Bucknell University
20-8, 10-2
Holy Cross
13-13, 7-5
Bucknell Comeback Falls Short at Holy Cross, 54-52
2/18/2012 7:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Feb. 18, 2012
WORCESTER, Mass. - After losing by 34 points in Lewisburg last month, Holy Cross turned the tables on Bucknell Saturday afternoon at the Hart Center, holding on for dear life at the end of a 54-52 victory after leading by as many as 19 in the second half. The Bison made a valiant comeback and received 20 points and 10 rebounds from Mike Muscala, but they dropped their second game in less than 48 hours and fell to 20-8 overall and 10-2 in the Patriot League.
Justin Burrell scored 15 points to lead Holy Cross (13-13, 6-6) to its fourth straight win. The Crusaders have now beaten Patriot League frontrunners Bucknell, Lehigh and American at home this season.
Holy Cross blitzed Bucknell right from the start. After Muscala scored on Bucknell's first possession of the day, the Bison missed their next 14 shots in a row. Meanwhile, the Crusaders poured in 17 points in a row. Burrell got it going with back-to-back 3-pointers, and later Jordan Stevens hit a three to make it 15-2. Taylor Abt scored on a turnaround jumper from the baseline for a 17-2 lead before Ben Brackney finally ended Bucknell's 8:28 scoring drought with a jumper with a toe on the 3-point line.
Despite shooting only 36.4 percent itself, Holy Cross took a 28-10 lead into the locker room as the Bison went just 5-for-24 (.208) from the floor and 0-for-5 from 3-point range in the half.
Down 19 at 31-12 early in the second, Bucknell got back into it with a 13-2 run, with field goals coming from six different players. Bryson Johnson hit Bucknell's first 3-pointer of the night to cut it to 10 at 33-23, and then Joe Willman scored from the left wing to make it 33-25, forcing a Holy Cross timeout.
Dave Dudzinski ended the run with a jump hook from the right baseline, and after Johnson missed a 3-pointer, Abt hit a three at the other end to push the Holy Cross lead back to 13 at 38-25.
Stevens' dunk in transition put Holy Cross up 44-29 with 7:33 left, but the Bison had another big comeback in them. Six straight points by Muscala made it 44-35, and with 2:41 left Cameron Ayers drove to the basket to make it a six-point game at 46-40.
It was 48-42 with 1:45 left when Dudzinski missed the front end of a 1-and-1, and Muscala followed with a layup to bring the Bison within four at 48-44. With under a minute to play Muscala swatted Burrell's shot, and Steven Kaspar was fouled at the other end. But Kaspar also missed the first try at a 1-and-1, and Dudzinski followed with two free throws to make it 50-44.
Threes by Johnson and Ayers in the final eight seconds helped get Bucknell within 54-52 with 1.5 seconds left. Devin Brown missed two free throws, but the Bison were out of timeouts and could not get off a desperation shot at the buzzer.
After the frosty start, Bucknell shot 60 percent (18-30) in the second half and finished at 42.6 percent for the game. But for the second straight game the Bison struggled from 3-point range. After going 3-for-16 against Lehigh, they went 3-for-15 in this one.
Holy Cross finished with a 34-32 rebounding edge, but Bucknell had a 19-7 advantage on the glass in the second half. After grabbing 10 offensive rebounds in the first half, Holy Cross had none in the second.
Muscala's double-double was his 13th of the season, and he also had four blocked shots.
Bucknell has now lost two games in a row for the first time since Nov. 30 (George Mason) and Dec. 3 (La Salle), and this equals the longest losing streak of the season. The Bison also saw their seven-game road winning streak end.
With Lehigh and American both winning on Saturday, Bucknell's lead in the Patriot League has been reduced to one, but the Bison can still clinch the No. 1 seed with one more victory in its final two regular-season games.
Bucknell is back in action Thursday at American. The 7 p.m. contest will air live on CBS Sports Network.
