Bucknell University Athletics
2009-10 Bucknell Men's Basketball Season Highlights
4/19/2010 8:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
April 19, 2010
The 2009-10 Bucknell men's basketball team doubled its win total from the previous season, finishing 14-17 overall and 9-5 in the Patriot League. Second-year coach Dave Paulsen's squad finished second in the Patriot League standings, just one game behind first-place Lehigh.
Here is a look at some highlights from the 2009-10 season:
BALANCING ACT: Bucknell had incredible offensive scoring balance this season. For much of the campaign, the Bison did not have a player averaging in double figures. The final scoring leader, point guard Darryl Shazier, finished at 10.1 points per game. That is the lowest average for Bucknell's top scorer since statistics started being kept here in the late-1940s. However, Shazier was one of four Bison to score better than 9.0 ppg and was one of eight to score at least 5.6 ppg. Only 40 points separated the team's top five point-producers, and nine different players produced at least one 10-point game.
YOUTH IS SERVED: Bucknell's freshman class certainly made an immediate impact in 2009-10. In fact, the Bison became the first team in league history to place three players on the Patriot League All-Rookie Team in Mike Muscala, Bryson Johnson and Joe Willman. Bucknell has now claimed at least one all-rookie pick in eight of the last nine years. A freshman was the team's leading scorer in 16 of 31 games this season, and first-year players accounted for 38 percent of the team's points.
MUSCALA EARNS ALL-LEAGUE HONORS: Mike Muscala was named to the All-Patriot League Second Team this season, making him one of only four freshmen in league history to make one of the all-league teams. In 2009-10 Muscala averaged 9.9 points and 4.9 rebounds, and he led the Patriot League in blocked shots with 65. That block total was a Bucknell freshman record and was the third highest total in school history. He is only the second individual in program annals to have a 50-block season, joining Mike Butts, who did it three times. Muscala had multiple blocks 20 times and three or more 10 times. His seven blocks against Navy on Jan. 9 was one shy of a school record.
DEFENSIVE STOPPER: Sophomore Bryan Cohen was named the Patriot League Defensive Player of the Year and was also named to the CollegeInsider.com Mid Major Defensive All-America Team. Cohen became the third Bison winner in the six-year history of the Patriot Defensive Player of the Year Award, joining Abe Badmus (2005) and Stephen Tyree (2008). In addition to his stellar defensive play, Cohen averaged 8.8 points, 3.4 rebounds and 2.7 assists per game.
WELCOME BACK: Stephen Tyree made a welcome return to the team after sitting out the entire 2008-09 season with a knee injury. Tyree started all 31 games, averaging 26.4 minutes per game. He contributed 5.7 points per game on 48.2% shooting, and he led the team in rebounding at 5.2 per game.
LENDING A HELPING HAND: Junior point guard Darryl Shazier had a terrific 118-to-50 assist-to-turnover ratio this season. After winning the Patriot League assists title as a sophomore, in 2009-10 he ranked third in the league in assists and second in assist-to-turnover ratio. With a year still left to play, Shazier has already moved up to seventh on Bucknell's career assist chart with 313.
PROTECTING THE ROCK: Bucknell had a number of historic games this season when it came to taking care of the basketball. Six times in program history have the Bison committed four or fewer turnovers in a game, and three of those came this season. Topping the list was the Jan. 13 game against American, when the Bison committed only one turnover in an overtime victory, a new school record. When Bucknell and American met again in D.C. a month later, the Bison had only three miscues in a 73-59 win. The Bison also had only four turnovers in a home win over Saint Francis (Pa.) in November. On the season, Bucknell averaged a league-low 11.6 turnovers per game.
BEHAN'S BIG NIGHT: Patrick Behan sure knew how to celebrate his Senior Night. The veteran frontcourt man shot 11-for-14 from the field and finished with 24 points and nine rebounds in a 69-49 rout of Colgate. A Second Team All-Patriot League selection in 2009, Behan averaged 9.0 points and 4.5 rebounds per game this season. In his career, he finished with 925 points and 452 rebounds while shooting 45.5% from the field.
WHAT A START!: Freshman Bryson Johnson made quite a first impression. On opening night against Mercer at the World Vision Invitational in Providence, Johnson made six of his first eight 3-point attempts and finished with 18 points. That is tied for the third-highest scoring total by a Bucknell freshman in a season opener. Johnson finished the season with 67 3-pointers, a Bucknell freshman record and the seventh-highest single-season total in program history. He averaged 9.5 points per game and shot 84.0% from the free-throw line.
PATRIOT LEAGUE SUCCESS: In 20 years in the Patriot League, Bucknell has now been seeded either first or second eight times, and the Bison have been a top-three seed 12 times. In Patriot League regular-season games, Bucknell is 175-91 (.658), the best record of any league team.
PROTECTING HOME COURT: Bucknell went 8-5 at Sojka Pavilion this season, including a 6-1 mark in Patriot League play. Since the facility opened in 2003, Bucknell is now 70-28 overall and 51-12 against league foes.
FREE THROW IMPROVEMENT: After shooting only 67.8% from the free-throw line in 2008-09, the Bison improved to 73.0% this season. Five of the seven players with 50 or more attempts shot at least 71% and two players – Bryson Johnson (.840) and Mike Muscala (.806) – shot over 80%.
ROOKIE RARITY: In the Feb. 5 game against Navy, Bucknell had three freshmen score in double figures (Bryson Johnson 16, Mike Muscala 15, Joe Willman 12). The last time that had been done at Bucknell was all the way back in 1977, when Steve Sigl (20), Bob Barry (12) and Pat Flannery (10) did it against West Chester.
GOING OVERTIME: One year after playing a school-record six overtimes, the Bison played four more OT games in 2009-10. They went 3-1 in those games, defeating Marist, American and Lehigh after falling to eventual Ivy Champ and Sweet Sixteen participant Cornell.
GETTING BETTER: Bucknell improved as the season progressed in 2009-10. After a rough stretch in December and early January, the Bison won eight of their final 10 games of the regular season.
ATTENDANCE CHAMPS AGAIN: Bucknell captured its fifth consecutive Patriot League attendance title in 2009-10. Bucknell averaged 2,514 fans to Sojka Pavilion this season.
