Bison Host Lehigh Wednesday in Final Regular-Season Home Game

2/25/2014 5:35:00 PM | Men's Basketball

By: TBD

What: Lehigh (14-15, 7-9 PL) at Bucknell (14-13, 9-7 PL)
Where: Sojka Pavilion, Lewisburg, Pa.
When: Wednesday, Feb. 26, 2014, 7 p.m.
Webcast: Bison Vision on Patriot League Network
Radio: Eagle 107 (107.3 WEGH)
Internet Radio: BucknellBison.com
Live Statistics: BucknellBison.com
Happenings: BJ's $10K Shot

With a Win over Lehigh, Bucknell Would ...
• ... extend its winning streak to a season-long five games and improve to 15-13 overall, 10-7 in the Patriot League.
• ... clinch the No. 4 seed in the Patriot League Tournament if Army loses to Boston University.
• ... give the Class of 2014 (Cameron Ayers, Ben Brackney, Brian Fitzpatrick, Ryan Hill) its 93rd victory, making it the winningest senior class in program history. The Class of 2013 won 92 games.
• ... split the season series with the Mountain Hawks.
• ... improve to 99-63 all-time against the Mountain Hawks.
• ... improve to 8-5 at home this season.

Headlines
• Bucknell seems to be heating up just at the right time, as the Bison have won four straight games to improve to 9-7 in the Patriot League and catch Army for fourth place with two games remaining. Bucknell's most recent victory was a come-from-behind 63-53 verdict at first-place Boston University on Sunday.
• The Bison hold head-to-head tiebreakers over Army, meaning Bucknell can clinch the No. 4 seed with a victory over Lehigh and an Army loss to Boston University on Wednesday. The Bison can still move up to third, but they would need two wins and two Holy Cross losses this week. The top four seeds host Patriot League Tournament quarterfinal games on March 5. Bucknell cannot be seeded lower than sixth, meaning it avoids having to play a first-round game on Monday.
• Cameron Ayers is working on a streak of 21 straight double-figure scoring games, and he continues to lead the team and rank third in the Patriot league in scoring at 15.7 ppg. He has been even better in league games, averaging 16.6 points and a team-best 5.0 rebounds per game.
• This is a “new-look” Bison squad, as three standout players from last year's NCAA Tournament team graduated (Mike Muscala, Bryson Johnson, Joe Willman) and are all playing professionally. Three Bucknell players made their first career starts on opening night at Stanford (Brian Fitzpatrick, Dom Hoffman, Ben Brackney), Ryan Frazier started for the first time in his career at Penn State, and Chris Hass did the same against Saint Francis.
• Bucknell returned two starters and 11 lettermen from last year's squad that won a school-record 28 games, captured Patriot League regular-season and tournament titles, and advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the sixth time in program history.
• Lehigh comes in at 14-15 overall and 7-9 in the Patriot League after falling at Lafayette 77-71 on Sunday. The Mountain Hawks can clinch a Patriot League Tournament first-round bye with a win over Bucknell coupled with a Lafayette loss at Colgate. Senior point guard Mackey McKnight leads the team in scoring at 13.8 ppg and ranks second in the conference in assists at 6.1 apg. Center Tim Kempton (13.3 ppg, 6.8 rpg) has enjoyed a terrific rookie year, and Lehigh features five strong 3-point shooters in McKnight, Austin Price, Stefan Cvrkalj, Corey Schaefer and Jesse Chuku. The Mountain Hawks were 9-for-16 from the arc against Bucknell in their 66-63 win at Stabler Arena back on Jan. 29.

How to Get the Game
• The Bucknell-Lehigh game will not be televised, however a live webcast will be streamed free of charge on Bison Vision on the Patriot League Network. Visit BucknellBison.com or PatriotLeague.tv to access the webcast.
• The game can be heard in the Susquehanna Valley on the radio on Eagle 107 (WEGH 107.3 FM), with Doug Birdsong calling the action. The pregame show begins 30 minutes before tip-off.
• The audio feed is available online free of charge via BucknellBison.com.
• Live stats can be accessed at BucknellBison.com.

Bucknell-American Game Picked up by CBS Sports Network
• The Patriot League announced last week that this Saturday's Bucknell-American game at Bender Arena has been picked up by CBS Sports Network. Tip-off remains at 2 p.m.

Bucknell vs. Lehigh
• Bucknell has played more games (161) and won more games (98) against Lehigh than any other school. The Bison have a 98-63 lead in a series that originated in 1902.
• Since the start of Patriot League play in 1990-91, Bucknell holds a 38-17 advantage, including a 20-6 mark at home.
• The road team had captured the last five Bucknell-Lehigh meetings until the Mountain Hawks held serve at home earlier this year. The Bison had won three straight games in Bethlehem, while Lehigh has prevailed in the last three meetings in Sojka Pavilion, including the 2012 Patriot League championship game.
• Lehigh owns the most wins over Bucknell in Sojka Pavilion (5).
• Lehigh is responsible for snapping Bucknell's 35-game home winning streak against Patriot League foes. The Bison had not lost to a conference opponent at Sojka Pavilion in nearly five years, until the Mountain Hawks won 56-54 in Lewisburg on Jan. 30, 2008.
• Lehigh also won the first game ever played in Sojka Pavilion, a 60-56 decision on Jan. 15, 2003. Including that game, Bucknell is 8-5 against the Mountain Hawks in Sojka.
• Back on Jan. 29 at Stabler Arena, Corey Schaefer (15) and Stefan Cvrkalj (14) combined for 29 points on 7-for-11 3-point shooting to lift Lehigh to a 66-63 win. As a team, Lehigh made 7 of 8 attempts from the arc in the second half to rally from a seven-point halftime deficit. Cameron Ayers scored 23 points and Chris Hass and Brian Fitzpatrick added 13 each for the Bison.

Patriot League Success
• Bucknell is 220-103 (.681) all-time in Patriot League regular-season games, the best record of any league team. The Bison have clinched at least a .500 conference record this season, meaning that they have now finished at least .500 in PL play in 20 of the 24 Patriot League seasons.
• 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 previous three campaigns. Dating back to mid-2010, Bucknell has won 53 of its last 67 league games.
• Bucknell won Patriot League Tournament titles in 2005, 2006, 2011 and 2013. The Bison have made it to the semifinals 18 times and to the championship game 10 times in the 23-year history of the league.
• The Bison are the only team to go unbeaten in league play in a season (14-0 in 2006).

Anatomy of a Winning Streak
Some key numbers from this current four-game winning streak:
• Rebounding and defense have been two major factors in this run. The Bison have a +52 rebound margin (165-113) in their last four games, including a 46-27 figure against Boston University on Sunday. Of those 165 rebounds, 51 have come on the offensive glass.
• During the streak the Bison have held opponents to 56.0 points per game, 37.2% shooting from the field and 33.3% accuracy from the 3-point arc.
• At the other end, Bucknell has shot 45.1% from the floor and 47.2% from 3-point distance.
• This streak has coincided with a significant increase in production from the bench, particularly from junior Cory Starkey and freshman John Azzinaro. Over the last four games Starkey has recorded 18 points and 24 rebounds while averaging just under 20 minutes per game. Azzinaro has also been playing 20 minutes per game at the point guard spot, and he was on the floor hitting big shots to close out each of the wins. He had missed 15 straight 3-pointers entering the Navy game on Feb. 12, but since then he is 6-for-11 from the arc and is averaging 8.0 points and 2.3 assists per game.

Last Time Out
• Bucknell outscored Boston University 39-20 over the final 16 minutes of the game to flip a nine-point deficit into a 63-53 win over the first-place Terriers on Sunday at Agganis Arena. The Bison trailed 33-24 after Boston University opened the second half with a 10-2 run, but Bucknell took over the game by limiting the Terriers to two field goals in a span of nearly 13 minutes.
• The Bison bench was spectacular. The foursome of Cory Starkey, John Azzinaro, Ryan Frazier and D.J. MacLeay combined to score 30 of the team's final 32 points of the day. MacLeay's first career 3-pointer gave Bucknell a 40-38 lead with 7:52 to play, and the Bison would never trail again. MacLeay finished with seven points and seven rebounds. Frazier recorded two 3-point plays in the final 3:02, scored 10 points, and also helped limit Patriot League Preseason Player of the Year D.J. Irving without a field goal. Azzinaro ran the point for the final 13 minutes and scored seven points, including a huge 3-pointer with 3:48 to play that bumped a four-point lead up to seven. And Starkey logged eight points, seven rebounds, two assists and two steals. His layup off a Frazier feed snapped a 40-all tie, and Starkey scored again moments later on a high-flying put-back to make it a four-point game.
• Cameron Ayers led a balanced Bison scoring attack with 11 points, his 21st straight game in double figures.
• Brian Fitzpatrick recorded his 10th rebound late in the first half, and he finished with a career-high 12 rebounds to go along with seven points.
• Boston University shot just 32.0% for the game on its home floor, including a 4-for-18 showing from 3-point range.
• Bucknell dominated on the glass, outrebounding the Terriers 46-27. The Bison corralled 14 offensive boards, leading to a 15-6 edge in second-chance points.

Numbers Worth Noting
• After shooting 12-for-15 from 3-point range at Lafayette on Jan. 8, Bucknell ranked No. 1 in the nation in 3-point field goal percentage (.440). After a cold stretch, the Bison have begun to heat back up again from long range, going 25-for-53 (.472) over the last four outings. Bucknell is now shooting 39.6% for the season, the 12th-best mark in the nation.
• Oddly, Bucknell has shot much better on the road (44.8 FG%, 42.1 3FG%, 75.8 FT%) this season than at home (41.4 FG%, 35.1 3FG%, 75.7 FT%).
• In wins this season, Bucknell has shot 48.2 FG%, 48.6 3FG%, 77.6 FT%. In the losses, the Bison have shot 38.3 FG%, 31.4 3FG%, 73.4 FT%.
• In each of the last two seasons, Bucknell led the nation in defensive rebounding percentage (i.e. percentage of opponents' missed shots that Bucknell has rebounded). This year, despite playing with a four-guard lineup for much of the year, the Bison still rank a respectable 7th out of 351 Division I teams in DR%. Last year, led by senior big men Mike Muscala and Joe Willman, Bucknell grabbed 79.0% of its opponents' misses. This year that figure is still a solid 76.7%.
• Bucknell has typically ranked among the very best in the nation in fewest turnovers under coach Dave Paulsen, and this year has been no different. The Bison are averaging 10.3 turnovers per game to rank 24th nationally. They turned the ball over a season-low four times at Colgate on Feb. 1.
• Last season Bucknell featured one of the nation's most prolific shot-blockers in Mike Muscala, but so far this season the Bison have blocked only 41 shots in 27 games, compared to 124 by their opponents. Bucknell ranked last nationally in blocks per game, before climbing out of the cellar with a season-high six rejections against Loyola on Jan. 22. At 1.5 blocks per game, the Bison are now ahead of Central Michigan, Sacramento State, Abilene Christian and Wofford.
• Bucknell ranks 28th nationally in fewest personal fouls per game (17.0).
• Brian Fitzpatrick is now shooting 63.4% in Patriot League games, and he is 57-for-85 (.671) in his last 14 contests. His 61.0% accuracy for the season is No. 2 among all Patriot League players and No. 25 among all Division I players.
• Cameron Ayers leads the Patriot League and ranks 49th in the nation in free-throw shooting at 87.1%. As a team, Bucknell ranks No. 14 nationally in free-throw percentage at 75.7%.