Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell University
3-4
Columbia
4-4
Cold-Shooting Bison Fall to Columbia, 72-61
12/2/2015 10:16:00 PM | Men's Basketball
LEWISBURG, Pa. – Maodo Lo scored 23 points to lead Columbia past Bucknell 72-61 on Wednesday night at Sojka Pavilion. Nana Foulland scored 13 points and Zach Thomas recorded a double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds, but the Bison dropped their third straight game to fall to 3-4 on the season.
Both teams shot under 40 percent from the field in the defensive struggle, but the difference came at the 3-point arc. Columbia hit 11 of 26 attempts from long distance, with Lo (4-6) and reserve forward Luke Petrasek (4-5) combining to go 8-for-11, while the Bison were just 3-for-24.
Columbia (4-4), the preseason No. 2 pick in the Ivy League, caused the Bison problems with its compact 2-3 zone. Bucknell committed 17 turnovers and shot 38.5 percent for the game. Top scorer Chris Hass was held to nine points, but he did go over the 1,000-point mark for his career on a layup late in the first half.
The Bison jumped out to a 7-0 lead as the Lions started the game 0-for-6, but 3-point shooting helped the visitors surge ahead. Bucknell led 18-16 after Dom Hoffman banked in a three from the top of the key, but a trey from Grant Mullins ignited a 14-0 Columbia run.
After Nate Hickman made two free throws, Lo canned 3-pointers on three consecutive possessions to put the Lions ahead 30-18, and they would never trail again. A pair of Hass layups, including the one that made him Bucknell's 39th all-time 1,000-point scorer, cut the margin to eight at the half at 30-22.
Lo scored on a backdoor layup to start the second-half scoring, and Columbia led by at least eight points the rest of the way as the Bison just could not string together any runs. A key exchange came inside the five-minute mark when Hass scored consecutive baskets to make it 60-52, but Lo answered with his fourth 3-pointer of the night.
“Columbia is a very good, veteran team,” said head coach Nathan Davis. “They make it very hard for you to score. We obviously have to get better. We have to find a way to win when the shots aren't going in. We are relying on a lot of guys who are still young, and it's a process, it's going to take some time. When you are playing good teams like we have been, the margin for error is not very large.”
Columbia shot 37.0 percent from the field and had 18 assists on 20 baskets with only nine turnovers. The Lions were 21-for-27 at the foul line, while the Bison were 18-for-25. Bucknell finished with a 34-31 rebounding edge, with Thomas notching his second double-double of the season and fourth of his career.
Bucknell is back in action on Saturday at North Carolina State. Tip-off is slated for noon, and the game will be televised by Fox Sports South and simulcast on ESPN3 and other regional networks, including ROOT Sports Pittsburgh and YES Network in the local area.
