Patriot League Championship Recap
No. 2 Bucknell 61, No. 1 Holy Cross 57
This game was supposed to be the coronation of Holy Cross as the Patriot League’s next great hope to finally win an NCAA Tournament game. Instead, the Bucknell Bison – the team picked almost unanimously to win the title at the beginning of the year – prolonged one of the best seasons in school history by capturing its first Patriot League Championship and earning the school’s third appearance in the NCAA Tournament.
Bucknell became just the third team to win a Patriot League title on its opponent’s home court thanks to an incredible first half. In the opening 20 minutes, the Bison shot 61 percent (14-of-23) from the field and held the Crusaders, one of the better shooting teams in the league, to only 21 percent shooting (6-of-28). The Bison defense, which held Lafayette and American to 34 and 35 points, respectively, in the league quarterfinals and semifinals, held Holy Cross to only 20 first-half points.
Bucknell, meanwhile, could not miss. After a 10-2 run to begin the game, the team then ran off 14 of 16 points to build up a huge 24-7 lead that grew to as many as 20 points on two occasions in the opening half. A Kevin Hamilton three-pointer shrunk the halftime lead to 17 points, but it still looked as if the Bison would roll to an amazing victory.
The Bison offense did not let up for most of the second half, as they held off any runs that the Crusaders attempted to make. At the 5:55 mark, Darren Mastropaulo scored to give Bucknell a 58-43 lead, but the Holy Cross defense finally began to show its strength after that point, as Bucknell was held without a field goal for the remainder of the contest. But unfortunately for the homestanding Crusaders, they had dug themselves into too deep a hole.
Kevin Hamilton did his best to bring his team back down the stretch, as the league leader in steals stepped up his excellent defense by swiping the ball on three consecutive Bucknell possessions. Due to the long-awaited sense of desperation, Holy Cross went on a 14-1 run to get back within two points with 58 seconds left. But after Chris McNaughton missed for Bucknell, Hamilton couldn’t sink an off-balance jumper from the baseline, and the Crusaders fouled Bucknell’s Kevin Bettencourt. The junior co-captain sunk both free throws, giving Bucknell its first league championship.
As usual, it was the trio of McNaughton, Bettencourt and Charles Lee who led the way for Bucknell. McNaughton scored 17 points (including 12 in the first half) on 7-of-8 shooting and added seven rebounds, while Bettencourt added 13 points and Lee scored 10 and grabbed five boards. For Holy Cross, Hamilton had 21 points on 7-of-17 shooting and five steals, and John Hurley had 11 points and six boards in likely his final game in a Crusader uniform.
Lee was named the Tournament MVP for his solid three-game stretch, while McNaughton, Hamilton, Hurley and Lehigh’s Joe Knight earned spots on the all-Tournament team. Lee and McNaughton, however, will live to play another day, as the streaking Bison looks for both the school’s and the Patriot League’s first-ever NCAA Tournament victory.
