Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell Men's Basketball Hosts Lafayette Wednesday Night
1/18/2011 7:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Jan. 18, 2011
WHAT: Lafayette (7-11, 2-1 PL) at Bucknell (12-7, 3-0 PL)
WHERE: Sojka Pavilion, Lewisburg, Pa.
WHEN: Wednesday, Jan. 19, 7 p.m. ET
WEBCAST: Bison Vision 
RADIO: Eagle 107 (107.3 WEGH FM) and SportsJuice.com
LIVE STATS: GameTracker 
VIDEO PREVIEW: In the Herd
Complete Game Notes in PDF Format 
With a Win over Lafayette, Bucknell Would ...
• ... win its seventh game in a row and its 11th in the last 12 outings.
• ... start 4-0 in Patriot League play for the first time since 2005-06, when it went 14-0.
• ... maintain sole possession of first place in the Patriot League standings.
• ... improve to 6-1 at home this season.
• ... improve to 10-0 against the Leopards at Sojka Pavilion.
• ... improve to 53-12 at Sojka Pavilion against Patriot League competition and 76-29 all-time at Sojka.
Hot Topics
• Bucknell and Lafayette, two teams in the upper half of the Patriot League standings, square off Wednesday night at Sojka Pavilion. The Bison sit alone atop the table at 3-0 after Sunday's thrilling win over Holy Cross, while the Leopards come in at 2-1 after back-to-back home wins over Colgate and Navy.
• Bucknell is in the midst of its best stretch of basketball in coach Dave Paulsen's three seasons, winning six straight and 10 of its last 11 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 the three Patriot League wins over Navy, American and Holy Cross. Of the 10 wins in this current hot streak, six have come on the road, including two against Atlantic 10 programs in Richmond and La Salle.
• The Bison are in the midst of their best 11-game stretch (10-1) since winning 14 straight games in 2006-07. The current six-game winning streak is also the longest since 2006-07.
• The Bison have been strong offensively since the end of the final exam break in December, averaging 74.4 points while shooting 48.2% from the field, 45.2% from the 3-point stripe and 82.1% from the foul line over their last nine games. Bucknell has three players scoring in double figures and six averaging at least 7.9 points per game over that span, led by Mike Muscala at 18.1 ppg.
• Muscala has seven 20-point games this season and continues to lead the team in scoring (15.6), rebounding (6.8) and blocked shots (1.5). After producing 56 points, 23 rebounds and eight blocks in two games last week, Muscala was named the Susquehanna Valley Limousine Bison Athlete of the Week, the Patriot League Player of the Week and the Oscar Roberston National Player of the Week.
• Hot-shooting sophomore Bryson Johnson (10.5) is also scoring in double figures, and seven Bison are scoring at least 5.9 points per game. Senior point guard Darryl Shazier is leading the Patriot League in assists (5.7) and again ranks No. 1 in the nation in assist-to-turnover ratio (4.15). Shazier scored a career-high 28 points in the win over Navy, and he is coming off a nine-assist, no-turnover game against Holy Cross.
• Johnson is 28-for-53 (.528) from long range in the last eight games, including a 7-for-12 showing at Boston College and a 5-for-7 effort at Richmond. Johnson leads the league and ranks 10th nationally in 3FG percentage on the season (.468).
• As a team, Bucknell is leading the Patriot League in all of the shooting categories: field-goal percentage (.452), 3-point percentage (.408) and free-throw percentage (.791). Among the national leaders, the Bison are third in FT%, 12th in 3FG% and 11th in fewest turnovers per game (11.0).
• Lafayette has three starters back from last year's squad that won 19 games and made it to the Patriot League title game against eventual-champion Lehigh. The Leopards are 6-5 since a 1-6 start, and they are coming off an exciting 76-73 home win over Navy, made possible by Tony Johnson's go-ahead 3-pointer in the final minute of the game.
• Center Jared Mintz, a First Team All-Patriot League selection last season, is enjoying another outstanding campaign. Mintz leads the Leopards in scoring (16.3), rebounding (5.6) and field-goal percentage (.529), and he is a stellar 86.0% free-throw shooter.
• Other players to watch for Lafayette include sharp-shooting guard Jim Mower (13.1 ppg, 49 3FGs), forward Ryan Willen (11.1 ppg), Johnson (7.1 ppg, team-high 55 assists and 24 steals), and forward Darion Benbow (6.8 ppg).
• Lafayette is the No. 2 scoring team in the Patriot League at 70.4 ppg, but the Leopards give up 74.2 ppg.
• Bucknell and Lafayette are two of the top free-throw shooting teams in the nation. While the Bison rank No. 3 at 79.1%, Lafayette ranks No. 4 at 78.7%.
How to Get the Game
• The Bucknell-Lafayette game will not be televised, however a live Webcast will be available on Bison Vision at BucknellBison.com (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.
• Live statistics are available on GameTracker via BucknellBison.com.
Bucknell vs. Lafayette Series Notes
• Bucknell and Lafayette have met 145 times previously, making the Leopards Bucknell's second most-played opponent (the Bison have played Lehigh 152 times). Since the series began in 1915, Lafayette leads 85-60.
• Since the start of Patriot League play in 1990-91, however, Bucknell has won 31 of 44 meetings.
• Bucknell has won all nine matchups in Sojka Pavilion and is 18-3 against the Leopards in Lewisburg going back to the Patriot League's first season. Lafayette is actually 0-10 all-time in Sojka, including a neutral-site loss to American in the 2006 PL Tournament quarterfinals.
• In the nine previous meetings at Sojka, Bucknell has outscored Lafayette 652-490, or an average score of 72-54. Only one of the nine margins has been less than 10, that a 77-75 Bison overtime win in 2008.
• Bucknell has lost three straight meetings in Easton and is just 23-49 there all-time.
• The two teams split last season, with the home team winning each time.
• On Jan. 20 in Easton, the Bison rallied from an early 13-point deficit and kept the high-scoring Leopards well under their season average, but Lafayette held on for a 61-57 victory. Bryan Cohen had 13 points and five assists and Stephen Tyree added 10 points, eight rebounds, five assists and three steals for the Bison, who played without injured starter Mike Muscala. Jared Mintz led Lafayette with 17 points and 11 rebounds, and Gruner added 14 as the Leopards moved to 4-0 in the league. Bucknell's 34.4 field-goal percentage included a rash of missed layups and 7-for-29 3-point shooting.
• In the rematch on Feb. 17 at Sojka Pavilion, the Bison prevailed 78-67 behind Muscala's 23 points and 11 rebounds, which were both career highs at the time. Joe Willman scored Bucknell's first 10 points of the game and finished with 14, while G.W. Boon added 15 points and Cohen 10. The Bison never trailed in the game and led 45-29 at the half. Lafayette, which played without Mintz, was led by 12 points from Jim Mower and 10 from Gruner.
Patriot League Success
• The Bison are 178-91 (.662) 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 Holy Cross Game
• One game after his 33-point, 10-rebound, 5-block game against American, Mike Muscala came right back and produced 23 points, a career-high 13 rebounds, three assists and three blocks in a 74-72 win over Holy Cross. To top it off, Muscala hit the game-winning shot with 1.4 seconds left, snapping a 72-all tie.
• Joe Willman was the early star for the Bison, scoring 11 of the team's first 21 points as the team ran out to an early double-digit lead. Willman would eventually have to battle foul trouble and finished with 13 points (5-8 FG) in 18 minutes. Part of his ledger was his first career made 3-pointer.
• Darryl Shazier went 0-for-3 from the field but had a huge impact on the game, finishing with nine assists and no turnovers despite some foul trouble of his own.
• Bryson Johnson went 5-for-11 from 3-point distance and was Bucknell's No. 2 scorer with 17 points.
• When Willman fouled out with 5:31 left in the second half, Bucknell turned to veteran Stephen Tyree, who was making just his second appearance of the season. Tyree, who is playing on a torn ACL, scored his first points of the season on a layup, and he came up with a critical offensive rebound that eventually led to a Johnson 3-pointer.
• Bucknell did not commit its first turnover until five minutes into the second half, and it finished the game with only three turnovers. That is tied for second-fewest in a game in school history, trailing the one-turnover game against American last season. It was the sixth time in the last two seasons the team finished with four turnovers or fewer.
• The Bison shot 50.0% from the field in the first half and 45.0% overall. They went 7-for-20 from 3-point range.
• It was the 54th meeting in 21 years between Bucknell and Holy Cross, who have played in 13 of the 20 Patriot League Tournaments.
Honors Time for Muscala
• Mike Muscala earned three weekly awards after averaging 28.0 points, 11.5 rebounds and 4.0 blocked shots in the two wins over American and Holy Cross.
• On Tuesday he became the first Bucknell player ever to win the Oscar Robertson National Player of the Week Award from the U.S. Basketball Writers Association. Muscala was the second straight Patriot League player to win it, following American's Vlad Moldoveanu. Other previous winners this season include BYU's Jimmer Fredette, Texas A&M's Khris Middleton, Kentucky's Doron Lamb and Illinois' Demetri McCamey.
• Muscala on Monday was named Patriot League Player of the Week for the first time in his career, as well as the Susquehanna Valley Limousine Bison Athlete of the Week.
Statistically Speaking
Some other notable numbers from Bucknell's first 19 games:
• Bucknell has a 279-to-209 assist-to-turnover ratio in 19 games, the best mark in the Patriot League and 20th-best in the nation. The Bison have had a negative ratio only four times all season, against Marquette, Loyola, Dartmouth and Richmond. Their 11.0 turnovers per game is the 11th-best mark in Division I basketball.
• The Bison as a team are shooting 40.8% from long range, up from last season's 32.9% mark. Bucknell ranks 12th nationally in 3-point accuracy.
• Bucknell's 45.2% 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 79.1%.
• 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 30.4% 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 59.4% 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 12 games, Bucknell is shooting 81.6% (209-256) from the free-throw line.
• Bucknell has scored 70 or more points in eight of its last nine games, including five straight from Dec. 17 to Dec. 30. 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.
Who's Got Next?
• Bucknell's three-game homestand wraps up on Saturday, when Colgate comes to Sojka Pavilion for a 7 p.m. contest.
• At Saturday night's game Dave Paulsen and the Bison coaching staff invite all fans to help participate in the annual Coaches vs. Cancer Suits & Sneakers Weekend. Coaches vs. Cancer is a nationwide collaboration between the American Cancer Society and the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) that empowers basketball coaches, their teams, and local communities to make a difference in the fight against cancer. Each year coaches across the country unite in the common effort to raise cancer awareness in their communities by wearing sneakers along with their suits on gameday. The Bucknell staff will be participating during Saturday night's game against Colgate, and Coach Paulsen is encouraging fans to take part by wearing sneakers to the game.
