Bucknell University Athletics
Men's Basketball Travels to Easton Wednesday for Clash with Lafayette
1/24/2017 12:54:00 PM | Men's Basketball
What: Bucknell (15-6, 7-1 PL) at Lafayette (6-13, 2-6 PL)
Where: Kirby Sports Center, Easton, Pa.
When: Wednesday, Jan. 25, 2017, 7 p.m.
Webcast: Patriot League Network
Radio: Eagle 107 (107.3 FM WEGH)
Internet Radio: BucknellBison.com
Live Statistics: GoLeopards.com
• COMPLETE GAME NOTES
Bucknell Probable Starters
G: Stephen Brown (10.4 ppg, 3.6 rpg, 4.8 apg)
G: Kimbal Mackenzie (10.6 ppg, 2.0 rpg, 2.0 apg)
G: Avi Toomer (3.3 ppg, 1.5 rpg, 0.7 apg)
F: Zach Thomas (15.0 ppg, 6.5 rpg, 3.0 apg)
C: Nana Foulland (15.0 ppg, 8.3 rpg, 2.0 bpg)
With a Win over Lafayette, Bucknell Would ...
• ... claim its fourth straight win and eighth in the last nine tries.
• ... move to 16-6 overall, 8-1 in the Patriot League, and 7-4 on the road this season.
• ... finish the first half of Patriot League play 8-1 for the second year in a row.
• ... get to 10 games over .500 for the first time since the end of the 2012-13 season.
• ... defeat the Leopards for the third straight time.
• ... improve to 258-113 all-time in Patriot League regular-season games.
Headlines
• First-place Bucknell won a big swing game on Saturday, rallying to defeat second-place Boston University 70-59 at Sojka Pavilion. A Terriers win would have created a tie for first place atop the Patriot League standings. Instead, the Bison moved to 7-1 and two games up on the rest of the league. Boston University, Lehigh, Navy and Holy Cross are all tied for second at 5-3.
• Bucknell travels to Lafayette on Wednesday to wrap up the first half of Patriot League play. The Bison and Leopards have engaged in some tight contests at the Kirby Sports Center in recent years. Each of the last two games there went to overtime, with the Leopards winning two seasons ago and the Bison in double-OT last year.
• Bucknell is 4-0 on the road in league play, and the Bison have won eight of their last 10 games away from home (including two neutral-site games) dating back to a Nov. 21 victory at Vanderbilt.
• The Bison have gotten terrific play from junior center Nana Foulland of late. Foulland is 46-for-66 (.697) from the field in his last six games and 49-for-73 (.671) in the eight league games. For the season, his 63.8 FG% ranks seventh nationally. He also leads the conference in blocked shots (2.0) and ranks second in rebounding (8.3) and sixth in scoring (15.0).
• Foulland last 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. On Monday, he was named Bison Athlete of the Week for the third time this season.
• Sophomore guard Kimbal Mackenzie is averaging 13.8 points per game in Patriot League play, the 13th-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 15.0 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.
• 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. In Saturday's win over Boston University, he scored eight points and held First Team All-Patriot Leaguer Eric Fanning without a field goal.
• 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.
• Lafayette is looking to shake a five-game losing streak on the heels of a 2-1 start to Patriot League play. Most recently, the Leopards fell 75-68 at arch-rival Lehigh. Their league victories have come at Loyola, and at home against Army West Point. Lafayette features two of the top players in the conference in center Matt Klinewski and point guard Nick Lindner. Klinewski ranks second in the league in scoring at 17.3 points per game (20.3 ppg in PL play). Lindner averages 13.6 points and 4.3 rebounds per game.
How to Get the Game
• The Bucknell-Lafayette game will be televised locally in Eastern Pennsylvania by the Lafayette Sports Network. There will also be a free webcast available on the Patriot League Network at PatriotLeague.TV. Gary Laubach, John Leone and John Feinstein will have the call.
• 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 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 GoLeopards.com.
• Follow @Bucknell_MBB for in-game updates on Twitter.
Bucknell vs. Lafayette
• Bucknell and Lafayette have met 161 times previously, making the Leopards Bucknell's second most-played opponent (the Bison have played Lehigh 167 times). Since the series began in 1915, Lafayette leads 89-72.
• Since the start of Patriot League play in 1990-91, however, Bucknell has won 43 of 60 meetings.
• Lafayette won 33 of the first 37 meetings and led the series 60-14 at one point.
• Thursday will be the 102nd anniversary of the first game played between Bucknell and Lafayette. On Jan. 26, 1915, Bucknell won what must have been a thriller, 33-32 in overtime in Lewisburg.
• Bucknell had been 15-0 all-time against Lafayette in Sojka Pavilion until the Leopards posted their first win there in 2013-14. The Bison are now 17-2 against Lafayette in Sojka Pavilion and 26-5 against the Leopards in Lewisburg going back to the Patriot League's first season.
• The Bison and Leopards have met in a conference championship game four times, with Bucknell winning three of those. The Bison defeated Lafayette 71-65 in the 1989 East Coast Conference final in Towson, Md., and they also won Patriot League championship games in Sojka Pavilion in 2011 (72-57) and 2013 (64-56). Lafayette claimed the 1999 Patriot League title with a 67-63 win over the Bison in Easton.
• Bucknell won both meetings last season. The first clash was in Lewisburg, where the Bison topped Lafayette 79-67 behind a career-high 15 points from D.J. MacLeay. Bryce Scott hit 5 of 6 from 3-point range and scored 17 points off the bench for Lafayette. The rematch in Easton was a thriller, as Chris Hass finished with 30 points in Bucknell's 88-83 double-overtime win. Hass scored 15 of those 30 after regulation. He hit a deep 3-pointer to force the second OT period, then had 11 of the team's 13 points in the final five-minute session. Stephen Brown added 16 points for the Bison, while Zach Rufer led five Leopards in double figures with 20 points off the bench.
Patriot League Success
• Bucknell is 257-113 (.695) 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 89 of its last 113 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
• Bucknell overcame a sloppy start with a strong push to the finish, defeating Boston University 70-59 in front of a spirited Sojka Pavilion crowd on Saturday afternoon. The first-place Bison outscored the second-place Terriers 24-7 in the game's final 7:22, erasing a six-point deficit to win the game and take a two-game lead in the Patriot League standings.
• The Bison were once again led by strong play from center Nana Foulland, who scored a career-high-tying 23 points to go along with six rebounds and four blocks. Foulland, who was honored pre-game for reaching the 1,000-point milestone in the team's last contest, made 11 of his 15 field goal attempts, including 10 of his last 11 after a 1-for-4 start.
• Guards Stephen Brown and Kimbal Mackenzie finished with 10 and 12 points, respectively, after both were held scoreless in the first half. Avi Toomer finished with eight points, all from the free throw line in the second half, and three steals. Forward Zach Thomas, the team's leading scorer, was held to one field goal and five points, but he added eight assists, six rebounds and two steals.
• The Terriers had 10 steals and forced 12 Bucknell turnovers in the first half, en route to a 29-22 halftime lead. The Bison shot only 35.0% in the opening stanza and missed all six of their three-point attempts. However, the Bison turned it around and committed just three miscues in the second half, while shooting 17-for-26 (.654) from the field and 4-for-7 from three-point range.
• Justin Alston paced Boston University with 20 points, while Kyle Foreman tallied 11 points, seven assists and three steals. A big key to the game was Bucknell's defense on the Terriers' top two scorers, Eric Fanning and Cedric Hankerson. Fanning, a First Team All-Patriot League selection last season, was shadowed by Bucknell freshmen Toomer and Bruce Moore, and he was held to five points, all on free throws (0-for-7 from the field). Hankerson made a three on his first shot of the night, but the Bison held him to one more field goal the rest of the way as he finished with five points on 2-for-9 shooting.
• Toomer did not attempt a field goal in the game, but he set career highs by going 8-for-12 at the free-throw line in addition to his strong defense.
• Bucknell ended up at 52.2% from the field for the game, its sixth time in the last seven games over 50%. The Bison were 4-for-13 from 3-point distance and 18-for-27 at the line.
• Boston University converted at an even 40.0% and went 6-for-20 from the arc and 5-for-12 from the foul line. Fanning was 5-for-6 at the stripe, while the rest of the squad went 0-for-6.
• The Terriers outrebounded the Bison 35-30, with 17 of those boards coming at the offensive end. Bucknell had been plus-40 on the glass in its previous five games.
• Despite the first half turnover flurry, the Bison finished the game with a plus-3 turnover margin. The Terriers finished with 18 miscues to Bucknell's 15, and the two teams combined for 21 steals.
• The Bison blocked eight shots, four of them by Foulland, who passed Mike Bright to move into fourth place on Bucknell's career blocks list with 122.
Numbers Worth Noting
• Bucknell has allowed 81.3 points per game in its six losses and 63.1 ppg in its 15 victories.
• Bucknell has posted three of its four 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 also rallied from eight down to beat Boston University at 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's transition defense has been strong thus far. The Bison have given up only 71 fastbreak points through 21 games. They went three straight contests (Vanderbilt, Norfolk State, Northern Colorado) without giving up any fastbreak points. Meanwhile, Bucknell has scored 130 fastbreak points on the season.
• Matt O'Reilly has attempted 116 shots during his career at Bucknell. Of those, 111 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 +173 on the season. Foulland is next at +140.
• 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). The Bison are 15-2 when holding opponents under 50%.
• Bucknell is averaging a solid 1.05 points per possession this season, while opponents are averaging 0.98.
• After shooting a season-low 34.0% from the field against Navy, the Bison have shot 52.0% in the next seven games combined. They have eclipsed the 50% mark in six of the last seven games.
• Brown needs three assists to join the top 10 in Bucknell history. He has 308 in his career.
• Bucknell is has a +35 rebound margin in its last six games.
• The Bison are 21-for-47 (.447) from the 3-point arc in their last three 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 eight of his last 10.
• Brown has 37 assists and 12 turnovers in his last seven games. He has taken over the Patriot League lead in assist-to-turnover ratio (2.5).
• Avi Toomer is 5-for-9 from the arc in his last four games.
• Twenty-two of Bruce Moore's 56 points on the season have come in the last four games. He is 9-for-11 from the field in that span, including 6-for-6 in his last three games. Six of Moore's last 10 rebounds have been offensive.
• Foulland has blocked a shot in 19 of his last 20 games.
• Foulland started the year 10-for-28 (.357) from the free-throw line in his first seven games. He is 55-for-93 (.591) since then.
• Bucknell has attempted more free throws than its opponent in 15 of 21 games this season. The Bison are 13-2 in those games.
Who's Got Next?
• Bucknell visits West Point Saturday to tip off the second round of Patriot League play. Game time is 3 p.m. at Christl Arena.
• The Bison defeated Army West point 84-76 at Sojka Pavilion on Jan. 2. Nana Foulland tallied 20 points and 12 rebounds for Bucknell, while Jordan Fox racked up 26 for the Black Knights.
