Bucknell University Athletics
Postcards from Europe 2014: Day 6 in Paris
5/26/2014 8:46:00 PM | Men's Basketball
PARIS, France – While most of you back in the states fired up the barbeque grills for Memorial Day cookouts, the Bison men's basketball team spent the day on a guided tour of Paris, followed by their third straight win on the hardwood. Day 6 was another banner day on this fabulous European trip, highlighted by stops at Notre Dame, the Eiffel Tower and the Louvre.
We had a chance to get the lay of the land following our arrival in Paris around dinnertime last evening, and most of the group took a midnight cruise along the river Seine. Today we saw the city in much more detail, through the eyes of our guide Anne Marie. She was fantastic, a little bundle of energy who kept us moving, displayed a thorough knowledge of Paris, had answers to every question, and did it all with a witty sense of humor.
The first stop was the famous Notre Dame cathedral, noted for its incredibly ornate Gothic architecture. Notre Dame was completed in 1345 after about 180 years of construction. The stained glass is breathtaking, and it was interesting to see the famed flying buttresses and gargoyles, which were significant architectural innovations during that era. There was a small service taking place in the cathedral while we walked through, which was interesting even though it was performed in French and Latin.
We took in a magnificent view of the illuminated Eiffel Tower last night, and although it was not quite as impressive on a cool, rainy day today, we still took a few minutes to pose for some photos with the tower. No one has had a chance to go up in the tower yet, although some are planning to do so during free time tomorrow.
Ann Marie called attention to many historic sites as we bussed around the city, and then our final stop was at The Louvre. The world's most famous art museum was originally built as a fortress in the late 1100s. It later became a residence, and then finally it was converted into the art gallery in 1792. Of course, the most famous of the 35,000 works of art in The Louvre is Da Vinci's masterpiece Mona Lisa.
Upon entering The Louvre, almost everyone in the traveling party bolted straight for the Mona Lisa, fighting off large throngs of visitors to get a glimpse and a photo of the famous painting. From there, the group dispersed throughout the museum, and then most of the team crossed the Pont Neuf to eat lunch in the Latin Quarter, a picturesque neighborhood featuring narrow streets, cute bistros and plenty of good window shopping.
At 6:30 p.m., the team boarded the bus again and headed out of Paris to the suburb of Poissy for an 8:30 p.m. tip against the local hoops team. Poissy is a third-division team in the French pro league, but it has fared well competitively against Pro B teams, including a two-game split with Rouen, which Bucknell defeated on Saturday.
Poissy was a veteran team with some size up front and a couple of very good shooters in the backcourt. The Bison had a hard time guarding them in the opening minutes and quickly fell behind 14-8. But after a timeout, Chris Hass stroked two 3-pointers, Cameron Ayers went coast-to-coast after a defensive rebound, and Dom Hoffman scored on a put-back for a 10-0 run.
Bucknell led 21-19 after Cory Starkey beat the first-quarter buzzer with a fastbreak layup, and then the Bison scored the first nine points of the second quarter to open up a comfortable lead. Perhaps the highlight of the game came in the waning moments of the period. Poissy had just deflected a pass that caromed out of bounds all the way over the opposite baseline. That meant that the Bison had to come back the length of the court with just three seconds on the shot clock and five seconds left in the half. John Azzinaro took the inbounds pass and drained a shot from one step inside halfcourt, giving Bucknell a commanding 42-26 lead at the break.
Poissy warmed up from long range later in the game and closed within 11 on a couple of occasions, but Hass hit a pair of dagger threes in the fourth quarter to help clinch the 73-62 victory.
Coming off a 26-point performance against Rouen, Hoffman was sensational again in this one, posting 21 points on 8-for-10 shooting to go along with 11 rebounds. The only downer came late in the third quarter, when Hoffman crashed the offensive glass for a tip-in, but came down on the foot of a Poissy player and rolled his right ankle. Fortunately, the injury was just a mild sprain. He might have gone back in had this been a Patriot League game, but he did not return to the floor tonight.
Hass was 4-for-8 from 3-point range and 6-for-18 overall en route to 18 points. Starkey added another double-double with 12 points and 11 rebounds, helping the Bison to a commanding 48-31 edge on the glass against a team that did have some size up front. Bucknell had 17 offensive rebounds compared to just five for Poissy. The Bison also forced 20 turnovers and scored a number of transition buckets, including an emphatic dunk by Starkey in the fourth quarter.
Now 3-1 this week, the team will play its final game in Europe tomorrow night at Drancy. There are no formal tours planned during the day, however the team will have an “Amazing Race” competition in the morning, where they will have to find various landmarks around Paris and be the first group back to the hotel. The Bison did a similar race in Rome four years ago, and it was great fun.
We'll let you know who wins in tomorrow's report. For now, Go Bison!
