22 February, 2007
by Elliot Smilowitz
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1st |
2nd |
Final |
| Bucknell (19-8, 12-1 Patriot) |
32 |
37 |
69 |
| Lehigh (12-17, 7-6 Patriot) |
23 |
33 |
56 |
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In a battle of Pennsylvania rivals and Patriot League first-division squads, Bucknell downed Lehigh 69-56 in Stabler Arena. John Griffin scored a game-high 16 points, including 3 threes, to key the victory.
After trailing by as many as 12 points early in the second half, Lehigh used a 12-4 run to cut their deficit to 43-41 midway though the second stanza. The Mountain Hawks were unable to get over the hump, though, and Bucknell slowly pulled away to a double-digit victory. In the battle of notable senior classes, Chris McNaughton scored 14 points and Abe Badmus 13 for the Bison, while Jose Olivero and Kyle Neptune had 14 apiece for Lehigh.
Another key senior, Lehigh’s Jason Mgebroff, went scoreless with 1 rebound in 15 minutes. Mgrebroff was averaging 10.8 points and 5.8 rebounds before injury put him on the shelf in December; he’s trying to play back into basketball shape in time to be effective in the Patriot League tournament. These two teams line up to face off again in the tournament’s second round, assuming Bucknell ends up with the No. 2 seed. The Bison can move up to No. 1 with a win over Army and a Lehigh win over Holy Cross this weekend.
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| Keys to the Game |
| Key sequence |
With 8:40 remaining Neptune threw down a dunk that brought Lehigh within 48-45. McNaughton followed with a jumper to push Bucknell’s lead back out to 5 points. In the next few minutes, the teams exchanged botched possessions: The Bison went 0-for-1 with a turnover, while Lehigh was 0-for-3 with 1 turnover. Finally, Badmus scored a fast-break bucket to further Bucknell’s lead to 7. Lehigh had missed an opportunity to make the game really close, and wouldn’t get that close again.
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| Key sign it was over |
Ahead by 8, Bucknell ran the clock down to 1:10 before McNaughton was fouled. He hit both free throws. On the ensuing possession, Olivero turned the ball over, creating a fast-break lay-up for Badmus, which gave the Bison a 12-point advantage with under a minute to go.
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| Key performance |
McNaughton played a big game, with 14 points on 4-of-9 shooting, 7 rebounds, 4 assists and 2 blocked shots.
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| Key statistic |
The Bison shot 48.8 percent from the floor, compared to 32.6 percent for Lehigh.
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| Notes |
| – |
Bucknell had 19 assists to just 9 turnovers.
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| – |
Marquis Hall struggled to a 1-for-8 shooting night, finishing with 4 points, 6 assists and 3 rebounds.
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| – |
Bucknell outrebounded Lehigh 31-25. McNaughton’s 7 boards and Neptune’s 6 were the game highs. |
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Bucknell heads to Army Saturday. Lehigh hosts Holy Cross on Senior Day on Sunday.
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