Bison Head Back on Road Tuesday to Face Rider

Tuesday, December 3

Lawrenceville, N.J.

7 p.m.

Bucknell University

Rider

Photo by: Marc Hagemeier

12/2/2019 9:40:00 AM | Men's Basketball

It's been a busy few weeks for the Bison men's basketball team, and on Tuesday the squad heads back out on the road to face a very good Rider team that will be playing its 2019-20 home opener. The Broncs, who were picked a close second behind Iona in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference preseason poll, are off to a 4-2 start with all of their games at road or neutral sites. Meanwhile, the Bison are looking to break out after dropping five of their last six games.

These two teams have a long history as they were once league rivals in both the Middle Atlantic Conference and the East Coast Conference, but this will be the first meeting since the 2005-06 season opener. Bucknell won that one on a Kevin Bettencourt shot just before the final buzzer, and the Bison went on to win a school-record 27 games that season.

Looking ahead, the Bison return home on Saturday night to face Albany, and then there will be a two-week break for final exams. Bucknell is down to four non-conference games remaining on the schedule, with the first Patriot League game exactly one month from now on Jan. 2 against Army West Point at Sojka Pavilion.

Here's more info on Tuesday's game at Rider:

What: Bucknell (3-6) at Rider (4-2)
Where: Alumni Gymnasium, Lawrenceville, N.J.
When: Tuesday, Dec. 3, 7 p.m.
Webcast: ESPN+
Local Radio: Eagle 107 (107.3 FM WEGH)
Listen Live: BucknellBison.com and Eagle107.com
Live Stats: GoBroncs.com

COMPLETE GAME NOTES

Bucknell Probable Starters
G: Jimmy Sotos (12.4 ppg, 3.8 rpg, 3.8 apg)
G: Andrew Funk (10.7 ppg, 3.4 rpg, 1.3 apg)
G: Avi Toomer (12.2 ppg, 3.8 rpg, 1.5 apg)
F: Bruce Moore (10.9 ppg, 3.3 rpg, 1.0 apg)
C: Kahliel Spear (4.6 ppg, 3.0 rpg, 0.9 bpg)

With a Win over Rider, Bucknell Would ...

... snap a two-game losing streak and improve to 4-6 on the season.
... snap a three-game road losing streak.
... defeat the Broncs for the third straight time and move to 31-24 all-time against them.
... improve to 2-1 against the MAAC this season.
... give head coach Nathan Davis his 93rd win as Bucknell's head coach.

Headlines

On the 50-year anniversary of the very first meeting between the two teams, Bucknell and Rider square off on Tuesday night in the Broncs' 2019-20 home opener. The Bison and Broncs met for the first time on Dec. 3, 1969 in Lawrenceville. It was a conference game, as both teams were members of the Middle Atlantic Conference at the time, and Rider won a thriller 94-90 in overtime.
The Bison are looking to break out of a rough spell. After falling 87-77 to Princeton on Saturday, Bucknell has dropped five of its last six after a 2-1 start.
This is the third of four games against MAAC opponents for the Bison this year, with all four games coming on the road. Bucknell opened the season with a 68-64 win over Fairfield, which defeated Texas A&M on Sunday, and on Nov. 16 the Bison fell at Canisius (now 4-2) 83-81. The Bison will visit Siena on Dec. 21.
Bucknell currently has five players averaging at least 10 points per game, led by Jimmy Sotos at 12.4 ppg. He is followed by Avi Toomer (12.2), Bruce Moore (10.9), Andrew Funk (10.7) and John Meeks (10.3). All five have led the team in scoring at least once this season.
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).
Rider has been idle since beating Vermont 72-67 at the Air Force Reserve Tip-Off Tournament in Uncasville, Conn., on Nov. 24. The Broncs also routed Columbia 87-63 at that event, and they bring a 4-2 record and a two-game winning streak into Tuesday's game against Bucknell. Rider, which was picked second in the MAAC Preseason Poll, have four players scoring in double figures, led by Tyere Marshall at 16.7 points per game. Marshall also grabs 10.5 rebounds per game and shoots 65.6% from the field. Steve Jordan (15.2), Frederick Scott (14.3) and Dimencio Vaughn (11.8) are also double-digit scorers. The Broncs average 76.3 points per game while allowing 73.7, and they are +10.1 on the glass on the season.

How to Get the Game

The Bucknell-Rider game can be seen online 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 GoBroncs.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

Princeton scored 17 straight points as part of a 25-3 run early in the second half and then withstood a furious Bucknell rally to post an 87-77 win on Saturday afternoon at Sojka Pavilion. Jimmy Sotos scored 20 points and Avi Toomer added 19 points and seven rebounds to lead the Bison.
Jaelin Llewellyn and Ryan Schwieger tallied 17 points each to lead five Princeton players in double figures in the scoring column.
Bucknell shot 53.3% from the field and hit 6 of 12 from 3-point range on the way to a 43-39 halftime lead. John Meeks converted a layup in the opening minute of the second half to give the Bison their largest lead of six points, but the Tigers took control shortly thereafter. Andrew Funk (14 points) tied it at 50 with a 3-pointer, but those would be Bucknell's final points for nearly five minutes as the Tigers rattled off 17 straight.
Sotos powered to the basket for a layup to end the run, and as the Bison started piling up defensive stops they got themselves back in the game. At the other end, Funk scored on two straight drives to the basket, and Bucknell pulled within 70-66 when freshman Malachi Rhodes came up with a steal near midcourt and took it all the way for a breakaway dunk.
Bucknell's 16-3 might have been more if not for a pair of missed front ends of 1-and-1s and a couple of other close-range misses, and Princeton heated back up from long distance to pull away once again. Two threes from Schwieger, the last a desperation heave at the end of the shot clock, pushed the margin back into double digits, and Drew Friberg followed with another triple from the corner to make it an 85-71 game with 3:29 to go.
Princeton went 9-for-15 from the 3-point arc in the second half and 13-for-25 for the game. The Tigers shot 50.8% overall.
Bucknell played shorthanded in the frontcourt as starting center Paul Newman could not go due to injury, and then Meeks left early in the second half and did not return. Forward Bruce Moore was in foul trouble most of the game and departed with his fifth with 5:30 remaining.
Bucknell shot 46.6% overall and hit 7 of 19 from long range. The Bison committed only seven turnovers but were outrebounded 36-25.
Bucknell vs. Rider Series History
Bucknell and Rider were once league rivals in both the Middle Atlantic Conference and the East Coast Conference. The Bison lead the all-time series 30-24, including a 2-2 mark in ECC Tournament action. Rider defeated Bucknell 73-71 in the 1984 ECC Championship game. Bucknell came back to win 74-62 in the semifinals the following year, and the the Bison also won 106-80 in the 1989 quarterfinals on the way to the league title.
The first meeting between the two teams came on Dec. 3, 1969 — exactly 50 years ago — in Lawrenceville. The Broncs won that one 94-90 in overtime.
In the most recent get-together, Kevin Bettencourt rattled in a 17-foot jumper with 1.2 seconds remaining to lift the Bison to a 56-54 win at Alumni Gym. Chris McNaughton scored 14 points for the Bison, who overcame a seven-point second-half deficit to win a defensive struggle. Future NBA player Jason Thompson led Rider with 17 points. Future Rider assistant coach John Griffin had six points and five assists for the Bison. Future Bucknell assistant coach Dane Fischer was a first-year assistant at Rider at the time.
The Bison are 9-17 all-time on Rider's home floor.

Bucknell vs. The MAAC

Bucknell is 52-58 (.473) in 110 all-time games against the teams that currently comprise the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference, including a 1-2 record last season (win over Monmouth, losses to Fairfield and Canisius) and a 1-1 mark this season (win at Rider, loss at Canisius).
The Bison are 30-24 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.
The Bison will play at Siena later in the season. All four of Bucknell's games against the MAAC this season are on the road.

Notable Numbers

The Bison will be looking to get back to their defensive form from the first three games of the season, when they went 2-1 with wins over Fairfield and Hofstra and a three-point loss to a very good Vermont team.

Bucknell Defense First Three Games Bucknell Defense Last Six Games
PPG Allowed 67.0 86.0
Opponent FG% .376 .539
Opponent 3FG% .214 .410

It has been feast or famine for the Bison from 3-point distance this season. They have shot 37% or better five times and 26% or worse four 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 committed only five turnovers all season in 273 minutes played. He turns the ball over only once per 100 team possessions and just 0.7 times per 40 minutes.
Funk has hit a 3-pointer in 15 of his last 17 games dating back to last season.
Jimmy Sotos has lifted his season 3-point percentage over 40% (.409). He has made at least half of his 3-point attempts in 6 of 9 games this 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 seven of the nine games thus far.

Who's Got Next?

Bucknell has one more game before breaking for final exams. The Bison host Albany on Saturday at 7 p.m., and then they take two weeks off before visiting Siena on Dec. 21.