Sunday, December 23
Honolulu, Hawaii
10 p.m. ET
Bucknell University
5-6
65
vs
82
TCU
10-1
1
2
F
Bucknell
41
24
65
TCU
44
38
82
Bison Fall to TCU 82-65 in Diamond Head Classic Semifinals
12/24/2018 12:09:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Bucknell to play UNLV in third-place game
HONOLULU, Hawai'I – Desmond Bane led six TCU players in double figures with 16 points, and the Horned Frogs used a big run early in the second half to gain some separation in what became an 82-65 decision on Sunday night in the semifinal round of the Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic. Kimbal Mackenzie scored 16 points and Nate Sestina had his second straight double-double with 14 points and 11 rebounds for the Bison, who were coming off an 84-82 win over Rhode Island 24 hours earlier. Bucknell will now play UNLV for third place at 6:30 p.m. Eastern on Christmas Day.
Nate Jones came off the bench to score 12 points on perfect 4-for-4 shooting from beyond the arc for the Bison, who are now 5-6 on the season. TCU, which is receiving votes in both major polls, is now 10-1 and will face Indiana State in the championship game.
TCU's lead was just three at the half at 44-41, but the Horned Frogs exploded for an 8-0 run just three possessions into the second half to take its largest lead of the night. Desmond Bane and Jaylen Fisher canned threes in that spurt, the latter forcing a Bucknell timeout just 1:43 into the half.
After shooting 46 percent in the first half, the Bison started the second 0-for-6, and TCU ran the margin all the way out to 17 at 59-42. Bruce Moore tipped in his own miss for Bucknell's first bucket of the second half at the 14:30 mark, and then a few minutes later Jones connected on back-to-back treys. After two free throws by J.D. Miller, Mackenzie drove down the lane for a 3-point play, pulling the Bison within eight at 63-55.
It was still an eight-point margin at 66-58 after a Jimmy Sotos layup, but then the Bison went cold again, and TCU capitalized with nine straight points. Bucknell made one last run, with a Moore dunk and an Avi Toomer 3-pointer making it a 12-point margin at 77-65 with 2:48 to go, but Jaylen Fisher hit a dagger 3-pointer with a minute to go to ice it for the Horned Frogs.
There were eight lead changes in a tightly contested first half, including a flurry of six in the final 3:29 of the period.
The Bison trailed by as many as eight points in the first half at 24-16 after a 14-2 TCU run, but Mackenzie's 3-pointer and layup bookended a 9-2 Bucknell run that tightened things up considerably. After the Horned Frogs went back up by seven, Sestina scored seven straight Bison points, Jones knocked down a 3-pointer, and Moore finished with a lefty jump hook as part of a 12-2 run that pushed the Bison back in front 37-34.
The lead then changed hands five times in just over a minute, until TCU scored the final four points of the half to go up 44-41 at the break.
"We did a lot of things really well tonight, especially in the first half, but give TCU credit for making the plays they needed to win the game," said head coach Nathan Davis. "That is a top-25-caliber team, and our guys get excited to play in these types of games. We missed some shots that we would normally make tonight, and that coupled with some untimely turnovers will hurt you against a good team."
Bucknell shot 46.2 percent in the first half but just 29.6 percent in the second, finishing at 37.7 percent for the game. The Bison went 8-for-27 from 3-point distance and 17-for-20 from the foul line.
TCU shot 44.6 percent for the game and hit 9 of 28 attempts from outside the arc. The Horned Frogs went 15-for-20 at the foul line and scored 27 points off of Bucknell's 15 turnovers.
The Bison held a big TCU squad to two offensive rebounds in the first half, but the Horned Frogs had 10 in the second, resulting in 10 second-chance points.
Bucknell and UNLV will meet for the first time in Tuesday's third-place affair. The game will be televised on ESPNU. The Runnin' Rebels fell to Indiana State 84-79 in the other semifinal matchup after beating Hawai'i in the opening round.
Nate Jones came off the bench to score 12 points on perfect 4-for-4 shooting from beyond the arc for the Bison, who are now 5-6 on the season. TCU, which is receiving votes in both major polls, is now 10-1 and will face Indiana State in the championship game.
TCU's lead was just three at the half at 44-41, but the Horned Frogs exploded for an 8-0 run just three possessions into the second half to take its largest lead of the night. Desmond Bane and Jaylen Fisher canned threes in that spurt, the latter forcing a Bucknell timeout just 1:43 into the half.
After shooting 46 percent in the first half, the Bison started the second 0-for-6, and TCU ran the margin all the way out to 17 at 59-42. Bruce Moore tipped in his own miss for Bucknell's first bucket of the second half at the 14:30 mark, and then a few minutes later Jones connected on back-to-back treys. After two free throws by J.D. Miller, Mackenzie drove down the lane for a 3-point play, pulling the Bison within eight at 63-55.
It was still an eight-point margin at 66-58 after a Jimmy Sotos layup, but then the Bison went cold again, and TCU capitalized with nine straight points. Bucknell made one last run, with a Moore dunk and an Avi Toomer 3-pointer making it a 12-point margin at 77-65 with 2:48 to go, but Jaylen Fisher hit a dagger 3-pointer with a minute to go to ice it for the Horned Frogs.
There were eight lead changes in a tightly contested first half, including a flurry of six in the final 3:29 of the period.
The Bison trailed by as many as eight points in the first half at 24-16 after a 14-2 TCU run, but Mackenzie's 3-pointer and layup bookended a 9-2 Bucknell run that tightened things up considerably. After the Horned Frogs went back up by seven, Sestina scored seven straight Bison points, Jones knocked down a 3-pointer, and Moore finished with a lefty jump hook as part of a 12-2 run that pushed the Bison back in front 37-34.
The lead then changed hands five times in just over a minute, until TCU scored the final four points of the half to go up 44-41 at the break.
"We did a lot of things really well tonight, especially in the first half, but give TCU credit for making the plays they needed to win the game," said head coach Nathan Davis. "That is a top-25-caliber team, and our guys get excited to play in these types of games. We missed some shots that we would normally make tonight, and that coupled with some untimely turnovers will hurt you against a good team."
Bucknell shot 46.2 percent in the first half but just 29.6 percent in the second, finishing at 37.7 percent for the game. The Bison went 8-for-27 from 3-point distance and 17-for-20 from the foul line.
TCU shot 44.6 percent for the game and hit 9 of 28 attempts from outside the arc. The Horned Frogs went 15-for-20 at the foul line and scored 27 points off of Bucknell's 15 turnovers.
The Bison held a big TCU squad to two offensive rebounds in the first half, but the Horned Frogs had 10 in the second, resulting in 10 second-chance points.
Bucknell and UNLV will meet for the first time in Tuesday's third-place affair. The game will be televised on ESPNU. The Runnin' Rebels fell to Indiana State 84-79 in the other semifinal matchup after beating Hawai'i in the opening round.
Team Stats
BUCKNELL
TCU
FG%
.377
.446
3FG%
.296
.321
FT%
.850
.750
RB
31
38
TO
15
9
STL
2
8
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
16
FGM
4
3FGM
1
FTM
7
Pts
14
FGM
4
3FGM
2
FTM
4
Pts
12
FGM
4
3FGM
4
FTM
0
Pts
8
FGM
1
3FGM
1
FTM
5
Players Mentioned
G
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's Basketball
F
/ Men's BasketballF/C
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's BasketballG
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