Men's Basketball Resumes Schedule Saturday at Siena

Saturday, December 21

Albany, N.Y.

6 p.m.

Bucknell University

Siena

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Photo by: Marc Hagemeier

Men's Basketball Resumes Schedule Saturday at Siena

12/19/2019 9:42:00 AM | Men's Basketball

Final exams are in the rear-view mirror, and with the winter break period underway the Bison can focus solely on basketball for the next few weeks. After a two-week hiatus, the game schedule resumes on Saturday when Bucknell travels to Siena for a 6 p.m. game at the Times Union Center in Albany. The game will be televised locally on My4 Albany, and it will also stream nationally on ESPN+.

The Bison went into the exam break on a positive note after beating another Capital District team, Albany, 65-64 on Dec. 7. Bucknell fell behind 21-6 during a frigid offensive start to that game, but slowly chipped away at the deficit to pull within eight at the half. The Bison really got going in the second half, shooting 52 percent from the field, and they came back to win the game and snap a three-game losing streak. Jimmy Sotos, who scored 20 of his 23 points in the second half, and Avi Toomer (career-high 21 points) were two of the main catalysts in the win. Toomer has been red hot of late. He is averaging 17.4 points over his last five games, and he has taken over the team scoring lead at 14.0 points per game.

Siena has also been off since Dec. 7, and the Saints will be looking to shake a four-game losing skid. They are 2-0 at home, however, and Saturday's game kicks off a four-game homestand. For Bucknell, this will be the fourth of four games on the schedule against teams from the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference, all of them coming on the road. The Bison opened the season with a win at Fairfield but have since fallen to Canisius and Rider.

This is Bucknell's penultimate non-conference game in 2019-20. The Bison will play La Salle at the historic Palestra in Philadelphia on Dec. 28, followed by the Patriot League opener at home against Army West Point on Jan. 2.

Here's more info on Saturday's game at Siena:

What: Bucknell (4-7) at Albany (2-5)
Where: Times Union Center, Albany, N.Y.
When: Saturday, Dec. 21, 6 p.m.
TV: My4 Albany
Webcast: ESPN+
Local Radio: Eagle 107 (107.3 FM WEGH)
Listen Live: BucknellBison.com and Eagle107.com
Live Stats: SienaSaints.com

COMPLETE GAME NOTES

Bucknell Probable Starters
G: Jimmy Sotos (12.5 ppg, 4.0 rpg, 4.2 apg)
G: Andrew Funk (10.4 ppg, 3.8 rpg, 1.4 apg)
G: Avi Toomer (14.0 ppg, 4.0 rpg, 1.4 apg)
F: Bruce Moore (11.2 ppg, 3.0 rpg, 0.9 apg)
C: Malachi Rhodes (0.9 ppg, 1.3 rpg, 0.2 bpg)

With a Win over Siena, Bucknell Would ...

... win consecutive games for the first time this season.
... snap a four-game road losing streak and improve to 2-4 on the road this season (the Bison have not lost five straight road games since 2014-15).
... defeat the Saints for the second straight time and improve to 2-4 all-time against them.
... finish 2-2 against the MAAC this season.
... give head coach Nathan Davis his 94th win as Bucknell's head coach.

Headlines

After playing 11 games in the first 32 days of the season, Bucknell has been off since Dec. 7 for final exams. The two-week break concludes on Saturday, when the Bison take on Siena at the Times Union Center in Albany. This will be Bucknell's second straight game against a Capital District team, as the Bison edged Albany 65-64 at Sojka Pavilion last time out.
Bucknell was struggling defensively, albeit against a difficult schedule, before making strides in that area against Albany. The Bison had allowed 86.4 points per game in their previous seven games, but they limited the Great Danes to 40.9% shooting in the second half and forced 21 turnovers en route to the come-from-behind win. Bucknell's 13 steals in that game were its most since collecting 13 thefts at Fairfield on Dec. 6, 2016.
Senior Avi Toomer has been tremendous over his last five games. In that span, he is averaging a team-best 17.4 points per game and 5.2 rebounds per game while shooting 47.3% from the field and 45.2% from the 3-point arc (14-31). Toomer scored a career-high 21 points against Albany in the team's most recent game.
The Bison have played shorthanded in the frontcourt in recent games, as center Paul Newman has missed the last three games and forward John Meeks the last two due to injury. Both are expected to be available for the Siena game.
Bucknell currently has five players averaging at least 10 points per game, led by Avi Toomer at 14.0 ppg. He is followed by Jimmy Sotos (12.5), Bruce Moore (11.2), Andrew Funk (10.4) and Meeks (10.3). Bucknell is one of 15 Division I teams with five double-digit scorers. The others are Colgate, Dayton, Delaware, Duquesne, George Washington, Georgia Southern, Gonzaga, Kent State, Kentucky, LSU, North Carolina State, South Dakota, Utah State and Utah Valley.
Bucknell was picked second to Colgate in the Patriot League preseason poll. Those two teams played in the 2019 Patriot League Tournament final, with the Raiders prevailing 94-80 to thwart Bucknell's hopes of a third straight NCAA Tournament appearance.
Bucknell and Colgate shared the 2019 Patriot League regular-season title with 13-5 conference records. It was Bucknell's fifth straight PL regular-season crown and eighth in the last nine years. The run of five regular-season titles in a row is the second-longest current streak in the nation, behind only Gonzaga (7).
Like Bucknell, Siena has also been idle since Dec. 7. Siena is 2-5 on the season, but the Saints are 2-0 at home and 0-5 on the road. The Saints started the season 2-1 with wins over American and St. Bonaventure, but they have dropped four straight since then, including a 70-66 verdict at Cal Poly in their most recent outing. This current losing streak also includes a three-point loss at Harvard, a triple-overtime loss at Yale, and a 10-point loss at Colgate.
First year head coach Carmen Maciariello's team has four players scoring in double figures, led by reigning MAAC Rookie of the Year Jalen Pickett at 16.0 ppg. Elijah Burns (14.3) and Donald Carey (14.1) are next on the scoring list, and Manny Camper averages a double-double with 13.7 points and 11.1 rebounds per game. The Saints are +4.8 on the glass for the season.

How to Get the Game

The Bucknell-Siena game will be televised in the Albany area on My4 Albany. The game will also stream live on ESPN+.
The game can be heard in the Susquehanna Valley on the radio on Eagle 107 (WEGH 107.3 FM). Doug Birdsong handles the play-by-play duties. The pregame show begins 30 minutes before tip-off.
Live statistics can be accessed at SienaSaints.com.
The audio feed is available online free of charge via BucknellBison.com and Eagle107.com.
Follow @Bucknell_MBB for in-game updates on Twitter.

Last Time Out

Jimmy Sotos scored Bucknell's final 10 points of the night, and he tallied 20 of his game-high 23 in the second half to help the Bison rally past Albany 65-64 at Sojka Pavilion on Dec. 7. Avi Toomer added a career-high 21 points as Bucknell stormed back from 15 points down to head into the final exam break on a positive note.
Bucknell snapped a three-game losing streak and improved to 4-7 on the season heading into a two-week layoff. Albany, which received 18 points from Ahmad Clark, dropped its second straight game and fell to 5-5.
The Great Danes came into the night holding opponents to 39.5% shooting, and that number figured to drop significantly as the Bison got off to a dreadful start offensively. Over the first nine minutes the Bison were 2-for-11 from the field with five turnovers. Meanwhile Albany started 7-for-10 and raced to a 21-6 lead after Kendall Lauderdale's spinning layup.
But as the Bison began to get stops, they slowly chipped away at the deficit. Bucknell forced 12 Albany turnovers in the first half and held the Great Danes to four field goals in the final 12 minutes. Toomer hit a couple of 3-pointers in the late stages of the period, the latter coming with six seconds left, to get the Bison to the locker room down by only eight at 32-24 despite shooting 22.2% (6-27).
Bucknell closed within five on a Sotos layup at the 15:31 mark of the second half, but shortly after starting forward Bruce Moore left with his fourth foul, and the Great Danes scored seven unanswered to go back up by 12 at 43-31 with 14:06 to play.
It might have been more, except Brent Hank missed the front end of a 1-and-1, and Toomer hit back with a 3-point play at the other end that ignited a game-changing 15-2 run for the Bison.
Bucknell's lead was just one at 55-54 after a Healy 3-pointer when Sotos made a trey of his own while absorbing contact from Clark. Sotos finished the 4-point play to make it 59-54.
Things got interesting in the final 30 seconds, when Clark split a pair of free throws to make it 63-60, and then the Bison turned the ball over against the press. Lauderdale rebounded his own miss and put it back in while drawing a foul with 14 seconds remaining. Lauderdale had a chance to tie the game but missed the free throw. Toomer grabbed the rebound and passed ahead to Sotos, who was fouled with 10.9 ticks left. Sotos, who was 11-for-13 from the line on the night, made both to make it a 65-62 lead. After a timeout, Clark missed a contested 3-pointer from the deep right corner. Albany rebounded and put it back in at the buzzer, but that left them a point short as time expired.
Bucknell forced 21 Albany turnovers in the game, including 13 on steals, which was the team's highest total since collecting 13 thefts at Fairfield on Dec. 6, 2016. Toomer had three steals, as did Funk, who played strong defense all night on Healy, who finished with 15 points on 4-for-11 shooting.
Freshmen Alex Timmerman and Malachi Rhodes each had two steals while manning the center position for the Bison, who once again were without the services of starting center Paul Newman and key reserve forward John Meeks. Kahliel Spear saw a lot of time at the "4" position and was on the floor during the Bison's biggest run, while Moore was on the bench with foul trouble. Spear had a team-high six rebounds, including three on the offensive end.
After the 22.2% shooting performance in the first half, the Bison flipped the script in the second, connecting at a 51.9% clip. Bucknell shot 37.0% overall and 7-for-28 from 3-point range, but it was helped by 18-for-22 free-throw shooting.

Bucknell vs. Siena Series History

Bucknell and Siena are meeting for the sixth time overall and for the fifth time in the last six years. The Saints have a 4-1 series lead, but the Bison won the most recent meeting 115-92 at Sojka Pavilion on Nov. 20, 2017.
The first series meeting cam on Dec. 27, 1985, when the Saints won 83-65 in the first round of the Siena Invitational. Siena went on to beat Cornell to win the tournament, while Bucknell beat East Carolina in the consolation game. Mike Butts led the Bison with 13 points in that 1985 meeting, while former Marist and James Madison head coach and current Maryland assistant Matt Brady had 19 points and seven assists for the Saints. That Siena team was coached by John Griffin, father of Bucknell alum and former assistant coach John Griffin.
In the most recent clash two seasons ago, the Bison had a monster offensive night and set what was then a Sojka Pavilion scoring record (it was surpassed in last season's 118-76 win over Lafayette) in the 115-92 victory over Siena. Zach Thomas set school records for free throws made (19) and attempted (22) on the way to a 25-point night. Nana Foulland (15), Nate Sestina (14), Bruce Moore (14) and Jimmy Sotos (10) all scored in double figures for the Bison, who went 39-for-45 (.867) from the foul line. Nico Clareth led the Saints with 21 points.
Bucknell and Siena have not met at the Times Union Center since Dec. 28, 2014 (a 73-71 Siena win). In 2016-17, the two teams played at the Glens Falls Civic Center, with the Saints prevailing 71-68.
Three of Siena's four series wins are by three points or fewer.

Bucknell vs. The MAAC

Bucknell is 52-59 (.468) in 111 all-time games against the teams that currently comprise the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference, including a 1-2 record this season (win over Fairfield, losses to Canisius and Rider).
The Bison have four MAAC teams on the schedule this season, all on the road.
The Bison are 30-25 against Rider, 6-4 against Marist, 4-2 vs. Manhattan, 4-5 vs. Niagara, 3-5 vs. Fairfield, 2-4 vs. Iona, 1-0 vs. St. Peter's, 1-2 vs. Monmouth, 1-4 vs. Siena and 0-8 vs. Canisius.

Notable Numbers

Last time out against Albany, Jimmy Sotos became the first Bison to record 20 points in a half since Zach Thomas in the 2018 NCAA Tournament against Michigan State. Sotos had 23 points in the game, and he has reached the 20-point mark three times this season.
Sotos went 11-for-13 from the foul line against Albany, and he now has enough attempts to qualify for the Patriot League and NCAA leaderboards in free-throw percentage. He currently ranks second in the league and 26th nationall at 90.6%. Sotos did have his career-best streak of 24 straight made attempts end in the Albany game.
Sotos is one of only eight players in the nation averaging at least 12.0 ppg, 4.0 apg and shooting 90% from the foul line.
Avi Toomer has hit multiple 3-pointers in five straight games and is averaging 17.4 ppg over that span.
It has been feast or famine for the Bison from 3-point distance this season. They have shot 35% or better six times and 26% or worse five times. Bucknell endured a stretch of 25 straight missed threes from the first half of the Syracuse game into the second half of the Seattle game, but the Bison also had a run of seven straight makes (and 11 of 14) against Hofstra on Nov. 13.
Andrew Funk has hit a 3-pointer in 17 of his last 19 games dating back to last season.
The Bison have had difficulty shutting down opponents' scoring runs this season. Bucknell foes have put together a run of at least 10 or more unanswered points in a row in eight of the 11 games thus far.

Who's Got Next?

Bucknell has one more non-conference game remaining on the schedule: Dec. 28 against La Salle at the Palestra in Philadelphia.
Bucknell defeated La Salle 92-79 at Tom Gola Arena last season.
This will be Bucknell's first appearance at The Palestra since Dec. 1, 2004, a 65-52 loss to Penn. The Bison followed that loss with an 11-game winning streak, and they went on to win the Patriot League Tournament and defeat Kansas in the first round of the NCAA Tournament that season.