Bucknell University
Lafayette
Strong Second Half Lifts Bucknell Men Past Lafayette, 75-56
1/19/2011 7:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Jan. 19, 2011
| Video Highlights
| Dave Paulsen Postgame Interview
LEWISBURG, Pa. - Locked up in a four-point game at halftime, Bucknell burst out of the locker room on a 20-3 run and cruised past Lafayette 75-56 Wednesday night to maintain sole possession of first place in the Patriot League standings. Mike Muscala had 13 points and nine rebounds in limited minutes, and Bryson Johnson and G.W. Boon also scored 13 for the Bison, who won their seventh straight game and 11th in their last 12 outings.
Now 13-7 overall and 4-0 in the Patriot League, Bucknell used a tenacious full-court press to ratchet up the defensive pressure at the start of the second half. The adjustment worked, as the Bison held Lafayette (7-12, 2-2) to just one field goal and one free throw in the first 7:43 of the period. Meanwhile, after a first half spent settling for perimeter jumpers, offensively the Bison went inside time and time again, and six different players helped produce 20 points in that same seven-minute span.
On Bucknell's first possession of the second half, Muscala was fouled on a post move and made both free throws. The Bison then stole the inbounds pass with full-court pressure leading to a Joe Willman floater in the lane, and the four-point (34-30) halftime lead went up to eight in a matter of only 11 seconds.
After a Darion Benbow bucket for Lafayette, the Bison scored 16 of the game's next 17 points to open up a 21-point cushion. Muscala made two more free throws to give Bucknell its first 10-point lead at 42-32, but then Muscala went to the bench after picking up his second foul.
Bucknell scored 12 straight and 16 of the next 18 points with their leading scorer on the bench. After Boon took a charge, Cohen made two free throws and then Boon made a nice kick-out pass to Darryl Shazier for a 3-pointer. Cohen swished a turnaround jumper from the left baseline, Boon turned an up-and-under layup into a 3-point play, and Cameron Ayers scored on a layup to give Bucknell a 54-33 lead with 12:49 to play.
The Bison took their largest lead of 23 points at 58-35 on Boon's 3-pointer with 11:24 left.
Things got a bit sloppy at both ends over the last eight minutes, as the game regressed into a foul-fest. The two teams combined for only four free-throw attempts in the first half, but then totaled 37 in the second. Bucknell and Lafayette came in ranked third and fourth, respectively in the nation in free-throw percentage, but both teams struggled some at the line, especially once the benches were emptied late. The Bison finished 17-for-27 at the line and Lafayette 8-for-14.
While Bucknell was able to turn the game into a rout in the second half, the first 20 minutes were played fairly even. The Leopards made 5 of 11 3-pointers to stay within an arm's length of the Bison, but it was Johnson who got Bucknell going after a slow start.
Bucknell trailed 8-5 seven minutes into the game, but then Johnson exploded for 11 points in just 1:54 to put his team ahead to stay. Johnson was ranked first in the Patriot League and No. 11 in the nation in 3-point percentage (.468) entering the game, and he made three straight treys along with a step-back 15-footer from the right side for his own personal 11-2 run.
That gave the Bison a 16-12 lead, but they were never able to stretch it to more than seven. Muscala had a 3-point play and a driving layup to put Bucknell up 30-23, but Lafayette scoring leader Jared Mintz got going with a layup and 3-point play of his own, and Benbow's layup made it a 34-30 game at the half.
After pushing the lead up over 20 in the second half, Bucknell had all five starters on the bench for large chunks of time, and no player saw more than 30 minutes of action in the game. Six players tallied at least seven points for the Bison.
Muscala, this week's Oscar Robertson National Player of the Week, was needed for only 23 minutes and finished 3-for-6 from the floor and 7-for-7 from the foul line. He was a rebound shy of his third straight double-double.
Shazier went 3-for-6 from 3-point range and had nine points and three assists, while Willman added eight points, two assists and two steals. Cohen chipped in seven points, six rebounds and four assists while helping to spark the second-half defensive resurgence.
Johnson passed Jason Vegotsky into 10th place on Bucknell's career 3-point field goal chart. He now has 122 in his career in only 51 games.
The Bison shot 47.2 percent from the field while holding Lafayette to 37.0 percent. Both teams finished with 11 turnovers, although eight of Lafayette's came in the second half.
Mintz was Lafayette's lone double-figure scorer with 10, which was six under his season average. Nick Petkovich had eight points and five rebounds off the bench.
The 4-0 start in league play is Bucknell's best since 2005-06, when it finished 14-0. The seven-game winning streak remains the best since a 14-game streak in 2006-07. The Bison also improved to 10-0 all-time against Lafayette in Sojka Pavilion.
Next up for Bucknell is Colgate at home on Saturday night at 7 p.m. The Bison coaching staff will be wearing sneakers as part of the Coaches vs. Cancer Suits and Sneakers weekend, and all fans are encouraged to wear sneakers to the game as well. A special merchandise stand selling orange Coaches vs. Cancer tee shirts and wristbands will be set up, with all proceeds going to the American Cancer Society.
