11 November, 2006
by Elliot Smilowitz
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1st |
2nd |
Final |
| Bucknell (0-1) |
34 |
15 |
49 |
| Albany (1-0) |
22 |
33 |
55 |
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The Bucknell Bison blew a 15-point lead on the road, falling 55-49 to the Albany Great Danes. Bucknell was outscored 33-15 in the second half.
Bucknell went on a 9-0 run late in the first half to take a 34-19 lead. Albany chipped away through most of the second half, finally taking a 41-40 lead with 6:48 to go on a Brian Lillis three-pointer. The teams traded the lead five more times before Albany went up for good with 52 seconds left.
John Griffin led the Bison with 19 points, including 4 three-pointers. Griffin had 2 of Bucknell’s 5 first-half treys; Jason Vegotsky added 2 more off the bench. Chris McNaughton was held to 6 points on 3-of-10 shooting.
Albany’s star guard Jamar Wilson had an off night, hitting just 4 of 14 field goal attempts for 12 points. Wilson contributed 6 steals and 4 rebounds, though. Albany was just 5 of 20 for three.
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| Keys to the Game |
| Key sequence |
After a back-and-forth second half, Vegotsky came to the line at 2:25 with the game tied at 48. He missed the first but hit the second. After Brian Lillis missed a shot, Brown got a defensive rebound. McNaughton missed a shot, and Abe Badmus grabbed an offensive rebound but missed a jumper. Albany got the ball back, and Lillis hit two free throws, then stole the ball from Brown and called timeout. The Bison missed several chances to establish a lead late in the game, and the Great Danes literally stole control in the final minutes.
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| Key sign it was over |
After Wilson hit two free throws to make it a 3-point game, Vegotsky missed a trey that would have tied the game with 16 seconds left. Brian Connelly got the rebound, was fouled, and hit two free throws to ice the game.
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| Key performance |
Against the tough defensive Bison frontcourt, Jason Siggers scored a team-high 17 points, grabbed 7 boards, and blocked 2 shots. Siggers’s performance offset Wilson’s poor shooting night and neutralized Bucknell’s size advantage.
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| Key statistic |
Albany held Bucknell to just 4-of-21 shooting in the second half. The Bison scored only 15 second-half points.
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| Notes |
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The Bison hit 14 of 16 free throw attempts. All of Bucknell’s attempts from the line were taken by Griffin, Vegotsky or Darren Mastropuolo.
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Mastropuolo and Badmus, who were expected to play a bigger role offensively this year, scored 4 and 2 points respectively. They combined for just 8 field goal attempts.
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Albany outrebounded Bucknell 36-35.
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Freshman Patrick Behan saw his first career action, going scoreless in 7 minutes.
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Griffin started as the two-guard alongside Badmus, but also played some point guard when Vegotsky was in the game.
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