Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell University
17-12, 12-4PL
Boston University
12-15, 8-8PL
| Team | 1 | 2 | F |
|---|---|---|---|
| Boston University | 28 | 41 | 69 |
| Bucknell | 38 | 40 | 78 |
Bison Top Terriers 78-69, Clinch at Least Share of PL Regular-Season Title
2/22/2015 3:46:00 PM | Men's Basketball
NOTE: Bucknell will begin selling tickets to the March 5 Patriot League Tournament quarterfinal home game on Wednesday, Feb. 25 at 10 a.m. via online, phone (570-577-1000), and walk-up sales. All ticket orders will be available for pick-up starting Feb. 27 at 10 a.m. at the Weis Center Box Office.
Bucknell now needs one more victory or one more Colgate loss to lock up the No. 1 seed for the fourth time in the last five years. If the Bison and Raiders end up tied for first place, Colgate wins the head-to-head tiebreaker by virtue of its season sweep of Bucknell. The Bison finish with road games at Lehigh and American, while Colgate plays at Lafayette and home against Lehigh.
Bucknell took both games from Boston University this season, scoring 170 points in the process. This win was the Bison's fifth in a row and 10th in its last 12 games. They are now 17-12 overall, 12-4 in the Patriot League and 11-3 at home this season.
All four of Hass' 3-pointers came in the first half, when he scored 16 of his 20. J.C. Show also hit two big treys in the first half to help the Bison build a 38-28 lead at the break. The margin ballooned to as many as 21 in the second half before Boston University (12-15, 8-8 PL) closed within nine in a foul-filled final stretch.
“We held them scoreless on seven consecutive possessions in the second half, and that allowed us to open up some breathing room, which we needed,” said head coach Dave Paulsen. “I thought we executed really well until the final eight to 10 minutes of the game got a little ugly, but we had enough left in the tank to knock down free throws and finish it off.”
Show's third triple of the day capped an 12-2 run and gave the Bison a commanding 56-35 lead with 12:14 to play. The Terriers began to warm up, with threes by Will Goff and Cedric Hankerson keying an 11-2 run that made it 60-48. After a timeout, Bucknell went to Foulland in the low post on consecutive possessions, the freshman center scored twice on short jump hooks to stretch the lead back up to 16 at 64-48 with 6:52 to go.
Dom Hoffman, who had seven points and seven rebounds (five offensive) in 18 minutes off the bench, scored two big buckets along with a free throw in the final 4:15 to help close it out.
A major key to the game was Bucknell's defensive rebounding. The Terriers shot a solid 46.7 percent, but the Bison held them to one offensive rebound all day, that coming at the 11:57 mark of the second half. The Terriers came into the game averaging 9.2 offensive boards per game.
Bucknell shot 46.2 percent from the floor and went 23-for-32 from the foul line. The Terriers also left some points at the free-throw stripe, finishing 19-for-31.
Eric Fanning led Boston University with 20 points, while Hankerson had 19 and Nathan Dieudonne 10. Hankerson also had eight rebounds and three steals.
The Bison bench outscored Boston University's reserves 29-7. Show finished with nine points, Kaspar and Hoffman had seven each, and Ben Oberfeld went 4-for-4 from the foul line in 1-and-1 situations in a solid 14-minute stint.
Kaspar, Cory Starkey and Joshea Singleton were all honored prior to the game in Senior Day ceremonies. Starkey played five minutes off the bench after a three-game absence due to an ankle injury, while Singleton remains out with a back injury. This was the 86th victory for this class, and it marked the sixth straight year Bucknell has won on Senior Day.
Bucknell and Lehigh will tip at 7 p.m. on Wednesday night at Stabler Arena.
