Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell Men's Basketball Takes on Richmond Saturday Night at Sojka Pavilion
12/16/2011 7:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Dec. 16, 2011
WHAT: Richmond (6-4) at Bucknell (6-4)
WHERE: Sojka Pavilion, Lewisburg, Pa.
WHEN: Saturday, Dec. 17, 7 p.m. ET
HAPPENINGS: 8th Annual Dirk Sojka's Slam Dunk with Bison Basketball
LIVE WEBCAST: GameTracker 
Complete Game Notes in PDF Format 
With a Win over Richmond, Bucknell Would ...
• ... win its second straight game and improve to 7-4 on the season.
• ... improve to 5-0 at home this season and win its 18th straight home game dating back to last year.
• ... defeat the Spiders for the second straight year and improve to 2-3 all-time against them.
• ... improve to 3-1 under Dave Paulsen in the first game coming out of the final exam break.
• ... improve to 3-2 against teams that played in the 2011 NCAA Tournament.
Headlines
• Bucknell returns to action for the first time in 11 days after breaking for final exams.
• Bucknell and Richmond both come in with 6-4 records. The Bison snapped a two-game losing streak with a 77-63 win at Binghamton on Dec. 6. The Spiders have lost two straight, to reigning national finalist VCU and MAAC power Iona, which is the second-highest-scoring team in the country. Prior to that, Richmond had won three in a row over Rutgers, William & Mary and Wake Forest.
• Cameron Ayers has taken the lead in a very tight race for the Bucknell scoring lead. Ayers (12.2 ppg) now has one more point than Mike Muscala (12.1), with Joe Willman (11.1) not far behind.
• Muscala continues to lead the Bison in rebounding (8.9) and blocked shots (1.9). He leads the Patriot League in rebounding by a wide margin, and he has four double-doubles this season.
• Bryson Johnson missed the Binghamton game with an injury, his first DNP in three seasons at Bucknell. Johnson is expected to return against Richmond, most likely coming off the bench. Freshman Steven Kaspar, who has played very well of late at the point guard spot, is expected to make his second career start on Saturday.
• The Bison were unanimously picked as the preseason favorite in the Patriot League by the league's head coaches and SIDs.
• Last year Richmond finished 29-8 overall and 13-3 in the Atlantic 10. The Spiders won the A-10 Tournament, and then knocked off Vanderbilt and Morehead State to reach the Sweet Sixteen, where they fell to No. 2-seeded Kansas. The Spiders are one of seven 2011 NCAA Tournament teams on Bucknell's schedule this year.
How to Get the Game
• The Bucknell-Richmond game will not be televised, however a live webcast will be available on Bison Vision at BucknellBison.com (subscription rates 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.
Dirk Sojka's Slam Dunk with Bison Basketball
Saturday's game will feature the Eighth Annual "Dirk Sojka's Slam Dunk with Bison Basketball," with proceeds benefitting Suncom Industries. Fans in attendance can bid on silent auction items and purchase raffle tickets to win the top prize of a $1,000 Visa gift card or alternate prizes of $500 in cash or a catered Sojka Pavilion suite for the Jan. 25 game against American. Throughout the night there will be skills challenges featuring Drew Kelly and the 94.1-FM WQKX staff against members of the Bucknell Athletics staff. Suncom Industries is a private, non-profit organization providing services to adults with disabilities. It offers many services to help people reach their potential to be a contributing member of their community. Suncom was the workplace of Dirk Sojka, the son of Gary and Sandy Sojka, until Dirk's passing in July 2002.
Bucknell vs. Richmond
• The Bison and Spiders have met four times previously: an 81-63 Richmond home victory in 1957-58; a 79-57 Spiders home win in 2008-09; a Richmond 59-50 decision at Sojka Pavilion in 2009-10; and Bucknell's dramatic 62-61 win at Richmond last season.
• Bucknell Athletics Hall of Famer and former assistant basketball coach Tommy Thompson led the Bison with 13 points in the 1958 game against Richmond. That Bucknell team finished 16-8 and won 10 of its last 11 after the Richmond loss.
• Two years ago at the Robins Center, the Spiders broke open a close game with a 31-10 run over a 10-minute span in the second half. Bucknell had an early 10-point lead, but Richmond rallied to go up 29-23 at the half, then outscored the Bison 50-34 in the second half. Bryan Cohen and G.W. Boon led the Bison with 14 points each, while Patrick Behan had 13 points and 11 rebounds. Justin Harper scored 18 points to lead Richmond, while David Gonzalvez had 14 and Kevin Anderson 11.
• Two seasons ago Sojka Pavilion, Anderson scored 25 points, including six big ones in the final minute, to help Richmond hold on for a 59-50 win. Bryson Johnson scored 11 points and Cohen 10 for the Bison, who cut a 15-point deficit down to three late in the game but could not get over the hump. Anderson hit a tough shot in the lane with his team leading by three in the final minute, then he iced it with four straight free throws. Anderson, Harper (15) and Ryan Butler (11) combined for 51 of Richmond's 59 points.
• Last year's game was one for the ages from Bucknell's perspective. Taking advantage of some missed free throws down the stretch by Richmond, the Bison stole a 62-61 victory when Mike Muscala caught a 75-foot inbounds pass from Joe Willman, spun around and drained a fadeaway jumper at the buzzer. That capped off a 17-point night for Muscala, while Johnson also had 17 on 5-for-7 3-point shooting. Harper led Richmond with 19, while Francis Martel had 10 points and eight rebounds.
Bucknell vs. The Atlantic 10
• Bucknell is 35-93 (.273) all-time against the teams that currently comprise the Atlantic 10.
• In addition to their 1-3 record vs. Richmond, the Bison are 5-29 vs. Temple, 5-18 vs. La Salle, 3-17 vs. St. Joseph's, 7-2 vs. George Washington, 5-8 vs. Fordham, 3-5 vs. Duquesne, 3-5 vs. Rhode Island, 1-5 vs. St. Bonaventure, 1-0 vs. Saint Louis, 1-0 vs. Xavier and 0-1 vs. Dayton. Bucknell has never played Charlotte or Massachusetts.
• Bucknell had won two straight against the Atlantic 10 before falling at La Salle back on Dec. 3.
Last Time Out
• Bucknell shook off a frustrating loss at La Salle with a 77-63 road win over Binghamton on Dec. 6 in the final game before the exam break.
• The Bison led by 20 points (43-23) at halftime and by as many as 24 in the second half before surviving some nervous moments down the stretch. A rash of turnovers and missed free throws, combined with some hot 3-point shooting from Binghamton, helped the Bearcats crawl within nine points in the final minutes, but four straight free throws from Cameron Ayers and two from Bryan Cohen sealed the win.
• Bucknell had four double-figure scorers, led by Joe Willman's 16 points on 8-for-10 shooting. Ayers hit three of his four 3-point attempts and scored 13 points. Mike Muscala had 12 points and nine rebounds, while Joshea Singleton chipped in 10 points off the bench.
• Freshman Steven Kaspar made his first career start and had a terrific all-around game, with seven points, six rebounds, six assists and five steals.
• The Bison had another strong night on the glass, finishing with a 36-27 rebounding edge. It was Bucknell's eighth straight game in which it has outrebounded its opponent.
• Bucknell shot a season-high 61.4% from the floor. It was the first time the Bison shot 60% or better since Feb. 6, 2007, when they shot 60.5% in a win at American.
• Bucknell did commit 11 second-half turnovers and 16 for the game. The team's recent free-throw struggles also continued. The Bison went 17-for-31 (.548) from the line.
A Rarity for Kaspar
• Freshman guard Steven Kaspar accomplished a rare feat last time out at Binghamton when he finished with six rebounds, six assists and five steals. Kaspar became only the second Bison in the last decade to record at least five rebounds, assists and steals in the same game. The other was Charles Lee, who did it against Navy in 2004 and against Army in 2006.
• The 5-5-5 trick has now been done 13 times by six different players since 1980-81, when steals became an official statistic. Kaspar is the only Bucknell freshman to do it.
Bucknell players with at least 5 rebounds, assists and steals in one game
Player Date Opponent Reb. Asst. Stl. (Pts.) Steven Kaspar 12/6/11 at Binghamton 6 6 5 7 Charles Lee 2/1/06 at Army 5 5 6 19 Charles Lee 1/17/04 vs. Navy 5 5 6 15 Brian Muckle 1/12/00 vs. Navy 12 6 5 8 Russell Peyton 2/20/93 at Lehigh 6 5 7 21 Russell Peyton 1/27/93 vs. Lehigh 6 7 5 23 Russell Peyton 1/25/93 vs. Lycoming 7 5 6 10 Russell Peyton 12/4/92 at Montana 7 7 5 15 Mike Bright 1/20/92 vs. Towson St. 10 5 5 22 Mike Bright 11/28/90 vs. Delaware 9 5 6 21 Russell Peyton 11/28/90 vs. Delaware 6 9 6 8 Mike Joseph 3/4/89 vs. Rider 6 13 6 6 Mike Joseph 1/25/89 at Towson St. 7 8 5 16
Stats Worth Noting
• Bucknell has been dominant on the glass of late. After going -15 in rebound margin against Minnesota and Vanderbilt to start the season, the Bison are +76 since then. Bucknell's +6.1 rebound margin for the season is by far the best in the Patriot League.
• A big part of Bucknell's rebounding success has been limiting opponents' second chances. The Bison have held nine of their last 10 foes to eight or fewer offensive rebounds. That has been a key strength, as Bucknell is also holding opponents to 38.8% shooting on the season, the best mark in the Patriot League.
• The Bison have had more assists than turnovers in five games this season and lead the Patriot League in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.1). Individually, Steven Kaspar (2.4) and Bryan Cohen (1.9) rank first and third in the Patriot League in that category.
• Cameron Ayers is Bucknell's leader in both minutes played (310) and fewest turnovers (8) among starters. Ayers has has just three TOs in his last six games.
• Bucknell ranked third in the nation in free-throw shooting last season at 78.8%, but this year the Bison are shooting just 68.5% as a team.
• Bucknell has three players scoring in double digits: Cameron Ayers (12.2), Mike Muscala (12.1), and Joe Willman (11.1). Bryson Johnson (9.4) had also been in double figures before being held scoreless in back-to-back games for the first time in his career.
• Bucknell has gotten a big lift off the bench so far from newcomers Brian Fitzpatrick and Steven Kaspar. Fitzpatrick, a junior forward in his first eligible season after transferring from Penn, is 15-for-23 from the floor and is averaging 4.5 points and 2.9 rebounds in 11.5 minutes per game. Kaspar, a freshman point guard, has not scored much yet, but he leads the team and ranks fourth in the Patriot League in both assists (33) and steals (14).
• Eight Bison have had at least one double-digit scoring game this season, and 10 of the 14 on the roster have done it at least once in his career.
• Kaspar's seven assists against West Alabama were the most by a Bison freshman since Abe Badmus had eight against Navy in 2003-04.
• Johnson's 15 3-pointers in the wins over West Alabama and Morehead State were a school record for most threes in consecutive games. Bucknell's 17 treys in the West Alabama game set a school record.
Tough Slate
• The Bison have an extremely difficult non-conference schedule in 2011-12. They are facing seven teams that played in the 2011 NCAA Tournament, each of which won at least 20 games last season.
• When Bucknell opened up last season against Villanova and Marquette, it was the first time in program history that it began a campaign with back-to-back games against major conference opponents. The Bison did it again this year, opening up with trips to Minnesota and Vanderbilt.
• Next Tuesday Bucknell travels to Syracuse for a 7 p.m. game on ESPNU. The Orange are currently ranked No. 1 in the country, and if they beat North Carolina State on Saturday and remain No. 1 in next week's polls, Bucknell will take on the top-ranked team for the second time in program history. The other came on Jan. 2, 2006 at Duke (84-50 loss).
Sojka Savvy
• Bucknell once again did well to protect its home floor in 2010-11. The Bison won their final 13 home games in a row and went 14-1 at Sojka Pavilion last season. The only home loss was a 77-73 setback to Wagner on Nov. 29.
• The current 17-game home winning streak is tied for the 11th-longest in Division I basketball.
• All-time at Sojka Pavilion, Bucknell is 88-29 (.752) overall and 61-12 (.836) against Patriot League opponents.
Active Home Court Winning Streaks
Team Streak Next Duke 40 Dec. 19 vs. UNC Greensboro Kentucky 39 Dec. 17 vs. Chattanooga Ohio State 31 Dec. 20 vs. Lamar Notre Dame 26 Dec. 19 vs. Sacred Heart Purdue 24 Dec. 20 vs. IPFW Temple 24 Dec. 28 vs. Buffalo Belmont 21 Dec. 29 vs. Marshall North Carolina 21 Dec. 17 vs. Appalachian State Harvard 19 Dec. 22 vs. Florida Atlantic George Mason 18 Dec. 21 vs. Duquesne BUCKNELL 17 Dec. 17 vs. Richmond Louisville 17 Dec. 17 vs. Memphis
What's Next?
• After the Richmond game the Bison will travel to the Carrier Dome to take on No. 1 Syracuse on Tuesday night at 7 p.m. on ESPNU.
• The Orange are 10-0 on the season heading into Saturday's game at N.C. State.
• The last time these two teams met, the Bison knocked off the 17th-ranked Orange 74-69 at the Carrier Dome on Nov. 22, 2005.
