Penn blows past Bucknell

Even before Bucknell center Chris McNaughton tossed a pass that only Pennsylvania governor and spectator Ed Rendell had a chance to catch, the outcome of this game was already clear.

Both the Penn and the Bucknell men's basketball teams played sloppily last night, but the Quakers' combination of deadly first-half offense and stifling defense enabled them to beat the Bison, 65-52.

The difference between the first and second halves for Penn was like night and day. The Quakers did everything right in the first half, getting scoring contributions from all their starters and shutting down the Bucknell offense from the opening possession.

Bucknell's opening minutes were filled with turnovers -- Penn's tight defense rattled the Bison, who lost the ball on traveling calls, poor ball handling and big misses on shot attempts.

"They just did a whole lot of things better than us all night long," Bucknell coach Pat Flannery said.

The Penn offense opened up the game with a barrage of three-pointers. Senior captain Tim Begley scored a four-point play after getting fouled on a three-point shot, and senior guard Eric Osmundson chimed in with two trifectas of his own.

After four minutes of play, the Red and Blue were ahead, 14-2.

Penn's ability to stop Bucknell defensively was mostly due to its focus on McNaughton, who scored 20 points against the Quakers last season.

With sophomore Steve Danley leading the effort down low, Penn held McNaughton to just four points.

"We just didn't challenge them," Flannery said. "They double-teamed McNaughton and he couldn't get it out, and Penn did a good job on the perimeter.

"That was the game right there."

This was a different strategy than last year, when the Quakers concentrated on stopping Bucknell sharpshooter Kevin Bettencourt.

Bettencourt had some wide open looks from three-point range last night, and he led his team in scoring with 16 points on 4-of-7 from behind the arc.

The second half was a different story for the Quakers. They shot a dismal 25 percent from the field as Bucknell clawed back to within nine.

"We were nowhere to be found offensively in the second half," Penn coach Fran Dunphy said. "I give Bucknell some credit for that, but there were definitely some things we didn't do."

This opened the door for the Bison to launch another scoring attack.

Sparked by the explosive play of guards Abe Badmus and Donald Brown, Bucknell went on a 14-5 run thanks to nine Penn turnovers setting up easy transition baskets for the Bison.

"We found a combination of players that really wanted to play out there," Flannery said. "It wasn't our normal one, but it got everyone involved a little bit more and we kept battling."

"Our offense keyed their offense," Dunphy said. "We just threw the ball away, gave them easy baskets and let Bettencourt out to make open shots."

The most consistent aspect of Penn's game was its set defense, which preserved the win for the Quakers as the Bison attempted to come back. Penn caused 13 Bucknell turnovers in the second half, which set the Quakers up with some easy layups to keep their lead.

Sophomore Ibby Jaaber had seven steals in the game, six of which came in the second half. It was this tenacious defense that made the difference for the Quakers in the end.

Despite the poor offensive showing in the second half, the Quakers were still able to beat Bucknell handily.

However, the team understands that it needs to play more consistent basketball to win games against more competitive teams.

"It's very frustrating not to put a team away," Danley said. "We need to come out with defensive intensity and let that pick up our offense."

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