Bison Host Lehigh Monday Night on CBS Sports Network

What: Lehigh (16-7, 9-3 PL) at Bucknell (16-8, 10-2 PL)
Where: Sojka Pavilion, Lewisburg, Pa. | BUY TICKETS
When: Monday, Feb. 11, 7 p.m.
TV: CBS Sports Network
Local Radio: Eagle 107 (107.3 FM WEGH)
Listen Live: BucknellBison.com and Eagle107.com
Live Stats: BucknellBison.com

• COMPLETE GAME NOTES

Bucknell Probable Starters
G: Jimmy Sotos (8.6 ppg, 4.3 rpg, 6.0 apg)
G: Kimbal Mackenzie (16.8 ppg, 2.5 rpg, 3.0 apg)
G: Avi Toomer (8.8 ppg, 3.9 rpg, 1.9 apg)
F: Bruce Moore (10.1 ppg, 5.2 rpg, 0.8 apg)
C: Nate Sestina (16.5 ppg, 7.7 rpg, 1.1 apg)

Happenings

ORANGE OUT for general public.
WHITE OUT for Bucknell students.
Junior Bison Club free admission game.
Student Greek Life Challenge.
Coaches vs. Cancer Game.

With a Win over Lehigh, Bucknell Would ...

... improve to 17-8 overall and 11-2 in the Patriot League.
... win its fifth straight game and 10th in the last 11.
... open up a two-game lead over Lehigh with five games remaining in the regular season.
... win its eighth straight home game and improve to 8-3 at home this season.
... win its 17th straight home game against Patriot League opponents.
... improve to 292-119 all-time in Patriot League play and 117-28 in the PL over the last nine seasons.
... sweep the season series from the Mountain Hawks for the first time since 2011.

Headlines

Bucknell and Lehigh, the top two teams in the Patriot League during this decade, clash Monday night in a nationally televised game with major postseason ramifications. A Mountain Hawks victory earns them a split of the season series and moves them back into a tie for first place with Bucknell. A Bison victory gives them the head-to-head tiebreaker with a season sweep, and puts them up by two full games over Lehigh with five to play.
Bucknell won its fourth straight game on Saturday, 82-76 over Boston University to avenge an earlier loss to the Terriers. The Bison have now beaten every team in the Patriot League at least once this season.
Bison seniors Kimbal Mackenzie and Nate Sestina have been sensational over the last week. Bucknell had gone all season without two teammates scoring 20 or more points in the same game, but now it has happened in three consecutive games thanks to the senior duo. Mackenzie scored 31 points and Sestina had 22 in a win at Lafayette on Feb. 2; they went for 24 and 22, respectively, in Wednesday's victory at Loyola; and in the most recent game vs. Boston University, Sestina tallied 25 points and Mackenzie 20. Over the last three games, these two have combined for 144 points, or 55.4% of Bucknell's offense.
Bucknell held at least a share of first place in the Patriot League on Feb. 1 for the fifth straight year and ninth time in the last 10 years.
Bucknell has had a knack for coming from behind this season. The Bison have won a game after trailing by 10 or more points six different times this season, including each of their first three Patriot League wins. They are also 7-7 when trailing at halftime.
Nate Sestina has lived up to his Preseason All-Patriot League billing thus far. The Bison are 16-6 this season with Sestina in the lineup — he missed the Fairfield and Canisius games with an injury — and he is averaging 16.5 points and 7.5 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 was the Patriot League Player of the Week on Jan. 7 after averaging 24.5 points and 10.5 rebounds against Army and Boston University. His 27 points against the Terriers was a career high, until he surpassed it with 32 on perfect 11-for-11 shooting against Holy Cross.
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.
After stumbling at home against Colgate last Monday night, Lehigh bounced back with an 83-57 rout of Navy in Bethlehem on Saturday. The Mountain Hawks continue to compile impressive offensive numbers. They average a Patriot League-best 80.7 points per game, buoyed by an NCAA-best 44.7% figure from 3-point range. Four Mountain Hawks score in double figures: Lance Tejada (14.5), Pat Andree (13.8), Kyle Leufroy (13.7) and Jordan Cohen (13.1). All four shoot at least 44% from the arc, led by Cohen at 52.4%.

How to Get the Game

The Bucknell-Lehigh game will be televised nationally on CBS Sports Network. Jason Knapp and Mo Cassara
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

Seniors Nate Sestina and Kimbal Mackenzie combined for 45 points, with both players going over 20 for the third game in a row, to lead Bucknell to an 82-76 victory over Boston University on Saturday afternoon at Sojka Pavilion.
Sestina came out hot, scoring 11 points — nine coming from beyond the 3-point arc — to help Bucknell to a 27-14 lead in the game's first nine minutes. However, he picked up his second foul at the 10:39 mark and sat for the rest of the half. The Terriers outscored the Bison 23-9 during this stretch to take a 40-36 lead into the locker room.
Sestina played all 20 minutes in the second half, however, recording 14 points, eight rebounds and three assists, and his two offensive rebounds and put-backs in the final three minutes were critical.
Mackenzie was held to a pair of free throws in the first half, but he scored 18 in the second half, making six of his eight field goal attempts, including a pair of threes.
Bruce Moore also recorded a double-double, notching 10 points and 10 rebounds.
John Meeks scored 10 points off the bench, all in the first half, on 4-for-4 shooting.
Bucknell shot 56.7% in the second half to finish at 48.3% for the game. The Bison went 10-for-27 from 3-point distance and 14-for-18 from the foul line. It was the opposite trend for Boston University, which followed up a 50% shooting performance in the first half with a 32.4% showing in the second. The Terriers matched the Bison with 10 3-pointers in 26 tries and hit on 12 of 18 from the foul line.
Rebounding was a critical factor for Bucknell. The Bison were outrebounded 37-29 and conceded 20 second-chance points in their 87-80 loss at Boston University earlier in the season. This time, however, Bucknell won the battle of the boards 41-31 and had a 17-14 edge in second-chance points.

Bucknell vs. Lehigh

Bucknell has played more games (172) and won more games (104) against Lehigh than any other school. The Bison have a 104-68 lead in a series that originated in 1902.
Since the start of Patriot League play in 1990-91, Bucknell holds a 44-22 advantage, including a 24-8 mark at home.
Lehigh owns the most wins of any team over Bucknell in Sojka Pavilion (7).
Lehigh is responsible for snapping Bucknell's 35-game home winning streak against Patriot League foes. The Bison had not lost to a conference opponent at Sojka Pavilion in nearly five years, until the Mountain Hawks won 56-54 in Lewisburg on Jan. 30, 2008.
Lehigh also won the first game ever played in Sojka Pavilion, a 60-56 decision on Jan. 15, 2003. Including that game, Bucknell is 12-7 against the Mountain Hawks in Sojka.
Bucknell is 6-3 against Lehigh in Patriot League Tournament action, including an 81-65 win in the 2017 championship game.
Bucknell and Lehigh split a pair of games last season, with the home team winning each time. Stephen Brown logged 23 points to lift the Bison to a 78-65 verdict at Sojka Pavilion. Both teams struggled in the first half, with Bucknell leading 28-26 at the break, but the Bison poured in 50 points in the second half to pull away. At Stabler Arena later in the year, the Mountain Hawks prevailed 92-89 in overtime. Zach Thomas piled up 36 points and 13 rebounds for the Bison, but they saw their 10-game winning streak snapped as Pat Andree went 5-for-6 from 3-point range en route to 24 points for Lehigh.
In this season's first meeting, Jimmy Sotos raced the length of the floor for a layup with 1.2 seconds remaining, giving Bucknell an 85-83 win at Stabler Arena. The Mountain Hawks had just come up with a steal in the backcourt, which led to Andree's tying layup, but Sotos countered at the other end to cap a crazy finish. Five Bison scored in double figures, led by Kimbal Mackenzie with 25 points and Bruce Moore with a career-high 19. Kyle Leufroy tallied 26 points for Lehigh, which went 14-for-23 from 3-point distance.

Numbers Worth Noting

Rebounding has been a major key to success for the Bison this season. They are 9-1 when outrebounding their opponent, but 6-7 when losing the battle on the glass.
After getting dominated on the glass in back-to-back games against Boston University and Colgate earlier this month, the Bison have made a concerted effort to improve their rebounding margin. In the eight games since then, Bucknell is +43 on the boards.
Kimbal Mackenzie has been a more efficient scorer on the road this season. He averages 19.1 points per game in true road contests while shooting 47.1% from the field. At home, he scores at a 15.2 ppg clip while shooting 36.2%.
When Nate Sestina went 11-for-11 against Holy Cross, he raised his career field-goal percentage from .529 to .540. Sestina set the Bucknell single-game record and tied the Patriot League mark on his way to a career-high 32 points. He made his lone 3-point field goal attempt and all 10 of his two-point field goals, while also making nine out of 10 free throw attempts. Donald Brown held the previous Bucknell mark of made field goals in a game without a miss, making all 10 of his shots against Lehigh, exactly 15 years earlier, Jan. 14, 2004.
Sestina's 32 points tied the Sojka Pavilion record for points scored by a Bison player, matching the output by Chris Hass, on March 5, 2015, against Holy Cross, and Zach Thomas, on Jan. 31, 2018, against Army. Sestina also had seven rebounds in the victory.
Sestina is now hitting on 87.9% of his free-throw attempts this season, including 89.7% in conference play. Sestina ranks 27th nationally in free-throw percentage and No. 1 among all players 6'9" or taller.

NCAA LEADERS, FREE-THROW PERCENTAGE AMONG PLAYERS 6-9 OR TALLER
1. Nate Sestina (Bucknell) 6-9   .881
2. Nick Muszynski (Belmont) 6-11 .871
3. Nick Mayo (Eastern Kentucky) 6-9   .866
4. Luka Garza (Iowa) 6-11 .849
5. Mike Daum (South Dakota State) 6-9   .819

Junior Bruce Moore has been a big key to that rebounding improvement. He posted a career-high 15 rebounds against American on Jan. 12, starting a nine-game stretch where he is averaging 8.3 boards per game. Moore has upped his season rebounding average from 3.3 to 5.2 per game. Moore is also averaging 10.6 points per game over the same nine-game stretch.
Bucknell had lost 24 straight games dating back five years when the opponent shot 50% or better from the field. The Bison broke that streak in the Jan. 14 home win over Holy Cross, when the Crusaders hit on an even 50%, and now Bucknell has won two straight in that circumstance after Lehigh shot 51.7% on Jan. 19.
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 18 drawn charges this season.
Sophomore Jimmy Sotos struggled in the turnover category early in the season, but over his last 15 games, he has 97 assists with only 34 turnovers. Sotos averages 6.7 assists per game in Bucknell's victories and 4.9 in the losses.
As a team, the Bison rank 31st nationally in assists per made field goal (.591).
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 1.3 blocks per game, even though he plays just 14.2 minutes per game.
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 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.
Mackenzie has played 221 of a possible 240 minutes in the second halves of Patriot League games thus far.
Bucknell is shooting 77.0% from the free-throw line in Patriot League play, but if you remove the 5-for-19 showing from three reserves, that figure goes up to 81.3%.

Who's Got Next?

Bucknell heads back out on the road next Saturday to face Holy Cross at the Hart Center at 12 p.m.
The Bison defeated the Crusaders 93-78 at Sojka Pavilion on Jan. 14, backed by Nate Sestina's perfect 11-for-11 shooting night on the way to a career-high 32 points.

Bison Host Lehigh Monday Night on CBS Sports Network

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 Lehigh Monday Night on CBS Sports Network

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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