4 March, 2007
by Elliot Smilowitz
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1st |
2nd |
Final |
| Army (15-16, 4-10 Patriot) |
32 |
15 |
47 |
| Bucknell (22-8, 13-1 Patriot) |
40 |
28 |
68 |
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The Bucknell Bison won a third consecutive trip to the Patriot League Tournament finals, knocking off Army at home 68-47. Chris McNaughton scored 23 points and Donald Brown added 15 for the Bison, who will face Holy Cross in the finals yet again.
Despite the final score, the game was not a blowout for much of the afternoon. Bucknell opened some small leads early, but could not pull away. A 7-2 Army run that began with 7:30 left in the first half gave the Knights a 29-28 edge. It would prove to be their final lead of the day, as Bucknell scored 9 unanswered points to take control into the half.
Army hung in for a little while longer, as the Bison failed to score for the first 3:36 of the second stanza. When Bucknell finally did get going, though, they made a 14-0 run to take command of the game, keeping the Knights from scoring for a full 8 minutes. By the time Army found the basket again, the game was long over, and Bucknell extended their lead as large as 28 before both teams emptied their benches.
Jarell Brown had 17 points to lead Army, but he did it on 5-of-16 shooting from the floor. In his final college game, Matt Bell scored 13 points. Bucknell dominated the boards, outrebounding the Knights 37-21.
This year will mark the third consecutive year of a Bucknell/Holy Cross tournament finals match-up. Last year in Lewisburg, the Bison prevailed 74-59. The year prior in Worcester, Bucknell also won, this time by a 61-57 margin. Additionally, in the first round of the 2004 league tournament, Bucknell downed Holy Cross 66-60 before falling to eventual champion Lehigh 60-45.
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| Keys to the Game |
| Key sequence |
With 5:00 to go in the first half, Jarell Brown hit a three to give Army a 29-28 lead. The Black Knight advantage was brief, though, as Darren Mastropaolo hit a lay-up, and after a Cleveland Richard turnover, Griffin it a three. This sequence keyed a 9-0 run that ended up with Bucknell taking an 8-point lead into halftime.
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| Key sign it was over |
Army appeared ready to keep the game close when a pair of Jarell Brown free throws brought the Knights within 43-38. But the Bison then scored 14 straight points, highlighted by 4 each from McNaughton and Stephen Tyree. Meanwhile, Army’s offense was held to 0-for-7 shooting, including 0-for-5 from three, and 6 turnovers during their 8:00 scoreless drought.
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| Key performance |
McNaughton repeatedly abused Army’s lack of post presence, scoring 23 points on 10-of-13 shooting from the field. He also grabbed 6 rebounds and had 1 block.
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| Key statistic |
After hanging close to the Bison for a half, the Black Knights went just 4-of-21 from the field in the second half, a shooting percentage of 19.0 percent.
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| Notes |
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Neither team found their stroke from long range all game. Army finished 6-of-20 from the arc, Bucknell 4-of-17.
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In his second game back from injury, Donald Brown went 5-of-7 from the floor and 5-of-6 from the line for his 15 points. He also grabbed 9 rebounds, but turned the ball over 5 times.
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Army’s Cleveland Richard, playing as a woefully undersized forward, ended up 1-of-9 from the floor for 4 points. He had more fouls (2) than rebounds (1).
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The ball was slippery all game, with Army recording 12 steals and Bucknell 11. Abe Badmus of the Bison had a game-high 3 steals.
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