Bucknell University Athletics
Bison Men's Basketball Visits Lehigh Wednesday in Clash of Patriot League's Top Two Teams
1/17/2012 7:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Jan. 17, 2012
WHAT: Bucknell (13-6, 3-0 PL) at Lehigh (14-5, 2-1 PL)
WHERE: Stabler Arena, Bethlehem, Pa.
WHEN: Wednesday, Jan. 18, 7 p.m. ET
TV: Service Electric 2
LIVE WEBCAST: Bison Vision 
RADIO: Eagle 107 (WEGH 107.3 FM) and SportsJuice.com
LIVE STATS: lehighsports.com
Complete Game Notes in PDF Format 
With a Win over Lehigh, Bucknell Would ...
• ... win its sixth straight game and improve to 14-6 on the season.
• ... get out to a 4-0 start in Patriot League play for the second straight year and for the fifth time as a member of the Patriot League.
• ... maintain sole possession of first place in the Patriot League and go two games clear of the Mountain Hawks.
• ... win its 14th straight game against Patriot League foes dating back to last season (including postseason).
• ... win its fifth straight road game and improve to 7-5 on the road this season.
• ... defeat the Mountain Hawks for the fourth straight time.
• ... improve to 100 games over .500 all-time in Patriot League play (192-92).
Headlines
• Bucknell and Lehigh, the teams picked 1-2 in the Patriot League preseason poll, square off for the first time in 2012 on Wednesday night at Stabler Arena. The Mountain Hawks (14-5) and Bison (13-6) have the top two overall records in the league.
• This will also be a matchup of the last two Patriot League Players of the Year. Lehigh's C.J. McCollum won the award as a freshman in 2009-10, while Bucknell's Mike Muscala won it as a sophomore last season. McCollum was picked as the Preseason Player of the Year this season, and both juniors are having outstanding seasons. In league play, McCollum (28.3) and Muscala (19.7) rank first and third, respectively, in scoring.
• Bucknell improved to 3-0 in the Patriot League with a 79-65 win at Lafayette on Saturday. The Bison are the lone remaining unbeated in PL play, but four teams lurk just one game behind at 2-1. Lehigh is one of those. The Mountain Hawks routed Colgate 78-56 on Saturday in Hamilton.
• Bucknell has won five straight games, eight of its last 10, and 13 of its last 17.
• Mike Muscala is averaging 19.4 points over his last nine games, and he has upped his season scoring average to 15.6, sixth-best in the Patriot League. Cameron Ayers (12.0), Joe Willman (10.6) and Bryson Johnson (9.9) are also top scorers.
• Muscala continues to lead the Bison in rebounding (9.0) and blocked shots (1.5). He leads the Patriot League in rebounding by a wide margin, and he has eight double-doubles this season, the most in the league.
• The Bison were unanimously picked as the preseason favorite in the Patriot League by the league's head coaches and SIDs.
• The Bison returned four starters from last year's team that finished 25-9 overall and 13-1 in the Patriot League. Bucknell went on to capture the Patriot League Tournament title, but the 14th-seeded Bison were ousted by red-hot Connecticut, the eventual national champions, in their NCAA Tournament opener.
• After opening Patriot League play with a loss at Holy Cross, the Mountain Hawks have bounced back to defeat American and Colgate. While Lehigh features a star guard in C.J. McCollum, the Mountain Hawks have also gotten big contributions from Gabe Knutson (12.3 ppg), Holden Greiner (12.2 ppg) and Mackey McKnight (8.2 ppg, 72 assists).
How to Get the Game
• The Bucknell-Lehigh game will be televised locally on Service Electric 2. In addition, a live webcast will be available on Bison Vision via BucknellBison.com as well as Patriot League All-Access via PatriotLeague.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 at lehighsports.com.
Bucknell vs. Lehigh
• Bucknell has played more games (155) and won more games (95) against Lehigh than any other school. The Bison have a 95-60 lead in a series that originated in 1902.
• Since the start of Patriot League play in 1990-91, Bucknell holds a 36-13 advantage, including a 20-3 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 8-2 against the Mountain Hawks in Sojka.
• Bucknell went 3-0 against Lehigh last season, including an exciting 66-64 victory in the Patriot League Tournament semifinals. Mike Muscala had 17 points and 10 rebounds in that game, while C.J. McCollum led Lehigh with 19 points and 11 rebounds.
• In the first meeting last 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. Muscala added 15 points, nine rebounds and a school-record-tying eight blocked shots. 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 later in the year, 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 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 Success
• The Bison are 191-92 (.675) in Patriot League regular-season games, the best record of any league team. They have finished at least .500 in PL play in 17 of 21 seasons.
• Bucknell has won 13 straight games against Patriot League foes, 10 in the regular season and three in the Patriot League Tournament.
• The Bison won a league-record 23 straight contests against conference foes from Feb. 23, 2005 to Jan. 12, 2007.
• Bucknell had a streak of 35 straight wins at home against conference opponents come to an end in 2008.
Last Time Out
• Bucknell broke open a four-point game at the half with a great start to the second half and pulled away for a 79-65 win at Lafayette on Saturday afternoon at Kirby Sports Center.
• In the second half, the Bison outscored the Leopards 45-35, shooting 65.4% (17-26) from the floor while scoring on 21 of 29 possessions. Bucknell also held Lafayette to 3-for-13 shooting from 3-point range in the second half, neutralizing the Leopards' biggest strength.
• Mike Muscala scored a season-high 27 points (9-13 FG, 9-9 FT), with 19 of them coming in the first half alone.
• Cameron Ayers also hit double digits with 15 points. Ayers made 3 of 5 3-point attempts and four late free throws to help ice the game.
• Ryan Hill enjoyed his third straight terrific game, producing eight points on 4-for-5 shooting. He also had three rebounds, two assists and a steal.
• Brian Fitzpatrick continued his excellent production off the bench, totaling six points and six rebounds in 16 minutes.
• Overall the Bison shot 57.7% from the field, 50.0% (4-8) from the 3-point arc and a perfect 15-for-15 from the foul line.
• Bucknell was dominant inside, outscoring Lafayette 48-26 in the paint while finishing with a 34-18 rebounding edge. Lafayette had only three offensive rebounds in the game.
• Freshman Seth Hinrichs had a good game for Lafayette, scoring a career-high 17 points.
Stats Worth Noting
• Bucknell is now 5-0 since point guard Ryan Hill joined the starting lineup.
• Bucknell has shot 50% or better as a team in six of its last 10 games. The Bison have shot 50% eight times this season and are 8-0 in those games. Bucknell ranks 16th nationally in 3FG% at 39.9%.
• In the last four games, Bucknell is shooting 51.1% (24-47) from 3-point distance.
• Bucknell leads the Patriot League in both field goal percentage (.467) and field goal percentage defense (.408).
• During this current five-game winning streak, Bison opponents are shooting 39.0% (99-254).
• The Bison rank 40th nationally (out of 338 teams) in fewest turnovers per game (12.0), but they only ranked 280th in turnover margin (-2.2). Bucknell averages only 4.1 steals per game (332nd), but it has counterbalanced that with a good FG% defense and strong defensive rebounding.
• 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 +136 since then and have outrebounded every opponent except Syracuse and Loyola. Bucknell's +6.4 rebound margin for the season is by far the best in the Patriot League and ranks 25th nationally.
• A big part of Bucknell's rebounding success has been limiting opponents' second chances. The Bison have held 14 of their 19 foes to eight or fewer offensive rebounds.
• Bucknell has been better at the free-throw line of late. After shooting just 68.5% at the line in their first 10 games, the Bison have made 79.7% (145-182) as a team in the last nine contests. That includes a 21-for-21 performance in the win over Richmond and a 15-for-15 in the win at Lafayette. Bucknell ranked third in the nation in free-throw shooting last season at 78.8%, and after the slow start the team is up to 74.1% this season.
• 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.
What's Next?
• Bucknell returns home on Saturday night to face Holy Cross at 7 p.m. at Sojka Pavilion.
• The Crusaders are 8-9 overall and 2-1 in the Patriot League heading into Thursday night's home game against Lafayette on CBS Sports Network.
