Hoop Time Archives

'Pards carry the flag

2005-11-30T08:47:00.000-05:00

Another tough night for league teams, with Lehigh getting spanked at Villanova and Air Force continuing its domination of Navy. Only Lafayette managed to save face for the league, knocking off Princeton to provide an unexpected boost in the league's season series with the Ivies.

Lafayette 57, Princeton 46 -- Lafayette holds Princeton to 13 points in the first half and goes on to knock off the Tigers 57-46, raising the inevitable question: Is Princeton that bad or is Lafayette much better than expected? Ted Detmer, a 6-7 sophomore, had a big game for the 'Pards, 10 points, 8 boards, 4 steals. Bilal Abdullah, another soph, led Lafayette with 15 points. Abdullah also pulled 7 rebounds. Senior Andrei Capusan (6-7) also reached double figures with 10 points on 5-of-6 shooting. Detmer, Capusan and Abdullah were a combined 14-for-19 from the field. The rest of the Leopards: 7-for-27.

Box score

AP story

Express-Times

Trenton Times

Newark Star-Ledger

Villanova 84, Lehigh 47 --Allan Ray hit 8 threes, Randy Foye added 5 more. This is what happens to teams when Villanova shoots like that. All told, a school record 17 threes for Nova.

Potential good news for Lehigh: freshman John Gourlay had 8 points. Jose Olivero (15) was the only Lehigh player to score more.

Box score

Allentown Morning Call

Philadelphia Inquirer

Philly Daily News

Daily Local News

Air Force 64, Navy 55 -- Backup center John Frye, a 6-foot-10 junior from Fredericksburg, who had played all of 29 minutes in his first two seasons at Air Force, started for the first time and scored 26 points to lead the Fly Boys, whose seniors have never lost to Navy.

Fry, who had just 20 points in his career entering the game, filled in for injured center Nick Welch, who is out for the season.

Another tough night for Navy's Matt Fannin, who is out of the starting lineup for the Mids. Fannin played just 13 minutes, fouling out with 7 points. Guards Corey Johnson and Kaleo Kina eachhad 14 points for the Mids.

Box score

AP story

Baltimore Sun

2005-11-30T07:46:00.000-05:00

'Pards, Gate give PL lead over Ivies

2005-11-30T07:03:00.000-05:00

Lafayette 57, Cornell 43: Look out naysayers. Fran O'Hanlon's Leopards are 3-2 and just wins over Penn and Harvard away from claiming the Ivy League crown. Or at least they would be if they played Harvard (Lafayette is at Penn Jan. 16).

How this success will translate against scholarship schools is anybody's guess, but with back-to-back wins over Princeton and Cornell, Lafayette has shown one thing for sure: The 'Pards can D it up. Lafayette limited Cornell to 17 first half points, 43 for the game, and just 30 percent shooting from the floor. This just two days after doing a similar number on Princeton.

Yes, this is the same team that gave up 80 points to Division III Alvernia. Go figure.

Bilal Abdullah again was in double figures, finishing with 10 points. Paul Cummins had 12 off the bench to lead Lafayette. Nobody in double figures for Cornell.

Combined with Colgates double OT win over Dartmouth, the Patriot League has taken the lead in the season series with the Ivy League.

Our old friend Corky Blake said it best in his game story in the Express-Times:

The undersized Leopards (3-2), win or lose, will be fun to watch this winter.

Box score

Morning Call story

Ithaca Journal story

Cornell Daily Sun story

Connecticut 68, Army 54: A sluggish start for No. 3 UConn allowed Army to hang around. But the Black Knights simply lacked the firepower to take advantage of the Huskies off night. UConn outscored Army 30-8 in the paint. The Huskies outrebounded the Black Knights 41-26 and scored 31 points off 19 Army turnovers.

A quick synopsis from the Stamford (Ct.) Advocate goes something like this:

Frankly, UConn played like it was still five time zones away in Hawaii where it captured the Maui Invitational.

"We out-talented Army. But they outworked us," Calhoun said. "We were loggy (lethargic). Army grinded the game down. And we played along by making bad decision after bad decision after bad decision."

The Cadets (2-3) were skinny but disciplined Lilliputians on the court, milking the 35-second shot clock each and every possession. Army actually led 22-16 with 6:50 remaining in the first half.

Jarell Brown led Army with 26 points on 11-of-20 shooting, including 4 treys.

Hartford Courant story

Hartford Courant sidebar

New Haven Register story

Times Herald-Record story

Waterbury Republican-American story

Colgate 65, Dartmouth 64 (2 OT): From the AP story:

Jon Simon scored 16 points and made a 16-foot jumper with less than a second left in double overtime to give Colgate a 65-64 win over Dartmouth Tuesday night.

Alvin Reed, Kyle Chones and Kyle Roemer each scored 11 points for the Raiders (3-3).

Kendall Chones returned to the Colgate lineup and scored 8 points in 31 minutes of action. Also, Marc Daniels, the 6-9 center that Emmitt Davis raved about in the preseason, has apparently lost his starting job after averaging around 3 rebounds and 2 points per game as a starter in the 'Gate's first five contests.

Box score

Loyola (Md.) 68, American 60: Down 20 at the half, AU battled back to get within one, but could not quite dig themselves out of the hole they dug themselves into in the first half.

Lina Lekavicius, Derrick Mercer and Arvydas Eitutavicius each finsihed with 14 for AU. Andre Ingram was held to 6.

Box score

Baltimore Sun story

Lehigh 67, Eastern 48: Kyle Neptune scored 18 points on six-of-nine shooting. Jason Mgebroff added a season-high 10 points, while freshman Greg Page was also in double figures against Division III Eastern with a career-best 10 points.

Box score

Bison look to avoid fall

2005-11-30T07:02:00.000-05:00

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BUCKNELL at Niagara 7 p.m.: This is no gimme for the Bison. Niagara, who like Bucknell appeared in the NCAA Tournament last season, has an 18 game win streak in the Gallagher Center. Granted, this is a very different Purple Eagles team, one that graduated three starters, including guard Alvin Cruz, who had 21 points against the Bison in last year's 76-74 BU win at Sojka, and forward Juan Mendez, who had 18. But forward J.R. Duffy, who had 11 points and 12 rebounds against BU last season, is back. Four of Niagara's five starters are averaging in double figures, led by swingman Charron Fisher, a 6-3 sophomore who is averaging 20 ppg while shooting 54.5 percent from three-point range. Junior guard Lorenzo Miles is close behind at 17.7 ppg. Clif Brown, a 6-7 junior is averaging 14 ppg and Duffy is chipping in 10.7 ppg. The fifth starter, 6-6 senior James Mathis, is averaging 9.7 ppg.

Depth, though, is a problem for Niagara. Only two other players have scored for the Purple Eagles and between them they are averaging about 5 combined points per game.

Turnovers have also been a concern for Niagara, Through three games they have 43 turnovers and only 27 assists. Shooting has also been a concern. The Purple Eagles are shooting only 41.6 percent as a team. Neither of those stats bode well against Bucknell's defense.

One strength for Niagara has been free throw shooting. The Purple Eagles have been to the line 23 times more than their opponents (84-61) and have been taking full advantage, shooting 81 percent from the stripe.
Bucknell notes | Niagara notes | USA Today matchup |Bucknell Radio

Perceptions have changed

2005-11-30T06:57:00.000-05:00

Check out the headline of the prep sports roundup in today's Los Angeles Daily News:

Bucknell-bound senior leads Chaminade boys' basketball team to victory

A year ago, the Daily News would probably have written "Chaminade's Evans leads ..." Not enough folks in L.A. would have recognized Bucknell for it to be a significant descriptor. It might have been mentioned in the story that Evans is signed with the Bison, but in a headline? In L.A.? Highly doubtful.

Just another little sign of how Bucknell's stature has changed in the past 11 months.

Join the revolution

2005-11-30T06:52:00.000-05:00

(Originally posted Monday at 9:32 p.m., updated at 7:38 a.m.)

Holy Cross shook up its lineup but could not shake out a win at Vermont.

Pat Doherty and Lawrence Dixon started in place of Kevin Hamilton and Torey Thomas at the guard spots, with Colin Cunningham instead of Alex Vander Baan at one of the forwards.

According to the story in the Worcester Telegram & Gazette News, Willard sat the three starters because of an unspecified attitude problem during a film session Monday:

"This was not a disciplinary action," Willard noted. "We do certain things in this program at a particular attitude level, and they weren't at their level at (Monday's) film session. Nobody was late and nobody missed anything. The attention to detail wasn't being done."

Ironically, the situation happened a day before a story would appear in Thomas' hometown paper in which Torey talked about the need for him to play a leadershiprole on this year's team.

.All three players did see action off of the bench. The loss could hardly be blamed on their not starting.

It was the Crusaders big men who were a problem. Kevin Hyland and Alex Vander Baan both fouled out and Tim Clifford had three personals in the first half. All while trying to slow Vermont junior center Martin Klimes, who finished with 22 points to lead all scorers.

Willard told the T&G:

"We got into foul trouble right away and their 43 free throws to our 13 -- that's quite a disparity," Crusader head coach Ralph Willard said. "The rebound edge hurt us, too, but the free throws determined the game."

Vermont shot 53 percent from the floor in the first half, building a 34-36 lead. The Crusaders came back to take the lead briefly in the second half, then Vermont went on a 12-0 run to take control.

Holy Cross battled back, cutting it to 67-64 with 16 seconds to go, but could get no closer.

HC's defense was better in the second half, holding Vermont to 36 percent shooting. But the way Vermont dominated the glass, it hardly mattered. Klimes finished with 9 boards. Forward Chris Holm chipped in with an 11-points, 11-rebounds double-double. As a team, Vermont outrebounded HC 40-22.

Guard Mike Trimboli was also a headache for HC, scoring 21 points, most of which came from the foul line.

Keith Simmons led Holy Cross with 18 points. Hamilton chipped in with 14. Doherty was 4-for-4 from the arc for 12 points.

Box score

Burlington Free Press

HC falls in Vermont

2005-11-29T07:38:00.000-05:00

"This was not a disciplinary action," Willard noted. "We do certain things in this program at a particular attitude level, and they weren't at their level at (Monday's) film session. Nobody was late and nobody missed anything. The attention to detail wasn't being done."

"We got into foul trouble right away and their 43 free throws to our 13 -- that's quite a disparity," Crusader head coach Ralph Willard said. "The rebound edge hurt us, too, but the free throws determined the game."

Box score

Burlington Free Press

5 teams in action tonight

2005-11-29T07:36:00.000-05:00

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Dartmouth at COLGATE 7 p.m.: Dartmouth comes in 1-1 with a win over UC Davis, a loss to Boston College. Coached by Terry Dunn, former Penn State coach Jerry Dunn's twin brother, Dartmounth has eight freshmen on its 17 man roster, but only one, guard DeVon Mosley, sees significant minutes. Junior guard Leon Pattman (6-2) does not start, but he leads Dartmouth in scoring (13.5 ppg) and rebounding (6.5 rpg). 6-3 senior Mike Lang is also in double figures, averaging 12.5 ppg with 7-of-11 shooting from the arc thus far. No other Dartmouth player has more than 2 treys. Colgate's Kendall Chones, who missed the past two games with an ankle injury, is not listed as a starter in the Raiders' game notes. He is listed with the reserves, with no further update on his availability. With him, the 'Gate ought to win this one at home. Without Kendall Chones, its a pick 'em sort of game.
Colgate notes (pdf) | Dartmouth notes | USA Today matchup | Live Stats | 'Gate radio

AMERICAN at Loyola (Md.) 9 p.m.:A late start for Comcast Sports Net (Mid-Atlantic) for a game against American's most-played rivalry. In the 79 years AU has had a team, it has played Loyola 77 times. AU comes in winless in three starts. Loyola is 2-0 with wins over Towson and UMBC. Senior guard Andre COllins (6-0) leads Loyola, averaging 21.5 ppg.
AU notes | Loyola notes | USA Today matchup | Loyola radio

ARMY at Connecticut 7 p.m.: A matchup of one of the worst teams in Division I and one of the best. How great is the divide between these two programs? If Army loses by less than 25 points it would be an upset. As the preview in the Bristol Press points out, "The undersized Black Knights have nearly matched their win total from last year, when they went 3-24. But the good news for Army ends there."
Army notes (pdf) | UConn notes | USA Today matchup

Cornell at LAFAYETTE 7 p.m.: Leopards look to make it three-in-a-row when Ivy upstarts Cornell come to town. Cornell already has a win over a Kendall Chones-less Colgate and looks to make it 2-0 vs. Patriot League teams. Familiarity is the theme. The 2-3 Big Red are coached by Steve Donahue, who was an assistant to Fran O'Hanlon at Monsignor Bonner HS during the 1987-88 campaign, helping guide Bonner to the Philadelphia Catholic League championship. Both men later served as assistant coaches at Penn under Fran Dunphy. Cornell sophomore Khaliq Gant and Lafayette sophomore Bilal Abdullah were teammates Marion-Tabor Academy.
Lafayette notes | Cornell notes | USA Today matchup | Gametracker

Eastern at LEHIGH 7 p.m.: D-3 Eastern comes in 3-0 after winning the first-ever men's game played at Immaculata College. The Eagles have nobody on the roster over 6-6. The other two Eastern wins came over Valley Forge Christian and Maryland Bible, proving there are cupcakes at every level. This time, though, Eastern gets to be on the other side of that equation.
Lehigh notes | Eastern Web site | USA Today matchup

Vitale gives Flannery props

2005-11-29T07:35:00.000-05:00

In his weekly awards column at ESPN.com, Dick Vitale proclaims:

COACH OF THE WEEK: Pat Flannery, Bucknell

Last season, he led the Bison to upsets over Pittsburgh and Kansas. This season, an experienced Bucknell team went into the Carrier Dome and stunned Jim Boeheim's ranked Orange. Bucknell didn't have any letdown when it beat Yale to end the week, 87-60.

Katz meows

2005-11-28T17:41:00.000-05:00

From this afternoon's ESPN.com: SPORTSNATION Chat with hoops guru Andy Katz:

Dave, Washington DC: Can you give Syracuse some respect for playing Bucknell. A mid-major that others are scared to play and we learned why. I don't want to have ESPN call Syracuse's schedule a cupcake schedule when they play the top mid majors in the country that others are afraid of.

Andy Katz: (4:19 PM ET ) Syracuse has done a tremendous job this season of scheduling traditionally tough mid-major teams (UTEP, Kent State and TCU are on the schedule too although they have struggled at times this season). Bucknell got a few teams to bite this season with Villanova playing the Bison at home and Saint Joseph's returning a game. Duke could get an undefeated Bucknell on Jan. 2.

Memo to Andy: The Villanova game is the middle of a two-for-one deal, with the Bison returning to Villanova next year. That deal was done before Bucknell started knocking off people last season. It does not hurt, either, that Nova coach Jay Wright is a BU alum.

As for the undefeated Bison at Duke in January, I am sure a network showing that game nationally would love that maybe even more than the Bucknell fans. Not sure it is very realiztic, though. Time, of course, will tell.

In the polls

2005-11-28T16:42:00.000-05:00

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HOLY CROSS at Vermont 7 p.m.: What a difference a year makes. T.J. Sorrentine is playing in Italy. Supposed NBA sure thing Taylor Coppenrath is playing in Greece. Charismatic coach Tom Brennan is now x-ing and o-ing on ESPN. It's a very different scene in Burlington, where new coach Mike Lonergan and a bunch of youngsters have struggled to a 1-3 start. The Catamounts have no seniors. Two redshirt juniors are the only non freshmen and sophomores on the roster.

Don't let the record fool yoiu, though. While they are no match for last year's team that went to the second round of the NCAA TOurnament, Vermont is still no slouch. The three losses were to three pretty fair teams: Harvard (65-57), which already has a win over HC; Providence (87-77); and Nevada (77-62). The Catamounts beat Wagner (a team that was 2-0 with a win over American) in their last outing.

According to the scouting report in the >HC game notes:

Freshman guard Mike Trimboli leads the team in scoring with an average of 17.3 points per game, in addition to handing out a team-best 26 assists. Junior center Martin Klimes has averaged 16.3 points and 4.8 rebounds so far this year, while sophomore guard Ryan Schneider has added 12.8 points and 6.0 boards per game.

The Catamounts have decent size and should test Holy Cross' weakness upfront.

If Kevin Hamilton is anywhere near 100 percent, Holy Cross should have a decent shot at picking up the road win. If Hamilton is still hobbled, expect another long night for the Crusaders.
HC notes | Vermont notes | USA Today matchup | Live Stats | HC radio

'Saders headed north to UVM

2005-11-28T08:51:00.000-05:00

Freshman guard Mike Trimboli leads the team in scoring with an average of 17.3 points per game, in addition to handing out a team-best 26 assists. Junior center Martin Klimes has averaged 16.3 points and 4.8 rebounds so far this year, while sophomore guard Ryan Schneider has added 12.8 points and 6.0 boards per game.

Three games today

2005-11-27T10:09:00.000-05:00

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Air Force at NAVY 9 p.m.: The 9 p.m. start is for College Sports Television, which could not show the game earlier because it has junior college volleyball at 1 p.m, water polo at 6 p.m. and a bunch of Total Access and On the Road psuedo documentary shows between the end of the water polo match and the start of the Air Force-Navy game. (We trust there is no need for us to repeat last year's rant about how CSTV is like the Wayne's World of sports). Air Force, under first-year coach Jeff Bzdelik is 3-1, with wins over Miami of the ACC, Northern Arizona and two Division II teams. The lone loss came at Washington. With 6-8 senior center Nick Welch out of action following knee surgery, Bzdelik's seven-man rotation has just one player over 6-5. Air Force has won the last three meetings of the two, but Navy won the last time the two met in Annapolis (86-46 in Nov. 2003).
Navy notes (pdf) | Air Force notes | USA Today matchup | Gametracker

LAFAYETTE at Princeton 3 p.m.: Last year Princeton surviived for a 40-38 win in Easton. Just goes to show, you never know. This is not your father's Princeton team, but the Tigers, fresh off a 10-point win at Lehigh, should have more than enough to win this catfight with the Leopards.
Lafayette notes | Princeton notes | USA Today matchup | Gametracker

LEHIGH at No. 4 Villanova 7:30 p.m.: For what it is worth, the two have a common opponent in Stony Brook. Villanova, at home, beat Seahwaks 78-35; Lehigh won 58-54 at Stony Brook. Even with Joe Knight, this is uphill for Lehigh. Without him, ugly might be a kind description of the expected outcome.
Lehigh notes | Villanova notes | USA Today matchup | Livestats

Bison in a blowout

2005-11-27T08:59:00.000-05:00

(Originally posted: Saturday, 10:27 p.m.)

Pat Flannery wanted to make sure his team would not suffer from a letdown after its big upset of Syracuse Tuesday night. With Ivy League middle-of-the-packer Yale coming to town, the last thing the Bucknell coach wanted was for the Bison to be complacent about the threat the Bulldogs posed.

After all, in each of the past two seasons, Yale has been a tough game for the Bison. Two years ago, Yale came into Bucknell's Sojka Pavilion and snuck away with a one-point win. Last year the Bison returned the favor in New Haven, but not until after being pushed to overtime.

"We said this is a great game to gauge how much better we have gotten," said Flannery.

If Bucknell's 87-60 win tonight really is a measuring stick, then the Bison are much, much better.

The Bison jumped out to a 16-2 lead early, and save a brief stretch of about four minutes in the middle of the first half, they were dominant throughout.

During that four minute stretch, with some unusual combinations on the floor due to a combination of foul trouble the disciplinary benching of starting point guard Abe Badmus and sixth-man Donald Brown, the Bison struggled on offense and lost focus on defense. After making 7 of its first 10 shots, Bucknell went scoreless for a 4:01 stretch, during which it turned the ball over 4 times and missed both shots it took.

At the other end, a Yale team that had made just three of its first 11 shots, knocked down 5 out of 6, put together a 17-2 run and momentarily stunned the 2,950 fans in Sojka Pavilion by taking a 19-18 lead.

That, though, pretty much accounted for the Yale highlight film. Bucknell took the lead back on a Chris McNaughton jumper its next trip down the floor and never trailed. The Bison knocked down 11 of their next 14 shots while going almost 10 minutes without a turnover. At the other end, the defense picked up, too, holding Yale to one field goal the final 8:47 of the half.

At the break it was 47-32 Bucknell. An 8-1 run to start the second half built the margin to 55-33 and the Bison never led by less than 16 after that.

"We had a couple of hiccups, but I like what we did," Flannery said.

What was not to like. Except for that short first half stretch, much of which happened with at least one of Bucknell's three freshmen on the floor, the Bison dominated every phase of the game.

The Bison scored inside (Chris McNaughton 7-for-7, 15 points, Charles Lee 12 points) and they scored outside, hitting 10 three-pointers, including 4 by Kevin Bettencourt, who finished with a team-high 17 points, 3 by sophomore John Griffin and a pair by Badmus, who was 2-for-2 from the arc and finished with 12 points to give Bucknell four guys in double figures.

Bucknell shot 68 percent in the first half (19-28) and 60 percent in the second (15-25), making three quarters in a row the team has shot 60 percent or better.

"We re pretty confident. We are shooting the ball real well. We really are in a rhythm," Bettencourt said.

Credit much of that shooting show to good ball movement. The Bison seemed to always make the extra pass to find the open man, piling up 24 assists in the process, including 8 by Bettencourt and 5 by Badmus, neither of whom had a turnover. Bucknell's 87 points was its biggest output this season. Making the total particularly impressive was the way the Bison scored most of those points off half court offense.

"These guys are learning they can be really good when they concentrate and play smart and hard. We made the extra pass tonight and got a lot of easy looks . . . We are really tough to guard when we are unselfish," Flannery said.

On defense they held Yale to 16-48 from the floor (33 percent) and forced 19 turnovers.

"Our defense was outstanding other than that one stretch when we put a lot of young guys in," said Flannery.

Eric Flato led Yale with 12 points, but that showing was offset some by his 5 turnovers (0 assists). Ross Morin and Travis Pinick each added 11 off the bench for Yale.

The Bison now head on the road, traveling to Niagara Wednesday before flying to Chicago to face DePaul on Saturday, The Bison will return to Sojka Dec. 6 to host the No. 4 ranked Villanova Wildcats.
Box score

Hoop Time notebook

2005-11-27T08:58:00.000-05:00

Quick hits and trivial tidbits from Bucknell's impressive home opener:

QUICK DRAW – Bucknell has scored first in each of its three games so far. The same guy has scored the first basket in all three, Charles Lee.

Lee scored off the break after a John Griffin steal to start Bucknell’s 16-2 early run against Yale. The 6-3 senior swingman finished with 12 points while grabbing a team-high 7 rebounds. Lee also had three assists without a turnover.

Lee’s 12-point night is his season low. He scored 18 in the win over Syracuse and 13 at Rider.

ONE OF A DOZEN – Bucknell’s Kevin Bettencourt moved into 12th place on Bucknell’s all-time scoring list with his 17-point showing against Yale. Bettencourt entered the game with 1,199 points, 14th all-time at BU. His new total of 1,216 pushes him past Joe Steiner (1,200) and Lorry Hathaway (1,208).

Next spot on the list, No. 11, belongs to Chris Simpson (1229). Bettencourt still needs 111 to reach the school’s top 10 and 302 for top 5 status. AL Leslie’s school record 1,973 seems safe. Bettencourt would need to average over 27 ppg to catch Leslie. That calculation assumes 28 more games, meaning a trip to the finals of the league and at least one postseason game of some sort.

GERMAN MARKSMANSHIP: If he keeps shooting the way he has to start the season, Chris McNaughton will easily set a school record for field goal percentage. Through three games, McNaughton, who was 7-for-7 against Yale, is shooting 2-for-26 from the field. That is just a tick under 77 percent.

The school single season record belongs to Patrick King, who shot 67 percent his junior year. King also is ahead of McNaughton on the school’s career list, but McNaughton has narrowed the gap thus far. King shot 63.8 percent over his Bison career. Entering the season, McNaughton’s career mark stood at 62.6 percent. With his hot start, McNaughton has raised that to 63.3 percent.

Knight, who had German, as well as British and American citizenship, played professionally for several years in Germany and now works as an agent there.

CAMEOS: With Abe Badmus and Donald Brown each sitting out the first 10 minutes of the game as punishment for what Pat Flannery referred to as an “academic priorities matter,” and Darren Mastropaolo and Tarik Viaer-McClymont in early foul trouble, Flannery was forced to go deeper into his bench in the first half than he had in the first two games.

Freshman point guard Justin Castleberry saw the first action of his college career, playing five minutes, four in the first half. Josh Linthicum played a season-high seven minutes and Bucknell’s third freshman, Jason Vegotsky, who has been advertised as a sniper, finally knocked down his first three-pointer after going 0-4 outside the arc, 0-5 overall. Vegotsky, who played just four minutes at Syracuse after logging 13 minutes at Rider, played 11 minutes.

The two guys at the far end of Flannery’s bench, 6-5 senior Holland Mack and 6-3 sophomore Rob Thomas, each saw their first two minutes of action this season.

BISON CHIPS: Bucknell has now won 12 straight home games . . . The Bison have not lost in Sojka in over a year. . . . the last Sojka setback was Nov. 222, 2004, a 70-65 defeat at the hands of St. Francis, Pa. . . . the 3-0 start is Bucknell’s first since 1999-2000 and only the school’s second 3-0 start since 1983-84 . . . Bucknell’s usual backcourt starters-- Bettencourt, Lee and Badmus – combined for 41 points, 16 assists, 0 turnovers against Yale . . . For his career, Lee is averaging a 13.3-points, 10.3-rebounds double-double against Yale . . . McNaughton is nearly as good, averaging 12.3 points and 8 rebounds

Daily Item story

AP story

Elsewhere, another tough day

2005-11-27T08:51:00.000-05:00

The Citadel 70, Army 68 (OT): Matt Bell's 26 points and five assists are wasted in a classic example of a team that expects to lose finding a way to live down to those expectations. Army squandered a 10-point lead in the final four minutes of regulation. At home, no less. Army missed six straight foul shots in the last 1:30 of regulation and had two good looks in the final four seconds of regulation. Overall, Army shot just 16 of 28 from the line.

Box score

AP story

Times Herald-Record

LaSalle 75, American 63: Steven Smith lights up AU with 31 points, 13 rebounds. Andre Ingram held to 3-10 from the field, 8 points.

Box score

Philadelphia Inquirer main story | sidebar

New Hampshire 60, Colgate 52: Kendall Chones still out. Colgate is not the same team without him. Kyle Roemer (17) the only Raider in double figures. UNH shot 55 percent in the first half, building a 10-point lead at the break and the 'Gate could not recover.

Box score

AP story

Portsmouth Herald

Holy Cross can't hang

2005-11-26T06:54:00.000-05:00

The Crusaders made a game of it for 20 minutes at Cincinnati, holding the Bearcats to 37.5 shooting from the field in the first half. But after ending the first half up by 3, 29-26, UC opened the second half with a 16-3 run and never looked back, cruising to a 77-55 win over HC.

Cincinnati shot 59.3 percent in the second half. Depending on who does the talking, that was either because the Bearcats figured out HC's matchup or simply wore the Crusaders down

From the Cincinnati Enquirer story:

"I think we figured out their defense pretty good in the second half," (James) White said. "You're not used to playing a defense like that. They get you standing around a little bit playing a zone, but it's kind of matched up, kind of odd. We had to get used to it a little bit."

White finished with 19 to lead all scorers.

Ralph Willard had a slightly different take on the second half:

"I think they just wore us down physically," said Holy Cross coach Ralph Willard. "We allowed them to go one-on-one (in the second half). In the first half, we did a good job of denying that."

Kevin Hamilton finished with 13 points and Keith Simmons added 12 for HC. No other Crusader scored more than 7 points. Hamilton, still slowed by a bruised hip, was 4-for-18 from the floor. As a team, HC shot 30.2 percent and turned the ball over 19 times.

It did not help Holy Cross any when 6-11 Tim Clifford picked up two quick fouls, his third and fourth, in a 34-second span early in the second half. Clifford played only 11 minutes before fouling out, leaving an already undermanned HC frontcourt even thinner.
Box score

All eyes on 'Saders

2005-11-25T05:52:00.000-05:00

Only one game on tap for Patriot Leaguers tonight, Holy Cross at Cincinnati.

Follow the action with the scoreboards and the links below the game capsule. We will check in later this morning after we get back from a Black Friday quest for a discount laptop.

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HOLY CROSS at Cincinnati, 8 p.m.: Don't be too quick to write this one off for Holy Cross. Cincinnati has never beaten HC, although the last game in the series was played in 1980 and a lot has happened to Bearcats basketball since then. The most recent development, of course, was the departure of Bob Huggins, who arrived in Cincinnati in 1989 and went on to win 74 percent of his games before being forced out by the school's new president. Under Huggins, the Bearcats played in 14 consecutive NCAA tournaments.

His replacement, Andy Kennedy, was a Huggins assistant and has the Bearcats off to a 2-0 start, with wins over Murray State and Illinois State. Cincinnati needed overtime to get past Murray State, the team picked to win the Ohio Valley Conference. The Racers are ranked 21 in the preseason Mid-Majors poll, so they are no slouch. But if they could play with Cinci on the Bearcats floor, who is to say a team that plays defense like Holy Cross usually does cannot hang, too?

Of course that means HC needs to guard better than it did against Harvard the other night. But what are the odds of a Ralph Willard team letting somebody shoot like that two games in a row? And Cincinnati, while certainly likely to be way more athletic than the Crimson, is not as big up front. Their tallest starter is 6-8. They go 6-6 at both the two and three and 5-11 at the point.

The guy Holy Cross needs to neutralize is the two-man, James White, who is very big (6-7) for a two and presents a real matchup problem for Holy Cross. White is averaging 19.5 points through the Bearcats' first two games.

The Crusaders matchup zone ought to be able to keep a guy like White in check, though. White is a penetrator, more scorer than shooter. He is shooting just 3-11 from three-point range, but has scored 10 of his 39 points thus far from the foul line -- a sign of a guy who likes to go to the hole.

Holy Cross' guards should be quick enough to keep White in front of them and out of the lane. Especially if he can't make them respect his perimeter abilities. The Crusaders also are big enough to force White to dish if he does find a seam off the dribble, especially when Tim Clifford is on the floor.

The big question, though, is, even if they can keep Cincinnati in check, can HC score enough to turn that defensive effort into a W? That might be tough given the size of Holy Cross' guards. Certainly they won't be able to shoot over them. The Crusaders will need to get looks the old fashioned ways with ball movement and screening, working hard every possession. They will need to battle on the boards, especially at their defensive end. They cannot give the Bearcats multiple shots every possession.

All that stuff is hard work. Hard work, especially against bigger, stronger and faster athletes, is tiring. Between injuries and inexperience, Willard cannot count on his bench for a ton of minutes, at least not yet. Mid-majors are always at risk of simply being worn down when they play majors like Cinci.

It will be important for Holy Cross to start strong, and to be within single digits the whole first half. Fall behind early and the fatigue will set in quick. Stay close, or even lead, and adrenaline can do a lot for tired legs.

Willard's teams rarely play poorly back to back. It is possible Holy Cross is not as good as they were expected to be this season. Maybe that Harvard game shows that. The more likely scenario, though, would seem to be that game was a fluke, a simple off night by a banged up basketball team. The Crusaders might not win against Cincinnati, but it will be a shock if they don't play the Bearcats tough.
HC notes | Cincinnati notes | USA Today matchup | Cincinnati Enquirer Bearcats page | Gametracker | HC radio

Tough night for rest of league

2005-11-23T17:46:00.000-05:00

Harvard 70, Holy Cross 55: Jen Toland of the Telegram & Gazette writes:

HC's starting guards -- Kevin Hamilton, Keith Simmons and Torey Thomas, who combined to shoot 51 percent in HC's first two games -- were a combined 13 for 42 from the field.

Hamilton was playing hurt, nursing a hip injury. But the Crusaders were brutal from the arc, shooting 4-for-23.

The Crusaders three big men -- starters Alex Vander Baan, Kevin Hyland and reserve Tim Clifford combined for only 16 points.

This is the problem Holy Cross will have on some nights until it develops more of an inside game to compliment its stellar group of guards.

Another problem, uncharacteristic poor defense. Harvard shot 53 percent from the field against the Crusaders.

Could somebody explain to me how the Globe and the Herald could both ignore this game?

Ralph's take on the game

Box score

Cornell 69, Colgate 56: Colgate played without Kendall Chones, who is out with an injury.

Colgate story

Box score

Arkansas Little Rock 61, Navy 57: Mids rally falls short in UALR's new gym, which was bought, by the way, by a Navy alum.

Annapolis Capital

Box score

Wagner 75, American 59: Andre Ingram must have thought he was playing against Bucknell after a 5-for-19 night in AU's loss.

Staten Island Advance

Box score

Lafayette 86, Alvernia 80: Problems with a D3 don't bode well for O'Hanlon's Leopards.

Express-Times story

Box score

Knight ineligible till next semester

2005-11-23T16:37:00.000-05:00

From Andre Williams' story in the Morning Call on Lehigh's win at Stony Brook:

(Joe) Knight, the Mountain Hawks' top returning scorer, was officially ruled ineligible on Monday by the NCAA until after the fall semester, Lehigh announced in a release following a 58-54 non-league victory over Stony Brook Tuesday night at Stabler Arena.

Knight's return to the court might help fix what ails Lehigh's basketball team, but can anything restore the damage Lehigh's athletic department has done to its credibility?

Forget for a moment the obvious question of what Knight was doing in a Lehigh uniform in the first place and focus on how the matter has been handled by the school. First there was silence. Then a report that Knight was injured. Now, finally, the truth, at least as far as why Knight is out.

But the truth about how Knight came to be at Lehigh in the first place is yet to be discovered.

For those not up to speed on the saga of Juco Joe, here's some background, courtesy Williams' story:

Knight played his first two seasons at High Point University in North Carolina 2001-03, then spent a year focusing strictly on academics at Tarrant Community College in Arlington, Texas, before transferring to Lehigh.

Williams doesn't mention that Knight didn't leave High Point because he didn't like the cafeteria food. He left because of academic problems.

Why a kid from Tennessee chose a community college in Texas, we do not know. The Tarrant Web site mentions internet and distance learning programs; could that be how Knight matriculated?

Whether he was on campus or on the Web, it really makes little difference. The bottom line is Knight went from being in academic trouble at Furniture U., which is not known as the Harvard of the South, to a community college in Texas to Lehigh, which is allegedly one of the top academic institutions in the nation.

In fairness to Knight, we don't know the kid. Maybe he scored 1600 on his boards and chose High Point for the climate, for all we know. Maybe he really does fit the Lehigh scholar-athlete mold. We are all for giving people a chance to redeem themselves after a mistake, so if Knight did not take college seriously his first two years, we believe he deserves a second chance.

We are not so sure that chance should come in the Patriot League, a league that, according to its Web site, "was founded on the principles of admitting athletes who are academically representative of their class."

Maybe there are a lot of Lehigh students who couldn't cut it academically at lesser schools, went to community college and then went on to Lehigh. Maybe that stuff happens all the time.

Maybe Army will win 20 games this season, too.

The problem with the Knight situation is that it gives ammunition to all the scholarship naysayers who worried the schools would sell their academic soul to the basketball devil.

You can bet there's more than a few folks in Easton pointing their fingers at Lehigh and arguing the Mountain Hawks went down to the crossroads and cut a deal.

It hurts the whole league's reputation. After years of the league's presidents being able to go to NCAA meetings to argue that you can do things right. Now they risk seeming self-righteous.

It hurts the image of a Bucknell team, that has made news for being an academic school that does things right in the classroom and on the court. Ditto for the rest of the league's teams. It hurts the image of Lehigh's other players, who will be viewed with skepticism since, after all, if you would do it for one guy to win, why wouldn't you for others?

The league owes it to its student athletes, its schools and its fans to conduct a complete and thorough investigation into the entire situation. Not just the credits in question, but the bigger question of how Knight came to be a Mountain Hawk.

Early morning musings

2005-11-23T07:34:00.000-05:00

It was a quiet night in Armory Square.

Between the snow, students leaving for Thanksgiving break and the home team getting spanked by a school most fans had never even heard of before last March, the crowds in the Syracuse bars were non-existent last night.

Inside the Blue Tusk, about a dozen folks huddled near the bar, enjoying the best beer selection in Syracuse. None of them looked as though they had been at the game. None showed much interest in the high def TV screen at the end of the bar. Except for the me, the guy sipping the pint of Flying Dog and watching Sportscenter.

Eventually they showed hightlights of the Bucknell-SU game. But it was a segment on the Denver Nuggets that added some context to the evening. Most of the highlights involved the guy they call “Melo,” former Syracuse player Carmelo Anthony.

You might remember Melo. As a freshman he helped Syracuse win a national title. As a sophomore he, err … uh … well, he never became a sophomore. Anthony left after that national title, having already reached the pinnacle of college hoops. Had he stayed in college to get his degree, he would, come next May, be extremely well qualified for an entry level position in corporate America, earning a fraction of the millions he makes in the NBA.

Obviously there was not a lot of upside to staying in school for Anthony. The downside of his early departure, though, is very evident in this year’s Orangemen team. Watching Melo light up an NBA foe on Sportscenter, it was hard not to think about how good Syracuse might be this season had he stuck around for four years.

So maybe Jim Boeheim can be excused for being less than gracious in defeat last night, preferring to talk about how bad his team is, instead of giving Bucknell its props for pulling off it’s third upset of a Top 20 team in less than a year.

“It’s about our team. It is not about the teams we are playing. We are not playing very well,” Boeheim said.

They were saying the same sort of stuff in Kansas last March. Matter of fact, they kept saying it all summer. Similar thoughts were muttered in Pittsburgh back in January.

“There is a reason nobody respected us in the polls. We are not very good,” said Boeheim.

To Boeheim and Syracuse, no respect means being ranked in the second 10, not the top 10. Imagine how that might have sounded to Bucknell, which returns all five starters and seven of its top eight from a team that beats Saint Joe’s, Pitt and Kansas, all away from home, yet managed only four points in the latest AP poll.

“Bucknell is good, but they won at Rider by 2 points,” said Boeheim, dissing the Broncs and the Nison in the same sentence.

Pat Flannery refused to comment when asked how Syracuse might fare if they played at Rider, too.

Flannery was too busy heaping praise on the Orangemen.

“They are certainly athletic and big. It was the first chance I ever got to watch Gerry McNamara on the floor, other than watching him put on shows in high school. That was real special, to get to see him play in his senior year. They are very good,” said Flannery.

At the same time, Flannery does not need Boeheim to tell him how good his team is.

“We came in here and played a good basketball team and we proved we are a good basketball team,” Flannery said.

“I know I have a nice team . . . You have to be real, and the real part of it is we can play. We can play people. We can do a lot of different things. Our bench has been a real plus for us this year in both games, because we got in foul trouble in both of them. We have the bench. We have some size. We have some kids that can shool. We have a pretty good point guard who is as quick as they come. We have pretty good ingredients.”

They have something else Syracuse does not have – an unbeaten record.

Bison play giant killers again

2005-11-22T23:45:00.000-05:00

People noticed Bucknell when they beat Saint Joseph’s and Pittsburgh last season. They threw psuedo awards at them after they knocked off Kansas.

Suddenly they were the next big thing. People in Missouri worshipped them. Voters, other than just John Feinstein, put them on their AP poll ballots. People started making comparisons to schools like Gonzaga.

Then the Bison when they opened the season with a narrow two-point win at Rider, and people started doubting. Maybe last season was a fluke. Maybe the Bison are not as good as projected.

They will doubt no more, though, not after the Bison beat No. 17 Syracuse 74-69 in front of 20,490 stunned fans in the Orangemen’s almost impenetrable fortress on the tundra.

The win was Bucknell’s second over a ranked Big East opponent in the past two seasons, both on the road, and its third over a Top 25 opponent in that span. It was Syracuse’s first non-conference loss in the Carrier Dome since Nov. 26, when the Orange lost to Charlotte. That season, you might recall, ended with Syracuse winning the national title.

Over the last three seasons, the only other teams to win in the Dome were Pittsburgh, UConn and Notre Dame. Syracuse is 356-69 all-time in the dome, 203-13 in non-conference games.

Traditional powers like Kentucky (0-2), Michigan (0-2) UCLA, Michigan State, Purdue, LSU, Marquette (0-2), Louisville (0-2), Missouri, Ohio State and Temple, all have come to the Carrier Dome and gone home without a win.

The Bucknell victory might have shocked the Syracuse fans. It was no surprise to the Bison, who reacted matter-of-factly at the final buzzer. There was no on-court celebration. Little more than a few whops of joy as they headed under the bleachers to their locker room.

“We wanted to act like we did this before,” said Bison captain Kevin Bettencourt, who led all scorers with 20 points. Nine of those came on three-pointers and two more on a layup that put Bucknell ahead for good, 62-60 with 2:47 to play. None of those were any bigger than the seven free throws Bettencourt knocked down (7-for-8) in the final 1:22 when Syracuse started fouling in an effort to extend the game.

“We are a good team. We deserved to win this one,” Bettencourt said.

Indeed they did. This was not decided by some fluke last second shot, or by Syracuse having an off night. This was simply a case of the better team winning. The Bison shot better – 53.2 percent from the field, including a sizzling 14-17 (82.4 percent) in the second half , to Syracuse’s 38.3 percent showing. Bucknell had more assists (19-16) and fewer turnovers (15-16).

Even though the Bison were outrebounded 35-28, most of that margin was a carryover from the first half, when Syracuse took advantage of Bucknell foul trouble to take control of the boards in the last four minutes of the half. Most of that stretch was played with Bucknel’s sophomore power forward Darren Mastropaolo on the bench nursing two personals.

During that four minute stretch, Syracuse went on a 12-3 run, overcoming Bucknell’s 8-point lead to takle a 28-27 edge at the break. Five of those points came from 6-9 Terrence Roberts, all following offensive rebounds. Roberts had 10 rebounds at the intermission, 7 on the offensive glass.

“I didn’t feel bad at halftime. I just felt there was not much we could do, we had a lot of guys sitting down,” Flannery said.

“In the second half, when they made their runs, they made some pretty deep threes, but it seemed to take Roberts out of it a little bit and we were keeping him off the glass.”

Syracuse built its lead to as many as 7 points early in the second half, and was up by that margin when Demetris Nichols hit a three-pointer with 13:02 to play, making it a 47-40 Syracuse lead, bringing the Carrier Dome crowd to its feet.

Bucknell answered with an 8-0 run, going ahead for the first time in the second half on a Charles Lee eight-footer with 10:20 left.

“We have guys that have been around. They never panicked. When they hit some big ones that got the crowd into it, it seemed like we were able to come back and score,” Flannery said.

Over the next four minutes it was a see-saw affair, with neither team able to go up by more than 4 through four lead changes and three ties. Then Bucknell took control. As is the Bison’s custom, it was the defense that made the difference.

First Abe Badmus picked Gerry McNamara’s pocket at the top of the arc and went the other way for a layup to tie the game at 60-60. On Syracuse’s next trip down the floor, the Orange got the ball to 6-11 Darryl Watkins down low. But Watkins was stripped, Chris McNaughton came up with the loose ball and fired an outlet to Bettencourt who went in all alone to give Bucknell a lead it would never lose.

After Badmus drove the lane and dished to McNaughton, who made an old-fashioned three-point play with a layup and a foul shot, giving the Bison a 65-60 lead. From there out it was a free throw shooting contest, and the Bison had no trouble in that department, knocking down 10-of-13 foul shots in the final 1:42.

“We played with a lot of poise tonight,” said Flannery.

Charles Lee finished with 18 points for Bucknell and McNaughton turned in a 15-point, 10 rebounds double-double.

A line just as impressive as any in Bucknell’s box score came next to Badmus’ name. The junior point guard only scored 6 points, but he had 3 assists while turning the ball over only once and finished with four steals.

Not seen in the box score is the job Badmus did on Syracuse standout Gerry McNamara, who finished with 18 points, but had to do yeomans’ work to get them. With Badmus draped across him most of the night, McNamara shot just 6-for-19 from the field (4-13 from three-point range) and turned the ball over 5 times.

“Every point that (McNamara) got, I wanted to make him earn it,” Badmus said.

Nichols led Syracuse with 19 points. Roberts, who had a 10-point, 10-rebound double-double in the first half, finished with 12 points and 11 boards.
Box score

Look . . . up in the sky

2005-11-22T09:43:00.000-05:00

It's a bird. It's a plane ... no, it's Neil Fingleton, all 7-6 of him, back in a Boston Frenzy (ABA) uniform after having been drafted, then unceremoniously dumped, by the Austin Toros of the NBA's development league.

Also on the Frenzy roster is Alexus Foyle, cousin of the only Patriot Leaguer to ever play in the NBA, Colgate's Adonal Foyle.

Neil even has his own internet fan club these days.

There are no stats on the Frenzy's site yet, but you can bet we will be watching.

For those not up to date on the ABA, check out this story from the Rochester Democrat & Chronicle. In Rochester, over 6,000 fans came out to watch former Holy Cross big man Scot Martzloff and the RazorSharks in their opener. Suffice to say, not many 6,000-fan crowds show up for ABA games. In some cities, that is a season and a half's worth of attendance.

Take for example the Niagara DareDevils, who drew announced crowds of around 200 for each of their first two home games.

They had an excuse, of course:

"The DareDevils will be OK," Rochester Razorsharks CEO Orest Hrywnak said Friday. "They bought a court from a company in Florida and it was destroyed in Hurricane Wilma. They had to rent a court on short notice and it ate up their marketing budget."

Of course many ABA teams avoid that expense by playing in high school gyms, where there already is a floor.

Busy Tuesday night

2005-11-22T07:57:00.000-05:00

Patriot League scoreboards
ESPN | CBS Sportsline | PennLive.com | Yahoo!

American at Wagner, 7 p.m.: four starters and 10 letterwinners are back from last season's young Seahawks team that won 11 of its last 13 a year ago, including two wins in the NEC Tournament. Picked to finish second in the NEC this time around. Potential matchup of the night: Wagner's 6-2 DeEarnest McLemore, the NEC Defensive Player of the Year, against AU's Andre Ingram, the Patriot League's No. 2 scorer last season.
AU notes | Wagner notes | USA Today matchup | Gametracker | AU Radio

Bucknell at No. 16 Syracuse, 7 p.m.: What began as a neutral court homecoming in Wilkes-Barre for SU's Gerry McNamara has wound up being a dome date with the Orangemen for the Bison, who went 1-1 in the Carrier Dome at the start of last season, losing to Princeton and beating Northern Colorado in the Coaches vs. Cancer tournament. The way he has played so far this season, McNamara has not exactly been putting on a show, anyhow. The Orange junior is shooting 26 percent from the field, 22 percent from three=point range. Juniors 6-8 Demetrius Nichols (14.3 ppg) and 6-9 Terrence Roberts (13.0 ppg) have been leading the Syracuse offense. The Orange are big, with six guys 6-8 or taller and nobody shorter than 6-2.
BU notes | SU Web site | USA Today matchup | Post-Standard preview | Syracuse.com Orange hoops | BU Radio

Colgate at Cornell, 7 p.m.: After knocking off St. Francis (Pa.) in its opener, Cornell has dropped back-to-back road games against major conference schools -- Syracuse and Penn State. Matchup of the night: How about Cornell's 6-6 all-league senior Lenny Collins against Colgate's 6-7 sophomore Kendall Chones?
Colgate notes | Colgate notes | USA Today matchup | Cornell Daily Sun preview | Ithaca Journal preview | Gametracker | Cornell Radio | Colgate radio

Harvard at Holy Cross, 8:30 p.m.: Harvard seven-footer Brian Cusworth had 17 points on 7-for-14 shooting, 10 rebounds, 4 blocks, and 2 steals in the Crimson's opening win over Vermont.

Ralph Willard is back online at Ralph.com and he has a summary of the weekend in Williamsburg and a scouting report on Harvard that includes:

Tuesday night we have our annual battle with Harvard. Coach Sullivan's team has what I feel is the best front court we will face all year with Cusworth and Stehle. Jimmy Goffredo, who we also recruited has really improved at the shooting guard spot and Harvard plays a very good man to man help defense and match-up zone.

HC notes | Harvard Web site | USA Today matchup | HC Radio

Stony Brook at Lehigh, 7 p.m.: Will he play or won't he? The Joe Knight watch continues.
Lehigh notes | Stony Brook notes | USA Today matchup | Stony Brook Radio

Navy at Arkansas-Little Rock, 8 p.m. You don't hear a lot about UALR, but under the radar they have a pretty nice program. The Trojans have won 17 or more in each of the last 12 seasons. Tonight they open a new gym. Navy will have its hands full.
Navy notes | UA-LR notes | USA Today matchup | Navy Radio

Alvernia at Lafayette, 7 p.m.: The D3 from Reading picks up a check; Lafayette picks up a win.
LC site | Alvernia site | USA Today matchup

They are on a roll now

2005-11-22T07:52:00.000-05:00

Army's on a genuine win streak after coming back from 6-points down late in the second half to knock off what has to be a pitiful VMI team.

Coupled with Friday's win over some school known as Polytechnic, it gives the Black Knights two wins in a row for the first time since they won two at the start of the 2003-04 season. That similarly modest two-game win streak also included a win over a DIII-- Coast Guard Academy.

It was also Army's first road win since 2003.

And they did it with Matt Bell only pitching in 8 points. Jarell Brown was the only Army player in double figures, finishing with 21 points, his last two coming on a layup with 1.9 seconds to go that snapped a 49-49 tie.

Here's the even crazier thing: Army now has a chance to put together a three-game win streak if it can knock off Citadel (1-2) at home on Saturday. It would be Army's first three-game streak since 2001-02, and yes, a DII team was part of that streak, too.

Of course, since the home half of the two-game series with VMI comes after UConn, Columbia and Sacred Heart, odds of the streak reaching past three are slim and none and slim is saddled up.

But that is OK, because after VMI (Dec. 8), New York Maritime sails up the Hudson, giving the Black Knights a chance to have a pair of two-game win streaks in the same season for the first time since 2001-02 when they won two or more in a row three times en route to a 12-16 season, Army's finest season since 1988-89, when they also won 12 games.

If that stuff gets your mind to wondering when Army last had a winning season, it was well before the Patriot League began hoops play -- 1984-85, when they went 16-13. Back to back winning seasons? 1977-78 (19-9) and 1978-79 (14-11) under Mike Krzyzewski, Twenty wins? 1976-77, 20-8, also under Coach K. Those three winning seasons under Krzyzewski broke a string of six straight losing seasons that went back to Bobby Knight's last Army team in 1970-71.

For those of you keeping score at home, that is four winning seasons since 1970. Now you understand why Army gets excited about beating the sea scouts and home model builders club.

VMI game links:

AP story (from Army site)

Box score

Roanoke Times