Saturday, January 26
Washington, D.C.
4 p.m.
Bucknell University
12-8, 6-2PL
68
at
76
American
10-9, 4-4PL
1
2
F
Bucknell
25
43
68
American
36
40
76
Photo by: Austin Mariasy
Men's Basketball Downed at American, 76-68
1/26/2019 6:23:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Bruce Moore posts second double-double of season
WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Bucknell men's basketball team struggled to get shots to fall for much of the day and fell 76-68 at American on Saturday at Bender Arena. Nate Sestina scored 13 points, and Bruce Moore recorded his second double-double of the year with 11 points and 11 rebounds, but the Bison (12-8, 6-2) saw their five-game winning streak come to an end and fell into a three-way tie for first place in the Patriot League alongside Army and Lehigh.
Andrew Funk also scored in double figures, logging 10 of Bucknell's 25 bench points. But the Bison were able to finish just 33.3 percent of their shot attempts, including an 8-for-27 showing from 3-point distance. Sa'eed Nelson scored 20 points to lead American (10-9, 4-4), which shot 48.8 percent overall despite hitting just four 3-pointers in 14 attempts. The Eagles went 32-for-45 from the free-throw line, piling up a 14-point edge at the stripe.
Bucknell trailed by as many as 16 during a first half in which it went 6-for-26 from the field. The Bison were able to whittle that deficit to four in the final minute but could get no closer.
"It's obviously disappointing any time you don't find a way to win, but regardless of the outcome, we were going to have to get back after it in practice on Monday and keep trying to get better," said head coach Nathan Davis. "Credit to American, they jumped on us early and were more efficient offensively. There is a long way to go this season, and we will learn from this and move on to Navy on Wednesday."
The Bison appeared out of sorts right from the start, as American scored on its first five possessions while Bucknell started 0-for-7 from the field. The Eagles led 10-0 and 15-1 before Funk gave the Bison a spark off the bench with a 3-pointer and a driving reverse layup.
Sam Iorio's free throws gave American its largest lead of the opening half, 16 points at 36-20, before Bucknell finished on a 5-0 run. Jimmy Sotos hit two free throws before Avi Toomer closed out the period with a buzzer-beating 3-pointer.
Trailing by 14 after a Larry Motuzis 3-pointer with 12 minutes remaining, the Bison finally pieced together an extended run midway through the second half. Nate Jones' 3-pointer cut the margin back to single digits at 51-42. While American could only manage two free throws in four attempts over a three-minute span, Paul Newman scored in the lane, Moore threw down a dunk, and Kimbal Mackenzie came up with a steal and a feed to Toomer for a fastbreak layup that made it 53-48 with 8:41 to go.
The Eagles ended their drought with a couple of buckets in the paint before Sestina scored with a short jump-hook. Down six, Bucknell had an open 3-point look and two layups rim out, but Sestina's free throws with 3:49 to go brought the Bison within five at 60-55.
Bucknell came up with another defensive stop and looked inside to Sestina, who had a mismatch on Nelson, the American point guard. Sestina was called for a charging foul, however, and four technical free throws and a Mark Gasperini layup later, American's lead was suddenly back up to 11 at 66-55.
Beckton's layup with 1:55 to go bumped AU's lead to 70-57, but the Bison offered one last run, even with three players having fouled out. Mackenzie, Moore, and John Meeks all made 3-pointers, and then after a second straight Eagles turnover in the backcourt, Funk scored off an inbounds play to make it a 72-68 game with 30 seconds left.
Nelson ended Bucknell's 11-2 run with a pair of free throws, and the Bison could not get another jumper to fall. Motuzis went 2-for-4 at the line in the last 17 seconds to close it out.
Bucknell is back in action on Wednesday at home against Navy at 7 p.m.
Andrew Funk also scored in double figures, logging 10 of Bucknell's 25 bench points. But the Bison were able to finish just 33.3 percent of their shot attempts, including an 8-for-27 showing from 3-point distance. Sa'eed Nelson scored 20 points to lead American (10-9, 4-4), which shot 48.8 percent overall despite hitting just four 3-pointers in 14 attempts. The Eagles went 32-for-45 from the free-throw line, piling up a 14-point edge at the stripe.
Bucknell trailed by as many as 16 during a first half in which it went 6-for-26 from the field. The Bison were able to whittle that deficit to four in the final minute but could get no closer.
"It's obviously disappointing any time you don't find a way to win, but regardless of the outcome, we were going to have to get back after it in practice on Monday and keep trying to get better," said head coach Nathan Davis. "Credit to American, they jumped on us early and were more efficient offensively. There is a long way to go this season, and we will learn from this and move on to Navy on Wednesday."
The Bison appeared out of sorts right from the start, as American scored on its first five possessions while Bucknell started 0-for-7 from the field. The Eagles led 10-0 and 15-1 before Funk gave the Bison a spark off the bench with a 3-pointer and a driving reverse layup.
Sam Iorio's free throws gave American its largest lead of the opening half, 16 points at 36-20, before Bucknell finished on a 5-0 run. Jimmy Sotos hit two free throws before Avi Toomer closed out the period with a buzzer-beating 3-pointer.
Trailing by 14 after a Larry Motuzis 3-pointer with 12 minutes remaining, the Bison finally pieced together an extended run midway through the second half. Nate Jones' 3-pointer cut the margin back to single digits at 51-42. While American could only manage two free throws in four attempts over a three-minute span, Paul Newman scored in the lane, Moore threw down a dunk, and Kimbal Mackenzie came up with a steal and a feed to Toomer for a fastbreak layup that made it 53-48 with 8:41 to go.
The Eagles ended their drought with a couple of buckets in the paint before Sestina scored with a short jump-hook. Down six, Bucknell had an open 3-point look and two layups rim out, but Sestina's free throws with 3:49 to go brought the Bison within five at 60-55.
Bucknell came up with another defensive stop and looked inside to Sestina, who had a mismatch on Nelson, the American point guard. Sestina was called for a charging foul, however, and four technical free throws and a Mark Gasperini layup later, American's lead was suddenly back up to 11 at 66-55.
Beckton's layup with 1:55 to go bumped AU's lead to 70-57, but the Bison offered one last run, even with three players having fouled out. Mackenzie, Moore, and John Meeks all made 3-pointers, and then after a second straight Eagles turnover in the backcourt, Funk scored off an inbounds play to make it a 72-68 game with 30 seconds left.
Nelson ended Bucknell's 11-2 run with a pair of free throws, and the Bison could not get another jumper to fall. Motuzis went 2-for-4 at the line in the last 17 seconds to close it out.
Bucknell is back in action on Wednesday at home against Navy at 7 p.m.
Team Stats
BUCKNELL
AMERICAN
FG%
.333
.488
3FG%
.296
.286
FT%
.720
.711
RB
36
38
TO
8
13
STL
2
4
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
13
FGM
3
3FGM
0
FTM
7
Pts
11
FGM
3
3FGM
1
FTM
4
Pts
10
FGM
4
3FGM
2
FTM
0
Pts
9
FGM
2
3FGM
1
FTM
4
Players Mentioned
G
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's Basketball
F
/ Men's BasketballF
/ Men's Basketball
C
/ Men's BasketballF/C
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's Basketball
G
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