Bucknell University Athletics
Men's Basketball Welcomes Back Wake Forest Sunday on CBS Sports Network
11/14/2015 6:44:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Where: Sojka Pavilion, Lewisburg, Pa.
When: Sunday, Nov. 15, 2015, 1 p.m.
TV: CBS Sports Network
Radio: The Valley (100.9 WVLY)
Internet Radio: BucknellBison.com
Live Statistics: BucknellBison.com
Tickets: 570-577-1000 or buy online
HELPFUL HINTS FOR PARKING AT SOJKA PAVILION IN 2015-16
With a Win over Wake Forest, Bucknell Would ...
• ... start a season 2-0 for the first time since 2012-13 (Purdue, George Mason).
• ... defeat Wake Forest for the first time in seven all-time meetings.
• ... defeat an ACC team for the first time since the 1960-61 season (Virginia 99-81), and for only the third time ever.
• ... improve to 134-43 all-time at Sojka Pavilion.
Headlines
• Bucknell coasted to a record-setting opening-night win over Shenandoah, but now the competition level increases significantly as Wake Forest comes to Sojka Pavilion.
• This will be the Demon Deacons' second appearance at Sojka Pavilion. Led by the late Skip Prosser, Wake Forest won here 86-83 in overtime on Nov. 14, 2006. Skip's son, Mark Prosser, was an assistant coach at Bucknell at the time.
• On Friday, the Bison steamrolled Division III Shenandoah 107-61, with Nana Foulland scoring a career-high 20 points to lead five Bucknell players in double figures. It was Bucknell's first 100-point game since 1994.
• The Bison were picked to finish second (behind Lehigh) in the Patriot League in a preseason poll of the league's head coaches and sports information directors.
• A year ago, the Bison captured the outright Patriot League regular-season title for the fourth time in the last five years before being upset by Lafayette in the Patriot League Tournament semifinals.
• Bucknell lost four players from last year's squad: point guard Steven Kaspar (graduation), forward Joshea Singleton (graduation), forward Cory Starkey (graduation) and guard J.C. Show (transfer to Binghamton).
• The Bison return all five starters and five of the top six scorers from last season. In 2015-16 Bucknell brings back 77.6% of its scoring and 74.6% of its rebounding. Heading the list of returnees are 2014-15 First Team All-Patriot League and 2015-16 Preseason All-Patriot League guard Chris Hass, and 2014-15 Patriot League All-Rookie Team center Nana Foulland.
• Wake Forest held off UMBC 78-73 in Winston-Salem on Friday. The Demon Deacons made only 3 of 20 attempts from 3-point distance, but they made up for it with a dominant effort on the glass. Wake Forest grabbed 24 offensive rebounds, leading to a 59-36 edge in total boards. Devin Thomas, a native of Harrisburg (Central Dauphin H.S.), had 21 points and 17 rebounds, while Dinos Mitoglou added 19 points and 16 rebounds.
How to Get the Game
• The Bucknell-Wake Forest game will be televised live on CBS Sports Network (DirecTV 221; Dish Network 158). Jason Knapp will handle the play-by-play duties, while former Xavier, Providence and Virginia head coach Pete Gillen will serve as color analyst.
• The game can be heard in the Susquehanna Valley on the radio on The Valley (WVLY 100.9 FM), with Doug Birdsong calling the action. The pregame show begins 30 minutes before tip-off.
• The audio feed and live statistics are also available online free of charge via BucknellBison.com.
Last Time Out
• The evening started with the unveiling of banners for Bucknell's 2015 Patriot League regular-season title and NIT appearance, and it finished with the Bison setting a number of Sojka Pavilion records in a 107-61 rout of Shenandoah.
• Bucknell shot 67.7% from the field (42-62) and surpassed the 100-point plateau for the first time since a 100-76 win over Lafayette on Feb. 9, 1994, which was Charlie Woollum's final season at Bucknell.
• Five Bison scored in double figures, led by Nana Foulland with a career-high 20 on 9-11 shooting. Chris Hass (18 pts., 6-10 FG, 4-6 3FG), Kimbal Mackenzie (17 pts., 7-9 FG, 3-4 3FG), John Azzinaro (14 pts., 5-6 FG, 3-4 3FG) and D.J. MacLeay (10 pts., 5-5 FG) all reached double figures, and that quintet combined to make 32 of 41 shots (.780).
• Mackenzie had a smashing debut, adding seven assists to his 17 points. It was the most points scored by a Bucknell freshman on opening night since Bryson Johnson had 18 against Mercer in 2009-10. Mackenzie shared time at the point with sophomore Stephen Brown, who also had seven assists.
• Two other freshmen made their debuts on Friday. Nate Jones made both of his attempts from 3-point range and scored six points in 20 minutes, while Nate Sestina had two points, two rebounds and two assists in seven minutes. Jones, Sestina and Mackenzie all made their first collegiate shots.
• Bucknell had 29 assists on 42 made baskets and finished with a 45-26 rebounding edge.
Sojka Pavilion Records Set vs. Shenandoah:
• Points in a game (107)
• Points in a half (57)
• Field goals made (42)
• Assists (29)
Bucknell vs. Wake Forest Series Notes
• This will be the seventh all-time meeting between Bucknell and Wake Forest. The Demon Deacons have won each of the previous six, including a 60-53 verdict last season.
• The teams first met on Jan. 2, 1974 in Winston-Salem, an 83-56 Demon Deacons victory.
• On Nov. 14, 2006, Wake Forest played at Sojka Pavilion, making the Demon Deacons the first ACC team ever to play basketball on Bucknell's campus. Wake Forest pulled out an 86-83 victory in overtime in that one behind 26 points from Kyle Visser. Six Bucknell players scored in double figures. Bucknell led virtually the entire way, despite a rash of foul trouble throughout the night. The Bison were whistled for 33 of the 62 fouls in the game, which featured a combined 80 free throws. The Demon Deacons never led by more than two points all night until Ishmael Smith opened the overtime session with a high arcing 3-pointer, snapping a 75-all tie.
• In last year's game at the Joel Coliseum, the Demon Deacons held off a Bucknell second-half rally and prevailed 60-53. Bucknell started the game 1-for-19 from the field and fell behind by as many as 17 points. But Chris Hass triggered a comeback attempt, and the Bison closed within one point in the second half, but they could never get the lead. Hass finished with 26 points, but Bucknell shot just 28.6% for the game. Wake Forest shot 36.2% and was led by Codi Miller-McIntyre's 19 points, eight rebounds, five steals and four assists.
Bucknell vs. the ACC
• Bucknell has an 11-49 record against the 15 teams that now make up the Atlantic Coast Conference. The Bison are 9-18 against Pittsburgh, 1-2 vs. Virginia, 1-9 vs. Syracuse, 0-6 vs. Wake Forest, 0-3 vs. Notre Dame, 0-3 vs. Duke, 0-2 vs. Boston College, 0-2 vs. Clemson, 0-2 vs. Miami, 0-1 vs. Virginia Tech and 0-1 vs. Florida State.
• Bucknell has two all-time victories against teams that were in the ACC at the time of the game. The Bison defeated Virginia 99-81 on Jan. 27, 1961 and South Carolina 67-65 on Dec. 30, 1958.
Who's Got Next?
• Bucknell will hit the road for the first time in 2015-16 when it visits defending Northeast Conference champion Robert Morris on Wednesday at 7 p.m. The game will be streamed on NEC Front Row. The Colonials went to the NCAA Tournament last season and defeated North Florida in a First Four game in Dayton before falling to Duke in the Round of 64. Robert Morris dropped its season opener at Penn, 76-75.
