Men's Basketball Set for Home Opener Saturday Night vs. Fairfield

What: Fairfield (0-1) vs. Bucknell (1-0)
Where: Sojka Pavilion, Lewisburg, Pa. | BUY TICKETS
When: Saturday, Nov. 10, 7 p.m.
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

Happenings

Pregame Chalk-Talks with Head Coach Nathan Davis: Head coach Nathan Davis will offer a behind-the-scenes look at the opponent scout during his pregame chalk talks for select games again this season. The pregame chalk talks are OPEN TO BACKCOURT CLUB MEMBERS who donate at the $500 level or higher (must be in current fiscal year, July 1, 2018-June 30, 2019) and take place in the Graham Building just inside the lobby. They begin one hour prior to tip-off, and doors to the Graham Building open 75 minutes prior to tip-off. The games and chalk-talk times included this year are: SATURDAY, Nov. 10 (Fairfield - 6pm), Saturday, Dec. 1 (Monmouth - 1pm), Monday, Jan. 14 (Holy Cross - 6pm) and Monday, Feb. 11 (Lehigh - 6pm).
Pregame Banner Raising: Arrive early as the Bison will raise their 2018 Patriot League championship and NCAA Tournament banners prior to tip-off.
Veterans Day Celebration: In honor of Veterans Day, all military veterans, active duty personnel, and Gold Star families, will receive FREE admission. Those individuals may also enter to win a pair of 2018-19 Bucknell men's basketball season tickets.
Junior Bison Club: All members of the Junior Bison Club receive free admission when accompanied by an adult with a game ticket.
Women's Cross County Team Celebration: Pay tribute at halftime to the Bison women's cross country team, which recently captured its fourth straight Patriot League title.

Bucknell Probable Starters
G: Jimmy Sotos (14.0 ppg, 3.0 rpg, 7.0 apg)
G: Kimbal Mackenzie (28.0 ppg, 0.0 rpg, 3.0 apg)
G: Avi Toomer (9.0 ppg, 6.0 rpg, 1.0 apg)
F: Bruce Moore (9.0 ppg, 4.0 rpg, 0.0 bpg)
C: Nate Sestina (15.0 ppg, 16.0 rpg, 1.0 apg)

With a Win over Fairfield, Bucknell Would ...

... start a season 2-0 for the first time since 2012-13.
... win its home opener for the 10th straight season. The last loss in a home opener came in 2008-09 to Boston University (71-68 OT).
... win its 11th straight home game and improve to 171-53 at Sojka Pavilion.
... improve to 5-2 all-time against Fairfield.
... improve to 70-33 under head coach Nathan Davis.

Headlines

Bucknell looks to build off Wednesday's thrilling come-from-behind win at St. Bonaventure when Fairfield comes to Sojka Pavilion for the 2018-19 home opener.
Prior to the game, the 2018 Patriot League championship and NCAA Tournament banners will be unveiled.
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 and Fairfield are both tasked with replacing a player who averaged better than 20 points per game last season. Thomas averaged 20.5 ppg to rank 37th nationally, while Fairfield's Tyler Nelson ranked 13th at 22.2 ppg en route to becoming the school's all-time leading scorer.
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 on 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.
Fairfield opened up its season with a 90-57 loss at No. 22/24 Purdue on Tuesday. Freshman Neftali Alvarez led the Stags with 16 points, while Jonathan Kasibabu had 14 and Landon Taliaferro 11. Fairfield went 17-16 overall and 9-9 in the MAAC last season, and this year they were picked seventh in the MAAC preseason poll. Sydney Johnson's team fell to Iona, 83-71, in the 2018 MAAC championship game.

How to Get the Game

The Bucknell-Fairfield game will 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 fans wondering how the team would respond after losing a highly decorated senior class were left impressed by a come-from-behind, 88-85 overtime victory at St. Bonaventure in the season opener on Wednesday. The Bonnies, who were dealing with some key graduation losses of their own, were also an NCAA Tournament team last year as an at-large pick out of the Atlantic 10. They beat UCLA in a First Four game in Dayton before falling to Florida.
Bucknell won the game despite never leading in the second half. The Bison trailed 35-31 at halftime before the Bonnies extended the margin to 13 at 52-39 with 12 minutes to play. Bucknell's deficit was still 11 with 6:41 left and seven with 3:49 to go. But the Bison held the Bonnies to two field goals in the last five minutes of regulation and forced overtime with a 15-6 run over that span.
Senior Kimbal Mackenzie was sensational with a career-high 28 points on 10-for-15 shooting. He scored 21 of his 28 points after halftime.
Hometown favorite Nate Sestina — a senior center making his first career start — tallied 15 points and a career-high 16 rebounds in front of several busloads of family and friends from nearby Cameron County, Pennsylvania. Sophomore point guard Jimmy Sotos added 14 points and seven assists, sophomore backup center Paul Newman scored 10 straight Bison points in one key stretch in the second half, and juniors Bruce Moore and Avi Toomer both finished with nine points while making critical plays in overtime. Toomer accounted for the tying points late in regulation and the go-ahead point in overtime, and Moore scored five of the team's first six points in OT.
Bucknell might not have been in position to win were it not for the play of Newman in the second half. During a stretch when St. Bonaventure was hot offensively, the Bison looked to the sophomore time and time again, and he scored 10 straight Bucknell points over a stretch of 3:30. It might have been 13, but he left a few points at the free-throw line. Newman, who scored 14 points all of last season in limited action, went 3-for-3 from the floor and 4-for-7 from the line, and he also grabbed two rebounds and blocked a shot.
Bucknell shot 48.3% from the field, rallying by making 10 of their final 12 attempts of the night. St. Bonaventure also shot 48.3%, dipping under the 50-percent mark with a 2-for-7 showing in overtime.
The Bison struggled for much of the night at the foul line, finishing 23-for-36 (.639), but Sotos and Mackenzie combined to make the team's final five of the night with the game on the line.
Bucknell finished with a 33-29 rebounding edge and a 17-9 advantage in second-chance points. Sestina's 16 rebounds were the most since Zach Thomas had 19 at Saint Joseph's last season.

Notable Career Highs Set vs. St. Bonaventure

Kimbal Mackenzie: Points (28), FGM (10)
Paul Newman: Points (10)
Nate Sestina: Rebounds (16)
Jimmy Sotos: Points (14), Assists (7)

Bucknell vs. Fairfield Series Notes

Fairfield leads 4-2 in a series that dates back to 1990.
Bucknell and Fairfield played a two-game series in 1990-91 and 1991-92, and then they played four straight years from 2013-14 to 2016-17.
The last meeting was two seasons ago in Bridgeport, Conn., with Bucknell winning 75-64 behind 23 points and 11 rebounds from Nana Foulland. Kimbal Mackenzie tallied nine points and five assists, and Matt O'Reilly hit four 3-pointers for 12 points off the bench.
In the last meeting at Sojka Pavilion in 2015-16, Fairfield tied the arena record with 17 made 3-pointers (in 32 attempts) in a 101-91 victory over the Bison. Tyler Nelson hit four of those deep balls and scored 25 points to lead the Stags, while Ryan Frazier led the Bison with 20 points. Bucknell outrebounded Fairfield 51-24 but was undone by 23 turnovers and poor defense.

Bucknell vs. the MAAC

Bucknell is 50-55 (.476) in 105 all-time games against the teams that currently comprise the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference, including a 1-1 record last season (loss to Monmouth, win over Siena).
The Bison are 30-24 against Rider, 6-4 against Marist, 4-2 vs. Manhattan, 4-5 vs. Niagara, 2-4 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 Canisius and Monmouth at home later this season.

Who's Got Next?

Following the Fairfield game, the Bison are home again on Tuesday to face Canisius, one of the top teams in the MAAC. Bucknell will then have 12 days off before traveling to Vermont on Nov. 25.

Men's Basketball Set for Home Opener Saturday Night vs. Fairfield

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Stephen Brown

Nana Foulland

Kimbal Mackenzie

Bruce Moore

Paul Newman

Matt O'Reilly

Nate Sestina

Jimmy Sotos

Zach Thomas

Avi Toomer

Men's Basketball Set for Home Opener Saturday Night vs. Fairfield

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Stephen Brown

Nana Foulland

Kimbal Mackenzie

Bruce Moore

Paul Newman

Matt O'Reilly

Nate Sestina

Jimmy Sotos

Zach Thomas

Avi Toomer

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