Bucknell University
21-8, 12-1PL
Lehigh
15-13, 6-7PL
Bucknell Men Now 12-1 in Patriot League with 72-55 Win over Lehigh
2/23/2011 7:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Feb. 23, 2011
| Video Highlights
| Coach Dave Paulsen Postgame InterviewLEWISBURG, Pa. - Darryl Shazier logged 15 points and a career-high five steals, and Bryan Cohen stuffed the stat sheet with 13 points, nine rebounds, six assists and two blocked shots, leading Bucknell to a 72-55 win over Lehigh Wednesday night at Sojka Pavilion. Now 21-8 overall and 12-1 in the Patriot League, the Bison had already clinched the No. 1 seed for next week's Patriot League Tournament, but the win over Lehigh assured them of the outright regular-season title.
The Bison have now won six straight games and 19 of their last 21. They became the eighth team in Patriot League history to win 12 conference games in a season, and they reached the 21-win plateau for the ninth time in program history.
Lehigh, which missed a chance to clinch the No. 3 seed, fell to 15-13 overall and 6-7 in the Patriot League. Patriot League scoring leader C.J. McCollum finished with 17 points - more than five below his season average - on 6-for-16 shooting. He had an 11-point outburst in a span of only 2:42 in the first part of the first half, but had just six the rest of the way against the blanketing defense of Cohen, Cameron Ayers and the rest of the Bison.
In fact, after McCollum hit an elbow jumper and then three straight 3-pointers in quick succession, Lehigh was 10-for-15 from the floor and had a 26-18 lead after only 9:06 had elapsed. But the Bison held the Mountain Hawks to 8-for-34 shooting the rest of the way, including a 5-for-24 showing (.208) in the second half.
Bucknell ended the first half on an 18-7 run, highlighted by Ayers' fastbreak 3-point play after one of his four steals, and the Bison inched ahead 36-33 at the break. Then they took over the game in the opening four minutes of the second half, outscoring Lehigh 13-2 to take a 49-35 lead.
Shazier opened the half with a 3-pointer off a Mike Muscala kick-out, then on the next possesson Muscala scored inside with the left hand for his first field goal of the night. McCollum then scored on a tough shot just outside the key, but then he picked up his third foul on a charging call with 18:13 left.
On Bucknell's next possession, Cohen drove the ball right at McCollum for a layup to start a streak of eight straight points. Shazier hit a 15-footer, Joe Willman scored inside off a Cohen feed, and then Bryson Johnson drove through the lane for a layup that gave the Bison a 14-point lead.
At the 9:53 mark Bucknell went up by 16 for the first time on a 3-pointer by freshman guard Ben Brackney, but the Mountain Hawks still had a run left in them.
Bucknell went nearly four minutes without scoring, and Lehigh pulled back within nine points at 60-51 on four free throws and a breakaway layup by Mackey McKnight. Bucknell ended the run emphatically, scoring seven points on three possessions. Cohen slipped a nice pass to Muscala for a dunk, then Shazier fired a crisp crosscourt pass to Johnson for a transition layup, and Shazier hit a 3-pointer at the 3:44 mark to restore the 16-point lead at 67-51.
The Bison led by as many as 18 at 72-54 after a Colin Klebon layup with a minute to play.
Continuing a recent trend, the Bucknell bench was excellent, contributing 22 points seven rebounds and four steals. Enoch Andoh had his third straight solid performance, adding six points and three rebounds in 10 minutes. Brackney hit a jumper just inside the arc in addition to the second-half 3-pointer, giving him five points in nine minutes.
Muscala was again hounded by double teams all night, but he finished with nine points, five rebounds, four assists and two blocked shots without a turnover in 29 minutes. Willman added eight points on 4-for-6 shooting along with six rebounds.
Bucknell came away with a season-high 11 steals. Shazier's five steals were the most since Nov. 29, 2008, when Justin Castleberry had five against Wagner.
The Bison shot 47.5 percent for the game and went 9-for-12 from the foul line. They attempted only 11 3-pointers all night, making five. Johnson, who came in ranked No. 4 in the nation in 3-point percentage, got in early foul trouble and played only 18 minutes. He went 0-for-2 from the arc, ending his streak of 23 straight games with a made trey.
Bucknell concludes the regular season on Saturday against Army at 4 p.m. at Sojka Pavilion. The Bison will be looking to avenge their only league loss of the season, and Senior Day ceremonies will take place prior to the game.
