HC can't hold on

WORCESTER -- Defending Patriot League champion Bucknell showed why it's the top team in the league, battling back from a 15-point second-half deficit to down Holy Cross, 57-52, before 4,000 frantic fans yesterday at the sold-out Hart Center.

The Bison took their first lead of the game with two minutes to play on a Kevin Bettencourt 3-pointer and held Holy Cross to one free throw the rest of the way.

''I turned to [Bucknell junior point guard] Abe [Badmus] with about 16 minutes left," Bettencourt said, ''and I said, 'We can still win this game.' He looked into my eyes and he believed it. We all believed it."

Holy Cross was up, 40-25, when Bettencourt made that statement.

Bucknell (20-3, 11-0) has won 11 straight and the victory assured the Bison of a top-two seed and home court for the first two rounds of next month's league tourney.

Holy Cross (14-11, 7-3) is still in third place, behind Lehigh (9-1), which beat Army yesterday. The Crusaders had won 15 straight regular-season league games at home.

Junior forward Charles Lee had a huge game for Bucknell, scoring a game-high 24 points. He was the recipient of the Martin J. O'Malley Award, presented annually to the most outstanding player in Holy Cross's Winter Homecoming game. Lee was 10 for 10 from the foul line.

''That's the game right there," Holy Cross coach Ralph Willard said.

Holy Cross, meanwhile, made just 3 of 9 free throws in the second half.

The Bison, owners of the league's top defense, limited Holy Cross to 19 second-half points, 9 in the final 11 minutes.

''We knew in order to get back in this game, it wasn't going to be with jump shots," Bucknell coach Pat Flannery said. ''It was going to be with defense and wearing them down and staying after them."

Holy Cross senior guard Kevin Hamilton (12 points) picked up his fourth foul with 14:24 to play. When he went to the bench, Holy Cross was up, 40-29. When he returned with 8:59 to go, the Bison had trimmed the deficit to 7 and, seconds later, junior center Chris McNaughton made two free throws to make it 43-38.

''Obviously, we don't have the luxury of bringing a sophomore or junior off the bench when he gets in foul trouble," Willard said. ''We have to bring in a freshman, and in a game like this, that's a huge difference. They made a run at us and I had to put [Hamilton] back in, but he never seemed to get his rhythm once he went back in."