Bucknell Men's Basketball Back Home Tuesday Night vs. Binghamton

Dec. 8, 2008

WHAT: Bucknell (1-6) vs. Binghamton (4-2)
WHERE: Sojka Pavilion, Lewisburg, Pa.
WHEN: Tuesday, December 9, 2008, 7 p.m.
PROMOTIONS: Feed the Fan Night/Student Study Break
RADIO: Eagle 107 and SportsJuice.com
TV: None
STREAMING VIDEO: Bison Vision
LIVE STATISTICS: GameTracker
COMPLETE PRESS NOTES

With a Victory over Binghamton, Bucknell Would ...

... snap a three-game losing streak and improve to 2-6 on the season.

... defeat the Bearcats in the first-ever meeting between the two teams.

... improve to 58-17 all-time in Sojka Pavilion.

... win its last game before the final exams break for the eighth time in the last nine years.

About the Game
After taking on 15th-ranked Wake Forest on Saturday night and enduring an all-night bus ride home, Bucknell's tough non-conference schedule continues on Tuesday against a Binghamton squad that is 4-2 on the season, with the most recent of its three straight wins a 10-point road triumph over Rutgers. The Bison have dropped three straight since the double-overtime win over Old Dominion on Nov. 25, and they would love to get another victory before taking 11 days off for final exams. Justin Castleberry continues to lead the Bison in scoring at 13.6 points per game, with Patrick Behan also scoring in double figures at 12.1 ppg. Darryl Shazier has upped his scoring productivity recently and is averaging 12.0 ppg in his last four games and 9.3 ppg on the season in addition to leading the Patriot League in assists. Binghamton is coming off its first-ever win over a Big East team, a 66-56 win at Rutgers on Saturday. The Bearcats are led offensively by St. Joseph's transfer D.J. Rivera, who scored 23 points against Rutgers and averages 20.2 ppg on the season. Rivera, the America East scoring leader, had four points and four steals in 28 minutes against Bucknell while playing for St. Joe's two seasons ago. Malik Alvin (14.0) and Dwayne Jackson (12.7) are also dangerous scorers for the Bearcats. Binghamton shoots 40.2% from the field as a team, despite struggling from 3-point distance (28.4%). The Bearcats average 66.8 ppg and give up 64.8.

How to Get the Game
The Bucknell-Binghamton game will not be televised, however live video can be purchased through Bison Vision at BucknellBison.com. The game can be heard locally on Eagle 107 (WEGH 107.3 FM), with Doug Birdsong and Ed Sigl on the call. The pregame show begins 30 minutes before tip-off. The audio feed is available free of charge via BucknellBison.com and SportsJuice.com.

Bucknell vs. Binghamton Series Notes

This will be the first-ever meeting between Bucknell and Binghamton.

Binghamton is the only first-time opponent on Bucknell's schedule in 2008-09, although that could change with BracketBusters and/or postseason pairings.

Bucknell vs. The America East Conference
Bucknell is 14-10 all-time against the current members of the America East. The Bison are 6-2 against UMBC, 4-2 vs. Albany, 2-2 vs. Maine, 1-1 vs. Boston University, 1-1 vs. Hartford and 0-2 vs. Vermont. This is the second of two America East foes Bucknell plays this season. On Nov. 18 the Bison fell to Boston University in overtime, 71-68.

Last Time Out
No. 15 Wake Forest had too much size and speed for the Bison, who fell 81-52 in Winston-Salem on Saturday night. Bucknell trailed by 14 at the half and closed the gap in half with a 7-0 run to start the second half. But Jeff Teague and L.D. Williams shined for the Demon Deacons. Williams scored five straight points in a 7-0 run that answered Bucknell's second-half spurt, and Teague scored 15 of his game-high 26 points in the second period to help Wake stretch its lead. Darryl Shazier led the Bison with 12 points, all of them coming on a career-high four 3-pointers.

Inside the Wake Forest Boxscore

Eight of Bucknell's 20 field goals (6 of 8 in the first half) came from the 3-point arc. In addition to Darryl Shazier's career-high four treys, Justin Castleberry hit two and Patrick Behan and G.W. Boon one each.

Bucknell's guards had a tough night against Wake Forest's vaunted backcourt. The starting guard trio of Shazier, Castleberry and Bryan Cohen went 8-for-39 (.205) from the field.

Wake Forest shot 27 free throws (making 16) compared to only nine (four made) for Bucknell.

Behan was held scoreless in the first half but made 4-5 FG in the second half and finished with nine points.

Shazier came into the game leading the Patriot League in both assists and assist-to-turnover ratio, but against Wake he was held without an assist along with five turnovers.

Zach Evans had another strong game, particularly at the defensive end. Evans finished the night with nine rebounds and three blocked shots, both career highs.

After three straight games with a positive assist-to-turnover ratio, the Bison had 10 assists and 18 miscues against Wake Forest. Eleven of those 18 turnovers came in the first half.

The Bison held the Demon Deacons to 43.9% shooting. Coming into the game, Wake was shooting 52.9% as a team, the third-best figure in the nation.

Tough Schedule
Bucknell's first seven opponents have a combined record of 34-18 (.654) this season. Wake Forest, which moved up to No. 11 this week after beating the Bison on Saturday, heads the list with a perfect 8-0 record. Only Saint Francis (Pa.) at 4-5 has a losing record. The remaining seven teams on Bucknell's non-conference schedule currently have a 25-22 (.532) record.

Boon Warming Up
Sophomore wing G.W. Boon missed a large portion of preseason practice with a shoulder injury, and his offensive production is now beginning to flourish. After totaling 14 points in the first four games of the year, Boon has 45 points in his last three games (a 15.0 ppg average). That includes a career-best 24-point showing against Wagner on Nov. 29.

Shazier's Shooting Improved
Point guard Darryl Shazier has been much-improved from long range in 2008-09. The sophomore has seven 3-pointers in his last two games and is 10-for-28 (.357) from the arc this season. As a freshman Shazier made just 10 triples all season in 48 attempts (.238).

Castleberry One Shy of Century Mark
Senior guard Justin Castleberry has 99 career 3-pointers and needs just one more to become the 14th Bucknell player with 100 career treys. He also needs only 11 more 3-pointers to move into the top 10 on Bucknell's career list.

Behan Filling it up Inside Arc
Junior Patrick Behan ranks ninth in the Patriot League in scoring at 12.1 points per game, but he ranks third in the league in 2-point field goals per game (5.0). Only PL scoring leader Kaleo Kina of Navy (5.7) and Zahir Carrington of Lehigh (5.1) score more inside the arc than Behan.

Who's Got Next?
Actually, the Bucknell faculty has next. After the Binghamton game, the Bison take an 11-day break for final exams before resuming the schedule on Dec. 20 at home against Drexel.

Bucknell University Athletics

Bucknell Men's Basketball Back Home Tuesday Night vs. Binghamton

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