Saturday, December 1
Lewisburg, Pa.
2 p.m.
Bucknell University
65
vs
43
Monmouth
1
2
F
Monmouth
22
21
43
Bucknell
29
36
65
Photo by: Marc Hagemeier
Men's Basketball Smothers Monmouth, 65-43
12/1/2018 4:19:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Bison hold Hawks to 24 points over game's final 28 minutes
LEWISBURG, Pa – In its last home game of the calendar year, the Bucknell men's basketball team parlayed a dominant defensive effort into a 65-43 win over Monmouth Saturday at Sojka Pavilion. The Bison held the Hawks to 24 points over the game's final 28 minutes, four seconds and turned a five-point deficit into a 22-point victory. The 43 points by Monmouth is the fewest scored by a Bison opponent since Bucknell held Navy to 42 points on March 6, 2013.
Avi Toomer spurred the Orange and Blue attack on both ends of the floor, registering career highs with 17 points and four steals. Nate Sestina recorded his third double-double in his four games this season with 16 points and 10 rebounds, while Jimmy Sotos added 10 points, seven assists, four rebounds and three steals in the win. Kimbal Mackenzie rounded out a strong performance by the Bison backcourt, scoring nine points to go along with five rebounds and four assists.
Bucknell (3-3) achieved season highs by forcing 18 Hawks' turnovers and snatching 10 steals. For the game, Monmouth (0-9) shot 32.7 percent (17-for-52), including 20 percent (3-15) from behind the arc. The Hawks had three players score eight points apiece.
"I thought our guys played with a lot of focus and a lot of determination," said head coach Nathan Davis. "Because we were playing with that desperation and that effort, when it wasn't going well offensively, we were still flying around. You knew that once we started making shots that we would be in good shape.
Monmouth packed the lane and forced Bucknell to live at the 3-point line for much of the first half. After Sestina, Toomer and Sotos all connected on threes in the first 2:27 of the contest, the Bison went ice cold and missed 14 of 15 during a 10-minute stretch. That enabled the Hawks to slowly build a 19-14 advantage, but Bucknell warmed up around the six-minute mark and took over the game with a 13-0 run.
Sestina got things going with a long 2-pointer and then a triple, and Toomer followed with a 3-pointer to give Bucknell the lead for good at 22-19. Mackenzie followed with five straight points to cap the run, and the Bison took a 29-22 lead to the locker room.
Monmouth, which has struggled shooting from the outside all season, scored the first four points of the second half on drives to the rim, but the Hawks would manage only three more field goals over the next 12 minutes. Leading 33-29, Toomer ignited a 17-5 run with a drive and finish for a 3-point play. Sotos followed with a steal and breakaway layup, and then Toomer's free throw made it a double-digit margin for the first time at 39-29.
Freshman Andrew Funk knocked down his first career 3-pointer at the 13:04 mark for a 46-34 lead, and that remained the score for the next 5:07 as both teams found buckets hard to come by. Paul Newman ended the drought with a layup off a Sotos feed, and then Mackenzie made two free throws to put Bucknell ahead 50-34. Mustapha Traore ended Monmouth's 7:31 scoreless skein with a layup, followed by a Deion Hammond breakaway jam, but the Bison responded with a 12-0 run to put the game away.
Sotos hit a left-wing trey and then made a nice no-look pass ahead to Bruce Moore for a dunk, and by the time Toomer booked his third 3-pointer of the game Bucknell had a commanding 62-38 lead with 3:28 to go. Funk's second trifecta of the day gave the Bison their largest lead of 25 points at 65-40.
Bucknell endured a few cold streaks during the game and finished at 39.6 percent overall, including 11-for-34 from 3-point distance. Bucknell attempted 22 treys and only five 2-point shots in the first half, but it was much more balanced in the second stanza with 12 3-point attempts and 14 2-point tries.
The rock-solid defensive performance was a welcome sight for the Bison after they conceded 96 points in a loss to Northeastern on Wednesday. The 53-point improvement from that game to this one was two shy of a school record. Bucknell has improved defensively by 55 points on three different occasions in its 124-year history, most recently in 2000-01. That season, the Bison followed a 105-61 loss to Iona with a 64-50 win over Rider. It also happened in 1973-74 (110-53 loss to Syracuse followed by a 56-55 win over Lehigh) and 1947-48 (99-71 loss to Rhode Island backed up by a 55-44 win over Lehigh).
Bucknell finishes up the first semester with a road game at La Salle on Tuesday night. The Explorers led Villanova for much of their game on Saturday before falling 85-78.
(12/1/2018) Men's Basketball vs. Monmouth
Avi Toomer spurred the Orange and Blue attack on both ends of the floor, registering career highs with 17 points and four steals. Nate Sestina recorded his third double-double in his four games this season with 16 points and 10 rebounds, while Jimmy Sotos added 10 points, seven assists, four rebounds and three steals in the win. Kimbal Mackenzie rounded out a strong performance by the Bison backcourt, scoring nine points to go along with five rebounds and four assists.
Bucknell (3-3) achieved season highs by forcing 18 Hawks' turnovers and snatching 10 steals. For the game, Monmouth (0-9) shot 32.7 percent (17-for-52), including 20 percent (3-15) from behind the arc. The Hawks had three players score eight points apiece.
"I thought our guys played with a lot of focus and a lot of determination," said head coach Nathan Davis. "Because we were playing with that desperation and that effort, when it wasn't going well offensively, we were still flying around. You knew that once we started making shots that we would be in good shape.
Monmouth packed the lane and forced Bucknell to live at the 3-point line for much of the first half. After Sestina, Toomer and Sotos all connected on threes in the first 2:27 of the contest, the Bison went ice cold and missed 14 of 15 during a 10-minute stretch. That enabled the Hawks to slowly build a 19-14 advantage, but Bucknell warmed up around the six-minute mark and took over the game with a 13-0 run.
Sestina got things going with a long 2-pointer and then a triple, and Toomer followed with a 3-pointer to give Bucknell the lead for good at 22-19. Mackenzie followed with five straight points to cap the run, and the Bison took a 29-22 lead to the locker room.
Monmouth, which has struggled shooting from the outside all season, scored the first four points of the second half on drives to the rim, but the Hawks would manage only three more field goals over the next 12 minutes. Leading 33-29, Toomer ignited a 17-5 run with a drive and finish for a 3-point play. Sotos followed with a steal and breakaway layup, and then Toomer's free throw made it a double-digit margin for the first time at 39-29.
Freshman Andrew Funk knocked down his first career 3-pointer at the 13:04 mark for a 46-34 lead, and that remained the score for the next 5:07 as both teams found buckets hard to come by. Paul Newman ended the drought with a layup off a Sotos feed, and then Mackenzie made two free throws to put Bucknell ahead 50-34. Mustapha Traore ended Monmouth's 7:31 scoreless skein with a layup, followed by a Deion Hammond breakaway jam, but the Bison responded with a 12-0 run to put the game away.
Sotos hit a left-wing trey and then made a nice no-look pass ahead to Bruce Moore for a dunk, and by the time Toomer booked his third 3-pointer of the game Bucknell had a commanding 62-38 lead with 3:28 to go. Funk's second trifecta of the day gave the Bison their largest lead of 25 points at 65-40.
Bucknell endured a few cold streaks during the game and finished at 39.6 percent overall, including 11-for-34 from 3-point distance. Bucknell attempted 22 treys and only five 2-point shots in the first half, but it was much more balanced in the second stanza with 12 3-point attempts and 14 2-point tries.
The rock-solid defensive performance was a welcome sight for the Bison after they conceded 96 points in a loss to Northeastern on Wednesday. The 53-point improvement from that game to this one was two shy of a school record. Bucknell has improved defensively by 55 points on three different occasions in its 124-year history, most recently in 2000-01. That season, the Bison followed a 105-61 loss to Iona with a 64-50 win over Rider. It also happened in 1973-74 (110-53 loss to Syracuse followed by a 56-55 win over Lehigh) and 1947-48 (99-71 loss to Rhode Island backed up by a 55-44 win over Lehigh).
Bucknell finishes up the first semester with a road game at La Salle on Tuesday night. The Explorers led Villanova for much of their game on Saturday before falling 85-78.
Team Stats
M-439
M-83
FG%
.327
.396
3FG%
.200
.324
FT%
.400
.667
RB
37
36
TO
18
11
STL
4
10
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
17
FGM
6
3FGM
3
FTM
2
Pts
16
FGM
6
3FGM
2
FTM
2
Pts
10
FGM
3
3FGM
2
FTM
2
Pts
9
FGM
1
3FGM
1
FTM
6
Players Mentioned
G
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's Basketball
F
/ Men's Basketball
C
/ Men's BasketballF/C
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's BasketballVMI at Bucknell Football Highlights 9-13-2025
Sunday, September 14
Post Game Interview vs. VMI
Saturday, September 13
Georgetown-Bucknell Women's Soccer Highlights 9-11-2025
Friday, September 12
In The Herd: Bucknell Invitational Preview And Mirra Manolov And Abby Platt Features
Thursday, September 11