Bucknell University
#18 Brown
Late Comeback by Bucknell Men's Water Polo Falls Short in 11-10 Loss to No. 18 Brown in Opening Game at Eastern Championship
11/18/2011 7:00:00 AM | Men's Water Polo
Nov. 18, 2011
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. -Brian Barron (Oak Park, Ill./Fenwick) and Julian Colina (San Diego, Calif./Cathedral Catholic) scored three goals apiece and the Bucknell men's water polo team overcame a four-goal second-half deficit, but Spencer Richley's (Newport Beach, Calif./Newport Harbor) potential game-tying shot on the final possession was saved and the Bison lost 11-10 to No. 18 Brown in the first round of the Eastern Championship Friday afternoon at Harvard's Blodgett Pool.
The Bears (20-9) move onto Saturday's semifinals where they will face Navy. Bucknell (13-10), which has faced 11 ranked opponents this year, can still finish as high as fifth in the eight-team field. It will take on the host Crimson in the consolation bracket Saturday at 3 p.m.
The Bison trailed 3-1 early, were still down 7-4 at halftime and 10-7 after three quarters. They proceeded to score the first three goals in the fourth quarter tie the score at 10-10 with Mike Kimble (Lafayette, Calif./Acalanes) netting the equalizing goal with 1:40 to play. However, Brown's Nick Deaver scored what proved to be the winning goal 26 seconds later in a man-up situation.
Bucknell had two chances to tie the score, but a shot by Alex Nowlin (Coto de Caza, Calif./Tesoro) with a minute to play was saved and Richley's last-second shot after a timeout was also stopped.
The fourth-quarter comeback was keyed by strong defense from Nick Barnett (Houston, Texas/Clear Lake) and Daniel Schwartz (Miami Beach, Fla./Ransom Everglades), who held Svetozar Stefanovic in check after he had tallied five goals in the first three periods.
Richley totaled two goals in the contest, while Nowlin dished out a team-high three assists to boost his season total to 56.
Matt Napleton (Oak Park, Ill./Fenwick), one of three Bison named CWPA All-Southern Division at the league's Friday evening banquet, made nine saves and registered one of the team's 10 steals.
Barron and Napleton were named first-team all-conference on Friday, while Jack Else (Lansdale, Pa./North Penn), who posted three ejections drawn and one steal vs. Brown, was named to the second team. It was the first all-conference honor for each Bison.
Bucknell will need to win each of its next two games to post its eighth consecutive top-five finish at the Eastern Championship.
BUCKNELL 2 2 3 3 -10
BROWN 3 4 3 1 -11
Goals: Barron (3), Colina (3), Richley (2), Barnett, Kimble.
Assists: Nowlin (3), Reitz (3), Richley (2), Colina, Barron.
Field Blocks: Kimble, Reitz.
Ejections Drawn: Else (3), Barron (3), Caillouette, Richley, Colina, Kimble, Reitz.
Saves: Napleton (9 svs., 11 ga., 32:00 min.).
Steals: Barron (3), Nowlin (2), Else, Richley, Schwartz, Reitz, Napleton.
Sprints: Reitz (2-4).
Bucknell Record: 13-10.
