Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell University
1-2
Villanova
3-0
| Team | 1 | 2 | F |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bucknell | 26 | 39 | 65 |
| Villanova | 33 | 39 | 72 |
Bucknell Takes No. 12 Villanova to the Wire, Falls 72-65
11/20/2014 10:52:00 PM | Men's Basketball
VILLANOVA, Pa. – In a game that was not decided until the final 15 seconds, 12th-ranked Villanova needed a late steal to hold off a tenacious Bucknell squad 72-65 on Thursday night at the Pavilion. Chris Hass scored a career-high 32 points and freshman Stephen Brown had a breakout game at point guard, but the Bison fell to a top-25 team for the second time in four days.
Hass went 9-for-12 from the field, 3-for-6 from the arc and 11-for-12 from the free-throw line, and it was his trey that gave the Bison a 65-63 lead with 1:51 to play. Bucknell was struggling early against Villanova's high-pressure half-court defense, but Brown settled things down when he came into the game in the first half. In his first extended action, the rookie from Virginia tallied six points, five rebounds and three assists in 25 minutes, and his ability to facilitate the offense was a major key for the Bison.
Dylan Ennis led four Villanova players in double figures with 16 points. Ryan Arcidiacano had 15 points, Daniel Ochefu tallied 14 points and 10 rebounds, and Darrun Hilliard finished with 10 points, the last two coming on a game-saving steal and layup with 12 seconds left.
After that shaky start, Bucknell was able to cut a 14-point deficit down to seven at 33-26 at the half. A Dom Hoffman baseline jumper on the first possession of the second half made it a five-point game, and just over three minutes later Hoffman hit an elbow jumper followed by a Hass 3-pointer, and the Bison were back within four at 39-35 at the under-16 media timeout.
Hass made an extra pass to John Azzinaro for a wide-open right-corner trey that cut the Bucknell deficit to one, and then D.J. MacLeay was fouled going back up on a put-back attempt after one of his career-high 11 rebounds. He made 1 of 2 at the line to tie the game for the first time all night at 39-39 with 14:35 left.
Hilliard made a long three at the other end before MacLeay answered with a driving layup. Bucknell had two chances to go ahead for the first time, but shots by Azzinaro and Show rimmed out. JayVaughn Pinkston missed two free throws, but Villanova tipped out the rebound, and Ennis hit a 3-pointer moments later.
Villanova went back up by six on a Josh Hart trey, but a jumper by Hoffman and a couple of Hass long jumpers sandwiched around an Arcidiacono jumper brought the Bison within 51-49. After a Ryan Frazier steal, the Bison thought they had the game tied on Azzinaro's baseline drive, but the basket was waved off as MacLeay was called for an offensive foul clearing out space.
Down 55-51, Bucknell fought back again. Brown was first to a loose ball at mid-court, spun around a man and went in for a fastbreak layup. Nana Foulland followed with a bucket in the lane to tie it at 55 with 5:24 left. Hass made two free throws to tie it at 57, and then Hoffman hit Hass with a backdoor pass to make it 59-all with 3:58 to go.
Down two again after a pair of Arcidiacono free throws, Hass was fouled on a three and made all three at the line to give the Bison their first lead of the night, 62-61 with 3:33 to go. Villanova took the lead right back on a layup by Daniel Ochefu, but Hass answered with a trey to give Bucknell a 65-63 lead with 1:51 left.
Arcidiacano tied it with two more from the line, and after three Bucknell misses in the lane, Ochefu made 1 of 2 at the line to give Villanova a 62-61 lead.
At the other end Hass was bumped on an exchange at the top of the key and lost control of the ball out of bounds to Villanova with 34 seconds left. Dylan Ennis hit two free throws to make it 68-65 with 0:25 to play.
Hillurd then stole a pass on the wing and went coast to coast, and Ennis finished it off with two free throws.
“That's just a heart-wrenching loss,” said coach Dave Paulsen afterward. “We just couldn't close it out. Give credit to Villanova, they never lost their composure and didn't get rattled after we took the lead. We don't believe in moral victories. We thought we could have and should have won the game and we are really disappointed not to. But at the same time, I am really proud of our effort. After a poor start, we were able to get settled and took the game down to the wire.”
It took Bucknell some time to adjust to Villanova's length and quickness on defense. Eleven minutes into the game the Bison were just 2-for-10 from the field with 10 turnovers and trailed 20-6. But a put-back by Foulland and drives to the basket by Hass and Brown sparked a quick 6-0 run.
The Wildcats went back up by 14 at 30-16 on two free throws by Hilliard, but the Bison closed the half on an 11-3 run. Hass made all three free throws after being fouled on a 3-point attempt. Villanova answered with three points off a free-throw, an offensive rebound and a dunk by Ochefu. Hass then hit a three with 48 seconds left, and after a defensive stop, the Bison played for the final shot of the half, and J.C. Show curled off a screen on the left wing and beat the buzzer with another trey to make it 33-26 at the break.
Bucknell rallied to shoot 47.1 percent for the game after the tough start. The Bison hit at an even 50 percent clip (15-30) in the second half. They were 5-for-14 from 3-point range and 12-for-18 from the foul line. Villanova shot 38.9 percent overall and made 5 of 22 3-point attempts. The Wildcats had a 13-point advantage at the foul line. They made 25 of 36 at the stripe, as Bucknell was called for 27 fouls to 16 for Villanova.
The Bison outrebounded Villanova 38-31, although former Bison captain Jay Wright's squad did parlay 10 offensive rebounds into 14 second-chance points.
Hass' previous career high was 26 points against Colgate last season. He became the first Bison to hit 30 points since Mike Muscala scored 30 against Lehigh in the 2012 Patriot League championship game.
Bucknell returns home Saturday night to face Mount St. Mary's at 7 p.m. at Sojka Pavilion.
