Bison Host American on 15th Annual Dirk Sojka's Slam Dunk With Bison Basketball

What: American (8-6, 2-1 PL) vs. Bucknell (8-7, 2-1 PL)
Where: Sojka Pavilion, Lewisburg, Pa. | BUY TICKETS
When: Saturday, Jan. 12, 12 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

15th Annual "Dirk Sojka's Slam Dunk with Bison Basketball": There will be a raffle and silent auction, along with other in-game festivities, with proceeds benefiting Suncom Industries. Suncom is a nonprofit, human services agency, which helps people with developmental and physical disabilities improve the quality of their lives. The organization's goal is to provide the vocational training and skill development for individuals to grow to their fullest potential. The late Dirk Sojka, the son of Gary and Sandy Sojka, worked at Suncom before his passing in July 2002. The event is sponsored by Geisinger, Weis Markets, 94.1 WQKX and the Degenstein Foundation, and has raised over $500,000 for Suncom in the last 14 years. Morning show hosts Tom & Lura from 94.1 WQKX will serve as game emcees throughout the day.
Junior Bison Club pizza party.

Bucknell Probable Starters
G: Jimmy Sotos (9.5 ppg, 4.5 rpg, 6.1 apg)
G: Kimbal Mackenzie (16.0 ppg, 2.5 rpg, 3.5 apg)
G: Avi Toomer (9.4 ppg, 3.5 rpg, 1.7 apg)
F: Bruce Moore (9.8 ppg, 3.3 rpg, 0.7 apg)
C: Nate Sestina (16.2 ppg, 8.5 rpg, 1.2 apg)

With a Win over American, Bucknell Would ...

Win its second straight game and improve to 9-7 overall and 3-1 in the Patriot League.
Defeat the Eagles for the fifth straight time overall and also for the fifth straight time at Sojka Pavilion.
Improve to 42-22 all-time against the Eagles.
Improve to 173-56 all-time at Sojka Pavilion and 124-26 against PL foes at Sojka Pavilion.
Improve to 284-118 all-time in Patriot League play and 109-27 in the PL over the last nine seasons.

Headlines

Bucknell continues its three-game homestand on Saturday against American. The Bison and Eagles are two of the four teams tied for second place in the Patriot League at 2-1, one game behind league-leading Lehigh.
Saturday's game will be the 15th Annual "Dirk Sojka's Slam Dunk with Bison Basketball." There will be a raffle and silent auction, along with other in-game festivities, with proceeds benefitting Suncom Industries. Suncom is a nonprofit, human services agency, which helps people with developmental and physical disabilities improve the quality of their lives. The organization's goal is to provide the vocational training and skill development for individuals to grow to their fullest potential. The late Dirk Sojka, the son of Gary and Sandy Sojka, worked at Suncom before his passing in July 2002.
From the "On this Date" Dept., Saturday marks the 39th anniversary of Al Leslie's school-record 45-point game, which coincidentally also game against American. Before a standing-room-only crowd of 2,700 fans in Davis Gym, Leslie went 16-for-26 from the field and 13-for-14 from the foul line while grabbing nine rebounds in Bucknell's 105-89 victory. It was quite a matchup with American's high-scoring forward Boo Bowers, who had 30 points for the Eagles. Leslie and Bowers both became their school's all-time leading scorer, and both were selected in the 1981 draft (Leslie in the second round by the Pacers, Bowers in the third round by the Cavaliers). Leslie was not the only productive Bison player in that game on Jan. 12, 1980. Bob Barry, who was Bucknell's career points leader at the time, had 20 points, Steve Sigl had 16, and Pat Flannery chipped in 10 points, six assists and four steals.
Bucknell is coming off a hard-fought, 84-81 win over Colgate on Wednesday. The Bison trailed by as many as 13 points in the first half, but they had a strong finish and held off the Raiders behind 25 points from Kimbal Mackenzie.
Speaking of Mackenzie, the Bison senior guard is on 1,000-point watch. He is 12 points shy of becoming the 43rd 1,000-point scorer in team history.
Last Saturday's game in Boston was Bucknell's eighth game in a stretch of eight straight contests away from home. This was the first time that Bucknell played eight or more consecutive games at road/neutral sites since 1931-32. Included in that run was the team's longest-ever trip in terms of mileage, as the Bison faced Saint Mary's in California before continuing west to play in the state of Hawai'i for the first time at the Diamond Head Classic Dec. 22-25.
Senior center Nate Sestina has lived up to his Preseason All-Patriot League billing thus far. The Bison are 8-5 this season with Sestina in the lineup — he missed the Fairfield and Canisius games with an injury — and he is averaging a team-best 16.2 points and 8.5 rebounds per game. Sestina, who served as the backup center behind former Patriot League Player of the Year Nana Foulland for the last three seasons, was named to the All-Tournament Team at the Diamond Head Classic. Sestina is this week's Patriot League Player of the Week after averaging 24.5 points and 10.5 rebounds against Army and Boston University. His 27 points against the Terriers was a career high.
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 — Nate Sestina — was a Preseason All-Patriot League selection.
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.
American has been one of the most improved teams in the Patriot League this season. The Eagles matched last year's total of six wins before Christmas and are already one win shy of their Patriot League win total (3) from a year ago. American boasts one of the league's top players in guard Sa'eed Nelson, the Preseason Patriot League Player of the Year who averages 19.1 points per game. Forward Sam Iorio shoots just under 40% from 3-point range and scores 15.5 ppg, and center Mark Gasperini (11.3 ppg) has given the Eagles a big lift after missing all of last season due to injury. In league play, American has beaten Boston University and Navy at home, with a road loss at Colgate in between.

How to Get the Game

The Bucknell-American game can be seen online on the Patriot League Network via 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.
The audio feed is available online free of charge via BucknellBison.com.
Live statistics can be accessed at BucknellBison.com.
Follow @Bucknell_MBB for in-game updates on Twitter.

Last Time Out

For the fifth time this season, Bucknell wiped out a double-digit deficit to win a game. Trailing by 13 points midway through the first half, the Bison whittled the margin to four by halftime, and then turned in a strong finish to defeat Colgate 84-81 at Sojka Pavilion on Wednesday.
Seniors Kimbal Mackenzie (25 points) and Nate Sestina (15 points 9 rebounds) led the way for the Bison, combining to score 13 of the team's final 15 points down the stretch.
Mackenzie's 25 points marked the second-highest total of his career, behind only the 28 he scored against St. Bonaventure in this year's season opener. He also had 25 points against Richmond during his sophomore year. Mackenzie's 13 made free throws and 16 attempts were career highs.
Avi Toomer was Bucknell's third double-figure scorer with 12 points to go along with three assists and three steals. Jimmy Sotos finished with nine points, five rebounds and six assists.
Bucknell shot 43.5% overall and hit 9 of 24 from long range. Colgate shot 47.0% for the game and went 9-for-27 from the 3-point arc. The Raiders piled up a 42-28 rebounding advantage, turning 15 offensive boards into 20 second-chance points. Bucknell made up for the rebounding disparity with a plus-9 turnover margin and a 23-11 edge in points off turnovers. The Bison had 10 steals and forced 18 total turnovers while committing just nine of their own. Bucknell also outscored Colgate 21-10 at the free-throw line.
Bucknell overcame a terrific game from Colgate guard Jordan Burns, who tallied 28 points, nine rebounds and six assists. Rapolas Ivanauskas added 20 points.

Bucknell vs. American

Bucknell has an overall 41-22 lead in an all-time series with American that includes some historic dates. The very first meeting on Jan. 14, 1939 also happened to be the first game ever played in Davis Gym (AU won 38-33). Coincidentally, American was also the opponent for the very last game ever played in Davis Gym on Jan. 11, 2003 (a 63-52 Bison win).
As Patriot League rivals, Bucknell leads 26-10, including victories in the 2005 and 2006 PL Tournament semifinals.
Bucknell has won 23 of 30 series meetings in Lewisburg, including 15 out of 17 at Sojka Pavilion, but the Bison are just 10-7 at Bender Arena since American joined the Patriot League in 2001-02.
Bucknell swept two games from the Eagles last season. At Sojka Pavilion, the Bison routed the Eagles 84-55. Nana Foulland had 26 points and 11 rebounds, and Zach Thomas had 27 points and nine boards. The frontcourt duo combined for 53 points in 53 minutes, making 21 of their 27 field-goal attempts. Sam Iorio had 20 points and six rebounds for American.
In game two in D.C., Bucknell closed out the regular season with an 80-61 triumph behind 20 points from Foulland and 16 from Thomas, who broke the school's single-season points record in the game. Iorio led American with 17 points.

Numbers Worth Noting

Senior Kimbal Mackenzie has a knack for taking charges. He drew four offensive fouls in the La Salle game on Dec. 4, and he has a team-high 13 drawn charges this season.
Sophomore Jimmy Sotos struggled in the turnover category early in the season, but over the last eight games, he has 55 assists with only 15 turnovers.
As a team, the Bison rank 35th nationally in assists per made field goal (.587).
Sophomore Paul Newman has played well in the first extended action of his career, and he has emerged as one of the Patriot League's top shot-blockers. Newman ranks third in the league with 1.6 blocks per game, even though he plays just 15.5 minutes per game. Newman averages 4.1 blocks per 40 minutes.
Sophomore John Meeks has provided a big lift since returning from injury at Ohio State on Dec. 15. In eight games since coming back, Meeks has totaled 51 points (20-35 FG) and 19 rebounds in 94 minutes. He averages 21.7 ppg and 8.1 rpg per 40 minutes.
Bucknell's shot chart from the La Salle game was a statistical analyst's dream. In a game in which the Bison scored 92 points, all 29 made field goals were either dunks (6), layups (12), or 3-pointers (11). In fact, Bucknell did not attempt a 2-point shot outside the paint all night.
Bucknell's non-conference schedule was ranked as the 77th-hardest in the nation, according to statistical analyst Ken Pomeroy. Bucknell's 12 non-league foes combined for a 260-141 (.648) overall record and a 144-70 (.673) mark within their respective leagues last year. Nine of the 12 teams won at least 20 games, and 10 of the 12 had winning records.
Bucknell went 3-0 against the Atlantic 10 this season. The Bison averaged 88 points per game in wins over St. Bonaventure, La Salle and Rhode Island.
The Bison have been a slow-starting team but also a very good second-half team for much of this season, both offensively and defensively. In the first eight minutes of games this year, the Bison are 55-for-149 (.369) from the field. But they shoot just under 50% percent while holding opponents under 40% shooting in the second halves.
In the second halves of the three Patriot League games, Bucknell is averaging 49.0 points per game while shooting 53.3 FG% and 41.7 3FG%. Nate Sestina alone is scoring 15.0 ppg just in the second halves in league play.
Mackenzie has played all 60 second-half minutes in league play thus far, while Sotos and Sestina have both played 59 of 60.

Who's Got Next?

Bucknell has a short turnaround, with Holy Cross coming to Sojka Pavilion on Monday for nationally televised game on CBS Sports Network.

Bison Host American on 15th Annual Dirk Sojka's Slam Dunk With Bison Basketball

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Stephen Brown

Nana Foulland

Kimbal Mackenzie

John Meeks

Bruce Moore

Paul Newman

Nate Sestina

Jimmy Sotos

Zach Thomas

Avi Toomer

Bison Host American on 15th Annual Dirk Sojka's Slam Dunk With Bison Basketball

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Stephen Brown

Nana Foulland

Kimbal Mackenzie

John Meeks

Bruce Moore

Paul Newman

Nate Sestina

Jimmy Sotos

Zach Thomas

Avi Toomer

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