Saturday, January 12
Lewisburg, Pa.
12 p.m.
Bucknell University
55
vs
54
American
1
2
F
American
30
24
54
Bucknell
28
27
55
Photo by: Marc Hagemeier
Sestina's Late Threes Lead Men's Basketball to 55-54 Win vs. American
1/12/2019 2:17:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Bruce Moore records first double-double with 13 points, 15 rebounds
LEWISBURG, Pa. – Nate Sestina hit the tying and go-ahead 3-pointers in the final minutes of regulation, and the defense took it from there as Bucknell held off American 55-54 on Saturday afternoon at Sojka Pavilion. The Bison (9-7, 3-1 PL) held on for the win as Sa'eed Nelson's long 3-point attempt at the buzzer rimmed out for the Eagles (8-7, 2-2 PL).
Sestina tied the score at 52 on a triple from the left side with 2:43 on the clock. After American missed the front end of a 1-and-1 and the two teams traded misses, Sestina took a pass from Jimmy Sotos on the left wing, hesitated as a defender flew past him, and then swished another 3-pointer with 1:17 to go that gave the Bison the lead for good.
There was still plenty of work left, however. The Eagles responded on the offensive end thanks to an emphatic put-back dunk from Stacy Beckton, Jr. with 57 seconds on the clock, cutting their deficit to one. Larry Motuzis blocked a Bruce Moore jumper to regain possession for American, but Nelson dribbled the ball off of his foot. Kimbal Mackenzie dove on the loose ball and called timeout with 24.4 seconds on the clock.
Sotos missed the front-end of a one-and-one opportunity at the free throw line, but the Bison defense forced a missed Nelson layup at the other end. Moore drew a foul on the scramble for the loos ball, but then missed the front-end of his one-and-one opportunity. Nelson pulled up from about 28 feet with Mackenzie flying out at him, but the shot would not go down as the buzzer sounded.
Sestina scored a game-high 14 points for the Bison, while battling foul trouble throughout the game. Moore recorded his first career double-double with 10 points and a career-high 15 rebounds, and Sotos logged 10 points, six assists and four rebounds.
Nelson scored a game-high 18 points, but needed 17 field goal attempts (6-for-17 shooting). He also had seven assists, six rebounds and a pair of steals for American. He was the only Eagle in double figures.
For the sixth time this year, including all three Patriot League victories, Bucknell came back from a double-digit deficit to win a game.
American used a 12-2 run to go up 28-18 on a Larry Motuzis 3-pointer with 6:06 left in the first half. The Bison limited the Eagles to just one more field goal for the rest of the period and closed within 30-28 at the break.
Sotos scored seven of his 10 points in a 9-0 run early in the second half that gave Bucknell a 39-36 lead, but American quickly responded with eight straight points to go up 44-39 with 11:21 remaining.
The Bison tied it again at 44 on a Sestina layup and a Mackenzie transition 3-pointer. Mark Gasperini's layup, followed by a free throw from Motuzis gave American a 52-49 lead, and then the team's traded points until Sestina's threes put Bucknell back on top.
The Bison found a way to win despite shooting just 39.2 percent from the field, 5-for-19 from the 3-point arc, and 10-for-18 from the foul line. American came into the game leading the Patriot League in scoring defense (67.2) and 3-point defense (.280) while ranking second in field-goal percentage defense (.411).
Defensively, Bucknell held American to 35.6 percent shooting overall, including 4-for-17 from long distance (0-for-7 in the second half). The Eagles also left some points at the free-throw line, finishing 8-for-14.
Bucknell outrebounded American 37-35, led by Moore's best-ever game on the glass. It was the second-highest rebounding total by a Bison this season, trailing only Sestina's 16 against St. Bonaventure in the season opener.
The Bison will now have a short turnaround with another Patriot League contest coming up on Monday against Holy Cross. The 7 p.m. contest will be televised by CBS Sports Network.
POSTGAME PRESS CONFERENCE:
PHOTO GALLERY:
(1/12/2019) Men's Basketball vs. American
Sestina tied the score at 52 on a triple from the left side with 2:43 on the clock. After American missed the front end of a 1-and-1 and the two teams traded misses, Sestina took a pass from Jimmy Sotos on the left wing, hesitated as a defender flew past him, and then swished another 3-pointer with 1:17 to go that gave the Bison the lead for good.
There was still plenty of work left, however. The Eagles responded on the offensive end thanks to an emphatic put-back dunk from Stacy Beckton, Jr. with 57 seconds on the clock, cutting their deficit to one. Larry Motuzis blocked a Bruce Moore jumper to regain possession for American, but Nelson dribbled the ball off of his foot. Kimbal Mackenzie dove on the loose ball and called timeout with 24.4 seconds on the clock.
Sotos missed the front-end of a one-and-one opportunity at the free throw line, but the Bison defense forced a missed Nelson layup at the other end. Moore drew a foul on the scramble for the loos ball, but then missed the front-end of his one-and-one opportunity. Nelson pulled up from about 28 feet with Mackenzie flying out at him, but the shot would not go down as the buzzer sounded.
Sestina scored a game-high 14 points for the Bison, while battling foul trouble throughout the game. Moore recorded his first career double-double with 10 points and a career-high 15 rebounds, and Sotos logged 10 points, six assists and four rebounds.
Nelson scored a game-high 18 points, but needed 17 field goal attempts (6-for-17 shooting). He also had seven assists, six rebounds and a pair of steals for American. He was the only Eagle in double figures.
For the sixth time this year, including all three Patriot League victories, Bucknell came back from a double-digit deficit to win a game.
American used a 12-2 run to go up 28-18 on a Larry Motuzis 3-pointer with 6:06 left in the first half. The Bison limited the Eagles to just one more field goal for the rest of the period and closed within 30-28 at the break.
Sotos scored seven of his 10 points in a 9-0 run early in the second half that gave Bucknell a 39-36 lead, but American quickly responded with eight straight points to go up 44-39 with 11:21 remaining.
The Bison tied it again at 44 on a Sestina layup and a Mackenzie transition 3-pointer. Mark Gasperini's layup, followed by a free throw from Motuzis gave American a 52-49 lead, and then the team's traded points until Sestina's threes put Bucknell back on top.
The Bison found a way to win despite shooting just 39.2 percent from the field, 5-for-19 from the 3-point arc, and 10-for-18 from the foul line. American came into the game leading the Patriot League in scoring defense (67.2) and 3-point defense (.280) while ranking second in field-goal percentage defense (.411).
Defensively, Bucknell held American to 35.6 percent shooting overall, including 4-for-17 from long distance (0-for-7 in the second half). The Eagles also left some points at the free-throw line, finishing 8-for-14.
Bucknell outrebounded American 37-35, led by Moore's best-ever game on the glass. It was the second-highest rebounding total by a Bison this season, trailing only Sestina's 16 against St. Bonaventure in the season opener.
The Bison will now have a short turnaround with another Patriot League contest coming up on Monday against Holy Cross. The 7 p.m. contest will be televised by CBS Sports Network.
POSTGAME PRESS CONFERENCE:
PHOTO GALLERY:
Team Stats
M-23
M-83
FG%
.356
.392
3FG%
.235
.263
FT%
.571
.556
RB
35
37
TO
11
13
STL
9
3
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
14
FGM
6
3FGM
2
FTM
0
Pts
10
FGM
3
3FGM
1
FTM
3
Pts
10
FGM
3
3FGM
0
FTM
4
Pts
7
FGM
3
3FGM
1
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
G
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