Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell Men's Basketball Opens Patriot League Tourney Play vs. Navy at Sojka Pavilion Wednesday Night
3/5/2013 7:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
March 5, 2013
WHAT: #8 Navy (8-22, 2-12 PL) at #1 Bucknell (25-5, 12-2 PL)
WHERE: Sojka Pavilion, Lewisburg, Pa.
WHEN: Wednesday, March 6, 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 Navy, Bucknell Would ...
• ... advance to the Patriot League Tournament semifinals for the 18th time in 23 years in the league. The Bison would face the Army-American winner on Saturday at Sojka Pavilion at either 2 or 4:30 p.m.
• ... improve to 26-5 on the season and pull within one of the program victory record.
• ... extend the seniors' record for most wins by one class (90).
• ... extend the school record for most wins in a three-year period (76).
• ... defeat the Midshipmen for the eighth straight time, and for the second year in a row in the postseason.
• ... improve to 12-1 at home this season.
• ... improve to 30-19 all-time in the Patriot League Tournament.
• ... give Dave Paulsen his 97th Bucknell coaching win, tying him with Ben Kribbs (1952-62) for fourth on the all-time list.
Headlines
• Bucknell is the No. 1 seed at the Patriot League Tournament for the third year in a row, and its championship quest begins Wednesday night with a quarterfinal matchup against No. 8 Navy at Sojka Pavilion. These two teams met just four days earlier in Annapolis, with the Bison prevailing 62-46.
• The Bison have become the first team in the history of the Patriot League to win three straight outright regular-season titles, and they will be the No. 1 seed at the Patriot League Tournament for a record fifth time.
• Bucknell is the No. 1 seed in the Patriot League Tournament for a record fifth time. In 1993, the Bison were the top seed but lost at home to Holy Cross in the championship game. In 2006, Bucknell completed a perfect 17-0 league season by beating Holy Cross in the final. In 2011, the Bison went 13-1 in the regular season, then swept Army, Lehigh and Lafayette to claim the championship. Last year, Bucknell defeated Navy and Lafayette to reach the final, but Lehigh knocked off the Bison in the championship game at Sojka Pavilion.
• Through Monday's games, Bucknell is tied for 6th nationally with 25 victories. Only Gonzaga (29), Middle Tennessee State (27), Kansas (26), Louisiana Tech (26) and Saint Mary's (26) have more.
• Bucknell in the rankings:
Associated Press Poll: NR
USA Today Coaches' Poll: NR
CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Poll: 9
ESPN.com Mid-Major Poll: 6
RPI (from RPIforecast.com): 52
Ken Pomeroy computer ranking: 58
Jeff Sagarin computer ranking: 74
• On Monday, Bison senior Mike Muscala made history by sweeping the Patriot League Player of the Year, Defensive Player of the Year and Scholar-Athlete of the Year honors. He is the first student-athlete in league history to win three major awards. Cameron Ayers joined Muscala on the All-Patriot League First Team, and Bryson Johnson joined him on the five-man Patriot League All-Academic Team.
• Johnson and Muscala were both named to the Capital One Academic All-District Team, and Muscala went on to earn national Academic All-America (third team) honors. Muscala became Bucknell's 123rd Academic All-American, fifth-most among all Division I programs. In addition, Muscala was recently named one of 10 national finalists for the Senior CLASS Award. Johnson and Muscala both made the Dean's List in the fall semester, and they grabbed two of the five All-District spots.
• 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 (19.1), rebounding (11.0), assists (2.5), blocks (2.5) and FG% (.523). He leads the league in scoring, rebounding and blocks and ranks in the top 25 nationally in each of those categories (4th reb., 24th blk., 25th pts.).
• Muscala is the only player in the country averaging at least 18 points and 11 rebounds per game.
• Last week Muscala was selected as one of 30 candidates for the Naismith Player of the Year Award and one of 25 candidates for the Lou Henson Award, which is presented annually to the top Mid-Major player in Division I college basketball.
• Muscala recently recorded his 1,000th career rebound, putting him in the exclusive 1,000-point, 1,000-rebound club. Muscala is the second Bucknell player ever to record 1,000 rebounds (Hal Danzig had 1,134 from 1956-59), and he joined former Colgate star Adonal Foyle as the only Patriot Leaguers ever to reach that milestone.
• Cameron Ayers (12.7), Johnson (11.5) and Joe Willman (10.2) are also scoring in double figures for the Bison, who average 67.4 ppg.
• Ayers has been red hot of late. He is shooting 57.3% from the field over his last 10 games and 66.7% from 3-point distance in his last five. Ayers reached the 1,000-point milestone against American last Wednesday, giving the Bison four 1,000-point scorers on the same team for the first time in program history.
• Muscala needs just two points to equal Al Leslie's all-time Bucknell scoring record. Leslie scored 1,973 points from 1977-81. Muscala enters the game with 1,971 points.
• The Bison have been outstanding defensively this season. Opponents are averaging only 57.7 points per game, and Bucknell has held 21 of its last 28 foes under 40% shooting.
• 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 only other setbacks have come at the hands of Princeton, Missouri, Lehigh and Lafayette.
• Navy comes in at 8-22 overall and 2-12 in the Patriot League. After beating American at home on Feb. 20, the Midshipmen dropped their final three games of the regular season, including Saturday's 62-46 loss to Bucknell.
• Worth Smith leads Navy in scoring (10.5), rebounding (5.5), blocks (1.2) and steals (1.2). Point guard Tilman Dunbar averages 9.6 points and a league-high 5.0 assists per game, and he made the Patriot League All-Rookie Team.
How to Get the Game
• The Bucknell-Navy game will not be televised, however a live webcast will also be available on Bison Vision via BucknellBison.com and Patriot League All-Access via Patriot League.com.
• 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 on GameTracker at BucknellBison.com.
• Be sure to follow @BisonSports on Twitter for in-game updates.
Bucknell vs. Navy
• This will be the 67th all-time meeting between the Bison and Midshipmen, with Navy owning a 34-32 series lead.
• The Midshipmen had won four straight over the Bison until Bucknell bounced back with six straight wins over the last three seasons. Navy swept the season series from Bucknell in both 2009 and 2010, winning by 4, 2 (in OT), 2 and 2 points. Since then, Bucknell has won seven in a row, including an 87-63 win in last season's Patriot League Tournament quarterfinals.
• The Mids won 12 of 16 from the Bison prior to joining the Patriot League in 1991-92.
• As conference rivals, Bucknell leads 28-22, with the home team winning most of the time. Since Navy joined the league, Bucknell is 19-5 against the Mids at home but is only 9-17 against Navy in Alumni Hall during that time.
• Last season in Annapolis, Mike Muscala poured in 27 points on 11-for-15 shooting to lead Bucknell to a 66-51 win over Navy. Worth Smith paced Navy with 16 points. In the rematch at Sojka Pavilion, Bucknell won 64-55 behind 19 points from Muscala and 12 from Joe Willman. Bucknell shot a season-best 62.7% in the 87-63 Patriot League Tournament win. Willman scored 18 points on 8-for-11 shooting, and Bryson Johnson went 5-for-7 from the 3-point arc in a 15-point night. Isaiah Roberts scored 19 and 20 points for Navy in the two meetings at Sojka Pavilion.
• In this season's first meeting, the Bison won 69-54 at Sojka Pavilion on Feb. 2. Johnson hit six 3-pointers and scored a season-high 20 points, and Muscala had 11 points and a career-high-tying 19 rebounds to lead Bucknell. Kevin Alter led Navy with 15 points off the bench.
• On Saturday before the largest non-Army crowd in Alumni Hall history (4,833), Bucknell won 62-46 behind 14 points from Cameron Ayers and 12 from Johnson. That guard duo combined to made 7 of 11 3-point tries, including four from Johnson in the first half alone. Johnson's triple at the halftime buzzer was big, as it gave the Bison a nine-point lead at the break. Ayers opened the second-half scoring with two straight treys, and the Bison led by double-digits the rest of the way.
• Johnson is 15-for-23 (.652) from 3-point range in his last three games against Navy. Muscala is shooting 62.3% in eight career meetings with the Mids, and his backup, Brian Fitzpatrick, is 7-for-8 lifetime against Navy.
• In the two meetings against Navy this season, Bucknell shot 47.9% compared to Navy's 33.9%. The Bison outrebounded the Midshipmen 82-46 in the two games, but they did commit 33 turnovers, including a season-high 21 in the game at Sojka Pavilion.
Patriot League Success
• Bucknell is 211-96 (.687) all-time in Patriot League regular-season games, the best record of any league team. They have finished at least .500 in PL play in 19 of 23 seasons, including this year.
• Bucknell won the last three outright Patriot League regular-season titles, becoming the first team in league history to accomplish that feat.
• The Bison went 13-1 in the league in 2011 and 12-2 in each of the last two seasons, making them 37-5 over the last three campaigns. Dating back to mid-2010, Bucknell has won 44 of its last 51 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).
Bucknell as the No. 1 Seed
• This is the third straight year and fifth time overall that Bucknell has been the No. 1 seed in the Patriot League Tournament. In three other seasons, the Bison earned co-regular season titles but lost out on the No. 1 seed on tiebreakers.
• Bucknell is 10-2 while playing as the No. 1 seed.
• In 1993, the Bison were seeded No. 1 but lost at home to Holy Cross in the championship game. Last year Bucknell lost to Lehigh in the final.
• This only the second time in league history that a team has been the No. 1 seed three years in a row. The other was Lafayette from 1998-2000.
• Bucknell is the first team in league history to earn the No. 1 seed five times.
No. 1 Seeds in Tournament History
• The No. 1 seeds have dominated throughout the 20-year history of the Patriot League Tournament. The top seed has never failed to reach the championship game, and it has won the title in 16 of 22 seasons, including five of the last six.
• No. 1 seeds are 53-6 all-time in the tournament.
• There have been some close 1 vs. 8 games in Patriot League Tournament history, however. In 1993, the Bison needed overtime to turn back Lehigh 64-60. In the 2004 quarterfinals, No. 8 Navy nearly upset Lehigh before falling 62-60 in overtime. And in 2008, No. 1 American held off No. 8 Holy Cross 62-60.
• In Patriot League Tournament history, no seed lower than a No. 2 has ever won the championship. No seed lower than a No. 3 had ever reached the final until 2011, when No. 6 Lafayette won twice before falling at Bucknell in the title game.
All-Patriot League Notes
• It was a record haul for Mike Muscala in the 2013 all-league voting. Muscala swept the Patriot League Player of the Year, Defensive Player of the Year and Scholar-Athlete of the Year awards, becoming the first player in league history to win three major awards.
• Muscala and Cameron Ayers both earned First Team All-Patriot League honors. Muscala joined Colgate's Pat Campolieta (1999-2002) as the only four-time All-Patriot League selections in league history. Ayers was a Second Team pick last year.
• Muscala and Bryson Johnson were named to the Patriot League All-Academic Team. It was Muscala's third straight All-Academic honor and the second in a row for Johnson.
• Muscala also earned Patriot League Player of the Year honors as a sophomore in 2011, and he joins Lehigh's C.J. McCollum (2010, 2012), Lafayette's Brian Ehlers (1999, 2000) and Colgate's Adonal Foyle (1996-97) as two-time Player of the Year honorees. Other Bucknell Players of the Year include current assistant coach Charles Lee (2006), Mike Bright (1993) and Patrick King (1992). Bucknell's five Player of the Year honors matches Holy Cross for the most in league history.
• Bucknell has now claimed the Patriot League Defensive Player of the Year four years in a row, and in six of the nine years since the award's inception. Bryan Cohen received the honor three years in a row from 2010-12, Stephen Tyree won it in 2008, and Abe Badmus garnered the inaugural Defensive Player of the Year trophy in 2005. Muscala is the first center ever to win Patriot League Defensive Player of the Year honors.
• This is the 10th time that a Bucknell student-athlete has won the Patriot League Scholar-Athlete of the Year award in men's basketball. Muscala is the first Bison Scholar-Athlete recipient since Chris McNaughton received the honor three straight years from 2005-07. Dan Blankenship (2002, 2003), Valter Karavanic (1999, 2000), Tom Welch (1997) and Paul Olkowski (1993) were Bucknell's other men's basketball Scholar-Athlete recipients.
• Dating back to its days in the East Coast Conference, Bucknell has now claimed a first team all-conference player in 27 of the last 30 seasons. The Bison have now had 47 All-Patriot League players (29 first team, 18 second team) in 23 seasons, the most of any league team.
Seniors Break Class Record
• The Class of 2013 now has 89 wins. The previous program record of 87 wins was set by the Class of 2007, which featured Abe Badmus, Donald Brown, John Clark and Chris McNaughton.
• The Class of 2013 has an overall record of 89-41 (.685) and a Patriot League record of 46-10 (.821).
• This class has been part of teams that have won a Patriot League Tournament title and three Patriot League regular-season titles. They have competed in an NCAA Tournament and an NIT.
• This class has combined for 446 games played, 4,537 points and 2,013 rebounds over the last four years.
• The trio of Muscala, Johnson and Willman have played in 388 of a possible 390 combined games over the last four seasons.
• The senior class combined for a 3.53 GPA in the fall semester.
Last Time Out
• Bucknell capped off a stellar 25-5 regular season with a 62-46 win at Navy on Saturday night.
• Cameron Ayers led a balanced scoring attack with 14 points, while Bryson Johnson added 12. Ayers and Johnson combined to make 7 of 11 from 3-point range. Johnson made all four of his treys in the first half, including a back-breaker at the halftime buzzer. Navy had the ball down by just six, but Stephen Kaspar came up with a steal and passed ahead to Johnson, who drilled a 28-footer to make it a nine-point game at the half. Ayers opened the second half with consecutive treys, and Bucknell led by double-digits the rest of the way.
• Mike Muscala played only 23 minutes and took only five shots, hitting three. He finished with nine points and seven rebounds, ending his streak of double-digit scoring games at 33. His last single-digit game also came against Navy in last year's Patriot League Tournament quarterfinals.
• Joe Willman led all players with 10 rebounds and also scored nine points.
• Stephen Kaspar enjoyed one of his best games of the year with eight points, all coming in the first half. He went 4-for-6 from the floor and also dished out four assists and collected two steals.
• Bucknell made 8 of 14 from 3-point range and shot 48.9% overall. Navy was 5-for-16 from the arc and shot 36.4%.
• The Bison outrebounded the Midshipmen 35-26.
Milestone Watch
• Mike Muscala needs just two points to become Bucknell's all-time leading scorer (Al Leslie had 1,973) and 29 to become the program's first 2,000-point scorer.
• Muscala needs 58 rebounds to equal Adonal Foyle's Patriot League career record of 1,103.
• Muscala needs 12 blocked shots to catch school record-holder Mike Butts, who had 278.
• Bryson Johnson needs one point to move into the top 10 on Bucknell's career scoring list.
• Joe Willman needs eight points to move into the top 25 on Bucknell's career scoring list.
20-20-20 Vision
• Bucknell has now posted three straight 25-win seasons for the first time ever. This is the second time in program history that the team has produced three straight 20-win seasons. The other stretch was 2004-05 (24), 2005-06 (27) and 2006-07 (22).
• The program record for victories in consecutive years is 51, set in 2004-05 (24) and 2005-06 (27).
• Bucknell has surpassed the program record for wins over a three-year span (75). The Bison won 73 contests from 2004-07 (24, 27, 22).
• The single-season victory record is 27, set in 2005-06.
• 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.
Who's Got Next?
• The Bucknell-Navy winner will face the winner of the Army-American quarterfinal game, also being played on Wednesday night at West Point. Bucknell would host the semifinal game, while Navy would continue on the road.
• Both Patriot League semifinal contests will air live on CBS Sports Network at 2 and 4:30 p.m. on Saturday.
