Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell University
3-6
Columbia
5-2
Columbia Defeats Bucknell 62-39 in NYC
12/6/2014 9:16:00 PM | Men's Basketball
LEWISBURG, Pa. – Bucknell ran into the nation's sixth-ranked defensive team on Saturday night in New York City, and Columbia held the Bison to season lows in points and field-goal percentage in a 62-39 victory at Levien Gym. Maodo Lo scored 20 points, and Cory Osetkowski had 12 points, 12 rebounds, six assists and three blocks to lead the Lions, who have now held four of their last five opponents to 47 points or fewer.
Chris Hass led the Bison with nine points but was saddled with foul trouble for much of the second half. Ben Oberfield had a strong night off the bench, contributing a career-high seven points along with three rebounds in 10 minutes off the bench.
Bucknell (3-6) was limited to 28.3 percent shooting and hit 2 of 15 from 3-point range against a team giving up only 51.8 points per game entering the night. Columbia's opponents were shooting 38.4 percent overall and 26.0 percent from 3-point distance coming in, and those figures will drop as the Lions snapped a three-game series losing streak to Bucknell.
Bucknell's first half was hampered by a number of missed shots in the lane, and the Bison trailed 24-18 after shooting 25.8 percent in the opening 20 minutes. Hass opened the scoring with a put-back, but then Bucknell missed 10 straight shots, seven of them at the rim, while Columbia rattled off 14 points in a row.
After that 14-0 run, the Bison held the Lions (5-2) to just a single field goal in 10 minutes and crept within 16-13 on a Hass jumper from the right wing. Columbia went back up by eight on a Steve Frankoski 3-pointer, but five quick points from Hass made it 21-18 with 1:34 left.
The Bison appeared to draw within one on Hass' baseline drive and dish to Nana Foulland for a dunk, but the basket was waved off on a charging call on Hass. Lo hit his fourth trey of the half with 38 seconds left, and then Foulland's point-blank shot rolled around and the rim and off in the final seconds.
Columbia quickly stretched its advantage in the early moments of the second half. Chris McComber, who attempted only one shot and missed it in the first half, hit 3-pointers on the Lions' first two possessions of the second half. Lo made it an 8-0 run with a reverse layup and transition, and the Bison called timeout down 32-18.
Foulland hit a couple of short jump-hooks as part of a 5-2 run for the Bison, but then Hass picked up his third foul with 15:05 to play. He returned five minutes later with Bucknell down 14, but soon after he drew his fourth foul on another charging call on the baseline with 8:57 left.
Columbia's lead bulged to as many as 23 for the first time on a Frankoski three with 1:13 to play. The Lions finished at 44.9 percent on the night, including 52.0 percent shooting in the second half, and made 10 3-pointers in 22 attempts. Columbia finished with a slim 35-33 edge on the glass, and both teams committed nine turnovers.
Bucknell wraps up the first semester with a home game against Albany on Monday at 7 p.m.
