Bucknell University Athletics
Patriot League's Two Hottest Teams Square off Wednesday when Bucknell Visits American in Men's Hoops Action
1/11/2011 7:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Jan. 11, 2011
WHAT: Bucknell (10-7, 1-0 PL) at American (11-5, 1-0 PL)
WHERE: Bender Arena, Washington, D.C.
WHEN: Wednesday, Jan. 12, 7:30 p.m. ET
WEBCAST: Patriot League All-Access 
RADIO: Eagle 107 (WEGH 107.3 FM) and SportsJuice.com
Complete Game Notes in PDF Format 
With a Win over American, Bucknell Would ...
• ... win its fifth game in a row and its ninth in the last 10 outings.
• ... start 2-0 in Patriot League play for the first time since 2007-08.
• ... win its first two road Patriot League games for the first time since 2005-06, when it went 14-0 in the league.
• ... improve to 6-5 on the road this season.
• ... stretch its winning streak over American to three.
• ... move into a tie for first place in the Patriot League standings with the winner of Wednesday's Army-Holy Cross game.
Hot Topics
• Bucknell and American, the league's two hottest teams, square off Wednesday night at Bender Arena. The Eagles and Bison were picked 1-2 in the Patriot League preseason poll, and they have lived up to the billing so far as the only two league teams to have reached double figures in the win column.
• Bucknell is in the midst of its best stretch of basketball this season, winning four straight and eight of its last nine games. The Bison went 6-1 in December, then started off 2011 on a high note with a 62-61 win at Richmond followed by Saturday's 71-64 victory at Navy in the Patriot League opener. Of the eight wins in this current hot streak, five have come on the road, including two against Atlantic 10 programs in Richmond and La Salle.
• The Bison have been strong offensively of late, averaging 74.4 points while shooting 48.4% from the field, 47.8% from the 3-point stripe and 81.9% from the foul line over their last seven games. Bucknell has four players scoring in double figures and six averaging at least 9.0 points per game over that span, led by Mike Muscala at 15.3 ppg.
• Muscala has five 20-point games this season and continues to lead the team in scoring (14.1), rebounding (6.2) and blocked shots (1.2). He is coming off a 19-point effort Saturday at Navy. Senior forward G.W. Boon (10.4) and hot-shooting sophomore guard Bryson Johnson (10.1) are also scoring in double figures, and seven Bison are scoring at least 6.2 points per game. Senior point guard Darryl Shazier is leading the Patriot League in assists (5.4) and now ranks No. 2 in the nation in assist-to-turnover ratio (3.83). Last time out, Shazier scored a career-high 28 points in the win over Navy.
• Johnson and junior guard Bryan Cohen have both been red hot from 3-point distance of late. In his last seven games, Cohen is 10-for-13 from the arc. He is now up to 48.5% on the season, which would be the No. 1 figure in the Patriot League except he falls one make shy of the minimum to qualify. Johnson is 22-for-39 (.564) from long range in the last six games, including a 7-for-12 showing at Boston College and a 5-for-7 effort at Richmond. Johnson leads the league ranks 11th nationally in 3FG percentage on the season (.474).
• As a team, Bucknell is leading the Patriot League in all of the shooting categories: field-goal percentage (.450), 3-point percentage (.413) and free-throw percentage (.786). Among the national leaders, the Bison are third in FT% and ninth in FG%.
• Like Bucknell, American comes in to Wednesday's game riding a four-game winning streak. The Eagles got off to a good start in Patriot League play with an 82-75 home win over Lehigh on Saturday. Also in this streak, AU defeated Fordham and Delaware to win the Cable Car Classic at Santa Clara, and the Eagles also topped Brown at home, 77-67.
• American features the Patriot League's leading scorer in Vlad Moldoveanu (21.8 ppg) and the league's top rebounder in Stephen Lumpkins (8.1 rpg). Moldoveanu, a First Team All-Patriot League selection last season and a four-time Patriot League Player of the Week this year, can certainly fill it up, as evidenced by his monster 39-point game (and 29-point second half) against Lehigh on Saturday. The Bison did hold Moldoveanu to two points in their win in Bender Arena last season.
• In addition to Moldoveanu's 21.8 ppg scoring average, Lumpkins averages 12.4 ppg and Georgia transfer Troy Brewer scores 11.4 ppg with a team-high 34 3FGs. The Eagles also have a veteran backcourt led by seniors Nick Hendra and Steve Luptak.
• Bucknell and American played two common opponents during non-conference play, with opposite results against each. Bucknell lost 68-67 at Saint Francis (Pa.), while American beat the Red Flash at home, 62-52. On the other hand, the Bison topped Columbia 73-68 at home, while the Eagles fell to the Lions at home, 64-62.
• Besides the Columbia loss, American's four other setbacks are all against major-conference foes: West Virginia, Florida, Northwestern and Pittsburgh.
How to Get the Game
• The Bucknell-American game will not be televised, however a live video Webcast will be available on Patriot League All-Access via PatriotLeague.org. (subscription required).
• The game can be heard in the Susquehanna Valley on the radio 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 also available online free of charge via BucknellBison.com and SportsJuice.com.
Bucknell vs. American Series Notes
• Bucknell has an overall 27-20 lead in an all-time series with American that includes some historic dates. The very first meeting on Jan. 14, 1939 also happened to be the first game ever played in Davis Gym (AU won 38-33). Coincidentally, American was also the opponent for the very last game ever played in Davis Gym on Jan. 11, 2003 (a 63-52 Bison win).
• Bucknell has won 16 of 22 series meetings in Lewisburg, including eight out of nine at Sojka Pavilion, but the Bison are just 3-6 at Bender Arena since American joined the Patriot League in 2001-02.
• As Patriot League rivals, Bucknell leads 12-8. The Bison defeated American eight straight times during one stretch, including victories in the 2005 and 2006 PL Tournament semifinals.
• After American swept the season series in 2008-09, the Bison returned the favor last season, winning 72-68 in overtime at Sojka Pavilion and 73-59 at Bender Arena. Amazingly, Bucknell totaled only four turnovers in those two games.
• On Jan. 13, 2010, Bucknell defeated American 72-68 in overtime behind 22 points and seven rebounds from Patrick Behan and 16 points from Bryson Johnson. The Bison set a school record by committing only one turnover in the 45-minute game, and they committed only eight fouls in the game. Johnson's 3-pointer with 30 seconds left tied the game and sent it into overtime. Vlad Moldoveanu had 19 points and 13 rebounds, and Nick Hendra scored 15 points for American.
• In the rematch last Feb. 11 in Washington, D.C., Mike Muscala scored 14 points in the first 8:26 of the game, then gave way to Joe Willman (15 points), Johnson (14 points), Behan (13 points) and the rest of his teammates in Bucknell's 73-59 victory. Hendra led American with 19 points off the bench, but the Bison held Moldoveanu to two points on 1-for-7 shooting. Bucknell had only three turnovers in the game.
Patriot League Success
• The Bison are 176-91 (.659) in Patriot League regular-season games, the best record of any league team. They have finished at least .500 in PL play in 16 of 20 seasons.
• The Bison won a league-record 23 straight contests against conference foes from Feb. 23, 2005 to Jan. 12, 2007.
• Bucknell had a streak of 35 straight wins at home against conference opponents come to an end in 2008.
• Bucknell has an all-time record of 24-18 in 20 Patriot League Tournaments. Bucknell has beaten every team in the league at least once in the postseason. The Bison have reached the championship game six times, including wins in 2005 and 2006, and reached at least the semifinals in 15 of 20 years.
More from the Navy Game
• Darryl Shazier poured in 23 of his career-high 28 points in the second half to lead Bucknell to a 71-64 win at Navy Saturday to wrap up the first day of Patriot League competition. The Bison trailed by as many as eight in the first half, took the lead early in the second, and then held off a number of Navy charges in the final stages of the game.
• Shazier went 10-for-17 from the floor, setting career highs for both makes and attempts, and also went 7-for-8 from the foul line. He helped ice the game in the final 21 seconds by twice making both ends of 1-and-1s to stretch three-point leads up to five. For his efforts, Shazier on Monday was named the Susquehanna Valley Limousine Bison Athlete of the Week.
• In addition to Shazier's 28 points, Mike Muscala finished with 19 on 7-for-10 shooting, and Joe Willman added 12 points.
• Bryan Cohen was held to two points, but he led the team with eight rebounds and did a solid job covering Navy's top scorer, Jordan Sugars, who finished with 12 points on 4-for-12 shooting.
• After trailing 28-27 at the half, the Bison scored 44 points and shot 55.2% from the field in the second period.
• There was quite a disparity in 3-point attempts in the game, as Navy tried three times as many long-range shots. The Midshipmen went 8-for-33 from the arc, while the Bison were 3-for-11.
• Bucknell had another terrific showing at the free-throw line, finishing 14-for-16 (.875) on the night. That includes a 9-for-10 performance in the final 2:16 of the game, all coming from Muscala (4-4) and Shazier (5-6).
• Bucknell's three-game streak of negative assist-to-turnover ratios came to an end. The Bison had 11 assists and committed only nine turnovers.
Statistically Speaking
Some other notable numbers from Bucknell's first 17 games:
• Bucknell has a 250-to-198 assist-to-turnover ratio in 17 games, the best mark in the Patriot League, despite a recent upswing in turnovers. The Bison have had a negative ratio only four times all season, but three of them have come in the last four games -- against Loyola, Dartmouth and Richmond. Their 11.6 turnovers per game is the 28th-best mark in Division I basketball.
• The Bison as a team are shooting 41.3% from long range, up from last season's 32.9% mark. Bucknell ranks ninth nationally in 3-point accuracy.
• Bucknell's 45.0% field-goal shooting is the best mark in the Patriot League, and the Bison rank No. 1 in the league and No. 3 in the nation in free-throw percentage at 78.6%.
• While the team's 3-point percentage is up, a lower percentage of Bucknell's total shots have come from beyond the 3-point arc. So far 30.5% of the team's attempts have come from long range, down from 34.7% last year and 35.0% in 2008-09.
• Bucknell has recorded an assist on 59.8% of its field goals this season. By comparison, last year the team was credited with an assist on only 51.6% of its baskets.
• Over its last 10 games, Bucknell is shooting 81.5% (176-216) from the free-throw line.
• Bucknell had scored 70 or more points in five straight games until that streak was broken in the 62-61 win at Richmond. on Jan. 2. The last time a Bucknell team reached 70 in five consecutive games was all the way back in 1997-98, when it happened six straight times. The Bison started a new streak at Navy.
Who's Got Next?
• After playing just one home game since before the final exam break, Bucknell finally gets three in a row at home beginning Sunday against Holy Cross. The 2 p.m. game at Sojka Pavlion will be televised live on CBS College Sports, and an "Orange Out" has been declared.
• Sunday's game will also mark the annual "Dirk Sojka's Slam Dunk with Bison Basketball" event. Proceeds from ticket sales, a silent auction and raffle drawing will go to Suncom Industries, which provides services to adults with disabilities to help reach their potential within the community. It is held in memory of Gary and Sandy Sojka's son, Dirk, who passed away in 2001 and had attended Suncom for 11 years.
