Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell Men's Basketball Set for Home Opener Saturday Night vs. Saint Francis (Pa.)
11/18/2011 7:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Nov. 18, 2011
WHAT: Saint Francis (Pa.) at Bucknell
WHERE: Sojka Pavilion, Lewisburg, Pa.
WHEN: Saturday, Nov. 19, 7 p.m. ET
LIVE WEBCAST: GameTracker 
Complete Game Notes in PDF Format 
With a Win over Saint Francis, Bucknell Would ...
• ... pick up its first win of the season.
• ... extend its home winning streak to 14 dating back to last season.
• ... win its home opener for the third year in a row.
• ... improve to 85-29 all-time in Sojka Pavilion.
• ... improve to 15-12 all-time against the Red Flash.
Headlines
• Bucknell comes into its home opener with an 0-2 record, but both losses came on the road against major-conference competition in Minnesota and Vanderbilt. The Bison led Minnesota by five with 5:30 to play, and they trailed No. 18 Vandy by just one at the half before the home teams rallied late.
• This will be the 27th all-time meeting between the Bison and Red Flash. Bucknell will be looking to avenge last season's 68-67 loss to Saint Francis in Loretto.
• Coached by former Bison assistant Don Friday, Saint Francis is also 0-2, with the losses coming at VCU (63-57) and at home to Lafayette (84-81). The team announced this week that high-scoring guard Umar Shannon, who scored 26 points in the opener at VCU, will miss the rest of the season with a knee injury. Scott Eatherton is coming off a 20-point performance against Lafayette.
• Prior to the game, Bucknell will unveil its 2011 Patriot League championship and NCAA Tournament banners.
• The Bison were unanimously picked as the preseason favorite in the Patriot League by the league's head coaches and SIDs.
• Bucknell returns four starters and 10 lettermen from last year's Patriot League championship squad.
• Bucknell comes in with four players averaging in double figures, led by Mike Muscala at 11.0 ppg. Joe Willman (10.5 ppg), Bryson Johnson (10.0) and Cameron Ayers (10.0) are also in double figures through two games.
• Muscala leads the Patriot League in rebounding at 9.0 rpg. He had 11 boards against Minnesota and seven at Vandy.
How to Get the Game
• The Bucknell-Saint Francis game will not be televised, however a live video webcast will air on Bison Vision via BucknellBison.com (subscription fees apply).
• The game can be heard in the Susquehanna Valley on the radio on Eagle 107 (WEGH 107.3 FM), with Doug Birdsong and Terry Conrad describing the action. The pregame show begins 30 minutes before tip-off.
• The audio feed is available online free of charge via BucknellBison.com and SportsJuice.com.
• Live statistics are available on GameTracker via BucknellBison.com.
Bucknell vs. Saint Francis Series Notes
• Bucknell has a 14-12 lead in the all-time series, although Saint Francis has won five of the last seven.
• The Bison captured seven of the first nine meetings in a series that dates back to 1927.
• Bucknell is 10-3 against Saint Francis (Pa.) in Lewisburg, but 1-2 in games played in Sojka Pavilion. In 2004-05 Bucknell was 12-1 at home, and the one loss was to the Red Flash (70-65) early in the season. Saint Francis also won there (57-54) four seasons ago thanks to a 32-7 second-half run.
• In last year's meeting in Loretto, the Red Flash made a last-second defensive stand and held on for a 68-67 win over the Bison. G.W. Boon tied his career high with 24 points and Mike Muscala added 22 points, seven rebounds and five blocked shots for the Bison, who overcame a 13-point deficit in the second half but could not finish the comeback. Will Felder led Saint Francis with 21 points, while Anthony Ervin and Mislav Jukic had 10 each.
• The last time these two teams met at Sojka Pavilion in 2009-10, Bucknell won 70-58 behind 23 points and 12 rebounds from Patrick Behan and eight points and 12 rebounds from Joe Willman. Bucknell went just 2-for-16 from 3-point range but outscored the Red Flash 44-26 in the paint and parlayed 16 offensive rebounds into a 23-2 edge in second-chance points. Devin Sweetney had 16 points and Felder 11 for Saint Francis.
Bucknell vs. The Northeast Conference
Bucknell is 42-34 (.553) all-time against the teams that currently comprise the Northeast Conference. The Bison are 14-12 against Saint Francis (Pa.), 12-8 vs. Mount St. Mary's, 6-3 vs. Robert Morris, 5-2 vs. Saint Francis (N.Y.), 4-7 vs. Wagner, 1-0 vs. Bryant and 0-1 vs. Central Connecticut State. Bucknell has never played Long Island, Monmouth or Fairleigh Dickinson.
Last Time Out
• Bucknell trailed No. 18 Vanderbilt 27-26 at the half, but the Commodores poured in 53 points in the second half and pulled away for an 80-68 victory at Memorial Gym on Tuesday night.
• After hitting just one of its first 13 3FG attempts and just 2 of 15 in the first half, Vandy went 8-for-15 from the arc in the second half and shot 57.3% overall in the final 20 minutes.
• Bucknell had four players score in double figures, led by Joe Willman with 17. Freshman Joshea Singleton scored 12 points in his first extended action, reserve forward Brian Fitzpatrick scored a career-high 10 points in 10 minutes, and Mike Muscala finished with 10 points, seven rebounds and two blocks.
More from the Vanderbilt Game
• Joe Willman's 17 pts. were one shy of his career high, set last season vs. Navy. Willman went 8-for-12 FG and 1-1 FT.
• Brian Fitzpatrick had a perfect shooting night, scoring 10 pts. on 3-3 FG and 4-4 FT. The 10 pts. is a new career high, including his days at Penn.
• Freshman Joshea Singleton provided a nice spark off the bench. He played six strong minutes in the first half after Bryan Cohen went to the bench with two fouls. Then he scored nine of his 12 pts. in the second half, including a couple of late 3FGs.
• Mike Muscala backed up his double-double against Minnesota with 10 pts., 7 reb. at Vandy. He finished 5-10 FG and added 2 asst. and 2 blk.
• Sharpshooter Bryson Johnson was clearly a focus of the Vanderbilt defense, as he was marked for most of the night by 6'7" All-SEC player Jeffery Taylor. Johnson was held to 4 pts. on 4 FGA, and for only the fourth time in the last two seasons and for just the 12th time in his career he was held without a made 3FG.
• Freshman Steven Kaspar scored his first career points, finising with 5 pts. (2-3 FG, 1-1 3FG) in 16 min. He also had 2 stl.
• Bucknell committed only 8 turnovers in the game (only 2 in second half).
• The Bison made 16-20 FTs (.800) in the game, and they are now shooting 81.4 FT% on the season.
What's Next?
• The Bison hit the road again on Tuesday for a non-league contest at Marist at 7 p.m.
• After Thanksgiving, Bucknell will play three straight days at home when it hosts a subregional of the TicketCity Legends Classic Nov. 25-27. The Bison will play Princeton, West Alabama and Morehead State.
