Bucknell University Athletics
Top Two Teams in PL Meet Saturday at Sojka as Bison Host Boston U.
1/19/2017 9:21:00 PM | Men's Basketball
What: Boston University (10-9, 5-2 PL) at Bucknell (14-6, 6-1 PL)
Where: Sojka Pavilion, Lewisburg, Pa.
When: Saturday, Jan. 21, 2017, 2 p.m.
TV: American Sports Network (Where to Find ASN)
Webcast: Patriot League Network
Local Radio: Eagle 107 (107.3 FM WEGH)
Internet Radio: BucknellBison.com
Satellite Radio: Sirius 113/XM 204
Live Statistics: BucknellBison.com
Tickets: 570-577-1000 or Buy Online
Promotions: Dirk Sojka's Slam Dunk with Bison Basketball (raffle, silent auction to benefit Suncom Industries)
Bucknell Probable Starters
G: Stephen Brown (10.4 ppg, 3.6 rpg, 4.9 apg)
G: Kimbal Mackenzie (10.5 ppg, 2.0 rpg, 2.1 apg)
G: Avi Toomer (3.1 ppg, 1.4 rpg, 0.7 apg)
F: Zach Thomas (15.6 ppg, 6.5 rpg, 2.8 apg)
C: Nana Foulland (14.6 ppg, 8.4 rpg, 1.9 bpg)
With a Win over Boston University, Bucknell Would ...
• ... claim its third straight win and seventh in the last eight tries.
• ... move to 15-6 overall, 7-1 in the Patriot League, and 7-2 at home this season.
• ... maintain sole possession of first place in the Patriot League and move two games up on the Terriers.
• ... defeat the Terriers for the sixth straight time and improve to 9-3 all-time against them.
• ... improve to 257-113 all-time in Patriot League regular-season games.
• ... improve to 103-25 against PL foes in Sojka Pavilion.
Headlines
• Showing a nice response to its first conference loss of the season on Jan. 11 vs. Lehigh, Bucknell has bounced back with two straight double-digit victories over Colgate (83-69) and Loyola (76-63). Boston University had sole possession of the Patriot League lead after a 5-0 start and Bucknell's loss to Lehigh, but the Terriers have now dropped two straight to fall a game behind the Bison at 5-2. Saturday's game at Sojka Pavilion is a big swing game at the top of the standings. The Bison will either be two games clear of the Terriers, or the teams will be back in a tie for first place, depending on the outcome.
• Saturday's game will be the annual “Dirk Sojka's Slam Dunk with Bison Basketball.” There will be a raffle and silent auction, along with other in-game festivities, with proceeds benefitting Suncom Industries. Suncom is a nonprofit, human services agency, which helps people with developmental and physical disabilities improve the quality of their lives. The organization's goal is to provide the vocational training and skill development for individuals to grow to their fullest potential. The late Dirk Sojka, the son of Gary and Sandy Sojka, worked at Suncom before his passing in July 2002.
• The Bison played four of their first six Patriot League games on the road, but Wednesday's game started a stretch with four of six at home. Bucknell is 4-0 on the road in league play, and road teams have won 20 of the 35 games through seven rounds of PL action.
• The Bison have gotten terrific play from junior center Nana Foulland of late. Foulland is 35-for-51 (.686) from the field in his last five games and 38-for-58 (.655) in the seven league games. For the season, his 63.0 FG% ranks 10th nationally. He also leads the conference in blocked shots (1.9) and ranks second in rebounding (8.4) and eighth in scoring (14.6).
• Foulland on Wednesday became the 40th member of the 1,000-point club at Bucknell. Foulland also became the 19th Bison with 1,000 points and 500 rebounds, and he is the 21st Bucknell player to score 1,000 points in his third varsity season.
• Sophomore guard Kimbal Mackenzie is averaging 14.0 points per game in Patriot League play, the 12th-best mark in the league. He has three 20-point games this season, two of them coming against PL foes Navy (22) and American (24). In both games, Mackenzie was the catalyst in big comebacks on the road. He had 19 second-half points to help the Bison rally from 11 points down to beat Navy, and he scored 18 after halftime as Bucknell came from seven points down to defeat American.
• Junior forward Zach Thomas leads the team and ranks No. 5 in the Patriot League in scoring at 15.6 points per game. Thomas also ranks second on the team in assists and rebounds from his power forward position. Thomas had 25 points against Manhattan in the season opener, and he has been on triple-double watch on two occasions. He registered 19 points, 11 rebounds and eight assists against Robert Morris on Nov. 16, and he had 16 points, eight rebounds, seven assists, four blocks and three steals the win over Mount St. Mary's. Thomas had scored in double figures in 15 straight games before being held to five at Navy, but he came up with two critical buckets in the final three minutes to key Bucknell's comeback. He bounced back with six more double-digit games since then, including an 18-point, 11-rebound performance against Loyola on Wednesday.
• Bucknell had used the same starting lineup in each of the first 13 games this season, but a left foot injury to sophomore guard Nate Jones necessitated a lineup change in the Navy game. Freshman Avi Toomer has started every game since then. After a quiet night statistically against the Midshipmen, Toomer broke out with 11 points, five rebounds and three steals — all career highs — in the victory over Army. Toomer is shooting 50% from the field and 42.9% from 3-point range in league play.
• Bucknell went 8-5 against a tough non-conference schedule, including a 4-1 mark at home. This was Bucknell's most successful pre-conference slate since 2012-13, when the Bison went 13-3 before the start of Patriot League action.
• Bucknell closed the month of November with a four-game winning streak that consisted of victories over Vanderbilt, Norfolk State, Northern Colorado and Richmond. The middle two came in Las Vegas, where the Bison claimed the “Upper Division” title at the Continental Tire Las Vegas Invitational. The 75-72 victory over Vanderbilt was the team's first win over a Southeastern Conference team since 2006, when it took down Arkansas in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. It was the first victory over a “major conference” team since 2013-14, when Bucknell won at Penn State.
• The Bison were picked to finish third (behind Lehigh and Boston University) in the Patriot League in a preseason poll of the league's head coaches and sports information directors. Foulland was named to the Preseason All-Patriot League Team.
• Boston University will be looking to shake a two-game losing streak after setbacks to Loyola (away) and Colgate (home) earlier this week. The Terriers had been off to a 5-0 start in Patriot League play, with the last four of those wins coming by double-digit margins. Eric Fanning leads the team in both scoring (14.2) and rebounding (6.4), while Cedric Hankerson (11.4) and Justin Alston (11.1) also score in double figures.
How to Get the Game
• The Bucknell-Boston University game will be televised by the American Sports Network and distributed to regional outlets across the nation, including WSWB (The CW) in the local Scranton/Wilkes-Barre market as well as NESN Plus in New England. Bernie Guenther and Mike Jarvis Sr. will have the call. There will also be a free webcast available on the Patriot League Network at PatriotLeague.TV.
• The game can be heard in the Susquehanna Valley on the radio on Eagle 107 (107.3 WEGH), with Doug Birdsong calling the action. The pregame show begins 30 minutes before tip-off.
• The game will also be carried by the Heritage Sports Radio Network, with Mike Corey and James Hellman descibing the action. The HSRN broadcast will air on satellite radio on Sirius 113/XM 204 and Sirius/XM internet channel 964.
• The audio feed is also available online via BucknellBison.com (personal computers) and the official Bucknell Athletics app (iPhone and Android devices).
• Live stats can be found at BucknellBison.com.
• Follow @Bucknell_MBB for in-game updates on Twitter.
Bucknell vs. Boston University
• Bucknell and Boston University have met 11 times previously on the hardwood, and the Bison have an 8-3 lead in the series. Bucknell has won five straight from the Terriers, including two straight at Sojka Pavilion.
• In games played in Boston, Bucknell is 2-1 at Agganis Arena and 2-0 at Case Gym.
• The two teams met for the first time at the 2005 Cable Car Classic at Santa Clara. The Bison won that one 63-57.
• Bucknell swept the Terriers last season, winning 74-71 in Boston and 80-59 on Senior Day in Lewisburg. The Bison came from 17 points down to win the first meeting, backed by a career-high 21 points from Stephen Brown. Playing without leading scorer Chris Hass, Bucknell trailed 26-9 after a slow start, but Brown went 8-for-10 from the field and had three second-half steals that led to layups to help the Bison chip away at the lead. The game was not decided until John Papale's 3-pointer rimmed off at the buzzer. Nathan Dieudonne had 16 points and 10 rebounds to lead the Terriers. In the rematch at Sojka, the Bison used a 21-3 second-half run to pull away. Seniors Hass (21 points), Ryan Frazier (16 points) and Dom Hoffman (15 points, 9 rebounds) combined for 52 points. Papale led Boston U. with 11 points.
• The Terriers were not sad to see Hass graduate. Hass averaged 18.2 points and shot 60% (18-30) from 3-point range in five career games against them.
Patriot League Success
• Bucknell is 256-113 (.694) all-time in Patriot League regular-season games, the best record of any league team. The Bison have finished at least .500 in PL play in 22 of the 26 Patriot League seasons.
• Bucknell won three straight outright Patriot League regular-season titles from 2011-13, becoming the first team in league history to accomplish that feat. The Bison have now won five of the last six, after claiming titles in 2015 and 2016 as well.
• Bucknell has won 10 Patriot League regular-season titles in 26 years. No other team has more than five.
• Last year Bucknell made its seventh Patriot League Tournament appearance as the No. 1 seed.
• The Bison went 13-1 in the league in 2011 and 12-2 in both 2012 and 2013, making them 37-5 over those three campaigns. Dating back to mid-2010, Bucknell has won 88 of its last 112 league games.
• Bucknell won Patriot League Tournament titles in 2005, 2006, 2011 and 2013. The Bison have made it to the semifinals 19 times and to the championship game 10 times in the 25-year history of the league.
• The Bison are the only team to go unbeaten in league play in a season (14-0 in 2006).
Last Time Out
• Zach Thomas led Bucknell with 18 points and 11 rebounds, and the Bison shot a blistering 72.0% in the first half on their way to a 76-63 victory over Loyola Maryland on Wednesday evening at Sojka Pavilion.
• Four Bucknell starters reached double figures in scoring, and junior center Nana Foulland scored his 1,000th career point late in the first half.
• Bucknell was 28-for-52 (.538) from the floor in the game, including 18 of 25 in the opening stanza. The Bison led 46-26 at halftime, and then cruised home from there.
• Stephen Brown scored 13 points and dished out seven assists, while Foulland and Kimbal Mackenzie had 11 apiece. Avi Toomer chipped in nine points along with three steals and two assists.
• Loyola was led by 12 points from KaVaughn Scott off the bench. The Greyhounds were coming off an eight-point home win over Boston University just two nights earlier behind a career-high 35 points from point guard Andre Walker, but they could not sustain that pace in this one. Loyola's two leading scorers — Walker and Jarred Jones — were both held scoreless in the first half before finishing with six and two points, respectively.
• A pair of steals and breakaway buckets by freshman Ben Robertson — the second of which he punctuated with a reverse flush — highlighted a second-half surge that bumped the margin all the way up to 28 points at 69-41. It was Bucknell's largest lead at any point this season.
• Thomas enjoyed his best all-around game of the conference season, scoring his 18 points on 8-for-10 shooting, including 2-for-2 from long distance. He notched his third double-double of the season and 10th of his career, while adding three assists and just one turnover in 28 minutes.
• Loyola's starting five went 12-for-36 (.333) from the field, while Bucknell's starters combined to go 23-for-38 (.605).
Numbers Worth Noting
• Bucknell has allowed 81.3 points per game in its six losses and 63.4 ppg in its 14 victories.
• Bucknell has posted its three biggest comeback victories on the road this season. They overcame deficits of 13 (Navy), 11 (Vanderbilt) and seven (American) to pull out good wins away from home.
• Bucknell's starting frontcourt of Zach Thomas (15.4 ppg) and Nana Foulland (14.8 ppg) have scored 41.0% of the team's points on the season.
• Bucknell and Lehigh are the only two Patriot League teams with four double-digit scorers.
• Bucknell's transition defense has been strong thus far. The Bison have given up only 71 fastbreak points through 20 games. They went three straight contests (Vanderbilt, Norfolk State, Northern Colorado) without giving up any fastbreak points. Meanwhile, Bucknell has scored 124 fastbreak points on the season.
• Matt O'Reilly has attempted 114 shots during his career at Bucknell. Of those, 109 have come from beyond the 3-point arc. He is 2-for-5 in his career on 2-point shots, with his first make coming against Richmond earlier this season.
• Stephen Brown leads the Bison in +/- with a +164 on the season. Foulland is next at +125.
• Bison opponents have shot 50% or better from the field four times this season, and Bucknell is 0-4 in those games (Wake Forest, Butler, La Salle, Lehigh).
• Bucknell is averaging a solid 1.06 points per possession this season, while opponents are averaging 0.98.
• D.J. MacLeay leads the team with a total rebounding percentage of 22.0. In other words, MacLeay pulls down 22.0% of all missed shots (offensive and defensive) when he is on the floor.
• After shooting a season-low 34.0% from the field against Navy, the Bison have shot 51.9% in the next six games combined. They have eclipsed the 50% mark in five of the last six games.
• Brown needs six assists to join the top 10 in Bucknell history. He has 305 in his career.
• Bucknell is has a +40 rebound margin in its last five games.
• The Bison are 17-for-34 (.500) from the 3-point arc in their last two games.
• Kimbal Mackenzie scored in double figures in two of his first 11 games of the season, but now he has 10 or more in the scoring column in seven of his last nine.
• Brown has 34 assists and nine turnovers in his last six games. He has taken over the Patriot League lead in assist-to-turnover ratio (2.6).
• Avi Toomer has made a 3-pointer in four straight games and is 5-for-9 from the arc in that span.
• Twenty-one of Bruce Moore's 55 points on the season have come in the last three games. He is 9-for-11 from the field in that span, including 6-for-6 in his last two games. Five of Moore's last seven rebounds have been offensive.
• Foulland has blocked a shot in 18 of his last 19 games.
• Foulland started the year 10-for-28 (.357) from the free-throw line in his first seven games. He is 54-for-89 (.607) since then.
Who's Got Next?
• Bucknell travels to Lafayette on Wednesday to face the Leopards at 7 p.m. at Kirby Sports Center.
• The Bison swept the Leopards last season, including a wild double-overtime game in Easton late in the year.
