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

It started with a 74-52 win at Navy on Jan. 7 and ended with a 74-59 victory
over Holy Cross in the Patriot League championship game at Sojka Pavilion. A
perfect record, something that had never been done before in the 16-year history
of the Patriot League. An unprecedented 14-0 regular-season mark and three more
wins in the tournament gave the Bison 17 straight conference triumphs in 2006.
Those 17 victories came in all shapes and sizes. There were lopsided wins —
two by 30 or more points, and four by 20 or more — and there were some close
calls, most notably in Worcester, Mass., where the Bison miraculously rallied from
15 down with 16 minutes to play to win 57-52.
When Bucknell topped Army 70-47 on Senior Night at Sojka Pavilion in the
regular-season finale, the Orange & Blue became the first team to run the table
in Patriot League play. Previously, six teams had finished with one loss, including
Bucknell in 1993 (13-1). Additionally, the Bison became the 200th Division I team
in NCAA history to go unbeaten in their conference, and the 90th to do so with at
least 14 wins. Bucknell joined Gonzaga (14-0 in the West Coast Conference) and
George Washington (16-0 in the Atlantic 10) as the only teams in the country to
finish unbeaten in its league in 2005-06.
As the No. 1 seed, the Bison earned the right to play at home throughout the
Patriot League Tournament, no small factor since they hadn’t lost to a league foe
at Sojka Pavilion in four years.
With large, partisan crowds at their backs, the Bison outlasted Army, 59-47,
in the first round and American, 64-50, in the semifinals. That set up a rematch
with No. 2 seed Holy Cross in the championship game. The previous year the
seeds were reversed, and Bucknell won the title on the Crusaders’ home floor.
With ESPN2 cameras in place, Holy Cross came out with revenge on
its mind and trailed by only four at the half. But senior captains Kevin Bettencourt
and Charles Lee put the Bison on their backs, hitting one critical
shot after another, including nine 3-pointers between them, and Bucknell
pulled away with a crushing 15-2 run.
At the eight-minute mark the Bison had a commanding 60-44 lead,
and soon after most of the crowd of 4,110 was dancing on the floor and
the Sojka Pavilion nets were cut down for the first time.
Following the game Lee was named Patriot League Tournament MVP,
making him the first repeat winner of the award in league history. Lee registered
16 points, seven rebounds, four steals and three assists in the championship
game, and he logged 43 points in the three tournament games.
Bettencourt, who hit six 3-pointers and scored 23 points in the title contest,
and center Chris McNaughton were also named to the all-tournament
team. Donald Brown also had a magnificent tournament, capped by a
14-point, five-rebound performance against Holy Cross.