Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell University
12-10, 7-2PL
Lehigh
10-10, 4-5PL
Bison Rally from 16 Down to Stun Lehigh, Take over Sole Possession of PL Lead
1/28/2015 11:59:00 PM | Men's Basketball
LEWISBURG, Pa. – Freshman Zach Thomas scored 15 of his game-high 19 points in the final 6:27 of the contest, and Bucknell stormed back from a 16-point deficit with nine minutes to play to defeat visiting Lehigh 68-62 and take over sole possession of first place in the Patriot League. Chris Hass added 13 points and Nana Foulland grabbed a career-high 10 rebounds to lead the Bison, who won their fifth straight game to improve to 12-10 overall and 7-2 in the Patriot League.
Bucknell struggled mightily at the offensive end of the floor for most of the night and trailed 50-34 after Miles Simelton's layup for Lehigh with 9:07 to play. But in the final 8:51 the Bison doubled their point total, outscoring Lehigh 34-12 the rest of the way.
While rookies Thomas and J.C. Show combined for five 3-pointers in that game-changing surge, it was veterans Steven Kaspar and Dom Hoffman who provided the foundation for the comeback. Hoffman checked into the game for the first time with 12:19 remaining and only played five minutes, but in that span the junior forward scored on a pretty reverse layup, hit a long baseline jumper and blocked a shot to help spark the comeback.
Kaspar finished the game at the point, and his dribble penetration led to a number of open looks, and he was also the catalyst for a smothering defense that limited the Mountain Hawks (10-10, 4-5) to four field goals in the final eight minutes of the game. Kaspar finished with four points, four rebounds, five assists and a pair of steals in 22 minutes off the bench.
Bucknell entered the night in a tie for first place with Colgate, two games ahead of the rest of the pack. The Raiders lost at home to Lafayette, giving Bucknell a one-game lead with Colgate coming into Sojka Pavilion for a key showdown this Saturday night.
“This was a great, tough, gritty win, and the resilience our guys displayed tonight was really gratifying,” said head coach Dave Paulsen. “Lehigh played exceptionally well and we took their best shot, but our effort and intensity and focus was over the edge down the stretch. We are very happy to be in first place at the halfway point of Patriot League play, but we also know that we have to keep getting better if we want to stay there.”
Bucknell shot just 26.9 percent from the field and 6-for-12 from the foul line in the first half, yet trailed only 26-23 after finishing the half on an 8-0 run. The Bison's offensive woes continued into the second half, and Lehigh outscored them 22-9 over the first nine minutes to build a seemingly commanding 48-32 lead.
It was still a 15-point margin at 53-38 after Kahron Ross nailed a 3-pointer with 8:03 to play, but Hoffman hit that jumper off a feed from Kaspar to really get the Bison going.
Seven of Foulland's 10 rebounds came on the offensive glass, and twice he kept a possession alive by pulling down long rebounds off of missed threes. After the second one he kicked the ball back out to Show at the top of the key, and Show swished a triple to make it a 10-point game and get the home crowd back into it.
After Thomas hit two free throws, Show countered a Lehigh turnover with another bomb from the left wing to make it 53-48. Kaspar hit two more free throws, but then Lehigh's Tim Kempton scored on a drive while drawing a foul. He missed the free throw though, and at the other end Kaspar drove right at Kempton with four fouls and made a dazzling up-and-under scoop shot to cut the Mountain Hawks' lead back to three.
Justin Goldsborough scored in the lane for Lehigh, but then Thomas simply took over the game, scoring 12 points in just 1:46. He drew a foul on Goldsborough while finishing the layup for a 3-point play, and after a Lehigh traveling call at the other end, Thomas buried a three off a kick-out pass from Kaspar to give Bucknell its first lead (58-57) since it was 13-11 midway through the first half.
Kaspar came up with a steal and then fed Thomas for yet another 3-pointer to make it 61-57 with 2:11 to play. Ross momentarily silenced a now-delirious crowd with a 3-point play for Lehigh, but then with the shot clock winding down Thomas banked in a three from the left wing to push the lead back to four at 64-60 with 1:26 to go.
Bucknell's defense was terrific in the final stages, and after a long possession Hass skied high to rebound a missed three by Ross. Foulland went to the line after being fouled on yet another offensive rebound and made 1 of 2 with 41 seconds left. Ross made a layup for Lehigh to make it 65-62, but 20 precious seconds came off the clock.
Bucknell had to call one timeout after Hass got trapped on the inbounds, but on the second try Kaspar threw a long, full-court pass to Hass to caught the ball and was quickly fouled. He made both free throws to make it a two-possession game again, and Thomas added one more point from the line after grabbing a rebound with a half-second to play.
The 16-point comeback was Bucknell's largest since rallying from a 17-point deficit at Columbia on Dec. 1, 2012. The Bison are now 8-2 at home this season, and they picked up their 100th all-time victory against Lehigh. Bucknell now leads the 113-year-old series 100-63.
Bucknell finished the game shooting 37.5 percent overall. The Bison made 9 of 24 from 3-point range and 17 of 26 from the foul line. Lehigh shot 43.1 percent from the floor and hit 4 of 12 from the arc and 8 of 11 from the foul line.
Bucknell finished with a 39-32 rebounding edge, including 14 offensive boards. All 11 Bison who played in the game scored, and they had a whopping 44-9 edge in bench points.
Ross paced Lehigh with 18 points, while frontcourt players Goldsborough (14) and Kempton (11) also hit double figures despite foul trouble.
Bucknell and Colgate will square off at 7 p.m. on Saturday evening at Sojka Pavilion. The Raiders came from 13 points down to defeat the Bison 68-62 in Hamilton back on Jan. 3.
