Bucknell University
13-6, 3-0
Lafayette
7-11, 2-1
Bucknell Men's Basketball Pulls Away from Lafayette 79-65 in Battle of Patriot League Unbeatens
1/14/2012 7:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Jan. 14, 2012
EASTON, Pa. - Mike Muscala scored a season-high 27 points, Cameron Ayers added 15 and Bucknell used a big second half to pull away from Lafayette 79-65 on Saturday afternoon before a large bipartisan crowd at Kirby Sports Center. In a rematch of the 2011 Patriot League championship game played between two teams already off to 2-0 starts in conference play, the Bison took control early in the second half to win its fifth straight game and take over sole possession of first place.
Now 13-6 overall and 3-0 in the Patriot League Bucknell turned a four-point halftime lead into a 14-point win thanks to a 45-point second half. The Bison made 17 of 26 shots (.654) in the final 20 minutes and scored on 21 of their 29 possessions, not counting an intentional shot clock violation in the final seconds.
This was Bucknell's 13th straight win over Patriot League opponents dating back to last season, and it was also the team's fourth straight road victory.
Freshman Seth Hinrichs scored a season-high 17 points, Ryan Willen added 14 and Jim Mower 10 for the Leopards (7-11, 2-1).
Muscala and the Bison were dominant down low. Muscala went 9-for-13 from the floor and 9-for-9 from the foul line. Bucknell also received a combined 14 points and 12 rebounds from Joe Willman and Brian Fitzpatrick and finished with a 48-26 scoring edge in the paint and a 34-18 rebounding advantage. Point guards Ryan Hill (eight points on 4-5 shooting) and Steven Kaspar (five points) also got in the lane for a combined five layups, and the duo combined for only two turnovers.
Leading 34-30, Bucknell came out of the locker room on a 9-2 run to go up by 11. After Muscala dominated the scoring column in the first half, Ayers opened the second with a 3-pointer, and Ryan Hill and Bryan Cohen followed with buckets to make it 41-32. Then a short jump hook in the lane by Muscala forced Lafayette to call timeout down 43-32.
Bucknell kept the offensive onslaught coming, and even though Lafayette warmed up as well midway through the half, the Bison defended the 3-point arc well, forcing the Leopards to drive the ball inside. After trading points for about four minutes, Bucknell strung together consecutive baskets, with Hill feeding Brian Fitzpatrick for a layup, and then driving it to the rim himself to beat the shot clock. That gave Bucknell a 61-48 lead with 7:37 left. The Bison adjusted well when Lafayette switched to a more aggressive, trapping defense, burning the Leopards with a number of layups.
Later in the half Kaspar and Ayers drilled threes on consecutive possessions to provide 14-point leads. Lafayette got as close as 10 at 73-63 on a Willen 3-pointer with 1:57 to play, but the Bison made six straight free throws in the final 94 seconds to cap of a perfect 15-for-15 day at the line.
Bucknell led for all but 32 seconds of the first half, but Lafayette stayed close with its 3-point shooting. After scoring just two points in the first eight minutes of the game, Muscala had 17 in the final 11:52 of the first half. He converted three 3-point plays, the last on a nifty catch and shoot off a lob pass from Bryson Johnson.
Bucknell led by as many as seven on two occasions in the first half, but both times the Leopards shot right back with consecutive 3-pointers.
Lafayette came into the game ranked third in the nation in 3-pointers, making just under 10 per game. The Leopards went 5-for-8 from the arc in the first half but only 3-for-13 in the second.
Bucknell shot 57.7 percent for the game, eclipsing the 50 percent mark for the sixth time in the last 10 games. The Bison attempted only eight 3-pointers, making four, and they had their second perfect free-throw shooting game of the year. They were 21-for-21 from the stripe in a win over Richmond on Dec. 17.
After committing six turnovers in the first half, Bucknell had only three in the second, with one coming on a charging call and another when it let the shot clock expire with a second to go in the game.
With Holy Cross falling at American on Saturday, Bucknell is the only remaining unbeaten in the Patriot League. However, Lafayette, Holy Cross, American and Lehigh are all just a game behind the Bison at 2-1.
The Bison return to the Lehigh Valley on Wednesday night for a date with Lehigh at 7 p.m.
