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Bucknell Defeats Third Top-20 Team in 11 Months, Stuns #17 Syracuse 74-69
Nov. 22, 2005 SYRACUSE, N.Y. - Kevin Bettencourt scored 20 points and Chris McNaughton had 15 points and 10 rebounds to lead Bucknell to a 74-69 victory before 20,490 fans Tuesday night at the Carrier Dome. Now 2-0 on the season, Bucknell defeated its third top-20 foe since last January. A year ago the Bison stunned No. 7 Pitt on the road and No. 12 Kansas in the NCAA Tournament. The Bison shot a blistering 82.4 percent (14-17) from the field in the second half used a late 9-0 run and excellent free-throw shooting to score its first win over Syracuse in nine tries in a series that dates back to 1915. Bucknell turned a 60-56 deficit into a 65-60 lead, then made 10 of 13 free throws down the stretch. Charles Lee added 18 points for the Bison, who won their first two road games in a season for the first time since 1983-84.
Demetris Nichols scored 19 points and Gerry McNamara scored 18 despite a 6-for-19 shooting performance for Syracuse. Terrance Roberts finished with 12 points and 11 rebounds, but he had only two points and one rebound in the second half. Bucknell led for all but 3:56 of the first half. McNaughton's baseline jumper snapped a 14-all tie midway through the half, sparking a 10-2 run. Bettencourt, Tarik Viaer-McClymont and Lee all made layups during that stretch, as Bucknell took a 24-16 lead with 4:12 to play in the half. John Griffin's 3-pointer from the left corner made it 27-20, before Syracuse scored the last eight points of the half to take a 28-27 lead. McNamara, who was 0-for-5 from beyond the arc to that point, hit a tough contested trey just before the buzzer to give Syracuse its first lead since the opening minutes.
Demetris Nichols' 3-pointer at the 13-minute mark of the second half put Syracuse ahead 47-40, matching its largest lead of the night, but the Bison shot back with an 8-0 run. Lee capped the run with a pull-up jumper in transition at the 10:17 mark. Bettencourt hit two straight threes to put Bucknell ahead 56-54, but McNamara and Nichols answered with 3-pointers for Syracuse to put the Orange back in front 60-56 with 5:28 to play. At the four-minute mark Abe Badmus picked McNamara's pocket at the top of the key and scored an uncontested layup that knotted the game at 60. Two possessions later, Lee stripped Nichols under the Syracuse hoop and hit Bettencourt for a fastbreak layup that put Bucknell ahead 62-60. McNaughton's 3-point play with 1:42 left made it 65-60, then Abe Badmus came up with two big steals in the final minute to keep the Orange from getting any closer.
Leading 67-62, Badmus picked off Eric Devendorf's pass in the lane, leading to two Bettencourt free throws and a seven-point lead. Badmus had another steal, his fourth of the night, with 52 seconds left. "We knew coming in that if we did certain things well we would be good enough to play with them," said head coach Pat Flannery. "I never thought we panicked when they hit some big shots and got the crowd into it. I couldn't be any happier with the performance." Badmus finished with six points, five rebounds, four steals and three assists, with only one turnover, in 32 minutes. Bucknell guards Lee, Bettencourt, Badmus, Griffin and freshman Jason Vegotsky had a combined 16-to-3 assist-to-turnover ratio. The Bison shot 53.2 percent from the field for the game, compared to 38.3 percent for Syracuse. Bucknell was 18-for-21 from the free-throw line (.857) and 6-for-15 (.400) from 3-point range. Bucknell plays Yale on Saturday at 7 p.m. in its home opener. The Bison will try to go 3-0 for the first time since 1999-2000.
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