Bucknell 49, Albany 55

SEFCU Arena
Albany, NY
November 11, 2006
Officials: Richard Giallella, William Laubenstein, Robert Patey
1-0

There's lots to write about...

Earlier in the week, I was simply hoping that we'd play a good game. Frankly, I thought we would lose to a Bucknell team considered to be one of the best mid-major teams in the country, and a team that has received Top 25 votes in pre-season polls.. However, throughout the day I started to feel really good about our chances. I told my friends that if the team was as excited as I, we'd beat Bucknell. I also told them that the team would rally in the second half from a 15-point deficit to win by 3. Pretty close, huh?

I know its a new year, a new team with a lot of new players, but what do you for an encore? Talk about a tale of two halves, and luckily our better half was the second one. Whatever coach Brown said at halftime sure as heck worked, as the Danes rallied from a 17-point deficit to beat an excellent Bucknell team, in front of a reported sellout crowd at the SEFCU arena-- though the place was not quite SRO. Bucknell was also very well represented tonight.

The big story from the game was Jamar's injury. Other than a few "can we redshirt him?" quips, the "'Cue" got real quiet, real quick, when Jamar went down for an extended time in the second half-- though it did appear that Jamar was limping around a little bit in the first half. At the time, I had a feeling Jamar was going to pull a "Willis Reed," which he did and it sorta' made me nervous. Reports state that it was only dehydration, so it appears as if there's no need to be overly concerned at this point.

The other big story was Jason Siggers, who was a man amongst boys tonight. Jason, after missing early on a few ugly 3-pointers, was all over the place and took control of the game, defensively and offensively. The box score credits Siggers with one steal, but I'm pretty sure that's wrong. At least that feels wrong. Siggers also had two blocked shots, one from behind where he got some serious air, and a big, big dunk with 30-seconds left in the first half to cut Bucknell's lead to 12, going into halftime.

The game got off to an inauspicious start, as Lillis fouled John Griffin as he was taking a three-point shot. Little did we know this would be a harbinger of things to come, as the Danes really could not stop Griffin, who was nothing short of sensational tonight-- when not popping his shirt like a little punk. Griffin led all scorers with 19 points, but sat for a good stretch during the second half. Upon his return, Griffin immediately popped two three-pointers to bring Bucknell back from a 44-40 deficit to give the Bison a 46-44 lead with 4:30 left in the game.

Another big story tonight was Brian Lillis. Brian-- despite two brutal fouls on 3-point shots resulting in 5 points for Bucknell-- otherwise played an outstanding basketball game. Brian added 11 points on 4-7 shooting, including a jumper, a steal and a three-pointer, all around the 7:30 mark of the second half just after Jamar went down. Brian was also credited with 4 steals on the night.

This reminds me of a point one of my friends up NYC made about the game at halftime-- all of Bucknell's points tonight seemed to come off of free throws, three-pointers and layups. As a matter of fact, I don't think Bucknell made a little 8-12 foot jumpshot all night. Actually, half of Bucknell's field goals were in the form of three-point shots. The key to the game was limiting their 3-point opportunities and points in the paint in the second half, and that's exactly what the team did. Bucknell took three-point shots in the second half to 6, opposed to the 12 they took in the 1st half.

Sure its new team without Zoellner, but remember how we shut down UConn's much-heralded front court in the tournament last year? Yeah, I was afraid of McNaughton, too, but upon retrospect, I'm not so surprised we shut him down. Coach Brown and his coaching staff really teach excellent defense and had a great game plan tonight, using Covington, Connelly, Gifford and Brent to shut down Bucknell's big men-- who are outstanding, athletic, and really, really big.

I was a bit surprised to see Jamar handling the point guard responsibilities. However, this is Jamar's chance to show the country what he's got and he deserves the opportunity. Jamar had six turnovers last night and was out of control on a lot of shots and drives. I know Jamar wanted to make a statement in a big game against a quality Bucknell team, but Jamar has to know team's are going to key on him, and that means he's got to create opportunities for other players. Jamar was active early, scoring the Danes' first four points and early on, it appeared as if he was going to dominate. Jamar finished the night with 11 points on 4-14 shooting and six assists in 28 minutes of action, despite the dehydration issues.

I was sitting a few rows behind the team bench. It was pretty cool hearing coach Brown and the staff encouraging the team in the second half. At one point leading into a timeout, Brown turns to the team as they're sitting downs and yells, "now that's good basketball." Plus, how often does the jacket come off with the sleeves rolled up? The players know he means business when that happens.

One last note-- Gifford looked good once he relaxed and played solid defense. I was thrilled with Covington and Connelly, and Knight looked like he's going to fit in very nicely with this team. All in all, an outstanding all-around effort by the team and coaching staff, and a very auspicious start to what looks like will be another exciting season for the Danes.

The SEFCU center has a much better ring to it than does the SEFCU Arena, huh?
Where was the vendor by the locker rooms? Please put the stand back.

Most importantly-- no letdown against Delaware!