Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell University
4-49-15 / PL
Navy
5-311-12 / PL
Navy Edges Bucknell, 81-79
2/5/2010 7:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Feb. 5, 2010
ANNAPOLIS, Md. -- Blizzard conditions outside Alumni Hall limited the crowd to only a few hundred loyal fans, but inside the arena Bucknell and Navy were red-hot for long stretches of time, and in the end the Midshipmen pulled out their second two-point win over the Bison this season, 81-79. Romeo Garcia scored 20 points and O.J. Avworo had 17 points and 10 assists for Navy, while G.W. Boon and Bryson Johnson led five Bucknell players in double figures with 16 points apiece.
The two teams combined for 24 3-pointers - 13 by Navy and 11 by the Bison - but ultimately it was the Midshipmen finding the key stops down the stretch. The Bison and Midshipmen entered the game in a three-way tie for third place in the Patriot League standings. Navy is now 5-3 in the league (11-12 overall), while Bucknell had its 3-game winning streak snapped and fell to 4-4 (9-15 overall).
Navy hit 15 3-pointers in a 100-91 shootout win over Colgate in its most recent outing, and the Midshipmen showed off their firepower again in this one. They hit four 3-pointers in the first 8:15, the last by Jordan Sugars giving them a 23-12 lead.
Navy was 9-for-13 from the field at that point, but it made only one of its next 11 shots and the Bison went on a run of their own. Bryan Cohen scored five straight points to kick off a 19-3 Bucknell run. Cohen later hit two free throws to tie it at 25, and back-to-back 3-pointers by Boon and Darryl Shazier gave the Bison a 31-26 lead.
Jeremy Wilson's put-back ended the run, and Navy went back ahead 33-31 after a Romeo Garcia 3-pointer and two Harris free throws. Joe Willman's follow and a Mike Muscala pick-and-roll layup gave the Bison a 35-34 halftime lead.
The two teams swapped their way to nine 3-pointers in the first seven minutes of the second half, and by the nine-minute mark there had been 10 ties and 10 lead changes.
Bucknell trailed 56-53, but Muscala and Willman hit consecutive baseline jumpers to give the Bison the lead back. Sugars hit a three for Navy, but then Willman had one of his four follow-up layups to tie the game at 59 with 9:05 left.
Navy finally made some headway inside nine minutes remaining, when Garcia and Chris Harris nailed the Mids' 12th and 13th 3-pointers of the night to spark an 8-0 run.
Bucknell pulled within four at 73-69 on a Boon trifecta with 2:29 left. Navy kept the Bison in it with some missed free throws, and then Johnson made it a 76-74 game with a third-chance 3-pointer with 50 seconds to play. Harris answered with two free throws after being fouled on the inbounds, then Bucknell turned the ball over before getting a shot off on its next possession.
After Garcia made 1 of 2 at the line, Shazier drove the lane for a layup. T.J. Topercer split a pair at the line, then Shazier missed a 3-pointer and Muscala was called for a foul on the rebound. Avworo made 1 of 2, and Johnson's 3-pointer with 1.1 seconds left made it 81-79, but Navy threw a long inbound pass and time expired.
Three Bucknell freshmen scored in double figures. In addition to Johnson's 16, Muscala had 15 points, seven rebounds and four blocked shots, and Willman scored a career-high 12 points to go with nine rebounds. Shazier added 10 points and six assists.
Bucknell had been 5-for-39 from 3-point range in its previous two games, then went 11-for-25 against Navy. Johnson and Boon connected on four each.
Bucknell held a 41-32 rebounding edge, and its 13 offensive rebounds led to a 24-6 advantage in second-chance points.
With his four blocks, Muscala became only the second player in program history to record 50 swats in a season. Mike Butts did it three times, and his 58 blocks in 1985-86 is the Bucknell freshman record.
The Bison shot 44.6 percent for the game, while Navy shot 47.4 percent. Both teams protected the ball fairly well, as Bucknell had 18 assists and 13 turnovers and Navy had 19 assists and nine turnovers.
Harris finished with 18 points and Sugars had 15 points and 10 rebounds for the Midshipmen.
Bucknell's next two games will be televised live on CBS College Sports. Next up is a road game at American on Thursday at 7 p.m., followed by a Valentine's Day afternoon game against Holy Cross at Sojka Pavilion.
