15 November, 2006
by Marcus Mateer
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1st |
2nd |
OT |
Final |
| Wake Forest (2-0) |
34 |
41 |
11 |
86 |
| Bucknell (0-2) |
38 |
37 |
8 |
83 |
| Sojka Pavilion – Lewisburg, PA |
Boxscore |
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The Bucknell Bison led Wake Forest most of the game, but the Demon Deacons scored the final four points of regulation to force overtime where they won it 86-83. Kyle Visser had 26 points and 6 rebounds to lead Wake.
Bucknell opened an early 20-8 lead, during which 6 different players scored points for the Bison. The Deacons quickly cut their deficit and kept the game close the rest of the way. From 2:38 left in regulation until 2:41 into overtime, Wake was on a combined 14-2 run.
Six Bucknell players scored double figures, with career highs from Rob Thomas (16), Andrew Morrison (10) and Darren Mastropaolo (10). Abe Badmus added 16 points and 7 assists. Chris McNaughton scored just 4 points on 1-of-3 shooting.
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| Keys to the Game |
| Key sequence |
With Bucknell leading 74-69 with only 2:25 left, Jason Vegotsky stripped Ishmael Smith. Vegotsky’s three-point attempt was off target, and Michael Drum was fouled on the rebound. Drum hit both to climb Wake Forest within three. McNaughton hit one of two at the other end, followed by another pair from Drum to pull within two. Then, with 58 seconds remaining, John Griffin fouled out when he made contact with Harvey Hale, who converted from the stripe to tie it at 75. Neither would score again in regulation, and the game would head to overtime.
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| Key sign it was over |
The game would go down to the wire. Wake Forest jumped out to a seven-point lead in overtime, but five from Badmus and a jumper by Morrison sandwiched a Hale jumper to bring the Bison within two. Following a rim-out on a jumper by Thomas with 16 ticks left, Vegotsky grabbed the board and kicked it out to Badmus. The point guard drove towards the basket but was questionably called for traveling on a spin move. The ensuing foul with 5.7 seconds left sealed the deal for the Demon Deacons, as Hale hit one of two from the line and Morrison’s desperation shot fell short.
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| Key performance |
Wake Forest center Visser scored a career-high 26. Wake made it obvious they intended to go to the big center often during the contest, and his points kept them in the game.
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| Key statistic |
62 total fouls. Three starters for Bucknell (Donald Brown, Griffin, and Mastropaolo) and Wake Forest’s Drum fouled out. The Bison also had three other players with four fouls. For a substantial part of the second half, Bucknell had at least three and sometimes four players on the floor with four fouls. The pace of the game was severely hampered by the constant whistles, and, by overtime, it finally caught up with the home team.
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| Notes |
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Wake Forest was the first-ever ACC team to come to Lewisburg.
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The loss snaps Bucknell’s 13-game home win streak.
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Both teams were abysmal from the charity stripe in the first half, with Wake Forest shooting 38.9 percent and Bucknell shooting 43.8 percent.
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The game was the first overtime game played in Sojka Pavilion since the building opened in 2003.
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Bucknell led for all of regulation, with the exceptions of a brief tie at 33 and a 19-second span early in the second half, until the tying free throws with 59 seconds left.
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Demon Deacons head coach Skip Prosser is the father of Bucknell assistant coach Mark Prosser.
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