Dec. 10, 2007

LEWISBURG, Pa. - John Griffin (Philadelphia, Pa./St. Joseph's Prep), one of the heroes of Bucknell's dramatic 67-66 men's basketball victory over La Salle last week, was named the Anaconda Patriot League Player of the Week and the Damon's Bison Athlete of the Week on Monday.

Playing in his 103rd consecutive game, Griffin scored 21 points against the Explorers, the last two coming on a pair of free throws that provided the winning points with only eight seconds remaining in the game. Griffin scored 14 of his 21 points in the second half, helping the Bison rally from 16 down to win.

In 37 minutes in the backcourt, Griffin did not commit a single turnover while collecting three assists, three rebounds and two blocked shots. He went 6-for-6 from the free-throw line, including the two pressure-packed charity tosses in the closing seconds, and 3-for-6 from 3-point range. It was not the first time this year that Griffin scored the winning basket for the Bison. In the season opener against Albany, his 3-pointer with 1:08 to play gave Bucknell the lead for good in a 55-52 win.

Griffin's third 20-point performance of the season (and his career) upped his team-leading scoring average to 13.3 points per game. He ranks ninth in the Patriot League in scoring, fifth in 3-point field goals (18) and ninth in free-throw percentage (.781).

Earlier this season, Griffin had back-to-back 20-point games against Towson (21) and Villanova (22), and he has moved into fifth place on Bucknell's career list for 3-point field goals with 159.

Griffin is a first-time winner of both awards. He and the Bison are in the midst of a 13-day layoff for final exams. The schedule resumes on Sunday afternoon at Wake Forest at 2 p.m.