March 19, 2005

OKLAHOMA CITY, OKLA. - Chris McNaughton's jumper in the lane with eight seconds remaining gave 14th-seeded Bucknell a 64-63 victory over third-seeded Kansas in first round action of the NCAA Tournament's Syracuse regional at the Ford Center in Oklahoma City Friday night. The win is the first in 15 tries for the Patriot League in the NCAA Tournament, and marks the biggest upset of this year's first round. The Bison advance to play Wisconsin at 4:50 p.m. on Sunday.

The victory was sealed when Wayne Simien's fadeaway jumper from the foul line was short as time expired.

There have been several near-misses for the Patriot League - including a pair of four-point losses by Holy Cross in the past four years. But in Bucknell's first appearance in the Big Dance since 1989, head coach Pat Flannery's club came through against this year's preseason No. 1.

"I think this was a great college game, and it was an honor coaching it," said Flannery. "I think this is great for Bucknell and great for the Patriot League. I think maybe some people underestimated us coming in here."

Anyone who underestimated the Bison did not do their homework. Bucknell has now beaten Pittsburgh, Saint Joseph's, Holy Cross and Kansas away from its home floor during the 2004-05 season.

BU used its calling card in this one - defense. The Bison did not allow a Kansas field goal over the final 8:44 of the contest, and also came up with 10 steals. Offensively, Bucknell relied on its trio of All-Patriot League performers: Junior guard Kevin Bettencourt (19 points), junior guard Charles Lee (15) and McNaughton (14). And sophomore point guard Abe Badmus gave BU the on-court leadership needed come March, dishing out 11 assists without a single turnover.

Bucknell's offensive strategy was obvious in this one. The Bison attempted 31 3-pointers, compared to just 11 for the Jayhawks.

For Kansas, Simien led the way with game-highs of 24 points and 10 rebounds, while Michael Lee added 18.

After shaking off some initial jitters - KU scored the first five points of the contest - Bucknell settled down and took the decidedly pro-Kansas crowd out of the game. By the end of the evening, fans of Wisconsin and Northern Iowa who stuck around for the nightcap were pulling for the upset.

Bucknell led by as many as eight in the first half, but went into the locker room down three. The highlight of the half was a fastbreak dunk by Donald Brown off a no-look pass from John Griffin for an 18-12 lead mid-way through.

The Bison then opened up as much as a five-point lead in the second half, and seemed well in control with a three-point lead and the ball with 1:07 to go. But Lee committed a turnover and then an intentional foul, a sequence that ended with Kansas leading, 63-62, and Badmus out of the game with five fouls.

But Bucknell inbounded with 24 seconds remaining and Chris Niesz found McNaughton in position for the winning basket, which used both the backboard and rim before falling.

Griffin then had a chance to ice it at the free throw line, but after missing the front end of a one-and-one, KU rebounded and called for time with two seconds left. Simien caught a full-court pass and got a good look, but came up short with McNaughton defending, sending Bucknell into a wild on-court celebration.

"It gets better every day," said Niesz. "With the Patriot League championship - that was great, but it doesn't compare to the feeling I just felt out there to know the whole world was watching. We have such a great fan base and with everyone here and everyone at home watching, it's just a great feeling."

The Patriot League is now 2-0 this postseason, including Holy Cross' 78-73 NIT victory over Notre Dame earlier in the week.