Bucknell University
2-2
Vermont
3-3
Men's Basketball Rides another Huge Second Half to 69-61 Win at Vermont
11/25/2018 4:02:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Sestina tallies 20 points & rebounds, Moore adds 16 for Bison
Kimbal Mackenzie handed out six assists and scored 13 points, the last three coming on a dagger from long range at the end of the shot clock with 51 seconds remaining. Moore hit four of his five 3-point attempts, with all four makes coming in the second half, and he was part of a stellar defensive effort on Vermont star Anthony Lamb. After Ernie Duncan (20 points) tied the game at 51 with a 3-pointer with 4:52 remaining, Moore immediately answered with his fourth triple, and Bucknell never trailed again.
Bucknell improved to 2-0 on the road this season, with both coming in tough environments at St. Bonaventure and Vermont. The Catamounts had been 66-12 at home over the last six years.
"This was a terrific win against a very good Vermont team that does not lose at home very often," said head coach Nathan Davis, who is now 70-35 in his fourth season at Bucknell. "I thought we were very solid defensively throughout the game, especially in the first half when we were really struggling on offense. That is the formula for beating good teams on the road, and we are going to need that every night against our challenging schedule."
Bucknell shot just 28 percent and went 1-for-9 from the arc in the first half, but it stayed engaged due to strong defense, particularly on Vermont's top two scorers. The Bison trailed 32-20 at the break and 36-23 at the 18:06 mark of the second half. But a 12-0 run, keyed by threes from Moore and Jimmy Sotos, got them back in the game. A tough lefty scoop shot by Sotos tied the game at 38. After Ryan Davis broke Vermont's six-minute scoring drought with a layup, Mackenzie buried a left-wing triple to give the Bison their first lead since it was 4-3 in the opening moments of the game.
There would be five lead changes over the next two minutes, and the Bison were massaging foul trouble with Sotos and Avi Toomer on the bench with four fouls apiece. Bucknell led 51-48 after Moore made both ends of a 1-and-1 with 5:33 to go, but an offensive rebound and kick-out led to Duncan's tying three.
At the other end, Moore jab-stepped to clear space and the swished the go-ahead 3-pointer with 4:22 on the clock. After a defensive stop, Mackenzie drove the lane for a lefty finish and a 56-51 lead. Toomer answered a Stef Smith layup with a backdoor cut for a 3-point play, and with just over two minutes to go Sestina scored with a short jump hook to make it 61-55. The Bison nearly went up by nine, but Mackenzie's 3-pointer circled the rim and fell off, and then Smith made a 3-pointer to pull Vermont within 61-58 with 1:19 to go.
Bucknell drained the shot clock before Mackenzie beat the horn with a huge trey. At the other end he took a charge that resulted in Smith's fifth foul, and Toomer followed with two free throws. The Bison, who had struggled from the foul line in their first three games, went 5-for-6 in the final 35 seconds and 15-for-18 overall.
Bucknell backed up frosty first-half shooting by connecting on 57 percent in the second half, including 7-for-14 from long range. Meanwhile, the Bison held Vermont to 31.7-percent shooting for the game (5-20 from 3-point distance).
Lamb, the America East scoring leader at 21.8 points per game, was held to 2-for-14 shooting in this one with five turnovers. Lamb, who was coming off a career-high 34 points in Vermont's win over Yale on Wednesday, did go 9-for-9 at the foul line to finish with 13 points. Smith finished with 10 points, more than seven below his season average.
Sestina now has double-doubles in both of his appearances this season, both coming in Bucknell victories. He went 6-for-11 from the field and 8-for-9 from the foul line in 29 minutes.
The Bison continued their second-half prowess this season. In addition to coming from 13 points down to beat St. Bonaventure and Vermont, they also erased a 15-point deficit against Fairfield, only to lose on a shot in the final seconds, and they cut a 20-point deficit to six against Canisius but could not get over the hump in that one. Bucknell has outscored its four opponents 160-121 in the second half.
Bucknell has another tough game coming up on Wednesday at home against a Northeastern team that has beaten Alabama this season. Tip-off is 7 p.m. at Sojka Pavilion.
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