Feb. 19, 2008

WHAT: Bucknell (10-15, 5-6 PL) vs. Lafayette (14-11, 5-5 PL)
WHERE: Sojka Pavilion, Lewisburg, Pa.
WHEN: Wednesday, Feb. 20, 2008, 7 p.m.
TICKETS: Available (570-577-1000 or order ONLINE)
TV: None
RADIO: Eagle 107 and SportsJuice.com
HAPPENINGS: Senior Night (pregame ceremony begins at 6:50 p.m.)
COMPLETE PRESS NOTES

Probable Starters
Bucknell:
G, 11 John Griffin, Sr., 13.5 ppg
G, 13 Darryl Shazier, Fr., 3.0 ppg
C, 1 Darren Mastropaolo, Sr., 7.0 ppg
F, 15 Stephen Tyree, So., 7.1 ppg
F, 2 Rob Thomas, Sr., 5.3 ppg

Lafayette:
G, 14 Andrew Brown, Jr., 16.5 ppg
G, 4 Michael Gruner, So., 7.8 ppg
G, 21 Bilal Abdullah, Sr., 14.4 ppg
F, 32 Matt Betley, Sr., 10.6 ppg
C, 13 Everest Schmidt, Sr., 6.1 ppg

NOTE: Tickets still remain for the 7 p.m. contest. To purchase tickets in advance, call 570-577-1000, go online to www.bucknell.edu/boxoffice or stop by either of the two Campus Box Office locations at the Weis Center or Bucknell Bookstore. Walk-up sales will begin two hours before game time at the Sojka Pavilion ticket office. Tickets for men's basketball games are $8 for adults and $4 for children and senior citizens.

With a Victory over Lafayette, Bucknell Would ...
-- ... improve to 11-15 overall and 6-6 in Patriot League play.
-- ... gain a split of the season series with the Leopards.
-- ... pass the Leopards in the Patriot League standings.
-- ... improve to 7-0 against Lafayette at Sojka Pavilion.
-- ... defeat the Leopards at home for the eighth straight time.
-- ... improve to 56-15 all-time at Sojka Pavilion, 42-6 at Sojka in conference play.

About the Game
The Patriot League's two coldest teams meet on Wednesday night at Sojka Pavilion, when Bucknell hosts Lafayette at 7 p.m. When these two teams squared off last month in Easton, both were 3-0 in league play and it was a battle for sole possession of first place. Now, Lafayette has droped four straight and five of its last six to fall to 5-5 in the PL, while Bucknell has lost three in a row and five of its last six to drop to 5-6. The Bison are looking for their first win since the 91-85 overtime decision at Colgate on Feb. 6. Since then, they have fallen to Navy and American on the road and Holy Cross at home this past Saturday. John Griffin still leads the team in scoring at 13.5 points per game, but he cooled off some on Saturday after a torrid four-game stretch in which he averaged better than 22 points per game. Holy Cross held Griffin to six points on 2-for-9 shooting in a 63-53 decision at Sojka over the weekend. Lafayette's last victory came on Jan. 30 at Army, and since then they have dropped four in a row, three of them coming at home. On Saturday the Leopards lost a heartbreaker to Navy, 82-80. Andrew Brown (16.5), Bilal Abdullah (14.4) and Matt Betley (10.6) all score in double figures for Lafayette, which averages 75.5 ppg but allows 74.3.

Senior Night
Fans are encouraged to arrive early on Wednesday, as Bucknell's seniors will be honored prior to tip-off. John Griffin, Darren Mastropaolo and Rob Thomas -- the second-winningest class in school history -- will all play in their final regular-season home games.

How to Get the Game
The Bucknell-Lafayette game will not be televised, however live video can be purchased through the Patriot League All-Access package. The game can be heard locally on Eagle 107 (WEGH 107.3 FM), with Doug Birdsong and Doug Byerly on the call. The pregame show begins 30 minutes before tip-off. The audio feed is available free of charge via BucknellBison.com and SportsJuice.com.

Bucknell vs. Lafayette
Bucknell and Lafayette have met 140 times previously, making the Leopards Bucknell's second most-played opponent (the Bison have played Lehigh 147 times). Since the series began in 1915, Lafayette leads 83-57. Since the start of Patriot League play in 1990-91, however, Bucknell has won 28 of 39 meetings. The Bison had won eight straight against the Leopards until Lafayette won earlier this season 80-68 in Easton. Bucknell has won all six previous matchups in Sojka Pavilion and is 15-3 against the Leopards in Lewisburg going back to the Patriot League's first season.

Bucknell vs. Lafayette Earlier this Season
On Jan. 23 at Kirby Sports Center, Lafayette jumped out to a 27-8 lead and won 80-68 in a battle of 3-0 teams. Andrew Brown hit seven of the Leopards' 14 3-pointers and scored 28 points. John Griffin led four Bison in double figures with 13 points. It was Bucknell's first loss to a Patriot League team other than Holy Cross since Jan. 30, 2005, at Navy.

Bucknell vs. Lafayette Last Season
Bucknell swept the season series from Lafayette in 2006-07:
-- On Jan. 17 in Easton, Donald Brown scored 19 points and Jason Vegotsky had 18 to lead Bucknell to a come-from-behind 67-61 victory. The Bison trailed by as many as 10 points in the first half, but 15 straight made free throws to close the game helped complete the rally. Lafayette received 14 points from Andrew Brown and 11 from Matt Betley.
-- On Feb. 15 at Sojka Pavilion, Chris McNaughton's 21 points helped the Bison to a 76-58 victory. Darren Mastropaolo set career highs for rebounds (11) and assists (6) to go with eight points, and John Griffin made four 3-pointers and chipped in 16 points for the Bison, who led by double figures for the final 30:50 of the game.

Last Time Out
In front of a standing-room-only crowd and an ESPN2 audience, Bucknell and Holy Cross were embroiled in a one-point game with three minutes to play, but the Crusaders broke things open at the free throw line and held off the Bison 63-53 Saturday night at Sojka Pavilion. Justin Castleberry scored 13 points to lead the Bison, while Tim Clifford had a game-high 18 for the Crusaders, who snapped a five-game losing skid at Sojka Pavilion. Bucknell made 18 field goals to Holy Cross' 15, but was outscored 27-11 at the free throw line. There were 10 lead changes and six ties in this intense affair, the last coming at 48-all after Darryl Shazier hit two free throws with 4:49 to play.

Inside the Holy Cross Boxscore
-- Bucknell committed 20 fouls to Holy Cross' 18, but the Crusaders shot 33 free throws (making 27), while the Bison shot only 17 (making 11).
-- John Griffin had made 13 of 19 3-point tries in his two previous games, but he was just 1-for-8 in this one and finished with six points.
-- Stephen Tyree turned in his second straight six-assist game, tying his career high. Tyree, who ranks third in the Patriot League in assists in league games, also had 11 points.
-- Darryl Shazier made his second straight start at the point and set career highs for free throws made (5) and attempted (7).
-- Junior center Josh Linthicum saw brief action in the first half, his first in league play this season. Linthicum, who had been starting in the post, injured a knee in practice prior to the league opener against Navy and missed 10 games.
-- Justin Castleberry continued his solid play against Holy Cross. Castleberry scored a team-high 13 points, his fifth straight double-figure game against the Crusaders. He made 5 of 7 field goals, including 3 of 4 from beyond the 3-point line.
-- Holy Cross outrebounded the Bison 28-21, holding Bucknell to five offensive boards.
-- Bucknell had a solid 14-to-10 assist-to-turnover ratio, with the 14 assists coming on 18 made field goals.

Numbers to Watch
Some relevent stats involving Bucknell and Lafayette:
-- Bucknell's defense will be put to the test in this one, as Lafayette comes in ranked No. 2 in the Patriot League in scoring at 75.5 ppg. They lead the league in field-goal percentage (.446) and 3-pointers made (10.2). Conversely, Bucknell leads the PL in 3-point defense (.328). In the first meeting of the year, however, Lafayette made nine first-half threes and finished 14-for-33 from the arc.
-- Lafayette has struggled offensively in Sojka Pavilion through the years. In six previous games here, the Leopards averaged 47.8 points per game, shooting 33.4% from the field and 24.6% from 3-point range.
-- These two teams faced two common opponents during non-league play. Both teams won at Towson (BU 71-57; LC 79-69 in OT) and both teams lost to Wagner (BU 64-55 on the road; LC 74-70 at home).

Streaks Gone
Bucknell has seen a number of impressive winning streaks come to an end this season:
-- A 38-game home winning streak against Patriot League foes ended with a 56-54 loss to Lehigh on Jan. 30.
-- A 14-game regular-season PL winning streak ended with an 80-68 loss at Lafayette on Jan. 23.
-- A 10-game home winning streak ended with a 55-40 loss to Marist on Nov. 28.
-- A 15-game winning streak against Army ended with a 68-52 loss to the Black Knights on Feb. 3.
-- An 8-game winning streak against Lafayette ended with an 80-68 loss to the Leopards on Jan. 23.
-- An 8-game winning streak against American ended with a 68-64 loss to the Eagles on Feb. 13.
-- A 7-game winning streak against Lehigh ended with a 56-54 loss to the Mountain Hawks on Jan. 30.
-- A 7-game winning streak against Navy ended with a 78-72 loss to the Midshipmen on Feb. 9.

Griffin Hits Two Major Milestones
Last Wednesday at American, senior guard John Griffin scored his 1,000th point and recorded his 200th career 3-pointer. He now has 1,016 career points and has moved into 31st place on Bucknell's career scoring list. Griffin also became the third Bison to record 200 career 3-pointers, joining Kevin Bettencourt (294) and Mike Bright (206) on that list. Griffin is now second all-time with 207 career treys.

Who's Got Next?
Bucknell steps away from Patriot League play on Saturday when it travels to Norfolk, Va., to take on Old Dominion in a non-televised O'Reilly's ESPNU BracketBusters game. Tip-off is slated for 7 p.m. at the Constant Convocation Center. Currently on a three-game winning streak, ODU is now 14-13 overall, 9-6 in the CAA. The Monarchs play at James Madison on Wednesday.