Sunday, February 24
Lewisburg, Pa.
2 p.m.
Bucknell University
118
vs
76
Lafayette
1
2
F
Lafayette
27
49
76
Bucknell
63
55
118
Photo by: Marc Hagemeier
Hot-Shooting Bison Post Record-Setting 118-76 Win over Lafayette
2/24/2019 4:15:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Bucknell hits school & PL-record 21 3-pointers, scores most points in 51 years
LEWISBURG, Pa. – Bucknell put an emphatic end to a two-game losing streak and regained sole possession of first place in the Patriot League behind a scintillating, record-setting offensive performance in a 118-76 win over Lafayette on Sunday afternoon at Sojka Pavilion. The Bison piled up their most points in 51 years, falling one shy of the school scoring record, and 10 different players hit a 3-pointer en route to a school and Patriot League-record 21 treys in the game.
Now 18-10 overall and 12-4 in the Patriot League, Bucknell is back alone at the top of the Patriot League standings after Lehigh lost at home to Holy Cross earlier in the day. The Mountain Hawks and Colgate are now tied for second place, one game back at 11-5. The Bison also cooled off a sizzling Lafayette team, which had won five straight games coming in. The Leopards fell to 10-17, 7-9, and fell into a tie for fifth place alongside Army West Point.
The Bison were simply unconscious offensively for the first 32 minutes. They were shooting just over 75 percent from the field when Andrew Funk's floater in the lane gave them a 57-point lead at 107-50 with 8:29 to go. Bucknell broke a school record with a 63-point first half, buoyed by 72.7-percent shooting overall, including 10-for-15 from the arc.
The record-setting percentages dropped a bit over the final eight minutes when the game got a bit ragged, but the 118 points are the second-most in school history, trailing only the 119 points Bucknell scored in a win over Colgate in Davis Gym on Jan. 29, 1968. The previous record of 61 first-half points also came in that game.
"Obviously we were terrific offensively today, and that was a result of our guys playing very unselfishly and with great purpose and focus," said head coach Nathan Davis. "It started in practice over the last few days and carried over into today. What we can't do is look at the stats and records and not be ready for Navy on Wednesday."
Funk went 8-for-9 from the field and 5-for-6 from the arc on the way to a career-high 21 points. Kimbal Mackenzie (18 points), Jimmy Sotos (17) and Avi Toomer (11) each hit three 3-pointers, while Nate Sestina (11) had a pair, both coming on Bucknell's first two possessions of the day to set the tone for the long-range barrage. Ten different Bison hit at least one from downtown, also a new school record.
Sotos added nine assists and four rebounds to his 17 points, while Sestina had a game-high seven rebounds. Bruce Moore had 16 points, five rebounds and three assists. Nate Jones had eight points, three rebounds and three assists, while Ben Robertson contributed seven points, six rebounds and six assists in 16 minutes off the bench.
The Bison assisted on 29 of their Patriot League-record 45 made field goals, finishing at 64.3 percent from the field for the game (45-for-70) and 58.3 percent from downtown (21-for-36). Bucknell outrebounded Lafayette 42-24 and scored 19 points off of only nine Leopards' turnovers. The Bison scored 50 points before committing their first turnover of the day, and they finished with just nine.
Kyle Stout scored a game-high 17 points for the Leopards (10-17, 7-9 PL), making five 3-pointers in six attempts. Lost in the all of the offensive fireworks was a strong defensive effort against a Lafayette team that had been very good offensively in recent weeks. Of Lafayette's 76 points, 24 came with the benches cleared in the final eight minutes. The Leopards did rally to finish at 44.3 percent overall. They went 12-for-28 from the arc, making for a combined 33 treys between the two teams.
Lafayette's only lead of the day came on a Stout 3-pointer 20 seconds in, and the Bison quickly broke open a 6-all tie with a 27-2 run. It was 14-8 when Funk came off the bench, hit back-to-back threes, and scored 10 points in a span of just three minutes. Sestina finished a long outlet pass from Sotos, then Moore powered in for a 3-point play, and Jones put back a rare miss to give the Bison a stunning 33-8 lead with 10:29 still in the first half.
Bucknell hit the 50-point mark on Sotos' steal and runout with 5:17 left, making the Bison 19-for-24 from the field at that point. The only drama left was whether Bucknell could break its all-time scoring records.
The Bison were one shy of the first-half scoring mark after Paul Newman's 3-point play made it 60-21 with 1:29 left. After a couple of empty possessions, Toomer stuck a 3-pointer right at the halftime buzzer to break the 51-year-old record.
PHOTO GALLERY:
(2/24/2019) Men's Basketball vs. Lafayette
Now 18-10 overall and 12-4 in the Patriot League, Bucknell is back alone at the top of the Patriot League standings after Lehigh lost at home to Holy Cross earlier in the day. The Mountain Hawks and Colgate are now tied for second place, one game back at 11-5. The Bison also cooled off a sizzling Lafayette team, which had won five straight games coming in. The Leopards fell to 10-17, 7-9, and fell into a tie for fifth place alongside Army West Point.
The Bison were simply unconscious offensively for the first 32 minutes. They were shooting just over 75 percent from the field when Andrew Funk's floater in the lane gave them a 57-point lead at 107-50 with 8:29 to go. Bucknell broke a school record with a 63-point first half, buoyed by 72.7-percent shooting overall, including 10-for-15 from the arc.
The record-setting percentages dropped a bit over the final eight minutes when the game got a bit ragged, but the 118 points are the second-most in school history, trailing only the 119 points Bucknell scored in a win over Colgate in Davis Gym on Jan. 29, 1968. The previous record of 61 first-half points also came in that game.
"Obviously we were terrific offensively today, and that was a result of our guys playing very unselfishly and with great purpose and focus," said head coach Nathan Davis. "It started in practice over the last few days and carried over into today. What we can't do is look at the stats and records and not be ready for Navy on Wednesday."
Funk went 8-for-9 from the field and 5-for-6 from the arc on the way to a career-high 21 points. Kimbal Mackenzie (18 points), Jimmy Sotos (17) and Avi Toomer (11) each hit three 3-pointers, while Nate Sestina (11) had a pair, both coming on Bucknell's first two possessions of the day to set the tone for the long-range barrage. Ten different Bison hit at least one from downtown, also a new school record.
Sotos added nine assists and four rebounds to his 17 points, while Sestina had a game-high seven rebounds. Bruce Moore had 16 points, five rebounds and three assists. Nate Jones had eight points, three rebounds and three assists, while Ben Robertson contributed seven points, six rebounds and six assists in 16 minutes off the bench.
The Bison assisted on 29 of their Patriot League-record 45 made field goals, finishing at 64.3 percent from the field for the game (45-for-70) and 58.3 percent from downtown (21-for-36). Bucknell outrebounded Lafayette 42-24 and scored 19 points off of only nine Leopards' turnovers. The Bison scored 50 points before committing their first turnover of the day, and they finished with just nine.
Kyle Stout scored a game-high 17 points for the Leopards (10-17, 7-9 PL), making five 3-pointers in six attempts. Lost in the all of the offensive fireworks was a strong defensive effort against a Lafayette team that had been very good offensively in recent weeks. Of Lafayette's 76 points, 24 came with the benches cleared in the final eight minutes. The Leopards did rally to finish at 44.3 percent overall. They went 12-for-28 from the arc, making for a combined 33 treys between the two teams.
Lafayette's only lead of the day came on a Stout 3-pointer 20 seconds in, and the Bison quickly broke open a 6-all tie with a 27-2 run. It was 14-8 when Funk came off the bench, hit back-to-back threes, and scored 10 points in a span of just three minutes. Sestina finished a long outlet pass from Sotos, then Moore powered in for a 3-point play, and Jones put back a rare miss to give the Bison a stunning 33-8 lead with 10:29 still in the first half.
Bucknell hit the 50-point mark on Sotos' steal and runout with 5:17 left, making the Bison 19-for-24 from the field at that point. The only drama left was whether Bucknell could break its all-time scoring records.
The Bison were one shy of the first-half scoring mark after Paul Newman's 3-point play made it 60-21 with 1:29 left. After a couple of empty possessions, Toomer stuck a 3-pointer right at the halftime buzzer to break the 51-year-old record.
🚨SCHOOL-RECORD ALERT!!!🚨
— Bucknell MBasketball (@Bucknell_MBB) February 24, 2019
This Avi Toomer 3FG to beat the halftime buzzer gives Bucknell a school-record 63 points in the first half! Previous mark was 61 vs. Colgate way back in 1968. #rayBucknell pic.twitter.com/7uzEhUQloN
Jordan Sechan hits our 21st 3-pointer of the night! pic.twitter.com/ttMHzRUgft
— Bucknell MBasketball (@Bucknell_MBB) February 24, 2019
Bucknell had a 3-pointer in the air in the final 20 seconds of the game that would have tied the overall scoring record. It didn't go, but Jones grabbed the rebound and put it back with a slam dunk to put an exclamation point on the contest.
Led by perfect 7-for-7 shooting performances from both Mackenzie and Moore, the Bucknell starting five went 28-for-36 (.779) from the field and 12-for-18 (.667) from the arc.
The Bison swept the season series from Lafayette, scoring 212 points -- or 9.8 percent of their season total -- in the process. Bucknell won 94-66 earlier in the year and now has an eight-game series winning streak. It was also Bucknell's ninth straight home victory and 18th in a row at home against Patriot League opponents.
Next up for Bucknell is a trip to Navy on Wednesday at 7 p.m. The game will be streamed on the Patriot League Network at PatriotLeague.tv.
School Records Set
- Points in a First Half – 63 (previous was 61 vs. Colgate, Jan. 29, 1968)
- 3-Point Field Goals – 21 (previous was 17, twice, most recently vs. Lafayette, Feb. 22, 2017)
- Most Players with a 3-Pointer – 10 (previous was 8 vs. Lafayette, Feb. 22, 2017)
- Field Goals -- 45 (previous was 44 by Fordham vs. Navy, Nov. 24, 1990)
- 3-Point Field Goals – 21 (previous was 18, 5 times, most recently by Boston U. vs. Lafayette, Jan. 8, 2017)
- Total Points – 118 (previous was 115 by Bucknell vs. Siena, Nov. 20, 2017)
- Points in Any Half – 63 (previous was 59 by Bucknell vs. Siena, Nov. 20, 2017)
- Field Goals – 45 (previous was 42 by Bucknell vs. Shenandoah, Nov. 13, 2015)
- 3-Point Field Goals – 21 (previous was 17, 3 times, most recently by Bucknell vs. Lafayette, Feb. 22, 2017)
- Assists – 29 (ties record of 29, also by Bucknell vs. Shenandoah, Nov. 13, 2015)
PHOTO GALLERY:
Team Stats
Laf
Buck
FG%
.443
.643
3FG%
.429
.583
FT%
.526
.636
RB
24
42
TO
9
9
STL
5
4
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
21
FGM
8
3FGM
5
FTM
0
Pts
18
FGM
7
3FGM
3
FTM
1
Pts
17
FGM
6
3FGM
3
FTM
2
Pts
16
FGM
7
3FGM
1
FTM
1
Players Mentioned
G
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's BasketballF
/ Men's Basketball
C
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's Basketball
F/C
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's Basketball
G
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