Feb. 3, 2008

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LEWISBURG, Pa. - Jarell Brown scored 21 points, 13 coming in Army's big second half, leading the Black Knights to a 68-52 victory over Bucknell Sunday afternoon at Sojka Pavilion. Army had lost 15 straight to Bucknell dating back to 2001 and had not won in Lewisburg in 11 years, but it erased a three-point halftime deficit by outscoring the Bison 43-24 in the second half.

John Griffin hit five 3-pointers and scored 17 points to lead Bucknell, which dropped its second straight home Patriot League game after winning 38 in a row at Sojka Pavilion against conference foes. Now 9-12 overall, Bucknell fell to 4-3 in the Patriot League but remains just a game behind first-place Lafayette.

Army (10-11, 3-4) held Bucknell scoreless for the first 5:21 of the second half and took the lead for good on Brown's tie-breaking 3-pointer with 13:26 to play. A Stephen Tyree tip-in and Darren Mastropaolo's layup pulled Bucknell within one at 37-36, but those would be the Bison's only back-to-back baskets of the second half as the Black Knights outscored them 14-5 over the next 6:46.

Brown and Marcus Nelson both hit 3-pointers during the run, and two free throws by Cleveland Richard made it a 10-point game at 51-41 with 4:07 to play. Bucknell never got closer than eight the rest of the way.

The Bison hit six 3-pointers in the first half, with consecutive treys by Jason Vegotsky and Justin Castleberry giving Bucknell its largest lead of the game, seven points at 28-21 with 1:29 left. Army got the last four points of the half to pull within 28-25, then Brown's 3-pointer 4:21 into the second half tied it at 28.

Army had been 0-7 all-time at Sojka Pavilion and had never reached the 50-point mark here, but the Black Knights shot 63.2 percent in the second half and 51.2 percent overall, and they outscored Bucknell 18-8 from the free-throw line.

Bucknell shot 40.0 percent overall but only 33.3 percent in the second half. The Bison had assists on their first 11 baskets of the day and on 15 of 18 overall, but they turned the ball over a season-high 24 times, including 15 miscues in the second half.

Bison head coach Pat Flannery was not with the team on Sunday due to illness. Flannery had left Wednesday's game against Lehigh in the second half due to illness. He was discharged from Evangelical Community Hospital late Thursday night, however he continues to undergo further testing, and his status for upcoming games has not yet been determined. Assistant coach Nathan Davis was the acting head coach against Army.

Army's last victory over Bucknell came at West Point on Feb. 14, 2001. Bucknell had won 12 straight at home against Army dating back to the Black Knights' 83-71 win in Davis Gym in 1996-97.

The Bison are back in action on Wednesday at Colgate at 7 p.m.