Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell University
7-8, 4-0PL
Holy Cross
7-8, 2-2PL
Bucknell Pours in 16 Threes in 98-71 Win over Holy Cross
1/9/2016 5:36:00 PM | Men's Basketball
LEWISBURG, Pa. – John Azzinaro connected on seven of Bucknell's 16 3-pointers en route to a career-high 21 points, and the hot-shooting Bison steamed past Holy Cross 98-71 on Saturday afternoon at Sojka Pavilion. Bucknell improved to 4-0 in the Patriot League, at least temporarily moving into sole possession of first place pending unbeaten Loyola's result against Army West Point later in the evening.
Bucknell simply couldn't miss in the first half. The Bison (7-8, 4-0) connected on their first seven 3-point attempts of the day and went on to hit 12 of 17 in the first half alone. By intermission the team had already set a school record with seven different players making a 3-pointer, and it went on to finish 16-for-25 (.640) from the arc. The Bison fell one shy of the team record of 17 made threes in a game.
By the final horn the Bison had rolled up 98 points – their most in a Patriot League game since a 98-88 win over Lehigh on Feb. 19, 1994. It was Bucknell's most points against Holy Cross since a 99-98 overtime loss to the Crusaders earlier that season, and it was the team's highest total in a regulation-time game against Holy Cross since the memorable 112-99 regular season title-clinching win in Davis Gym in 1993.
On a day in which coach Nathan Davis had to do plenty of lineup juggling due to a rash of foul trouble, Bucknell received 53 points, 13 rebounds and seven assists from its bench. Three of the team's five double-digit scorers were reserves, led by Azzinaro who went 7-for-10 from long distance. D.J. MacLeay and Kimbal Mackenzie added 10 apiece. Starters Chris Hass and Nana Foulland both scored 12, while point guard Stephen Brown had another big day with eight points and a career-high 10 assists.
“We did a great job executing what we wanted to do offensively and defensively,” said Davis afterward. “We had it going today. The threes were falling, but I also noticed the guys cutting through to open up those shots.”
Anthony Thompson led Holy Cross (7-8, 2-2) with 16 points, while Karl Charles had 12.
Bucknell got out to a red-hot start, canning six 3-pointers in a 20-4 run to open the contest. Dom Hoffman, Hass and Ryan Frazier hit three in a row, and then after Matt Husek drained three for Holy Cross, Azzinaro came into the game and knocked down triples on three consecutive possessions to cap the run.
Bucknell scored the final 11 points of the first half – the last nine coming on a pair of treys by Mackenzie and another by Matt O'Reilly – to go up 52-30 at the break.
Holy Cross made a serious charge early in the second half, scoring eight quick points before the Bison could even attempt a shot. The Crusaders made seven of their first 10 attempts to start the half, and Thompson's 3-pointer just 4:47 in brought them all the way back within eight at 57-49.
The Bison piled up that big lead with the long ball in the first half, but they fended off the Holy Cross charged by turning inside. Foulland put back his own miss to answer the Thompson 3-pointer, igniting a 16-3 run that saw 13 of the points come in the paint. Foulland and MacLeay had two buckets each, and Hoffman scored on a pretty reverse layup off a feed from Mackenzie.
By the time Hass scored on a reverse of his own, Bucknell's lead had grown back 73-52 with 10 minutes to go. Azzinaro would cash in two more threes, and O'Reilly hit another for good measure in the final minute to help the Bison get to 4-0 in league play for the first time since 2011-12, and for the seventh time in 26 years in the Patriot League. Bucknell's scoring margin in league play is now +20.8.
Bucknell shot 58.5 percent on the night and had 22 assists on 31 field goals. Brown chalked up the first 10-assist game for the Bison since Steven Kaspar had 10 against Navy in 2014. Nine of Brown's 10 assists resulted in a 3-pointer.
All 12 healthy players saw action in the game, and 10 scored. The Bison had seen six players hit a 3-pointer in a game 12 different times, but this was the first time as many as seven different players converted from the arc.
“We have a talented team with 14 guys who can help us win, and today we got a chance to show it,” said Davis.
Defensively, the Bison had 10 steals, including a career-high four by Foulland, and forced 17 turnovers. Holy Cross shot 41.4 percent overall and made 7 of 20 attempts from the arc. Bucknell finished with a 35-29 edge on the glass.
The Bison now have a short turnaround before heading to preseason league favorite Lehigh on Monday at 7:30 p.m. The game will be televised on CBS Sports Network.
