Bucknell University Athletics
Men's Basketball Back in Action Friday at Marist
12/19/2013 9:51:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Where: McCann Center, Poughkeepsie, N.Y.
When: Friday, Dec. 20, 7 p.m.
Internet Video: GoRedFoxes.com
Radio: Eagle 107 (107.3 WEGH)
Internet Radio: BucknellBison.com
Live Stats: GoRedFoxes.com
• ... win its third straight game and improve to 6-4 on the season.
• ... improve to 4-3 on the road this season.
• ... defeat the Red Foxes for the fourth straight time and improve to 6-3 all-time against them.
• ... improve to 5-1 under Dave Paulsen in the first game coming out of the final exam break.
Headlines
• Victories over Kent State and Columbia gave Bucknell a two-game winning streak and a winning record (5-4) heading into a 13-day break for finals. The Bison get back at it on Friday against Marist in the final non-conference road game of the regular season.
• In its most recent outing, Bucknell outlasted Columbia 57-52 at Sojka Pavilion. The Bison trailed by eight points in the first half and by two with three minutes to play before finishing the game on a 9-2 run.
• Senior Cameron Ayers continues to lead the team in scoring at 14.2 ppg and is coming off a double-double against Columbia. Brian Fitzpatrick is making the most of his increased role this season. After serving as Mike Muscala's backup for the last two years, Fitzpatrick is averaging 12.2 ppg and shooting 60.8% from the field. Fitzpatrick scored a team-high 16 points in each of Bucknell's last two victories.
• Sophomore Chris Hass was productive in three consecutive starts leading up to finals. He registered a career-high 15 points against Princeton, tallied eight points and a career-high nine rebounds at Kent State, and then had 14 points against Columbia. Hass' 3-point play with 30 seconds remaining helped ice the win at Kent State, and he hit the tying and go-ahead free throws late in the Columbia win.
• This is a “new-look” Bison squad, as three standout players from last year's NCAA Tournament team have graduated (Mike Muscala, Bryson Johnson, Joe Willman). Three Bucknell players made their first career starts at Stanford (Brian Fitzpatrick, Dom Hoffman, Ben Brackney), Ryan Frazier started for the first time in his career at Penn State, and Chris Hass did the same against Saint Francis.
• Bucknell returns two starters and 11 lettermen from last year's squad that won a school-record 28 games, captured Patriot League regular-season and tournament titles, and advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the sixth time in program history.
• Marist dropped its first nine games of the season before getting in the win column with a very good 69-62 road victory over College of Charleston on Sunday. The Red Foxes have only played twice at home so far, losses to Elon and MAAC rival Manhattan. Chavaughn Lewis leads the team in scoring at 16.8 points per game. Khalid Hart also scores in double figures at 10.7 ppg.
How to Get the Game
• The Bucknell-Marist game will not be televised, however a live webcast will be available at GoRedFoxes.com (subscription fees apply).
• The game can be heard in the Susquehanna Valley on the radio on Eagle 107 (WEGH 107.3 FM), with Doug Birdsong calling the action. The pregame show begins 30 minutes before tip-off.
• The audio feed is available online free of charge via BucknellBison.com.
• Live stats can be accessed at GoRedFoxes.com.
Bucknell vs. Marist Series Notes
• Bucknell has a 5-3 series lead in eight all-time meetings with Marist. The Bison have defeated the Red Foxes in each of the last three seasons, and Bucknell also won in 1986-87 and 1999-2000. Marist's victories came in 1985-86, 2007-08 and 2008-09.
• Bucknell's 54-48 victory over Marist on Nov. 20, 1999 came in the championship game of the Pepsi-Marist Classic. The Bison also played in that tournament in 1994 and 2006 but did not play the host Red Foxes.
• Last season at Sojka Pavilion, Mike Muscala paced Bucknell to a 71-65 win with 26 points, 13 rebounds, five blocks, three assists and three steals. The Bison ended the game on a 20-9 run after trailing by five points with 8:51 to play. Devin Price and Jay Bowie led five Marist players in double figures with 13 points each.
• In the last meeting in Poughkeepsie two seasons ago, Bucknell held off the Red Foxes 74-68 behind 17 points from Mike Muscala and 16 from Joe Willman. Bucknell shot 53.2% from the floor, but the solid offensive performance was nearly undone by some terrific 3-point shooting by Marist. The Red Foxes hit 11 treys in 25 attempts, with eight of them coming in the second half. That was nearly enough to overcome a 15-point deficit, but the Bison came up with some big stops down the stretch. Adam Kemp led Marist with 16 points, while Isaiah Morton had 13 and Devin Price 11.
Bucknell vs. The MAAC
• Bucknell is 44-47 (.484) all-time against the teams that currently comprise the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference. In addition to their 5-3 record against Marist, the Bison are 30-24 against Rider, 4-5 vs. Niagara, 2-2 vs. Manhattan, 2-4 vs. Iona, 1-0 vs. St. Peter's, 0-6 vs. Canisius, 0-2 vs. Fairfield and 0-1 vs. Siena.
• The Bison take on another MAAC opponent on Dec. 28 when Fairfield visits Sojka Pavilion.
Last Time Out
• Brian Fitzpatrick scored 16 points, Chris Hass had 14 and Cameron Ayers posted a double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds in Bucknell's 57-52 win over Columbia on Dec. 7.
• The Bison trailed by eight points in the first half and by three at the break. In the second half Bucknell rallied to go up by seven points, only to see Columbia come back to take a 50-48 lead with 3:07 to play. But two straight hard drives to the basket by Hass drew fouls, and he hit all four to give the Bison the lead for good. Ayers made three clinching free throws in the final 19 seconds as Bucknell closed the game on a 9-2 run.
• Ryan Hill turned in a big performance off the bench for the Bison. In 19 minutes of action, Hill recorded eight points, four assists, three rebounds and two steals. He made a big shot in that game-ending run and also went 6-for-7 from the foul line.
• Bucknell went 16-for-20 from the foul line in the second half and 19-for-24 for the game.
• Both teams shot under 40% in the game (Bucknell 39.5%, Columbia 39.1%). The Lions went just 3-for-16 from 3-point range, while the Bison were 4-for-10.
• Bucknell held Columbia's scoring leader Grant Mullins to two points on 1-for-7 shooting. Mullins was coming off a 28-point performance in a win over Army.
• Ayers' double-double was the third of his career and the first by a Bucknell player this season.
Numbers Worth Noting
• In each of the last two seasons, Bucknell led the nation in defensive rebounding percentage (i.e. percentage of opponents' missed shots that Bucknell has rebounded). This year, despite playing almost exclusively with a four-guard lineup, the Bison still rank a respectable 17th out of 351 Division I teams in DR%. Last year, led by senior big men Mike Muscala and Joe Willman, Bucknell grabbed 79.0% of its opponents' misses. This year that figure is still a solid 77.4%, and the Bison have outrebounded six of their nine opponents so far.
• Bucknell had been struggling to get to the free-throw line in recent games. After going 24-31 at the line in the win at Penn State, the Bison are a combined 62-for-79 in the seven games since then. That includes the Saint Francis game on Nov. 16 when the Bison did not attempt a single free throw. Bucknell made some strides in this area in the Columbia game when it went 16-for-20 in the second half and 19-for-24 overall, but the Bison still rank next-to-last in the nation in free-throw attempts (13.2 per game) on the season.
• When the Bison do get to the line, they usually convert. Bucknell ranks No. 75 nationally in free-throw percentage (.790).
• Conversely, Bucknell has done well to avoid foul trouble this season. The Bison have committed 15.9 fouls per game, the ninth-lowest figure in the country.
• Bucknell has typically ranked among the very best in the nation in fewest turnovers under coach Dave Paulsen, and this year has been no different. The Bison are averaging only 9.4 turnovers per game to rank sixth nationally.
• Bucknell's center combo of Brian Fitzpatrick and Dom Hoffman are shooting a combined 61.6% from the field (77-125) while averaging 19.7 ppg.
• Last season Bucknell featured one of the nation's most prolific shot-blockers in Mike Muscala. So far this season the Bison have blocked only six shots in nine games, compared to 41 by their opponents.
• Through nine games the Bison are shooting 47.0% from the field and 43.4% from 3-point range. They rank ninth nationally in 3FG%.
Who's Got Next?
• Following the Marist game, the Bison players will head home to spend the Christmas holiday with their families. They will report back to campus for an evening practice on Dec. 26 in order to prepare for the Dec. 28 home game against Fairfield.
• The Bison and Stags will be meeting for the first time since 1992. Fairfield has a 2-0 lead in the all-time series.
• Fairfield is 2-8 on the season and will play at Wisconsin-Green Bay on Saturday before traveling to Bucknell. The Stags are coming off a 64-60 win over Northeastern, which snapped an eight-game losing streak.
