Bucknell University
15-6, 5-0PL
Holy Cross
8-11, 2-3PL
Bison Men Run Away from Holy Cross, 75-41
1/21/2012 7:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Jan. 21, 2012
| BUY PHOTOS | Video Higlights
LEWISBURG, Pa. - Mike Muscala recorded his 10th double-double of the season with 11 points and 11 rebounds in only 23 minutes of action, and Bucknell recorded its most one-sided win ever against Holy Cross with a 75-41 verdict on Saturday night before 3,983 fans at Sojka Pavilion. The Bison have now won seven games in a row to improve to 15-6 overall, and they remain in sole possession of first place in the Patriot League at 5-0.
Cameron Ayers led the Bison with 13 points, while Bryan Cohen had a strong night with 12 points, eight rebounds and three assists. When Cohen took an early breather for the night along with the rest of the starters, he was just three points shy of 1,000 for his career. Reserve forward Brian Fitzpatrick also just missed a double-double, finishing with nine points and nine rebounds in 16 minutes. No Bucknell player was needed for more than 28 minutes, and 12 different Bison entered the scoring column.
Despite the final margin of 34 points, things were far from easy in the early going for Bucknell. Nearly six minutes into the game the Bison were just 3-for-10 from the field, but their lead was 6-0 as the defense pitched a shutout over that span. Holy Cross finally got on the board on a transition layup by R.J. Evans at the 14:01 mark.
Bucknell gained some separation with an 8-1 run, with all eight points coming from Ayers. He had a 3-point play, a 3-pointer from the top of the key and a pull-up jumper to make it 17-5. But the Bison remained ice cold, particularly from in close to the basket, and the Crusaders were able to pull within six on a couple of occasions.
A big swing came in the final 30 seconds of the half. After Fitzpatrick hit two free throws, Cohen smothered Devin Brown at the other end and blocked his shot, which led to a transition 3-pointer for Bryson Johnson just before the halftime buzzer.
Leading 30-19 at the break and 35-23 just over three minutes into the second period, Bucknell blew it open with a 12-0 run, which all came just after Muscala went to the bench with his third foul. Fitzpatrick came on and scored five of those points in the run, while Steven Kaspar nailed a 3-pointer. By the time Muscala returned to the floor, Bucknell's lead had ballooned to 51-29.
Cohen's second 3-pointer of the night and fifth in the last two games got him to 997 career points with 9:47 remaining, but with the lead up to 28 points, the starters began to exit around the 7:30 mark.
Freshman Corey Starkey quickly gobbled up a loose ball and stuck it in to give the Bison a 59-29 lead, and the margin went as high as 36 at 71-35 on Joshea Singleton's layup with 2:31 to go. Colin Klebon helped put an exclamation point on the evening with his first career 3-pointer.
Prior to this one, Bucknell's widest victory margin against Holy Cross had been 25 points, coming in a 69-44 home win on Jan. 15, 2000. This was also the fewest points the Crusaders have scored against Bucknell, falling just under the 42 they scored in a 56-42 loss at Sojka Pavilion on Jan. 14, 2006.
Holy Cross, which has a 22-point win over Boston College and a six-point win over Lehigh to its credit, fell to 8-11 overall and 2-3 in the Patriot League. Brown led the Crusaders with 11 points, while Dave Dudzinski added 10.
After shooting just 32.1 percent in the first half, the Bison shot 57.1 percent in the second and finished at 44.6 percent on the evening. They also hit nine of their 18 3-point attempts and tied a school record by having six different players hit a three in the game. This was the 10th time in program history that has happened, and the first since a loss at Notre Dame in 2009-10.
Bucknell never trailed in the game, and in five Patriot League contests this season the Bison have been behind for a total of only 3:05.
The Bison came into the game ranked 34th nationally and first in the Patriot League in rebounding margin, and they finished with a 50-31 edge on the glass after holding Holy Cross to 24.6 percent shooting. Bucknell had not collected 50 rebounds in a game since securing 55 against Navy in 2008-09.
Bucknell has now won 15 straight games against Patriot League opponents, the second-longest conference winning streak in the nation behind Long Island, which won its 21st straight Northeast Conference game on Saturday at Wagner.
The Bison have a big conference tilt coming up on Wednesday at home against American. The Eagles improved to 4-1 in the Patriot League with a win over Army earlier in the day, and they can pull even with Bucknell atop the standings with a win at Sojka Pavilion. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m.
Bucknell-Holy Cross Highlights
