March 7, 2007
WHO: #2 Bucknell (22-8, 13-1) vs. #1 Holy Cross (24-8, 13-1)
WHAT: Patriot League Tournament Championship Game
WHERE: Hart Center, Worcester, Mass.
WHEN: Friday, March 9, 2007, 4:30 p.m.
TICKETS: Available to Bucknell fans and alumni at 570-577-1000
TV: ESPN2
RADIO: Eagle 107 and SportsJuice.com
SATELLITE RADIO: Sirius 119
COMPLETE PRESS NOTES
with a victory over holy cross, bucknell would ...
-- ... win its third consecutive and third overall Patriot League championship.
-- ... secure an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. It would be the team's third straight NCAA berth and fifth in program history.
-- ... join the Crusaders as the only Patriot League teams to win three straight PL titles.
-- ... win its 15th game in a row, which would extend the longest modern-day winning streak in school history.
-- ... win its 23rd game in 27 outings since the 0-4 start.
-- ... reach the 23-win plateau for the sixth time in school history.
-- ... tie a school record with its 11th road victory of the season.
-- ... improve to 10-9 against the Crusaders at the Hart Center.
-- ... improve to 7-4 against Holy Cross in the Patriot League Tournament (3-1 in PL championship games).
-- ... win its 9th straight Patriot League Tournament game, which would be a league record.
about the game
Another chapter in the captivating Bucknell-Holy Cross rivalry unfolds Friday afternoon at the Hart Center, as the Bison and Crusaders square off for the 12th time in four years. For the third straight March, the two teams go head-to-head for the Patriot League title. Bucknell and Holy Cross were clearly at the head of the class in the Patriot League this winter. The two teams are a combined 46-16 overall, and including the postseason they went 30-0 against the rest of the league. After posting identical 13-1 conference records, Holy Cross was awarded the No. 1 seed in the PL Tournament based on a higher RPI. The Crusaders mauled Lafayette 83-53 in the opening round, but they needed a Keith Simmons bank shot with 4.8 seconds left to survive No. 4 American 55-53 in the semifinals. The Bison, meanwhile, defeated No. 7 Navy (62-43) and No. 6 Army (68-47) by an average margin of 20.0 points.
the bucknell-holy cross rivalry
The Patriot League has deep-rooted rivalries based on geography (Lehigh-Lafayette) and military brethren (Army-Navy), but there has been no better basketball rivalry in the league than Bucknell-Holy Cross. Some of the highlights:
-- The Bison and Crusaders have combined to win five of the last six Patriot League titles (it will become six out of seven after this season), 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 previous Patriot League Tournaments, including three times in the championship game. Bucknell defeated Holy Cross in the 2005 and 2006 title tilts, while the Crusaders topped the Bison in the final in 1993.
-- Excluding games against each other, Bucknell and Holy Cross are a combined 81-3 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 44 times, an average of 2.75 meetings per season.
-- 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 25-19.
-- Bucknell is 9-9 against Holy Cross at the Hart Center and 11-11 overall in that building, including a handful of neutral-site games in the Patriot League Tournament.
bucknell vs. holy cross earlier this season
-- Bucknell's Patriot League-record 23-game winning streak against conference opponents came to a halt on Jan. 12 at the Hart Center, as Keith Simmons scored 22 points to lead Holy Cross to a 65-60 victory. Justin Castleberry scored a career-high 16 points to lead the Bison, who trailed by 10 with three minutes to play but rallied within one in the final minute. Donald Brown added 13 points and eight rebounds and John Griffin had 12 points for Bucknell. Tim Clifford and Torey Thomas scored 13 apiece for the Crusaders.
-- On Feb. 9 at Sojka Pavilion, Bucknell prevailed 48-45 in a classic defensive struggle. Holy Cross jumped out to a quick 12-2 lead, but the Bison whittled the deficit to five by halftime and grabbed its first lead early in the second half. With 1:04 left and the Bison clinging to a 43-42 lead, Griffin stroked a 3-pointer from deep in the right corner to make it a two-possession game. Four straight missed free throws gave the Crusaders a last shot to tie, and Torey Thomas' trey rimmed out as time expired. Castleberry led the Bisoin with 10 points, while Simmons had 15 for Holy Cross.
bucknell vs. holy cross last season
The Bison swept three games from the Crusaders a year ago, two during the regular season and one in the Patriot League championship game. All three contests were sellouts.
-- On Jan. 14 at Sojka Pavilion, Bucknell raced to a 34-14 halftime lead and held on for a 56-42 victory. Chris McNaughton led the Bison with 15 points, while Kevin Hamilton had 18 for Holy Cross.
-- On Feb. 11 at the Hart Center, the Bison authored one of their most stirring -- and unlikely -- victories during what would become an undefeated conference season. Backed by a career-high 24 points from Charles Lee, the Bison trailed by 15 points with 16 minutes left but outscored the Crusaders 32-12 the rest of the way and won 57-52. Keith Simmons led Holy Cross with 13 points.
-- On March 10 at Sojka Pavilion in the Patriot League championship game, Kevin Bettencourt hit six 3-pointers and scored 23 points to lead Bucknell to a 74-59 win. Lee added 16 points and McNaughton and Donald Brown had 14 each. Hamilton (20) and Simmons (19) were high scorers for Holy Cross.
bison, crusaders have long tournament history
Last year's championship game was the 10th meeting between Bucknell and Holy Cross in 16 Patriot League Tournaments, making it the most-played tournament rivalry. The Bison now have a 6-4 lead in those tournament showdowns, with plenty on the line in each of them.
-- 1992 Semifinals (Bucknell 86, Holy Cross 77): The rivalry began to heat up, as the Bison erased a 6-point halftime deficit and outscored the Crusaders 46-31 in the second half. Bill Courtney scored 26 points and PL Player of the Year Patrick King had 25.
-- 1993 Championship (Holy Cross 90, Bucknell 73): Bucknell clinched the No. 1 seed with a 112-99 win on the last day of the regular season, but Holy Cross returned the favor with a 17-point blowout in the championship game in Davis Gym. Roger Breslin led the Crusaders with 17 points and 10 assists.
-- 1994 Quarterfinals (Holy Cross 96, Bucknell 91): In Charlie Woollum's last game as Bucknell's head coach, Holy Cross used a 30-11 run in the second half to take command. The late Gordon Hamilton scored 37 points for the Crusaders, nullifying 24 from Bison point guard Sekou Hamer.
-- 1998 Quarterfinals (Bucknell 60, Holy Cross 56): Down 10-0 right out of the gates, the Bison rallied behind 15 points each from J.R. Holden and Martin Gilliard. The duo combined to go 6-for-6 from the foul line in the final 46 seconds to ice the win.
-- 1999 Quarterfinals (Bucknell 76, Holy Cross 52): Bucknell's second-largest win in the series was not as easy as it looks on the stat sheet. The Bison trailed 37-36 at the half but outscored Holy Cross 40-15 in the second period. Brian Muckle scored 15 points on 5-for-5 shooting for the Bison.
-- 2002 Semifinals (Holy Cross 64, Bucknell 57): The teams alternated the first 11 baskets in a second half that featured 14 lead changes and seven ties. A controversial technical foul call against Bucknell with HC leading by two in the final 30 seconds of the game helped propel the Crusaders, who were led by Tim Szatko's 19 points and 12 rebounds.
-- 2003 Semifinals (Holy Cross 75, Bucknell 50): Kevin Hamilton scored 15 points to lead Holy Cross, which jumped out to a 15-5 lead and led by 17 at the half. Boakai Lalugba, a 1,300-point scorer, tallied 21 for Bucknell in his final game.
-- 2004 Quarterfinals (Bucknell 66, Holy Cross 60): Charles Lee and Chris McNaughton combined for 39 points on 14-for-18 shooting for the Bison, who overcame 28 turnovers by shooting 61.8% from the field.
-- 2005 Championship (Bucknell 61, Holy Cross 57): Bucknell raced to a 33-13 first-half lead but had to hold off a furious Holy Cross rally. Chris McNaughton led the Bison with 17 points on 7 of 8 shooting, while Kevin Bettencourt scored 13, including two clinching free throws with 0:08 left.
-- 2006 Championship (Bucknell 74, Holy Cross 59): Kevin Bettencourt's 23 points helped Bucknell to a clean sweep of Patriot League competition, a 14-0 regular-season league record followed by three tournament wins.
bucknell tournament history
Bucknell has an all-time record of 23-14 in the Patriot League Tournament, including a 6-4 mark against Holy Cross. The Bison have now reached the championship game seven times, winning it in each of the last two seasons, and reached at least the semifinals in 14 of 17 years.
Bison PL Tourney Log
Year Seed Results
1991 4 def. Army 67-49; lost Fordham 82-76
1992 2 def. Army 74-55; def. Holy Cross 86-77; lost Fordham 70-65
1993 1 def. Lehigh 69-65; def. Colgate 75-73; lost Holy Cross 98-73
1994 5 lost Holy Cross 96-91
1995 2 lost Army 94-78
1996 4 def. Lafayette 56-55; lost Colgate 67-61
1997 2 def. Lehigh 84-54; def. Colgate 71-58; lost Navy 76-75
1998 3 def. Holy Cross 60-56; lost Navy 80-61
1999 3 def. Holy Cross 76-52; def. Lehigh 58-50; lost Lafayette 67-63
2000 3 lost Lehigh 73-62
2001 6 def. Colgate 75-68; lost Navy 88-64
2002 3 def. Army 70-59; lost Holy Cross 64-57
2003 5 def. Lehigh 52-47; lost Holy Cross 75-50
2004 4 def. Holy Cross 66-60; lost Lehigh 60-45
2005 2 def. Lafayette 70-34; def. American 53-35; def. Holy Cross 61-57
2006 1 def. Army 59-47; def. American 64-50; def. Holy Cross 74-59
2007 2 def. Navy 62-43; def. Army 68-47; vs. Holy Cross
championship games in bold.
bison hoping to join List of no. 2 seeds to win pl title
Historically, No. 2 seeds have performed well in the Patriot League Tournament. No seed lower than a No. 2 has ever won the tournament, with the top seed winning 11 times and the second seed claiming five titles. The last No. 2 to win the championship was Bucknell in 2005. Other 2s to win were Holy Cross in 1993 and 2002, Lafayette in 2000 and Navy in 1998. No. 2 seeds have now reached the championship game 12 times in 17 years, including eight straight. Four times the No. 2 seed has lost in the first round, most recently in 1999 when Navy was upset by No. 7 Lehigh. Bucknell has been the No. 2 four times previously and made it to the final in three of those years.
last time out
Bucknell broke open a five-point game with a 25-2 explosion over a 13-minute stretch of the second half, leading to a 68-47 victory over sixth-seeded Army in the Patriot League Tournament semifinals on Sunday at sold-out Sojka Pavilion (see p. 42 for complete recap and boxscore). Chris McNaughton scored 23 points on 10-for-13 shooting, while Donald Brown posted his second straight 15-point, 9-rebound effort since returning from a monthlong injury absence. With 16:27 left in the second half, senior point guard Abe Badmus picked up his fourth foul and the Bison bench was hit with a technical foul. The two resulting free throws made it a 43-38 game, but the Black Knights made only one more field goal before Bucknell lifted its starters with a 28-point lead inside three minutes to play.
inside the army boxscore
-- Army's high-scoring guard combo of Jarell Brown and Matt Bell combined for 26 of the team's 32 first-half points (13 each). But in the second half the Bison shut out Bell and held Brown to only one more field goal and four more points.
-- Bucknell had no steals in the first half and 11 in the second half. After halftime the Bison held Army to only two field goals and eight points prior to the 2:13 mark, when the starters were long gone.
-- Bucknell made 10 of its first 12 attempts and shot 68.2% in the first half. The Bison cooled off a bit in the second period, shooting 40.7% percent, including a 1-for-11 showing from the 3-point arc.
-- The Bison finished with a 37-21 rebounding edge, with eight different players collecting multiple rebounds.
-- Chris McNaughton (10-13) and Donald Brown (5-7) combined to make 15 of 20 shots from the field and 8 of 9 from the free-throw line.
-- Stephen Tyree played a career-high 20 minutes off the bench and turned in four points, four rebounds and three assists without a turnover. The freshman also had the crowd-pleasing play of the night, when he jumped a passing lane and threw down his first career dunk on a second-half breakaway.
brown makes strong return
Even though they went 7-0 during his absence, the Bison were certainly glad to have senior co-captain Donald Brown back in the lineup for the start of the Patriot League Tournament. Brown broke a bone in his hand at Colgate on Jan. 30 and missed the remainder of the regular season. Against Navy in the quarterfinals, he did not start the game but checked in to a standing ovation 3:06 into the game. Brown made the first shot he attempted and had four points and four rebounds before being subbed back out less than five minutes later. By halftime he nearly had a double-double (eight points, nine rebounds), and he finished the night with 15 points, nine rebounds, two blocked shots, two steals and an assist. Brown was 7-for-15 from the field, with the 15 attempts a career high. Against Army in the semis, Brown once again had 15 points and nine rebounds in 25 bench minutes.
mcnaughton, brown earn all-patriot league honors
The 2007 All-Patriot League Team was announced on prior to the start of the tournament, and Bucknell had two honorees. Senior Chris McNaughton was a first-team selection for the third straight year, making him the first Bison to earn three first-team nods since Brian Anderson from 1994-96. Despite missing the last seven games of the regular season with an injury, Donald Brown earned second-team honors. It was Brown's first all-conference recognition.
all-league notes
Bucknell has now had a first team all-conference player in 23 of the last 24 years, dating back to its days in the East Coast Conference ... in addition to his three first-team all-league citations, Chris McNaughton was also an all-rookie pick in 2003-04 ... the only other players in league history to receive some type of league honor (all-rookie or all-league) four times are Bucknell's Kevin Bettencourt, Rob Feater of Holy Cross, Mark Leuking of Army, Brian Ehlers of Lafayette, Pat Campolieta of Colgate and Matt Logie of Lehigh ... Bucknell's streak of five straight years with an all-rookie selection came to an end.
mcnaughton breaks games played record
Senior center Chris McNaughton played in his 124th career game on Sunday afternoon, breaking Bucknell's all-time games played record set last season by Kevin Bettencourt. McNaughton, who has never missed a game in four years at Bucknell, earned his first start at Northwestern in the fourth game of his freshman year. With the exception of two Senior Days where he came off the bench, McNaughton has started every game since then.
mcnaughton rolling since holy cross loss
When Bucknell lost 65-60 at the Hart Center on Jan. 12, all-star center Chris McNaughton had one of the toughest nights of his career. Limited to 22 minutes by foul trouble, he finished with only four points (2-4 FG), two rebounds and six turnovers. Since then, however, McNaughton has enjoyed one of the best stretches of his career, averaging 14.4 points, 8.2 rebounds, 1.6 assists and 1.0 blocks per game while shooting 61.4% from the field. Not coincidentally, the Bison are 14-0 over that span.
castleberry big against holy cross
Bucknell has had the same leading scorer in both games against Holy Cross this season, and an unlikely source is the answer to the trivia question. Sophomore guard Justin Castleberry scored a career-high 16 points to lead the squad in the loss in Worcester, and he had a team-high 10 points off the bench in Bucknell's victory at home on Feb. 9. Castleberry has five career double-figure scoring games, and those are two of them.
bison back in mid-major top-25
Bucknell is ranked in collegeinsider.com Mid-Major Poll for the third straight week (No. 21). The Bison were ranked as high as No. 2 last season, and they were No. 6 at the start of the 2006-07 campaign before the 0-4 start knocked them out of the top-25.
senior class breaks victory record
Prior to the Feb. 17 game against Towson, Bucknell's three seniors -- Abe Badmus, Donald Brown and Chris McNaughton -- were honored as part of Senior Day ceremonies. Then they went out and won their 83rd game, breaking the school record for wins by a class. The previous mark of 82 wins was held by the Class of 1987.
Class Wins
1. 2007 87
2. 1987 82
3. 2006 79
4. 1989 78
5. 1986 77
1993 77
streaking
Bucknell has now pieced together a winning streak of seven games or longer in four straight seasons. Its current 14-game streak is the third-longest active streak in the nation (through Sunday).
Team Streak
1. Memphis 19
2. Winthrop 18
3. BUCKNELL 14
Ohio State 14
5. Vermont 13
Davidson 13
streaking, part ii
Bucknell's current 14-game winning streak is now the longest in the modern era and the longest within a single season in school history. There have been three other winning streaks of 14 games or longer, but all spanned multiple seasons and none came after 1909.
Longest Bucknell Winning Streaks Under Pat Flannery (Since 1994-95):
14 1/17/07-pres.
12 1/7/06-2/18/06
11 12/4/04 - 1/23/05
8 1/13/96 - 2/7/96
7 1/30/04 - 2/22/04
Longest Winning Streaks in Bucknell History (broken up by):
17 3/1/1902 - 2/19/1904 (vs. Allegheny)
15 2/5/1901 - 2/11/1902 (at Princeton)
14 1/17/2007 - present
14 1/10/1908 - 1/27/1909 (at State College)
13 3/9/1906 - 3/9/1907 (at Harrisburg Collegians)
13 2/15/1918 - 2/8/1919 (at Lehigh)
12 1/7/2006 - 2/18/2006 (at Northern Iowa)
streak stats
Some interesting tidbits from the current winning streak: -- Bucknell has outscored its opponents 64.7 to 52.4 and outrebounded them 33.4 to 23.9.
-- The Bison are shooting 49.0% from the field and 39.2% from 3-point range.
-- Chris McNaughton is averaging 14.4 ppg and 8.2 rpg.
-- Abe Badmus is shooting 51.6% from 3FG range (16-31).
-- Stephen Tyree was averaging 2.6 minutes per game with 11 DNPs before the streak. During the streak he has played in every game, averaging 14.4 minutes off the bench.
bison one of only two in nation with one league loss in last two years
After becoming the first Patriot League team to go 14-0 in league play last season, the Bison went 27-1 in the conference over the last two years. Only one other team in the nation has suffered just one league loss in that time -- Memphis, which is 29-1 in Conference USA. Memphis was the team that ousted Bucknell from the NCAA Tournament in second round in 2006.
block party
Chris McNaughton has not been known as a shot blocker throughout his career, but he has excelled in that area recently. After posting 11 rejections in the first 22 games of the season, McNaughton has blocked a shot in eight straight games, totaling 12 in that span. He had a career-high three blocks in the BracketBusters win over Towson.
success when getting to the line
Bucknell has shot more free throws than its opponent 20 times this season, including 14 in a row, and is 19-1 in those games. In Patriot League play, the Bison outscored their 14 opponents 220-148 from the stripe.
20-20-20 vision
Bucknell's victory over Army to close the regular-season was its 20th of the season, giving the Bison three straight 20-win campaigns for the first time in school history. Here are Bucknell's nine 20-win teams, in order of final victory total.
Year Record
2005-06 27-5
1983-84 24-5
2004-05 24-9
1988-89 23-8
1992-93 23-6
1986-87 22-9
2006-07 22-8
1991-92 21-9
1979-80 20-7
(7-0) X 4 at sojka
The Feb. 15 win over Lafayette gave the Bison a 7-0 home Patriot League record for the fourth straight year, meaning the Bucknell seniors never lost a regular-season home game to a PL foe. Including the Patriot League Tournament, the Bison have won 35 consecutive games at Sojka against PL competition. Now 10-2 at home this season after dropping the first two to Wake Forest and Northern Iowa, Bucknell is 36-4 in Sojka Pavilion since the start of the 2004-05 season. All told, the Bison are 49-9 (.845) in Sojka Pavilion since debuting in the new facility on Jan. 15, 2003.
keeping them down
Since the start of the 2002-03 season, Bucknell has held an opponent to 39 points or less nine times and 49 points or less 34 times. Bucknell has played 53 straight Patriot League games (including tournament) without allowing more than 70 points. Bucknell has held three straight opponents in the 40s entering Friday's championship game. It is the second time this season and third time in the last two years the Bison have allowed 49 or fewer points in three straight games.
dee-fense!
The Bison now rank seventh nationally in scoring defense, allowing 57.2 ppg, just one spot behind Holy Cross in the national rankings.
Team Scoring Def.
1. Princeton 52.9
2. Air Force 55.7
3. Michigan State 56.3
4. Southern Illinois 56.3
5. Georgetown 56.5
6. Butler 56.8
7. Holy Cross 57.1
8. BUCKNELL 57.2
9. Illinois 57.3
10. Wisconsin 57.3
glasswork
During its current 14-game winning streak, Bucknell has outrebounded its opponents in every game, by a total of 470-332 (+138). The Bison walked away with the rebounding edge in 12 of their 14 Patriot League regular-season games, including the final 11.
milestone watch
-- Chris McNaughton scored his 1,500th point against Army last time time out, and he how has 1,517 points, moving him up to seventh place on Bucknell's all-time scoring list. He is just one point behind Mike Joseph (1986-90) for the No. 6 spot and 18 back of Jaye Andrews (1981-85) for the No. 5 position.
-- Abe Badmus this season became only the second player in Bucknell history to record 200 career steals. He is 71 thefts shy of the school record set by Mike Bright (286) from 1989-93. With 215 steals, Badmus has passed Chris Williams (Navy) for fifth on the Patriot League career list.
-- Badmus has also moved into fifth place on the school chart with 371 career assists. He needs 28 more to catch Cal Puriefoy for fourth place. Badmus ranks 10th on the Patriot League career assists chart.
-- Against Texas Tech, John Griffin became the 12th player in school history to record 100 career 3-pointers (he now has 137, which is sixth-most in school history).
-- Jason Vegotsky has moved into the top 15 on Bucknell's career 3FG chart with 84. He is now alone in 13th place, 11 shy of No. 12 Bryan Bailey (1998-2002).
-- In the home win over Lafayette, McNaughton became the 16th player in school history to record 600 career rebounds, and he is just the third to collect 1,500 points and 600 rebounds. The other two are all in the Bucknell Athletics Hall of Fame (Bob Barry and Mike Bright).
controlling the key
Including the Patriot League Tournament, Bucknell has outscored its PL opponents 414-226 in the paint this season, including a whopping 44-10 margin against Army in the semifinals.
road warriors
After finishing 11-3 on the road in 2005-06 and tying the school mark for away wins in a season, Bucknell has won 10 more away from home this year. The Bison have won six in a row on the road and can tie the school record with a win over Holy Cross in the championship.
Most Road Victories, Season:
2005-06 11
1983-84 11
2006-07 10
1918-19 10
1927-28 10
5 seasons 8
rookie revolution
Bucknell has received significant contributions from two of its freshmen in recent weeks. Patrick Behan and Stephen Tyree have earned spots in the rotation, and coach Pat Flannery has not been afraid to use either of them in late in close games. Twice in Patriot League play Behan has scored points that put the Bison ahead for good, first at Colgate in a come-from-behind win, and also at Navy. In the narrow Holy Cross victory, he dropped in two straight buckets to erase a four-point second-half deficit. Tyree played in only five of the first 16 games of the season, but his defense and rebounding skills have made him a valuable component. He is averaging around 14 minutes over the last 12 games, and quite often he has been assigned to defend the opposition's top offensive guard.
free throws better on road
In a bit of a quirky statistic, Bucknell as a team shoots 76.3% from the free-throw line on the road, but only 65.9% at home.
who's got next?
If Bucknell can manage a championship victory at Holy Cross on Friday, the Bison would learn their NCAA Tournament destination on Sunday evening when the brackets are revealed live on CBS. With a loss on Friday, Bucknell's postseason hopes would be pinned to the possibility of an at-large berth in either the NCAA or NIT.
