Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell University
25-5, 12-2
Navy
8-22, 2-12
Bucknell Men Close Out Regular Season at 25-5 with 62-46 Win at Navy
3/2/2013 7:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
March 2, 2013
Box Score
ANNAPOLIS, Md. - Cameron Ayers scored 10 of his 14 points in the second half, and Bryson Johnson hit four first-half 3-pointers en route to a 12-point night, leading Bucknell to a 62-46 victory over Navy before 4,833 fans at Alumni Hall on Saturday night. The top-seeded Bison close out the regular season with a 25-5 overall record and a 12-2 Patriot League mark, and they will face Navy again at home in the first round of the Patriot League Tournament on Wednesday at Sojka Pavilion.
Bucknell has now posted 25 wins in three straight seasons for the first time in program history, and it became the first team in Patriot League history to record 12 league wins three years in a row. Over the last three seasons, Bucknell is 75-24 overall and 37-5 in the league. Bucknell also broke the school record for most road wins in a season with 12, which is also tied for the most in the nation this season.
Mike Muscala entered the game needing 11 points to equal Al Leslie's all-time scoring record, but Leslie is safe for at least one more game as Muscala took only five shots, hitting three, and finished with nine points and seven rebounds. Muscala played a very patient game, passing out of double and even triple teams, and he logged three assists while playing only 23 minutes. However his streak of 33 straight games scoring in double figures came to an end. His last single-digit game also came against Navy in last year's Patriot League Tournament quarterfinals, also in limited minutes.
Joe Willman had nine points and 10 rebounds for the Bison, who finished with a 35-26 edge on the glass. Bucknell made 8 of 14 shots from 3-point range and shot 48.9 percent overall. At the other end, the Bison held Navy to 36.4 percent shooting.
Point guard Steven Kaspar, inserted into the starting lineup three games ago, had a great game with eight points, all in the first half, as well as four assists, two steals and three rebounds. Ryan Hill also had four assists off the bench, as Bucknell was credited with 18 assists on its 23 field goals.
Bucknell started 6-for-10 from the floor and raced out to a 13-2 lead after six minutes. Kaspar got the Bison going with two straight buckets to open the scoring. After Navy pulled within 13-6, Johnson knocked down his second trey of the game and Willman scored on a fastbreak after a great feed by Hill to make it 18-6.
A 3-point play by Willman kept the lead at 12 at 21-9, but Navy got hot from the outside later in the half. Treys by Brandon Venturini and Kevin Alter sparked a 10-2 run for the Midshipmen, and they pulled within four on two occasions in the final 4:30 of the half.
A pivotal sequence came right at the end of the half, when Navy had the ball with the shot clock off looking to cut into a six-point deficit. Kaspar reached in and stripped Worth Smith, pushed the ball ahead and found Johnson streaking down the left wing. Johnson pulled up from 28 feet and swished his shot at the buzzer to make it 33-24 at intermission.
Ayers opened the second half with back-to-back 3-pointers and Muscala scored inside to stretch the run to 13-0 and give the Bison a commanding 41-24 lead. The Bison would lead by double digits the rest of the way and by as many as 18 points late in the contest.
Venturini scored 13 points and Smith had 11 for the Midshipmen, who fell to Bucknell for the seventh straight time.
Bucknell and Navy will meet again at 7 p.m. Wednesday at Sojka Pavilion in the quarterfinal round of the Patriot League Tournament. The Bison are the No. 1 seed for the third year in a row, while the Midshipmen are seeded eighth.
