Feb. 20, 2008
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LEWISBURG, Pa. -- Bucknell's Stephen Tyree scored the game-winning basket with 2.9 seconds remaining in overtime to give the Bison a 77-75 win over Lafayette on Wednesday night at Sojka Pavilion. With Bilal Abdullah defending him, Tyree drove to the hoop and pushed off underneath the basket prior to the game-winning layup.
The Leopards inbounded the ball to half court where they called a timeout to set up a play with 1.2 seconds remaining. Lafayette lobbed the ball to Abdullah in the post and he was bumped by two Bucknell players, but the whistles were again silent as Bucknell (11-15, 6-6) took the 77-75 decision. The loss marked the first in overtime this season, as Lafayette entered the game with a 6-0 mark in overtime, 5-0 in the road.
The game went to overtime when Bucknell's Darryl Shazier hit the game-tying three-pointer with 13 seconds left to make it 67-67. The Leopards got two rushed looks at a game winner on the ensuing possession, but three-point tries by Andrew Brown and Michael Gruner both missed.
In overtime, Tyree made the first of two free throws to capture the lead for Bucknell, 68-67, for the first time since the 9:42 mark of the second half. The Leopards (14-12, 5-7) responded making 6-of-6 free throws in OT and taking the three-point lead (71-68) back after Abdullah sank both from the line at 3:37.
Patrick Behan's jumper cut the lead to one (71-70), and he tied the game with two minutes remaining, making the second of two foul shots. Free throws from Griffin tied the game at 75 apiece with 51 seconds on the clock. The Leopards turned it over on their next possession when they were whistled for a shot clock violation with 15 seconds remaining on the game clock. Bucknell called a timeout at half court with 10 seconds left to set up the Tyree's game-winning drive.
The Leopards came back from a 12-point deficit at halftime (33-21) to put together a 24-6 run over a span of seven minutes to lead 54-48 at 7:38. The offensive effort included a 13-0 run sparked by Matt Betley's three from the corner at 11:03. Brown hit three consecutive treys to take the 50-48 lead at 8:39. Betley and Gruner sank both at the foul line during the stretch, giving the Leopards the 54-48 advantage, their largest margin of the game, with 7:38 remaining in regulation.
Behan led the Bison with 16 points, going 6-for-9 from the floor. Tyree finished the night with 12 points and a team-high seven assists. Brown scored 16 of his game-high 17 points in the second half while nine of Gruner's 13 points came in the second half. Paul Cummins added 10 points and four boards while Betley finished with 15 points and eight rebounds. Abdullah had 14 points for the Leopards who put five players in double figures.
Lafayette returns to action on Saturday when the Leopards host Lehigh at 2 p.m. Prior to the game, Lafayette's five seniors will be honored.
GAME NOTES:
Lafayette has not won in Lewisburg since the 2001 season and has never won in Sojka Pavilion since it opened in 2003.
Lafayette played the final six minutes of the game without Ted Detmer as he fouled out. Everest Schmidt was on the bench for much of the second half with four fouls and fouled out with two minutes left in overtime.
Lafayette's streak of 10 consecutive wins in overtime was snapped.
The Leopards saw five players score in double figures once before this season, at Towson on Dec. 19. Bilal Abdullah, Matt Betley and Deirunas Visockas had 14 points while Michael Gruner and Ted Detmer chipped 13 and 11, respectively.
Lafayette out-rebounded Bucknell 28-25.
