where winning is more important than graduating.
We'd also point out HC was not exactly setting the hoops world on fire when it joined the Patriot League. We'd mention that as a 1992 grad, the glory he longs for is not from his days on Mt. St. James, but from days before he was even born. We'd remind him that the Crusaders had been to the NCAA Tournament exactly twice in the period between Ike Eienhower's second inauguration and his last undergraduate kegger (and not once in his four years as a student, although there was an NIT loss his sophomore season).
Simmons also whines about the "gutting" of the school's football program, conveniently forgetting its glorious gridiron past consists of a 1946 Orange Bowl loss and a 1983 loss in the first round of the NCAA Division I-AA playoffs.
Yes Holy Cross has a proud athletic heritage. But it has an equally, if not superior, academic reputation. There is no shame in striving to find a proper balance between the two.
That has been the Patriot League experiment, one that is still ongoing. The recent move to allow athletic scholarships shows the experiment is far from complete. Give the league credit for being willing to tinker with its formula in an effort to find that balance, even if it only did so at gunpoint when Holy Cross threatened to bolt.
It is easy to do things the wrong way, much harder to have the courage to try to set an example for all of college athletics. It is even tougher to lead when nobody else has the courage or willingness to follow.
For all its faults, and there are many, the Patriot League has the right idea. Ever see those NCAA ads about athletes going pro in things other than sports? That is the norm, not the exception, in the Patriot.
Still, Simmons is not completely off the mark -- not so much in his criticism of Holy Cross (though we can only imagine what he'd have written had he known about the band-can't-miss-classes charter flight fiasco), but in his criticism of the rest of the league (he grants Bucknell an exception). No doubt Crest and Aquafresh probably could have gone close to .500 in the Patriot this season had they actually fielded a team.
Simmons didn't even mention the Division III-style playoff system that replaced the conference tournament this season.
And we absolutely love his "Girls of the Patriot League" idea. Matter of fact, we might just start selling such a calendar in the Hoop Time store.
Stay tuned.
BONUS LINK:
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Monday, March 26, 2007
Two of the Bison's incoming recruits garnered postseason honors.
Point guard recruit Darryl Shazier of Menchville (Va.) High has been named for the Virginia Tidewater Peninsula area by the Daily Press in Newport News. Shazier averaged 15 points per game while leading his team to the Virginia Eastern Region semifinals.
Another Bucknell recruit, G.W. Boon of Sparkman (Ala.) High School scored 16 points and grabbed 6 rebounds Friday night in the annual ">Alabama-Missippi game. Boon will find the pace a little different at B.U. His Alabama team was outscored 118-113 in the run-and-gun exhibition.
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Point guard recruit Darryl Shazier of Menchville (Va.) High has been named for the Virginia Tidewater Peninsula area by the Daily Press in Newport News. Shazier averaged 15 points per game while leading his team to the Virginia Eastern Region semifinals.
Another Bucknell recruit, G.W. Boon of Sparkman (Ala.) High School scored 16 points and grabbed 6 rebounds Friday night in the annual ">Alabama-Missippi game. Boon will find the pace a little different at B.U. His Alabama team was outscored 118-113 in the run-and-gun exhibition.
Labels: BU
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Wednesday, March 14, 2007
No, this year's team won't play again, but you can still of the historic win over Kansas this afternoon at 5:30 on ESPN Classic.
It is amazing what an obsession that game has become for the Jayhawk Nation. Chris McNaughton's jump hook game-winner haunts their memories the way Joe Carter's dinger of Mitch Williams still evokes real pain in South Philly. Just look at the number of on Google News that reference the Bison.
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It is amazing what an obsession that game has become for the Jayhawk Nation. Chris McNaughton's jump hook game-winner haunts their memories the way Joe Carter's dinger of Mitch Williams still evokes real pain in South Philly. Just look at the number of on Google News that reference the Bison.
Labels: BU
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Monday, March 12, 2007
A quick wrapup of some of the top coverage of Holy Cross's NCAA Tournament appearance:
HC-Southern Illinois stories:
Jen Toland of the Telegram & Gazette reports on the Crusaders reaction to their seeding and takes a quick look at Southern Illinois
(Chicago Tribune)
(Belleville News-Democrat)
(Daily Southtown)
(Daily Herald)
(St. Louis Post-Dispatch)
(AOL sports)
(Kane County Chronicle)
(AP)
(Mike Mike Towle of the Nashville Tennessean calls Ralph Willard the "Coach to watch" in the West
Stories on the tournament and mid-majors:
(Peoria Journal-Star on the Missouri Valley getting just two bids)
(AP)
(Bob Ryan of the Boston Globe says Holy Cross is the official "NCAA Opponent From Hell")
(Yes Virginia, there is a God, and he doesn't just watch over Holy Cross ... from the AP ... sorry, we can't resist rubbing this one in a little)
(AOL sports)
NIT snubs Bison:
(Daily Item)
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HC-Southern Illinois stories:
Stories on the tournament and mid-majors:
NIT snubs Bison:
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Sunday, March 11, 2007
They say Columbus ie beautiful in the spring. Holy Cross is about to find out.
With the hometown Buckeyes down in Lexington as a Number One seed in the South, The Crusaders will try to paint Crimson Columbus purple. The Crusaders drew a number 13 seed and a Friday first round date with fourth-seeded Southern Illinois. The winner gets a Sunday meeting with the winner of the other West Regional pairing at Nationwide Arena in Columbus -- No. 5 Virginia Tech or No. 12 Illinois.
Southern Illinois (27-6) is ranked No. 15 in the , after losing to Creighton in the Missouri Valley Conference final.
Here are the in a convenient, printable pdf file.
In related news, Bucknell did not get an , meaning the collegiate careers of Chris McNaughton, Abe Badmus and Donald Brown are over.
REMINDER: Test your prognostication skills against other Patriot League fans in the
To register, . After you sign up, find the "groups" page and select Hoop Time Bracket Challenge from the menu. The password to join the group is: patriotleague.
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With the hometown Buckeyes down in Lexington as a Number One seed in the South, The Crusaders will try to paint Crimson Columbus purple. The Crusaders drew a number 13 seed and a Friday first round date with fourth-seeded Southern Illinois. The winner gets a Sunday meeting with the winner of the other West Regional pairing at Nationwide Arena in Columbus -- No. 5 Virginia Tech or No. 12 Illinois.
Southern Illinois (27-6) is ranked No. 15 in the , after losing to Creighton in the Missouri Valley Conference final.
Here are the in a convenient, printable pdf file.
In related news, Bucknell did not get an , meaning the collegiate careers of Chris McNaughton, Abe Badmus and Donald Brown are over.
REMINDER: Test your prognostication skills against other Patriot League fans in the
To register, . After you sign up, find the "groups" page and select Hoop Time Bracket Challenge from the menu. The password to join the group is: patriotleague.
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Saturday, March 10, 2007
(Originally posted Sat. at 7:05 p.m., latest update at 9:25 a.m. to add links and fix audio link)
Keith Simmons and Torey Thomas combined for 51 points to lead Holy Cross to the Patriot League championship.
By CHRIS A. COUROGEN
For Torey Thomas and Keith Simmons, their time has finally come. After three years watching their season end at the hands of the Bucknell Bison, twice in the league championship, Holy Cross' two seniors willed their team to a 74-66 win over their arch nemesis from Lewisburg and into the NCAA Tournament for the first time in their storied careers.
When Simmons and Thomas graduate in May, they will leave behind a lengthy list of accomplishments -- a combined five all-league selections, a player of the year and a defensive player of the year and a host of entries in the Holy Cross record books. But what Crusader fans will remember the most will be the show the two seniors put on in their last game in the Hart Center.
Simmons poured in 23 points, nailing down the tournament MVP award in the process, and Thomas added 28 to carry the Crusaders back to the big dance for the first time since 2003.
"I'm so happy for our two seniors, who have been on the cusp of this for a few seasons," said Holy Cross coach Ralph Willard.
Thomas and Simmons were a combined 11 for 22 from the field, helping Holy Cross to shoot 22 for 41 (53.7 percent) for the game. It was their shooting from the free throw line, though, that made the difference in the end. After building a 19-point lead early in the second half, Holy Cross watched it disappear in the wake of a 26-7 Bucknell run that culminated when Bucknell's Darren Mastropaolo tied it at 53-53 on a putback with 5:51 to play.
Holy Cross managed just one field goal the rest of the way. Matter of fact, that bucket, a huge three by Thomas that rebuilt the Crusaders lead to 60-53, was the only field goal the Crusaders would score in the final 9:45. The rest of Holy Cross' points in the last five minutes came from the foul line, all at the hands of Simmons and Thomas, who went a combined 16 for 16 from the stripe to ice the win.
"We were fortunate, we had the right guys going to the line," said Willard. "It comes down to the seniors making plays."
There was more to the Crusaders good fortune than that, though. After Bucknell tied the game, Holy Cross came up with three straight stops -- the first coming when Bucknell's Abe Badmus missed a pair of free throws that might have changed the complexion of the final stretch by putting Bucknell in the lead. That defense, along with four Simmons free throws and Thomas' big three, gave the Crusaders enough cushion to carry them down the stretch from the foul line.
"When they made their run and tied it, we stayed in the moment," said Simmons. "We got rebounds, we got stops, we made free throws and we were able to push it back up."
The rebounding was a key. Bucknell finished with 13 offensive rebounds, leading to a 17-4 edge in second chance points. But in the last five minutes, Bucknell got just one offensive board, and the Bison were unable to convert that one.
That Thomas three was also huge.
"I knew Castleberry was going to go underneath the screen. Tim (Clifford) did a good job burying him. I just had to lock and load," Thomas said.
That screen was not Clifford's only big play. Although the 6-10 junior finished with just 8 points and 4 rebounds, his six blocked shots, all in the first half, were a key to Holy Cross establishing its big lead. WIth Chris McNaughton on the bench most of the final nine minutes of the first half after picking up two fouls, Bucknell seemed unable to get anything going offensively. Lacking Bucknell's force in the middle to keep them at home, Holy Cross' guards were able to get out and pressure Bucknell's shooters, knowing Clifford was there to erase any mistakes should they get beat off the dribble.
"It gets dark in there, You just can't see. (Clifford) is so big," Flannery said.
Bucknell had just two field goals in the final nine minutes of the first half while Holy Cross stretched a 5-point lead to a 35-22 halftime margin.
"One of the things that hurt us was Chris' second. We got down in the first half when Chris got his second and they were able to stretch it a little bit," said Flannery.
McNaughton scored 10 of his 12 points in the second half, helping key Bucknell's rally. But when he picked up his fourth personal with 6:10 to play, it took some wind from Bucknell's sails. The Bison tied it while he was on the bench, but before Flannery could get him back on the floor, Holy Cross had used Simmons' four free throws to regain control. McNaughton played just 25 minutes before fouling out in the final 25 seconds.
John Griffin led Bucknell with 15 points, including four three-pointers. Brown finished with 11 and Castleberry had 10.
In the end, though, Holy Cross' pair of seniors was a hand that beat Bucknell's four double figures scorers.
Holy Cross will find out Sunday where it is headed for the first round of the NCAA Tournament. Bucknell now will have to wait and see if the NIT sends them an invite.
NOTES: The win closes out Holy Cross' home slate with a perfect 14-0 record in the Hart Center . . . HC has now won 18 straight in Hart . . . Thomas, who set a Holy Cross record for minutes played in a season during Sunday's semifinals win over American, added another 40 minutes to that mark in the final . . . Simmons played 39 minutes for HC . . . Holy Cross finished the game 23 of 26 from the foul line, Bucknell was 18 for 21 . . . Even though Bucknell reached the double bonus 2:40 before the Crusaders, HC ended up taking 25 free throws in the second half to 16 for the Bison . . . The loss snappeed a 14-game win streak for Bucknell . . . Joining Simmons on the All-Tournament team were Thomas, Clifford, Brown, McNaughton and Andre Ingram of American
| Gameblog | Postgame audio (Willard, Simmons, Thomas; Flannery, Brown, Castleberry) | | | | | |
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Keith Simmons and Torey Thomas combined for 51 points to lead Holy Cross to the Patriot League championship.
By CHRIS A. COUROGEN
For Torey Thomas and Keith Simmons, their time has finally come. After three years watching their season end at the hands of the Bucknell Bison, twice in the league championship, Holy Cross' two seniors willed their team to a 74-66 win over their arch nemesis from Lewisburg and into the NCAA Tournament for the first time in their storied careers.
When Simmons and Thomas graduate in May, they will leave behind a lengthy list of accomplishments -- a combined five all-league selections, a player of the year and a defensive player of the year and a host of entries in the Holy Cross record books. But what Crusader fans will remember the most will be the show the two seniors put on in their last game in the Hart Center.
Simmons poured in 23 points, nailing down the tournament MVP award in the process, and Thomas added 28 to carry the Crusaders back to the big dance for the first time since 2003.
"I'm so happy for our two seniors, who have been on the cusp of this for a few seasons," said Holy Cross coach Ralph Willard.
Thomas and Simmons were a combined 11 for 22 from the field, helping Holy Cross to shoot 22 for 41 (53.7 percent) for the game. It was their shooting from the free throw line, though, that made the difference in the end. After building a 19-point lead early in the second half, Holy Cross watched it disappear in the wake of a 26-7 Bucknell run that culminated when Bucknell's Darren Mastropaolo tied it at 53-53 on a putback with 5:51 to play.
Holy Cross managed just one field goal the rest of the way. Matter of fact, that bucket, a huge three by Thomas that rebuilt the Crusaders lead to 60-53, was the only field goal the Crusaders would score in the final 9:45. The rest of Holy Cross' points in the last five minutes came from the foul line, all at the hands of Simmons and Thomas, who went a combined 16 for 16 from the stripe to ice the win.
"We were fortunate, we had the right guys going to the line," said Willard. "It comes down to the seniors making plays."
There was more to the Crusaders good fortune than that, though. After Bucknell tied the game, Holy Cross came up with three straight stops -- the first coming when Bucknell's Abe Badmus missed a pair of free throws that might have changed the complexion of the final stretch by putting Bucknell in the lead. That defense, along with four Simmons free throws and Thomas' big three, gave the Crusaders enough cushion to carry them down the stretch from the foul line.
"When they made their run and tied it, we stayed in the moment," said Simmons. "We got rebounds, we got stops, we made free throws and we were able to push it back up."
The rebounding was a key. Bucknell finished with 13 offensive rebounds, leading to a 17-4 edge in second chance points. But in the last five minutes, Bucknell got just one offensive board, and the Bison were unable to convert that one.
That Thomas three was also huge.
"I knew Castleberry was going to go underneath the screen. Tim (Clifford) did a good job burying him. I just had to lock and load," Thomas said.
That screen was not Clifford's only big play. Although the 6-10 junior finished with just 8 points and 4 rebounds, his six blocked shots, all in the first half, were a key to Holy Cross establishing its big lead. WIth Chris McNaughton on the bench most of the final nine minutes of the first half after picking up two fouls, Bucknell seemed unable to get anything going offensively. Lacking Bucknell's force in the middle to keep them at home, Holy Cross' guards were able to get out and pressure Bucknell's shooters, knowing Clifford was there to erase any mistakes should they get beat off the dribble.
"It gets dark in there, You just can't see. (Clifford) is so big," Flannery said.
Bucknell had just two field goals in the final nine minutes of the first half while Holy Cross stretched a 5-point lead to a 35-22 halftime margin.
"One of the things that hurt us was Chris' second. We got down in the first half when Chris got his second and they were able to stretch it a little bit," said Flannery.
McNaughton scored 10 of his 12 points in the second half, helping key Bucknell's rally. But when he picked up his fourth personal with 6:10 to play, it took some wind from Bucknell's sails. The Bison tied it while he was on the bench, but before Flannery could get him back on the floor, Holy Cross had used Simmons' four free throws to regain control. McNaughton played just 25 minutes before fouling out in the final 25 seconds.
John Griffin led Bucknell with 15 points, including four three-pointers. Brown finished with 11 and Castleberry had 10.
In the end, though, Holy Cross' pair of seniors was a hand that beat Bucknell's four double figures scorers.
Holy Cross will find out Sunday where it is headed for the first round of the NCAA Tournament. Bucknell now will have to wait and see if the NIT sends them an invite.
NOTES: The win closes out Holy Cross' home slate with a perfect 14-0 record in the Hart Center . . . HC has now won 18 straight in Hart . . . Thomas, who set a Holy Cross record for minutes played in a season during Sunday's semifinals win over American, added another 40 minutes to that mark in the final . . . Simmons played 39 minutes for HC . . . Holy Cross finished the game 23 of 26 from the foul line, Bucknell was 18 for 21 . . . Even though Bucknell reached the double bonus 2:40 before the Crusaders, HC ended up taking 25 free throws in the second half to 16 for the Bison . . . The loss snappeed a 14-game win streak for Bucknell . . . Joining Simmons on the All-Tournament team were Thomas, Clifford, Brown, McNaughton and Andre Ingram of American
| Gameblog | Postgame audio (Willard, Simmons, Thomas; Flannery, Brown, Castleberry) | | | | | |
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Friday, March 09, 2007
Five seniors will bow out in a final between two teams they have built into fierce rivals.
Bucknell vs. Holy Cross for all the marbles. What else is new?
It's like a broken record, which for those of you too young to remember vinyl, is a little like a CD that skips, stuck on the same note over and over and over again.
For those who prefer their pop culture references from the world of film, think Groundhog Day.
Like last season, and the season before that, the Bison and the Crusaders will meet on the Friday before Selection Sunday to decide who will represent the Patriot League in the Big Dance.
Only one thing is certain: somebody's streak is going to end. Holy Cross has won 17 straight games in the Hart Center. Bucknell has won 14 in a row and eight straight league tournament games.
For the five seniors on the rosters of the two teams, it is a fitting ending to an era that has made the Bucknell-Holy Cross rivalry arguably the best in the league.
Whather or not it stays that way when these five seniors graduate, taking with them a combined collection of hardware that includes a player of the year, two preseason POY selections, two all-rookie picks, two defensive player of the years, three (and counting) all-tournament team picks and a combined nine all-league choices.
There have been a lot of very good groups of seniors to pass through the league. This year's bunch, led by these five guys -- Keith Simmons and Torey Thomas of Holy Cross, and Chris McNaughton, Abe Badmus and Donald Brown would rank up there with the best.
The past three years, they have been a part of a two-team league dominance that has been almost unprecedented in league history. In that stretch, Bucknell and Holy Cross are a combined 81-3 against the rest of the league, 59-1 the last two seasons and 30-0 this season alone.
These seniors have, in many ways, been the vanguard of what many are expecting to become a better and better conference now that scholarships are being offered across the board. In fact, the Bucknell seniors are the school's first scholarship class.
These five seniors have also been a part of the only three postseason wins in league history.
By any measure shy of championships, Holy Cross' seniors have had extremely successful careers. In the past three years, they have only lost six games in Patriot League competition -- including a 6-2 mark thus far in league tournament action.
But without a win in this afternoon's final, Simmons and Thomas will graduate with a hollow feeling. Five of those six conference losses over the past thee seasons came against Bucknell. Two of those came in the conference finals.
It has been Bucknell that has stood between them and the dance.
If HC should lose, they are guaranteed a spot in the NIT by virtue of being the league's top seed. There is considerable speculation that Bucknell's name recognition would land them in the consolation ball should they lose in the final, but that is not guaranteed.
Much has changed since the two teams first met back in January in Worcester. There have been some big changes since the two met three weeks ago in Lewisburg, too.
The biggest change has been the return of Bucknell's Donald Brown, who missed seven games due to a broken bone in his shooting (right) hand. Brown was not in uniform when Bucknell handed HC its only league loss in Sojka Pavilion.
Since he returned, Brown has posted two straight 15-points, 9-rebounds games coming off the bench in relief of Darren Matsropaolo, who regained his starting job at the four while Brown was out.
With McNaughton and Mastropaolo, Bucknell dominated inside the last meeting. Brown should add to that edge.
It's worth mentioning Tim Clifford was in foul trouble in that game. Holy Cross needs the 6-10 junior to stay on the floor in the final.
Player of the Year, Keith Simmons, scored 15 for Holy Cross in that loss, but he was effectively shutdown in the second half by the defense of Bucknell's Abe Badmus.
After the game, both HC coach Ralph Willard and his point guard, Thomas, spoke of the need to let the 6-5 Simmons post up against the 6-0 Badmus in that matchup. It will be interesting to see if that is part of the gameplan this afternoon.
Having Brown back on the floor might allow Bucknell to stay with more of its matchup zone since he is quicker to get out on perimeter shooters than Mastropaolo.
None of that will surprise Holy Cross. They know what Bucknell will try to do, just like the Bison have a pretty good idea what the Crusaders' plans will be. This is the 12th time the seniors on these two teams have met since they started their college careers. There are no secrets.
Beyond that, any preview of this game becomes repetitive. Want to know what to expect, just look through the history of this rivalry over the past three seasons. It is all right here:
FLASHBACKS:
2007 Game 1: | Game story | Preview
2007 Game 2: | Game story | Preview
2005 Championship: | |
2006 Championship: | Game story | Preview
PREVIEW LINKS:
Bison-Crusaders by the numbers
(Telegram & Gazette)
(Telegram & Gazette)
(Boston Herald)
(Daily Item)
(Daily Item)
(Daily Item)
(Sun-Gazette)
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Bucknell vs. Holy Cross for all the marbles. What else is new?
It's like a broken record, which for those of you too young to remember vinyl, is a little like a CD that skips, stuck on the same note over and over and over again.
For those who prefer their pop culture references from the world of film, think Groundhog Day.
Like last season, and the season before that, the Bison and the Crusaders will meet on the Friday before Selection Sunday to decide who will represent the Patriot League in the Big Dance.
Only one thing is certain: somebody's streak is going to end. Holy Cross has won 17 straight games in the Hart Center. Bucknell has won 14 in a row and eight straight league tournament games.
For the five seniors on the rosters of the two teams, it is a fitting ending to an era that has made the Bucknell-Holy Cross rivalry arguably the best in the league.
Whather or not it stays that way when these five seniors graduate, taking with them a combined collection of hardware that includes a player of the year, two preseason POY selections, two all-rookie picks, two defensive player of the years, three (and counting) all-tournament team picks and a combined nine all-league choices.
There have been a lot of very good groups of seniors to pass through the league. This year's bunch, led by these five guys -- Keith Simmons and Torey Thomas of Holy Cross, and Chris McNaughton, Abe Badmus and Donald Brown would rank up there with the best.
The past three years, they have been a part of a two-team league dominance that has been almost unprecedented in league history. In that stretch, Bucknell and Holy Cross are a combined 81-3 against the rest of the league, 59-1 the last two seasons and 30-0 this season alone.
These seniors have, in many ways, been the vanguard of what many are expecting to become a better and better conference now that scholarships are being offered across the board. In fact, the Bucknell seniors are the school's first scholarship class.
These five seniors have also been a part of the only three postseason wins in league history.
By any measure shy of championships, Holy Cross' seniors have had extremely successful careers. In the past three years, they have only lost six games in Patriot League competition -- including a 6-2 mark thus far in league tournament action.
But without a win in this afternoon's final, Simmons and Thomas will graduate with a hollow feeling. Five of those six conference losses over the past thee seasons came against Bucknell. Two of those came in the conference finals.
It has been Bucknell that has stood between them and the dance.
If HC should lose, they are guaranteed a spot in the NIT by virtue of being the league's top seed. There is considerable speculation that Bucknell's name recognition would land them in the consolation ball should they lose in the final, but that is not guaranteed.
Much has changed since the two teams first met back in January in Worcester. There have been some big changes since the two met three weeks ago in Lewisburg, too.
The biggest change has been the return of Bucknell's Donald Brown, who missed seven games due to a broken bone in his shooting (right) hand. Brown was not in uniform when Bucknell handed HC its only league loss in Sojka Pavilion.
Since he returned, Brown has posted two straight 15-points, 9-rebounds games coming off the bench in relief of Darren Matsropaolo, who regained his starting job at the four while Brown was out.
With McNaughton and Mastropaolo, Bucknell dominated inside the last meeting. Brown should add to that edge.
It's worth mentioning Tim Clifford was in foul trouble in that game. Holy Cross needs the 6-10 junior to stay on the floor in the final.
Player of the Year, Keith Simmons, scored 15 for Holy Cross in that loss, but he was effectively shutdown in the second half by the defense of Bucknell's Abe Badmus.
After the game, both HC coach Ralph Willard and his point guard, Thomas, spoke of the need to let the 6-5 Simmons post up against the 6-0 Badmus in that matchup. It will be interesting to see if that is part of the gameplan this afternoon.
Having Brown back on the floor might allow Bucknell to stay with more of its matchup zone since he is quicker to get out on perimeter shooters than Mastropaolo.
None of that will surprise Holy Cross. They know what Bucknell will try to do, just like the Bison have a pretty good idea what the Crusaders' plans will be. This is the 12th time the seniors on these two teams have met since they started their college careers. There are no secrets.
Beyond that, any preview of this game becomes repetitive. Want to know what to expect, just look through the history of this rivalry over the past three seasons. It is all right here:
FLASHBACKS:
2007 Game 1: | Game story | Preview
2007 Game 2: | Game story | Preview
2005 Championship: | |
2006 Championship: | Game story | Preview
PREVIEW LINKS:
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Breaking down the Bucknell-Holy Cross matchup is as easy as 1 - 2 - 1,199.
0 -- Number of times, in the 16-year history of the league, a team seeded lower than No. 2 won the Patriot League championship
1 -- Number of teams who have ever won three Patriot League titles in a row (Holy Cross)
2 -- Consecutive championships for Bucknell heading into this game
3 -- Losses by the two teams combined to other league teams over the past three seasons (the two are a combined 81-3 against the rest of the league in that span)
4 -- Total number of league titles won by HC, the most by any team in the league. This is also Bucknell's 4th appearance in the league championship game
5 -- Combined number of seniors on the two team's rosters
6 -- Number of Bucknell wins in the 10 meetings between the two in league tournament play
7 -- National ranking of Holy Cross' 57.1 points allowed per game scoring defense. BUcknell has allowed 57.2 ppg.
8 -- Number of Patriot League championship games HC has played, number of consecutive league tournament wins for Bucknell coming into this one, Regular season losses for both teams
9 -- All-time Bucknell wins against Holy Cross in the Hart Center, also number of Bucknell losses to Holy Cross in Hart all-time
10 -- Bucknell road wins this season
11 -- This will be the 11th all-time tournament meeting between Bucknell and Holy Cross
12 -- This will be the 12th time the two team's seniors have faced each other in their four seasons
13 -- Straight Patriot League games in which Bucknell has outscored the opposition in the paint (Bucknell has done so 15 of 16 games this season. In the 15th it was even 22-22 in the first game against HC)
14 -- in a row, Bucknell's current win streak
14.5 -- points per game averaged by HC senior Keith Simmons in nine career PL tournament games
15 -- times this season HC has reached double figures in steals
16 -- times Simmons has led the Crusaders in scoring this season
17 --Straight wins in the Hart Center by Holy Cross, a school mark
17.2 -- points per game averaged by Simmons, tops in the league
18 -- Tournament wins by BU coach Pat Flannery, most in league history
19 -- Bucknell wins in 23 games where they out-rebounded the opponent
20 -- Bucknell wins in 21 games where they shot more free throws than the opponent
22 -- Bucknell wins this season
24 -- Holy Cross wins this season
43 -- Consecutive double figures scoring games by Simmons
44 -- Number of times the two teams have met (Bucknell leads series 25-19)
53 -- Straight games Bucknell has not allowed a PL foe to score 70 points
66 -- Holy Cross' ranking in the RPI
77 -- Wins in Hart center by HC since start of the 2000-2001 season. HC is 77-12 in Hart in that stretch
78 -- Bucknell's RPI
87 -- School record number of wins by Bucknell's current senior class
123 -- Career games played HC point guard Torey Thomas, 2nd on HC's all-time list
124 -- Career games played by the guy ahead of Thomas on that list, Crusaders' guard Keith Simmons, and by Bucknell's Chris McNaughton, who now holds the BU school record
137 -- Career blocked shots by HC center Tim Clifford (second all-time at HC, ninth all-time in PL)
156 -- League best all-time wins by Bucknell (156-68 -- .696 in 17 seasons)
158 -- wins as head coach of Holy Cross in eight seasons by Ralph Willard (158-88)
191 -- Career three-pointers by Simmons (2nd all-time at HC)
619 -- Combined career wins for Flannery (317) and Willard (302)
1,199 -- Minutes played this season by Thomas, breaking his own school record set last season
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0 -- Number of times, in the 16-year history of the league, a team seeded lower than No. 2 won the Patriot League championship
1 -- Number of teams who have ever won three Patriot League titles in a row (Holy Cross)
2 -- Consecutive championships for Bucknell heading into this game
3 -- Losses by the two teams combined to other league teams over the past three seasons (the two are a combined 81-3 against the rest of the league in that span)
4 -- Total number of league titles won by HC, the most by any team in the league. This is also Bucknell's 4th appearance in the league championship game
5 -- Combined number of seniors on the two team's rosters
6 -- Number of Bucknell wins in the 10 meetings between the two in league tournament play
7 -- National ranking of Holy Cross' 57.1 points allowed per game scoring defense. BUcknell has allowed 57.2 ppg.
8 -- Number of Patriot League championship games HC has played, number of consecutive league tournament wins for Bucknell coming into this one, Regular season losses for both teams
9 -- All-time Bucknell wins against Holy Cross in the Hart Center, also number of Bucknell losses to Holy Cross in Hart all-time
10 -- Bucknell road wins this season
11 -- This will be the 11th all-time tournament meeting between Bucknell and Holy Cross
12 -- This will be the 12th time the two team's seniors have faced each other in their four seasons
13 -- Straight Patriot League games in which Bucknell has outscored the opposition in the paint (Bucknell has done so 15 of 16 games this season. In the 15th it was even 22-22 in the first game against HC)
14 -- in a row, Bucknell's current win streak
14.5 -- points per game averaged by HC senior Keith Simmons in nine career PL tournament games
15 -- times this season HC has reached double figures in steals
16 -- times Simmons has led the Crusaders in scoring this season
17 --Straight wins in the Hart Center by Holy Cross, a school mark
17.2 -- points per game averaged by Simmons, tops in the league
18 -- Tournament wins by BU coach Pat Flannery, most in league history
19 -- Bucknell wins in 23 games where they out-rebounded the opponent
20 -- Bucknell wins in 21 games where they shot more free throws than the opponent
22 -- Bucknell wins this season
24 -- Holy Cross wins this season
43 -- Consecutive double figures scoring games by Simmons
44 -- Number of times the two teams have met (Bucknell leads series 25-19)
53 -- Straight games Bucknell has not allowed a PL foe to score 70 points
66 -- Holy Cross' ranking in the RPI
77 -- Wins in Hart center by HC since start of the 2000-2001 season. HC is 77-12 in Hart in that stretch
78 -- Bucknell's RPI
87 -- School record number of wins by Bucknell's current senior class
123 -- Career games played HC point guard Torey Thomas, 2nd on HC's all-time list
124 -- Career games played by the guy ahead of Thomas on that list, Crusaders' guard Keith Simmons, and by Bucknell's Chris McNaughton, who now holds the BU school record
137 -- Career blocked shots by HC center Tim Clifford (second all-time at HC, ninth all-time in PL)
156 -- League best all-time wins by Bucknell (156-68 -- .696 in 17 seasons)
158 -- wins as head coach of Holy Cross in eight seasons by Ralph Willard (158-88)
191 -- Career three-pointers by Simmons (2nd all-time at HC)
619 -- Combined career wins for Flannery (317) and Willard (302)
1,199 -- Minutes played this season by Thomas, breaking his own school record set last season
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Thursday, March 08, 2007
The Patriot League Championship game between Bucknell and Holy Cross is sold out. Bucknell officials confirmed this morning they will not be returning any unsold tickets from their allotment of approximately 1,200 for Friday afternoon's 4:30 showdown at the Hart Center in Worcester.
Holy Cross previously announced its seats were sold out.
Bucknell alums still needing tickets might want to contactBison Club head Todd Newcomb. The school purchased the few it had left at the deadline to return any unsold tickets. Newcomb said the Bison Club has a "very limited" number of tickets available for club members and alums only.
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Holy Cross previously announced its seats were sold out.
Bucknell alums still needing tickets might want to contactBison Club head Todd Newcomb. The school purchased the few it had left at the deadline to return any unsold tickets. Newcomb said the Bison Club has a "very limited" number of tickets available for club members and alums only.
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Tuesday, March 06, 2007
There is a state mental hospital in Danville, Pa., a small town about 15 miles from Bucknell that will have a lot in common with Worcester, Mass. on Friday afternoon.
You clicked expecting some sort of bad taste "madhouse" reference. You should be ashamded for thinking such un-pc thoughts. You probably like Indian nicknames and mascots in feathers, too.
The comparison is one of color schemes. Purple and Orange are the colors of the local high school team, the Ironmen. Same colors that will be on display in Hart.
It won't be even, but anybody who thought hosting the final meant an all-purple atmosphere failed to check the Patriot League rules. The reulebook says the host school must make available one-third of the seats in the building for the visiting team to sell.
Last year, only about 400 Holy Cross fans bought tickets for the final in Lewisburg. The other 1,000 or so were returned unsold, put on sale day of the game to folks at Sojka Pavilion.
Reports out of Lewisburg today indicated Bucknell did not expect to return near that many tickets, demand was running high, both locally and from alums, especially those in the New England area.
By noon, five fan buses were nearly full, the roughly $2,000 per bus cost being picked up by sponsors in the Lewisburg area, giving students and fans a free ride to the game.
Meanwhile in Worcester, tickets for non-students are . There is no mention in that release of the possibility of additional tickets for non-student fans if Bucknell returns any of its allottment. Also, apparently any student tickets not sold in advance will be available day of the game, but only to HC students, raising the possibility that the game could end up not selling out, despite heavy demand for tickets.
Read Full Post
You clicked expecting some sort of bad taste "madhouse" reference. You should be ashamded for thinking such un-pc thoughts. You probably like Indian nicknames and mascots in feathers, too.
The comparison is one of color schemes. Purple and Orange are the colors of the local high school team, the Ironmen. Same colors that will be on display in Hart.
It won't be even, but anybody who thought hosting the final meant an all-purple atmosphere failed to check the Patriot League rules. The reulebook says the host school must make available one-third of the seats in the building for the visiting team to sell.
Last year, only about 400 Holy Cross fans bought tickets for the final in Lewisburg. The other 1,000 or so were returned unsold, put on sale day of the game to folks at Sojka Pavilion.
Reports out of Lewisburg today indicated Bucknell did not expect to return near that many tickets, demand was running high, both locally and from alums, especially those in the New England area.
By noon, five fan buses were nearly full, the roughly $2,000 per bus cost being picked up by sponsors in the Lewisburg area, giving students and fans a free ride to the game.
Meanwhile in Worcester, tickets for non-students are . There is no mention in that release of the possibility of additional tickets for non-student fans if Bucknell returns any of its allottment. Also, apparently any student tickets not sold in advance will be available day of the game, but only to HC students, raising the possibility that the game could end up not selling out, despite heavy demand for tickets.
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Monday, March 05, 2007
Holy Cross moves up and Bucknell gains votes but stays ranked the same in this week'd Mid-Major Top 25.
The Crusaders pick up 403 points to move from No. 16 (282 points) to No. 13 in this week's . Bucknell stays at No. 21, its vote total up to 163 from 139 a week ago.
Once again, no Patriot love shown in either of .
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The Crusaders pick up 403 points to move from No. 16 (282 points) to No. 13 in this week's . Bucknell stays at No. 21, its vote total up to 163 from 139 a week ago.
Once again, no Patriot love shown in either of .
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(Originally posted Sunday night, links added at 7:01 a.m.)
Bucknell turned a close game into no contest with an impressive defensive performance against Army.
By CHRIS A. COUROGEN
Matt Bell has suffered through some pretty horrible first halves in games at Bucknell. The Army senior, who started all 111 games in his now-ended Army career, was there in 2004 when the Black Knights scored only 9 points before the intermission. He was also on the floor back in January when Bucknell started the game with an 18-2 run and held Army to 15 first half points.
So when the Black Knights got off to a strong start in Sunday afternoon's Patriot League semifinal in Sojka Pavilion, Bell had to be feeling pretty good about his team's chances.
Even though the Bison had outscored Army 12-3 over the final five minutes of the first half, Bell's team was very much in the game, trailing 40-32 at the intermission, especially since Bucknell (22-8) did not seem to have a defensive answer for Bell and his teammate Jarrell Brown, who both at 13 points already at the break.
Boy was Bell wrong.
In a game that was a mirror image of those other blowouts, Bucknell spotted Army (15-16) a Cleveland Richard three-pointer to open the second half, then proceeded to hold the Black Knights without a field goal over the next 11:12, allowing just three more buckets, one in mop-up time to turn the close game into a 68-47 Bison rout.
"They just took over in the second half," said Bell, who closed out his stellar career by becoming the latest in a Long Grey Line of Cadets who have never beaten the Bison.
The win was Bucknell's 15th straight against the Black Knights, who have not beaten the Bison since 2001.
"Usually we come out here and get down by 10 or 15 points in the first four minutes. It's a little dissappointing they were able to take such command in the second half," said Bell, who was 0 for 3 after the break, finishing with the same 13 points he had at the half. Jarrell Brown added a pair of free throws and a late bucket in the second half to finish with a team-high 17.
Credit Bucknell's defense, which made it a point to do a better job of closing out on Army's perimeter shooters in the second half, a move that resulted in a 4 for 21 (19 percent) showing from the field by the Black Knights.
Richard's three came 20 seconds into the half. Between then and the time Bucknell coach Pat Flannery emptied his bench with 2:26 to play, Army scored all of 5 points -- three free throws and a Jarrell Brown jumper at the 8:27 mark that ended an eight minute scoreless stretch. It would be another 6:08 before the Black Knights scored again on a Cory Sinning jumper with 2:19 left on the clock.
"We really had a hard time scoring," said Army coach Jim Crews, who might actually have understated the situation. "We had a few good looks and a lot of not so good looks."
Army, which went 12 for 27 from the field in the first half, finished the second 4 for 21 (19 percent). It might have been worse had they gotten more shots. The Black Knights attempts were limited by their 14 second half turnovers.
"They did a better job of rotating and matching up. They did a better job communicating," said Bell.
"We got better as the game went on," Flannery said.
Adding to Army's woes was a dominating offensive performance by Bucknell's frontcourt duo of Chris McNaughton and Donald Brown who combined for 38 points on 15 for 20 shooting.
"We really didn't have an answer for McNaughton or Brown inside," Bell said.
In most games, Brown's 15 points and 9 rebounds would be what everybody was talking about afterwards. In this case, the 6-6 senior's second straight 15 and 9 performance was no better than third on the list of things that made a big impression.
Sharing top billing with Bucknell's second-half defense was McNaughton, who was pretty much unstoppable in what was likely the last Sojka Pavilion performance of his stellar career. McNaughton finished the game with 23 points, going 10 for 13 from the field on a variety of layups, hook shots and short jumpers.
"In the second half, Chris kind of took over," said Flannery.
Crews tried three different defenders on the 6-11 German -- Doug Williams, Chris Walker and Jimmy Sewell -- all with the same results, or should we say all with the same lack of results.
"(McNaughton goes left. He goes right. . . . He gets great angles on you. If you don't try top get around him, he gets in deep and if you get around him he gets better angles," Crews said.
McNaughton was quick to credit his teammates, who kept feeding him whenever he got position. Eight of Bucknell's 14 assists came on McNaughton buckets.
"They did a great job giving me the ball where I could score," he said.
Two of those 14 assists were credited to McNaughton himself, who would have had plenty more had the Bison's shooters knocked down more of the open threes McNaughton set up by kicking the ball out when he got double-teamed.
Bucknell was just 1 of 11 from the arc in the second half, a stat that is one of the few negatives nitpickers will find with the Bison half of the box score.
Despite those second half woes from three-point range, the Bison still managed to shoot 53.1 percent (26 of 49) from the field against an Army defense that came in ranked number one in the league.
The win is Bucknell's 14th in a row and its 22nd in 26 games after starting the season 0-4. It is also the Bison's eighth straight league tournament win, their 35th straight victory in Sojka against Patriot League opponents and their 10th straight home win overall.
Bucknell will look to extend those first two streaks when it meets Holy Cross in Friday's conference final in Worcester. The home streaks will have to wait until next season, barring a possible NIT game in Sojka should Bucknell lose in the title game.
| Postgame audio (Crews, J. Brown, Bell, Flannery, Badmus, McNaughton, D. Brown) | | | | |
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Bucknell turned a close game into no contest with an impressive defensive performance against Army.
By CHRIS A. COUROGEN
Matt Bell has suffered through some pretty horrible first halves in games at Bucknell. The Army senior, who started all 111 games in his now-ended Army career, was there in 2004 when the Black Knights scored only 9 points before the intermission. He was also on the floor back in January when Bucknell started the game with an 18-2 run and held Army to 15 first half points.
So when the Black Knights got off to a strong start in Sunday afternoon's Patriot League semifinal in Sojka Pavilion, Bell had to be feeling pretty good about his team's chances.
Even though the Bison had outscored Army 12-3 over the final five minutes of the first half, Bell's team was very much in the game, trailing 40-32 at the intermission, especially since Bucknell (22-8) did not seem to have a defensive answer for Bell and his teammate Jarrell Brown, who both at 13 points already at the break.
Boy was Bell wrong.
In a game that was a mirror image of those other blowouts, Bucknell spotted Army (15-16) a Cleveland Richard three-pointer to open the second half, then proceeded to hold the Black Knights without a field goal over the next 11:12, allowing just three more buckets, one in mop-up time to turn the close game into a 68-47 Bison rout.
"They just took over in the second half," said Bell, who closed out his stellar career by becoming the latest in a Long Grey Line of Cadets who have never beaten the Bison.
The win was Bucknell's 15th straight against the Black Knights, who have not beaten the Bison since 2001.
"Usually we come out here and get down by 10 or 15 points in the first four minutes. It's a little dissappointing they were able to take such command in the second half," said Bell, who was 0 for 3 after the break, finishing with the same 13 points he had at the half. Jarrell Brown added a pair of free throws and a late bucket in the second half to finish with a team-high 17.
Credit Bucknell's defense, which made it a point to do a better job of closing out on Army's perimeter shooters in the second half, a move that resulted in a 4 for 21 (19 percent) showing from the field by the Black Knights.
Richard's three came 20 seconds into the half. Between then and the time Bucknell coach Pat Flannery emptied his bench with 2:26 to play, Army scored all of 5 points -- three free throws and a Jarrell Brown jumper at the 8:27 mark that ended an eight minute scoreless stretch. It would be another 6:08 before the Black Knights scored again on a Cory Sinning jumper with 2:19 left on the clock.
"We really had a hard time scoring," said Army coach Jim Crews, who might actually have understated the situation. "We had a few good looks and a lot of not so good looks."
Army, which went 12 for 27 from the field in the first half, finished the second 4 for 21 (19 percent). It might have been worse had they gotten more shots. The Black Knights attempts were limited by their 14 second half turnovers.
"They did a better job of rotating and matching up. They did a better job communicating," said Bell.
"We got better as the game went on," Flannery said.
Adding to Army's woes was a dominating offensive performance by Bucknell's frontcourt duo of Chris McNaughton and Donald Brown who combined for 38 points on 15 for 20 shooting.
"We really didn't have an answer for McNaughton or Brown inside," Bell said.
In most games, Brown's 15 points and 9 rebounds would be what everybody was talking about afterwards. In this case, the 6-6 senior's second straight 15 and 9 performance was no better than third on the list of things that made a big impression.
Sharing top billing with Bucknell's second-half defense was McNaughton, who was pretty much unstoppable in what was likely the last Sojka Pavilion performance of his stellar career. McNaughton finished the game with 23 points, going 10 for 13 from the field on a variety of layups, hook shots and short jumpers.
"In the second half, Chris kind of took over," said Flannery.
Crews tried three different defenders on the 6-11 German -- Doug Williams, Chris Walker and Jimmy Sewell -- all with the same results, or should we say all with the same lack of results.
"(McNaughton goes left. He goes right. . . . He gets great angles on you. If you don't try top get around him, he gets in deep and if you get around him he gets better angles," Crews said.
McNaughton was quick to credit his teammates, who kept feeding him whenever he got position. Eight of Bucknell's 14 assists came on McNaughton buckets.
"They did a great job giving me the ball where I could score," he said.
Two of those 14 assists were credited to McNaughton himself, who would have had plenty more had the Bison's shooters knocked down more of the open threes McNaughton set up by kicking the ball out when he got double-teamed.
Bucknell was just 1 of 11 from the arc in the second half, a stat that is one of the few negatives nitpickers will find with the Bison half of the box score.
Despite those second half woes from three-point range, the Bison still managed to shoot 53.1 percent (26 of 49) from the field against an Army defense that came in ranked number one in the league.
The win is Bucknell's 14th in a row and its 22nd in 26 games after starting the season 0-4. It is also the Bison's eighth straight league tournament win, their 35th straight victory in Sojka against Patriot League opponents and their 10th straight home win overall.
Bucknell will look to extend those first two streaks when it meets Holy Cross in Friday's conference final in Worcester. The home streaks will have to wait until next season, barring a possible NIT game in Sojka should Bucknell lose in the title game.
| Postgame audio (Crews, J. Brown, Bell, Flannery, Badmus, McNaughton, D. Brown) | | | | |
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Sunday, March 04, 2007
Coaches love to trot out the cliche about how hard it is to beat a team three times. We'll see if it matters in this afternoon's Patriot League semifinals.
To many fans and observers, the first two rounds of the tournament are viewed as mere window dressing, necessary but not necessarily needed warmups to the highly anticipated main event -- a third straight league final between Bucknell and Holy Cross.
Don't try convincing American and Army that they are just items on the Big Two's checklists, though. Both underdogs will enter this afternoon's games with reason to believe they are capable of pulling off an upset.
No. 4 American at No. 1 Holy Cross (), 2 p.m. -- American wants to take advantage of its third chance to knock off Holy Cross, it will need to find a way to limit the Crusaders' second chances. In a 69-64 overtime loss Jan. 20 at home, and again in Worcester 11 days later, in a 58-47 loss, American's downfall came on the glass. Specifically at the Holy Cross offensive end.
The Eagles held HC to 38.7 percent shooting in the first game and were even tougher in the second, limiting the 'Saders to a 34.7 percent field goal shooting night. But Holy Cross had 12 offensive rebounds and a 12-2 edge in second chance points in the game at AU and 16 offensive boards leading to an 18-2 advantage in second chance points in the rematch. That has been the biggest difference between the two.
Travis Lay might provide some help there. Lay has seen his minutes off the bench increase down the stretch and he has responded by averaging 8 boards per game over the last four.
Holy Cross' all-league junior center Tim Clifford has a long history of big games against American. Expect Jeff Jones to abandon his usual philosophy of trying to guard the post man to man in favor of a scheme that provides his big men some help on Clifford down low.
Jones would like nothing more than to get a strong game out of 6-11 senior Paulius Joneliunas, who has played well down the stretch. Joneliunas is shooting 63.2 percent (12 of 19) over the last four games.
In the backcourt, AU's Andre Ingram has been an effective defender against Keith Simmons. In two games against AU, Simmons has averaged 12.5 points per game, well below his average of over 17 ppg. In the first meeting, Simmons didn't reach double figures in regulation, scoring 6 of his 14 points from the foul line in overtime.
Of course even if they slow down the Crusaders offense, American will still need to generate enough offense to put up more points than HC. The Eagles have plenty of weapons, and if Ingram and Arvydas Eitutavicius both manage to get going from the arc, they could be tough to stop.
That is easier said than done against a Holy Cross defense that has been the stingiest in the league this season. In the two regular season games, AU shot a combined 40.2 percent while turning the ball over 37 times.
A few extra nuggets about this one:
It will be the third time the two schools have met in the league tournament; the first time they have met prior to the finals. HC has won both previous postseason encounters.
HC leads the series 12-3, including wins in the last six meetings in Worcester, where AU has won once in 7 tries.
Holy Cross is 12-0 in the Hart Center this season and has won 16 in a row there dating back to last season.
Ironman Torey Thomas was expected to play less minutes this season once Pat Doherty returned, but sometime in the first half he should break his own HC school record for minutes played. Thomas needs just 8 minutes to equal his own mark of 1,166 set last season.
The number one seed has never failed to advance to the championship game of the Patriot League tournament.
No. 6 Army at No. 2 Bucknell (), 3:30 p.m. -- After taking the Bison to the wire in the regular season finale, the Black Knights should come into Sojka a heckuva lot more confident than they were when they left after the first meeting between the two.
The Bison jumped out to an 18-2 lead in that first game, and led 43-15 at the half before coasting home.
The rematch at West Point was considerably closer, tied 19-19 in the final minute before Bucknell pulled out the 54-49 decision.
Army hit 9 treys in that second game. If they light it up from the arc again, who knows what might happen.
Aside from the change in game sites, there is another big difference between this afternoon and that regular season finale -- Donald Brown. The Bison senior was in street clothes, waiting for clearance to return from a broken hand, when the two teams played at West Point. Brown came back in the first round of the tournament and looked like he had not missed a beat, scoring 15 points and grabbing 9 rebounds.
Brown was 4 for 5 from the field, with 12 points and 8 rebounds in just 27 minutes of action in the first meeting with Army. His return adds to a huge Bucknell advantage in the frontcourt.
The Black Knights are playing with house money. Almost nobody expected them to finish higher than last in the regular season and few thought they would get past Lehigh in the first round. Yet a resurgent season and a blown call later, here they are, in the league semifinals for just the third time in 17 seasons of Patriot League play.
Bucknell needs to start strong and establish control from the start. Put Army in a hole early and that confidence will start to wane. Let the nothing-to-lose underdogs hang around and gain confidence, who knows what might happen. Just ask either school's women's teams.
Choice tidbits from the two team's gamenotes:
The Bison hold a 36-14 lead in the series, which dates to 1929.
Bucknell has won 14 in a row against Army and 35 of 39 meetings between the two in Patriot League play.
In tournament play, Bucknell is 5-1 against Army, the loss coming in a first round upset in 1995, when Bucknell was a No. 2 seed and Army No. 7. Army finished that season 4-10 in league play, the same record it posted this year.
Bucknell is looking to extend its current win streak to 14 games, the longest in -one-season steak in school history
The Bison are looking for their 35th straight home win against Patriot League opponents
No current Bison is averaging in double figures against Army for their career. Chris McNaughton, who has averaged 9.8 points per game in nine games against Army, has Bucknell's best career numbers against the Black Knights. Abe Badmus, who will also be facing Army for the 10th time, has the Bison's best single-game showing -- a 15-point game the last time the two met.
Army's Jarrell Brown scored 25 against the Bison at Christl Arena last season.
the two teams met in the first round last season, with Bucknell pulling out a 59-47 win in a game they led by just 1 point with 10 minutes to go before using a 14-0 run to gain separation
Army's win at Lehigh in the first round snapped a 10-game tournament losing streak
That win also snapped a 10-game road losing streak for Army and an 11-game losing streak in road league games.
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To many fans and observers, the first two rounds of the tournament are viewed as mere window dressing, necessary but not necessarily needed warmups to the highly anticipated main event -- a third straight league final between Bucknell and Holy Cross.
Don't try convincing American and Army that they are just items on the Big Two's checklists, though. Both underdogs will enter this afternoon's games with reason to believe they are capable of pulling off an upset.
No. 4 American at No. 1 Holy Cross (), 2 p.m. -- American wants to take advantage of its third chance to knock off Holy Cross, it will need to find a way to limit the Crusaders' second chances. In a 69-64 overtime loss Jan. 20 at home, and again in Worcester 11 days later, in a 58-47 loss, American's downfall came on the glass. Specifically at the Holy Cross offensive end.
The Eagles held HC to 38.7 percent shooting in the first game and were even tougher in the second, limiting the 'Saders to a 34.7 percent field goal shooting night. But Holy Cross had 12 offensive rebounds and a 12-2 edge in second chance points in the game at AU and 16 offensive boards leading to an 18-2 advantage in second chance points in the rematch. That has been the biggest difference between the two.
Travis Lay might provide some help there. Lay has seen his minutes off the bench increase down the stretch and he has responded by averaging 8 boards per game over the last four.
Holy Cross' all-league junior center Tim Clifford has a long history of big games against American. Expect Jeff Jones to abandon his usual philosophy of trying to guard the post man to man in favor of a scheme that provides his big men some help on Clifford down low.
Jones would like nothing more than to get a strong game out of 6-11 senior Paulius Joneliunas, who has played well down the stretch. Joneliunas is shooting 63.2 percent (12 of 19) over the last four games.
In the backcourt, AU's Andre Ingram has been an effective defender against Keith Simmons. In two games against AU, Simmons has averaged 12.5 points per game, well below his average of over 17 ppg. In the first meeting, Simmons didn't reach double figures in regulation, scoring 6 of his 14 points from the foul line in overtime.
Of course even if they slow down the Crusaders offense, American will still need to generate enough offense to put up more points than HC. The Eagles have plenty of weapons, and if Ingram and Arvydas Eitutavicius both manage to get going from the arc, they could be tough to stop.
That is easier said than done against a Holy Cross defense that has been the stingiest in the league this season. In the two regular season games, AU shot a combined 40.2 percent while turning the ball over 37 times.
A few extra nuggets about this one:
No. 6 Army at No. 2 Bucknell (), 3:30 p.m. -- After taking the Bison to the wire in the regular season finale, the Black Knights should come into Sojka a heckuva lot more confident than they were when they left after the first meeting between the two.
The Bison jumped out to an 18-2 lead in that first game, and led 43-15 at the half before coasting home.
The rematch at West Point was considerably closer, tied 19-19 in the final minute before Bucknell pulled out the 54-49 decision.
Army hit 9 treys in that second game. If they light it up from the arc again, who knows what might happen.
Aside from the change in game sites, there is another big difference between this afternoon and that regular season finale -- Donald Brown. The Bison senior was in street clothes, waiting for clearance to return from a broken hand, when the two teams played at West Point. Brown came back in the first round of the tournament and looked like he had not missed a beat, scoring 15 points and grabbing 9 rebounds.
Brown was 4 for 5 from the field, with 12 points and 8 rebounds in just 27 minutes of action in the first meeting with Army. His return adds to a huge Bucknell advantage in the frontcourt.
The Black Knights are playing with house money. Almost nobody expected them to finish higher than last in the regular season and few thought they would get past Lehigh in the first round. Yet a resurgent season and a blown call later, here they are, in the league semifinals for just the third time in 17 seasons of Patriot League play.
Bucknell needs to start strong and establish control from the start. Put Army in a hole early and that confidence will start to wane. Let the nothing-to-lose underdogs hang around and gain confidence, who knows what might happen. Just ask either school's women's teams.
Choice tidbits from the two team's gamenotes:
Labels: Army, AU, BU, HC, previews
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Thursday, March 01, 2007
(Originally posted Wed. at 9:36 p.m., updated with links at 8:37 a.m.)
Bison have little trouble dispatching Navy in the first round.By CHRIS A. COUROGEN
Donald Brown hadn't played a game in nearly a month. The way he played Wednesday night against Navy, you'd never have guessed it.
Showing very few signs of any rust from his 28-day exile due to a broken hand, Brown picked right up where he left off, playing like the first team all-league pick he should have been to help Bucknell to a 62-43 first round Patriot League tournament win over Navy.
There was no easing Brown back into the rotation by Bucknell coach Pat Flannery. The only concession to Brown's having missed the last seven games was that he came off the bench instead of starting. Once he checked in at the 16:54 mark of the first half, to a loud ovation from the 3,049 fans in Sojka Pavilion, Brown went right to work.
Any questions about how he might feel about contact were answered about a minute later when he set a bone-jarring backcourt screen on Navy's Chris Harris. Seconds later he made a nice baseline move for a dunk that was wiped off because of a foul on Adam teague before the shot, but Brown's presence was established.
Brown's first bucket in over 30 days came at the 14:31 mark on a little runner in the lane. By halftime he scored three more. By the end of the game, Brown had put in 15 points, snared a game-high 9 rebounds, blocked two shots and made two steals in a 27-minute stint.
"The way Donald was playing, it was a no-brainer," said Flannery, when asked about the extended minutes after the long layoff. "Donald certainly gave us a big spark."
That was evident during the 18-2 Bucknell run at the end of the half that basically put the game away. During that stretch, which came over the final 6:32 of the half, Brown scored 4 points, grabbed 4 rebounds, blocked a shot, made a steal and also had an assist on a John Griffin three-pointer.
"He is a great player. Obviously he had a huge impact on the game," said Navy coach Billy Lange.
It was vintage Brown, skying for rebounds, chasing down loose balls, pogoing around the basket for putbacks. The only sign of the layoff came when he bricked a free throw off the side of the glass, not even hitting the rim. By the end of the game, though, he showed the hand was not affecting his touch, draining a foul line jumper and hitting one of two at the line late in the game.
"I was just so excited to be be out there," said Brown, who gave the crowd a scare when he banged the hand hard off the press row table while blocking a Navy shot from deep in the left corner, just after he had removed the protective pad he was wearing on the back of his hand.
"I hit it pretty hard, but it didn't bother me. I guess the bone is healed. It's a good sign," said Brown.
For Bucknell, yes. For the rest of the league, definitely not. During Brown's absence the Bison won all seven games they played, extending their win streak to 12 in a row. And Brown was not the only star in the Bison's 13th straight victory, their longest win streak since 1919.
Chris McNaughton, who was not denied a first team all-league berth when the voting was announced Monday, was not easily denied going to the bucket against Navy. McNaughton was 5 for 9 from the field, at least two of his misses coming when he was blatantly fouled but got no whistle. McNaughton finished with 14 points and 8 rebounds.
Jason Vegotsky, who hit a pair of threes to open the game, also reached double figures for the Bison, finishing with 10 points. Abe Badmus came up a point shy of double figures, scoring 9 while dishing out 5 assists and making 4 steals.
"We happened to run into a team that is playing very well," said Lange. "Our game plan kind of fell apart for us a little bit."
Of course for Navy, the game plan always includes plenty of three-pointers. When they don't fall, it never bodes well for the Mids, and in the first half against Bucknell, only two of 16 found the bottom of the arc. During Bucknell's decisive run, Navy went the entire 6:38 without a field goal, its lone points coming on a pair of free throws by Kaleo Kina (12 points) with 35 seconds to go in the half. During that span, the Mids were 0 for 6 from the field, five of the misses coming from the arc. They also had five of their 21 turnovers in that stretch.
"We contested them We went out and contested. Every shot is not going to go in when you do that," said Flannery.
Matter of fact, for Navy, two of every three they took refused to fall. The Mids hit 6 of 26 (23.1 percent) in the first half, 16 of 48 in the game. Navy was 7 of 26 from the arc, three of those in a breif second half flurry that cut Bucknell's lead from 27 to 16 points with 9:48 to play.The Mids would get no closer.
Bucknell stays home for the second round, hosting Army, which upset Lehigh 47-46 on a last second buzzer beater in Bethlehem. Sunday's game will have a 3:30 p.m. start.
| Postgame audio (Lange, Kina, Flannery, McNaughton, D. Brown) | |
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Bison have little trouble dispatching Navy in the first round.By CHRIS A. COUROGEN
Donald Brown hadn't played a game in nearly a month. The way he played Wednesday night against Navy, you'd never have guessed it.
Showing very few signs of any rust from his 28-day exile due to a broken hand, Brown picked right up where he left off, playing like the first team all-league pick he should have been to help Bucknell to a 62-43 first round Patriot League tournament win over Navy.
There was no easing Brown back into the rotation by Bucknell coach Pat Flannery. The only concession to Brown's having missed the last seven games was that he came off the bench instead of starting. Once he checked in at the 16:54 mark of the first half, to a loud ovation from the 3,049 fans in Sojka Pavilion, Brown went right to work.
Any questions about how he might feel about contact were answered about a minute later when he set a bone-jarring backcourt screen on Navy's Chris Harris. Seconds later he made a nice baseline move for a dunk that was wiped off because of a foul on Adam teague before the shot, but Brown's presence was established.
Brown's first bucket in over 30 days came at the 14:31 mark on a little runner in the lane. By halftime he scored three more. By the end of the game, Brown had put in 15 points, snared a game-high 9 rebounds, blocked two shots and made two steals in a 27-minute stint.
"The way Donald was playing, it was a no-brainer," said Flannery, when asked about the extended minutes after the long layoff. "Donald certainly gave us a big spark."
That was evident during the 18-2 Bucknell run at the end of the half that basically put the game away. During that stretch, which came over the final 6:32 of the half, Brown scored 4 points, grabbed 4 rebounds, blocked a shot, made a steal and also had an assist on a John Griffin three-pointer.
"He is a great player. Obviously he had a huge impact on the game," said Navy coach Billy Lange.
It was vintage Brown, skying for rebounds, chasing down loose balls, pogoing around the basket for putbacks. The only sign of the layoff came when he bricked a free throw off the side of the glass, not even hitting the rim. By the end of the game, though, he showed the hand was not affecting his touch, draining a foul line jumper and hitting one of two at the line late in the game.
"I was just so excited to be be out there," said Brown, who gave the crowd a scare when he banged the hand hard off the press row table while blocking a Navy shot from deep in the left corner, just after he had removed the protective pad he was wearing on the back of his hand.
"I hit it pretty hard, but it didn't bother me. I guess the bone is healed. It's a good sign," said Brown.
For Bucknell, yes. For the rest of the league, definitely not. During Brown's absence the Bison won all seven games they played, extending their win streak to 12 in a row. And Brown was not the only star in the Bison's 13th straight victory, their longest win streak since 1919.
Chris McNaughton, who was not denied a first team all-league berth when the voting was announced Monday, was not easily denied going to the bucket against Navy. McNaughton was 5 for 9 from the field, at least two of his misses coming when he was blatantly fouled but got no whistle. McNaughton finished with 14 points and 8 rebounds.
Jason Vegotsky, who hit a pair of threes to open the game, also reached double figures for the Bison, finishing with 10 points. Abe Badmus came up a point shy of double figures, scoring 9 while dishing out 5 assists and making 4 steals.
"We happened to run into a team that is playing very well," said Lange. "Our game plan kind of fell apart for us a little bit."
Of course for Navy, the game plan always includes plenty of three-pointers. When they don't fall, it never bodes well for the Mids, and in the first half against Bucknell, only two of 16 found the bottom of the arc. During Bucknell's decisive run, Navy went the entire 6:38 without a field goal, its lone points coming on a pair of free throws by Kaleo Kina (12 points) with 35 seconds to go in the half. During that span, the Mids were 0 for 6 from the field, five of the misses coming from the arc. They also had five of their 21 turnovers in that stretch.
"We contested them We went out and contested. Every shot is not going to go in when you do that," said Flannery.
Matter of fact, for Navy, two of every three they took refused to fall. The Mids hit 6 of 26 (23.1 percent) in the first half, 16 of 48 in the game. Navy was 7 of 26 from the arc, three of those in a breif second half flurry that cut Bucknell's lead from 27 to 16 points with 9:48 to play.The Mids would get no closer.
Bucknell stays home for the second round, hosting Army, which upset Lehigh 47-46 on a last second buzzer beater in Bethlehem. Sunday's game will have a 3:30 p.m. start.
| Postgame audio (Lange, Kina, Flannery, McNaughton, D. Brown) | |
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Wednesday, February 28, 2007
March Madness starts in February this year. Here is a look at tonight's first round Patriot League playoff contests:
No. 6 Army at No. 3 Lehigh 7 p.m. () -- Looking for tonight's upset special? here's your game. Army (14-15, 4-10) comes in losers of eight of its last nine, the only win in that span coming at home against last place Lafayette. After a strong start filled with promise, including a 3-2 start to the conference season, the Black Knights seemed to slide into the abyss.
So what makes anybody think a team that has won just twice on the road all season can pull off an upset against a Lehigh team that was 9-3 this season in Stabler?
For starters, there is Army's win in the first meeting between the two. The Black Knights held Jose Olivero to 7 points in that one. In other words, they know first hand that if you shut down Olivero, Lehigh is beatable.
Of course they also know what happens when Olivero does go off. Lehigh's all-league senior put up 30 on Army when they met earlier this month in Stabler.
In a strange way, that ought to give Army some confidence. Even with Olivero combining with freshman point guard Marquis Hall for 50 points in that game, the Black Knights kept it close much of the way before falling by 11. The Black Knights (2-16 all time in the league tournament) come in knowing that if they can just limit Olivero to somewhere around his 16.6 ppg average, they should have a shot at winning their third-ever tournament game and at advancing for the first time since 1996.
At that point, Lehigh's only home setbacks all season had come on a disputed call in the final seconds of a 1-point loss to Columbia and in a 5-point loss to Navy three days before Army came to town.
That Navy loss put a crack in the Mountain Hawks' air of home invincibility. It was shattered in the last week of the season, with Bucknell and Holy Cross both coming into Stabler to pick up wins. Add a Feb. 18 loss at last place Lafayette to the mix and you have a reeling team that comes into the post season having lost three in a row.
Here is an interesting stat to ponder as you consider the possibilities of tonight's game: In a nine-game stretch beginning with a loss at Bucknell Jan. 23, Lehigh has shot
36 percent from the field, 33 percent from three-point range. That bodes well for a low scoring, defense minded team like Army.
One thing that has changed since the two teams last met is the return of 6-10 senior Jason Mgebroff to the Lehigh lineup. If Mgebroff can regain his form of earlier in the season, before the stress fracture that left him out of action for 13 games, he could be a huge presence against an Army team that is not real strong in the post. There has been no sign of that Mgebroff in the four games since he has returned, though. In those four, Mgebroff has scored a total of 8 points, 5 coming in an overtime win at Colgate.
(Times Herald-Record)
No. 8 Lafayette at No. 1 Holy Cross 7 p.m. () -- The Leopards put a scare in the Crusaders back in their conference opener in Easton. That might give Lafayette some confidence, but it also is likely to help make certain Holy Cross doesn't look past the last-place Leopards. No top seed has ever lost in the first round of the league tournament, and it is not likely to happen tonight. Note: The game can be heard on Sirius satellite radio on channel 140.
(Telegram & Gazette)
No. 7 Navy at No. 2 Bucknell 7 p.m. () -- There are a lot of streaks on the line for Bucknell, which is looking to win 13 in a row for the first time under Pat Flannery. The Bison have won 33 straight Patriot League games in Sojka Pavilion, six straight league tournament games and have won five straight games against Navy.
There is also a streak the Bison are looking to end. They are 0-3 all time against the Midshipmen in PL Tournament games.
If Navy's shots are falling and Bucknell's are not, this could be close. That was the situation when the two met in Sojka earlier this season. With Navy making eight treys while Bucknell hit just two, the Mids kept it tight throughout before falling 59-51.
Since then, though, Bucknell has won 13 out of 14 while Navy has gone 4-9. Even though three of those wins came in the last six games, the Mids' resurgent season should end tonight.
Worth noting: There are tickets available for this one. They can be or at the Langone Center box office up until 5 p.m. or at the door at Sojka beginning at 5.
No. 5 Colgate at No. 4 American, 7:30 p.m. () -- Watch out for the AU Eagles, who come into the tournament on a roll, winners of their last four in a row. American started the season strong, winning seven of their first nine. As losses began to pile up, Jeff Jones began tinkering with his lineup in an effort to reverse that trend.
It didn't work, but late in the season Jones smartened up and went back to the lineup that had been successful early and AU put together a surge that secured a homecourt game in the first round.
Since joining the league, American has never lost in the first round of the tournament. The Eagles won both regular season games against the Raiders, who limp into the postseason losers of four of their last five.
The loser gets out its golf clubs. The winner gets a bus ride to Worcester. Hard to say which is the better deal. Note: You can listen to this one on Sirius 143.
(The Washington Moonie)
BONUS LINK:
(Times Herald-Record)
(Jake Felix in the Sun-Gazette)
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No. 6 Army at No. 3 Lehigh 7 p.m. () -- Looking for tonight's upset special? here's your game. Army (14-15, 4-10) comes in losers of eight of its last nine, the only win in that span coming at home against last place Lafayette. After a strong start filled with promise, including a 3-2 start to the conference season, the Black Knights seemed to slide into the abyss.
So what makes anybody think a team that has won just twice on the road all season can pull off an upset against a Lehigh team that was 9-3 this season in Stabler?
For starters, there is Army's win in the first meeting between the two. The Black Knights held Jose Olivero to 7 points in that one. In other words, they know first hand that if you shut down Olivero, Lehigh is beatable.
Of course they also know what happens when Olivero does go off. Lehigh's all-league senior put up 30 on Army when they met earlier this month in Stabler.
In a strange way, that ought to give Army some confidence. Even with Olivero combining with freshman point guard Marquis Hall for 50 points in that game, the Black Knights kept it close much of the way before falling by 11. The Black Knights (2-16 all time in the league tournament) come in knowing that if they can just limit Olivero to somewhere around his 16.6 ppg average, they should have a shot at winning their third-ever tournament game and at advancing for the first time since 1996.
At that point, Lehigh's only home setbacks all season had come on a disputed call in the final seconds of a 1-point loss to Columbia and in a 5-point loss to Navy three days before Army came to town.
That Navy loss put a crack in the Mountain Hawks' air of home invincibility. It was shattered in the last week of the season, with Bucknell and Holy Cross both coming into Stabler to pick up wins. Add a Feb. 18 loss at last place Lafayette to the mix and you have a reeling team that comes into the post season having lost three in a row.
Here is an interesting stat to ponder as you consider the possibilities of tonight's game: In a nine-game stretch beginning with a loss at Bucknell Jan. 23, Lehigh has shot
36 percent from the field, 33 percent from three-point range. That bodes well for a low scoring, defense minded team like Army.
One thing that has changed since the two teams last met is the return of 6-10 senior Jason Mgebroff to the Lehigh lineup. If Mgebroff can regain his form of earlier in the season, before the stress fracture that left him out of action for 13 games, he could be a huge presence against an Army team that is not real strong in the post. There has been no sign of that Mgebroff in the four games since he has returned, though. In those four, Mgebroff has scored a total of 8 points, 5 coming in an overtime win at Colgate.
No. 8 Lafayette at No. 1 Holy Cross 7 p.m. () -- The Leopards put a scare in the Crusaders back in their conference opener in Easton. That might give Lafayette some confidence, but it also is likely to help make certain Holy Cross doesn't look past the last-place Leopards. No top seed has ever lost in the first round of the league tournament, and it is not likely to happen tonight. Note: The game can be heard on Sirius satellite radio on channel 140.
No. 7 Navy at No. 2 Bucknell 7 p.m. () -- There are a lot of streaks on the line for Bucknell, which is looking to win 13 in a row for the first time under Pat Flannery. The Bison have won 33 straight Patriot League games in Sojka Pavilion, six straight league tournament games and have won five straight games against Navy.
There is also a streak the Bison are looking to end. They are 0-3 all time against the Midshipmen in PL Tournament games.
If Navy's shots are falling and Bucknell's are not, this could be close. That was the situation when the two met in Sojka earlier this season. With Navy making eight treys while Bucknell hit just two, the Mids kept it tight throughout before falling 59-51.
Since then, though, Bucknell has won 13 out of 14 while Navy has gone 4-9. Even though three of those wins came in the last six games, the Mids' resurgent season should end tonight.
Worth noting: There are tickets available for this one. They can be or at the Langone Center box office up until 5 p.m. or at the door at Sojka beginning at 5.
No. 5 Colgate at No. 4 American, 7:30 p.m. () -- Watch out for the AU Eagles, who come into the tournament on a roll, winners of their last four in a row. American started the season strong, winning seven of their first nine. As losses began to pile up, Jeff Jones began tinkering with his lineup in an effort to reverse that trend.
It didn't work, but late in the season Jones smartened up and went back to the lineup that had been successful early and AU put together a surge that secured a homecourt game in the first round.
Since joining the league, American has never lost in the first round of the tournament. The Eagles won both regular season games against the Raiders, who limp into the postseason losers of four of their last five.
The loser gets out its golf clubs. The winner gets a bus ride to Worcester. Hard to say which is the better deal. Note: You can listen to this one on Sirius 143.
BONUS LINK:
Labels: Army, AU, BU, CU, HC, Laf, Leh, Navy, previews
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Tuesday, February 27, 2007
A little light reading to help you pass time at work while you count down the minutes to Wednesday's playoff openers.
(Express-Times) Corky Blake looks at the tournament prospects of the league's Lehigh Valley contingent.
(AP) Genaro Armas previews the Bucknell-Navy matchup. Take the comments on Donald Brown's return with a grain of salt. Pat Flannery seemed to be bluffing during the conference call when he said the Bison won't know if Brown can play Wednesday until they saw him practice for the first time on Monday. Armas was not there Saturday after the BU-Army game when Brown told Tom Housenick of the Daily Item and I that he had returned to practice, already had some contact with the hand he had broken, and was ready to play when the tournament gets underway.
(Times Herald-Record) -- Talk about a newspaper that just doesn't get the reality of the times. The Times Herald-Record seems to cling to some notion that they can sell more papers by imitating the down-Hudson big boys like the NY Post and The Daily News and covering the heck out of the New York city pro scene. In an era when the mantra in the industry is local, local, local, their solution to declining circulation has been a cutback on their local college sports coverage. They don't even staff most Army games anymore. In this case, rather than allow Ken McMillan to write a story just about the Patriot League, they lump it all in one package with women's stuff, local jucos, Marist -- 10 teams at all. Anyhow, there is enough good Patriot League stuff in the story to make it well worth a click, even if you have to wade through the SUNY-Orange coverage to find it.
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Labels: Army, BU, HC, Laf, Leh, Navy
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Monday, February 26, 2007
Bucknell and Holy Cross both moved up in this week's Mid-Major Top 25.
The Crusaders are No. 16 in the latest version of , drawing 282 points, up from 233 points and a No. 17 rank last week.
Bucknell jumps from No. 25 to No. 21, garnering 139 points, up from 63 a week ago.
Once again, no votes for any league teams in either of the .
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The Crusaders are No. 16 in the latest version of , drawing 282 points, up from 233 points and a No. 17 rank last week.
Bucknell jumps from No. 25 to No. 21, garnering 139 points, up from 63 a week ago.
Once again, no votes for any league teams in either of the .
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Sunday, February 25, 2007
(Originally posted Sat. at 8:32 p.m., updated with links at 7:51 a.m.)
Black Knights take Bucknell to the wire before succumbing.
By CHRIS A. COUROGEN
Bucknell fans breathed two sighs of relief Saturday afternoon. The first came at the end of the Bison's 54-49 win at Army in a game that came down to the final minute.
The second came about an hour later when they saw the score from Colgate's win over Navy.
That one made certain the Bison won't have to play the Black Knights again on Wednesday. Navy's loss dropped the Mids to the No. 7 seed. Army will enter the playoffs as the No. 6 seed, traveling to No. 3 Lehigh in round one.
It's doubtful any Lehigh players would look past the Black Knights. The Mountain Hawks lost at West Point earlier in the season. Should they forget how dangerous Army can be, they will have film from this one to remind them.
Knocking down 9 three-pointers while playing smothering defense, Army took the Bison to the limit. The game was tied at 49-49 inside the final minute.
Abe Badmus hit a huge three with 54 seconds to go for what proved to be the game-winner.
Credit Chris McNaughton with setting it up. It won't go down as an assist in the scorebook -- he didn't make the pass. But McNaughton, who posted his third double-double of the season with 12 points and 10 rebounds, drew so much attention on the pick and roll, Badmus was all alone at the arc when the ball came to him.
"I was wide open. I just let it go," said Badmus, who 15 points -- a season high -- and hit three (of five) threes.
No wonder Badmus was open. As Bucknell coach Pat Flannery pointed out, after McNaughton set a screen for Badmus, he rolled towards the basket and Army's defense rolled towards McNaughton.
"Chris rolled and five guys, maybe six, came," Flannery said.
Army was right to pay McNaughton so much attention. Early in the second half, when they tried to stop him with just Doug Williams and occasionally a guard helping, McNaughton scored three buckets and assisted on another during a 13-2 run that gave the Bison a 9-point lead with 13:44 to play.
"(McNaughton's) just a big guy. It's kind of hard. You can't really help because they have shooters all over the place," said Army's Cleveland Richard, who hit three three-pointers and finished with 14 points.
At that point it looked like Bucknell was about to take control of the game. Army, though, refused to go away. Between a pair of Justin Castleberry free throws that gave Bucknell a 47-40 lead with 8:58 to play and a pair by Army's Jarrell Brown to tie it at 49-49 with 1:07 togo, the Black Knights held Bucknell to one field goal.
That set the stage for Badmus' big shot, but it wasn't over yet.
Army would have tied it about 10 seconds later had Army coach Jim Crews not called timeout a split-second before Jarrell Brown swished a woulda-been three from the right side with 44.5 seconds left. Even after that, Bucknell needed two stops to put it away.
After the timeout, the ball ended up back in Brown's hands with the shot clock running down. Brown put up an air ball that was caught by Darren Mastropaolo, who was called for traveling when he tried to make a pass while falling out of bounds.
Given a second chance, Army tried going to senior Matt Bell, a 51.3-percent three-point shooter. Bell got a decent look out top, but his shot caromed off the front of the rim to Griffin, who gathered it in as Army's Marcus nelson tried climbing over him to take it away.
Griffin's free throws iced it, but it wasn't easy.
Badmus didn't figure it would be. "Especially after the game down at our place. We beat them pretty bad."
Of course Badmus also knew much of his night would be spent chasing Jarrell Brown through screen, after screen, after screen. How he had the legs left to hit that three after hounding Brown all night is a wonder.
Badmus' old teammate Charles Lee, last year's Patriot League Player of the Year, said last season Brown was the toughest guy in the league to guard. After getting his turn to do it, Badmus agreed.
"They run a Reggie Miller offense. Everybody was screening for him. It's a guard's dream. He just calls out a name and they come screen for him," Badmus said. "When somebody is running off screens like that for 35 seconds, it really takes a lot out of you. You've really got to be disciplined. You can't rest."
Brown finished with 16 points to lead all scorers, but he had to work hard for the points, going 5 of 16 from the field, 4 for 10 from three-point range. Three of Brown's threes and 11 of his points came in the first half.
In his final game in Christl, Bell was 2 for 8 from the field for 7 points, well below his 15.1 points per game average.
As a team Army didn't shoot well, going 16 for 50 (32 percent) (NOTE: That is the official box score stat, but the official play by play does not show three missed shots by Army in their final two possessions, so they may not be included in the official box) from the field. But they hit 9 (of 19) threes and held Bucknell to 39 percent (16 of 41) shooting from the field -- including 7 of 19 threes -- while forcing 15 turnovers. The turnovers helped negate Bucknell's 39-24 advantage on the boards.
The difference came at the foul line, where Bucknell made 15 of 17 while Army was 8 for 11.
"We're glad we came out on top," said Badmus, who, barring a playoff matchup, played the last game against Army of his career. "They just keep getting better every year. Some day, I really believe, Army is going to win this conference."
For that to happen this year, though, Army will need to win three straight games on the road, starting Wednesday night at Lehigh. Army does have a home win over the Mountain Hawks this season, but on the road the Black Knights have just two wins all season.
Bucknell won't know who it faces in the first round until after Sunday's Holy Cross-Lehigh game. If Holy Cross wins, the Bison are the No. 2 seed and host Navy. A Holy Cross loss would bring No. 8 seed Lafayette to Lewisburg in the first round.
| Postgame audio (Richards, Flannery, Badmus) | Notebook | |
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Black Knights take Bucknell to the wire before succumbing.
By CHRIS A. COUROGEN
Bucknell fans breathed two sighs of relief Saturday afternoon. The first came at the end of the Bison's 54-49 win at Army in a game that came down to the final minute.
The second came about an hour later when they saw the score from Colgate's win over Navy.
That one made certain the Bison won't have to play the Black Knights again on Wednesday. Navy's loss dropped the Mids to the No. 7 seed. Army will enter the playoffs as the No. 6 seed, traveling to No. 3 Lehigh in round one.
It's doubtful any Lehigh players would look past the Black Knights. The Mountain Hawks lost at West Point earlier in the season. Should they forget how dangerous Army can be, they will have film from this one to remind them.
Knocking down 9 three-pointers while playing smothering defense, Army took the Bison to the limit. The game was tied at 49-49 inside the final minute.
Abe Badmus hit a huge three with 54 seconds to go for what proved to be the game-winner.
Credit Chris McNaughton with setting it up. It won't go down as an assist in the scorebook -- he didn't make the pass. But McNaughton, who posted his third double-double of the season with 12 points and 10 rebounds, drew so much attention on the pick and roll, Badmus was all alone at the arc when the ball came to him.
"I was wide open. I just let it go," said Badmus, who 15 points -- a season high -- and hit three (of five) threes.
No wonder Badmus was open. As Bucknell coach Pat Flannery pointed out, after McNaughton set a screen for Badmus, he rolled towards the basket and Army's defense rolled towards McNaughton.
"Chris rolled and five guys, maybe six, came," Flannery said.
Army was right to pay McNaughton so much attention. Early in the second half, when they tried to stop him with just Doug Williams and occasionally a guard helping, McNaughton scored three buckets and assisted on another during a 13-2 run that gave the Bison a 9-point lead with 13:44 to play.
"(McNaughton's) just a big guy. It's kind of hard. You can't really help because they have shooters all over the place," said Army's Cleveland Richard, who hit three three-pointers and finished with 14 points.
At that point it looked like Bucknell was about to take control of the game. Army, though, refused to go away. Between a pair of Justin Castleberry free throws that gave Bucknell a 47-40 lead with 8:58 to play and a pair by Army's Jarrell Brown to tie it at 49-49 with 1:07 togo, the Black Knights held Bucknell to one field goal.
That set the stage for Badmus' big shot, but it wasn't over yet.
Army would have tied it about 10 seconds later had Army coach Jim Crews not called timeout a split-second before Jarrell Brown swished a woulda-been three from the right side with 44.5 seconds left. Even after that, Bucknell needed two stops to put it away.
After the timeout, the ball ended up back in Brown's hands with the shot clock running down. Brown put up an air ball that was caught by Darren Mastropaolo, who was called for traveling when he tried to make a pass while falling out of bounds.
Given a second chance, Army tried going to senior Matt Bell, a 51.3-percent three-point shooter. Bell got a decent look out top, but his shot caromed off the front of the rim to Griffin, who gathered it in as Army's Marcus nelson tried climbing over him to take it away.
Griffin's free throws iced it, but it wasn't easy.
Badmus didn't figure it would be. "Especially after the game down at our place. We beat them pretty bad."
Of course Badmus also knew much of his night would be spent chasing Jarrell Brown through screen, after screen, after screen. How he had the legs left to hit that three after hounding Brown all night is a wonder.
Badmus' old teammate Charles Lee, last year's Patriot League Player of the Year, said last season Brown was the toughest guy in the league to guard. After getting his turn to do it, Badmus agreed.
"They run a Reggie Miller offense. Everybody was screening for him. It's a guard's dream. He just calls out a name and they come screen for him," Badmus said. "When somebody is running off screens like that for 35 seconds, it really takes a lot out of you. You've really got to be disciplined. You can't rest."
Brown finished with 16 points to lead all scorers, but he had to work hard for the points, going 5 of 16 from the field, 4 for 10 from three-point range. Three of Brown's threes and 11 of his points came in the first half.
In his final game in Christl, Bell was 2 for 8 from the field for 7 points, well below his 15.1 points per game average.
As a team Army didn't shoot well, going 16 for 50 (32 percent) (NOTE: That is the official box score stat, but the official play by play does not show three missed shots by Army in their final two possessions, so they may not be included in the official box) from the field. But they hit 9 (of 19) threes and held Bucknell to 39 percent (16 of 41) shooting from the field -- including 7 of 19 threes -- while forcing 15 turnovers. The turnovers helped negate Bucknell's 39-24 advantage on the boards.
The difference came at the foul line, where Bucknell made 15 of 17 while Army was 8 for 11.
"We're glad we came out on top," said Badmus, who, barring a playoff matchup, played the last game against Army of his career. "They just keep getting better every year. Some day, I really believe, Army is going to win this conference."
For that to happen this year, though, Army will need to win three straight games on the road, starting Wednesday night at Lehigh. Army does have a home win over the Mountain Hawks this season, but on the road the Black Knights have just two wins all season.
Bucknell won't know who it faces in the first round until after Sunday's Holy Cross-Lehigh game. If Holy Cross wins, the Bison are the No. 2 seed and host Navy. A Holy Cross loss would bring No. 8 seed Lafayette to Lewisburg in the first round.
| Postgame audio (Richards, Flannery, Badmus) | Notebook | |
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Hoop Time Notebook
Bison standout Donald Brown has been out sinceout since breaking a bone in his right (shooting) hand during the Bison's Jan. 20 win at Colgate.
Brown will rejoin the Bison rotation for the postseason.
"I had an X-ray Friday. Everything looks good. I'm a go for Wednesday," said Brown after the Bison's win at Army Saturday.
Brown has been doing light shooting drills since a week after the surgery that placed pins in the bone to speed its healing. Those drills became more aggressive basketball drills using both hands once the pain in the broken hand subsided, Brown said.
The team's leading scorer and the league's top rebounder when he was hurt, Brown said he is not worried about re-injuring the hand in the normal course of the game because the bone that was broken is in a part of the hand that is not used to play basketball. He also feels more confident about being able to avoid re-injuring the hand after he took a knee to the hand trying to draw a charge in practice. Brown will wear a protective pad on the back of his hand.
NO ZOO, JUST A CREW -- New at Army since our last visit, a student section calling itself "The Crew." Decked out in yellow toy hard hats and yellow T-shirts, they numbered about 25 strong and pretty much accounted for the cadet population in attendance. Less than a dozen cadets in regular uniforms were on hand, which must mean, as a whole, the kids at West Point have been on their good behavior.
The back of those "The Crew" shirts includes a tagline: "The Hardest Working Fans in the Patriot League." Of course the obvious tag: "The few, the proud" was already taken.
SALUTE -- Senior Day at West Point did not mean a start for all of Jim Crews seniors. Center Jimmy Sewell, who has spent four years in and out of Crews' doghouse, started on the bench, as did guard Marshall Jackson. Sewell did get nine minutes of action. Jackson played 11 minutes.
CROWDED HOUSE -- You have to wonder how Crews will handle senior day in three years. His current roster of 20 players includes 8 freshmen, with who knows how many stashed away at USMAPS. The eight freshmen points out the factor about recruiting at the service academies that is oft overlooked. While the rest of the league is limited in how many scholarships it can offer, Army and Navy can bring in as many kids as they want and can also stash prospects at their prep schools for what amounts to a redshirt year unavailable to the rest of the league.
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Bison standout Donald Brown has been out sinceout since breaking a bone in his right (shooting) hand during the Bison's Jan. 20 win at Colgate.
Brown will rejoin the Bison rotation for the postseason.
"I had an X-ray Friday. Everything looks good. I'm a go for Wednesday," said Brown after the Bison's win at Army Saturday.
Brown has been doing light shooting drills since a week after the surgery that placed pins in the bone to speed its healing. Those drills became more aggressive basketball drills using both hands once the pain in the broken hand subsided, Brown said.
The team's leading scorer and the league's top rebounder when he was hurt, Brown said he is not worried about re-injuring the hand in the normal course of the game because the bone that was broken is in a part of the hand that is not used to play basketball. He also feels more confident about being able to avoid re-injuring the hand after he took a knee to the hand trying to draw a charge in practice. Brown will wear a protective pad on the back of his hand.
NO ZOO, JUST A CREW -- New at Army since our last visit, a student section calling itself "The Crew." Decked out in yellow toy hard hats and yellow T-shirts, they numbered about 25 strong and pretty much accounted for the cadet population in attendance. Less than a dozen cadets in regular uniforms were on hand, which must mean, as a whole, the kids at West Point have been on their good behavior.
The back of those "The Crew" shirts includes a tagline: "The Hardest Working Fans in the Patriot League." Of course the obvious tag: "The few, the proud" was already taken.
SALUTE -- Senior Day at West Point did not mean a start for all of Jim Crews seniors. Center Jimmy Sewell, who has spent four years in and out of Crews' doghouse, started on the bench, as did guard Marshall Jackson. Sewell did get nine minutes of action. Jackson played 11 minutes.
CROWDED HOUSE -- You have to wonder how Crews will handle senior day in three years. His current roster of 20 players includes 8 freshmen, with who knows how many stashed away at USMAPS. The eight freshmen points out the factor about recruiting at the service academies that is oft overlooked. While the rest of the league is limited in how many scholarships it can offer, Army and Navy can bring in as many kids as they want and can also stash prospects at their prep schools for what amounts to a redshirt year unavailable to the rest of the league.
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Saturday, February 24, 2007
Lehigh is the No. 3 seed. American is No. 4 and Lafayette is No. 8, everything else remains to be determined as we head into the final two days of the regular season.
We won't know the No. 1 seed until tomorrow, when Holy Cross visits Lehigh. Bucknell needs the Crusaders to stumble in Betghlehem to gain the top seed, regardless of the outcome of its game at Army this afternoon ().
The game has more meaning for Army, which avoids facing either Bucknell or Holy Cross in the first round if it wins today.
The winner of this afternoon's Navy at Colgate game () also avoids playing at one of the top two seeds in the first round.
But who ends up where, against whom, depends on the combination of today's two games.
Here's a breakdown (hopefully one that won't need as many revisions as yesterday's did):
COLGATE: Win today and the Raiders are the No. 5 seed, regardless of what Army does. If Army and Colgate both lose, the Raiders are the No. 6 seed by virtue of a season sweep against the Black Knights. If Army wins and Colgate loses, Colgate drops to the No. 7 seed.
ARMY: If Army wins and Colgate loses, Army becomes the No. 5 seed. If Army and Navy both lose, Army is the No. 6 seed by virtue of a tiebreaker edge on Navy (a win over American).
NAVY: If the Mids and Army both win, Navy gets the No. 6 seed. If the Mids win and Army loses, Navy is No. 5.
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We won't know the No. 1 seed until tomorrow, when Holy Cross visits Lehigh. Bucknell needs the Crusaders to stumble in Betghlehem to gain the top seed, regardless of the outcome of its game at Army this afternoon ().
The game has more meaning for Army, which avoids facing either Bucknell or Holy Cross in the first round if it wins today.
The winner of this afternoon's Navy at Colgate game () also avoids playing at one of the top two seeds in the first round.
But who ends up where, against whom, depends on the combination of today's two games.
Here's a breakdown (hopefully one that won't need as many revisions as yesterday's did):
COLGATE: Win today and the Raiders are the No. 5 seed, regardless of what Army does. If Army and Colgate both lose, the Raiders are the No. 6 seed by virtue of a season sweep against the Black Knights. If Army wins and Colgate loses, Colgate drops to the No. 7 seed.
ARMY: If Army wins and Colgate loses, Army becomes the No. 5 seed. If Army and Navy both lose, Army is the No. 6 seed by virtue of a tiebreaker edge on Navy (a win over American).
NAVY: If the Mids and Army both win, Navy gets the No. 6 seed. If the Mids win and Army loses, Navy is No. 5.
Labels: Army, BU, CU, Navy, previews
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Friday, February 23, 2007
(Updated with bonus links and some editing at 9:51 a.m.; additional edits made at 10:54 a.m.))
We already know who will be the home teams in the first round of the playoffs. Who the visitors will be gets finalized this weekend, beginning tonight when Lafayette visits American. ()
American has already clinched a home spot in the first round. A win tonight, coupled with a Holy Cross win at Lehigh Sunday, would give AU the No. 3 seed for the tournament, not that there appears to be much of an edge gained by moving from No. 4 to No. 3. means nothing. EDITORS NOTE: Thanks to the folks who caught this one ... Lehigh swept that season series and owns the tiebreaker over AU).
A Lafayette loss leaves the Leopards in the No. 8 seed. A win, coupled with a Colgate loss Saturday against Navy, would move the 'Pards to No. 7. The only real difference for Lafayette would be the psychological boost of not finishing last -- either way they play on the road against either Holy Cross or Bucknell.
It makes a bigger difference to the eventual No. 1 and No. 2 seeds, who both probably would prefer to face Lafayette in the first round.
Here is a look, best we have been able to figure, at the various tiebreaking scenarios that could play out over the weekend:
Holy Cross 12-1 at Lehigh (Sunday) -- Win and the Crusaders get the No. 1 seed, a lossand a Bucknell win at Army would drop HC to No. 2 behind the Bison. EDITOR'S NOTE: Bucknell grad Manny Perez is first to e-mail pointing out that if both Bucknell and Holy Cross would lose, Bucknell would gain the top seed by virtue of its sweep of the season series with Lehigh. Good catch Manny, thanks!)
Bucknell 12-1 at Army (Saturday) -- Bison can finish no lower than the No. 2 seed. Would be No. 1 if HC loses at Lehighand BU wins at Army (see above)
Lehigh 7-6 home vs. Holy Cross (Sunday) --A win clinches Has clinched the No. 3 seed. A loss and an American win tonight against Lafayette would drop Lehigh to the No. 4 seed behind AU courtesy of AU's better RPI (192 - 240)
American 6-7 home vs. Lafayette (tonight) --Can finish no worse than Is No. 4.
Navy 4-9 at Colgate (Saturday) -- If Navy wins and Army loses to Bucknell, Navy becomes the No. 5 seed. If Navy and Army both win, Army's win over Bucknell would boost Army past the Mids on the basis of the second tiebreaker -- comparison of records. If Navy loses, it becomes more complicated. A Navy loss and a Lafayette win would leave the Mids in the No. 7 spot, ahead of the Leopards by virtue of sweeping the season series. If Army also loses, the Black Knights still have the tiebreaker edge for the No. 6 seed by virtue of a win over American, which swept Navy.
Army 4-9 home vs. Bucknell (Saturday) --Army cannot finish eighth. In the event of an Army loss and a Lafayette win, the Black Knights would hold the RPI tiebreaker edge. If Colgate also loses, Army drops to No. 8 since the tiebreaker would be record against the other teams involved in the multiple-tie. Colgate would be 3-1 against Lafayette and Army, Lafayette 2-2 and Army 1-3. If Lafayette wins and Army and Navy lose, Navy (3-1 by viture of sweeping Lafayette) gets the No. 6 spot, Army (2-2) is seventh, Lafayette stays in eighth.
Colgate 4-9 home vs. Navy (Sat.) -- A win makes the Raiders the No. 5 seed. A loss, coupled with a Lafayette win at AU, would drop Colgate to the No. 8 seed since the Raiders were swept by American. If Army also loses, see the three-way tie scenario above.
Lafayette 3-10 at American (tonight) -- A trip to either Bucknell or Holy Cross is inevitable for the 'Pards. A Lafayette loss leaves them in the No. 8 spot. A win and losses by Colgate and Army would move them to No. 7. A win with a Navy loss
BONUS LINKS:
(Andre Williams in the Morning Call)
(more from Andre)
is first to hand out some league honors (Tom's Daily Item column filled to the brim this week with looks at the men's and women's sides of the league)
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We already know who will be the home teams in the first round of the playoffs. Who the visitors will be gets finalized this weekend, beginning tonight when Lafayette visits American. ()
American has already clinched a home spot in the first round. A win tonight
A Lafayette loss leaves the Leopards in the No. 8 seed. A win, coupled with a Colgate loss Saturday against Navy, would move the 'Pards to No. 7. The only real difference for Lafayette would be the psychological boost of not finishing last -- either way they play on the road against either Holy Cross or Bucknell.
It makes a bigger difference to the eventual No. 1 and No. 2 seeds, who both probably would prefer to face Lafayette in the first round.
Here is a look, best we have been able to figure, at the various tiebreaking scenarios that could play out over the weekend:
Holy Cross 12-1 at Lehigh (Sunday) -- Win and the Crusaders get the No. 1 seed, a loss
Bucknell 12-1 at Army (Saturday) -- Bison can finish no lower than the No. 2 seed. Would be No. 1 if HC loses at Lehigh
Lehigh 7-6 home vs. Holy Cross (Sunday) --
American 6-7 home vs. Lafayette (tonight) --
Navy 4-9 at Colgate (Saturday) -- If Navy wins and Army loses to Bucknell, Navy becomes the No. 5 seed. If Navy and Army both win, Army's win over Bucknell would boost Army past the Mids on the basis of the second tiebreaker -- comparison of records. If Navy loses, it becomes more complicated. A Navy loss and a Lafayette win would leave the Mids in the No. 7 spot, ahead of the Leopards by virtue of sweeping the season series. If Army also loses, the Black Knights still have the tiebreaker edge for the No. 6 seed by virtue of a win over American, which swept Navy.
Army 4-9 home vs. Bucknell (Saturday) --
Colgate 4-9 home vs. Navy (Sat.) -- A win makes the Raiders the No. 5 seed. A loss, coupled with a Lafayette win at AU, would drop Colgate to the No. 8 seed since the Raiders were swept by American. If Army also loses, see the three-way tie scenario above.
Lafayette 3-10 at American (tonight) -- A trip to either Bucknell or Holy Cross is inevitable for the 'Pards. A Lafayette loss leaves them in the No. 8 spot. A win and losses by Colgate and Army would move them to No. 7. A win with a Navy loss
BONUS LINKS:
Labels: Army, AU, BU, CU, HC, Laf, Leh, Navy, previews
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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.
| Gameblog | Postgame audio (Taylor, Olivero, Neptune; Flannery, Griffin, McNaughton | | |
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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.
| Gameblog | Postgame audio (Taylor, Olivero, Neptune; Flannery, Griffin, McNaughton | | |
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Wednesday, February 21, 2007
The first round playoff sites have been determined. Semifinal sites, barring major first round upsets, are already set. So what are the six teams involved in the three games on tap tonight playing for?
For Bucknell and Holy Cross, the answer is simple. The two are deadlocked for first place, with the highest seed gaining the homecourt edge in the league final, should it get that far.
For Holy Cross, that means avoiding a slip up tonight when they host Colgate (). Win this one and win Sunday at Lehigh and the top seed is theirs, no matter what Bucknell does. The Raiders gave the Crusaders a battle in Hamilton last month. The Crusaders trailed by 10 in the second half of that one and needed a Keith Simmons three with 20 seconds left to pull off a 58-55 win.
Tonight, in Worcester, in front of a Hart Center crowd that out to be whipped into a frenzy during the pregame festivities honoring the team's two standout seniors -- Simmons and point guard Torey Thomas -- the Crusaders should have no trouble getting into the game from the start.
Bucknell, of course, needs to win tonight at Lehigh (), Saturday at Army and also needs someone to knock off Holy Cross.
Lehigh, with the No. 3 seed locked up, would love to win its last two home games to send a message to the frontrunners prior to the start of the playoffs. Bucknell had an easy time of it against the Mountain Hawks in Lewisburg last month. Two big differences this time around (besides the change in venue): Lehigh did not have Jason Mgebroff last time the two met. Bucknell did have Donald Brown.
Brown was not even wearing a wrap on his broken right hand Saturday when Bucknell took on Towson. But he was still in street clothes and there has been no indication he is ready to return just yet. He was a big factor in the first meeting, scoring 15 points and grabbing 7 rebounds.
Mgebroff has not put up any impressive numbers in his two games back after sitting out over two months with stress fractures in a leg. But the 6-10 senior went 11 minutes Sunday against Lafayette. Part of those minutes might have been because of the foul trouble the rest of Lehigh's lineup got into against the Leopards.
We'll see tonight if Mgebroff is in good enough shape to go extended minutes and make a difference against Bucknell or if he is still playing back into shape for the postseason.
The evening's third game is probably the most significant in terms of first round pairings. Lafayette travels to Army (), with the winner escaping last place in the league standings. Lafayette, with a win here and some help from its friends, could actually finish as high as fifth, avoiding a first round matchup at Bucknell or Holy Cross. The Leopards win over Lehigh would give them a tiebreaker edge over Colgate if the two finish tied for a spot.
The avoid-HC-or-BU scenarios are less favorable to Army, which also has to beat Bucknell Saturday for any chance of that happening. Even then, the Black Knights need some help since Colgate swept the regular season series between the two teams, giving the Raiders any tiebreaker scenarios.
If Army wins out, and Colgate beats Navy Saturday, the Black Knights would tie the Mids for sixth, and would have the tiebreaker edge by virtue of a win over Bucknell.
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For Bucknell and Holy Cross, the answer is simple. The two are deadlocked for first place, with the highest seed gaining the homecourt edge in the league final, should it get that far.
For Holy Cross, that means avoiding a slip up tonight when they host Colgate (). Win this one and win Sunday at Lehigh and the top seed is theirs, no matter what Bucknell does. The Raiders gave the Crusaders a battle in Hamilton last month. The Crusaders trailed by 10 in the second half of that one and needed a Keith Simmons three with 20 seconds left to pull off a 58-55 win.
Tonight, in Worcester, in front of a Hart Center crowd that out to be whipped into a frenzy during the pregame festivities honoring the team's two standout seniors -- Simmons and point guard Torey Thomas -- the Crusaders should have no trouble getting into the game from the start.
Bucknell, of course, needs to win tonight at Lehigh (), Saturday at Army and also needs someone to knock off Holy Cross.
Lehigh, with the No. 3 seed locked up, would love to win its last two home games to send a message to the frontrunners prior to the start of the playoffs. Bucknell had an easy time of it against the Mountain Hawks in Lewisburg last month. Two big differences this time around (besides the change in venue): Lehigh did not have Jason Mgebroff last time the two met. Bucknell did have Donald Brown.
Brown was not even wearing a wrap on his broken right hand Saturday when Bucknell took on Towson. But he was still in street clothes and there has been no indication he is ready to return just yet. He was a big factor in the first meeting, scoring 15 points and grabbing 7 rebounds.
Mgebroff has not put up any impressive numbers in his two games back after sitting out over two months with stress fractures in a leg. But the 6-10 senior went 11 minutes Sunday against Lafayette. Part of those minutes might have been because of the foul trouble the rest of Lehigh's lineup got into against the Leopards.
We'll see tonight if Mgebroff is in good enough shape to go extended minutes and make a difference against Bucknell or if he is still playing back into shape for the postseason.
The evening's third game is probably the most significant in terms of first round pairings. Lafayette travels to Army (), with the winner escaping last place in the league standings. Lafayette, with a win here and some help from its friends, could actually finish as high as fifth, avoiding a first round matchup at Bucknell or Holy Cross. The Leopards win over Lehigh would give them a tiebreaker edge over Colgate if the two finish tied for a spot.
The avoid-HC-or-BU scenarios are less favorable to Army, which also has to beat Bucknell Saturday for any chance of that happening. Even then, the Black Knights need some help since Colgate swept the regular season series between the two teams, giving the Raiders any tiebreaker scenarios.
If Army wins out, and Colgate beats Navy Saturday, the Black Knights would tie the Mids for sixth, and would have the tiebreaker edge by virtue of a win over Bucknell.
Labels: Army, BU, CU, HC, Laf, Leh, previews
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Sunday, February 18, 2007
(Originally posted Sat, at 5:07 p.m., links added at 6:55 a.m.)
In their final regular season game in Sojka Pavilion, Bucknell's seniors were the key to a record-setting win.
By CHRIS A. COUROGEN
Bucknell had an answer for Gary Neal. Towson had none for Chris McNaughton.
In a nutshell, that was the tale of Bucknell's 73-63 BracketBusters win Saturday afternoon in Sojka Pavilion.
In a fitting celebration of Senior Day, the Bison's two available seniors put on a show in their final regular season home game. McNaughton was nearly unstoppable, shredding the undersized Towson defense for a season-high 23 points. The other healthy senior, Abe Badmus, threw a blanket over Neal, rendering the Colonial Athletic Association's leading scorer ineffective until the game was already decided.
After the game, Towson coach Pat Kennedy lamented the absence of his own 6-9 center, Tommy Breaux, who stayed back home in Maryland due to illness.
"We had to go with a substitute and they took advantage of it," Kennedy said.
The way McNaughton played, especially early, when the game was still in doubt, it is hard to imagine Breaux doing much to slow him. Not with Kennedy electing to try to guard McNaughton with one man much of the first half. McNaughton had it going on all cylinders, knocking down 11 of the first 13 shots he took, including a pair of long jumpers from just inside the three-point arc.
"We kept throwing it inside," said McNaughton, who also pulled down a game-high eight rebounds, dished off three assists and blocked three shots -- all without picking up a single personal.
Badmus' contribution is harder to spot in the box score. His seven assists were huge, but his defensive effort on Neal was what really made an impression. Neal, the nation's third-leading scorer coming in, was held to 21 points, 4.5 below his 25.5 ppg average. Twenty of those points came in the second half, none while the game was still in question.
Towson (14-14) tried everything to get Neal open looks, running him through more picks than a banjo players convention. Every time he popped out the other side of a screen, there was Badmus in his pocket, sticking to him like lint. Neal was 0 for 4 in the first half, 0 for 6 before he finally hit his first field goal, a putback off his own miss with 15:40 to play.
"Gary was moving slow today. His movements were too slow," Kennedy said. "No. 5 (Badmus) did a real nice job on him."
Neal knew he was in for a long afternoon by the time he took his third shot of the game, a 16-foot jumper that was blocked cleanly by Badmus.
"Abe did a great job of pushing him out of his comfort zone and when he did drive, there was a lot of help there," said Flannery.
Neal did manage to get it going late in the game, scoring 12 of his points during a six-minute stretch that saw Towson cut Bucknell's 23-point lead to 13 with just over 5 minutes to go. Jason Vegotsky and John Griffin answered with a pair of threes to push Bucknell's lead back to 17 before Flannery emptied his bench in the final 2 minutes.
The win, a record 83rd of their career for the BU seniors, is Bucknell's 10th in a row, means the Bison (18-8) can put together a third-straight 20-win season with victories in their two remaining regular season games. Bucknell is at Lehigh Wednesday, then closes the regular season at Army on Saturday.
The Bison are guaranteed at least two home games in the postseason if they can win in the opening round and still have a chance at gaining the home court edge for the league final if they sweep and Holy Cross splits in its final two conference games.
| Postgame audio (Kennedy, Flannery, McNaughton, Badmus) | Gameblog | |
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In their final regular season game in Sojka Pavilion, Bucknell's seniors were the key to a record-setting win.
By CHRIS A. COUROGEN
Bucknell had an answer for Gary Neal. Towson had none for Chris McNaughton.
In a nutshell, that was the tale of Bucknell's 73-63 BracketBusters win Saturday afternoon in Sojka Pavilion.
In a fitting celebration of Senior Day, the Bison's two available seniors put on a show in their final regular season home game. McNaughton was nearly unstoppable, shredding the undersized Towson defense for a season-high 23 points. The other healthy senior, Abe Badmus, threw a blanket over Neal, rendering the Colonial Athletic Association's leading scorer ineffective until the game was already decided.
After the game, Towson coach Pat Kennedy lamented the absence of his own 6-9 center, Tommy Breaux, who stayed back home in Maryland due to illness.
"We had to go with a substitute and they took advantage of it," Kennedy said.
The way McNaughton played, especially early, when the game was still in doubt, it is hard to imagine Breaux doing much to slow him. Not with Kennedy electing to try to guard McNaughton with one man much of the first half. McNaughton had it going on all cylinders, knocking down 11 of the first 13 shots he took, including a pair of long jumpers from just inside the three-point arc.
"We kept throwing it inside," said McNaughton, who also pulled down a game-high eight rebounds, dished off three assists and blocked three shots -- all without picking up a single personal.
Badmus' contribution is harder to spot in the box score. His seven assists were huge, but his defensive effort on Neal was what really made an impression. Neal, the nation's third-leading scorer coming in, was held to 21 points, 4.5 below his 25.5 ppg average. Twenty of those points came in the second half, none while the game was still in question.
Towson (14-14) tried everything to get Neal open looks, running him through more picks than a banjo players convention. Every time he popped out the other side of a screen, there was Badmus in his pocket, sticking to him like lint. Neal was 0 for 4 in the first half, 0 for 6 before he finally hit his first field goal, a putback off his own miss with 15:40 to play.
"Gary was moving slow today. His movements were too slow," Kennedy said. "No. 5 (Badmus) did a real nice job on him."
Neal knew he was in for a long afternoon by the time he took his third shot of the game, a 16-foot jumper that was blocked cleanly by Badmus.
"Abe did a great job of pushing him out of his comfort zone and when he did drive, there was a lot of help there," said Flannery.
Neal did manage to get it going late in the game, scoring 12 of his points during a six-minute stretch that saw Towson cut Bucknell's 23-point lead to 13 with just over 5 minutes to go. Jason Vegotsky and John Griffin answered with a pair of threes to push Bucknell's lead back to 17 before Flannery emptied his bench in the final 2 minutes.
The win, a record 83rd of their career for the BU seniors, is Bucknell's 10th in a row, means the Bison (18-8) can put together a third-straight 20-win season with victories in their two remaining regular season games. Bucknell is at Lehigh Wednesday, then closes the regular season at Army on Saturday.
The Bison are guaranteed at least two home games in the postseason if they can win in the opening round and still have a chance at gaining the home court edge for the league final if they sweep and Holy Cross splits in its final two conference games.
| Postgame audio (Kennedy, Flannery, McNaughton, Badmus) | Gameblog | |
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Saturday, February 17, 2007
News and notes compiled during Bucknell's 73-63 BracketBusters win over Towson.
It takes three straight wins to win the Patriot League title. Sounds simple, yet three league teams have yet to string together three Ws in a row this season. Lehigh, winners of two straight, will try to take their name off that list when they visit Lafayette Sunday. The Leopards, losers of five in a row, and Colgate, which lost two straight headed into Saturday evening's game at Marist, are the two other teams that have done it.
American accomplished the feat once, winning four straight back in late November and early December. Navy did it twice back around the same time. Only Army, Bucknell and Holy Cross have managed to win at least three in a row in conference play. All three of Army's league wins came in an eight-day span against Lehigh, American and Navy -- all three at home.
There are currently eight active Division I players with 2,000 career points. Towson's Gary Neal is the third of the eight Bucknell has faced this season. Albany's Jamar Wilson scored 12 of his career 2,012 against the Bison in their season opener. Texas Tech's Jarrius Jackson scored 18 against the Bison. Jackson has scored 2,045 (point totals through Feb. 13).
Pitiful crowd on hand to honor Bucknell's seniors. The student sections at either end are about half full and there are numerous empty seats on both sides of Sojka Pavilion.
Tough start for the Bison, who had three turnovers and a missed shot on their first four possessions and saw Darren Mastropaolo pick up three personals in the first 3:35 of the game. At the other end, it appears to be open season on Chris McNaughton, who has been mugged the first two times he touched the ball without any whistles.
Neal's first shot, a long,long three, rims out at the 12:56 mark.
Bucknell 10, Towson 8 11:59 first half
Bucknell shooting well -- 4 for 6 from the field, 1 for 2 on threes, to start the game. Four turnovers have hurt the Bison. Towson is 2 for 10, 0 for 5 on threes, 4 for 4 at the line.
Two buckets, back-to-back, by McNaughton give Bucknell a 17-10 lead and brings Towson coach Pat Kennedy off the bench for a quick timeout with 8:40 to play. McNaughton is now 3 for 4 with 4 rebounds.
Neal's second shot, a jumper just outside the foul line, is blocked by Badmus, who gets the ball back at the other end and is mugged by Towson's Rodney Spruill, who is hit with an intentional foul call. Badmus makes both shots for a 19-10 BU lead.
Neal's first points come from the free throw line with 7:47 to play in the first half. Neal makes one of two, hitting as the Bison students chanted "No means no," missing as they chanted "How old was she."
Kennedy is making the mistake of trying to guard McNaughton with one guy. Towson simply does not have such a guy on its roster, as evidenced by McNaughton's 5 for 6, 11 points thus far.
Bucknell 24, Towson 13, 5:56 first half)
With 3:54 to go in the half, Kennedy calls another timeout after long jumpers by McNaughton and Patrick Behan push the BU lead to 28-13. Towson is now 4 for 21 from the field. Neal is 0 for 4.
HALFTIME: Bucknell 36, Towson 21
Stats: Bucknell 13 of 23 - 56.5 percent from the field, 2 of 8 from three-point range, 8 of 11 at the foul line. 7 turnovers, 9 assists, 20 rebounds
Towson 8 of 28 (28.6 percent), 0 of 8 from the arc, 5 of 6 at the stripe, 4 turnovers, 3 assists, 12 rebounds
Bucknell individual leaders: McNaughton 8 for 10, 17 points, 6 rebounds, 2 blocks
Towson: Winstonn Tubbs, Dennard Abraham and Spruill each with 6 points, Tubbs has 5 rebounds
Gary Neal: 0 for 4, 0 for 2 on threes, 1 for 2 at the foul line, 1 point, 1 reb., 2 assists, 2 turnovers, 2 steals
Towson opened the second half in a 2-3 zone, which Bucknell scored against on three of its first four possessions of the second half. The third score, a Mastropaolo reverse layup, resulted in Kennedy calling another timeout, unwilling to wait for the first media stoppage.
Neal's first field goal of the game came when he put back his own miss with 15:42 to play. Neal was 0 for his first 6 shots, including one blocked by McNaughton on Neal's first try of the second half. That was McNaughton's third block, a career high. Neal followed his first bucket with a long fadeaway jumper on Towson's next possession.
Bucknell 45, Towson 27, 14:50 to play
Towson closed to within 17 on a three-point play by Abraham, but Bucknell answered with a quick 6-0 spurt, prompting Kennedy to burn Towson's last timeout with 11:59 to play, Bucknell up 55-32. A media timeout came 17 seconds later.
Once he got started, Neal put on a little bit of a show, scoring 12 straight points for Towson, including a pair of threes, the first two treys for the Tigers on 15 tries.
Bucknell 63, Towson 46, 6:57 to play)
Eight of Neal's points came during a 12-2 Towson run that cut Bucknell's lead to 13 (64-51) with about 5:10 to play.
Pat Flannery emptied his bench with about 2 minutes to go. Kennedy kept his starters on the floor to the end, going on a late 11-4 run that made the final look closer than it really was.
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American accomplished the feat once, winning four straight back in late November and early December. Navy did it twice back around the same time. Only Army, Bucknell and Holy Cross have managed to win at least three in a row in conference play. All three of Army's league wins came in an eight-day span against Lehigh, American and Navy -- all three at home.
Bucknell 10, Towson 8 11:59 first half
Bucknell 24, Towson 13, 5:56 first half)
HALFTIME: Bucknell 36, Towson 21
Stats: Bucknell 13 of 23 - 56.5 percent from the field, 2 of 8 from three-point range, 8 of 11 at the foul line. 7 turnovers, 9 assists, 20 rebounds
Towson 8 of 28 (28.6 percent), 0 of 8 from the arc, 5 of 6 at the stripe, 4 turnovers, 3 assists, 12 rebounds
Bucknell individual leaders: McNaughton 8 for 10, 17 points, 6 rebounds, 2 blocks
Towson: Winstonn Tubbs, Dennard Abraham and Spruill each with 6 points, Tubbs has 5 rebounds
Gary Neal: 0 for 4, 0 for 2 on threes, 1 for 2 at the foul line, 1 point, 1 reb., 2 assists, 2 turnovers, 2 steals
Bucknell 45, Towson 27, 14:50 to play
Bucknell 63, Towson 46, 6:57 to play)
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Bison needs a way to deal with Neal.
Any talk about Towson begins with guard Gary Neal. It usually does not go far past the 6-4 senior, either. The rest of Towson's roster reminds you of the former major league executive who once questioned the need to pay a whole roster of minor league players so you have guys for the four or five actual prospects to throw the ball to.
Averaging over 25 points per game, Neal is the primary, secondary and tertiary option in almost everything Toswon runs on offense. The No. 4 scorer in the nation, Neal has scored in double figures in all 27 of Towson's games, going over 20 in 20 of those. Eight times he has scored 30 or more. His season high is 41.
Forget anbout your run of the mill 1,000-point scorers. This guy has done it twice -- at two different schools (he scored 1,000 at LaSalle before transferring). Only two other guys have ever done that.
Neal is a 45.1 percent shooter, an impressive stat considering close to half his shots come from the three-point arc, where he has made 83 of 245 (33.9 percent).
"The guy can make incredible shots from long distances. He can make them off the catch. He makes them off the dribble. He doesn’t feel the pressure of any defense. When he misses, it’s normally not that the defense made him miss. He just happened to miss the shot,” said George Mason coach Jim Larranaga.
Neal is not without a supporting cast.
Abraham Dennard, a 6-8 senior forward, averages 11.1 points per game, much coming on garbage from Neal's missed shots. A third of his 6.4 rebounds per game come on the offensive glass. Dennard will step out from time to time to jack up a three. Let him. He is 9 for 40 on the season.
Also up front is Tommy Breaux, a 6-9, 210-pounder who doubles as a tight end for the Tigers football team. Breaux is a 61.9 percent shooter and has blocked 57 shots.
Point guard C.C. Williams, averages 4.1 assists per game, most coming when he throws the ball to Neal.
Coaching the Tigers is Pat Kennedy, a guy whose star has faded considerably since his heady days at Florida State. In the first 13 years of his head coaching career, through stops at Iona and Florida State. Kennedy's teams posted just one non-winning season in that stretch, making 10 trips to the postseason, including a Sweet 16 and an Elite Eight with the Seminoles.
The last 13 years have been a different story. In 1994, a season removed from the Elite Eight appearance, Kennedy began s stretch of three straight losing seasons. After a trip to the NIT finals in 1997, Kennedy moved on to DePaul, where he sandwiched three losing seasons around two postseason appearances (2nd round NIT in 1999, first round NCAA in 2000). The other 10 seasons, including his first two at Towson, have been below .500.
If Kennedy's team is going to finish .500 or above this season, it probably needs a win at Bucknell. Towson is 13-13, with conference games at Old Dominion and home against Drexel remaining on its Colonial Athletic Conference slate.
This is not the game the Bison had hoped for when they penciled in a rare non-conference home game for this date. Bucknell was hoping to be playing a highly regarded opponent on national television. Sort of like last year's Northern Iowa game, but at home in Sojka Pavilion.
Instead they draw a .500 poor sister from the CAA. The sort of conference they'd hoped for, not the sort of team. Those CAA teams -- the Virginia Commonwealths, the Drexels, the Hofstras -- they all are playing teams that didn't bust their brackets in the first four games of the season.
In the midst of a tough conference race, this sort of game screams watch out for a letdown. For a team like Towson, struggling for its first winning season in a while, a shot at a team with Bucknell's recent reputation is a chance to gain some respect.
Where does Bucknell's motivation come from? Face it, in a lot of ways, this game is meaningless. It won't have anything to do with the Bison's chance of getting into the Big Dance. Given their current RPI and record, it is not likely to make much difference on possible seeding should the Bucknell with the Patriot League title.
Enter the age-old end of season motivator -- Senior Day. Sending out this team's three seniors -- Chris McNaughton, Abe Badmus and the injured Donald Brown -- with a win and a place in Bison history should be more than enough spark.
Limited tickets are available. They will go on sale at noon at Sojka Pavilion. It would be a shame if their fellow students don't pack the building for McNaughton, Badmus and Donald Brown, who are currently share the school record with the Class of 1987 for most wins by one class (82).
The Bison can't let the emotion of the afternoon influence their style of play. They need to guard against getting into an up and down affair with Towson. A key to Bucknell's recent success has been the ability to dictate pace. With Neal likely to jack shots up from anywhere at anytime, it will be important to be patient on the offensive end. The last thing Pat Flannery wants to see is his team playing chuck and duck, trying to outscore the Tigers.
Expect the Bison to use Abe Badmus to try to slow down Neal, especially on the perimeter. The key phrase there is "slow down." You don't stop a guy like Neal. He is going to get his points. The key is to make him work very hard to get them. Make him work hard to get the ball, and make him work hard to get his shots.
On offense, Bucknell continues to get good balance between its big guys inside and its guards. Badmus has picked up his offense the last several games -- one of the keys in their current nine-game win streak.
Another key has been McNaughton, who seems to have shaken the funk that enveloped him early in the season. McNaughton has been a man on fire, scoring in double figures each of the last eight games while stepping up his rebounding.
John Griffin has emerged as a steady scoring option, too. Griffin has pushed his scoring average up into double figures (10.2 ppg) over the past few weeks.
This will not be the last home game for the three seniors. The Bison are guaranteed a home game in the first round of the league playoffs and will also host in the semifinals if they advance. They are also still in contention for the top seed and a chance to host the final.
With two tough road games next week, Bucknell wants a strong showing in the regular season home finale to feed the momentum down the stretch.
| (Daily Item)
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Any talk about Towson begins with guard Gary Neal. It usually does not go far past the 6-4 senior, either. The rest of Towson's roster reminds you of the former major league executive who once questioned the need to pay a whole roster of minor league players so you have guys for the four or five actual prospects to throw the ball to.
Averaging over 25 points per game, Neal is the primary, secondary and tertiary option in almost everything Toswon runs on offense. The No. 4 scorer in the nation, Neal has scored in double figures in all 27 of Towson's games, going over 20 in 20 of those. Eight times he has scored 30 or more. His season high is 41.
Forget anbout your run of the mill 1,000-point scorers. This guy has done it twice -- at two different schools (he scored 1,000 at LaSalle before transferring). Only two other guys have ever done that.
Neal is a 45.1 percent shooter, an impressive stat considering close to half his shots come from the three-point arc, where he has made 83 of 245 (33.9 percent).
"The guy can make incredible shots from long distances. He can make them off the catch. He makes them off the dribble. He doesn’t feel the pressure of any defense. When he misses, it’s normally not that the defense made him miss. He just happened to miss the shot,” said George Mason coach Jim Larranaga.
Neal is not without a supporting cast.
Abraham Dennard, a 6-8 senior forward, averages 11.1 points per game, much coming on garbage from Neal's missed shots. A third of his 6.4 rebounds per game come on the offensive glass. Dennard will step out from time to time to jack up a three. Let him. He is 9 for 40 on the season.
Also up front is Tommy Breaux, a 6-9, 210-pounder who doubles as a tight end for the Tigers football team. Breaux is a 61.9 percent shooter and has blocked 57 shots.
Point guard C.C. Williams, averages 4.1 assists per game, most coming when he throws the ball to Neal.
Coaching the Tigers is Pat Kennedy, a guy whose star has faded considerably since his heady days at Florida State. In the first 13 years of his head coaching career, through stops at Iona and Florida State. Kennedy's teams posted just one non-winning season in that stretch, making 10 trips to the postseason, including a Sweet 16 and an Elite Eight with the Seminoles.
The last 13 years have been a different story. In 1994, a season removed from the Elite Eight appearance, Kennedy began s stretch of three straight losing seasons. After a trip to the NIT finals in 1997, Kennedy moved on to DePaul, where he sandwiched three losing seasons around two postseason appearances (2nd round NIT in 1999, first round NCAA in 2000). The other 10 seasons, including his first two at Towson, have been below .500.
If Kennedy's team is going to finish .500 or above this season, it probably needs a win at Bucknell. Towson is 13-13, with conference games at Old Dominion and home against Drexel remaining on its Colonial Athletic Conference slate.
This is not the game the Bison had hoped for when they penciled in a rare non-conference home game for this date. Bucknell was hoping to be playing a highly regarded opponent on national television. Sort of like last year's Northern Iowa game, but at home in Sojka Pavilion.
Instead they draw a .500 poor sister from the CAA. The sort of conference they'd hoped for, not the sort of team. Those CAA teams -- the Virginia Commonwealths, the Drexels, the Hofstras -- they all are playing teams that didn't bust their brackets in the first four games of the season.
In the midst of a tough conference race, this sort of game screams watch out for a letdown. For a team like Towson, struggling for its first winning season in a while, a shot at a team with Bucknell's recent reputation is a chance to gain some respect.
Where does Bucknell's motivation come from? Face it, in a lot of ways, this game is meaningless. It won't have anything to do with the Bison's chance of getting into the Big Dance. Given their current RPI and record, it is not likely to make much difference on possible seeding should the Bucknell with the Patriot League title.
Enter the age-old end of season motivator -- Senior Day. Sending out this team's three seniors -- Chris McNaughton, Abe Badmus and the injured Donald Brown -- with a win and a place in Bison history should be more than enough spark.
Limited tickets are available. They will go on sale at noon at Sojka Pavilion. It would be a shame if their fellow students don't pack the building for McNaughton, Badmus and Donald Brown, who are currently share the school record with the Class of 1987 for most wins by one class (82).
The Bison can't let the emotion of the afternoon influence their style of play. They need to guard against getting into an up and down affair with Towson. A key to Bucknell's recent success has been the ability to dictate pace. With Neal likely to jack shots up from anywhere at anytime, it will be important to be patient on the offensive end. The last thing Pat Flannery wants to see is his team playing chuck and duck, trying to outscore the Tigers.
Expect the Bison to use Abe Badmus to try to slow down Neal, especially on the perimeter. The key phrase there is "slow down." You don't stop a guy like Neal. He is going to get his points. The key is to make him work very hard to get them. Make him work hard to get the ball, and make him work hard to get his shots.
On offense, Bucknell continues to get good balance between its big guys inside and its guards. Badmus has picked up his offense the last several games -- one of the keys in their current nine-game win streak.
Another key has been McNaughton, who seems to have shaken the funk that enveloped him early in the season. McNaughton has been a man on fire, scoring in double figures each of the last eight games while stepping up his rebounding.
John Griffin has emerged as a steady scoring option, too. Griffin has pushed his scoring average up into double figures (10.2 ppg) over the past few weeks.
This will not be the last home game for the three seniors. The Bison are guaranteed a home game in the first round of the league playoffs and will also host in the semifinals if they advance. They are also still in contention for the top seed and a chance to host the final.
With two tough road games next week, Bucknell wants a strong showing in the regular season home finale to feed the momentum down the stretch.
| (Daily Item)
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Friday, February 16, 2007
(Originally posted Thurs., 10:50 p.m., links added at 8:19 a.m.)
A few hours after Holy Cross pulled a half-game ahead in the standings with a win at Navy, Bucknell pasted Lafayette to keep pace.
Just like Holy Cross, Bucknell had an easy time of it. The Bison (17-8 overall, 11-1 Patriot)blew out to a 20 point lead at the half and coasted to a 76-58 win over last place Lafayette (8-18, 2-9). The win was Bucknell's 33rd straight league win in Sojka Pavilion.
Lafayette led once -- 3-2 on an Andrew Brown three that followed a Chris McNaughton dunk on Bucknell's opening possession. John Griffin answered with a three for the Bison and Bucknell led the rest of the way.
A 9-0 spurt in the middle of the first half pushed the Bison lead from 13-8 to 22-8. Lafayette never gothttp://www2.blogger.com/img/gl.link.gif closer than 12 points back the rest of the way. The Bison hit 15 of 28 (53.6 percent) from the field in the first half, holding the Leopards to a 6 for 24 start.
The difference at the half was 41-21 and the lead stretched to as many as 26 in the second half.
McNaughton had a big night, finishing with 21 points, 6 rebounds and 4 assists. Griffin finished with 16 and Abe Badmus added 13.
Perhaps the most impressive line in the box score belongs to Darren Mastropaolo. In his third game back in the Bison starting lineup, Mastropaolo had 11 rebounds, 8 points, 6 assists and 2 steals.
Matt Betley was the only Lafayette player in double figures. Betley finished with 13 and had 6 rebounds. Lafayette shot 18 for 46 (39.1 percent) for the game, 7 of 20 on three-point tries.
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BONUS LINK" Surving quadruplets show encouraging signs (an update on the children of former Bucknell assistant Bryan Goodman by David Jones of The Patriot-News)
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A few hours after Holy Cross pulled a half-game ahead in the standings with a win at Navy, Bucknell pasted Lafayette to keep pace.
Just like Holy Cross, Bucknell had an easy time of it. The Bison (17-8 overall, 11-1 Patriot)blew out to a 20 point lead at the half and coasted to a 76-58 win over last place Lafayette (8-18, 2-9). The win was Bucknell's 33rd straight league win in Sojka Pavilion.
Lafayette led once -- 3-2 on an Andrew Brown three that followed a Chris McNaughton dunk on Bucknell's opening possession. John Griffin answered with a three for the Bison and Bucknell led the rest of the way.
A 9-0 spurt in the middle of the first half pushed the Bison lead from 13-8 to 22-8. Lafayette never gothttp://www2.blogger.com/img/gl.link.gif closer than 12 points back the rest of the way. The Bison hit 15 of 28 (53.6 percent) from the field in the first half, holding the Leopards to a 6 for 24 start.
The difference at the half was 41-21 and the lead stretched to as many as 26 in the second half.
McNaughton had a big night, finishing with 21 points, 6 rebounds and 4 assists. Griffin finished with 16 and Abe Badmus added 13.
Perhaps the most impressive line in the box score belongs to Darren Mastropaolo. In his third game back in the Bison starting lineup, Mastropaolo had 11 rebounds, 8 points, 6 assists and 2 steals.
Matt Betley was the only Lafayette player in double figures. Betley finished with 13 and had 6 rebounds. Lafayette shot 18 for 46 (39.1 percent) for the game, 7 of 20 on three-point tries.
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Wednesday, February 14, 2007
It's looking like an Oreo cookie kind of night in the Patriot League tonight. The two league co-leaders take on two of the teams at the bottom of the standings, but the good stuff is the two game involving the four teams in the middle.
In Hamilton, Lehigh will face Colgate () looking for its seventh straight win over Colgate. A win would give the Mountain Hawks a three game lead over the Raiders in the win column and a virtual lock on a first round home game in the playoffs since Lehigh will have swept the season series with the Raiders and American, who sit in a tie for fourth place heading into tonight's action.
Lehigh's notes indicate senior center Jason Mgebroff will return to the lineup in the next week after being out since December due to a stress fracture in one of his legs. Whether that means as soon as tonight, Saturday's rivalry game at Lafayette, or a Willis Reed-like inspirational return at home against Bucknell or Holy Cross remains to be seen.
The Raiders are almost as bad at home (4-8) as Lehigh has been on the road (2-12). They have shown a particular knack for losing close games on their own floor. Colgate is 1-4 at home in league games, the four losses coming by a combined 18 points. including one loss in overtime.
In the nation's capital, American, still alive in the home-game hunt thanks to Colgate's Sunday blunder, hosts an Army five () that is barely clinging to its home for the first round life. After a promising 3-2 start in league play, the Black Knights have hit an 0-5 wall. Army probably has to go 4-0 down the stretch, starting tonight, to have a chance of hosting in round one. That would make them .500 in the league, which might just do it, given the mediocrity of the bottom five-eighths of the conference.
AU, with two more conference games after tonight, would be in good shape for a home game with a win tonight, especially coupled with a Colgate loss. The Eagles have the most favorable schedule of the teams battling for that fourth spot, with a home game against Lafayette and a visit to Navy left following tonight.
In Lewisburg, Bucknell will look to solidify the momentum of its win over Holy Cross when last place Lafayette comes calling (). The Leopards gave the Bison a battle in Easton last month. In Solka Pavilion, where Bucknell has can close out another unbeaten home league slate with a win, it should not be anywhere near as close.
This is the part of the season when Bucknell traditionally plays its best basketball. Since that win in Easton, the Bison have compiled an eight-game win streak. The only way it does not make it nine in a row is if they get caught got looking past the Leopards. A simple two-word message on the chalkboard should suffice. In big, orange letters, it should say "Central Arkansas."
Wrapping up the four-game slate tonight is Holy Cross visiting the Midshipmen of Navy (). Navy's five-game losing streak is history. In its place, a two-game win streak that began with a confidence building win at Lehigh.
The Mids are always an upset threat thanks to their five-man perimeter-oriented attack. Navy fires up half its shots from outside the arc. If a couple Mids get two or three in the same game, they could put up a lot of points.
Of course you can tell by Navy's 11-12 record in games against Division I teams, that has not happened a lot this season. And it would be asking a lot for it to happen against a team that plays defense the way Holy Cross does. Add in the extra motivation the Crusaders should have after losing at Bucknell and HC's huge edge in the frontcourt, and an upset seemes even more unlikely.
Should HC need extra motivation, it can look back two seasons to when Bucknell lost at American, then followed it with a loss at Navy, two setbacks that resulted in the Bison being forced to go on the road for the tournament final.
As the Crusaders know all too well, that scenario ended up working out OK for Bucknell. But HC would far prefer to sleep in its own beds throughout the playoffs. With senior leaders like Keith Simmons and Torey Thomas, don't expect the Crusaders to lose focus on the prize.
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In Hamilton, Lehigh will face Colgate () looking for its seventh straight win over Colgate. A win would give the Mountain Hawks a three game lead over the Raiders in the win column and a virtual lock on a first round home game in the playoffs since Lehigh will have swept the season series with the Raiders and American, who sit in a tie for fourth place heading into tonight's action.
Lehigh's notes indicate senior center Jason Mgebroff will return to the lineup in the next week after being out since December due to a stress fracture in one of his legs. Whether that means as soon as tonight, Saturday's rivalry game at Lafayette, or a Willis Reed-like inspirational return at home against Bucknell or Holy Cross remains to be seen.
The Raiders are almost as bad at home (4-8) as Lehigh has been on the road (2-12). They have shown a particular knack for losing close games on their own floor. Colgate is 1-4 at home in league games, the four losses coming by a combined 18 points. including one loss in overtime.
In the nation's capital, American, still alive in the home-game hunt thanks to Colgate's Sunday blunder, hosts an Army five () that is barely clinging to its home for the first round life. After a promising 3-2 start in league play, the Black Knights have hit an 0-5 wall. Army probably has to go 4-0 down the stretch, starting tonight, to have a chance of hosting in round one. That would make them .500 in the league, which might just do it, given the mediocrity of the bottom five-eighths of the conference.
AU, with two more conference games after tonight, would be in good shape for a home game with a win tonight, especially coupled with a Colgate loss. The Eagles have the most favorable schedule of the teams battling for that fourth spot, with a home game against Lafayette and a visit to Navy left following tonight.
In Lewisburg, Bucknell will look to solidify the momentum of its win over Holy Cross when last place Lafayette comes calling (). The Leopards gave the Bison a battle in Easton last month. In Solka Pavilion, where Bucknell has can close out another unbeaten home league slate with a win, it should not be anywhere near as close.
This is the part of the season when Bucknell traditionally plays its best basketball. Since that win in Easton, the Bison have compiled an eight-game win streak. The only way it does not make it nine in a row is if they get caught got looking past the Leopards. A simple two-word message on the chalkboard should suffice. In big, orange letters, it should say "Central Arkansas."
Wrapping up the four-game slate tonight is Holy Cross visiting the Midshipmen of Navy (). Navy's five-game losing streak is history. In its place, a two-game win streak that began with a confidence building win at Lehigh.
The Mids are always an upset threat thanks to their five-man perimeter-oriented attack. Navy fires up half its shots from outside the arc. If a couple Mids get two or three in the same game, they could put up a lot of points.
Of course you can tell by Navy's 11-12 record in games against Division I teams, that has not happened a lot this season. And it would be asking a lot for it to happen against a team that plays defense the way Holy Cross does. Add in the extra motivation the Crusaders should have after losing at Bucknell and HC's huge edge in the frontcourt, and an upset seemes even more unlikely.
Should HC need extra motivation, it can look back two seasons to when Bucknell lost at American, then followed it with a loss at Navy, two setbacks that resulted in the Bison being forced to go on the road for the tournament final.
As the Crusaders know all too well, that scenario ended up working out OK for Bucknell. But HC would far prefer to sleep in its own beds throughout the playoffs. With senior leaders like Keith Simmons and Torey Thomas, don't expect the Crusaders to lose focus on the prize.
Labels: Army, AU, BU, CU, HC, Laf, Leh, Navy, previews
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Monday, February 12, 2007
As usual, we will update this evening with the latest Mid Major Top 25. In the meantime, here are a few links to help you kill a little time as you ease into the work week:
The back of the Holy Cross women's warm-up tops says "Hail our colors." Andre Williams of The Morning Call says .
Coaches always warn you not to look past the next game. We aren't playing, so here are a few sites where Bucknell and Holy Cross fans can scout their BracketBusters opponents: | | | |
Not wanting both of Colgate's fans to feel left out, here is a report on
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Saturday, February 10, 2007
Leftover tidbits and trivial observations from Bucknell's 48-45 win over Holy Cross: Holy Cross opened the game with a 12-2 run in the first 4:16 of the game, then was outscored 20-15 the rest of the half.
The Crusaders were hurt by foul trouble up front, with both Tim Clifford and Alex Vander Baan forced to the bench the last 4 minutes of the half with two personals each. Abe Badmus had two for Bucknell.
Bucknell's offense during Holy Cross' run was limited to a Chris McNaughton foul line jumper on the first possession of the game. Justin Castleberry entered the game at the first TV timeout and hit a pair of buckets, including a three-pointer, to spark a 9-2 Bucknell run that got the Bison back in the game. McNaughton had the other four points, finishing the half 4 for 7 from the field with 8 points. Castleberry was 3 for 4, with 2 treys, good for 10 points. The rest of Bucknell's roster was 2 for 12 from the field in the half.
Holy Cross was more balanced, with Keith Simmons 4 for 6, 9 points in the half. Clifford and Torey Thomas each had 5 points, Vander Baan added 4.
Bucknell obviously needed to find scoring from someone besides Castleberry and McNaughton. Early in the second half, that answer was Abe Badmus, who started the half beating Thomas on dribble penetration for a layup, then hit a jumper off a curl screen to make it a one-point game. Moments later he came up with a steal on the defensive end, then, after a Thomas foul, hit his firsts trey of the game to give Bucknell a 29-28 lead with 18:16 to play.
Vander Baan picked up two fouls in the first four minutes of the second half, returned with four fouls around the 8:58 mark and fouled out 32 seconds later while being outhustled for a loose ball by Darren Mastropaolo after a rebound was tipped out by McNaughton. Mastropaolo made both foul shots for a 39-35 Bucknell lead. Vander Baan played just 18 minutes, finishing with 4 points and 1 rebound.
Holy Cross responded with a 7-0 run, sparked by a Thomas three, followed by two Thomas free throws and two more by Simmons, going back on top by 3. The Crusaders stayed on top until Mastropaolo put Buucknell ahead for good with two free throws at the 3:52 mark.
Holy Cross managed only 4 field goals the entire second half. Simmons, who had Abe Badmus hounding him the entire half, managed only three shots after the half, making just one, a three-pointer with 12 seconds left. Simmons' three was Holy Cross' only score in the final 5:27.
The Crusaders first field goal of the second half came after going without for the first 3:39 of the half. Their last field goal of the first half came with 2:17 to go in the half. In other words, the tone for the second half was set late in the first. Not counting the 15 minutes of the intermission, HC had gone 5:56 without a field goal when Thomas made a steal and went coast-to-coast for a layup at the 16:31 mark of the second half. It would be another 4:09 until the Crusadsers' next bucket -- a Colin Cunningham three, and 4:27 more until Thomas hit another three at the 7:55 mark. Simmons' late three, the Crusaders only other field goal of the half, came 7:43 later.
If and when these two meet again, expect Holy Cross to do one thing very different. If Bucknell decides again to use Abe Badmus, who, as he put it, is 6-feet tall with his shoes on, to guard the 6-5 Simmons, HC will respond by posting Simmons more.
"The mistake was, Badmus playing Keith, we need to get Keith down low. That's a mismatch," said Torey Thomas, who took it on himself for failing to exploit the size difference, saying, "That is a point guard mistake."
"We ran four or five plays for (Simmons) to post up and we didn't get him the ball," said Willard, who credited Bucknell's ball pressure for making it tough to make that entry pass.
The battle of the big men was dominated by Bucknell this time around. After being outplayed by HC's Tim Clifford in the first game in Worcester, Bucknell's Chris McNaughton turned the table. mcNaughton scored 9 points and grabbed 10 rebounds, dished off an assist, blocked a shot and had just one turnover. Clifford finished with 5 points, 1 rebound, and three turnovers. Clifford also had a pair of blocks and a steal. Between them, Holy Cross' staring front line of Vander baan and Clifford managed 2 rebounds to 15 for Bucknell's combination of Mastropaolo and McNaughton.
Holy Cross backup center, 6-11 sophomore Greg McCarthy managed just a single rebound and 2 turnovers in 15 minutes, making him about equal in production to Bucknell's 6-11 sophomore Josh Linthicum, who played two minutes, with a single foul the only non-zero in his box score line.
Crusaders freshman Eric Meister had a slight edge on Bucknell freshman Patrick behan in the battle of 6-8 backup four men. Meister played 21 minutes, finishing with 6 rebounds and 2 points (1 for 3 shooting). Behan scored 6 points (on 3 for 4 shooting) and grabbed one board in 12 minutes.
Bucknell's Jason Vegotsky, who struggled to match Simmons' and Thomas' quickness on defense, played a season-low 13 minutes and was held scoreless for the first time this season. It was just the third time all season Vegotsky failed to hit a single three. Vegotsky took just one shot.
The standing room only crowd of 4,209 was the fourth largest in Bucknell history and the largest ever for a Patriot League game in Sojka.
The win, Bucknell's second of the season against a Top 100 RPI team, boosted the Bison into that realm. Bucknell is now No. 95 in the RPI, according to Ken Pomeroy's latest calculations. Holy Cross dropped 3 spots to No. 63 with the loss.
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"The mistake was, Badmus playing Keith, we need to get Keith down low. That's a mismatch," said Torey Thomas, who took it on himself for failing to exploit the size difference, saying, "That is a point guard mistake."
"We ran four or five plays for (Simmons) to post up and we didn't get him the ball," said Willard, who credited Bucknell's ball pressure for making it tough to make that entry pass.
Holy Cross backup center, 6-11 sophomore Greg McCarthy managed just a single rebound and 2 turnovers in 15 minutes, making him about equal in production to Bucknell's 6-11 sophomore Josh Linthicum, who played two minutes, with a single foul the only non-zero in his box score line.
Crusaders freshman Eric Meister had a slight edge on Bucknell freshman Patrick behan in the battle of 6-8 backup four men. Meister played 21 minutes, finishing with 6 rebounds and 2 points (1 for 3 shooting). Behan scored 6 points (on 3 for 4 shooting) and grabbed one board in 12 minutes.
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Friday, February 09, 2007
Bucknell's 2006 record as the only team to go unbeaten in Patriot League will stand at least one full season after the Bison knocked off Holy Cross.
BY CHRIS A. COUROGEN
According to the popular urban legend, every year, when the last unbeaten NFL team suffers a loss, the members of the 1972 Miami Dolphins gather together to celebrate with a bottle of champagne.
It doesn't really happen; the members of the only team to go through an entire NFL season unblemished is far too spread out for such a gathering to take place. But it makes a good story.
There are no such tales about last season's Bucknell basketball team. None are likely to start, either. Not with half of the team still under 21 and the four graduated seniors from the only team to go unbeaten in Patriot League play scattered to the wind. Charles Lee is playing professionally in Israel. Kevin Bettencourt teaches school in Massachusetts. Reserve forward Holland Mack is coaching a high school freshman team in Jersey. Tarik Viaer-McClymont is out there waiting for us to put him on a .
It would be little surprise if the players from last season's Bison team were burning up the Internet with a few congratulatory e-mails after they knocked Holy Cross from the ranks of the league unbeaten with a 48-45 win in a Sojka Pavilion dogfight. The loss ends the Crusaders' 12-game win streak and their dreams of matching Bucknell's 17-0 2006 record and creates a tie between the two for first place in the conference standings. It could also mean HC seniors Torey Thomas and Keith Simmons end their outstanding carers never having won a game in Sojka, where Bucknell (16-8, 10-1) has now won 32 straight Patriot League games.
What it does not mean is that the Crusaders (19-7 overall, 10-1 Patriot) will have to make another trip to Lewisburg this season. Even though almost everybody who follows the conference expects these two to play a rubber match in the March 9 conference final. If both win out in their three remaining league games, that would put that game in Worcester, assuming both make it to the finals. If both finish 13-1 in league play, Holy Cross, which won the first meeting back on Jan. 12 in the Hart Center, has the tiebreaker edge due to an insurmountable edge in the RPI.
"We still have our fate in our hands," said Holy Cross coach Ralph Willard.
"We just have to get the next three games in conference and come back home," said Thomas, who finished with 12 points and four steals, but had an uncharacteristic five turnovers and shot just 3 for 12 from the field, including a miss on an open three from the left corner that could have sent the game into overtime
"That felt real good coming out of my hand. I should have connected on that. Big shots, you've got to make them in big games," Thomas said.
Thomas was not the only guy who struggled to make shots. Holy Cross finished the night 14 of 41 (34.1 percent) from the field. Bucknell was not a lot better, making 17 of 43 (39.5 percent).
"I knew this would be a defensive struggle," said Willard "It was not a pretty basketball game."
That was not all Willard knew ahead of time. He's no psychic, but he knew what play Bucknell was going to run when they inbounded the ball out of a timeout, up 43-42, with 11 seconds on the shot clock, 1:11 left in the game. During the timeout, Willard told his team to expect Bucknell to run a play designed to get junior John Griffin a three-point look in the corner.
"We worked on that play 30 minutes in the walk-through today," said Willard.
"That was a bad defensive adjustment. We knew the play and we didn't get the stop," added Thomas.
Knowing it was coming and stopping it proved to be two different things. Bucknell point guard Abe Badmus skipped the ball over the Holy Cross defense, his pass barely getting over the outstretched hand of Keith Simmons, who was caught between Griffin and another Bucknell shooter on the arc. It was Griffin's only three-pointer of the night, coming after he missed his first five. He never hesitated.
"It came to my hands. My immediate reaction was to shoot the ball," Griffin said.
Had the reaction been a nano second after he caught it, Simmons probably would have deposited the ball in the second row of the seats. The 6-5 senior Simmons recovered quickly; Griffin got the shot off quicker, just barely clearing the leaping Simmons before finding the bottom of the net for a 46-42 Bucknell lead.
"They made the play they had to," said Willard. "That three was a dagger."
Bucknell stretched the lead to 48-42 on a pair of Badmus free throws with 38 seconds left. But the Bison were 0 for 4 at the line the rest of the way, leaving the door open for Holy Cross to try to come back. The Crusaders got a foot in the door when Simmons hit a three-pointer with 12 seconds left, but Thomas' mis at the buzzer left them outside, looking in.
Simmon's finished with 15 points to lead all scorers, but the leading candidate for tghe league's player of the year honors was blanketed by Bucknell's Badmus the second half. With Badmus all but inside Simmons' jersey, the league's top scorer only managed to get off three shots in the second half. That late three was the only one he made.
Nine of Simmons points came in the first half; seven during a 12-2 Holy Cross run to open the game. The Crusaders rode that cushion to a 27-22 lead at the half, but managed only four field goals and 18 points total after the break.
Sophomore Justin Castleberry was the only Bucknell player in double figures, coming off the bench to score 10 points. Senior Center Chris McNaughton added 9 and had a game-high 10 rebounds, getting Holy Cross' big men in foul trouble in the process. Forward Alex Vander Baan fouled out and center Tim Clifford finished with 4 fouls. Clifford had just one rebound, a big reason Bucknell held a 29-24 edge on the boards.
Holy Cross will look to bounce back Wednesday when it visits the Naval Academy.
Bucknell is at home against Lafayette Wednesday, then closes the league season on the road at Lehigh and Army.
| Postgame audio (HC players Keith Simmons and Torey Thomas, HC coach Ralph Willard, Bucknell coach Pat Flannery, players John Griffin, Chris McNaughton and Abe Badmus) | | | | | Morning Call |
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BY CHRIS A. COUROGEN
According to the popular urban legend, every year, when the last unbeaten NFL team suffers a loss, the members of the 1972 Miami Dolphins gather together to celebrate with a bottle of champagne.
It doesn't really happen; the members of the only team to go through an entire NFL season unblemished is far too spread out for such a gathering to take place. But it makes a good story.
There are no such tales about last season's Bucknell basketball team. None are likely to start, either. Not with half of the team still under 21 and the four graduated seniors from the only team to go unbeaten in Patriot League play scattered to the wind. Charles Lee is playing professionally in Israel. Kevin Bettencourt teaches school in Massachusetts. Reserve forward Holland Mack is coaching a high school freshman team in Jersey. Tarik Viaer-McClymont is out there waiting for us to put him on a .
It would be little surprise if the players from last season's Bison team were burning up the Internet with a few congratulatory e-mails after they knocked Holy Cross from the ranks of the league unbeaten with a 48-45 win in a Sojka Pavilion dogfight. The loss ends the Crusaders' 12-game win streak and their dreams of matching Bucknell's 17-0 2006 record and creates a tie between the two for first place in the conference standings. It could also mean HC seniors Torey Thomas and Keith Simmons end their outstanding carers never having won a game in Sojka, where Bucknell (16-8, 10-1) has now won 32 straight Patriot League games.
What it does not mean is that the Crusaders (19-7 overall, 10-1 Patriot) will have to make another trip to Lewisburg this season. Even though almost everybody who follows the conference expects these two to play a rubber match in the March 9 conference final. If both win out in their three remaining league games, that would put that game in Worcester, assuming both make it to the finals. If both finish 13-1 in league play, Holy Cross, which won the first meeting back on Jan. 12 in the Hart Center, has the tiebreaker edge due to an insurmountable edge in the RPI.
"We still have our fate in our hands," said Holy Cross coach Ralph Willard.
"We just have to get the next three games in conference and come back home," said Thomas, who finished with 12 points and four steals, but had an uncharacteristic five turnovers and shot just 3 for 12 from the field, including a miss on an open three from the left corner that could have sent the game into overtime
"That felt real good coming out of my hand. I should have connected on that. Big shots, you've got to make them in big games," Thomas said.
Thomas was not the only guy who struggled to make shots. Holy Cross finished the night 14 of 41 (34.1 percent) from the field. Bucknell was not a lot better, making 17 of 43 (39.5 percent).
"I knew this would be a defensive struggle," said Willard "It was not a pretty basketball game."
That was not all Willard knew ahead of time. He's no psychic, but he knew what play Bucknell was going to run when they inbounded the ball out of a timeout, up 43-42, with 11 seconds on the shot clock, 1:11 left in the game. During the timeout, Willard told his team to expect Bucknell to run a play designed to get junior John Griffin a three-point look in the corner.
"We worked on that play 30 minutes in the walk-through today," said Willard.
"That was a bad defensive adjustment. We knew the play and we didn't get the stop," added Thomas.
Knowing it was coming and stopping it proved to be two different things. Bucknell point guard Abe Badmus skipped the ball over the Holy Cross defense, his pass barely getting over the outstretched hand of Keith Simmons, who was caught between Griffin and another Bucknell shooter on the arc. It was Griffin's only three-pointer of the night, coming after he missed his first five. He never hesitated.
"It came to my hands. My immediate reaction was to shoot the ball," Griffin said.
Had the reaction been a nano second after he caught it, Simmons probably would have deposited the ball in the second row of the seats. The 6-5 senior Simmons recovered quickly; Griffin got the shot off quicker, just barely clearing the leaping Simmons before finding the bottom of the net for a 46-42 Bucknell lead.
"They made the play they had to," said Willard. "That three was a dagger."
Bucknell stretched the lead to 48-42 on a pair of Badmus free throws with 38 seconds left. But the Bison were 0 for 4 at the line the rest of the way, leaving the door open for Holy Cross to try to come back. The Crusaders got a foot in the door when Simmons hit a three-pointer with 12 seconds left, but Thomas' mis at the buzzer left them outside, looking in.
Simmon's finished with 15 points to lead all scorers, but the leading candidate for tghe league's player of the year honors was blanketed by Bucknell's Badmus the second half. With Badmus all but inside Simmons' jersey, the league's top scorer only managed to get off three shots in the second half. That late three was the only one he made.
Nine of Simmons points came in the first half; seven during a 12-2 Holy Cross run to open the game. The Crusaders rode that cushion to a 27-22 lead at the half, but managed only four field goals and 18 points total after the break.
Sophomore Justin Castleberry was the only Bucknell player in double figures, coming off the bench to score 10 points. Senior Center Chris McNaughton added 9 and had a game-high 10 rebounds, getting Holy Cross' big men in foul trouble in the process. Forward Alex Vander Baan fouled out and center Tim Clifford finished with 4 fouls. Clifford had just one rebound, a big reason Bucknell held a 29-24 edge on the boards.
Holy Cross will look to bounce back Wednesday when it visits the Naval Academy.
Bucknell is at home against Lafayette Wednesday, then closes the league season on the road at Lehigh and Army.
| Postgame audio (HC players Keith Simmons and Torey Thomas, HC coach Ralph Willard, Bucknell coach Pat Flannery, players John Griffin, Chris McNaughton and Abe Badmus) | | | | | Morning Call |
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Bucknell forward Donald brown is hoping to return from his broken hand in as little as three weeks. A doctor with serious sports medicine credentials says that is "extremely optimistic."
Brown suffered the injury, a break of the third metacarpal bone in his right, shooting, hand, when he was fouled going to the basket during Bucknell's Jan. 30 win at Colgate. Doctors operated two days later, placing pins in the bone to speed the healing. brown has also been fitted with an electronic bone growth stimulator to help speed the healing.
If it were you or I, Bucknell coach Pat Flannery said last week after the Navy game, doctors would place the hand in a cast that would come off when it healed, probably in about two months.
Brown is not you or I, though. He is his team's leading scorer and the league's leading rebounder. Beyond his value to the team, he is a senior playing a final season that will be long over in two months. Thus the extra measures the doctors are taking to get him back on the floor. Aftyer the Navy game, Brown said he hoped to be back in three weeks.
"With elite athletes, using aggressive techniques for rehabilitation is not unreasonable," says Dr. Benjamin Wedro, a board certified emergency physician who practices in a regional trauma center in La Crosse,Wisconsin.
When he is not working the emergency room in La Crosse, Wedro can often be found providing care and medical expertise at major sporting events worldwide. Wedro]has been a presence at Olympic Games including Albertville, Lillehammer, Nagano, Salt Lake City, Athens and Turin, providing on-site medical care and medical background information for both CBS and the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.
According to Wedro, the normal recovery time for an injury such as Brown's is at least four to six weeks.
"Three weeks is very optimistic," Wedro says. "I think that is unlikely."
Especially since it is Brown's shooting hand, which means the amount of padding or protection he ca wear is limited.
"If it were the non-shooting hand, it would be different," says Wedro.
For those who dig watching Discovery Health channel and the like, here is a little of Wedro's technical take on Brown's situation:
Each case is different, Wedro cautions. He provided the information without the benefit of having examined Brown or seeing Browbn's X-rays. Brown's doctors are likely taking weekly X-rays to check the progress of the healing.
"It sounds like they are giving him the best chance of getting back they can," Wedro says.
(Daily Item)
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Brown suffered the injury, a break of the third metacarpal bone in his right, shooting, hand, when he was fouled going to the basket during Bucknell's Jan. 30 win at Colgate. Doctors operated two days later, placing pins in the bone to speed the healing. brown has also been fitted with an electronic bone growth stimulator to help speed the healing.
If it were you or I, Bucknell coach Pat Flannery said last week after the Navy game, doctors would place the hand in a cast that would come off when it healed, probably in about two months.
Brown is not you or I, though. He is his team's leading scorer and the league's leading rebounder. Beyond his value to the team, he is a senior playing a final season that will be long over in two months. Thus the extra measures the doctors are taking to get him back on the floor. Aftyer the Navy game, Brown said he hoped to be back in three weeks.
"With elite athletes, using aggressive techniques for rehabilitation is not unreasonable," says Dr. Benjamin Wedro, a board certified emergency physician who practices in a regional trauma center in La Crosse,Wisconsin.
When he is not working the emergency room in La Crosse, Wedro can often be found providing care and medical expertise at major sporting events worldwide. Wedro]has been a presence at Olympic Games including Albertville, Lillehammer, Nagano, Salt Lake City, Athens and Turin, providing on-site medical care and medical background information for both CBS and the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.
According to Wedro, the normal recovery time for an injury such as Brown's is at least four to six weeks.
"Three weeks is very optimistic," Wedro says. "I think that is unlikely."
Especially since it is Brown's shooting hand, which means the amount of padding or protection he ca wear is limited.
"If it were the non-shooting hand, it would be different," says Wedro.
For those who dig watching Discovery Health channel and the like, here is a little of Wedro's technical take on Brown's situation:
Second or third metacarpal fractures are treated a little differently than the others and are more often surgically fixed with pins. The recovery time is 4-6 weeks or until there is evidence of healing on X-ray. These two metacarpals are fixed and form the skeleton of the hand and are not allowed to shorten or rotate when healing. Fourth and Fifth metacarpals "float" (check your own hand and see how you can move them) and can tolerate some shortening when they heal and still allow the ring and little fingers to have normal function. Only small amounts of angulation (less than 10 degrees) are acceptable in the second and third metacarpals. The fourth and fifth finger metacarpals can accept angulation of 20 and 30 degrees.Wedro says use of such devices for smaller bones is a relatively new concept, but soem recent studies have supported the concept.
Different types of operations can be used from routine pinning to using small
plates and screws. There is also a type of pinning called "boutique pinning"
where small pins are placed through the inside of the bone and can be left in
place. The thought is that activity can be started even sooner.
Use of bone stimulators is relatively common, but more often in longer bones.
Each case is different, Wedro cautions. He provided the information without the benefit of having examined Brown or seeing Browbn's X-rays. Brown's doctors are likely taking weekly X-rays to check the progress of the healing.
"It sounds like they are giving him the best chance of getting back they can," Wedro says.
Labels: BU
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Here I am again right where I know I shouldn't be
I've been caught inside this trap too many times
I must've walked these steps and said these words a thousand times before
It seems like I know everybody's lines.
The whole league is better. It's not just Bucknell and Holy Cross anymore. Yeah, right.
That's what everybody tried to tell us back in November, when the whole league was 0-0 and tied in the standings. They kept it up throughout December, when teams like Army and Navy raced out to impressive records that had all the credibility of a house of cards. When Bucknell started out 0-4, and Holy Cross followed with a four-game losing streak of its own during a 2-5 month of December, it was hard not to wonder if it was true.
So why is it that David Bromberg song keeps running through my head on this fine, frigid February morning?
The answer to that one is pretty obvious. If you need a hint, .
Yes, there is more parity in the Patriot League. The bottom of the league is definitely better. Army is vastly improved. Navy is better. Lafayette is a slightly different story, but now that he has scholarships, give Fran O'Hanlon a recruiting class of two and they will get better in a hurry.
But the middle of the league is still the middle. Colgate remains an enigma, a team seemingly full of under performing talent and a coach that would be on the hot seat if there enough fans interested in the team to generate some heat and any media covering the team to write about it.
American is once again a talented roster -- this year you can even add the adjective "experienced" to that description -- that seems to lack chemistry and the mental toughness it takes to win close games.
Lehigh is still there in third, telling everybody it can win the league, but once again lacking the necessary big man to back those boasts (a caveat: if Jason Mgebroff is able to come back and play at the level he was at before being hurt in December, the Mountain Hawks could be a very different team down the stretch).
Which leaves us where we have been the last two seasons, getting set for another matchup between the Bison and the Crusaders with league championship implications.
Winning this game all but clinches the homecourt advantage throughout the playoffs for Holy Cross. Mathematically, a two-game lead with three to play is not insurmountable. Realistically, though, Bucknell has a better chance of the Easter bunny bringing them a championship than it has of Holy Cross losing all three down the stretch. Since Easter does not come until April 8, it seems they'd best take matters in their own hands tonight.
Even if Bucknell wins, Holy Cross is still in the driver's seat thanks to the RPI tiebreaker, which would kick in if both teams finish 13-1. The Crusaders are far enough ahead of Bucknell in to have a lock on the higher number under that scenario. But HC still has to run a three-game gauntlet that includes suddenly dangerous Colgate and a trip to Bethlehem to face a Lehigh team that likely will have Mgrebroff back by then.
In other words, win here and Bucknell's beacon of hope still flickers.
That would seem to mean all the pressure is on Bucknell. It's not.
Holy Cross is chasing history, and haunted by it a little, too. The Crusaders are trying to become just the second team in 17 seasons of Patriot League play to run the conference table. To do it, they need to win tonight in Sojka Pavilion, something nobody on the current roster has done, something nobody in the league has done in Bucknell's last 31 home games.
There is also the pressure of the Crusaders' 12-game win streak, the second longest in the nation (behind Florida's 15).
Of course all the talk about pressure probably will mean very little when the two teams take the floor, unless you mean the defensive pressure both will look to apply. The two teams come in ranked 1-2 in scoring defense, with Holy Cross less than a point per game better in that category.
Bucknell will be without Donald Brown, who remains out with a broken hand suffered at Colgate. The Bison have gone 2-0 in his absence.
While they certainly will miss the presence of their leading scorer and the league's top rebounder, Darren Mastropaolo, who started on both of the Bison's NCAA Tournament teams, is a more than capable fill in.
For Bucknell, the keys to this one are pretty simple. On offense, they need to knock down some shots from the perimeter to keep Holy Cross from ganging up on Chris McNaughton in the paint. Abe Badmus did not score a point when HC beat the Bison in Worcester earlier this season. If that happens again, Bucknell will be in trouble.
On defense, they have to keep Torey Thomas and Keith Simmons away from the basket. Easier said than done. Guard penetration killed the Bison in the first game, not just in terms of scoring, but also by getting Brown and McNaughton into foul trouble. McNaughton only played 22 minutes, and scored only 4 points, in Worcester. Bucknell needs a lot more from him tonight.
Holy Cross won't make that easy. The Crusaders big men are strong inside defenders and they will get a lot of help from the guards. Simmons and Thomas both have the kind of jet pack quickness that allows them to dig down and still recover when the ball is kicked out.
A big (pardon the pun) key for the Crusaders will be center Tim Clifford. Like McNaughton, Clifford was in early foul trouble in the first game, going scoreless in just 9 minutes before the intermission. In the second half he went 5 for 6 from the field and pulled won 6 of his team-high 8 rebounds. If he plays like that the whole game tonight, it could be a long night for Bucknell.
For those who doubt how big this rivalry has become, here are a few factoids lifted straight from Bucknell's game notes:
| | | | | Boston Herald |
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I've been caught inside this trap too many times
I must've walked these steps and said these words a thousand times before
It seems like I know everybody's lines.
-- David Bromberg
The whole league is better. It's not just Bucknell and Holy Cross anymore. Yeah, right.
That's what everybody tried to tell us back in November, when the whole league was 0-0 and tied in the standings. They kept it up throughout December, when teams like Army and Navy raced out to impressive records that had all the credibility of a house of cards. When Bucknell started out 0-4, and Holy Cross followed with a four-game losing streak of its own during a 2-5 month of December, it was hard not to wonder if it was true.
So why is it that David Bromberg song keeps running through my head on this fine, frigid February morning?
The answer to that one is pretty obvious. If you need a hint, .
Yes, there is more parity in the Patriot League. The bottom of the league is definitely better. Army is vastly improved. Navy is better. Lafayette is a slightly different story, but now that he has scholarships, give Fran O'Hanlon a recruiting class of two and they will get better in a hurry.
But the middle of the league is still the middle. Colgate remains an enigma, a team seemingly full of under performing talent and a coach that would be on the hot seat if there enough fans interested in the team to generate some heat and any media covering the team to write about it.
American is once again a talented roster -- this year you can even add the adjective "experienced" to that description -- that seems to lack chemistry and the mental toughness it takes to win close games.
Lehigh is still there in third, telling everybody it can win the league, but once again lacking the necessary big man to back those boasts (a caveat: if Jason Mgebroff is able to come back and play at the level he was at before being hurt in December, the Mountain Hawks could be a very different team down the stretch).
Which leaves us where we have been the last two seasons, getting set for another matchup between the Bison and the Crusaders with league championship implications.
Winning this game all but clinches the homecourt advantage throughout the playoffs for Holy Cross. Mathematically, a two-game lead with three to play is not insurmountable. Realistically, though, Bucknell has a better chance of the Easter bunny bringing them a championship than it has of Holy Cross losing all three down the stretch. Since Easter does not come until April 8, it seems they'd best take matters in their own hands tonight.
Even if Bucknell wins, Holy Cross is still in the driver's seat thanks to the RPI tiebreaker, which would kick in if both teams finish 13-1. The Crusaders are far enough ahead of Bucknell in to have a lock on the higher number under that scenario. But HC still has to run a three-game gauntlet that includes suddenly dangerous Colgate and a trip to Bethlehem to face a Lehigh team that likely will have Mgrebroff back by then.
In other words, win here and Bucknell's beacon of hope still flickers.
That would seem to mean all the pressure is on Bucknell. It's not.
Holy Cross is chasing history, and haunted by it a little, too. The Crusaders are trying to become just the second team in 17 seasons of Patriot League play to run the conference table. To do it, they need to win tonight in Sojka Pavilion, something nobody on the current roster has done, something nobody in the league has done in Bucknell's last 31 home games.
There is also the pressure of the Crusaders' 12-game win streak, the second longest in the nation (behind Florida's 15).
Of course all the talk about pressure probably will mean very little when the two teams take the floor, unless you mean the defensive pressure both will look to apply. The two teams come in ranked 1-2 in scoring defense, with Holy Cross less than a point per game better in that category.
Bucknell will be without Donald Brown, who remains out with a broken hand suffered at Colgate. The Bison have gone 2-0 in his absence.
While they certainly will miss the presence of their leading scorer and the league's top rebounder, Darren Mastropaolo, who started on both of the Bison's NCAA Tournament teams, is a more than capable fill in.
For Bucknell, the keys to this one are pretty simple. On offense, they need to knock down some shots from the perimeter to keep Holy Cross from ganging up on Chris McNaughton in the paint. Abe Badmus did not score a point when HC beat the Bison in Worcester earlier this season. If that happens again, Bucknell will be in trouble.
On defense, they have to keep Torey Thomas and Keith Simmons away from the basket. Easier said than done. Guard penetration killed the Bison in the first game, not just in terms of scoring, but also by getting Brown and McNaughton into foul trouble. McNaughton only played 22 minutes, and scored only 4 points, in Worcester. Bucknell needs a lot more from him tonight.
Holy Cross won't make that easy. The Crusaders big men are strong inside defenders and they will get a lot of help from the guards. Simmons and Thomas both have the kind of jet pack quickness that allows them to dig down and still recover when the ball is kicked out.
A big (pardon the pun) key for the Crusaders will be center Tim Clifford. Like McNaughton, Clifford was in early foul trouble in the first game, going scoreless in just 9 minutes before the intermission. In the second half he went 5 for 6 from the field and pulled won 6 of his team-high 8 rebounds. If he plays like that the whole game tonight, it could be a long night for Bucknell.
For those who doubt how big this rivalry has become, here are a few factoids lifted straight from Bucknell's game notes:
Game time is 7 p.m. on ESPNU and Sirius 107.The Bison and Crusaders have combined to win five of the last six Patriot League titles, and they are the only two league teams to have won in the postseason (Bucknell in the 2005 and 2006 NCAA Tournaments, Holy Cross in the 2005 NIT). These two teams have met 10 times in 16 Patriot League Tournaments, including three times in the championship game. Bucknell defeated Holy Cross in the 2005 and 2006 title tilts, while the Crusders topped the Bison in the final in 1993. Excluding games against each other, Bucknell and Holy Cross are a combined 71-3 against the rest of the Patriot League since the start of the 2004-05 season. The Bison have not lost to a PL team other than the Crusaders since Jan. 30, 2005 at Navy. The Bison and Crusaders had never met until the formation of the Patriot League in 1990-91, but in 16 years since then they have clashed 43 times, an average of 2.6 meetings per year. Bucknell had won four straight and six of the last seven in the series before Holy Cross ended that streak with a 65-60 win at the Hart Center earlier this season. Bucknell now leads the series 24-19. Bucknell is 11-7 against Holy Cross in Lewisburg, including 4-1 at Sojka Pavilion.
| | | | | Boston Herald |
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Wednesday, February 07, 2007
(Originally posted at 2:32 a.m., links added at 8:31 a.m.)
Freshman's heady play keys Bison win
By CHRIS A. COUROGEN
The least experienced guy on the floor made the headiest play of the game to give Bucknell a hard-fought 69-63 win at American Tuesday night.
Bison freshman Stephen Tyree, who didn't even get off the bench in 12 of Bucknell's first 17 games, was on the floor with the game, and possibly Bucknell's hopes of at least a share of the Patriot League regular season title, on the line. Tyree, who played double-digit minutes for the fifth game in a row, re-entered the game with 32 seconds to play, his team clinging to a 67-66 lead and in need of a stop.
The stop came when American's 5-8 Derrick Mercer penetrated the lane with 6 seconds left on the clock and put up a running floater over Bucknell's 6-11 Chris McNaughton that spun around the rim and came off on the weakside. That was where Tyree was waiting for the biggest rebound of his young career.
"It was a helluva rebound," said Bison guard John Griffin, who had put Bucknell (15-8 overall, 9-1 Patriot) on top with a pair of free throws 26 seconds earlier. "There were about 12 hands up there and he pulled it down."
Getting the rebound might seem like a simple feat, but American (11-13, 3-7) crashed the offensive boards hard all night, keeping itself in the game with second, third and even fourth chance points. Nine of American's last 18 points came on possessions were Bucknell made at least one initial stop. Three came on an Andre Ingram three-pointer following not one, not two, but three offensive rebounds by the Eagles. Three more came on a trio of free throws by Arvydas Eitutavicius, who drew a whistle by taking a dive while missing a long three-point try after first Mercer, then Ingram missed layups that the Bison failed to corral.
"We were getting caught out of position and they were getting two and three shots," said Bucknell sophomore guard Justin Castleberry, who scored 10 points -- one of four Bison to finish in double figures. "You can't give a quality team like American two and three shots. They're going to hurt you."
Getting the rebound was key, but that was not the heady part of the play Tyree made. It was what he did with the ball once he got it that showed the poise of a veteran; Tyree put the ball in Griffin's hands before American could react by fouling him. That forced American to foul Griffin, sending Bucknell's best free throw shooter to the line with a chance to make it a three-point lead.
"I passed it to John because I know he's such a good free throw shooter," Tyree said. "He just made two, so I had to give him back the ball to seal the victory."
The difference was huge. Instead of an inexperienced freshman who has only shot nine free throws in his career (making five, 55.6 percent) being on the line with the game in the balance, it was the league's third-leading free throw shooter, a poised junior who has been in that situation many times before.
"It was a very smart, intelligent play. He had his head up and looked right for me," said Griffin, an 86.4 percent foul shooter who finished the game with a team-high 15 points after going 4 for 5 at the line.
It was the kind of play you'd expect from an experienced team like American, without a single freshman on its roster. It was also the kind of play AU has struggled to make all season. It was the Eagles' second straight game in which they had a chance to at least tie the game on the last possession. It was the second straight game lost when AU failed to convert that kind of opportunity. Of the Eagles' seven league losses, five have come by five points or less.
"It is definitely frustrating. We've been in these kinds of games before and we keep coming up with the same result," said Ingram, who finished with a game-high 23 points but came up short on a 30-footer to tie it at the final buzzer.
Ingram said AU had to know better than to let Griffin be the one who went to the charity stripe with the game on the line. Griffin went 10 for 10 against American at the line when the two teams met back in January in Lewisburg. It was Tyree the Eagles should have fouled.
"It was a lapse. (Tyree) had the ball for a couple seconds actually. We let him get it to Griffin, their best free throw shooter," Ingram said. "I definitely think it was a mental lapse . . . guys' minds went blank for a second."
The loss spoiled what was easily Ingram's finest showing against Bucknell in 10 career games against the Bison. Ingram, who failed to reach double figures in six games against Bucknell as a sophomore and a junior, was 9 of 14 from the floor, including 4 for 4 from three-point range. Ingram's previous best against BU was a 16-point showing as a freshman. He equalled that mark in the first half.
"Ingram really had it going," said Griffin.
The key for Ingram was getting into the lane early, using his height advantage on Bucknell's smallish guards to knock down some confidence building easy shots.
"I had some easy buckets early and then some threes started to fall," Ingram said. "Since I have struggled against Bucknell, to see some shots go down early was a good feeling."
Ingram was not the only hot shooter in the first half. Bucknell shot 14 of 29 (70 percent), including 6 of 8 three-point tries, before the break, easily their best shooting half of the season. American was equally accurate, posting the best shooting half the Bison have allowed all season (15 of 22, 68.2 percent).
"It seemed like at points there was nobody missing," said Bison coach Pat Flannery. "The way they shot the basketball, if we hadn't matched a little bit early, it might have been lights out."
American led 37-36 at the break, after a first half that included eight lead changes and a pair of ties. The game stayed tight all night, with neither team leading by more than 6 points as they swapped the lead 19 times and were tied 11 times.
Both teams cooled off after the intermission, with Bucknell finishing the game at 60.5 percent (14 of 29) from the field, 8 of 11 from three-point range AU was 24 for 44 from the field, 6 for 12 from the arc. The biggest difference in the game came at the foul line, where Bucknell (15 of 18) was three points better than American (12 of 17).
Center Chris McNaughton added 14 points for Bucknell. Abe Badmus had 10. Arvydas Eitutavicius joined Ingram in double figures with 12 points.
The win, Bucknell's seventh straight and 23rd in 24 league games, gives Bucknell its second straight season sweep of the Eagles and sets the stage for Friday night's highly anticipated rematch with league leader Holy Cross. American will be at Colgate Saturday, trying to keep alive its hopes of hosting a first round game in the playoffs. | Postgame audio (Castleberry, Griffin, Flannery, Tyree, Ingram) | |
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Freshman's heady play keys Bison win
By CHRIS A. COUROGEN
The least experienced guy on the floor made the headiest play of the game to give Bucknell a hard-fought 69-63 win at American Tuesday night.
Bison freshman Stephen Tyree, who didn't even get off the bench in 12 of Bucknell's first 17 games, was on the floor with the game, and possibly Bucknell's hopes of at least a share of the Patriot League regular season title, on the line. Tyree, who played double-digit minutes for the fifth game in a row, re-entered the game with 32 seconds to play, his team clinging to a 67-66 lead and in need of a stop.
The stop came when American's 5-8 Derrick Mercer penetrated the lane with 6 seconds left on the clock and put up a running floater over Bucknell's 6-11 Chris McNaughton that spun around the rim and came off on the weakside. That was where Tyree was waiting for the biggest rebound of his young career.
"It was a helluva rebound," said Bison guard John Griffin, who had put Bucknell (15-8 overall, 9-1 Patriot) on top with a pair of free throws 26 seconds earlier. "There were about 12 hands up there and he pulled it down."
Getting the rebound might seem like a simple feat, but American (11-13, 3-7) crashed the offensive boards hard all night, keeping itself in the game with second, third and even fourth chance points. Nine of American's last 18 points came on possessions were Bucknell made at least one initial stop. Three came on an Andre Ingram three-pointer following not one, not two, but three offensive rebounds by the Eagles. Three more came on a trio of free throws by Arvydas Eitutavicius, who drew a whistle by taking a dive while missing a long three-point try after first Mercer, then Ingram missed layups that the Bison failed to corral.
"We were getting caught out of position and they were getting two and three shots," said Bucknell sophomore guard Justin Castleberry, who scored 10 points -- one of four Bison to finish in double figures. "You can't give a quality team like American two and three shots. They're going to hurt you."
Getting the rebound was key, but that was not the heady part of the play Tyree made. It was what he did with the ball once he got it that showed the poise of a veteran; Tyree put the ball in Griffin's hands before American could react by fouling him. That forced American to foul Griffin, sending Bucknell's best free throw shooter to the line with a chance to make it a three-point lead.
"I passed it to John because I know he's such a good free throw shooter," Tyree said. "He just made two, so I had to give him back the ball to seal the victory."
The difference was huge. Instead of an inexperienced freshman who has only shot nine free throws in his career (making five, 55.6 percent) being on the line with the game in the balance, it was the league's third-leading free throw shooter, a poised junior who has been in that situation many times before.
"It was a very smart, intelligent play. He had his head up and looked right for me," said Griffin, an 86.4 percent foul shooter who finished the game with a team-high 15 points after going 4 for 5 at the line.
It was the kind of play you'd expect from an experienced team like American, without a single freshman on its roster. It was also the kind of play AU has struggled to make all season. It was the Eagles' second straight game in which they had a chance to at least tie the game on the last possession. It was the second straight game lost when AU failed to convert that kind of opportunity. Of the Eagles' seven league losses, five have come by five points or less.
"It is definitely frustrating. We've been in these kinds of games before and we keep coming up with the same result," said Ingram, who finished with a game-high 23 points but came up short on a 30-footer to tie it at the final buzzer.
Ingram said AU had to know better than to let Griffin be the one who went to the charity stripe with the game on the line. Griffin went 10 for 10 against American at the line when the two teams met back in January in Lewisburg. It was Tyree the Eagles should have fouled.
"It was a lapse. (Tyree) had the ball for a couple seconds actually. We let him get it to Griffin, their best free throw shooter," Ingram said. "I definitely think it was a mental lapse . . . guys' minds went blank for a second."
The loss spoiled what was easily Ingram's finest showing against Bucknell in 10 career games against the Bison. Ingram, who failed to reach double figures in six games against Bucknell as a sophomore and a junior, was 9 of 14 from the floor, including 4 for 4 from three-point range. Ingram's previous best against BU was a 16-point showing as a freshman. He equalled that mark in the first half.
"Ingram really had it going," said Griffin.
The key for Ingram was getting into the lane early, using his height advantage on Bucknell's smallish guards to knock down some confidence building easy shots.
"I had some easy buckets early and then some threes started to fall," Ingram said. "Since I have struggled against Bucknell, to see some shots go down early was a good feeling."
Ingram was not the only hot shooter in the first half. Bucknell shot 14 of 29 (70 percent), including 6 of 8 three-point tries, before the break, easily their best shooting half of the season. American was equally accurate, posting the best shooting half the Bison have allowed all season (15 of 22, 68.2 percent).
"It seemed like at points there was nobody missing," said Bison coach Pat Flannery. "The way they shot the basketball, if we hadn't matched a little bit early, it might have been lights out."
American led 37-36 at the break, after a first half that included eight lead changes and a pair of ties. The game stayed tight all night, with neither team leading by more than 6 points as they swapped the lead 19 times and were tied 11 times.
Both teams cooled off after the intermission, with Bucknell finishing the game at 60.5 percent (14 of 29) from the field, 8 of 11 from three-point range AU was 24 for 44 from the field, 6 for 12 from the arc. The biggest difference in the game came at the foul line, where Bucknell (15 of 18) was three points better than American (12 of 17).
Center Chris McNaughton added 14 points for Bucknell. Abe Badmus had 10. Arvydas Eitutavicius joined Ingram in double figures with 12 points.
The win, Bucknell's seventh straight and 23rd in 24 league games, gives Bucknell its second straight season sweep of the Eagles and sets the stage for Friday night's highly anticipated rematch with league leader Holy Cross. American will be at Colgate Saturday, trying to keep alive its hopes of hosting a first round game in the playoffs. | Postgame audio (Castleberry, Griffin, Flannery, Tyree, Ingram) | |
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Leftover tidbits and observations from Bucknell's 69-66 win at American. Another new starting lineup for American. Or should we say a different lineup. Jeff Jones went back to the lineup that started the first 11 games of the season, with Paulius Joneliunas returning to the first five, displacing Sekou Lewis, who had drawn a start in AU's previous three games. Jones likely made the move in an effort to match Bucknell's Chris McNaughton and Darren Mastropaolo with his "twin towers" front line of Joneliunas and Brayden Billbe.
After the Lehigh game, Jones said the four spot would be filled by committee the remainder of the season since nobody had clearly staked a claim to the job. Starting assignments would be a product of practice performance and matchups, Jones said.
Lewis, after three straight starts, did not play.
Andre Ingram has been a fixture in the Eagles lineup all season. Matter of fact, the 6-3 senior has been a fixture in the starting five for the past few seasons. The Bucknell game marked his 111th career start, setting a new school record. The old record of 110 was held by Darryl franklin, who played from 1992 to 1996. Ingram finished with 23 points, moving him past American Hall of Famer Wilbur Thomas into sixth place on AU's all-time scoring chart with 1,552 points.
Bucknell's injured Donald Brown has been fitted with a battery charged device to provide electrical stimulation to speed the healing of the broken right hand.
Bucknell opened the game going 6 for 6, including 4 three-pointers and a Chris McNaughton jumper with a foot on the arc. The Bison's first miss from the field came on a Justin Catleberry pull-up jumper in the lane at the 12:09 mark.
Ingram's three-pointer with 3:05 to go in the first half gave him 16 points, matching his career best against Bucknell, set back in his freshman season. Since then, Ingram had reached double figures once in six games against the Bison, that coming earlier this season when he scored 10 in Lewisburg. His 23 points were more than he scored in three games combined (20) against Bucknell last season. His 33 in two games this season equals his total in six games against Bucknell his sophomore and junior seasons.
The two teams combined to hit 29 of 42 shots in the first half (69 percent). Bucknell was 14 of 20 (70 percent), 6 of 8 from the three-point arc. But the Bison were just 2 of 5 from the free throw line in the half. American hit 15 of 22 (68.2 percent) from the field, 4 of 6 threes and was 3 for 3 at the line.
Bucknell's first half shooting was its best effort of the season. The previous best half was against Army in Lewisburg, when the Bison hit 15 of 23 (65.2 percent) in the first half. The Bison's previous worst defensive half came against Wake Forest, when the Demon Deacons hit 59.1 percent in the second half.
Brayden Billbe fouled out with 2:30 to go on a questionable call. Billbe and Bucknell's John Griffin got their feet tangled near the top of the arc, with Griffin ending up on the floor and Billbe ending up on the bench the rest of the night. Billbe's fourth personal, which came at the 4:08 mark, was also an offensive foul away from the ball. Billbe checked out with 8 points on 4 for 5 shooting but the 6-10 senior had no rebounds and turned the ball over 4 times.
The officials evened it out a minute later, sending Arvydas Eitutavicius to the line for three shots after he took a dive in Justin Caslteberry's vicinity while missing a long three. Eitutaviciua hit all three to put AU up 64-63 with 1:23 to play.
Bucknell held a 23-18 edge on the boards, but American had an 11-10 edge on the offensive glass. The Eagles managed only 7 defensive rebounds.
The win was Bucknell's second straight in Bender, where they were 0-4 in Patriot League play prior to last season. It was Bucknell's seventh straight win over AU , a streak that includes wins in the conference semifinals the past two seasons.
Bucknell's 22-14 advantage in the paint marked the seventh straight game the Bison outscored an opponent on the inside. The Bison have not outscored their foes in the paint in 9 of their 10 league games, the lone exception being a 22-22 standoff in the loss at Holy Cross.
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After the Lehigh game, Jones said the four spot would be filled by committee the remainder of the season since nobody had clearly staked a claim to the job. Starting assignments would be a product of practice performance and matchups, Jones said.
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Tuesday, February 06, 2007
Everybody is talking about Friday's Holy Cross-Bucknell rematch, but first they both have to get by tough road opponents tonight.
It's a classic trap situation for both teams. Both are coming off emotional wins Saturday -- Holy Cross's winter homecoming thrashing of Lafayette and Bucknell's big win at Navy in its first game without senior leader Donald Brown -- and headed into a game with potential league championship implications. But if either lets down, or if looks past tonight to even sneak a peek at the other, Friday's ESPNU matchup could end up taking on a very different context.
Holy Cross throttled Army when they met in Worcester back on Jan. 10, winning by 24 points. It would be understandable if a bunch of 20-year-old kids would take Army lightly in the rematch (). It could also be fatal to HC's championship dreams. The Black Knights are a very different team in West Point, where they are 9-2 on the season.
Ralph Willard knows the danger. In 2002, his team went into West Point one game before a big showdown with American and came out with a loss that eventually forced it to go on the road for the league final against AU. All worked out in the end for the Crusaders, who won the second of its three titles under Willard by beating the Eagles in Bender. But nobody wants to have to win the championship final on someone else's floor.
No need to harken back to that 2002 slip-up to make the point about needing to stay focused in a tough road game in an empty gym. Willard can simply remind his team what happened two weeks ago in its last trip to New York, when they needed a Keith Simmons three-pointer at the end of the game to get past Colgate.
Bucknell faces a similar challenge at American (). The Bison didn't win by a big margin when the two met in Lewisburg, but they did win pretty convincingly.
The Bison were dominant inside, but allowed Au to knock down 7 threes in the second half to keep it close. If the Eagles are able to shoot like that at home tonight, it could be a very long night for Bucknell.
Bucknell's defense has improved considerably since the two met back on Jan. 10. We'll see how much it has improved tonight.
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It's a classic trap situation for both teams. Both are coming off emotional wins Saturday -- Holy Cross's winter homecoming thrashing of Lafayette and Bucknell's big win at Navy in its first game without senior leader Donald Brown -- and headed into a game with potential league championship implications. But if either lets down, or if looks past tonight to even sneak a peek at the other, Friday's ESPNU matchup could end up taking on a very different context.
Holy Cross throttled Army when they met in Worcester back on Jan. 10, winning by 24 points. It would be understandable if a bunch of 20-year-old kids would take Army lightly in the rematch (). It could also be fatal to HC's championship dreams. The Black Knights are a very different team in West Point, where they are 9-2 on the season.
Ralph Willard knows the danger. In 2002, his team went into West Point one game before a big showdown with American and came out with a loss that eventually forced it to go on the road for the league final against AU. All worked out in the end for the Crusaders, who won the second of its three titles under Willard by beating the Eagles in Bender. But nobody wants to have to win the championship final on someone else's floor.
No need to harken back to that 2002 slip-up to make the point about needing to stay focused in a tough road game in an empty gym. Willard can simply remind his team what happened two weeks ago in its last trip to New York, when they needed a Keith Simmons three-pointer at the end of the game to get past Colgate.
Bucknell faces a similar challenge at American (). The Bison didn't win by a big margin when the two met in Lewisburg, but they did win pretty convincingly.
The Bison were dominant inside, but allowed Au to knock down 7 threes in the second half to keep it close. If the Eagles are able to shoot like that at home tonight, it could be a very long night for Bucknell.
Bucknell's defense has improved considerably since the two met back on Jan. 10. We'll see how much it has improved tonight.
Labels: Army, AU, BU, HC, previews
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Monday, February 05, 2007
Holy Cross climbed two more spots in the latest Mid-Major Top 25.
The Crusaders are up to No. 15 in the latest edition of . Bucknell remains among the others receiving votes with 16, good for unofficial No. 34 in the rankings.
Once again, no respect for the league in either of the two .
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The Crusaders are up to No. 15 in the latest edition of . Bucknell remains among the others receiving votes with 16, good for unofficial No. 34 in the rankings.
Once again, no respect for the league in either of the two .
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Sunday, February 04, 2007
Checked out all yesterday's games and still crave more hoops? Here are few other items of interest.
Tom Housenick of The Daily Item spent his spare time between Friday night's Bucknell-Navy men's game and yesterday afternoon's women's game between the same two schools to put together a on the Donald Brown situation.
Navy beat guy Bill Wagner does a nice job covering the Mids for the Annapolis Capital. Often it goes unmentioned here because the paper does not update its Web site until late in the day, well after we have finished our updates. Here is his .
You need a lot of institutional memory to recall the play of Holy Cross center Jim Nairus, an academic all-American who was a first-team all league pick and also made the all-tournament team back when this thing of ours began in 1991. A guy who has that kind of recall is Holy Cross play-by-play man Bob Fouracre, who has called over 2,500 HC games in his 37 years behind the mic. the Holy Cross athletics hall of fame in May.
Army's freshman center, Chris Walker, Saturday got some ink back home in Georgia in a little from the Gwinnett Daily Post.
We don't cover much of the ladies' side of the league. Matter of fact, aside from the HC games we cover for the Telegram & Gazette and the occasional Bucknell women's game with the daughters, we pay next to no attention to the women's games. Time constraints and a lack of media coverage make it impossible to keep up with the whole league, so we didn't know (Celtics player) Wally Szczerbiak's little sister Wendy played for Lehigh until we read in today's Telegram & Gazette.
If you are looking to catch up on the women's side of the league, here's a quick primer: Bucknell is in first place following a . Defending champion Army is one game back after . Longtime league powerhouse Holy Cross has struggled after losing its top two point guards to knee injuries, but seems to be starting to pick up the pieces after a that got the Crusaders back to .500 after a 1-4 start in league play.
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Labels: Army, BU, CU, HC, Laf, Navy
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Saturday, February 03, 2007
Bucknell's Donald Brown hopes to return by the Patriot League tournament.
If Brown's broken hand happened to you or I, we'd be looking at two months in a cast, Bucknell coach Pat Flannery said after Friday night's win at Navy.
But Brown is not you or I. Brown is a college senior playing his final season, hoping to close out his career with a third-straight trip to the NCAA Tournament. So doctors are treating Brown's injury differently.
After X-rays confirmed the hand was broken, doctors operated to place pins in the 6-6 forward's hand to speed his recovery. One of the team's doctors even traveled tgo Annapolis with the team to look after th eteam's star patient.
Flannery said doctors are working with Brown to try to maintain flexibility in the hand, which is heavily wrapped in what looked to be a soft cast. The injury is to Brown's right -- shooting -- hand.
While Flannery refused to set a timetable for Brown's return, Brown said doctors have told him they hope he can come back in three to four weeks. Three weeks would mean the final week of the regular season. Four would mean brown's return would coincide with the start of the Patriot League Tournament.
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If Brown's broken hand happened to you or I, we'd be looking at two months in a cast, Bucknell coach Pat Flannery said after Friday night's win at Navy.
But Brown is not you or I. Brown is a college senior playing his final season, hoping to close out his career with a third-straight trip to the NCAA Tournament. So doctors are treating Brown's injury differently.
After X-rays confirmed the hand was broken, doctors operated to place pins in the 6-6 forward's hand to speed his recovery. One of the team's doctors even traveled tgo Annapolis with the team to look after th eteam's star patient.
Flannery said doctors are working with Brown to try to maintain flexibility in the hand, which is heavily wrapped in what looked to be a soft cast. The injury is to Brown's right -- shooting -- hand.
While Flannery refused to set a timetable for Brown's return, Brown said doctors have told him they hope he can come back in three to four weeks. Three weeks would mean the final week of the regular season. Four would mean brown's return would coincide with the start of the Patriot League Tournament.
Labels: BU
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Friday, February 02, 2007
Bucknell showed no sign of slowing down without its leading scorer in the lineup.
By CHRIS A. COUROGEN
Donald who?
That seemed to be Bucknell's attitude as they pasted Navy 78-63 Friday night in Alumni Hall.
It was the Bison's first game without their leading scorer and the league's leading rebounder -- Donald Brown -- who broke his right hand in Tuesday's win over Colgate. For one night, anyhow, he was hardly missed.
Darren Mastropaolo, who lost his starting job to Brown early in the second, stepped in and put up Brown like numbers. Other Bison picked up their games as well.
Brown was averaging 11.8 points and 6.6 rebounds per game when he got hurt. Mastropaolo's numbers against Navy: 12 points and 7 rebounds. Brown also leads the Patriot League in field goal percentage. Mastropaolo went 5 for 5.
"Darren is the kind of kid that will take it on himself with Donald out. He will say to himself coming in he will get this many more rebounds and this many more points," said Bucknell coach Pat Flannery. "That's a kid that started on two NCAA Tournament teams."
That point was not lost on Navy coach Billy Lange, who pointed out even with Brown out, Chris McNaughton, Abe Badmus, John Griffin and Mastropaolo were still in the lineup.
"Those four kids were on the floor when they beat Kansas. They don't come into a game thinking they can't win without Donald Brown," Lange said. "They just played other guys. They didn't do anything different. They just keep doing what they do -- playing Bucknell basketball."
In this game that meant finding a nice blend of inside power and outside finesse on offense, playing stingy defense and treating the boards like they had annexed Alumni hall.
Mastropaolo and McNaughton simply overmatched Navy's young, thin frontcourt. McNaughton added 13 points and 12 rebounds for his third double-double of the season. Between the pair they had five offensive boards -- one more than the entire Navy team.
On the perimeter, John Griffin led the offense with a team-high 15 points, including four of Bucknell's 11 three-pointers. Griffin also dished off six assists, turning the ball over only once.
On the boards, Bucknell held a commanding 40-22 edge, including a 12-4 advantage on the offensive glass.
Lange tried to downplay that. "Rebounding can be a misleading stat at times," he said.
But there was nothing misleading about the way Bucknell dominated in the paint. Navy finished with 10 points in the paint, but most of those came when the outcome was already decided. In the first half, the Mids scored 28 points before Clif Colbert made a layup for their first points from closer than the foul line. Navy's first 24 points came on six three-pointers, two shots within a foot of the arc and one 10-foot jumper by Greg Sprink, who was going away from the basket when he shot it.
Early on, the threes were enough. The Mids hit 6 of 10 in the first 11 minutes, using the treys to build a lead of as many as 8 points.
"It seemed like every shot they tok was going down," Griffin said. "When those threes were going down, I figured it has to stop sooner or later."
It did, and when the threes stopped falling on a regular basis, the Mids lost their lead in a hurry. Bucknell battled back to take a 39-37 lead at the half, then blitzed the Mids with an 18-6 run to start the second half.
"I didn't think in the first half we were getting a hand up. We weren't closing out on the shooters. We did a much better job in the second half closing out, making them think about it instead of getting a set look," said Flannery.
The difference was reflected in the box score. After Navy shot 12 for 27 (44.4 percent) in the first half, they cooled off to 9 for 26 (34.6 percent) in the second. The 7 for 15 (48.7 percent) three-point shooting of the first half dropped to 6 of 17 (35.3 percent) after the break.
At the same time, Bucknell, after a solid 14 for 29 (48.3 percent) first half, stepped up its offense after the intermission, knocking down 11 of 21 (52.4 percent), including 6 of 10 from the arc.
The win is Bucknell's second in a row and third in the past four games in Alumni Hall, which used to be a house of horror for the Bison. Prior to the past four seasons, Bucknell had not won a game at Navy under Flannery, going 0 for his first 12 trips to Annapolis.
It is also Bucknell's sixth straight win, a season-long streak.
Navy lost for the fifth game in a row, extending its longest skid of the season.
| Notebook | Postgame audio (Billy Lange, Pat Flannery, John Griffin) | | | (video)
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By CHRIS A. COUROGEN
Donald who?
That seemed to be Bucknell's attitude as they pasted Navy 78-63 Friday night in Alumni Hall.
It was the Bison's first game without their leading scorer and the league's leading rebounder -- Donald Brown -- who broke his right hand in Tuesday's win over Colgate. For one night, anyhow, he was hardly missed.
Darren Mastropaolo, who lost his starting job to Brown early in the second, stepped in and put up Brown like numbers. Other Bison picked up their games as well.
Brown was averaging 11.8 points and 6.6 rebounds per game when he got hurt. Mastropaolo's numbers against Navy: 12 points and 7 rebounds. Brown also leads the Patriot League in field goal percentage. Mastropaolo went 5 for 5.
"Darren is the kind of kid that will take it on himself with Donald out. He will say to himself coming in he will get this many more rebounds and this many more points," said Bucknell coach Pat Flannery. "That's a kid that started on two NCAA Tournament teams."
That point was not lost on Navy coach Billy Lange, who pointed out even with Brown out, Chris McNaughton, Abe Badmus, John Griffin and Mastropaolo were still in the lineup.
"Those four kids were on the floor when they beat Kansas. They don't come into a game thinking they can't win without Donald Brown," Lange said. "They just played other guys. They didn't do anything different. They just keep doing what they do -- playing Bucknell basketball."
In this game that meant finding a nice blend of inside power and outside finesse on offense, playing stingy defense and treating the boards like they had annexed Alumni hall.
Mastropaolo and McNaughton simply overmatched Navy's young, thin frontcourt. McNaughton added 13 points and 12 rebounds for his third double-double of the season. Between the pair they had five offensive boards -- one more than the entire Navy team.
On the perimeter, John Griffin led the offense with a team-high 15 points, including four of Bucknell's 11 three-pointers. Griffin also dished off six assists, turning the ball over only once.
On the boards, Bucknell held a commanding 40-22 edge, including a 12-4 advantage on the offensive glass.
Lange tried to downplay that. "Rebounding can be a misleading stat at times," he said.
But there was nothing misleading about the way Bucknell dominated in the paint. Navy finished with 10 points in the paint, but most of those came when the outcome was already decided. In the first half, the Mids scored 28 points before Clif Colbert made a layup for their first points from closer than the foul line. Navy's first 24 points came on six three-pointers, two shots within a foot of the arc and one 10-foot jumper by Greg Sprink, who was going away from the basket when he shot it.
Early on, the threes were enough. The Mids hit 6 of 10 in the first 11 minutes, using the treys to build a lead of as many as 8 points.
"It seemed like every shot they tok was going down," Griffin said. "When those threes were going down, I figured it has to stop sooner or later."
It did, and when the threes stopped falling on a regular basis, the Mids lost their lead in a hurry. Bucknell battled back to take a 39-37 lead at the half, then blitzed the Mids with an 18-6 run to start the second half.
"I didn't think in the first half we were getting a hand up. We weren't closing out on the shooters. We did a much better job in the second half closing out, making them think about it instead of getting a set look," said Flannery.
The difference was reflected in the box score. After Navy shot 12 for 27 (44.4 percent) in the first half, they cooled off to 9 for 26 (34.6 percent) in the second. The 7 for 15 (48.7 percent) three-point shooting of the first half dropped to 6 of 17 (35.3 percent) after the break.
At the same time, Bucknell, after a solid 14 for 29 (48.3 percent) first half, stepped up its offense after the intermission, knocking down 11 of 21 (52.4 percent), including 6 of 10 from the arc.
The win is Bucknell's second in a row and third in the past four games in Alumni Hall, which used to be a house of horror for the Bison. Prior to the past four seasons, Bucknell had not won a game at Navy under Flannery, going 0 for his first 12 trips to Annapolis.
It is also Bucknell's sixth straight win, a season-long streak.
Navy lost for the fifth game in a row, extending its longest skid of the season.
| Notebook | Postgame audio (Billy Lange, Pat Flannery, John Griffin) | | | (video)
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Notes and observations from Bucknell's 78-63 win at Navy
If you have not seen Navy's offense, it really is different. There is nobody in the low post, only occasionally someone in the high post. Basically they put five guys around the arc, then make cuts from one side of the arc to the other. There is very little in terms of trying to make cuts actually towards the basket. instead, they throw it around the outside, then usually fire up a three.
Even their two-pointers tend to be long jumpers. Of Navy's first 24 points, the closest shot was from 10-feet. The rest were either threes -- six of them -- or within a foot of the arc.
Talk about good anticipation. On John Griffin's first personal foul, which came with 12:26 to go in the first half, the ref actually blew the whistle before Griffin made contact. The call was correct, but premature.
Somebody ought to clue the Patriot League folks on a secret Major League Soccer learned long ago. When your building is far from full for a TV game, try to make sure you fill the seats on the side opposite the cameras to create the illusion of a bigger crowd. Navy reserves the first four rows at center court for brass and they are only about half full, which doesn't look good on TV.
Speaking of TV, is it true the U in ESPNU stands for Unavailable? Don't have the stats, but it doesn't seem ESPNU is available in many more homes than CSTV was. That doesn't mean it has not been a good move for the league shifting networks. The ESPN branding does present a stronger image and unlike CSTV, ESPNU does not force games to be played at odd times so it can show women's curling.
A Clif Colbert layup with 5:47 to go in the first half marked Navy's first points in the paint, after their first 28 came outside or at the foul line.
Bucknell had two buckets wiped out in the first half. The first came on a questionable charge on Justin Castleberry. The second came on an offensive interference call on Chris McNaughton, who tipped in a Jason Vegotsky miss. The refs ruled the ball was still in the cylinder when McNaughton touched it.
That call brought a furious protest from Pat Flannery, who was nearly to halfcourt when assistant Nathan Davis reeled him back in.
The officials stopped the game and checked a replay on a monitor at the scoring table. On the scoreboard video screen, it appeared the officials got the call right.
It has been total domination on the boards by Bucknell in the first half. The Bison hold a 22-11 edge on the boards, with 8 offensive caroms to 1 for Navy.
HALFTIME STATS:
Bucknell 39, Navy 37
Scoring: Bucknell -- John Griffin 8, Stephen Tyree and Chris McNaughton 7 each, Jason Vegotsky 6
Navy -- Greg Sprink 10, Adam Teague 6
Shooting: Bucknell 14 for 29 (48.3 percent) 5 for 12 on threes
Navy -- 12 of 27 (44.4 percent), 7 of 15 threes
Points in the paint: Bucknell 16, Navy 4
Turnovers: Bucknell 9, Navy 5
Points off Turnovers: Bucknell 11, Navy 14
The answer to who would pick up Donald Brown's minutes appears to be Patrick Behan. Behan has been part of a three-man rotation with McNaughton and Mastropaolo in the 4 and 5 spots.
Stephen Tyree played 12 minutes in the first half, picking up a career-high already with 7 points on 3 for 3 shooting. That is one of the answers to who will pick up some of Brown's scoring. He also has 4 rebounds, answering that part of the Brown question.
Navy was 6 of 10 from the arc the first 11 minutes, 1 for 5 after that.
SECOND HALF
If the game comes down to the wire, somebody will look back at what happened when Abe Badmus was at the foul line with 15:11 to go in the half. Badmus missed the free throw and the rebound was tipped out of bounds. The refs stopped play when the clock showed 15:06 and reset it to 15:08, meaning the carom and tip took 3 seconds. No word on whether or not Navy had borrowed Duke's clock guy for the night.
Bucknell opened the second half with an 11-3 run and stretched it to 18-6 over the first 7 minutes of the half. All six of Navy's points came on threes by freshman guard Chris Harris, who added another at the 12:18 mark to account for all 9 of the Mids points in the half. At that point, Navy was shooting 3 for 9 in the half, 7 of the shots being threes. Bucknell was 7 for 10 in that span, 3 of 5 at the arc.
Navy's Greg Sprink joined the Midshipmen's 1,000-points club with a three at the 8:52 mark of the second half.
Navy might be in last place in the standings, but its pep band is easily tops in the league. It's all brass, save the drummer on a trap kit -- not a woodwind in sight. Alumni Hall's new scoreboard is also the best in the league. The video screen actually looks like television, unlike that low def. thing in the corner of Bucknell's Sojka Pavilion. It hangs above the middle of the floor, offering every fan a good view and they are great about showing replays. All in all, it just adds to the first class feel of Alumni Hall. Your tax dollars at work, eh?
Bucknell walk-on George Medrano scored the first points of his career on a pair of free throws with 8 seconds left.
Bucknell's 78 points were the second most allowed by the Mids this season. Only Penn (79) has scored more.
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Even their two-pointers tend to be long jumpers. Of Navy's first 24 points, the closest shot was from 10-feet. The rest were either threes -- six of them -- or within a foot of the arc.
That call brought a furious protest from Pat Flannery, who was nearly to halfcourt when assistant Nathan Davis reeled him back in.
The officials stopped the game and checked a replay on a monitor at the scoring table. On the scoreboard video screen, it appeared the officials got the call right.
HALFTIME STATS:
Bucknell 39, Navy 37
Scoring: Bucknell -- John Griffin 8, Stephen Tyree and Chris McNaughton 7 each, Jason Vegotsky 6
Navy -- Greg Sprink 10, Adam Teague 6
Shooting: Bucknell 14 for 29 (48.3 percent) 5 for 12 on threes
Navy -- 12 of 27 (44.4 percent), 7 of 15 threes
Points in the paint: Bucknell 16, Navy 4
Turnovers: Bucknell 9, Navy 5
Points off Turnovers: Bucknell 11, Navy 14
Stephen Tyree played 12 minutes in the first half, picking up a career-high already with 7 points on 3 for 3 shooting. That is one of the answers to who will pick up some of Brown's scoring. He also has 4 rebounds, answering that part of the Brown question.
SECOND HALF
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We'll find out a lot about the Bucknell Bison tonight in Annapolis.
A lot of people wrote off the preseason favorites in the Patriot League when they stumbled to an 2-5 start. The media stopped treating them as darlings. Many of their own classmates stopped coming out to home games. At times it seemed the only people who still thought they had a chance of making a third straight trip to the NCAA Tournament were their own players and coaches.
After that start, things began to look up for Bucknell. A win over George Mason in the BB&T Classic seemed to right the listing BU ship. Since then, Bucknell has gone 11-3. Toss out the loss to Central Arkansas, and the Bison have played pretty good basketball. The other two losses were both on the road -- at Texas Tech and at league-leading Holy Cross.
It is probably no coincidence that the winning started when coach Pat Flannery switched his starting lineup, benching junior Darren Mastropaolo to allow Donald Brown to move to his natural position at the four.
The move allowed Brown, the team's sixth man the past two seasons, to blossom. The 6-6 senior from Long Island leads the league in rebounding and field goal percentage and leads the team in scoring.
Bucknell sports information director Jon Terry like to mimic those UPS commercials in his game notes, headlining a section on Brown's contributions "What can Brown do for you."
Now Terry is going to have to add a new category: "What can you do without Brown." Brown suffered a broken bone in his right (shooting) hand in Tuesday's win over Colgate and is out of the rotation indefinitely.
Brown's absence ups the intrigue for tonight's Bucknell at Navy game () (9 p.m., ESPNU - Sirius 155). Navy's 1-6 conference record makes it seem like a mismatch on paper, but Brown's absence could cause some mismatchs on the floor.
The three-point happy Midshipmen play the game very differently than most teams. Billy Lange's play-the-cards-dealt-ya style has no legitimate post presence. The most recent version of Navy's starting lineup has added 6-8 freshman Bobby Fenske to the mix. But the added height has not changed the Midshipmen's style of play.
Like fellow freshman starter 6-10 Trey Stanton, Fenske is a skinny perimeter guy, not a low post banger. Almost half his shots thus far have come from the three-point arc, as have more than half of Stanton's.
It's like that up and down the Navy lineup. Leading scorer Greg Sprink (16.5 ppg) takes 12 shots a game; at least 6 of them from the arc. All together, 48.5 percent of Navy's shots this season have come from three-point range.
That is why Brown's absence could prove critical. When the two teams met earlier this season in Lewisburg, it was Brown who helped take Sprink out of the game in the second half.
Bucknell is fortunate to have an experienced guy like Mastropaolo to plug into the starting five. Mastropaolo is a tenacious defender who has shown flashes of being able to score in the paint. Against a team like Navy, without strong post defenders, it is not unreasonable to expect Mastropaolo to be able to pick up much of the offensive slack for Brown.
But Mastropaolo is more a stay at home post defender, lacking Brown's speed and quickness. That could cause Bucknell problems defending on the perimeter. Navy's three-point shooting percentage is the lowest in the league, but that doesn't mean they can't knock them down if nobody is there to put a hand in their face.
Don't expect Pat Flannery to try to simply overpower Navy with inside offense. The duo of Mastropaolo and center Chris McNaughton out to be able to dominate in the paint, at least if the Bison guards hit enough jumpers to keep Navy from being able to double and triple down all night. But Flannery always looks at defensive matchups first. He is not about to sacrifice at the defensive end, running the risk of swapping two-point baskets for Navy treys.
Patrick Behan should be the first guy off the bench up front. The 6-8 freshman has appeared in 19 of Bucknell's 21 games and ought to match up better against Navy's big guys than he does against stronger, in-the-paint types.
Freshman Stephen Tyree has seen increased minutes in recent games and could play a key role here. Flannery has repeatedly said Tyree has the potential to be the best defensive player he has had at Bucknell. While Tyree is not at that level yet, his length and quickness could be a key to slowing Navy on the arc.
Sophomore Josh Linthicum is another guy who might have an opportunity. The 6-11 Linthicum was expected to get more minutes this season, but between Brown moving back to the four and his own struggles at the defensive end early in the season, those minutes have not materialized. If he is able to take advantage of the opportunity Brown's absence presents, it will be a big plus for the Bison both the remainder of this season and next season, when McNaughton and Brown will both have graduated.
Another guy who could get a shot at redemption is 6-3 junior Rob Thomas, whose minutes diminished when Justin Castleberry emerged as Flannery's first guard off the bench. Offense has never been Thomas' problem. If he can harness some of his quickness and athleticism at the other end, he could find himself back in the rotation.
The bottom line is pretty simple: Brown's injury can be either a problem or an opportunity. If somebody steps up to take advantage of the opportunity it presents, it won't be a problem. If not, Bucknell could start to slide towards the middle of the Patriot League pack.
Despite Navy's record, this was not going to be an easy game even with a healthy Brown. Annapolis has never been kind to the Bison. A win tonight would make Bucknell the first team in the league to win 150 conference games. But it would be just their fifth in 18 games in Alumni Hall. Even the NCAA Tournament Bison two seasons ago lost in Annapolis. Prior to winning their last season, Bucknell was 1-13 there under Flannery.
NOTE: Harrisburg area fans can catch the game at Damons off the Progress Ave. exit of I-81 in Susquehanna Twp.
Bonus link: (Daily Item)
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A lot of people wrote off the preseason favorites in the Patriot League when they stumbled to an 2-5 start. The media stopped treating them as darlings. Many of their own classmates stopped coming out to home games. At times it seemed the only people who still thought they had a chance of making a third straight trip to the NCAA Tournament were their own players and coaches.
After that start, things began to look up for Bucknell. A win over George Mason in the BB&T Classic seemed to right the listing BU ship. Since then, Bucknell has gone 11-3. Toss out the loss to Central Arkansas, and the Bison have played pretty good basketball. The other two losses were both on the road -- at Texas Tech and at league-leading Holy Cross.
It is probably no coincidence that the winning started when coach Pat Flannery switched his starting lineup, benching junior Darren Mastropaolo to allow Donald Brown to move to his natural position at the four.
The move allowed Brown, the team's sixth man the past two seasons, to blossom. The 6-6 senior from Long Island leads the league in rebounding and field goal percentage and leads the team in scoring.
Bucknell sports information director Jon Terry like to mimic those UPS commercials in his game notes, headlining a section on Brown's contributions "What can Brown do for you."
Now Terry is going to have to add a new category: "What can you do without Brown." Brown suffered a broken bone in his right (shooting) hand in Tuesday's win over Colgate and is out of the rotation indefinitely.
Brown's absence ups the intrigue for tonight's Bucknell at Navy game () (9 p.m., ESPNU - Sirius 155). Navy's 1-6 conference record makes it seem like a mismatch on paper, but Brown's absence could cause some mismatchs on the floor.
The three-point happy Midshipmen play the game very differently than most teams. Billy Lange's play-the-cards-dealt-ya style has no legitimate post presence. The most recent version of Navy's starting lineup has added 6-8 freshman Bobby Fenske to the mix. But the added height has not changed the Midshipmen's style of play.
Like fellow freshman starter 6-10 Trey Stanton, Fenske is a skinny perimeter guy, not a low post banger. Almost half his shots thus far have come from the three-point arc, as have more than half of Stanton's.
It's like that up and down the Navy lineup. Leading scorer Greg Sprink (16.5 ppg) takes 12 shots a game; at least 6 of them from the arc. All together, 48.5 percent of Navy's shots this season have come from three-point range.
That is why Brown's absence could prove critical. When the two teams met earlier this season in Lewisburg, it was Brown who helped take Sprink out of the game in the second half.
Bucknell is fortunate to have an experienced guy like Mastropaolo to plug into the starting five. Mastropaolo is a tenacious defender who has shown flashes of being able to score in the paint. Against a team like Navy, without strong post defenders, it is not unreasonable to expect Mastropaolo to be able to pick up much of the offensive slack for Brown.
But Mastropaolo is more a stay at home post defender, lacking Brown's speed and quickness. That could cause Bucknell problems defending on the perimeter. Navy's three-point shooting percentage is the lowest in the league, but that doesn't mean they can't knock them down if nobody is there to put a hand in their face.
Don't expect Pat Flannery to try to simply overpower Navy with inside offense. The duo of Mastropaolo and center Chris McNaughton out to be able to dominate in the paint, at least if the Bison guards hit enough jumpers to keep Navy from being able to double and triple down all night. But Flannery always looks at defensive matchups first. He is not about to sacrifice at the defensive end, running the risk of swapping two-point baskets for Navy treys.
Patrick Behan should be the first guy off the bench up front. The 6-8 freshman has appeared in 19 of Bucknell's 21 games and ought to match up better against Navy's big guys than he does against stronger, in-the-paint types.
Freshman Stephen Tyree has seen increased minutes in recent games and could play a key role here. Flannery has repeatedly said Tyree has the potential to be the best defensive player he has had at Bucknell. While Tyree is not at that level yet, his length and quickness could be a key to slowing Navy on the arc.
Sophomore Josh Linthicum is another guy who might have an opportunity. The 6-11 Linthicum was expected to get more minutes this season, but between Brown moving back to the four and his own struggles at the defensive end early in the season, those minutes have not materialized. If he is able to take advantage of the opportunity Brown's absence presents, it will be a big plus for the Bison both the remainder of this season and next season, when McNaughton and Brown will both have graduated.
Another guy who could get a shot at redemption is 6-3 junior Rob Thomas, whose minutes diminished when Justin Castleberry emerged as Flannery's first guard off the bench. Offense has never been Thomas' problem. If he can harness some of his quickness and athleticism at the other end, he could find himself back in the rotation.
The bottom line is pretty simple: Brown's injury can be either a problem or an opportunity. If somebody steps up to take advantage of the opportunity it presents, it won't be a problem. If not, Bucknell could start to slide towards the middle of the Patriot League pack.
Despite Navy's record, this was not going to be an easy game even with a healthy Brown. Annapolis has never been kind to the Bison. A win tonight would make Bucknell the first team in the league to win 150 conference games. But it would be just their fifth in 18 games in Alumni Hall. Even the NCAA Tournament Bison two seasons ago lost in Annapolis. Prior to winning their last season, Bucknell was 1-13 there under Flannery.
NOTE: Harrisburg area fans can catch the game at Damons off the Progress Ave. exit of I-81 in Susquehanna Twp.
Bonus link: (Daily Item)
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Thursday, February 01, 2007
Bucknell forward Donald Brown is out indefinitely with a broken bone in his right hand.
Bucknell sports information director Jon Terry said this morning doctors have not set a timetable for brown's return.
Brown suffered the injury Tuesday when he was fouled hard by Colgate's Kyle Chones with 6:48 to go in Bucknell's win over the Raiders. Brown stayed in the game after the foul, but missed both free throws after the foul and took only one more shot -- a missed layup -- the rest of the game.
The loss is significant for the Bison. After spending the last two seasons as Bucknell's spark off the bench, Brown has started all 21 games this season, leading the team in minutes played (31.8 mpg), scoring (11.8 ppg), rebounds (6.6 rpg) and steals (1.7 spg). Brown leads the patriot League in rebounding and field goal percentage (58.2 percent).
With Brown out, junior Darren Mastropaolo will likely return to the starting lineup. Mastropaolo started 13 games as a freshman and 30 of 32 last season before moving to the bench after starting the first 7 games this season to allow Brown to move back to the four, his more natural position.
Mastropaolo is more of a conventional power forward, lacking the versatility of Brown, who has the quickness and speed to defend smaller guys on the perimeter and the length and hops to guard bigger opponents in the paint. A solid defender in the post, Mastropaolo lacks brown's quickness to get out on wings in the corner from Bucknell's 2-3 matchup. Mastropaolo has shown flashes of improved offense this season. With Brown out, the Bison will need him, and freshman Patrick Behan, to pick up their offensive production.
Six-three freshman Stephen Tyree, who is becoming known for his defense, could also see increased minutes, especially against smaller lineups. Josh Linthicum, a 6-11 sophomore, could also see more minutes in Brown's absence.
The injury is the most significant one to hit the Bison since forward John Clark's bad feet forced him out of the lineup in the 2004-2005 season. That injury eventually ended the career of Clark, who would be a senior this year. It also led to Mastropaolo joining the starting lineup his freshman season.
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Bucknell sports information director Jon Terry said this morning doctors have not set a timetable for brown's return.
Brown suffered the injury Tuesday when he was fouled hard by Colgate's Kyle Chones with 6:48 to go in Bucknell's win over the Raiders. Brown stayed in the game after the foul, but missed both free throws after the foul and took only one more shot -- a missed layup -- the rest of the game.
The loss is significant for the Bison. After spending the last two seasons as Bucknell's spark off the bench, Brown has started all 21 games this season, leading the team in minutes played (31.8 mpg), scoring (11.8 ppg), rebounds (6.6 rpg) and steals (1.7 spg). Brown leads the patriot League in rebounding and field goal percentage (58.2 percent).
With Brown out, junior Darren Mastropaolo will likely return to the starting lineup. Mastropaolo started 13 games as a freshman and 30 of 32 last season before moving to the bench after starting the first 7 games this season to allow Brown to move back to the four, his more natural position.
Mastropaolo is more of a conventional power forward, lacking the versatility of Brown, who has the quickness and speed to defend smaller guys on the perimeter and the length and hops to guard bigger opponents in the paint. A solid defender in the post, Mastropaolo lacks brown's quickness to get out on wings in the corner from Bucknell's 2-3 matchup. Mastropaolo has shown flashes of improved offense this season. With Brown out, the Bison will need him, and freshman Patrick Behan, to pick up their offensive production.
Six-three freshman Stephen Tyree, who is becoming known for his defense, could also see increased minutes, especially against smaller lineups. Josh Linthicum, a 6-11 sophomore, could also see more minutes in Brown's absence.
The injury is the most significant one to hit the Bison since forward John Clark's bad feet forced him out of the lineup in the 2004-2005 season. That injury eventually ended the career of Clark, who would be a senior this year. It also led to Mastropaolo joining the starting lineup his freshman season.
Labels: BU
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Thursday morning readaround
Matt Griffin, younger brother of Bucknell's John Griffin, has made a decision where he will play next season.
The 5-11 point guard for St. Joseph's prep in Philadelphia has made an oral commitment to Rider, reports the .
In other Patriot League related stories:
Chay Rao of the Maryland Gazette at the tough transition to college ball for Lafayette freshman Michael Gruner. Rao says Gruner chose Lafayette over Bucknell and Navy because he thought he had a chance to play right away at the when Andrew Brown announced he was leaving Lafayette. That might be a bit of a stretch. During the summer, before Brown decided to return, Fran O'Hanlon talked about Marcus Harley and Derek Heckendorn as the top two candidates for the point. Gruner, O'Hanlon said then, was plan C.
Of course with Heckendorn unable to play again this season due to foot problems, Gruner might have gotten some backup minutes if Brown had not come back.
If Gruner was considering Bucknell, it would likely have been as a walk-on. The Bison's three scholarships were already spoken for before last season started, due to early commits from Stephen Tyree, Patrick Behan and Zach Evans. It is possible the Bison talked to gruner about the roster spot now held by walk-on George Medrano.
It is also unclear if Gruner is actually a scholarship kid at Lafayette, as the story claims. As we reported when his commitment was announced in May, the Leopards already had commits from three players believed to be the recipients of Lafayette's three available full rides.
Any Ivy League postseason tournament? It could be possible, according to the , which says it is on the agenda when the league's athletic directors meet today.
The in Newport News, Va. says Bucknell is among the schools showing interest in 6-4 junior guard Michael Lyons of Woodside High.
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Matt Griffin, younger brother of Bucknell's John Griffin, has made a decision where he will play next season.
The 5-11 point guard for St. Joseph's prep in Philadelphia has made an oral commitment to Rider, reports the .
In other Patriot League related stories:
Of course with Heckendorn unable to play again this season due to foot problems, Gruner might have gotten some backup minutes if Brown had not come back.
If Gruner was considering Bucknell, it would likely have been as a walk-on. The Bison's three scholarships were already spoken for before last season started, due to early commits from Stephen Tyree, Patrick Behan and Zach Evans. It is possible the Bison talked to gruner about the roster spot now held by walk-on George Medrano.
It is also unclear if Gruner is actually a scholarship kid at Lafayette, as the story claims. As we reported when his commitment was announced in May, the Leopards already had commits from three players believed to be the recipients of Lafayette's three available full rides.
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Wednesday, January 31, 2007
Bucknell forward Donald Brown will have x-rays this afternoon on the wrist he injured in Tuesday's win at Colgate.
Brown's injury occurred when he was fouled by Colgate's Kyle Chones while going to the hoop during the second half of Bucknell's 56-53 win.
The extent of the injury is not yet known. Bucknell sports information director Jon Terry said Brown's wrist was "pretty sore after the game" and that the Bison star would have it x-rayed this afternoon. Terry said he believed the x-rays are primarily precautionary, but he has not gotten yet gotten a report from the trainers on Brown's status.
According to Terry, Chones appeared to be trying to knock the ball out of Brown's hand on the play. Chones got some of the ball, along with Brown's wrist.
"It was a hard foul, but I wouldn't call it dirty," Terry said.
We will update with a further report on the extent of Brown's injury when it becomes available.
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Brown's injury occurred when he was fouled by Colgate's Kyle Chones while going to the hoop during the second half of Bucknell's 56-53 win.
The extent of the injury is not yet known. Bucknell sports information director Jon Terry said Brown's wrist was "pretty sore after the game" and that the Bison star would have it x-rayed this afternoon. Terry said he believed the x-rays are primarily precautionary, but he has not gotten yet gotten a report from the trainers on Brown's status.
According to Terry, Chones appeared to be trying to knock the ball out of Brown's hand on the play. Chones got some of the ball, along with Brown's wrist.
"It was a hard foul, but I wouldn't call it dirty," Terry said.
We will update with a further report on the extent of Brown's injury when it becomes available.
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Dwon 17-2 at the start of the game, Bucknell rallied for a big lead, then held on for a 56-53 win at Colgate.
Colgate opened the game with a 7-0 run and hit 6 of the first 7 shots, thrilling the announced crowd of 523 as it built a 15-point lead in the first six minutes of the game. While the Raiders were (dare we say Red) hot, Bucknell was ice cold and out of sync, going 1 for 6 with 5 turnovers on its first 11 possessions.
The Bison settled in after that, pulling to within 4 late in the half before Willie Morse hit a Colgate three to make it 26-19 at the break.
Colgate was still up 8 after a Jon Simon three with 16:52 to play. Then Jason Vegotsky hit a three-pointer to spark a 16-0 Bucknell run that was capped by another Vegotsky trey 6:29 later.
The Bison pushed the lead to 13, where it was after an Abe Badmus layup made it 50-37 with 5:57 to play. That was the last Bucknell field goal until the final seconds, when Stephen Tyree broke free for a layup off an inbounds play after Simon (22 points) hit his sixth three-pointer of teh game to cut Bucknell's lead to 54-53 with 5.2 seconds left.
Mcnaughton led Bucknell with 12 points and 9 rebounds. Badmus also had 12 for the Bison.
Colgate finished the game 19 of 42 from the field (45.2 percent), 9 of 18 from the arc. It was the third straight game Colgate shot better than 40 percent after failing to reach that threshold in 9 of 11 games prior to this stretch.
Bucknell shot 43.2 percent from the field (19 of 44), 4 of 15 from three-point range. The Bison, who outscored the Raiders 20-6 in the paint, held a 31-25 edge on the boards, including a 10-5 advantage on the offensive glass.
The inside strength paid off at the foul line, too. Bucknell made 21 trips to the stripe, knocking down 14. Colgate only shot 10 free throws, making 6.
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Colgate opened the game with a 7-0 run and hit 6 of the first 7 shots, thrilling the announced crowd of 523 as it built a 15-point lead in the first six minutes of the game. While the Raiders were (dare we say Red) hot, Bucknell was ice cold and out of sync, going 1 for 6 with 5 turnovers on its first 11 possessions.
The Bison settled in after that, pulling to within 4 late in the half before Willie Morse hit a Colgate three to make it 26-19 at the break.
Colgate was still up 8 after a Jon Simon three with 16:52 to play. Then Jason Vegotsky hit a three-pointer to spark a 16-0 Bucknell run that was capped by another Vegotsky trey 6:29 later.
The Bison pushed the lead to 13, where it was after an Abe Badmus layup made it 50-37 with 5:57 to play. That was the last Bucknell field goal until the final seconds, when Stephen Tyree broke free for a layup off an inbounds play after Simon (22 points) hit his sixth three-pointer of teh game to cut Bucknell's lead to 54-53 with 5.2 seconds left.
Mcnaughton led Bucknell with 12 points and 9 rebounds. Badmus also had 12 for the Bison.
Colgate finished the game 19 of 42 from the field (45.2 percent), 9 of 18 from the arc. It was the third straight game Colgate shot better than 40 percent after failing to reach that threshold in 9 of 11 games prior to this stretch.
Bucknell shot 43.2 percent from the field (19 of 44), 4 of 15 from three-point range. The Bison, who outscored the Raiders 20-6 in the paint, held a 31-25 edge on the boards, including a 10-5 advantage on the offensive glass.
The inside strength paid off at the foul line, too. Bucknell made 21 trips to the stripe, knocking down 14. Colgate only shot 10 free throws, making 6.
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Tuesday, January 30, 2007
Bucknell will entertain old East Coast Conference rival Towson while Colgate will be at Marist in the ESPN BracketBusters.
For the Bison and the Tigers, it is a return to the 1980s, when the two were both members of the now-defunct East Coast Conference. The two have met 23 times, most recently in 1992 (an 85-72 Bucknell win in old Davis Gym), with the Bison holding a 15-8 edge in the series.
Towson is currently 11-11 overall, 5-6 in the tough Colonial Athletic Conference, with a calculated at 155.
The two have played one common opponent -- George Mason, which beat Towson 73-44 at Mason and lost to Bucknell 60-57 in the BB&T Classic in Washington D.C.
While the game is hardly the exciting matchup Bucknell drew last season when it played at Northern Iowa in one of the BracketBusters televised games, it does bring with it the promise of a Baltimore area game next season when the Bison make the return trip to Towson. That area is a hotbed for Bucknell alums, who used to give the Bison close to a homecourt advantage for ECC Tournament games played at the Towson Center.
Colgate will be on the road for its BracketBusters contest, playing in Poughkeepsie against the Red Foxes of Marist. Colgate's RPI of 271 will hardly benefit Marist, which is currently 15-6 overall, 8-3 in the MAAC, with an RPI of 128.
The lone common opponent of the two is Canisius, which beat Colgate (78-73) in Hamilton and lost in Poughkeepsie (80-73).
The two would have one more common opponent in Bucknell had the Bison not laid an egg against Central Arkansas in the first round of Marist's holiday tournament, preventing what would had been a much-anticipated matchup in the final.
A Bucknell-Marist matchup in the BracketBusters would certainly be more attractive than either of the scheduled games, but both schools were preordained as host teams for the event.
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For the Bison and the Tigers, it is a return to the 1980s, when the two were both members of the now-defunct East Coast Conference. The two have met 23 times, most recently in 1992 (an 85-72 Bucknell win in old Davis Gym), with the Bison holding a 15-8 edge in the series.
Towson is currently 11-11 overall, 5-6 in the tough Colonial Athletic Conference, with a calculated at 155.
The two have played one common opponent -- George Mason, which beat Towson 73-44 at Mason and lost to Bucknell 60-57 in the BB&T Classic in Washington D.C.
While the game is hardly the exciting matchup Bucknell drew last season when it played at Northern Iowa in one of the BracketBusters televised games, it does bring with it the promise of a Baltimore area game next season when the Bison make the return trip to Towson. That area is a hotbed for Bucknell alums, who used to give the Bison close to a homecourt advantage for ECC Tournament games played at the Towson Center.
Colgate will be on the road for its BracketBusters contest, playing in Poughkeepsie against the Red Foxes of Marist. Colgate's RPI of 271 will hardly benefit Marist, which is currently 15-6 overall, 8-3 in the MAAC, with an RPI of 128.
The lone common opponent of the two is Canisius, which beat Colgate (78-73) in Hamilton and lost in Poughkeepsie (80-73).
The two would have one more common opponent in Bucknell had the Bison not laid an egg against Central Arkansas in the first round of Marist's holiday tournament, preventing what would had been a much-anticipated matchup in the final.
A Bucknell-Marist matchup in the BracketBusters would certainly be more attractive than either of the scheduled games, but both schools were preordained as host teams for the event.
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There are two things Bucknell can count on when they meet Colgate tonight in Hamilton: () and a small crowd.
A week ago we'd have added Colgate shooting poorly to that list. That was before the Raiders surprised the heck out of everybody by knocking down 53.7 percent of their on the road at Navy.
Odds still favor an off night. That was the only game (against a Division I foe) Colgate shot over 50 percent since Dec. 2. It's a feat they have accomplished just four times all season. It seems far more likely Colgate will shoot under 40 percent, something they have done in 9 of their past 13 games.
Even after the outburst at Navy, the Raiders remain the league's worst offensive team (last in scoring and field goal percentage).
That does not bode well against Bucknell, which is the league's top defense (first in scoring and field goal percentage defense.)
These two just played 10 days ago in Lewisburg, with Bucknell holding Colgate to 36 points in a 50-36 win.
A week ago you'd also have said you could count on Bucknell getting little, if any, offensive production from point guard Abe Badmus. But Badmus broke out of a season-long slump in two games last week, suddenly finding both range and confidence in his jumper. Badmus hit a pair (out of four) of three-pointers against Lehigh and followed that with a three for three at the arc night against Army. When that happens, Bucknell becomes a very scary offensive team.
If the Bison get production on the perimeter, it makes it even harder to stop Donald Brown and Chris McNaughton inside.
Despite all the factors that seem to point to Bucknell, the Bison still need to be sure to avoid the Hamilton trap. ( -- scroll down to his Jan. 25 entry). Just ask Holy Cross, which needed a Keith Simmons three with 20 seconds to go to pull out a 58-55 win at Colgate last week.
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A week ago we'd have added Colgate shooting poorly to that list. That was before the Raiders surprised the heck out of everybody by knocking down 53.7 percent of their on the road at Navy.
Odds still favor an off night. That was the only game (against a Division I foe) Colgate shot over 50 percent since Dec. 2. It's a feat they have accomplished just four times all season. It seems far more likely Colgate will shoot under 40 percent, something they have done in 9 of their past 13 games.
Even after the outburst at Navy, the Raiders remain the league's worst offensive team (last in scoring and field goal percentage).
That does not bode well against Bucknell, which is the league's top defense (first in scoring and field goal percentage defense.)
These two just played 10 days ago in Lewisburg, with Bucknell holding Colgate to 36 points in a 50-36 win.
A week ago you'd also have said you could count on Bucknell getting little, if any, offensive production from point guard Abe Badmus. But Badmus broke out of a season-long slump in two games last week, suddenly finding both range and confidence in his jumper. Badmus hit a pair (out of four) of three-pointers against Lehigh and followed that with a three for three at the arc night against Army. When that happens, Bucknell becomes a very scary offensive team.
If the Bison get production on the perimeter, it makes it even harder to stop Donald Brown and Chris McNaughton inside.
Despite all the factors that seem to point to Bucknell, the Bison still need to be sure to avoid the Hamilton trap. ( -- scroll down to his Jan. 25 entry). Just ask Holy Cross, which needed a Keith Simmons three with 20 seconds to go to pull out a 58-55 win at Colgate last week.
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Monday, January 29, 2007
Monday's poll news, plus the latest from Ralph Willard.
Holy Cross moves up four spots to No. 17 in this week's . Bucknell also reappears in the others receiving votes category with 16 points, good for an unofficial No. 36 spot.
Again this week, no Patriot League teams garnered any votes in either of the .
In his on CoachRalph.com. HC coach Ralph Willard recaps the Lehigh game and responds to a few e-mail questions, including one asking his thoughts on Internet message boards.
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Holy Cross moves up four spots to No. 17 in this week's . Bucknell also reappears in the others receiving votes category with 16 points, good for an unofficial No. 36 spot.
Again this week, no Patriot League teams garnered any votes in either of the .
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Sunday, January 28, 2007
(Updated with game story and links at 9:47 a.m.)
Army is better than it used to be, but it made little difference Saturday night at Bucknell.
By CHRIS A. COUROGEN
There is an old joke, variously attributed to Kinky Friedman or Jerry Jeff Walker, that goes something like this: A guy walks into a bar, hits on a cowboy's girlfriend and the next thing he knows he is laying in the parking lot surrounded by the half-dozen cowboys who kicked his ass. The guy looks up through the one eye he can still open and says, "You guys ain't so tough. I got beat up a lot worse by some bikers up in Austin."
That might have been the way Jim Crews looked at this year's Bucknell Bison Saturday night after they thrashed his Army ballclub 74-49 in as thorough a whooping as the league has seen all season. After all, Crews was Army's coach back in 2004 when they came to Lewisburg and left on the short end of a 75-25 final.
This one was closer on the scoreboard, but to many of the 4,110 on hand for Young Alumni Night in Sojka Pavilion, it was a Yogi Berra moment -- deja vu all over again. After the game, Crews didn't mention that 2004 debacle. But his opening comment in the postgame press conference pretty much summed things up.: "From my standpoint, it really looked like (Bucknell) played well."
Playing without head coach Pat Flannery, who was back home in Pottsville for his father's funeral, the Bison came out strong for the second game in a row, putting this one away shortly after the first media timeout.
Bucknell spotted the Black Knights a 2-0 lead when Donald Brown turned it over on the Bison's first possession and Kenny Brewer made a layup at the other end. Then Abe Badmus hit the first of his three three-pointers and the rout was on.
At the beginning of the week, Badmus was 10 for 34 (29.3 percent) on the season from the arc. After going 5 for 7 in the wins over Lehigh and Army, his three-point field goal percentage has leaped to 36.6 percent. In the process, he has made Bucknell's whole offense a whole lot better.
When Badmus is hitting from the perimeter, "That's not good," said Crews, supplying an opponent's perspective.
For most of the season, Badmus' shooting woes have led teams to play off him, allowing more help down low on guys like Chris McNaughton and Donald Brown and limiting Badmus' opportunities to penetrate, where he is as dangerous as any player in the league.
"(Badmus) can get inside the core of the defense. Then if he stretches you out with those shots . . . We never thought he was a bad shooter, but you can't take everything away when they've got five guys out there that can do some things," Crews said. "We gambled and we lost that gamble."
Big time.
Badmus first trey sparked an 18-2 Bucknell run that gave the Bison a double-digit lead in a hurry. When he hit his third three-pointer, giving Bucknell a 24-6 lead with 9:09 to go in the first half, it cued a chant of "Abe's got more points" from the Sojka Pscyhos behind the south basket.
"They went in, I don't know what to say," said Badmus afterward. "I've been getting in the gym a little extra and it is really paying off."
Bison assistant coach Nate Davis, who ran the show in Flannery's absence, said the coaches knew all along Badmus was capable of shooting better than he had.
"We never got down on him. We kept encouraging him," Davis said. "We've been preaching to him not to shoot because they are daring you to. Shoot it because you want to."
The three-pointers were big for Badmus, but they were far from his only contribution. He also dished out four assists and made three steals while generally disrupting Army's offensive flow all night. Badmus brought the crowd to its feet early when he stole an inbounds pass after a Donald Brown free throw and made an acrobatic save to get the ball out to John Griffin at the top of the arc, where Griffin drained a three to give the Bison an early 11-4 lead.
Badmus was not the only thing the Bison faithful had to get excited about.
Against the Patriot League's top-ranked defense -- an Army team ranked No. 25 in the nation in field goal percentage defense coming in -- the Bison knocked down 15 of their 23 shots (65.2 percent) in the first half, including 7 of 10 from the arc and a pair of monstrous one-handed breakaway jams by Donald Brown, the second putting the Bison up 43-15 at the half.
"We shot the ball well and executed our offense extremely well," Davis said.
Army's 15 first-half points were not a record low in Sojka. That was set back in that 2004 game when the Black KNights only scored 9 points in the first half. The Black Knights 26.1 percent (6 of 23) shooting in the half also failed to threaten the ineptitude of that 2004 team, which made only 8 field goals that entire game (on 45 shots, 17.2 percent), but it was easily Army's worst offensive half of the season.
"Our focus and effort the start of the game was fantastic," said Davis, who admitted about all he had to do to coach the team on this night was "sit back and watch them go."
The Bison did not end up breaking any records, though their 57.1 percent shooting for the game and their 52.9 percent shooting from the arc were both season highs. hard to tell how those numbers might have ended up had Davis not substituted so liberally. Ten of the 12 Bison in uniform saw action in the first half. All 12 played in the second half. None of the Bison starters played more than 27 minutes and freshman Zach Evans, who played the final 2:13 of the game, was the only Bison to play less than 8.
McNaughton, who finished with 11 points on 4 for 6 shooting, left the game for good with just under 8 minutes to go. Brown, who finished with 12 points (4 of 5 from the field), 8 rebounds and 4 steals, followed McNaughton to the bench with almost six minutes still on the clock. By the 5:23 mark, with Bucknell up by 35 points after a pair of Jason Vegotsky (12 points) free throws, all five Bison starters were done for the night.
Jarrell Brown led Army with 14 points, none of which came when the game was in doubt. Brown's first bucket of the game came with 2:06 to go in the first half. By then the Bison were already ahead by 27 points. Matt Bell also reachd double figures with 11 points on 3 of 9 shooting from the floor.
The victory, Bucknell's 31st straight home win in conference play, was the Bison's fourth in a row and their eighth in their last nine outings. The Bison, who are now 12-4 since opening the season with four straight losses, enter the second half of league play solidly in second place, one game behind first place Holy Cross, which will visit Sojka in two weeks.
| Post game audio (Jim Crews, Nathan Davis, Abe Badmus, Stephen Tyree) | |
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Army is better than it used to be, but it made little difference Saturday night at Bucknell.
By CHRIS A. COUROGEN
There is an old joke, variously attributed to Kinky Friedman or Jerry Jeff Walker, that goes something like this: A guy walks into a bar, hits on a cowboy's girlfriend and the next thing he knows he is laying in the parking lot surrounded by the half-dozen cowboys who kicked his ass. The guy looks up through the one eye he can still open and says, "You guys ain't so tough. I got beat up a lot worse by some bikers up in Austin."
That might have been the way Jim Crews looked at this year's Bucknell Bison Saturday night after they thrashed his Army ballclub 74-49 in as thorough a whooping as the league has seen all season. After all, Crews was Army's coach back in 2004 when they came to Lewisburg and left on the short end of a 75-25 final.
This one was closer on the scoreboard, but to many of the 4,110 on hand for Young Alumni Night in Sojka Pavilion, it was a Yogi Berra moment -- deja vu all over again. After the game, Crews didn't mention that 2004 debacle. But his opening comment in the postgame press conference pretty much summed things up.: "From my standpoint, it really looked like (Bucknell) played well."
Playing without head coach Pat Flannery, who was back home in Pottsville for his father's funeral, the Bison came out strong for the second game in a row, putting this one away shortly after the first media timeout.
Bucknell spotted the Black Knights a 2-0 lead when Donald Brown turned it over on the Bison's first possession and Kenny Brewer made a layup at the other end. Then Abe Badmus hit the first of his three three-pointers and the rout was on.
At the beginning of the week, Badmus was 10 for 34 (29.3 percent) on the season from the arc. After going 5 for 7 in the wins over Lehigh and Army, his three-point field goal percentage has leaped to 36.6 percent. In the process, he has made Bucknell's whole offense a whole lot better.
When Badmus is hitting from the perimeter, "That's not good," said Crews, supplying an opponent's perspective.
For most of the season, Badmus' shooting woes have led teams to play off him, allowing more help down low on guys like Chris McNaughton and Donald Brown and limiting Badmus' opportunities to penetrate, where he is as dangerous as any player in the league.
"(Badmus) can get inside the core of the defense. Then if he stretches you out with those shots . . . We never thought he was a bad shooter, but you can't take everything away when they've got five guys out there that can do some things," Crews said. "We gambled and we lost that gamble."
Big time.
Badmus first trey sparked an 18-2 Bucknell run that gave the Bison a double-digit lead in a hurry. When he hit his third three-pointer, giving Bucknell a 24-6 lead with 9:09 to go in the first half, it cued a chant of "Abe's got more points" from the Sojka Pscyhos behind the south basket.
"They went in, I don't know what to say," said Badmus afterward. "I've been getting in the gym a little extra and it is really paying off."
Bison assistant coach Nate Davis, who ran the show in Flannery's absence, said the coaches knew all along Badmus was capable of shooting better than he had.
"We never got down on him. We kept encouraging him," Davis said. "We've been preaching to him not to shoot because they are daring you to. Shoot it because you want to."
The three-pointers were big for Badmus, but they were far from his only contribution. He also dished out four assists and made three steals while generally disrupting Army's offensive flow all night. Badmus brought the crowd to its feet early when he stole an inbounds pass after a Donald Brown free throw and made an acrobatic save to get the ball out to John Griffin at the top of the arc, where Griffin drained a three to give the Bison an early 11-4 lead.
Badmus was not the only thing the Bison faithful had to get excited about.
Against the Patriot League's top-ranked defense -- an Army team ranked No. 25 in the nation in field goal percentage defense coming in -- the Bison knocked down 15 of their 23 shots (65.2 percent) in the first half, including 7 of 10 from the arc and a pair of monstrous one-handed breakaway jams by Donald Brown, the second putting the Bison up 43-15 at the half.
"We shot the ball well and executed our offense extremely well," Davis said.
Army's 15 first-half points were not a record low in Sojka. That was set back in that 2004 game when the Black KNights only scored 9 points in the first half. The Black Knights 26.1 percent (6 of 23) shooting in the half also failed to threaten the ineptitude of that 2004 team, which made only 8 field goals that entire game (on 45 shots, 17.2 percent), but it was easily Army's worst offensive half of the season.
"Our focus and effort the start of the game was fantastic," said Davis, who admitted about all he had to do to coach the team on this night was "sit back and watch them go."
The Bison did not end up breaking any records, though their 57.1 percent shooting for the game and their 52.9 percent shooting from the arc were both season highs. hard to tell how those numbers might have ended up had Davis not substituted so liberally. Ten of the 12 Bison in uniform saw action in the first half. All 12 played in the second half. None of the Bison starters played more than 27 minutes and freshman Zach Evans, who played the final 2:13 of the game, was the only Bison to play less than 8.
McNaughton, who finished with 11 points on 4 for 6 shooting, left the game for good with just under 8 minutes to go. Brown, who finished with 12 points (4 of 5 from the field), 8 rebounds and 4 steals, followed McNaughton to the bench with almost six minutes still on the clock. By the 5:23 mark, with Bucknell up by 35 points after a pair of Jason Vegotsky (12 points) free throws, all five Bison starters were done for the night.
Jarrell Brown led Army with 14 points, none of which came when the game was in doubt. Brown's first bucket of the game came with 2:06 to go in the first half. By then the Bison were already ahead by 27 points. Matt Bell also reachd double figures with 11 points on 3 of 9 shooting from the floor.
The victory, Bucknell's 31st straight home win in conference play, was the Bison's fourth in a row and their eighth in their last nine outings. The Bison, who are now 12-4 since opening the season with four straight losses, enter the second half of league play solidly in second place, one game behind first place Holy Cross, which will visit Sojka in two weeks.
| Post game audio (Jim Crews, Nathan Davis, Abe Badmus, Stephen Tyree) | |
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Saturday, January 27, 2007
After a few weeks of ties up and down the Patriot League standings, things will shake out a little today.
For the first time all season, somebody will be alone at the bottom. Last place will be decided in Annapolis, where Navy hosts Colgate in a battle of 1-5 teams (). Meanwhile, American visits Lafayette in a matchup of a pair of 2-4 clubs ().
The winner of the AU-LC game could find itself suddenly tied for the all-important fourth spot in the standings, pending the outcome of tonight's Army at Bucknell . A Bucknell win would leave Army tied with that AU-LC winner for the number four spot -- a spot magnified in importance this season by the league's higher seed homecourt playoffs system that has replaced the league's post-season tournament to determine the conference championship and what will likely be just one bid to the NCAA Tournament.
That Army-Bucknell game is the spotlight contest of the day. Army, coming off a loss at Lafayette on Wednesday after three-straight wins in West Point, needs bounce-back win to stay above .500 and even with Lehigh for third place in the standings. A loss and suddenly, despite their strong start in conference play, the Black Knights are back to battling just to stay out of the second division.
For Bucknell, the story is pretty simple. Win their 31st straight home conference game and keep pace one game behind Holy Cross, which has yet to visit Sojka this season.
In Easton, Lafayette will look to shoot its way past an American team that looked like a contender early in the season, but found itself needing a win over Navy Wednesday to stay out of the cellar. Conventional wisdom would tell you American's big, deep frontcourt should be a tremendous edge for the Eagles. But aside from up and down Brayden Billbe, production from those big guys have been mediocre at best.
If Lafayette can lure AU's gunners into a shootout, it could be another long bus ride home for American, which is 0-3 on the road in league play.
In Annapolis, Billy Lange's young Midshipmen badly need a win to stem the bleeding. After a promising 9-3 start, Navy has dropped 7 of its last 9, including its last three. Colgate, which has lost five straight and eight of its last 9, could be the first aid Navy needs. The Raiders rank 314th (out of 325) nationally in scoring and 294th in field goal percentage (40.3 percent).
Of course Bavy is just above Colgate in the league rankings for field goal percentage (41.5 percent, 263 nationally). Two areas where Navy has a big edge are at the foul line and behind the arc. Navy ranks 9th nationally in free throw percentage (76.1 percent, tops in the league); Colgate is last in the league at 69.5 percent (140 nationally). Navy is second in the league and No. 25 in the nation in three-pointers per game (8.4 per); Colgate is last in the league and 316 out of 325 nationally with 4.2 per game.
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For the first time all season, somebody will be alone at the bottom. Last place will be decided in Annapolis, where Navy hosts Colgate in a battle of 1-5 teams (). Meanwhile, American visits Lafayette in a matchup of a pair of 2-4 clubs ().
The winner of the AU-LC game could find itself suddenly tied for the all-important fourth spot in the standings, pending the outcome of tonight's Army at Bucknell . A Bucknell win would leave Army tied with that AU-LC winner for the number four spot -- a spot magnified in importance this season by the league's higher seed homecourt playoffs system that has replaced the league's post-season tournament to determine the conference championship and what will likely be just one bid to the NCAA Tournament.
That Army-Bucknell game is the spotlight contest of the day. Army, coming off a loss at Lafayette on Wednesday after three-straight wins in West Point, needs bounce-back win to stay above .500 and even with Lehigh for third place in the standings. A loss and suddenly, despite their strong start in conference play, the Black Knights are back to battling just to stay out of the second division.
For Bucknell, the story is pretty simple. Win their 31st straight home conference game and keep pace one game behind Holy Cross, which has yet to visit Sojka this season.
In Easton, Lafayette will look to shoot its way past an American team that looked like a contender early in the season, but found itself needing a win over Navy Wednesday to stay out of the cellar. Conventional wisdom would tell you American's big, deep frontcourt should be a tremendous edge for the Eagles. But aside from up and down Brayden Billbe, production from those big guys have been mediocre at best.
If Lafayette can lure AU's gunners into a shootout, it could be another long bus ride home for American, which is 0-3 on the road in league play.
In Annapolis, Billy Lange's young Midshipmen badly need a win to stem the bleeding. After a promising 9-3 start, Navy has dropped 7 of its last 9, including its last three. Colgate, which has lost five straight and eight of its last 9, could be the first aid Navy needs. The Raiders rank 314th (out of 325) nationally in scoring and 294th in field goal percentage (40.3 percent).
Of course Bavy is just above Colgate in the league rankings for field goal percentage (41.5 percent, 263 nationally). Two areas where Navy has a big edge are at the foul line and behind the arc. Navy ranks 9th nationally in free throw percentage (76.1 percent, tops in the league); Colgate is last in the league at 69.5 percent (140 nationally). Navy is second in the league and No. 25 in the nation in three-pointers per game (8.4 per); Colgate is last in the league and 316 out of 325 nationally with 4.2 per game.
Labels: Army, AU, BU, CU, Laf, Navy, previews
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Friday, January 26, 2007
Want to know which Bucknell players provide the most value to the Bison when they are on the floor? Eric at Bucknell has a way of looking at the box score that goes beyond the usual categories like points, rebounds and assists.
Folks on the Bucknell message boards know Eric at Bucknell from posts. For those who don't visit those forums, a quick bit of background: Eric is not actually at Bucknell anymore. He is now a grad student at Penn State. A math wiz with too much time on his hands, he spends much of that free time breaking down the numbers to come up with interesting statistical looks at the game.
One of his projects this season has been an ongoing tally of Bucknell players' plus-minus numbers.
Basically, this is how it works: Points scored by and against Bucknell while each player is on the floor are calculated to determine each player's plus-minus ratio. That part works just like the traditional hockey stat.
Then Eric took those numbers further, calculating the minutes each player played and turning that into 40-minute averages.
It is far from a perfect system. Given the amount of zone and help defense Bucknell employs, the combination on the floor impacts the number of points scored when a player is in the game. The defensive numbers probably would have more validity if Bucknell played more straight man-to-man, though even then, a weak defender among the starting five, for example, would negatively impact the defensive numbers for the other four starters.
Eric is planning to do some calculations in the future that look at different player combinations.
A lesser flaw is the position-by=position breakdown for each player, since Eric is forced to make assumptions what spot a player is at based on the combination in the game at the time. The most glaring example of that is Abe Badmus, whom Eric has assumed has played the point whenever he is in the game, though in reality, there have been times when he has actually played the wing, especially in combination with John Griffin. For the most part the position designations are probably pretty close. We just think the totals for some players are likely more valid than the position breakdowns
Despite those flaws, Eric's calculations do offer some interesting insight into the Bison's performance and Pat Flannery's rotation decisions. For example, Justin Castleberry's plus-2.7 probably helps explain why he has taken a lot of the minutes that went to Rob Thomas (minus-7.5) earlier in the season.
We will update these again as Eric provides them, assuming we can figure out an easier way to translate his spreadsheets into Web-compatible content. If someone wants to do the computations for other teams (and can place them into a convenient html table instead of a spread sheet), send them along and we will post them, too.
Click here to view Eric's Plus-Minus Calculations
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Folks on the Bucknell message boards know Eric at Bucknell from posts. For those who don't visit those forums, a quick bit of background: Eric is not actually at Bucknell anymore. He is now a grad student at Penn State. A math wiz with too much time on his hands, he spends much of that free time breaking down the numbers to come up with interesting statistical looks at the game.
One of his projects this season has been an ongoing tally of Bucknell players' plus-minus numbers.
Basically, this is how it works: Points scored by and against Bucknell while each player is on the floor are calculated to determine each player's plus-minus ratio. That part works just like the traditional hockey stat.
Then Eric took those numbers further, calculating the minutes each player played and turning that into 40-minute averages.
It is far from a perfect system. Given the amount of zone and help defense Bucknell employs, the combination on the floor impacts the number of points scored when a player is in the game. The defensive numbers probably would have more validity if Bucknell played more straight man-to-man, though even then, a weak defender among the starting five, for example, would negatively impact the defensive numbers for the other four starters.
Eric is planning to do some calculations in the future that look at different player combinations.
A lesser flaw is the position-by=position breakdown for each player, since Eric is forced to make assumptions what spot a player is at based on the combination in the game at the time. The most glaring example of that is Abe Badmus, whom Eric has assumed has played the point whenever he is in the game, though in reality, there have been times when he has actually played the wing, especially in combination with John Griffin. For the most part the position designations are probably pretty close. We just think the totals for some players are likely more valid than the position breakdowns
Despite those flaws, Eric's calculations do offer some interesting insight into the Bison's performance and Pat Flannery's rotation decisions. For example, Justin Castleberry's plus-2.7 probably helps explain why he has taken a lot of the minutes that went to Rob Thomas (minus-7.5) earlier in the season.
We will update these again as Eric provides them, assuming we can figure out an easier way to translate his spreadsheets into Web-compatible content. If someone wants to do the computations for other teams (and can place them into a convenient html table instead of a spread sheet), send them along and we will post them, too.
Labels: BU
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Wednesday, January 24, 2007
(Originally posted Tuesday, 10:12 p.m., updated with links at 7:21 a.m.)
Bucknell took over sole possession of second place with an impressive win in Sojka.
By CHRIS A. COUROGEN
Maybe next time. Maybe with a healthy Jason Mgebroff. Maybe in their own barn.
Not here, though; not this night. Not in Sojka Pavilion, where Bucknell has now won 30 straight league games. Not with the Bison raining threes and dominating the inside like they were dressed in leather and carrying whips. Not with Jose Olivero struggling to score and Kyle Neptune struggling to even find iron.
Lehigh might yet prove to be a contender in the Patriot League; there is a lot of ball yet to be played. But on this Tuesday night in Lewisburg, the Mountain Hawks didn't even look like pretenders, losing 62-44 to a Bucknell team that was, in a word, dominant..
It was a game that was close for about five minutes. Then Bucknell broke it open with a 14-2 run and never looked back. The Bison hit six threes in the first half -- four in the first 10 minutes while they built a solid lead they would hold all night. By the half that lead was 16 points, and would have been worse if the Bison had shot better than 50 percent at the foul line.
"We just came out stagnant," said freshman point guard Marquis Hall, whose 18 points were the lone bright spot for the Mountain Hawks (9-13 overall, 4-2 Patriot), who have now lost 10 of 11 on the road this season. "They just wanted it more than us the first half and it showed."
It showed on the scoreboard, where Bucknell had a 37-21 advantage at the intermission, and in the box score. Bucknell shot 57.1 percent (12 of 21) in the first half, 6 of 10 from the three-point arc, and held Lehigh to 8 for 26 (30.8 percent) shooting, 3 of 11 three-point tries.
The first half dominance was particularly evident in Chris McNaughton's line. The 6-11 senior started Bucknell's scoring with a free throw on the Bison's first possession and kept it up the entire half, posting 12 of his 15 points in the first half. McNaughton added 11 rebounds for his first double-double of the season.
It was vintage McNaughton; the kind of performance expected when the coaches and sports information directors around the league voted him the preseason player of the year The big German did it with power, throwing down a pair of thunderous dunks, the first on a nifty spin move that left Lehigh's Phil Anderson picking up his shorts, the second on an equally pretty feed from Donald Brown.
McNaughton also did it with finesse, stepping outside the arc to knock down a key three during that decisive early run. All told, McNaughton was 5 for 7 from the field. In his spare time he helped limited the three-man combination Lehigh tried at center to 8 points on 3 for 9 shooting with four turnovers. The only fault in his game was a 4 for 8 performance at the foul line.
"I'm playing with a little more intensity than some of the games earlier in the season," said McNaughton.
Brown was nearly as dominant, also scoring 15 points, 12 in the second half when Lehigh started sending more defenders at McNaughton. The 6-6 senior from Long Island also added 7 boards, 3 assists, a block and 3 steals to his line.
"We're seniors. We're counting games. There are not a whole lot left. We don't want to leave anything out there," McNaughton said.
Bucknell's third senior, Abe Badmus, also had a stellar night, hitting a pair of threes en route to 9 points and playing shut-down defense on Lehigh standout Jose Olivero, who spent much of the night listening to derisive chants of "airball, airball" from the Bucknell student section.
Olivero, who came in as the league's third-leading scorer, averaging 16.2 points per game finished with 9 points after going 4 for 15 from the floor, 1 of 5 at the arc.
"Abe Badmus is a great defender," said Lehigh coach Billy Taylor, who credited the job Badmus did early on Olivero with taking his star out of the game the rest of the night.
"(Olivero) forced a couple early, got out of rhythm, and never got into the low, even when he had open looks," said Taylor. "Same for Kyle Neptune."
Actually, it was worse for Neptune, who was 0 for his first 11 before finally making his only field goal of the game with 6:23 to go and the game already pretty much decided. It was that kind of night for Lehigh, which finished the game 17 of 54 (31.5 percent) from the field. Take away Hall's 6 for 12 showing and it would have been even uglier. The rest of the Hawks were 11 of 42 (26.1 percent), 1 for 13 from the arc.
"We came out and played with a good sense of urgency. The kids were into it from the get-go. Defensively we set the tone early," Bucknell coach Pat Flannery said.
Lehigh had a brief moment of glory at the start of the second half, taking advantage of some easy misses by Bucknell and some opportune bounces on the offensive glass to put together a 7-0 spurt, cutting the Bucknell lead to 27-28. That was the Mountain Hawks last -- and really, only -- hurrah.
Pat Flannery called a quick timeout, then the Bison came out and reestablished the double-digit margin with a Donald Brown layin that started an 8-0 run.
"Coach said 'O.K., that was their turn, now it is our turn again," McNaughton said.
The two teams will meet again Feb. 21 at Lehigh, where the Mountain Hawks are just a disputed call and a few seconds from being unbeaten. Maybe then it will be Lehigh's turn. But round one in Lewisburg was all Bucknell.
| Postgame audio (Marquis Hall, Billy Taylor, Flannery-McNaughton-Brown) | | | | |
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Bucknell took over sole possession of second place with an impressive win in Sojka.
By CHRIS A. COUROGEN
Maybe next time. Maybe with a healthy Jason Mgebroff. Maybe in their own barn.
Not here, though; not this night. Not in Sojka Pavilion, where Bucknell has now won 30 straight league games. Not with the Bison raining threes and dominating the inside like they were dressed in leather and carrying whips. Not with Jose Olivero struggling to score and Kyle Neptune struggling to even find iron.
Lehigh might yet prove to be a contender in the Patriot League; there is a lot of ball yet to be played. But on this Tuesday night in Lewisburg, the Mountain Hawks didn't even look like pretenders, losing 62-44 to a Bucknell team that was, in a word, dominant..
It was a game that was close for about five minutes. Then Bucknell broke it open with a 14-2 run and never looked back. The Bison hit six threes in the first half -- four in the first 10 minutes while they built a solid lead they would hold all night. By the half that lead was 16 points, and would have been worse if the Bison had shot better than 50 percent at the foul line.
"We just came out stagnant," said freshman point guard Marquis Hall, whose 18 points were the lone bright spot for the Mountain Hawks (9-13 overall, 4-2 Patriot), who have now lost 10 of 11 on the road this season. "They just wanted it more than us the first half and it showed."
It showed on the scoreboard, where Bucknell had a 37-21 advantage at the intermission, and in the box score. Bucknell shot 57.1 percent (12 of 21) in the first half, 6 of 10 from the three-point arc, and held Lehigh to 8 for 26 (30.8 percent) shooting, 3 of 11 three-point tries.
The first half dominance was particularly evident in Chris McNaughton's line. The 6-11 senior started Bucknell's scoring with a free throw on the Bison's first possession and kept it up the entire half, posting 12 of his 15 points in the first half. McNaughton added 11 rebounds for his first double-double of the season.
It was vintage McNaughton; the kind of performance expected when the coaches and sports information directors around the league voted him the preseason player of the year The big German did it with power, throwing down a pair of thunderous dunks, the first on a nifty spin move that left Lehigh's Phil Anderson picking up his shorts, the second on an equally pretty feed from Donald Brown.
McNaughton also did it with finesse, stepping outside the arc to knock down a key three during that decisive early run. All told, McNaughton was 5 for 7 from the field. In his spare time he helped limited the three-man combination Lehigh tried at center to 8 points on 3 for 9 shooting with four turnovers. The only fault in his game was a 4 for 8 performance at the foul line.
"I'm playing with a little more intensity than some of the games earlier in the season," said McNaughton.
Brown was nearly as dominant, also scoring 15 points, 12 in the second half when Lehigh started sending more defenders at McNaughton. The 6-6 senior from Long Island also added 7 boards, 3 assists, a block and 3 steals to his line.
"We're seniors. We're counting games. There are not a whole lot left. We don't want to leave anything out there," McNaughton said.
Bucknell's third senior, Abe Badmus, also had a stellar night, hitting a pair of threes en route to 9 points and playing shut-down defense on Lehigh standout Jose Olivero, who spent much of the night listening to derisive chants of "airball, airball" from the Bucknell student section.
Olivero, who came in as the league's third-leading scorer, averaging 16.2 points per game finished with 9 points after going 4 for 15 from the floor, 1 of 5 at the arc.
"Abe Badmus is a great defender," said Lehigh coach Billy Taylor, who credited the job Badmus did early on Olivero with taking his star out of the game the rest of the night.
"(Olivero) forced a couple early, got out of rhythm, and never got into the low, even when he had open looks," said Taylor. "Same for Kyle Neptune."
Actually, it was worse for Neptune, who was 0 for his first 11 before finally making his only field goal of the game with 6:23 to go and the game already pretty much decided. It was that kind of night for Lehigh, which finished the game 17 of 54 (31.5 percent) from the field. Take away Hall's 6 for 12 showing and it would have been even uglier. The rest of the Hawks were 11 of 42 (26.1 percent), 1 for 13 from the arc.
"We came out and played with a good sense of urgency. The kids were into it from the get-go. Defensively we set the tone early," Bucknell coach Pat Flannery said.
Lehigh had a brief moment of glory at the start of the second half, taking advantage of some easy misses by Bucknell and some opportune bounces on the offensive glass to put together a 7-0 spurt, cutting the Bucknell lead to 27-28. That was the Mountain Hawks last -- and really, only -- hurrah.
Pat Flannery called a quick timeout, then the Bison came out and reestablished the double-digit margin with a Donald Brown layin that started an 8-0 run.
"Coach said 'O.K., that was their turn, now it is our turn again," McNaughton said.
The two teams will meet again Feb. 21 at Lehigh, where the Mountain Hawks are just a disputed call and a few seconds from being unbeaten. Maybe then it will be Lehigh's turn. But round one in Lewisburg was all Bucknell.
| Postgame audio (Marquis Hall, Billy Taylor, Flannery-McNaughton-Brown) | | | | |
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Tuesday, January 23, 2007
The two teams currently tied for second in the league standings meet tonight in Lewisburg while the team they are chasing tries to avoid a trap in snowy Hamilton.
Most fans around the league, at least those who don't bleed Brown and Yellow, would probably tell you Bucknell is the favorite tonight against Lehigh () -- especially at home in Sojka Pavilion, where the Bison have won 29 straight league games.
Those Lehigh fans would ask, with good reason, why? Take a look at the league's team statistics. You'll have a tough time finding categories where Bucknell ranks ahead of the Mountain Hawks. Lehigh tops the league in scoring offense, field goal percentage and rebounding margin and ranks second in field goal percentage defense.
Bucknell is fourth in scoring defense, seventh in scoring offense, seventh in field goal percentage defense, seventh at both ends of the floor in three-point shooting.
So what makes the Bison the favorite? Bucknell fans might say those stats are skewed by the Bison's tough out of conference schedule. But guess what -- while it did not look as strong on paper prior to the start of the season, the strength of Lehigh's non-conference schedule ranks second in the league (No. 147 nationally), just behind Holy Cross (142). Bucknell (189) is third in the league in that category.
Still, until Lehigh beats Bucknell or Holy Cross on the road, it just is not going to get the respect of the rest of the league's followers. That has been the Mountain Hawks downfall in recent years. The Hawks have not won at Holy Cross since 1998. Their recent history at Bucknell is a little better. Lehigh spoiled the opening of Sojka Pavilion in 2003 with a 60-56 win. But that was the year before Bucknell began offering scholarships.
For Lehigh to move beyond the esoteric world of number crunchers and stats freak and gain mainstream respect as a legitimate contender, it needs to establish superiority of the floor, not the stats sheet. And it needs to win some games on the road.
Thus far that has been tough for the Mountain Hawks. While Lehigh is within a few seconds and a disputed call of being perfect in Stabler Arena, it is also just a win at Navy away from being winless outside of its own concrete shed.
They keys here are the usual ones for both teams. Bucknell needs to exploit what should be a big advantage close to the basket, especially with Lehigh's Jason Mgebroff still sidelined by a stress fracture in his leg. Mgebroff is expected to miss another two to three weeks.
In his stead, sophomore Phil Anderson has been a capable fill-in, but he has yet to face a frontline the quality of Bucknell's. If Chris McNaughton stays out of foul trouble -- anything but a given this season -- the trio of McNaughton, Donald Brown and Darren Mastropaolo give Bucknell a huge edge up front.
Lehigh needs to get Jose Olivero going. The Mountain Hawks leading scorer has been held to single digits three times this season, including two of Lehigh's last three road games. The Mountain Hawks are 0-3 when Olivero does not reach double figures.
Looking for a key matchup -- try the point, where Lehigh's super frosh Marquis Hall meets Bucknell senior Abe Badmus. Hall is averaging 10 ppg and comes in off a 24-point showing against Lafayette. Badmus is one of the league's top defenders when he stays out of foul trouble (like McNaughton, that has been a challenge). Badmus has never been a big offensive threat, but two of the three games in which he has scored 15 or more in his career have come against Lehigh.
Holy Cross at Colgate () -- Forget how bad Colgate has been shooting the ball. Forget the Raiders are last in the league and Holy Cross first. The temperature outside Cotterell Court will be in the mid-teens. The attendance inside won't be a whole lot higher. Neither will be the mathematical odds of Colgate winning this game, but therein lies the makings of a classic trap game.
The challenge for Holy Cross, which has had trouble staying focused through entire games, is more mental than physical. Coming off an OT win in front of a packed Bender Arena, heading into a big ESPNU matchup Friday with Lehigh, the Crusaders need to find a way to get themselves up for this one if they want to stay alone atop the standings.
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Most fans around the league, at least those who don't bleed Brown and Yellow, would probably tell you Bucknell is the favorite tonight against Lehigh () -- especially at home in Sojka Pavilion, where the Bison have won 29 straight league games.
Those Lehigh fans would ask, with good reason, why? Take a look at the league's team statistics. You'll have a tough time finding categories where Bucknell ranks ahead of the Mountain Hawks. Lehigh tops the league in scoring offense, field goal percentage and rebounding margin and ranks second in field goal percentage defense.
Bucknell is fourth in scoring defense, seventh in scoring offense, seventh in field goal percentage defense, seventh at both ends of the floor in three-point shooting.
So what makes the Bison the favorite? Bucknell fans might say those stats are skewed by the Bison's tough out of conference schedule. But guess what -- while it did not look as strong on paper prior to the start of the season, the strength of Lehigh's non-conference schedule ranks second in the league (No. 147 nationally), just behind Holy Cross (142). Bucknell (189) is third in the league in that category.
Still, until Lehigh beats Bucknell or Holy Cross on the road, it just is not going to get the respect of the rest of the league's followers. That has been the Mountain Hawks downfall in recent years. The Hawks have not won at Holy Cross since 1998. Their recent history at Bucknell is a little better. Lehigh spoiled the opening of Sojka Pavilion in 2003 with a 60-56 win. But that was the year before Bucknell began offering scholarships.
For Lehigh to move beyond the esoteric world of number crunchers and stats freak and gain mainstream respect as a legitimate contender, it needs to establish superiority of the floor, not the stats sheet. And it needs to win some games on the road.
Thus far that has been tough for the Mountain Hawks. While Lehigh is within a few seconds and a disputed call of being perfect in Stabler Arena, it is also just a win at Navy away from being winless outside of its own concrete shed.
They keys here are the usual ones for both teams. Bucknell needs to exploit what should be a big advantage close to the basket, especially with Lehigh's Jason Mgebroff still sidelined by a stress fracture in his leg. Mgebroff is expected to miss another two to three weeks.
In his stead, sophomore Phil Anderson has been a capable fill-in, but he has yet to face a frontline the quality of Bucknell's. If Chris McNaughton stays out of foul trouble -- anything but a given this season -- the trio of McNaughton, Donald Brown and Darren Mastropaolo give Bucknell a huge edge up front.
Lehigh needs to get Jose Olivero going. The Mountain Hawks leading scorer has been held to single digits three times this season, including two of Lehigh's last three road games. The Mountain Hawks are 0-3 when Olivero does not reach double figures.
Looking for a key matchup -- try the point, where Lehigh's super frosh Marquis Hall meets Bucknell senior Abe Badmus. Hall is averaging 10 ppg and comes in off a 24-point showing against Lafayette. Badmus is one of the league's top defenders when he stays out of foul trouble (like McNaughton, that has been a challenge). Badmus has never been a big offensive threat, but two of the three games in which he has scored 15 or more in his career have come against Lehigh.
Holy Cross at Colgate () -- Forget how bad Colgate has been shooting the ball. Forget the Raiders are last in the league and Holy Cross first. The temperature outside Cotterell Court will be in the mid-teens. The attendance inside won't be a whole lot higher. Neither will be the mathematical odds of Colgate winning this game, but therein lies the makings of a classic trap game.
The challenge for Holy Cross, which has had trouble staying focused through entire games, is more mental than physical. Coming off an OT win in front of a packed Bender Arena, heading into a big ESPNU matchup Friday with Lehigh, the Crusaders need to find a way to get themselves up for this one if they want to stay alone atop the standings.
Labels: BU, CU, HC, Leh, previews
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Monday, January 22, 2007
Sunday, January 21, 2007
Bison's inside attack, its own cold shooting, more than Colgate can handle (Updated with links at 7:55 a.m.)
By ERIC THOMAS
Special to Hoop Time
For the first 4:56 of live game action, nothing but frustration could be found on the face of Bucknell head coach Pat Flannery.
The Bison sideline boss watched his team play careless, turnovers, shots weren't falling, good looks were all around, but nothing was dropping.
The Bison faced an early 6-0 hole, which might not look like much, but when you have more turnovers than field goal attempts in that stretch, it feels deeper than it really is.
But, Bucknell did what Bucknell has had to do a lot of lately, rally from behind.
Key three pointers by Abe Badmus and Jason Vegotsky fueled a late first half charge, and the inside play of Chris McNaughton and Donald Brown was too much in the second half as the Bison defeated Colgate 50-36 at Sojka Pavilion Saturday afternoon.
It was Bucknell's 29th consecutive home win, and the fifth straight over the Raiders. More importantly, the Bison picked up their 10th and kept pace one game back of Holy Cross in the league standings at 4-1.
Oh, and don't forget about that Bison defense either. Bucknell held Colgate scoreless for a seven minute stretch of the first half.
It wasn't just the seven minute stretch that frustrated Raiders head coach Emmett Davis, it was the entire late first half and second half performance; Repeated looks late that didn't fall, turnovers, being out-rebounded by the Bison,
"Bucknell got to the ball quicker," said Davis. "I thought they did that throughout the second half. They were just quicker to the loose balls and we didn't shoot the ball from three or anywhere for that matter very well. When you shoot the ball that poorly and you score that number of points its hard to beat anybody."
McNaughton had only three field goal attempts in the first half, but finally ended the early drought when he connected in the paint on a beautiful pass from Brown. It was the start of something big. Over half of Bucknell's 50 points came in the paint.
Colgate's Daniel Waddy responded by giving the Red Raiders the lead at 12-10 with 4:46 to play, but Badmus connected from deep the next trip down the floor for the Bison to give them lead they would hold the rest of the way.
A minute later, Vegotsky, hit from the right wing to extend the lead, and then on the next Bison possession hit his only other basket, a three-pointer from the left wing for a 19-14 lead with 2:38 to play in the first half.
"What we started doing was rebounding a little bit better and we got ourselves going a little bit," Flannery said.
The Bison defense clamped down on Colgate in the second half, holding them to 6-of-17 shooting and overall held the Raiders to a dismal 26-percent for the game. Colgate also went 0-14 from the arch for the contest.
"I thought we did a real good job defensively," said Flannery. "I thought the big difference as the game went along, the things they were doing to Donald Brown, he really showed a lot of maturity tonight and really did a great job adjusting to the way they were playing him. Chris has really been playing well and hard and I really like what our upper classmen did tonight."
The Bison immediately went to McNaughton to start the second half and that started a stretch of 16 points in the paint in 15 minutes. All other Bison points in that stretch came via the free throw line because of the position Brown, McNaughton and reserve forward Darren Mastropaolo had inside against a lesser Raiders interior defense.
"I just relied on my teammates because I knew they were capable of making plays and I just let the game come to me," Brown said.
McNaughton acknowledged that it was tough inside, but repeatedly, he was able to seal on the baseline or in the lane and beat his man to the bucket for high percentage shots.
"They have some pretty physical guys in there trying to play me one-on-one. It's always tough playing Colgate, you know it's going to be a physical game," McNaughton said. "I think we just have to do a good job of playing physical ourselves, I think we can play physical."
Flannery should be pleased with the play of his underclassmen as well. He put a rotation on the floor that consisted of Justin Castleberry, Stephen Tyree and Patrick Behan early in the first half. Castleberry struggled, but Tyree and Behan combined 2-of-4 shooting and played 18 minutes. Tyree's tip-in off a Brown miss gave the Bison a 23-16 first half lead and caused the near sellout crowd to erupt for the freshman.
"Certainly, defensively we weren't giving them a lot of looks," Flannery said. "Offensively the right guys got the ball."
McNaughton led the Bison with 12, Brown added 11 and six rebounds. Kendall Chones led Colgate with nine.
Notes: The Bison held the rebound advantage 35-21. . .Colgate as a team had just five assists and turned the ball over 13 times. John Griffin did not have an assist and had one turnover. . . he is among the national leaders in assist-to-turnover ratio . . . the 36 points allowed by the Bison were the fewest since January 18th of last season when they gave up 32 to Lafayette . . . Jon Simon, who hit eight 3-pointers against Lehigh was held to 2-of-11 shooting and was 0-of-5 from the arch . . . It was the ninth time in 11 games Colgate failed to shoot 40 percent from the floor . . . Colgate's Willie Morse was a DNP in front of a crowd that included early arrivals for a between his alma mater State College and a Hazleton team coached by BU grad Mike Joseph . . . Morse sat after missing most of the past week's practices with the flu
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By ERIC THOMAS
Special to Hoop Time
For the first 4:56 of live game action, nothing but frustration could be found on the face of Bucknell head coach Pat Flannery.
The Bison sideline boss watched his team play careless, turnovers, shots weren't falling, good looks were all around, but nothing was dropping.
The Bison faced an early 6-0 hole, which might not look like much, but when you have more turnovers than field goal attempts in that stretch, it feels deeper than it really is.
But, Bucknell did what Bucknell has had to do a lot of lately, rally from behind.
Key three pointers by Abe Badmus and Jason Vegotsky fueled a late first half charge, and the inside play of Chris McNaughton and Donald Brown was too much in the second half as the Bison defeated Colgate 50-36 at Sojka Pavilion Saturday afternoon.
It was Bucknell's 29th consecutive home win, and the fifth straight over the Raiders. More importantly, the Bison picked up their 10th and kept pace one game back of Holy Cross in the league standings at 4-1.
Oh, and don't forget about that Bison defense either. Bucknell held Colgate scoreless for a seven minute stretch of the first half.
It wasn't just the seven minute stretch that frustrated Raiders head coach Emmett Davis, it was the entire late first half and second half performance; Repeated looks late that didn't fall, turnovers, being out-rebounded by the Bison,
"Bucknell got to the ball quicker," said Davis. "I thought they did that throughout the second half. They were just quicker to the loose balls and we didn't shoot the ball from three or anywhere for that matter very well. When you shoot the ball that poorly and you score that number of points its hard to beat anybody."
McNaughton had only three field goal attempts in the first half, but finally ended the early drought when he connected in the paint on a beautiful pass from Brown. It was the start of something big. Over half of Bucknell's 50 points came in the paint.
Colgate's Daniel Waddy responded by giving the Red Raiders the lead at 12-10 with 4:46 to play, but Badmus connected from deep the next trip down the floor for the Bison to give them lead they would hold the rest of the way.
A minute later, Vegotsky, hit from the right wing to extend the lead, and then on the next Bison possession hit his only other basket, a three-pointer from the left wing for a 19-14 lead with 2:38 to play in the first half.
"What we started doing was rebounding a little bit better and we got ourselves going a little bit," Flannery said.
The Bison defense clamped down on Colgate in the second half, holding them to 6-of-17 shooting and overall held the Raiders to a dismal 26-percent for the game. Colgate also went 0-14 from the arch for the contest.
"I thought we did a real good job defensively," said Flannery. "I thought the big difference as the game went along, the things they were doing to Donald Brown, he really showed a lot of maturity tonight and really did a great job adjusting to the way they were playing him. Chris has really been playing well and hard and I really like what our upper classmen did tonight."
The Bison immediately went to McNaughton to start the second half and that started a stretch of 16 points in the paint in 15 minutes. All other Bison points in that stretch came via the free throw line because of the position Brown, McNaughton and reserve forward Darren Mastropaolo had inside against a lesser Raiders interior defense.
"I just relied on my teammates because I knew they were capable of making plays and I just let the game come to me," Brown said.
McNaughton acknowledged that it was tough inside, but repeatedly, he was able to seal on the baseline or in the lane and beat his man to the bucket for high percentage shots.
"They have some pretty physical guys in there trying to play me one-on-one. It's always tough playing Colgate, you know it's going to be a physical game," McNaughton said. "I think we just have to do a good job of playing physical ourselves, I think we can play physical."
Flannery should be pleased with the play of his underclassmen as well. He put a rotation on the floor that consisted of Justin Castleberry, Stephen Tyree and Patrick Behan early in the first half. Castleberry struggled, but Tyree and Behan combined 2-of-4 shooting and played 18 minutes. Tyree's tip-in off a Brown miss gave the Bison a 23-16 first half lead and caused the near sellout crowd to erupt for the freshman.
"Certainly, defensively we weren't giving them a lot of looks," Flannery said. "Offensively the right guys got the ball."
McNaughton led the Bison with 12, Brown added 11 and six rebounds. Kendall Chones led Colgate with nine.
Notes: The Bison held the rebound advantage 35-21. . .Colgate as a team had just five assists and turned the ball over 13 times. John Griffin did not have an assist and had one turnover. . . he is among the national leaders in assist-to-turnover ratio . . . the 36 points allowed by the Bison were the fewest since January 18th of last season when they gave up 32 to Lafayette . . . Jon Simon, who hit eight 3-pointers against Lehigh was held to 2-of-11 shooting and was 0-of-5 from the arch . . . It was the ninth time in 11 games Colgate failed to shoot 40 percent from the floor . . . Colgate's Willie Morse was a DNP in front of a crowd that included early arrivals for a between his alma mater State College and a Hazleton team coached by BU grad Mike Joseph . . . Morse sat after missing most of the past week's practices with the flu
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Saturday, January 20, 2007
With Army-Navy on hold until Sunday, there are just three games on tap today, all involving matchups between the early season haves and early season have-nots.
Colgate at Bucknell ESPNU, Sirius 123 () -- Bucknell's 23-game league win streak came to an end last week in Worcester. Their 28-game streak of league wins at home is still intact.
Colgate is the worst shooting team in the league, barely hitting over 40 percent on the season (40.9). Normally you would not think of Sojka Pavilion as a good place for a team that shoots poorly to visit. But here is one of the most surprising stats of the season: Bucknell ranks next to last in the league in field goal percentage defense (44.3 percent).
The biggest concern for Bucknell is Colgate's Jon Simon, who went off for 28 points Wednesday at Lehigh. Simon's 8 three-pointers kept the Raiders in that game right to the end. The Bison have had a knack for letting teams hits enough threes to stick around.
Expect a few more folks cheering Colgate than normal. Raiders guard Willie Morse is from State College H.S., 45 minutes out Route 45 from Lewisburg. The State College H.S. team will take on Hazleton -- coached by Bucknell grad Mike Joseph -- in Sojka following the BU-CU game.
Holy Cross at American () -- Holy Cross returns to the road after a three-game homestand, looking to solidify its hold on first place. The Crusaders are on a roll, having won six in a row -- including a 4-0 start in league play -- and seven of their last eight.
American is hoping a return to Bender will stop the bleeding. After a 7-2 start, AU has gone 2-7 in its last 9 games, including a 1-3 start in league play. Despite their struggles, the Eagles are still 6-0 at home this season.
Two years ago, HC's Tim Clifford had his at Bender with a 13-point, 13-rebound double-double in a short-notice first start after Nate Lufkin rolled an ankle at Navy two days earlier. Clifford followed that up with a 27-point effort against AU in Worcester last season that still stands as his career-high.
If Clifford is going to have a big scoring day against AU this afternoon, it probably will come at the free throw line. American has a boatload of frontcourt players and Jeff Jones will probably throw them all at Clifford in an effort to keep him in check.
What Jones doesn't have is anybody who can match up with Keith Simmons (who in the league does?). The best AU can hope for in the backcourt is to get enough scoring from Andre Ingram and Arvydas Eitutavicius to even Simmons out.
Lafayette at Lehigh () -- The league's highest scoring offense hosts the league's worst scoring defense in a meeting of the two archrivals from the Lehigh Valley.
Lehigh needs a win to keep pace with Bucknell for second place in the league standings. Lafayette is currently tied with Navy, American and Colgate for last place -- all at 1-3. Stabler Arena is not the place you want to visit needing a win. The Mountain Hawks are 7-1 at home and just a second or two and a questionable whistle from being unbeaten there.
In their own building, the Leopards have shown the ability to shoot enough threes to hang with two of the league's best. To get a win here, they will need to show they can do it on the road and that they can maintain it for 40 minutes -- something they were unable to do at home against HC and Bucknell.
Talk about Lehigh personnel usually starts with Jose Olivero. But Marquis Hall and Kyle Neptune are also three-point threats, capable of shredding Lafayette's zone from the perimeter if their shots are falling. Inside, Skinny Phil (Anderson) has scored in double figures three straight games and has the kind of matchup against Lafayette's undersized front line to do it a fourth time here.
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Colgate at Bucknell ESPNU, Sirius 123 () -- Bucknell's 23-game league win streak came to an end last week in Worcester. Their 28-game streak of league wins at home is still intact.
Colgate is the worst shooting team in the league, barely hitting over 40 percent on the season (40.9). Normally you would not think of Sojka Pavilion as a good place for a team that shoots poorly to visit. But here is one of the most surprising stats of the season: Bucknell ranks next to last in the league in field goal percentage defense (44.3 percent).
The biggest concern for Bucknell is Colgate's Jon Simon, who went off for 28 points Wednesday at Lehigh. Simon's 8 three-pointers kept the Raiders in that game right to the end. The Bison have had a knack for letting teams hits enough threes to stick around.
Expect a few more folks cheering Colgate than normal. Raiders guard Willie Morse is from State College H.S., 45 minutes out Route 45 from Lewisburg. The State College H.S. team will take on Hazleton -- coached by Bucknell grad Mike Joseph -- in Sojka following the BU-CU game.
Holy Cross at American () -- Holy Cross returns to the road after a three-game homestand, looking to solidify its hold on first place. The Crusaders are on a roll, having won six in a row -- including a 4-0 start in league play -- and seven of their last eight.
American is hoping a return to Bender will stop the bleeding. After a 7-2 start, AU has gone 2-7 in its last 9 games, including a 1-3 start in league play. Despite their struggles, the Eagles are still 6-0 at home this season.
Two years ago, HC's Tim Clifford had his at Bender with a 13-point, 13-rebound double-double in a short-notice first start after Nate Lufkin rolled an ankle at Navy two days earlier. Clifford followed that up with a 27-point effort against AU in Worcester last season that still stands as his career-high.
If Clifford is going to have a big scoring day against AU this afternoon, it probably will come at the free throw line. American has a boatload of frontcourt players and Jeff Jones will probably throw them all at Clifford in an effort to keep him in check.
What Jones doesn't have is anybody who can match up with Keith Simmons (who in the league does?). The best AU can hope for in the backcourt is to get enough scoring from Andre Ingram and Arvydas Eitutavicius to even Simmons out.
Lafayette at Lehigh () -- The league's highest scoring offense hosts the league's worst scoring defense in a meeting of the two archrivals from the Lehigh Valley.
Lehigh needs a win to keep pace with Bucknell for second place in the league standings. Lafayette is currently tied with Navy, American and Colgate for last place -- all at 1-3. Stabler Arena is not the place you want to visit needing a win. The Mountain Hawks are 7-1 at home and just a second or two and a questionable whistle from being unbeaten there.
In their own building, the Leopards have shown the ability to shoot enough threes to hang with two of the league's best. To get a win here, they will need to show they can do it on the road and that they can maintain it for 40 minutes -- something they were unable to do at home against HC and Bucknell.
Talk about Lehigh personnel usually starts with Jose Olivero. But Marquis Hall and Kyle Neptune are also three-point threats, capable of shredding Lafayette's zone from the perimeter if their shots are falling. Inside, Skinny Phil (Anderson) has scored in double figures three straight games and has the kind of matchup against Lafayette's undersized front line to do it a fourth time here.
Labels: AU, BU, CU, HC, Laf, Leh, previews
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Friday, January 19, 2007
The latest news and columns from around the league:
Andre Williams, the Lehigh beat writer for the Morning Call, sets the stage for Saturday's big Lafayette at Lehigh rivalry game with profiling Mountain Hawks seniors Jose Olivero and Kyle Neptune.
Bucknell guard Justin Castleberry has become a key ingredient for the Bison, providing a much-needed offensive spark off the bench. In his , Tom Housenick of The Daily Item takes a closer look at the sophomore from Archbishop Spalding.
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Thursday, January 18, 2007
Bucknell needed to be perfect at the foul line down the stretch to get past Lafayette.
They were, making 14 of 14 in the final 2:57 of a 67-61 win in Easton. The Bison's last field goal came on a John Griffin jumper with 5:31 to play. But they took full advantage of their free throw opportunities, especially in the final 1:09 of the game, when they took the lead on a pair by Donald Brown (19 points, 7 rebounds) and held it by putting the ball in the hands of Griffin (11 points) and Jason Vegotsky (18), who combined to go 10 for 10 at the stripe in the final 47 seconds.
Lafayette (7-12 overall, 1-3 Patriot) blitzed the Bison early, holding Bucknell (9-8, 3-1) without a field goal the first 6:08 of the game while taking an early 10-1 lead. The Leopards maintained the lead well into the second half, thanks in no small part to hot three-point shooting. Lafayette hit 9 of the first 18 treys it shot, including 4 by Andrew Brown (14 points). Six different players connected from the arc for the 'Pards, but Matt Betley (11) was the only one who did so after the first 5 minutes of the second half. Lafayette was 1 for 7 from three-point range the last 15 minutes.
Bucknell took its first lead on a Vegotsky three at the 11:48 mark, but never was able to pull away. There were four lead changes and four ties from there, the last tie at 55-55 before Brown's free throws, which came on an over the back call on Betley that the Lafayette beat writers say was a questionable call at best.
The Bison won despite being outscored from the field. Both teams made 21 field goals, Bucknell's coming on 50 shots (42 percent), while Lafayette was 21 of 47 (44.7 percent). The Leopards had 10 treys; Bucknell has 6. But Bucknell had a 39-23 edge on the boards, including 16 offensive rebounds, and shot 27 free throws (making 19) while Lafayette was 9 of 13 at the line.
The two teams had nearly as many turnovers as field goals, combining for 39 -- 20 by Bucknell.
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BONUS LINK: (Huntsville Times)
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They were, making 14 of 14 in the final 2:57 of a 67-61 win in Easton. The Bison's last field goal came on a John Griffin jumper with 5:31 to play. But they took full advantage of their free throw opportunities, especially in the final 1:09 of the game, when they took the lead on a pair by Donald Brown (19 points, 7 rebounds) and held it by putting the ball in the hands of Griffin (11 points) and Jason Vegotsky (18), who combined to go 10 for 10 at the stripe in the final 47 seconds.
Lafayette (7-12 overall, 1-3 Patriot) blitzed the Bison early, holding Bucknell (9-8, 3-1) without a field goal the first 6:08 of the game while taking an early 10-1 lead. The Leopards maintained the lead well into the second half, thanks in no small part to hot three-point shooting. Lafayette hit 9 of the first 18 treys it shot, including 4 by Andrew Brown (14 points). Six different players connected from the arc for the 'Pards, but Matt Betley (11) was the only one who did so after the first 5 minutes of the second half. Lafayette was 1 for 7 from three-point range the last 15 minutes.
Bucknell took its first lead on a Vegotsky three at the 11:48 mark, but never was able to pull away. There were four lead changes and four ties from there, the last tie at 55-55 before Brown's free throws, which came on an over the back call on Betley that the Lafayette beat writers say was a questionable call at best.
The Bison won despite being outscored from the field. Both teams made 21 field goals, Bucknell's coming on 50 shots (42 percent), while Lafayette was 21 of 47 (44.7 percent). The Leopards had 10 treys; Bucknell has 6. But Bucknell had a 39-23 edge on the boards, including 16 offensive rebounds, and shot 27 free throws (making 19) while Lafayette was 9 of 13 at the line.
The two teams had nearly as many turnovers as field goals, combining for 39 -- 20 by Bucknell.
| | | |
BONUS LINK: (Huntsville Times)
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Wednesday, January 17, 2007
An old-fashioned full slate of Wednesday night games are on tap tonight.Bucknall at Lafayette ()-- Bucknell would like nothing better than to start a new league win streak after having its 23-game run end at Holy Cross. It won't be as easy to do that as some might expect. The Bison have a tremendous edge inside, but Lafayette probably won't play a lick of man defense and its zone can make it tough to take advantage of that edge in the post. That is especially so if Bucknell can't knock down a enough threes to force the Leopards to guard the perimieter.
On the other hand, Lafayette is one of the league's best perimeter shooting teams and Bucknell has had trouble defending the three in each of its three league games thus far. There won't be many, if any, easy road games in this league and if the threes are falling for the Leopards, this could be an upset.
American at Army ()-- The Black Knights are full of confidence after their win over Lehigh Saturday. They will need to play a similar game to beat American for the first time since the Eagles joined the league. That means finding offense from places besides Jarrell Brown and Matt Bell, shutting down Andre Ingram the way they shut down Jose Olivero and keeping Chris Walker out of foul trouble.
For American, which entered the season with realistic hopes of being a contender in the league, a win here is pretty much required if they want to regain that status. The Eagles cannot afford to fall to 1-3 in league play with Holy Cross on tap Saturday. The area where AU should have an edge is in the frontcourt. That edge will magnify if they can put Walker on the bench with foul problems. The trouble is, though American ought to have a real advantage around the basket with its deep, and big, front line, that has been an area that has been inconsistent and underperforming for the Eagles all season. (Lawrence (Kans.) Journal-World)
Navy at Holy Cross ()-- Like every other team in the league, Navy has no match for Keith Simmons. Like most, it also has no match for Tim Clifford. Navy's hopes for an upset probably depend on two things -- getting incredibly hot from the arc and hoping the Crusaders have a post-Bucknell letdown.
Given the way HC plays defense, the former is not likely. Given HC's tendancy to lose focus when it gets ahead in games, it is not beyond the realm of possibility they could have a mental lapse in this situation. There is, though, a very wide gap here between possible and probable -- especially in Worcester.
Colgate at Lehigh ()-- The Mountain Hawks are less than a second away from being unbeaten at home. The Raiders are only a few seconds removed from being winless in the league. Don't expect it to be easy for the Mountain Hawks -- not much has been this season. But Colgate has trouble shooting against weak defenses in cozy barns. In Stabler, which has never been known as a great place for visiting teams to shoot, against a Lehigh team that emphasizes defense, the Raiders struggles from the field aren't likely to be cured tonight. It won't be any surprise if this one is determined at the foul line, and jump-shooting Colgate seldom wins those kinds of battles. It's not that the Raiders can't shoot free throws. They just don't seem to get many opportunities to go to the line. That is not likely to change on the road -- especially not in Stabler.
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On the other hand, Lafayette is one of the league's best perimeter shooting teams and Bucknell has had trouble defending the three in each of its three league games thus far. There won't be many, if any, easy road games in this league and if the threes are falling for the Leopards, this could be an upset.
American at Army ()-- The Black Knights are full of confidence after their win over Lehigh Saturday. They will need to play a similar game to beat American for the first time since the Eagles joined the league. That means finding offense from places besides Jarrell Brown and Matt Bell, shutting down Andre Ingram the way they shut down Jose Olivero and keeping Chris Walker out of foul trouble.
For American, which entered the season with realistic hopes of being a contender in the league, a win here is pretty much required if they want to regain that status. The Eagles cannot afford to fall to 1-3 in league play with Holy Cross on tap Saturday. The area where AU should have an edge is in the frontcourt. That edge will magnify if they can put Walker on the bench with foul problems. The trouble is, though American ought to have a real advantage around the basket with its deep, and big, front line, that has been an area that has been inconsistent and underperforming for the Eagles all season.
Navy at Holy Cross ()-- Like every other team in the league, Navy has no match for Keith Simmons. Like most, it also has no match for Tim Clifford. Navy's hopes for an upset probably depend on two things -- getting incredibly hot from the arc and hoping the Crusaders have a post-Bucknell letdown.
Given the way HC plays defense, the former is not likely. Given HC's tendancy to lose focus when it gets ahead in games, it is not beyond the realm of possibility they could have a mental lapse in this situation. There is, though, a very wide gap here between possible and probable -- especially in Worcester.
Colgate at Lehigh ()-- The Mountain Hawks are less than a second away from being unbeaten at home. The Raiders are only a few seconds removed from being winless in the league. Don't expect it to be easy for the Mountain Hawks -- not much has been this season. But Colgate has trouble shooting against weak defenses in cozy barns. In Stabler, which has never been known as a great place for visiting teams to shoot, against a Lehigh team that emphasizes defense, the Raiders struggles from the field aren't likely to be cured tonight. It won't be any surprise if this one is determined at the foul line, and jump-shooting Colgate seldom wins those kinds of battles. It's not that the Raiders can't shoot free throws. They just don't seem to get many opportunities to go to the line. That is not likely to change on the road -- especially not in Stabler.
Labels: Army, AU, BU, CU, HC, Laf, Leh, Navy, previews
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Monday, January 15, 2007
Holy Cross has returned to the Mid-Major Top 25 following a 2-0 week that included wins over Army and Bucknell.
The Crusaders check in at No. 24 in . Bucknell still is in the others receiving votes, with 5 votes, good for an unofficial No. 36 ranking.
No votes for any Patriot League teams in the .
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The Crusaders check in at No. 24 in . Bucknell still is in the others receiving votes, with 5 votes, good for an unofficial No. 36 ranking.
No votes for any Patriot League teams in the .
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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.
| Postgame audio with HC players Keith Simmons, Torey Thomas, Tim Clifford and coaches Ralph Willard and Pat Flannery | Gameblog | | |
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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.
| Postgame audio with HC players Keith Simmons, Torey Thomas, Tim Clifford and coaches Ralph Willard and Pat Flannery | Gameblog | | |
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No gameblog was planned tonight, but we will file notes as the situation warrants the notes seem to be turning into one.
PREGAME
With about an hour to tip, Holy Cross sophomore Lawrence Dixon walked on to the Hart Center floor in uniform, wearing a brace on his left knee. Dixon shook hands with high school teammate Justin Castleberry of Bucknell, then joined the Crusaders warming up at the other end of the floor. There is no mention in the HC game notes, but it looks as if he could give it a go.
The 6-5 swingman also dressed for the Army game Tuesday but did not play. We will try to track down an update on his status for tonight before the game. HC radio guy Bob Fouracre said he does not expect him to play, citing a report from the HC trainer a few days ago. But Fouracre said he had not gotten an update since then
Dixon has not played since the loss at Duke on Dec. 6 due to lingering problems with that knee, which was surgically repaired in the preseason.
20 minutes until tip -- DIXON UPDATE: Ralph Willard says Dixon will not play. He had a cortisone shot in his knee, but it did not "take" Ralph said. He could be available for one or two possessions if HC "absolutely needs him" Willard said, but that is not likely.
Three minutes til tip -- a decent, but not great crowd on hand. The lower level fairly full, upper level has lots of empty seats. A small, but so far loud bunch of students at the end by the HC bench greeted the Bison with the traditional "Bucknell Sucks" chant when they retook the floor just prior to the player intros.
The HC pep band ought to make Bucknell feel right at home. Very similar in size and sound to the Bucknell band. The cheerleaders advantage goes to Bucknell by a margin of 14-4. Also a decent number of orange clad BU fans on hand, including a fan bus from Lewisburg.
First timeout at 15:49 -- HC up 5-0. Bucknell 0 for 3 with three turnovers so far. HC missed its first two and had two TOs on its first four possessions, then Torey Thomas hit a three and Simmons followed with a leaner after a BU turnover.
Abe Badmus picked up his first personal at the 17:25 mark. Only other foul just happened, Kyle Cruze giving Griffin a break by fouling him while shooting a shot that had no chance of making over the hands of Tim Clifford. Griffin made one of two.
Bucknell's first subs they go big with Brown to the three and Mastropaolo and McNaughton up front.
Doherty checks in and drains a three for an 8-1 lead. At the other end, Tim Clifford gets his first foul, sending Donald brown to the line where he hit both shots. Shortly thereafter Chris McNaughton gets his first foul, battling Simmons, for a rebound. Simmons makes both shots.
Bucknell's first FG a Justin Castleberry foul line banker at the 13:09 mark. Doherty hits a three at the other end, followed by a Castleberry three for Bucknell. With 12:32 to go in the half it is 13-8, HC up by 5.
Badmus gets his second foul at the 12:17 mark, trying to help on Clifford after Mastropaolo had to come out to cut off Simmons after he beat Vegotsky off a screen up top.
Forget the earlier crowd comments. Late arrivals have Hart nearly full. Not SRO, but not many seats left.
Both teams will play the last 8:26 of the half without their starting centers. McNaughton got his second personal at the 9:08 mark on an offensive hook call that was questionable at best. Clifford's second a little more obvious trying to stop a Brown dunk.
One official, Fran Connolly (we'll check the spelling of that last name) has been absolutely horrible so far -- both ways as the B*** S*** chants after Cruze's second foul attest.
Without a stats monitor or live stats to check, it's just a guess. But HC has to be shooting awfully well. At least it seems that way. Simmons in double figures already after a long NBA range three, Doherty with two treys for 6 points and Thomas has 5. Castleberry helping Bucknell's offense with 7 (and a chance to make it 8 on an and-one with 2:45 to go in the half (HC 27, Bucknell 22)
HC 31, BUCKNELL 25 -- HALFTIME
A halftime box confirms those suspicions. HC shot 12 of 25 (48 percent) in the first half -- 5 of 9 from the arc. Bucknell was 8 for 18 (44.4 percent), 3 of 9 (33.3 percent) on threes. Bucknell 6 of 7 at the foul line, HC 2 for 2.
Bucknell with 8 first half turnovers; Holy Cross just 5. Rebounds are even 10-10.
Simmons leads all scorers with 10 on 3 for 7 shooting -- 2 of 3 at the arc. Eric Meister with 6 points off the bench a pleasant surprise for HC with Clifford in foul trouble.
For Bucknell, Brown and Castleberry each with 8. Griffin is 1 for 5 from the field. McNaughton has not taken a shot in the 8 minutes he played before getting his second foul.
Clifford 0 for 3 for HC.
SECOND HALF
Tough start for BU, great start for HC ... Brown's reverse layup blocked by Simmons, triggering a break that Thomas finishes with a three. At the other end, Clifford has all hand, no ball on a McNaughton jumper, but no call.
Clifford with back to back buckets stretching the HC lead to 38-27. McNaughton with his third at the other end, apparently an illegal screen call. A few minutes later, Clifford a moving screen on Badmus in front of the same official, no call.
Don't get this wrong -- the officials are not why Bucknell is behind. But they have been terribly inconsistent.
Clifford's third an equally horrible moving screen call that looked more like a hold on Brown trying to get past him. Another call by Connolly (the ones in the immediate previous post were a different official). Clifford and McNaughton both with three personals. Clifford with 4 points, McNaughton just the one blocked/hacked miss. us far the two big men have really not been a factor. 15:58 to play, HC 38, BU 27
15:38 McNaughton finally scores -- but misses the and-one on Vander Baan's third foul.
Painfully obvious that Vegotsky cannot guard Simmons, but aside from a few minutes of the first half, Flannery has not gone for the obvious switch of playing Brown on Simmons, with Mastropaolo and McNaughton together up front. Every time Vegotsky, or anyone else for BU, gets beaten on dribble penetration, even if Simmons (or Thomas) miss, with the Bison bigs needing to come help, the offensive putback is there for HC. 13:04 to go -- HC 40, BU 35
Another mystery call gives brown a three-point play, The blocking call on Doherty seemed well before the shot, but the officials counted the bucket and sent him to the line. No wonder the HC kids chant BS.
Clifford asserting himself more in the second half, a turnaround J from 8 feet gives him 8. McNaughton at the other end for his second bucket after a shotless first half.
11:58 to play -- HC 42, BU 38
Does Flannery have a laptop over there? We no sooner post about the Brown-McN-Mast lineup than he goes that way. It is a shorterm look though, when Brown gets his third personal shortly after.
Bucknell closed to within 4 at 42-38, but Hc responded with an 8-0 run to push the lead back to double digits. HC 50, BU 40 9:47 to go.
Brown's fourth personal on a Clifford putback. Again after an offensive board when McNaughton comes to help on dribble penetration. The inability of Bucknell to stop Simmons and Thomas off the dribble is the difference in this game. HC 53, BU 43 7:33 to play
Stranger things have happened, but a Bucknell comeback would be a shocker at this point. Holy Cross simply exposes all the Bison's weaknesses ... their zone is taking away Bucknell's inside game and the Bison are not (and have not much of the season) shooting well enough to take advantage of the zone -- especially with Thomas and Simmons pressuring the shooters in the matchup. With the ball pressure, Bucknell can't even find its interior guys to try to go inside. At the other end, the same guys -- Simmons and Thomas, are too quick for the Bucknell duo of Griffin and Vegotsky. 7:16 to play, HC 57, BU 43
6:40 to go, McNaughton on Simmons on the perimeter gets his fourth personal. Simmons makes both -- he is now 12 for 12 at the line -- 20 points.
Bucknell takes advantage of two turnovers for a quick four points, the last two on a Brown dunk. Willard calls a quick To try stopping it before it gets going. HC up 59-50 with 4:22 to play.
These clowns in stripes even miss the call when someone grabs a jersey so blatant it can be seen from the top row of the bleachers. Not mentioning who on who because they have at least been consistently bad both ways. But these guys stink on ice.
Brown fouls out after nobody boxes out Vander Baan when Thomas misses the second of two missed free throws with 2:53 to play. Brown went for the block and got all arm. A call so obvious these guys could not miss it.
Vander Baan makes the second of two, at the other end, Behan sets a nice screen for Vegotsky, who hits a three to make it 60-53, HC, with 2:44 remaining.
After team fouls were 6-6 with around 11 and a half minutes to go. Since then, HC has not picked up a foul. Bucknell is well over the 10-foul limit.
No sooner do we say this one seems out of reach, than Bucknell makes some stops, HC misses some free throws and suddenly it is HC 61, BU 58 with 1:12 to go.
Beginning to think if we say it is dark out, the sun will rise. Clifford with his fourth with 57.9 to go, Castleberry hits two for a one point game.
Bodies flying ... whistles swallowed. What a night.
It is impossible to describe the last 40 seconds without seeming to whine about the officiating from a Bucknell standpoint. Bottom line is, the refs may have hurt their comeback effort with horrid calls, but Holy Cross's outstanding play put bucknell in the position of needing a comeback. For the first 16 minutes, The 'Saders built a big lead and were able to hang on from there.
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PREGAME
The 6-5 swingman also dressed for the Army game Tuesday but did not play. We will try to track down an update on his status for tonight before the game. HC radio guy Bob Fouracre said he does not expect him to play, citing a report from the HC trainer a few days ago. But Fouracre said he had not gotten an update since then
Dixon has not played since the loss at Duke on Dec. 6 due to lingering problems with that knee, which was surgically repaired in the preseason.
The HC pep band ought to make Bucknell feel right at home. Very similar in size and sound to the Bucknell band. The cheerleaders advantage goes to Bucknell by a margin of 14-4. Also a decent number of orange clad BU fans on hand, including a fan bus from Lewisburg.
Abe Badmus picked up his first personal at the 17:25 mark. Only other foul just happened, Kyle Cruze giving Griffin a break by fouling him while shooting a shot that had no chance of making over the hands of Tim Clifford. Griffin made one of two.
One official, Fran Connolly (we'll check the spelling of that last name) has been absolutely horrible so far -- both ways as the B*** S*** chants after Cruze's second foul attest.
HC 31, BUCKNELL 25 -- HALFTIME
A halftime box confirms those suspicions. HC shot 12 of 25 (48 percent) in the first half -- 5 of 9 from the arc. Bucknell was 8 for 18 (44.4 percent), 3 of 9 (33.3 percent) on threes. Bucknell 6 of 7 at the foul line, HC 2 for 2.
Bucknell with 8 first half turnovers; Holy Cross just 5. Rebounds are even 10-10.
Simmons leads all scorers with 10 on 3 for 7 shooting -- 2 of 3 at the arc. Eric Meister with 6 points off the bench a pleasant surprise for HC with Clifford in foul trouble.
For Bucknell, Brown and Castleberry each with 8. Griffin is 1 for 5 from the field. McNaughton has not taken a shot in the 8 minutes he played before getting his second foul.
Clifford 0 for 3 for HC.
SECOND HALF
Don't get this wrong -- the officials are not why Bucknell is behind. But they have been terribly inconsistent.
11:58 to play -- HC 42, BU 38
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