Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell University
1-4
Wagner
4-1
Wagner Outruns Bucknell Men's Basketball, 83-79
11/29/2008 7:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Nov. 29, 2008
LEWISBURG, Pa. (AP) - Career nights from Patrick Behan and G.W. Boon were not enough for the Bucknell men's basketball team, whose second-half rally fell just short in an 83-79 loss to Wagner on Saturday night at Sojka Pavilion. Behan scored 27 points and Boon added 24 for the Bison, who cut a 17-point deficit down to three in the final minute, only to fall to 1-4 on the season.
Joey Mundweiler hit six 3-pointers and scored 19 points to lead Wagner, which won its fourth straight game to get to 4-1 on the season. Four of those 3-pointers came at critical junctures in the second half to help stymie Bucknell's rally.
Justin Drummond had 15 points, seven rebounds and seven assists for the Seahawks and helped close out the game with four straight made free throws in the final 30 seconds. Doug Elwell, who had been 3-for-15 from the field on the season, made 4 of 5 shots, including 3 of 4 from the arc, and finished with 11 points.
Bucknell's top two scorers, Justin Castleberry and Bryan Cohen, were held to one field goal and four points in the game. Castleberry, coming off a career-high 31-point effort in Tuesday's win over Old Dominion, went 1-for-5 from the field and scored four points, although he did add three assists, four rebounds and a career-high-tying five steals. Cohen was battling flu-like symptoms throughout the day and was held scoreless for the first time in his short career in only 18 minutes of action.
Darryl Shazier added 14 points, equaling his career high from the Old Dominion game, along with six assists, right on his Patriot League-best average. Behan scored 18 of his 27 in the first half and finished the game 11-for-19 from the floor and 4-for-4 from the line. He also grabbed six rebounds. Boon hit four second-half 3-pointers, including treys on three straight possessions to kick-start Bucknell's comeback.
But despite the personal-best scoring nights from Shazier, Behan and Boon and a 48-point second half, the Bison struggled defensively for most of the night. The 83 points allowed were their most ever in a regulation-time game at Sojka Pavilion. The only visiting team to score more was Wake Forest in an 86-83 overtime win over Bucknell in 2006-07. The last time the Bison gave up that many points in a regulation-time home game came in an 83-71 loss to Army in Davis Gym in 1996-97.
Wagner outscored Bucknell 18-0 from the 3-point arc in the first half and took a 41-31 lead into intermission. The Seahawks extended that lead to 17 with a 7-0 run to start the second half, but the Bison began to warm up from the outside and crept back in it.
Back-to-back 3-pointers from Shazier and Castleberry ignited a 12-4 run, with Enoch Andoh's put-back making it a nine-point game at 52-43. The Bison had a possession to draw closer but missed a short jumper, then Elwell and Mundweiler hit consecutive 3-pointers to push the Wagner lead back to 15 at 58-43 with 13:48 to play.
That's when Boon got hot. The sophomore came into the game just 1-for-11 from 3-point distance after missing much of the preseason with a shoulder injury, but he canned three in a span of 1:31 to make it a 58-53 game.
Inside nine minutes to play Bucknell twice had chances to cut into a five-point deficit, but it turned the ball over on one possession and had another chance snuffed out when Elwell blocked Castleberry's layup try. Just after the Elwell block, Mundweiler swished a high-arching three to make it an eight-point game again at 66-58. Mundweiler, who tormented Bucknell with a 25-point game in Wagner's 10-point win over the Bison last season on Staten Island, twice hit treys to give the Seahawks a double-digit cushion in the late minutes. His three with 6:15 left made it a 70-59 game, then after a 3-pointer by Shazier and two Andoh free throws, Mundweiler hit another bomb to make it 75-65 with 4:36 left.
Still the Bison were not done, as Boon hit two free throws, Castleberry took a charge, and Boon hit another deep three to make it 79-74 with 1:52 left. After another defensive stop, Behan put back Boon's miss to make it 79-76 with 1:02 to play, but thanks to Drummond's free-throw shooting, the Bison never had the ball in a one-possession game. Drummond made a pair from the line with 30 seconds left, then after Behan's first 3-pointer of the season made it 81-79, Drummond hit two more at the stripe with 21 seconds left to make it a two-possession game at 83-79. Shazier missed a three and Behan a driving layup attempt for Bucknell, and Mundweiler grabbed the rebound and ran out the clock.
Behan and Boon became the first set of Bucknell teammates to both score 20 or more points in the same game since Chris McNaughton and Kevin Bettencourt both tallied 21 against Niagara in 2004-05. Behan's previous career best was 18 points against La Salle last season, while Boon's was 12 against Long Beach State a year ago.
Bucknell shot 42.1 percent from the field and made 9 of 15 from 3-point range after the 0-for-7 showing in the first half. The Bison also fared well from the free-throw line, making 20 of 24, and had its second straight positive assist-to-turnover ratio (15-13).
Wagner shot 47.5 percent overall, 55.0 percent from the arc (11-20) and 66.7 percent from the foul line (16-24).
Bucknell's run of three straight overtime games came to an end. Had the Bison forced a fourth consecutive overtime, they would have tied the NCAA record held by three other teams.
Bucknell now faces a tough two-game road trip at La Salle on Tuesday and Wake Forest next Saturday before returning home on Dec. 9 to face Binghamton.
