Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell Hosts Lehigh Sunday in PL Hoops Semifinals on CBS College Sports
3/4/2011 7:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
March 4, 2011
WHAT: #4 Lehigh (16-14, 6-8 PL) at #1 Bucknell (23-8, 13-1 PL)
WHERE: Sojka Pavilion, Lewisburg, Pa.
WHEN: Sunday, March 6, 7:30 p.m. ET
TV: CBS College Sports 
RADIO: Eagle 107 (107.3 WEGH FM) and SportsJuice.com
LIVE STATS: GameTracker 
TICKETS: Buy Online or call 570-577-1000
Complete Game Notes in PDF Format 
With a Win over Lehigh, Bucknell Would ...
• ... advance to the Patriot League Tournament championship game for the first time since 2007 and for the eighth time overall. The Bison would face the Lafayette-American winner on Friday at 4:45 p.m. at Sojka Pavilion on ESPN2.
• ... defeat the Mountain Hawks three times in one season for the first time since 1998-99.
• ... reach the 24-win plateau for the fourth time in program history.
• ... win its ninth straight game and 22nd in the last 24 outings.
• ... win its 12th straight home game.
• ... improve to 13-1 at home this season (9-0 vs. Patriot League foes).
• ... improve to 26-18 all-time in the Patriot League Tournament.
• ... improve to 5-2 against Lehigh in the Patriot League Tournament and 95-60 all-time against Lehigh.
Hot Topics
• All three Pennsylvania teams have advanced to the Patriot League Tournament semifinals for the first time since 1999, and two of them meet on Sunday night when Lehigh and Bucknell clash at Sojka Pavilion. The top-seeded Bison routed No. 8 Army 78-51 on Wednesday, while No. 4 Lehigh broke open a close game at the half and defeated No. 5 Navy 87-75.
• Bucknell swept the regular-season series from Lehigh, winning 81-68 in Bethlehem on Jan. 26 and 72-55 in Lewisburg on Feb. 23.
• Bucknell has been one of the hottest teams in the nation since Dec. 1. The Bison have won eight straight games, 17 of their last 18, and 21 of their last 23.
• Bucknell is ranked in the CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top-25 poll for the second straight week. This week the Bison are ranked No. 19.
• Bucknell is the No. 1 seed in the Patriot League Tournament for the third time. In 1993, the Bison were the top seed but lost at home to Holy Cross in the championship game. In 2006, Bucknell completed a perfect 17-0 league season by beating Holy Cross in the final.
• The Bison are in the midst of their best 23-game stretch (21-2) since the 1905-09 seasons, when the team won 28 of 30 games over a four-season span. Bucknell's only losses since Dec. 1 are at Boston College (84-80) and Army, and this current eight-game winning streak is tied for the sixth-longest in the nation.
• Bucknell fared very well in the All-Patriot League voting this week. Sophomore center Mike Muscala was named Patriot League Player of the Year, First Team All-Patriot League and Academic All-Patriot League. Junior guard Bryan Cohen repeated as Patriot League Defensive Player of the Year. Senior point guard Darryl Shazier joined Muscala on the All-Patriot League First Team, while sophomore guard Bryson Johnson earned Second Team honors. Freshman guard Cameron Ayers was named to the All-Rookie Team, and Dave Paulsen was named Patriot League Coach of the Year.
• Muscala has nine 20-point games this season and continues to lead the team in scoring (14.8), rebounding (7.4) and blocked shots (2.1). He has 13 blocks in his last two games and 64 on the season, fourth-most in program history.
• Seven Bison are scoring at least 7.2 points per game. Shazier is leading the Patriot League in assists (5.7) and ranks No. 2 in the nation in assist-to-turnover ratio (3.83). Shazier scored a career-high 28 points in the Jan. 8 win over Navy, and he has had two 10-assist games this season, coming against Boston College and Colgate.
• Johnson is 67-for-135 (.496) from long range in the last 20 games, including a 7-for-12 showing at Boston College, 5-for-7 efforts at Richmond and Lafayette, and a 4-for-6 performance against Colgate. Johnson leads the league and ranks 6th nationally in 3FG percentage on the season (.472).
• As a team, Bucknell is leading the Patriot League in all of the shooting categories: field-goal percentage (.450), 3-point percentage (.405) and free-throw percentage (.790). Among the national leaders, the Bison are 3rd in FT% and 12th in 3FG%.
• Defensively, Bucknell leads the league and ranks 16th nationally in field-goal percentage defense (.394).
• Lehigh features the league's No. 1 scorer in C.J. McCollum (21.9 ppg), who was the Patriot League Player of the Year as a freshman last season and a First Team All-Patriot League pick this year. McCollum is also the team's top rebounder at 7.7 rpg. Gabe Knutson (12.0 ppg) and Michael Ojo (11.0 ppg) also score in double figures. As a team, the Mountain Hawks are the highest-scoring unit in the Patriot League at 73.9 ppg.
How to Get the Game
• The Bucknell-Lehigh game will be televised live on the CBS College Sports Network. Bob Socci and John Feinstein will have the call.
• The game can be also heard in the Susquehanna Valley on the radio on Eagle 107 (WEGH 107.3 FM), with Doug Birdsong and Ed Sigl describing the action. The pregame show begins 30 minutes before tip-off.
• The audio feed is also available online free of charge via BucknellBison.com and SportsJuice.com.
• Live stats are on GameTracker via BucknellBison.com.
Bucknell vs. Lehigh Series Notes
• Bucknell has played more games (154) and won more games (94) against Lehigh than any other school. The Bison have a 94-60 lead in a series that originated in 1902.
• Since the start of Patriot League play in 1990-91, Bucknell holds a 35-13 advantage, including a 19-3 mark at home.
• Lehigh is responsible for snapping Bucknell's 35-game home winning streak against Patriot League foes. The Bison had not lost to a conference opponent at Sojka Pavilion in nearly five years, until the Mountain Hawks won 56-54 in Lewisburg on Jan. 30, 2008.
• Lehigh also won the first game ever played in Sojka Pavilion, a 60-56 decision on Jan. 15, 2003. Including that game, Bucknell is 7-2 against the Mountain Hawks in Sojka.
• In Patriot League Tournament action, Bucknell is 4-2 against Lehigh. The two teams have not met in the postseason since 2004, when the Mountain Hawks prevailed 60-45 in the semifinals at Upper Marlboro, Md. Bucknell has played every other team in the league at least once in the playoffs since the last meeting with Lehigh.
• Bucknell went 1-1 against Lehigh last season, with the home team winning each time. The Bison prevailed 81-76 in overtime in the first meeting, and then Lehigh took control of the Patriot League race with a convincing 81-59 verdict in the next-to-last game of the regular season.
• In the first meeting of this season, Bucknell put together 40 strong minutes in an 81-68 win at Stabler Arena. Five Bison scored in double figures, led by Bryson Johnson with 18 points. Mike Muscala added 15 points, nine rebounds and a school-record-tying eight blocked shots. C.J. McCollum led Lehigh with 24 points, shooting 5-for-17 from the field at 14-for-14 from the foul line.
• In the rematch at Sojka Pavilion, Darryl Shazier scored 15 points and Bryan Cohen had 13 points, nine rebounds and six assists in Bucknell's 72-55 victory. McCollum had 17 on 6-for-16 shooting for Lehigh. The Mountain Hawks started the game 10-for-15 from the floor but then went 8-for-34 the rest of the way, including 5-for-24 in the second half.
Patriot League Tournament Success
Bucknell has an all-time record of 25-18 in 20 Patriot League Tournaments and has beaten every team in the league at least once in the postseason. The Bison have reached the championship game seven times, including wins in 2005 and 2006, and reached at least the semifinals in 16 of 21 years. Bucknell's streak of eight straight first-round wins came to an end in 2009 at Holy Cross.
Bison PL Tourney Log
Year Seed Results
1991 4 def. Army 67-49; lost Fordham 82-76
1992 2 def. Army 74-55; def. Holy Cross 86-77; lost Fordham 70-65
1993 1 def. Lehigh 69-65; def. Colgate 75-73; lost Holy Cross 98-73
1994 5 lost Holy Cross 96-91
1995 2 lost Army 94-78
1996 4 def. Lafayette 56-55; lost Colgate 67-61
1997 2 def. Lehigh 84-54; def. Colgate 71-58; lost Navy 76-75
1998 3 def. Holy Cross 60-56; lost Navy 80-61
1999 3 def. Holy Cross 76-52; def. Lehigh 58-50; lost Lafayette 67-63
2000 3 lost Lehigh 73-62
2001 6 def. Colgate 75-68; lost Navy 88-64
2002 3 def. Army 70-59; lost Holy Cross 64-57
2003 5 def. Lehigh 52-47; lost Holy Cross 75-50
2004 4 def. Holy Cross 66-60; lost Lehigh 60-45
2005 2 def. Lafayette 70-34; def. American 53-35; def. Holy Cross 61-57
2006 1 def. Army 59-47; def. American 64-50; def. Holy Cross 74-59
2007 2 def. Navy 62-43; def. Army 68-47; lost Holy Cross 74-66
2008 7 def. Navy 87-86 (3OT); lost Colgate 54-40
2009 7 lost Holy Cross 75-56
2010 2 lost Holy Cross 67-64
2011 1 def. Army 78-51
Bucknell as the No. 1 Seed
• This is the third time Bucknell has been the No. 1 seed in the Patriot League Tournament. In three other seasons, the Bison earned co-regular season titles but lost out on the No. 1 seed on tiebreakers.
• Bucknell is 6-1 while playing as the No. 1 seed.
• In 1993, the Bison were seeded No. 1 but lost at home to Holy Cross in the championship game.
• The last time Bucknell was the top seed was in the 2006 tourney, and that season the Bison defeated the Crusaders at home in the final to cap a perfect 17-0 league season.
No. 1 Seeds in Tournament History
• The No. 1 seeds have dominated throughout the 20-year history of the Patriot League Tournament. The top seed has never failed to reach the championship game, and it has won the title in 15 of 20 seasons, including each of the last five.
• No. 1 seeds are 49-5 all-time in the tournament.
• The last time a No. 1 failed to win the title was Holy Cross in the 2005 tournament, when No. 2 Bucknell beat the Crusaders in the championship game at the Hart Center.
• In Patriot League Tournament history, no seed lower than a No. 3 has ever reached the final, and no one lower than a No. 2 has ever won the championship.
More from Wednesday's Army Game
• Bucknell was dominant defensively in the first half, holding Army to 12 points on 6-for-26 shooting (0-for-8 from 3-point range). Army did not reach double figures until 5:21 remained in the first half, and the Bison led 34-12 at the break.
• Bucknell held Army to 27.3% shooting for the game, including a 4-for-25 showing from the arc. The Black Knights came into the game ranked No. 8 nationally in made 3-pointers.
• The Bison struggled at times offensively, but runs of 19-2 in the first half and 22-5 in the second helped them build up a considerable spread. The lead was 21-6 at the 7-minute mark of the first half, and they led by as many as 28 at 61-33 in the second.
• Freshman Cameron Ayers had a huge night, finishing with a career-high 19 points on near-perfect shooting: 6-for-7 from the field, 3-for-4 from 3-point range and 4-for-5 from the foul line.
• Bryson Johnson went 4-for-8 from long range, including a tough contested 3-pointer from deep in the left corner to beat the halftime buzzer. Johnson finished with 17 points.
• Mike Muscala drew plenty of attention from the Army defense and finished with 11 points (4-7 FG), seven rebounds and seven blocked shots. He had 13 blocks in the two Army games last week, and he just missed his career high of eight (also the school record), set against Lehigh earlier this season.
• Darryl Shazier was held to five points, but he did have seven more assists along with seven rebounds.
• Bucknell forced 15 Army turnovers, with Johnson and Bryan Cohen coming up with three steals apiece.
• The Bucknell bench had another big game, outscoring Army's bench 35-10.
Statistically Speaking
Some other notable numbers from Bucknell's first 31 games:
• Bucknell has a 456-to-350 assist-to-turnover ratio, the best mark in the Patriot League and 25th-best in the nation. The Bison have had a negative ratio only six times all season, against Marquette, Loyola, Dartmouth, Richmond, American and Lafayette. Their 11.3 turnovers per game is the 24th-best mark in Division I basketball.
• The Bison as a team are shooting 40.5% from long range, up from last season's 32.9% mark. Bucknell ranks 12th nationally in 3-point accuracy. The Bison are trying to shoot 40% from 3-point range for only the fourth time in school history, and for the first time since 1988-89.
• Bucknell's 45.0% field-goal shooting is the best mark in the Patriot League, and the Bison rank No. 1 in the league and No. 3 in the nation in free-throw percentage at 79.0%.
• While the team's 3-point percentage is up, a lower percentage of Bucknell's total shots have come from beyond the 3-point arc. So far 31.0% of the team's attempts have come from long range, down from 34.7% last year and 35.0% in 2008-09.
• Bucknell has recorded an assist on 59.5% of its field goals this season. By comparison, last year the team was credited with an assist on only 51.6% of its baskets.
• Bucknell has scored 70 or more points in 18 of its last 21 games, but had a streak of eight straight 70-point games snapped against American on Feb. 9. Prior to this season, the last time a Bucknell team reached 70 in eight consecutive games was all the way back in 1995-96. The Bison have scored 70+ points 22 times so far, their most since doing it 22 times in Hall-of-Fame coach Charlie Woollum's final season in 1993-94.
• The Bison have held 14 of their last 18 opponents under 40% shooting from the field.
• Bucknell's average margin of victory in its 14 Patriot League wins is 13.5.
• The team has 14 double-digit wins this season, its most since recording 18 in 2005-06.
• The Bison are 14-0 when outrebounding opponents this season.
• The Bison are 6-1 when Mike Muscala scores fewer than 10 points in a game this season (only loss was at Marquette).
• Bucknell has averaged less than five steals per game all season, but in the last three games has 24 thefts.
