Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell Men's Basketball Takes on Lafayette Saturday Night at Sojka Pavilion
1/18/2013 7:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Jan. 18, 2013
WHAT: Lafayette (8-11, 1-1 PL) at Bucknell (15-3, 2-0 PL)
WHERE: Sojka Pavilion, Lewisburg, Pa.
WHEN: Saturday, Jan. 19, 7 p.m. ET
LIVE WEBCAST: Bison Vision 
RADIO: Eagle 107 (WEGH 107.3 FM) and SportsJuice.com
LIVE STATS: GameTracker 
Complete Game Notes in PDF Format 
With a Win over Lafayette, Bucknell Would ...
• ... improve to 16-3 on the season, which would equal the second-best 19-game start in program history (the 1983-84 team started 17-2).
• ... improve to 3-0 in the Patriot League for the third year in a row and eighth time since joining the league in 1990-91.
• ... defeat the Leopards for the eighth straight time and improve to 14-0 against Lafayette at Sojka Pavilion.
• ... improve to 7-0 at home this season.
• ... improve to 105-32 all-time at Sojka Pavilion and 71-14 against league opponents at Sojka.
Headlines
• Bucknell is off to a 2-0 start in Patriot League play after defeating Army at home and Colgate on the road. Now 15-3 overall, the Bison open a two-game homestand Saturday night against Lafayette. The Leopards are 8-11 overall and 1-1 in league play, including a home win over Navy and road loss at Army.
• Through Thursday's games, Bucknell is tied for 10th nationally with 15 victories. Bucknell's seven road wins are tied with Stony Brook and Albany for the most in all of Division I basketball.
• At 15-3, Bucknell has equalled its second-best record after 18 games. The Bison were 16-2 in 1983-84.
• Bucknell in the rankings:
Associated Press Poll: NR
USA Today Coaches' Poll: RV
CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Poll: 3
ESPN.com Mid-Major Poll: 3
RPI (from RPIforecast.com): 43
Ken Pomeroy computer ranking: 38
Jeff Sagarin computer ranking: 38
• The Bison have been outstanding defensively this season. Opponents are averaging only 58.9 points per game, and Bucknell has held 13 of its last 16 foes under 40% shooting.
• Bryson Johnson needs only three more 3-pointers to equal Kevin Bettencourt's program record of 294.
• Mike Muscala is in the midst of an outstanding senior year for the Bison, and he has garnered frequent national mentions throughout the season. An All-America and NBA Draft candidate, Muscala leads the Bison in scoring (19.7), rebounding (10.9), assists (3.0), blocks (2.8) and FG% (.547).
• Muscala earned his fourth Patriot League Player of the Week citation of the season on Monday after posting 20 points, 13 rebounds, seven assists and three blocks in the win over Army. He came close to a triple-double again on Wednesday, logging 25 points, 10 rebounds, seven blocks and four assists at Colgate.
• There are only two players in all of Division I basketball who are leading his team in points, rebounds, assists and blocked shots. They are Muscala and Princeton's Ian Hummer, who recently squared off at Jadwin Gym. Muscala is also one of just two players in the nation averaging at least 19.0 points and 10.0 rebounds per game (the other is Augustine Rubit of South Alabama).
• Cameron Ayers (12.0), Bryson Johnson (11.4) and Joe Willman (11.2) are also scoring in double figures for the Bison, who average 69.4 ppg. Willman scored his 1,000th career point on Wednesday at Colgate.
• The Bison opened the campaign with wins over Purdue and George Mason, and then swept Niagara, New Mexico State and West Alabama at the Niagara Subregional of the 2K Sports Classic benefitting Wounded Warrior Project. Bucknell won all three of those games by double figures and improved to 5-0 for the first time since 2005-06. The first loss of the season came at Penn State on Nov. 23.
• The Bison were picked to finish second in the Patriot League behind Lehigh in a preseason poll of the league's head coaches and sports information directors. Senior center Mike Muscala and junior guard Cameron Ayers were both Preseason All-Patriot League selections.
• Bucknell returned four starters and 11 lettermen from last year's 25-10 squad. The lone graduated starter was 6'5” guard Bryan Cohen, who won each of the last three Patriot League Defensive Player of the Year awards. Despite that loss, the experienced Bison start three seniors and two juniors. Bucknell's starting five has a combined 522 career games played.
• Lafayette had won three games in a row before falling 77-54 at Army on Wednesday night. Since a 1-6 start, the Leopards have gone 7-5 in their last 12 games.
• Seth Hinrichs is leading Lafayette in scoring (14.2) and rebounding (4.3). Dan Trist averages 13.5 points per game, while all-league point guard Tony Johnson averages 11.6 points and 4.7 assists per game.
How to Get the Game
• The Bucknell-Lafayette game will not be televised, however a live webcast will air on Bison Vision via BucknellBison.com and 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 on GameTracker via BucknellBison.com.
Bucknell vs. Lafayette
• Bucknell and Lafayette have met 151 times previously, making the Leopards Bucknell's second most-played opponent (the Bison have played Lehigh 158 times). Since the series began in 1915, Lafayette leads 85-66.
• Since the start of Patriot League play in 1990-91, however, Bucknell has won 37 of 50 meetings.
• Bucknell has won all 13 matchups in Sojka Pavilion and is 22-3 against the Leopards in Lewisburg going back to the Patriot League's first season. Lafayette is actually 0-14 all-time in Sojka, including a neutral-site loss to American in the 2006 PL Tournament quarterfinals.
• The Bison and Leopards have met in each of the last two postseasons. Bucknell won 72-57 in the 2011 Patriot League championship game and 79-52 in the 2012 PL Tournament semifinals.
• In the 2012 regular season, Bucknell won 79-65 in Easton behind 27 points from Mike Muscala, who finished 9-for-13 from the field and 9-for-9 from the foul line. In the rematch at Sojka Pavilion, the Bison fought off 11 Leopards' 3-pointers and prevailed 90-78. Muscala led five Bison in double figures in that one with 24 points, and Bucknell shot 57.7% for the game.
Patriot League Success
• The Bison are 202-94 (.682) in Patriot League regular-season games, the best record of any league team. They have finished at least .500 in PL play in 18 of 22 seasons.
• Bucknell has won the last two Patriot League regular-season titles, and it is trying to become the first team to win three outright titles in a row.
• The Bison went 13-1 in the league in 2011 and 12-2 last year, making them 25-3 over those two seasons. Dating back to 2010, Bucknell has won 35 of its last 40 league games.
• Bucknell won Patriot League Tournament titles in 2005, 2006 and 2011. The Bison have made it to the semifinals 17 times and to the championship game nine times in the 22-year history of the league.
• The Bison are the only team to go unbeaten in league play in a season (14-0 in 2006).
Coaches vs. Cancer
• This week the Bucknell men's basketball program has been conducting its annual fundraiser for Coaches vs. Cancer, a national event that is run by the American Cancer Society as well as the National Association of Basketball Coaches to help raise funds for research and cancer awareness.
• Bucknell players, coaches and volunteers have been selling Coaches vs. Cancer merchandise in the Elaine Langone Center Mall this week, and will again on Saturday at Sojka Pavilion prior to the Bucknell-Lafayette game. The team is selling tee shirts, wristbands, lanyards and Wall of Hope certificates, and donation cards are also available. All proceeds go to the American Cancer Society.
• Both coaching staffs will be wearing sneakers with their suits during the game as a show of support for Coaches vs. Cancer.
Last Time Out
• Bucknell outscored Colgate 26-16 over the last 10:48 to break open a close game and pull out a 73-59 win over the Raiders on Wednesday at Cotterell Court. There were six ties and four lead changes in the first half, but the Bison took the lead for good on a Cameron Ayers 3-pointer with 5:26 left in the half.
• Mike Muscala enjoyed another stellar night with 25 points, 10 rebounds, seven blocked shots, four assists, two steals and no turnovers in 34 minutes. According to ESPN.com, no player has reached each of those levels since Minnesota's Joel Przybilla in 2000 against Iowa. The last senior to do it was Wake Forest's Tim Duncan.
• Joe Willman scored six early points to reach 1,000 for his career. Willman was quiet during the middle portion of the game, but then made some critical plays in the last four minutes. He made both ends of a 1-and-1 in a 7-point game, then followed that up with a baseline jumper. He also heavily contested a Murphy Burnatowski 3-point try, resulting in a miss, and he saved a possession by hustling after a defensive rebound on the end line and throwing it off the leg of a Colgate player.
• Bryson Johnson (15 points) and Cameron Ayers (14 points) also scored in double figures, and both continue to shoot the three well. Ayers went 2-for-4, making him 5-for-7 from the arc over the last two games, and he also went 6-for-6 from the foul line. Johnson hit 3 of 5 from downtown and 6 of 10 overall.
• Defensively, Bucknell came up with a season-high 10 steals and forced 14 turnovers. The Raiders shot 42.6% overall but went 0-for-6 from 3-point range in the second half after making 3 of 6 in the first half.
• Brian Fitzpatrick gave the Bison a huge lift off the bench in a tightly contested first half. In just five minutes, he collected six points and five rebounds. He grabbed three offensive boards leading to two put-backs, one of which resulted in a 3-point play.
Milestone Watch
• Several Bison are chasing significant milestones:
• Mike Muscala needs 220 points to become Bucknell's all-time leading scorer (Al Leslie had 1,973) and 247 to become the program's first 2,000-point scorer. If Bucknell plays the minimum number of games it could possibly play the rest of the way (13), Muscala would have to average 16.9 points to catch Leslie.
• Muscala needs 88 rebounds to join Hal Danzig as the only players in program history with 1,000 points and 1,000 rebounds.
• Muscala needs 37 blocked shots to catch school record-holder Mike Butts, who had 278.
• Bryson Johnson needs three 3-point field goals to equal Kevin Bettencourt's Bucknell career record of 294, and he is 11 shy of the Patriot League record of 302, set by American's Garrison Carr.
• Cameron Ayers needs 139 points for 1,000 in his career.
Starting off on the Right Foot
• Bucknell's 15-3 start is tied for second-best in program history. The 1983-84 team was 16-2 after 18 games.
• If Bucknell can defeat Lafayette to get to 16-3, it would also equal the second-best 19-game start in program history. The 1983-84 team started 17-2.
• Bucknell became the first team in Patriot League history to record 13 non-league wins in a regular season. Fordham (1990-91) and Lehigh (2011-12) previously won 12.
Free Throw Advantage
• By limiting their own fouls and shooting 20.9 of their own free throws per game, the Bison have outscored opponents 285-187 at the charity stripe this season. In fact, Bucknell has made more free throws than its opponents have attempted (274).
• Bucknell ranks 17th nationally in fewest fouls per game (14.6).
• Of all of the gaudy statistics surrounding Mike Muscala this season, perhaps the most important is that Muscala averages only 1.9 fouls per game, allowing him to stay on the floor for better than 32 minutes per game. In fact, only Joe Willman (2.2) and Ryan Hill (2.1) average more than two fouls per game.
• As a team, Bucknell is shooting 75.6% from the foul line to rank 19th nationally. Bucknell's top four scorers — Muscala, Ayers, Bryson Johnson and Willman — shoot 82.3% (219-266) from the stripe.
Dee-Fense
• For the most part, Bucknell has played stellar defense this season against a strong schedule. The Bison are allowing only 58.9 points per game, which ranks No. 1 in the Patriot League and No. 37 out of 347 Division I teams.
• Bucknell has allowed more than 60 points in a game only six times all season, and four those came in victories.
• The last time Bucknell yielded less than 60 ppg in a season was 2006-07 (57.8).
• Bison opponents are shooting 37.7% from the field. That is the best FG% defense figure in the Patriot League and the No. 20 mark in the nation.
• Purdue (.459), George Mason (.400), Princeton (.510), Missouri (.429) and Colgate (.426) are the only teams to shoot 40% or better against the Bison this season, and George Mason is the only one to do it at Sojka Pavilion. Bucknell held 10 straight opponents under 40% in one stretch, and 13 of their last 16 opponents have failed to reach that mark.
Who's Got Next?
• Bucknell is back at home again on Wednesday, hosting Lehigh in a rematch of the 2012 Patriot League championship game.
• The Bison and Mountain Hawks are a combined 27-7 overall and 4-0 in the Patriot League entering the weekend. Both are ranked in the top 10 in the CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Poll.
• Please note the special start time of 6 p.m. for this game to accommodate the CBS Sports Network national telecast.
