17 December, 2006
by Jake Wilson
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1st |
2nd |
Final |
| Bucknell (4-5) |
30 |
40 |
70 |
| Cornell (4-5) |
43 |
23 |
66 |
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| Keys to the Game |
| Key sequence |
Cornell had weathered a string of nine unanswered Bucknell points bridging halftime and built its lead back up to 13 at 56-43 with 11:49 left. But the Bison scored eight points on their next three possessions for a quick 8-0 spurt, and after a Louis Dale layup, John Griffin hit a three-pointer to draw Bucknell within four at the 9:17 mark. A game that had seen the Big Red lead by double digits most of the way suddenly became a tight affair the rest of the way.
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| Key sign it was over |
The Big Red was leading 66-58 until Rob Thomas hit a jumper with 4:24 left. After a missed three-pointer, Graham Dow picked up his fifth foul and Chris McNaughton hit both free throws. Andrew Naeve couldn’t convert in close, and Donald Brown brought Bucknell within two with a layup. Brian Kreefer missed a jumper on the next possession, and Brown equalised with one at the other end. Dale couldn’t find the range on a three-pointer, only to have Jason Vegotsky show him how it was done with 42 ticks left, putting the Bison in front for the first time since midway through the first half. After struggling all game against Dale, Abe Badmus pick off a pass from the Cornell freshman with just 10 seconds remaining. Brown missed the first free throw, but hit the second to make it a two-possession game with only eight seconds on the clock. When Dale missed a three-pointer, Bucknell had scored the final 12 points of the game to leave Ithaca with the win.
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| Key performance |
Brown’s final numbers weren’t eye-popping — a team-high 14 points on 6-for-8 shooting, five rebounds, three assists, and two steals in 30 minutes — but he was instrumental in the Bison’s second-half comeback. The senior scored 10 of those points in the final half, and played a huge role in the decisive 12-0 game-ending run, with five of those points in the final 2:30.
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| Key statistic |
Cornell scored its last points of the game on the Dale layup with 4:58 left. The final seven Big Red possessions produced three missed three pointers, a missed jumper, a blown layup, and a turnover — and zero points.
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| Notes
– Dale led all scorers with 23 points, torching Badmus, the 2004-05 Patriot League Defensive Player of the Year, who finished scoreless in 29 foul-plagued minutes. The Cornell freshman also added six assists and seven rebounds.
– The loss is Cornell’s third in its last four games, and it came in an all-too-familiar fashion, with the Big Red allowing a big run to end regulation yet again. Bucknell’s 12-0 run comes on the heels of William & Mary outscoring the Big Red 16-3 to force overtime, where it would eventually win, and Harford closing with a 13-1 run to win by two.
– Cornell came into the game with the best turnover percentage in the Ivy League at 21.7 percent, but the Big Red commited nine second-half turnovers. Bucknell scored 14 points off of those miscues.
– The Bison reserves outscored their Big Red counterparts 23-9.
– Highly touted freshman Geoff Reeves made his collegiate debut off the bench for Cornell, hitting a three-pointer for his first career points.
– Bucknell will look to win its third straight when the Bison travels to Xavier (8-3) on Wednesday, December 20 for a 7:00 pm ET tipoff.
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