Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell University
7-10, 2-2
Holy Cross
6-8, 1-3
| Team | 1 | 2 | OT 1 | F |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bucknell | 23 | 31 | 8 | 62 |
| Holy Cross | 32 | 22 | 11 | 65 |
Overtime Free Throws Lift Holy Cross to 65-62 Win over Bucknell Men
1/10/2015 5:16:00 PM | Men's Basketball
WORCESTER, Mass. – Bucknell battled back from a 15-point deficit to force overtime, but Holy Cross scored all 11 of its points in the extra session at the free-throw line and held off the Bison 65-62 on Saturday afternoon at the Hart Center. Nana Foulland led four Bison in double figures with 12 points, but Bucknell's road struggles continued as it fell to 7-10 overall and 2-2 in Patriot League play.
Malcolm Miller scored 14 points to lead Holy Cross, seven of them coming at the line in overtime, and the Crusaders (6-8, 1-3) picked up their first conference win of the season.
J.C. Show scored 11 points and Chris Hass and Dom Hoffman added 10 apiece, but after storming all the way back from a big deficit, the Bison left some points at the foul line and had a few key misses down the stretch.
Bucknell outscored Holy Cross 25-13 over the last 14:30 of regulation after trailing 42-29. The Bison led throughout most of the overtime period, and it was 62-61 after Steven Kaspar made 1 of 2 at the foul line. At the other end, Kaspar fouled out on a borderline block/charge call, and Mitchell Hahn made both free throws to put the Crusaders back in front 63-62.
Hass was off the mark on a right-wing three attempt, and Miller made both free throws with 5.8 seconds left after drawing a foul on the rebound. Stephen Brown, who gave the Bison a real spark in his 20 minutes off the bench, brought the ball up against pressure and flipped a pass back to Hoffman who had an open look at the top of the key, but his potential tying shot went off the back iron as time expired.
Bucknell shot 61.9 percent while limiting Holy Cross to 31.8 percent in the second half. Improved defense fueled the comeback, as the Bison limited the Crusaders to two field goals in a 13-minute stretch. Bucknell outscored Holy Cross 23-6 in that span, tying the game on a Foulland 3-point play and then going ahead for the first time since 2-0 on a Kaspar layup with 3:44 to go.
Bucknell went up by four on a Hass steal and breakaway layup, and it was still a four-point game after Hoffman hit 1 of 2 at the line with 2:56 left. But Holy Cross came back to tie it on a Hahn driving layup – that would be the Crusaders' final field goal of the day with 2:27 left in regulation -- and two Miller free throws.
Hoffman's put-back with 59 seconds to go put the Bison back in front 54-52. Bucknell thought it had a tie-up in the lane at the other end, but Kaspar was called for a hold, and Malachi Alexander hit two tying free throws with 40.7 ticks left. After Show came up empty on a jumper from the right wing, Ryan Frazier stripped Justin Burrell as the buzzer sounded, and Bucknell headed to overtime in a Patriot League game for the first time in five years.
Holy Cross hit four of its first five 3-pointers and 10 of its first 16 shots of the day en route to a 24-9 lead after 12 minutes of play. Later in the half a three by Alexander gave the Crusaders a 28-14 lead, but sparked by some strong play off the bench from the freshman point guard Brown, the Bison got back within single digits by halftime.
Brown had a drive and dish to Foulland for a 3-point play, and then a sweet no-look pass to Hoffman for a layup with 11 seconds left in the half. Kaspar then stole the ball and fed Brown for a breakaway layup at the buzzer to reduce Bucknell's deficit to 32-23 at the break.
Brown scored a career-high seven points, making all three of his field-goal attempts and 1 of 2 at the line, and he added three assists. That continued the recent strong play by the Bison freshman class, which combined for 20 points in this one even though Zach Thomas, who scored 21 points against Lafayette on Wednesday, was unable to go after injuring his right thumb in practice on Friday.
Even though Bucknell shot 52.2 percent compared to 42.6 percent for Holy Cross in the game, the Bison lamented a 12-for-19 showing at the foul line. Holy Cross was a stellar 18-for-22, including 11-for-12 in overtime.
Holy Cross was 7-for-18 from the 3-point arc, while Bucknell was just 2-for-9. The Crusaders outrebounded the Bison 28-24, but Bucknell had a 38-12 scoring edge in the paint.
Bucknell will play its next two games at home – the Bison are 5-2 at Sojka Pavilion but now 1-8 on the road -- against the Patriot League's service academy teams. The Bison host Navy on Wednesday and Army on Saturday, with both contests tipping at 7 p.m.
