Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell University
8-9, 3-3PL
Army
9-8, 5-1PL
| Team | 1 | 2 | F |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bucknell | 26 | 41 | 67 |
| Army | 33 | 41 | 74 |
Army Holds Off Bison, 74-67
1/19/2014 6:14:00 PM | Men's Basketball
WEST POINT, N.Y. – Josh Herbeck hit all six of his 3-point attempts, including two crazy shots as the shot clock expired in the second half, leading Army to a 74-67 victory over Bucknell on Sunday afternoon at Christl Arena. Kyle Wilson scored 28 points and Herbeck had 18 for the Black Knights, who snapped a seven-game series losing streak and improved to 9-8 overall and 5-1 in the Patriot League. Brian Fitzpatrick led the Bison with 17 points on 8-for-8 shooting, but they fell to 8-9, 3-3.
Bucknell rallied from 11 points down to take the lead midway through the second half, but the difference in an extremely tight contest were the two late-shot-clock 3-pointers by Herbeck. The first came with Bucknell leading 53-52 inside seven minutes to play. The Black Knights grabbed an offensive rebound on a shot that did not hit the rim, and after receiving a kick-out pass Herbeck was forced to fling up a fading three right in front of his own bench. The shot hit nothing but net with 6:31 to play, and Army would never trail again.
Bucknell then turned the ball over twice and missed a transition layup. Wilson hit a short jumper the other way to give Army a 57-53 lead with 5:03 to play. The Bison cut four-point deficits down to two on five separate occasions, and as the game clock flipped under one minute, they came up with a solid defensive possession. Ryan Frazier knocked a ball out of bounds on the left sideline with three seconds on the shot clock. Herbeck inbounded and then got the ball back about 35 feet from the hoop, and his desperation heave again splashed through the net as the shot clock expired.
Army came up with steals on Bucknell's next two possessions, and Wilson's six free throws in the final 35 seconds iced the game.
“I am obviously disappointed that we came away with a loss, but we definitely took some strides forward today in terms of how hard we competed,” said head coach Dave Paulsen. “This is a really good Army team. They really disrupt your flow with their high-pressure defense. In the end they made a few more shots than we did, but I was pleased with our effort.”
Bucknell placed four players in double figures, led by Fitzpatrick's 17. Steven Kaspar logged 13 points, five assists and three steals. Ben Brackney finished with 11 points and a career-high nine rebounds, and Cameron Ayers tallied 10 points. The Bison shot 41.8 percent from the floor and made 16 of 19 free-throw attempts, but they hit on just 5 of 21 attempts from 3-point range.
Wilson and Herbeck were the only two double-digit scorers for Army, but Tanner Omlid and Matt Gramling added seven points each as part of a 32-point night for the Black Knights' bench. Omlid also grabbed 10 rebounds. Army shot 52.2 percent and went 8-for-18 from 3-point range and 18-for-26 from the foul line.
A couple of Brackney threes helped stake Bucknell to an early 11-4 lead, but the Bison managed just one field goal over a four-minute stretch while Army hit back with a 15-3 run. Back-to-back treys by Herbeck gave Army its first lead at 17-14, and Omlid finished the run with a layup.
Army then stretched a 22-21 lead up to 11 with a 10-0 run, keyed by another Herbeck trey and a 3-point play by Omlid. Bucknell outscored Army 5-1 in the last two minutes of the half, with Ayers scoring his first points of the night with a short jumper on the left block and SFrazier following with a 3-pointer.
Bucknell missed a potential tying 3-pointer with 13:00 to play, and then a 3-point play by Gramling at the other end pushed Army's lead back up to six at 45-39. But the Bison rallied again. Fitzpatrick worked inside for a layup, and Frazier made two free throws to make it a two-point game. After Wilson missed two at the line, Kaspar drove the lane for a layup to tie the game at 45-all with 10:10 to play.
Fitzpatrick spun in the lane for a right-handed layup to give Bucknell a 47-46 lead, its first advantage since it was 14-11.
Later in the half Kaspar broke a tie with a 3-point play, and then Kaspar streaked in from the left side for another layup to give Bucknell a 53-50 lead with 7:26 to play. Wilson answered with two free throws, and then things went south for the Bison starting with Herbeck's desperation three from the right corner as the shot clock terminated.
Army picked up its first win over Bucknell since a 90-80 win at West Point in 2011.
The Bison will play their next two games at home against the two Patriot League newcomers. Loyola Maryland visits Sojka Pavilion on Wednesday at 7 p.m., and then Boston University will be in town for a 2 p.m. start next Saturday on CBS Sports Network.
