Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell University
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Bryant
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Bucknell Men's Basketball Hangs on For First Win of Season, 59-56 over Bryant
11/15/2009 7:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Nov. 15, 2009 Box Score
PROVIDENCE, R.I. - Mike Muscala keyed a big effort from Bucknell's freshman class with a team-high 12 points, and the Bison held off a major charge from Bryant down the stretch to pick up their first win of the season, 59-56 at the World Vision Invitational. The Bulldogs turned a 20-point second-half deficit into a one possession game, but some big plays by Bryan Cohen down the stretch helped Bucknell get in the win column.
After playing well in losses to Mercer and Providence earlier in the weekend, at times on Sunday the Bison looked like a team playing for the third time in 43 hours. They shot only 33.3 percent from the field and had trouble chasing down the red-hot Cecil Gresham, who scored 17 of his 26 points in the second half.
Bryson Johnson, who was held scoreless against Providence after posting 18 against Mercer in the opener, bounced back with 11 points and five rebounds in the win. Cohen also had 11 points, six boards and three assists. Point guard Darryl Shazier, coming off two excellent games in which he played 75 of a possible 80 minutes, went 0-for-6 from the floor but hit four big free throws and had six assists with no turnovers in 33 minutes.
Bucknell survived an ugly first half and led 25-15 at the halfway mark despite shooting only 27.6 percent. The Bison were much sharper in the opening minutes of the second half, however, hitting five of their first six shots to open up a 20-point lead.
Two straight buckets by Stephen Tyree, the latter on a defensive rebound and coast-to-coast drive, followed by a Johnson 3-pointer made it 34-17. Muscala followed with a breakaway dunk after a long lead pass by Cohen. After a Bryant bucket, G.W. Boon came off the bench to drain a 3-pointer, and the Bison led 39-19.
Bryant got back in it quickly, though, as 3-pointers by Gresham and Adam Parzych, a 3-point play by Claybrin McMath and a layup by Barry Latham brought the Bulldogs within 43-32 at the 10:09 mark. Another 3-pointer and a 15-foot pull-up by Gresham made it a six-point game again at 43-37 with 8:42 left.
Now flaming hot, Gresham canned another deep three from the left side with 7:59 left, and Bryant was back within three at 43-40.
Cohen then reversed the momentum with two critical plays at opposite ends of the floor. With the Bryant down three with the ball, Cohen took a charge on the baseline to get the Bison the ball back. At the other end he buried a 3-pointer to end Bryant's 21-4 run. After another defensive stop, Cohen scored with an up-and-under move and the Bison were back up by eight at 48-40 with 5:47 left.
Behan, Cohen and Joe Willman combined to go 5-for-6 on 1-and-1 attempts, and Muscala hit a big elbow jumper on an inbounds play as Bucknell and Bryant traded points down the stretch.
Chris Birrell hit a corner three with 49 seconds left to bring Bryant within 55-51. Johnson made 1 of 2 at the line, but then Barry Latham swished another three from the right side to make it 56-54 with 32 seconds left.
Bucknell inbounded to Shazier, and the co-captain made two critical free throws to make it a two-possession game. Raphael Jordan tried to drive the ball at the other end, but Muscala rejected his shot. Cohen rebounded and was fouled with 21 seconds left, but he missed both. Cohen made up for it though by heavily contesting Gresham's 3-point try, forcing an air ball. After a Johnson free throw, Jordan scored with 0.6 seconds left, but the Bison inbounded quickly and time expired.
Bucknell seemingly took control with a 14-2 run in the latter stages of the first half, with all 14 points coming from freshmen. The Bison trailed 9-7 at the 10-minute mark, when Muscala tied the game with an elbow jumper. Willman followed with a jumper from the top of the key to put them ahead, and Muscala hit two free throws to make it 13-9.
After a pair of free throws by Bryant's Gresham, Johnson went to work, canning two 3-pointers in a span of 18 seconds. The first came from the right side in a half-court set after a drive and dish by Shazier, and the second came from the opposite side in transition after a long rebound.
Muscala's baseline jumper off a Tyree feed put the Bison ahead 21-11 with 3:18 left. The Bulldogs pulled within 22-15 on a layup by Nick Pontes, but Cohen hit a big three just before the halftime buzzer. Shazier tried to penetrate but lost his balance just inside the free-throw line. Alertly, he batted the ball back to Cohen at the top of the arc, and Cohen swished the 22-footer to make it 25-15 at intermission.
Bucknell held Bryant to 37.0 percent shooting, but the Bulldogs went 6-for-11 from 3-point range in the second half. Bucknell finished with a 40-36 rebounding edge, led by six each from Willman, Behan and Cohen.
The Bison have another road trip on Wednesday when they travel to Delaware for a 7 p.m. start. The home opener is next Saturday against Saint Francis (Pa.) at 7:30 p.m.
