Saturday, December 22
Honolulu, Hawaii
10 p.m. ET
Bucknell University
5-5
84
vs
82
Rhode Island
5-4
1
2
F
Rhode Island
42
40
82
Bucknell
35
49
84
Bucknell Outlasts Rhode Island 84-82 in First Round of Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic
12/23/2018 1:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Bruce Moore scores 18 points, including winning tip-in
UPDATE: TCU defeated Charlotte 82-57 in the final game of the first round. Bucknell and TCU will meet for the very first time on Sunday at 10 p.m. Eastern on ESPN2.
HONOLULU, Hawai'I – Bruce Moore matched his career high for the second straight game with 18 points, including the go-ahead tip-in with 1:08 remaining in the game, helping Bucknell to an 84-82 win over Rhode Island in a first-round heartstopper at the Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic on Saturday night.
Nate Sestina logged his fourth double-double of the season with 16 points and 10 rebounds, Jimmy Sotos had 16 points and six assists, and Avi Toomer chipped in 13 points for the Bison, who will play the winner of the TCU-Charlotte game on Sunday at 10 p.m. Eastern on ESPN2.
Rhode Island went 26-8 and advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament last season, and the Rams (5-4) were coming off a convincing 13-point victory over West Virginia before heading out to Hawai'i. Bucknell (5-5) was also an NCAA Tournament team last year, and the Bison rebounded nicely after a long night at Saint Mary's on Wednesday.
In one of its best halves of basketball this season, the Bison scored 49 points, shot 54.8 percent from the field, and hit 7 of 13 from the 3-point arc over the final 20 minutes.
Bucknell trailed by as many as 11 late in the first half but made some headway before the break, pulling within 42-35. The Bison then hit four 3-pointers in the first five minutes of the second half – two each by Sotos and Moore – to regain the lead at 51-47.
The contest was all knotted up at 63 when Sotos' 3-pointer capped an 8-0 run and gave the Bison their largest lead of the night at 71-63. Toomer later hit a key 3-pointer and Moore drove the baseline for a two-handed jam to keep it a five-point margin, but the Rams rallied to tie it at 80-all on Cyril Langevine's 3-point play with 1:29 to go.
The Bison looked inside to Sestina, who made a nice move in the lane only to see his short jumper pop out of the cylinder. But Moore was there to tap it back in, and the Bison had the lead for good. Rhode Island point guard Fatts Russell, who had a huge game with 26 points, drew a foul going to the basket but hit only 1 of 2 at the line with 50 seconds left.
Moore drove it hard down the lane and earned a trip to the foul line. He made one for an 83-81 lead, and then Langevine was fouled at the other end. He made the first but missed the second, and Sotos got a big rebound with eight seconds to go. He went 1-for-2 at the stripe, but then the Bison defended Rhode Island's final possession very well. Jeff Dowtin was forced to take a tough step-back three that came up short, the rebound caromed out of bounds as the buzzer sounded, much to the delight of the loud contingent of Bison fans at the Stan Sheriff Center.
Langevine scored 20 points and Dowtin had 17 for Rhode Island. The Rams, who entered the night ranked dead last among all Division I teams in 3-point percentage (.212), managed eight in this one in 24 attempts. Rhode Island also led the country in 3-point percentage defense, however, and Bucknell flipped that stat by hitting 9 of 20 (.450). The nine treys were the most allowed by Rhode Island all season. The Bison also became the first team to score more than 74 points against the Rams this season.
Bucknell shot 50.9 percent for the game against a Rams squad that came in allowing foes to shoot only 39.2 percent. The Bison finished with a 35-31 rebounding edge against a unit that was +5.1 on the glass this season.
Bucknell had a combined 15 turnovers in its two most recent games against Ohio State and Saint Mary's, but Rhode Island parlayed 10 Bison turnovers into 17 points in the first half en route to a 42-35 lead at the break.
There were 10 lead changes and three ties in the first half, but the Rams ran their lead up to 11 with an 11-2 run, capped by a Dana Tate 3-pointer with 2:38 to go in the period. Sestina's trey ended a three-minute field goal drought for Bucknell, and that started an 8-2 run that closed the gap to 40-35.
Russell closed out a terrific 17-point first half with a tough bank shot just before the buzzer to make it a seven-point game at the break.
Bucknell committed only four more turnovers after halftime, however, and did not concede any transition buckets after the Rams had eight fastbreak points in the first half.
Sotos scored his 16 points on only three field-goal attempts. He went 3-for-3, all from beyond the arc, and made 7 of 8 free-throw attempts. Kimbal Mackenzie added nine points and four assists without a turnover in 36 minutes. Moore went 5-for-7 from the field and 6-for-8 from the foul line, and he added seven rebounds and two steals to his 18 points. He also had 18 earlier in the week at Saint Mary's.
The Bison are playing in the state of Hawai'I for the very first time, and this was the team's first game against Rhode Island since 1965. Bucknell is now 3-0 against the Atlantic 10 this season, averaging 88 points per game in wins over St. Bonaventure, La Salle and Rhode Island.
Nate Sestina logged his fourth double-double of the season with 16 points and 10 rebounds, Jimmy Sotos had 16 points and six assists, and Avi Toomer chipped in 13 points for the Bison, who will play the winner of the TCU-Charlotte game on Sunday at 10 p.m. Eastern on ESPN2.
Rhode Island went 26-8 and advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament last season, and the Rams (5-4) were coming off a convincing 13-point victory over West Virginia before heading out to Hawai'i. Bucknell (5-5) was also an NCAA Tournament team last year, and the Bison rebounded nicely after a long night at Saint Mary's on Wednesday.
In one of its best halves of basketball this season, the Bison scored 49 points, shot 54.8 percent from the field, and hit 7 of 13 from the 3-point arc over the final 20 minutes.
Here's coach Nathan Davis with postgame thoughts after tonight's 84-82 win over Rhode Island. pic.twitter.com/PZZ50GhfLI
— Bucknell MBasketball (@Bucknell_MBB) December 23, 2018
Bucknell trailed by as many as 11 late in the first half but made some headway before the break, pulling within 42-35. The Bison then hit four 3-pointers in the first five minutes of the second half – two each by Sotos and Moore – to regain the lead at 51-47.
The contest was all knotted up at 63 when Sotos' 3-pointer capped an 8-0 run and gave the Bison their largest lead of the night at 71-63. Toomer later hit a key 3-pointer and Moore drove the baseline for a two-handed jam to keep it a five-point margin, but the Rams rallied to tie it at 80-all on Cyril Langevine's 3-point play with 1:29 to go.
The Bison looked inside to Sestina, who made a nice move in the lane only to see his short jumper pop out of the cylinder. But Moore was there to tap it back in, and the Bison had the lead for good. Rhode Island point guard Fatts Russell, who had a huge game with 26 points, drew a foul going to the basket but hit only 1 of 2 at the line with 50 seconds left.
Moore drove it hard down the lane and earned a trip to the foul line. He made one for an 83-81 lead, and then Langevine was fouled at the other end. He made the first but missed the second, and Sotos got a big rebound with eight seconds to go. He went 1-for-2 at the stripe, but then the Bison defended Rhode Island's final possession very well. Jeff Dowtin was forced to take a tough step-back three that came up short, the rebound caromed out of bounds as the buzzer sounded, much to the delight of the loud contingent of Bison fans at the Stan Sheriff Center.
Langevine scored 20 points and Dowtin had 17 for Rhode Island. The Rams, who entered the night ranked dead last among all Division I teams in 3-point percentage (.212), managed eight in this one in 24 attempts. Rhode Island also led the country in 3-point percentage defense, however, and Bucknell flipped that stat by hitting 9 of 20 (.450). The nine treys were the most allowed by Rhode Island all season. The Bison also became the first team to score more than 74 points against the Rams this season.
Bucknell shot 50.9 percent for the game against a Rams squad that came in allowing foes to shoot only 39.2 percent. The Bison finished with a 35-31 rebounding edge against a unit that was +5.1 on the glass this season.
Bucknell had a combined 15 turnovers in its two most recent games against Ohio State and Saint Mary's, but Rhode Island parlayed 10 Bison turnovers into 17 points in the first half en route to a 42-35 lead at the break.
There were 10 lead changes and three ties in the first half, but the Rams ran their lead up to 11 with an 11-2 run, capped by a Dana Tate 3-pointer with 2:38 to go in the period. Sestina's trey ended a three-minute field goal drought for Bucknell, and that started an 8-2 run that closed the gap to 40-35.
Russell closed out a terrific 17-point first half with a tough bank shot just before the buzzer to make it a seven-point game at the break.
Bucknell committed only four more turnovers after halftime, however, and did not concede any transition buckets after the Rams had eight fastbreak points in the first half.
Sotos scored his 16 points on only three field-goal attempts. He went 3-for-3, all from beyond the arc, and made 7 of 8 free-throw attempts. Kimbal Mackenzie added nine points and four assists without a turnover in 36 minutes. Moore went 5-for-7 from the field and 6-for-8 from the foul line, and he added seven rebounds and two steals to his 18 points. He also had 18 earlier in the week at Saint Mary's.
The Bison are playing in the state of Hawai'I for the very first time, and this was the team's first game against Rhode Island since 1965. Bucknell is now 3-0 against the Atlantic 10 this season, averaging 88 points per game in wins over St. Bonaventure, La Salle and Rhode Island.
Team Stats
URI
BUCKNELL
FG%
.443
.509
3FG%
.333
.450
FT%
.522
.731
RB
31
35
TO
9
14
STL
7
3
Game Leaders
Pts
18
FGM
5
3FGM
2
FTM
6
Pts
16
FGM
3
3FGM
3
FTM
7
Pts
16
FGM
6
3FGM
1
FTM
3
Pts
13
FGM
5
3FGM
1
FTM
2
Players Mentioned
G
/ Men's BasketballF
/ Men's BasketballF/C
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's BasketballIn The Herd: American Game Preview And Sarah Althouse Feature
Thursday, October 16
In The Herd: Season Opener And Shane Wynn And Kyla Kelly Features
Wednesday, October 15
2025 Bucknell Athletics Hall of Fame Inductee Bob Rhein
Monday, October 13
2025 Bucknell Athletics Hall of Fame
Sunday, October 12