Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell University
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Mercer
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Bucknell Men's Basketball Falls in Shootout in Season Opener, 89-80 to Mercer
11/13/2009 7:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Nov. 13, 2009
PROVIDENCE, R.I. - James Florence scored 33 points and Jeff Smith hit scored 16 points, including two critical 3-pointers down the stretch, leading Mercer past Bucknell 89-80 in a wild season-opening contest Friday night at the World Vision Invitational at the Dunkin' Donuts Center. The loss spoiled the debut of Bucknell freshman Bryson Johnson, who hit six 3-pointers en route to a team-high 18 points.
Bryan Cohen and Darryl Shazier added 17 points each for the Bison, who had a very good opening night offensively but just could not get enough stops down the stretch. Bucknell shot 46.6 percent from the field, even with a number of shots in the paint that rimmed out in the first half.
The Bison lit it up from 3-point range, making 11 of 18 (.611). They had actually made 11 of their first 16 before missing two desperation attempts in the final seconds. Johnson was on right from the start. He canned his first collegiate attempt 5:42 into the game and started 6-for-8 from the arc. Johnson's 18 points were the most by a Bison freshman in his debut game since John Griffin had 18 against Princeton in 2004.
Cohen was 3-for-3 from long range and Shazier 2-for-3. Cohen scored 15 of his points in the second half. Patrick Behan added nine points, nine rebounds and three assists, and Stephen Tyree had eight points, five rebounds and three assists in his first game back after missing all of last year with a knee injury.
In addition to Johnson, who played 27 minutes, two other freshman played well in their debuts. Joe Willman started at power forward and scored six quick points before running into foul difficulties, a common theme in a game that had 47 fouls and 51 free throws. Willman finished with six points and three rebounds in 25 minutes. Mike Muscala played 11 minutes off the bench and was also saddled with fouls. He had two points and one rebound.
The high-scoring affair went back-and-forth all night, featuring 10 led changes in a 101-point second half. Johnson's sixth 3-pointer of the night tied the game at 70 with 5:04 to play, and after the two teams traded free throws, Mercer took the lead for good at the four-minute mark.
Brandon Moore hit a layup to crack a 71-all tie. Bucknell had two chances to equalize, but Muscala rimmed out a jumper and then the Bison turned the ball over. Smith made them pay for the miscue with a 3-pointer at the other end that put Mercer up by five at 76-71.
Tyree finished a slashing layup for Bucknell, but then Smith hit another 3-pointer from the same exact spot on the right wing to make it 79-73. With 1:08 left Smith made two free throws to give the Bears a seven-point lead at 81-74, but Cohen swished a 26-footer at the other end to make it 81-77.
Florence made a layup to restore a six-point lead, and after Shazier made 1 of 2 at the line, Mercer finished it off at the free-throw line.
The first half was tightly contested. The Bison did not trail in the game until the 11-minute mark and led by as many as four points on a couple of occasions.
The freshman class made an early impact, as Willman canned back-to-back jumpers to put the Bison up 8-4. Later, Muscala scored on his first shot with a shot lefty jump hook on the left block, and Johnson swished his first shot from 3-point range to make it 14-10.
Florence, who averaged 20.8 points per game last season and who will likely become Mercer's all-time leading scorer later this year, sparked a 7-0 Mercer run with a 3-pointer that gave the Bears their first lead at 19-16. Smith answered a Johnson trey to snap a 23-all tie, and Daniel Emerson's steal and breakaway dunk completed an 8-2 run that gave Mercer a 34-27 lead with 5:43 left in the half.
That would be the Bears' final field goal of the period, however, as the Bison defense stiffened. Johnson's third trey of the night, followed by a Tyree layup and a Behan free throw pulled the Bison within 34-33, and an Emerson free throw with a minute left made it 35-33 at the half.
Mercer shot 51.7 percent from the field - only two teams eclipsed 50 percent against Bucknell all of last season - and made 8 of 22 (.364) from 3-point range. Bucknell finished with a 32-31 rebounding edge, but the Bears led 10-9 on the offensive glass. The Bison had 16 turnovers to 14 for Mercer.
Bucknell will take on host Providence in game two of the tournament on Saturday at 6:30 p.m.
