Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell University
19-13
Holy Cross
14-16
Top-Seeded Bison Outlast Holy Cross 90-83 in OT Thriller in PL Quarterfinals
3/5/2015 11:21:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Patriot League Tournament semifinal tickets are on sale ONLINE, or call 570-577-1000 between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. on Friday. The semifinal contest vs. Lafayette will begin at 2 p.m. Sunday at Sojka Pavilion.
LEWISBURG, Pa. – Top-seeded Bucknell and No. 8 Holy Cross engaged in a Patriot League Tournament quarterfinal classic on Thursday night at Sojka Pavilion, and behind a career-high-tying 32 points from Chris Hass and some critical plays from senior co-captain Steven Kaspar down the stretch, the Bison prevailed 90-83 in overtime. Bucknell now moves on to the semis, where it will host fourth-seeded Lafayette on Sunday at 2 p.m. on CBS Sports Network.
No eighth seed has ever beaten a No. 1 in the quarterfinal round in the 25-year history of the Patriot League, but this was a strong Holy Cross squad that came in with a three-game winning streak, eight conference wins, 14 overall victories, and one of the best talents in the league in senior forward Malcolm Miller. The upset nearly happened in this one, as the Crusaders (14-16) stormed back from 16 points down to take the lead at the end of regulation, with the nearly unstoppable Miller carrying his team on his back.
The Bison (19-13) led 48-32 after Nana Foulland's layup with 15:15 to play, but Miller would score 21 of his career-high 34 points over the next 13 minutes to bring Holy Cross back. Miller canned a 3-pointer to snap a 6-0 Bucknell run and cut a 13-point deficit down to 10 with 10 minutes to play, and later in a span of just over three minutes, Miller converted four different 3-point plays.
The last of those “and-ones” reduced Bucknell's lead to 67-66, and with 2:10 to play Miller gave Holy Cross its first lead since 13-12 at 72-71 with 2:10 to play.
Kaspar drew a foul at the other end but missed both free throws, however Nana Foulland tipped out the rebound, which led to a pair of Zach Thomas charity tosses with 1:12 to go. At the other end Cullen Hamilton hit a pull-up jumper at the free-throw line to give the Crusaders the lead back at 74-73.
Bucknell went to Foulland in the low post, but he was swarmed, and his kick-out pass went out of bounds for a turnover. The Bison sent Justin Burrell to the line with 35 seconds left, and the senior guard hit both to give Holy Cross a 76-73 lead.
Hass took the ball at the top of the key, hesitated for a second as if he might take the 3-pointer, and then charged down the lane for a layup and a foul. He swished the free throw with 25 seconds left to tie the game at 76.
In the final four minutes of regulation, the Bison switched the longer Kaspar on to Miller, and the move paid off as Miller would only garner four free throws the rest of the way. On the final possession, Kaspar forced Miller into a tough step-back jumper near the 3-point arc. The shot was a bit strong, and Ryan Frazier pulled down the rebound as time expired.
When Bucknell and Holy Cross met at the Hart Center on Jan. 10, the Crusaders won 65-62 in overtime, despite not making a single field goal in extra time (11-12 FT). This time it was the Bison winning it at the free-throw line. They made only one field goal in overtime – an emphatic dunk by D.J. MacLeay – and hit 12 of 14 from the stripe.
Bucknell scored the first six points of overtime at the line. First it was Thomas hitting two after drawing a foul on a defensive rebound. Then Hass was fouled twice on drives, and he hit all four to give Bucknell an 82-76 lead.
Malachi Alexander hit 1 of 2 at the line after drawing the fifth foul on Foulland, but Hass answered with two more charity tosses. Kaspar was denying Miller the ball all over the floor, and as Burrell tried to hand it to Miller near mid-court, Kaspar stepped in for the key steal. Kaspar peeled away with the ball on the left wing, then spotted MacLeay racing down the floor. Kaspar slipped a perfect bounce pass, MacLeay caught it in stride and threw down a thunderous dunk as the crowd roared its approval for a sudden nine-point cushion.
Holy Cross had a chance to pull within five just inside a minute to play, but Miller's contested layup rimmed out. Thomas hit four more free throws in the final 47 seconds to seal the victory.
Bucknell has had some free-throw struggles this season but hit 34 of 41 (.829) in this one, outscoring the Crusaders 34-16 at the line. Hass was a perfect 13-for-13, and Thomas was 10-for-12 as part of a 19-point night. Foulland added 16 points, and point guard Stephen Brown finished with 12, all of them coming in an eight-minute stretch in the second half.
“It was a gutsy, gritty effort by our guys,” said head coach Dave Paulsen, who was presented his Patriot League Coach of the Year award prior to the game. “You've got to give a lot of credit to Holy Cross. We got up by 16 and there was no quit in those guys. Malcolm Miller turned in … I don't know if I've played against anyone who has put on that kind of performance in my seven years here. Chris Hass took over down the stretch for us driving the ball and getting to the line. They were going to make it hard for him to get a three. To win a championship, you have to win a game like this, and I'm really proud of our guys.”
Holy Cross built a couple of early five-point leads, the last at 13-8 after back-to-back buckets by Matt Husek. The Bison retaliated with a 13-0 run, keyed by six straight points from Foulland, a tip-in by MacLeay and a 3-pointer by Hass that made it a 21-13 game. The Bison led by as many as 11 in the first half and by nine (36-27) at the break.
The margin ballooned to 16 in the opening five minutes of the second half. Thomas scored seven quick points, and Brown had a bucket and two assists. The latter feed was a pretty drive and dish to Foulland for a lay-in that made it 48-32.
Hass was a First Team All-Patriot League selection and Miller a Second Team All-PL pick, and both lived up to the billing. Miller hit 11 of 21 shots from the floor and 11 of 11 from the foul line. His 34 points set a new personal best, surpassing the 30 points he scored against Boston University this past Saturday, and it was the most points scored by a Bison opponent this season. Miller also had eight rebounds, four assists, four blocked shots and two steals.
Meanwhile, Hass equaled his previous scoring high of 32 points, set earlier this season at Villanova. His second career 30-point game consisted of 8-for-17 shooting from the field, 3-for-7 from 3-point range and the perfect 13-for-13 from the line. The 32 points were the most ever scored by a Bucknell player in Sojka Pavilion, surpassing the 31 from Justin Castleberry against Old Dominion on Nov. 25, 2008.
The boxscore will show Kaspar finishing with one point, but his contribution was immense. In addition to his superb defense, Kaspar tallied five assists and six rebounds, including a key possession-saving offensive rebound in overtime. He also became just the fifth Bison ever to record 400 career assists. He moved past Cal Puriefoy (399) into fifth place on the all-time list with 403.
Bucknell shot 48.1 percent overall, compared to 47.8 percent for Holy Cross. The Bison outrebounded the Crusaders 36-28. Bucknell has been averaging 26.2 points per game from its bench this season, but in this one the starters combined for 83 of the team's 90 points.
Winners of 12 of their last 15 games, the Bison have advanced to the Patriot League Tournament semifinal round for the 19th time in the 25-year history of the league. This was the 14th time in 25 years that Bucknell and Holy Cross squared off in the tournament, and the postseason series is now even at 7-7.
Fourth-seeded Lafayette advanced by crushing No. 5 Boston University 89-64. The Leopards set a Patriot League Tournament record with 16 3-pointers, and they will visit Sojka Pavilion for a postseason clash with Bucknell for the fourth time in the last five years. The Bison topped Lafayette in the 2011 and 2013 championship games, as well as in the 2012 semifinals.
Post-game press conference:
