Bison Hoops Home Again Tuesday vs. Canisius, Watch on WQMY-TV & PLN

What: Canisius (0-0) vs. Bucknell (1-1)
Where: Sojka Pavilion, Lewisburg, Pa. | BUY TICKETS
When: Tuesday, Nov. 13, 7 p.m.
TV: WQMY-TV
Internet: Patriot League Network
Local Radio: Eagle 107 (107.3 FM WEGH)
Listen Live: BucknellBison.com and Eagle107.com
Live Stats: BucknellBison.com

• COMPLETE GAME NOTES

Bucknell Probable Starters
G: Jimmy Sotos (10.0 ppg, 3.5 rpg, 5.5 apg)
G: Kimbal Mackenzie (21.5 ppg, 3.0 rpg, 4.0 apg)
G: Avi Toomer (9.5 ppg, 7.0 rpg, 1.5 apg)
F: Bruce Moore (6.5 ppg, 3.5 rpg, 0.5 bpg)
C: Paul Newman (11.0 ppg, 4.5 rpg, 2.5 bpg)

With a Win over Canisius, Bucknell Would ...

... beat the Golden Griffins for the first time in seven all-time meetings.
... avoid consecutive home losses for the first time since December 2105 and improve to 171-54 at Sojka Pavilion.
... improve to 70-34 under head coach Nathan Davis.
... start a season 2-1 for the third time in four years under Davis.

Headlines

Twice already this season Bucknell has fought back from double-figure deficits. The Bison came from 13 points down to win in overtime at St. Bonaventure on opening night, but after digging out of a 15-point hole against Fairfield on Saturday, they just could not get over the hump and fell 60-58 on a shot with 0:03 left.
Bucknell has held the lead for a total of just 11:48 in the two games, all of that coming in the first half and overtime at St. Bonaventure.
The Bison will be taking on a Metro Atlantic Athletic Association team for the second straight game, this time a Canisius team that was picked second in the MAAC preseason poll and features MAAC Preseason Player of the Year Isaiah Reese. The Golden Griffins will be playing their season opener. Canisius and Colorado are the last two Division I teams making their debuts on Tuesday.
Bucknell is looking to continue its run of success following the graduation of one of its all-time great senior classes. The trio of point guard Stephen Brown, forward Zach Thomas and center Nana Foulland were all First Team All-Patriot League selections last year, and they accounted for 4,801 career points. Despite the heavy graduation hit, four of Bucknell's five opening-night starters managed to start at least 10 games last season. And the only one that didn't — senior center Nate Sestina — was a Preseason All-Patriot League selection.
Bucknell was picked a close second to Lehigh in the Patriot League Preseason Poll. The Bison did pick up one more first-place vote (8) than the Mountain Hawks (7).
Since the end of last season, this Bison group has played quite a bit together. The team took a 10-day European tour in August and went 3-0 against clubs from The Nethlerlands, Belgium and France. Bucknell also conducted closed scrimmages against Penn and Binghamton before opening up at St. Bonaventure last Wednesday.
Bucknell has another difficult non-conference schedule this season. Not including the field at the Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic in December, Bucknell's nine non-league foes combined for a 193-108 (.641) overall record and a 112-48 (.700) mark within their respective leagues last year. Six of the nine teams won at least 21 games, and seven of the nine had winning records. And then Bucknell's first-round opponent in Hawaii will be Rhode Island, which went 26-8 overall and 15-3 in the A-10 last season.
Last season, Bucknell finished 25-10 overall and 16-2 in the Patriot League. The Bison swept Loyola, Boston University and Colgate — with the latter two wins coming by a combined 60 points — to win the Patriot League Tournament crown. Bucknell's eighth NCAA Tournament appearance resulted in a narrow 82-78 first-round loss to third-seeded Michigan State in Detroit.

How to Get the Game

The Bucknell-Canisius game will be televised throughout Northeast Pennsylvania on WQMY-TV, with Joe Vasile handling the play-by-play duties and former Bison point guard Abe Badmus '07 on color commentary. The game will also be available online through the Patriot League Network at PatriotLeague.tv.
The game can be heard in the Susquehanna Valley on the radio on Eagle 107 (WEGH 107.3 FM), with Doug Birdsong calling the action. The pregame show begins 30 minutes before tip-off.
Live statistics can be accessed via BucknellBison.com.
The audio feed is available online free of charge via BucknellBison.com.
Follow @Bucknell_MBB for in-game updates on Twitter.

Last Time Out

Bucknell erased a double-digit deficit for the second time in as many games to start the season, but this time the shorthanded Bison just could not get over the hump. Moments after Kimbal Mackenzie tied the game with a driving layup, Fairfield's Neftali Alvarez answered with a layup at the other end with three seconds remaining to send the Stags to a 60-58 win, spoiling Bucknell's home opener. Jimmy Sotos nearly won it with a running 3-point try from 30 feet out, but his bank shot rimmed out at the buzzer.
The Bison trailed by as many as 15 points in the first half and by 10 at intermission after the Stags outshot Bucknell 61% to 32% in the opening 20 minutes. The Bison locked down defensively in the second half, holding Fairfield to 6-for-26 shooting (.231), but the hosts came away empty numerous times in a one-possession game before finally tying it on Mackenzie's drive with nine seconds to go. Bucknell had just stolen the ball from the shifty Alvarez on the previous possession, setting up the Mackenzie shot, but Alvarez had the answer this time and finished with a game-high 16 points.
Mackenzie led Bucknell with 15 points to go with five assists, six rebounds, and three drawn charges. Paul Newman, a sophomore center making his first career start in place of the injured Nate Sestina, tallied 12 points, seven rebounds and four blocked shots, and Avi Toomer also hit double figures with 10 points along with eight rebounds.
Sestina missed the game after posting 15 points and 16 rebounds in an opening-night overtime win over St. Bonaventure on Wednesday. Reserves Nate Jones and John Meeks also sat out with injuries for the second straight game.
Bucknell saw a couple of lengthy streaks come to an end. The Bison had won 10 straight home games and nine straight home openers.
Bucknell vs. Canisius Series Notes
Canisius has won all six previous meetings, starting with a 37-29 verdict on March 13, 1917 in Buffalo.
The Golden Griffins are 3-0 in Lewisburg, but this will be their first game in Sojka Pavilion.
The most recent meeting was on Dec. 3, 2002, a 71-67 Canisius win in Davis Gym. Bucknell would debut Sojka Pavilion a little over a month later. Matt Quinn hit six 3-pointers and scored 22 points to lead the Bison in that one, while Boakai Lalugba added 21 points and 10 rebounds. Hodari Mallory had 26 points to lead Canisius.

Bucknell vs. the MAAC

Bucknell is 50-56 (.472) in 106 all-time games against the teams that currently comprise the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference, including an 0-1 record this season (Fairfield).
The Bison are 30-24 against Rider, 6-4 against Marist, 4-2 vs. Manhattan, 4-5 vs. Niagara, 2-5 vs. Fairfield, 2-4 vs. Iona, 1-0 vs. St. Peter's, 1-4 vs. Siena, 0-6 vs. Canisius, and 0-2 vs. Monmouth.
The Bison will play Monmouth at home later this season.

Who's Got Next?

After the Canisius game, Bucknell will then have 12 days off before traveling to Vermont on Nov. 25.
Bucknell beat the Catamounts in Sojka Pavilion last season, 81-77.

Bison Hoops Home Again Tuesday vs. Canisius, Watch on WQMY-TV & PLN

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Stephen Brown

Nana Foulland

Nate Jones

Kimbal Mackenzie

John Meeks

Bruce Moore

Paul Newman

Nate Sestina

Jimmy Sotos

Zach Thomas

Avi Toomer

Bison Hoops Home Again Tuesday vs. Canisius, Watch on WQMY-TV & PLN

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Stephen Brown

Nana Foulland

Nate Jones

Kimbal Mackenzie

John Meeks

Bruce Moore

Paul Newman

Nate Sestina

Jimmy Sotos

Zach Thomas

Avi Toomer

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