Feb. 26, 2008
WHAT: Bucknell (11-16, 6-6 PL) vs. Lehigh (12-14, 5-7 PL)
WHERE: Stabler Arena, Bethlehem, Pa.
WHEN: Wednesday, Feb. 27, 2008, 7 p.m.
TV: Service Electric (Lehigh Valley)
RADIO: Eagle 107 and SportsJuice.com
LIVE VIDEO: Patriot League All-Access
COMPLETE PRESS NOTES
Probable Starters
Bucknell:
G, 11 John Griffin, Sr., 13.7 ppg
G, 13 Darryl Shazier, Fr., 3.0 ppg
F, 15 Stephen Tyree, So., 7.3 ppg
F, 42 Josh Linthicum, Jr., 5.2 ppg
C, 1 Darren Mastropaolo, Sr., 7.3 ppg
Lehigh:
G, 1 Marquis Hall, So., 13.8 ppg
G, 15 Rob Keefer, Fr., 7.6 ppg
G, 35 Matt Szalachowski, Jr., 5.1 ppg
F, 10 Zahir Carrington, So., 12.8 ppg
F, 20 Bryan White, Sr., 10.2 ppg
With a Victory over Lehigh, Bucknell Would ...
-- ... win its second straight Patriot League game and improve to 12-16 overall, 7-6 in the league.
-- ... clinch a top-4 seed and secure a home game for at least the first round of the Patriot League Tournament.
-- ... guarantee at least a .500 Patriot League record for the 16th time in 18 years.
-- ... gain a split of the season series with Lehigh.
About the Game
With the Patriot League schedule winding down into its final week, all eight league teams will be jockeying for playoff seeding on Wednesday night. Bucknell's game at Lehigh is of utmost importance to both teams. The Bison, who can still finish anywhere from second through eighth, can clinch a top-4 seed and lock up a first-round home game with a victory at Stabler Arena, while the Mountain Hawks are looking to shake a three-way tie for fifth place and possibly earn a home game of their own. A Lehigh win would also give the Mountain Hawks a season sweep of the Bison, giving them a leg up in tiebreaker scenarios should the two teams finish even in the standings. Bucknell is coming off a 65-55 road loss to Old Dominion in the O'Reilly ESPNU BracketBusters on Saturday. The Bison have dropped five of their last seven league games, with both wins coming in overtime (Colgate, Lafayette). Lehigh has also struggled of late, losing five of its last six since defeating Bucknell 56-54 at Sojka Pavilion on Jan. 30. On Saturday Lehigh fell 78-60 at Lafayette.
How to Get the Game
The Bucknell-Lehigh can be seen on Service Electric TV throughout the Lehigh Valley, and 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.
Army Game Time Changed
The start time for Saturday's Bucknell-Army game at West Point has been changed to 2:30 p.m. It was originally a 1 p.m. start.
Bucknell vs. Lehigh
Bucknell has played more games (147) and won more games (90) against Lehigh than any other school. The Bison have a 90-57 lead in a series that originated in 1902. Since the start of Patriot League play in 1990-91, Bucknell holds a 31-10 advantage, including a 16-3 mark at home. Bucknell has won three straight at Stabler Arena (including a 2005 loss that was later forfeited to the Bison) and is 13-5 there during the Patriot League era.
Bucknell vs. Lehigh Earlier this Season
On Jan. 30 in Lewisburg, Zahir Carrington scored 19 points and helped Lehigh become the first Patriot League team in almost five years to defeat Bucknell in Sojka Pavilion, 56-54. Bryan White had 13 points and 11 rebounds and Marquis Hall also scored 13 points for the Mountain Hawks, who won their fourth game in a row. Rob Thomas scored a season-high 11 points on 5-for-5 shooting and John Griffin added 10 points for the Bison, who endured a cold shooting night. The game was tied at 42 midway through the second half, but Bucknell went scoreless for 5:26 while Lehigh scored five straight points to take the lead for good. The Mountain Hawks made 7 of 10 free throws in the final 50 seconds to prevent the Bison from getting a possession to tie or take the lead, other than a desperation 70-foot attempt at the buzzer.
Last Time Out
Bucknell took a break from Patriot League play on Saturday, falling to Old Dominion 65-55 in a BracketBusters contest in Norfolk, Va. The Bison trailed by nine early in the second half but held the Monarchs to one field goal in a span of 9:36 while rallying to take a two-point lead. But ODU finished on a 22-10 run and captured its fifth straight victory.
Inside the Old Dominion Boxscore
-- John Griffin was Bucknell's lone double-digit scorer. Griffin hit five 3-pointers and finished with 19 points. He also committed only one turnover in 32 minutes.
-- Darren Mastropaolo had one of his best games of the season against the Monarchs' big front line. Mastropaolo went 4-for-5 from the field and finished with eight points and a game-high nine rebounds.
-- Old Dominion neutralized Bucknell's hottest player in Stephen Tyree. Tyree did not score a point for only the second time this season (Drexel was the other), going 0-for-2 from the floor, and he fouled out after playing only 23 minutes. Tyree did manage four assists, giving him 23 in his last four games.
-- Freshman Darryl Shazier returned to his home area and drew his fourth straight starting nod at point guard. Shazier, who hails from nearby Newport News, Va., had four points and a career-high five assists.
-- Junior Josh Linthicum returned to the starting lineup for the first time since coming back from a knee injury.
-- After seeing his minutes decline significantly in recent games, freshman G.W. Boon had a nice bounce-back performance, scoring eight points in 22 minutes. All of Boon's points came on drives to the basket.
-- Justin Castleberry scored eight points off the bench, including the go-ahead 3-pointer with 6:15 to play.
-- Senior Rob Thomas missed his second straight game with a foot injury. He injured his arch in the Feb. 16 game against Holy Cross.
-- Bucknell shot 46.0% from the floor and had a positive (15-13) assist-turnover ratio, but the Bison were outscored 15-2 at the free-throw line.
-- Old Dominion had a 14-0 edge in second-chance points in the first half, 16-8 for the game.
Numbers to Watch
Some relevent stats involving Bucknell and Lehigh:
-- Even though Lehigh has attempted the fewest 3-pointers in the Patriot League this season (13.8 attempts per game), the Bison will have to be mindful of its shooters, particularly Rob Keefer, who leads the PL in 3-point accuracy at 46.7%. Bucknell did a good job in this area in the first meeting, holding the Mountain Hawks to 0-for-9 shooting from the arc.
-- On the other hand, Lehigh allows its opponents to shoot 41.2% from the arc, the highest in the league. Bucknell is shooting a solid 39.5% from the arc in Patriot League play, even though it went only 5-for-14 against Lehigh last month.
-- Bucknell has been outrebounded in three straight games, and the Bison will have to improve in that area against a Lehigh team that averages 10.1 offensive rebounds per game and features the Patriot League's No. 1 rebounder in Bryan White (8.2). White had 11 boards in the first Bucknell-Lehigh meeting.
-- These two teams faced three common opponents during non-league play, with differing results in each. Bucknell defeated Cornell at home 88-75, while Lehigh lost to the Big Red 87-83 in Ithaca; Lehigh won at Saint Francis (Pa.) 71-66, while Bucknell lost at home to the Red Flash 57-54; and the Bison topped Albany 55-52 at home, while the Mountain Hawks lost at Albany 78-66.
John Griffin Milestone Chart
Bison senior John Griffin has already scored his 1,000th point and hit his 200th career 3-pointer this season. Now he is closing in on the single-season record for 3-point field goals, and he has broken into the top 10 on the career steals chart.
Bucknell Career Points
24. Brian Anderson (1993-96) 1092
25. Chris Seneca (1984-87) 1082
26. Steve Sigl (1976-80) 1064
27. John Griffin (2004-pres.) 1048
28. Gordon Mboya (1993-97) 1041
29. Mark Atkinson (1984-87) 1029
30. Sekou Hamer (1992-96) 1027
Bucknell Career 3-Point Field Goals
1. Kevin Bettencourt (2002-06) 294
2. John Griffin (2004-pres.) 213
3. Mike Bright (1989-93) 206
4. Mike Joseph (1986-90) 183
5. J.R. Holden (1994-98) 180
Bucknell Career Steals
1. Mike Bright (1989-93) 286
2. Abe Badmus (2003-07) 217
3. Sekou Hamer (1992-96) 173
4. Russell Peyton (1989-93) 168
5. Charles Lee (2002-06) 167
6. Kevin Bettencourt (2002-06) 157
7. Jaye Andrews (1981-85) 144
8. J.R. Holden (1994-98) 142
9. Mike Joseph (1986-90) 129
John Griffin (2004-pres.) 129
Bucknell Career Games Played
1. Chris McNaughton (2003-07) 125
2. John Griffin (2004-pres.) 123
Abe Badmus (2003-07) 123
Kevin Bettencourt (2002-06) 123
5. Paul Olkowski (1989-93) 118
Steve Schrader (1982-87) 118
Bucknell Career Free-Throw Percentage
1. Mike Joseph (1986-90) .884
2. Bo Heiden (1985-89) .849
3. Kevin Bettencourt (2002-06) .832
4. Patrick King (1989-92) .814
5. Ted Aceto (1987-88) .808
6. John Griffin (2004-pres.) .805
7. Gerald Purnell (1974-77) .800
Bucknell Single-Season 3-Point Field Goals
1. Kevin Bettencourt (2005-06) 79
2. Kevin Bettencourt (2004-05) 78
3. John Griffin (2007-08) 72
Kevin Bettencourt (2003-04) 72
J.R. Holden (1996-97) 72
Who's Got Next?
Bucknell wraps up the 2007-08 regular season on Saturday at 2:30 p.m. against Army at Christl Arena. The Black Knights have never swept a season series from Bucknell, but they will be trying to do just that on Saturday. Army won the first meeting between these two teams 68-52 at Sojka Pavilion on Feb. 3.
