2013-14 Bucknell Men's Basketball Media Guide - Bucknell Athletics

Bucknell made a return trip to the NCAA Tournament in 2006, but this time
the scenario was a bit different. In 2005 the Bison were seeded 14th, and to
many they were extreme underdogs going into the Kansas game. This time,
however, Bucknell was a No. 9 seed — the highest ever for a Patriot League
team — and there would be no more sneaking up on anyone.
That didn’t mean that Bucknell’s first-round opponent was any pushover.
Hardly. The Bison drew Southeastern Conference juggernaut Arkansas, powered
by eventual NBA lottery pick Ronnie Brewer. Making things even tougher
was that the game was played in Dallas, just a short drive from Fayetteville.
In fact, the Razorbacks had won 19 straight games in Dallas, where they
maintain their largest alumni base.
Several hundred orange-clad Bison fans made the trek to the posh American
Airlines Center, making for a spirited atmosphere. And for the second
year in a row, the “Sojka Psychos” had to make plans for a long weekend.
The gritty, battle-tested Bucknell squad used some lights-out 3-point
shooting and its typical stingy defense to outlast the Hogs 59-55. Charles Lee
equaled his career high with 24 points and fellow senior co-captain Kevin
Bettencourt knocked down five 3-pointers and scored 18 points for the Bison.
While Lee and Bettencourt played obvious starring roles, it was junior
point guard Abe Badmus and junior reserve forward Donald Brown who came
up big down the stretch. Badmus, who did not attempt a single field goal
all day yet finished with seven assists and only two turnovers in 34 minutes,
knocked down two monumental free throws with 0:07 left to stretch a twopoint
lead to four.
Brown came down with two critical late
rebounds, and with the game tied at 55-55 with
just over a minute to play, he just beat a 10-second
backcourt violation, alertly finding Lee open under
the basket for the go-ahead layup.
In the second round, Bucknell ran into Memphis,
the No. 1 seed in the Oakland Regional, in
an attempt to make it to the Sweet 16 for the first
time in school history.
Things looked good early, as the Bison sprinted
to an early 10-4 lead behind 3-pointers from Lee
and Bettencourt, but the athletic Tigers responded
with a 20-2 run and eventually won 72-56. Chris
McNaughton led Bucknell with 15 points, while
captains Bettencourt and Lee had 12 and 11,
respectively, in their final game of their brilliant
careers. While the college basketball world may
not have been quite as stunned this time around,
chapter two of this Bison fairy tale was just as
sweet.