Wednesday, February 6
Baltimore, Md.
7 p.m.
Bucknell University
15-8, 9-2PL
84
at
72
Loyola
8-16, 4-7PL
1
2
F
Bucknell
34
50
84
Loyola Maryland
25
47
72
Photo by: Marc Hagemeier
Bison Finish with a Flourish in 84-72 Win at Loyola
2/6/2019 9:16:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Bucknell regains sole possession of first place in the Patriot League
NOTE: The next Backcourt Club Luncheon will take place on Thursday, Feb. 7, at noon Matty's Sporthouse Grill in Lewisburg. Head coach Nathan Davis and members of the team will be in attendance to talk about the season thus far and take questions. The $10 admission includes lunch.
BALTIMORE, Md. -- Kimbal Mackenzie hit a career-high six 3-pointers and scored 24 points, Nate Sestina added 22 points, and both seniors came up with critical plays down the stretch to help Bucknell defeat Loyola 84-72 on Wednesday night at Reitz Arena. The victory left the Bison in sole possession of first place in the Patriot League through 11 rounds of conferenceplay. Now 15-8 overall and 9-2 in the Patriot League, Bucknell holds a one-game edge over Lehigh heading into a key homestand.
Loyola fell to 8-16, 4-7, despite 29 points from Patriot League scoring leader Andrew Kostecka and 17 from Isaiah Hart.
The Bison saw Loyola score 10 straight points to take the game right to the wire in Bucknell's 71-68 win two weeks ago at Sojka Pavilion, and this time they had to withstand another furious rally. Bucknell led 58-43 with 10:43 to go, but the Greyhounds went on a 15-2 surge to pull within 60-58. Mackenzie ended the run with a huge 3-pointer that ignited a 7-0 run that stretched the margin back up to nine.
Later, Sestina scored a big bucket in the lane and then Mackenzie swished a deep three from the top of the key at the end of the shot clock to make it a 76-67 game with 1:11 to go. Seconds later, Mackenzie drew his second charge of the night on Kostecka, this one resulting in his fifth foul. Mackenzie and Sestina both knocked down key free throws in the final minute to ice the win.
"Our response after Loyola's run was outstanding," said head coach Nathan Davis. "They had everything going for them and the crowd was into the game, but our guys just stayed the course and got back to doing the things that made us successful both offensively and defensively. Loyola is a really tough team to play against. They play very hard and always seem to have a run in them, so this was a very good road win for us."
The Bison improved to 18-3 all-time against Loyola and 9-1 at Reitz Arena. Bruce Moore was the third Bucknell player in double figures with 11 points. Jimmy Sotos returned to the lineup after a two-game injury absence and tallied six points and six assists, and freshman Andrew Funk came off the bench to score seven points, all in succession to help the Bison build up their second-half lead.
The game started out at a frenzied pace, with Bucknell hitting its first five shots while Loyola was 5-for-6. Both teams went ice cold shortly thereafter, as the Bison missed 10 straight attempts at one juncture while Loyola went 2-for-15.
Leading 23-20, Bucknell went on an 11-3 run, keyed by a Sestina 3-pointer and five points from Moore, to go up 34-23. Hart beat the buzzer with a layup to close the half and bring the Greyhounds within nine at the break.
The Bison entered the contest in a team-wide slump from 3-point range – 25.6 percent over the previous three games -- but they went 6-for-12 in the second half and 10-for-25 (.400) overall in this one. Mackenzie connected on a pair of treys in the first four minutes of the second period, and then Sestina's corner three off a skip pass from Moore gave the Bison a 49-34 edge.
Funk then scored Bucknell's next seven points, capped by a triple of his own off a nice Sotos baseline drive and dish back to the top of the key. Paul Newman's steal at midcourt then led to a Funk drive and dish to Avi Toomer for a transition layup and a seemingly commanding 58-43 lead.
But then the Bison got a bit sloppy on the offensive end, and Loyola countered with seven straight made field goals in that 15-2 run. Kostecka scored 10 of those points, including an alley-oop finish that made it 60-56. Hart scored on a fastbreak to cut the margin to two at the 6:55 mark, but the Bison had a response of their own.
With the home crowd on its feet, Mackenzie took a pass from Sestina behind the arc and knocked down Bucknell's biggest shot of the night. Moore followed with a lefty finish in the paint, and after another defensive stop, Sestina's scoop shot put the Bison back up by nine.
The Greyhounds were still within reach at 73-67 after a tip-in by Jaylin Andrews, but then with his team scrambling late in the shot clock, Mackenzie hit from NBA range. He followed with his team-leading 18th drawn charge of the season. He had two late in this game, one for Kostecka's fourth foul and one for his fifth.
BALTIMORE, Md. -- Kimbal Mackenzie hit a career-high six 3-pointers and scored 24 points, Nate Sestina added 22 points, and both seniors came up with critical plays down the stretch to help Bucknell defeat Loyola 84-72 on Wednesday night at Reitz Arena. The victory left the Bison in sole possession of first place in the Patriot League through 11 rounds of conferenceplay. Now 15-8 overall and 9-2 in the Patriot League, Bucknell holds a one-game edge over Lehigh heading into a key homestand.
Loyola fell to 8-16, 4-7, despite 29 points from Patriot League scoring leader Andrew Kostecka and 17 from Isaiah Hart.
The Bison saw Loyola score 10 straight points to take the game right to the wire in Bucknell's 71-68 win two weeks ago at Sojka Pavilion, and this time they had to withstand another furious rally. Bucknell led 58-43 with 10:43 to go, but the Greyhounds went on a 15-2 surge to pull within 60-58. Mackenzie ended the run with a huge 3-pointer that ignited a 7-0 run that stretched the margin back up to nine.
Later, Sestina scored a big bucket in the lane and then Mackenzie swished a deep three from the top of the key at the end of the shot clock to make it a 76-67 game with 1:11 to go. Seconds later, Mackenzie drew his second charge of the night on Kostecka, this one resulting in his fifth foul. Mackenzie and Sestina both knocked down key free throws in the final minute to ice the win.
"Our response after Loyola's run was outstanding," said head coach Nathan Davis. "They had everything going for them and the crowd was into the game, but our guys just stayed the course and got back to doing the things that made us successful both offensively and defensively. Loyola is a really tough team to play against. They play very hard and always seem to have a run in them, so this was a very good road win for us."
The Bison improved to 18-3 all-time against Loyola and 9-1 at Reitz Arena. Bruce Moore was the third Bucknell player in double figures with 11 points. Jimmy Sotos returned to the lineup after a two-game injury absence and tallied six points and six assists, and freshman Andrew Funk came off the bench to score seven points, all in succession to help the Bison build up their second-half lead.
The game started out at a frenzied pace, with Bucknell hitting its first five shots while Loyola was 5-for-6. Both teams went ice cold shortly thereafter, as the Bison missed 10 straight attempts at one juncture while Loyola went 2-for-15.
Leading 23-20, Bucknell went on an 11-3 run, keyed by a Sestina 3-pointer and five points from Moore, to go up 34-23. Hart beat the buzzer with a layup to close the half and bring the Greyhounds within nine at the break.
The Bison entered the contest in a team-wide slump from 3-point range – 25.6 percent over the previous three games -- but they went 6-for-12 in the second half and 10-for-25 (.400) overall in this one. Mackenzie connected on a pair of treys in the first four minutes of the second period, and then Sestina's corner three off a skip pass from Moore gave the Bison a 49-34 edge.
Funk then scored Bucknell's next seven points, capped by a triple of his own off a nice Sotos baseline drive and dish back to the top of the key. Paul Newman's steal at midcourt then led to a Funk drive and dish to Avi Toomer for a transition layup and a seemingly commanding 58-43 lead.
But then the Bison got a bit sloppy on the offensive end, and Loyola countered with seven straight made field goals in that 15-2 run. Kostecka scored 10 of those points, including an alley-oop finish that made it 60-56. Hart scored on a fastbreak to cut the margin to two at the 6:55 mark, but the Bison had a response of their own.
With the home crowd on its feet, Mackenzie took a pass from Sestina behind the arc and knocked down Bucknell's biggest shot of the night. Moore followed with a lefty finish in the paint, and after another defensive stop, Sestina's scoop shot put the Bison back up by nine.
The Greyhounds were still within reach at 73-67 after a tip-in by Jaylin Andrews, but then with his team scrambling late in the shot clock, Mackenzie hit from NBA range. He followed with his team-leading 18th drawn charge of the season. He had two late in this game, one for Kostecka's fourth foul and one for his fifth.
KIMBAL! He swishes this late-shot-clock 3 and then takes his 2nd charge on Kostecka at the other end to foul him out of the game. pic.twitter.com/caG7p9sojp
— Bucknell MBasketball (@Bucknell_MBB) February 7, 2019
Bucknell went 8-for-8 from the foul line in the final minute, capping off a terrific 22-for-25 performance at the stripe. The Bison shot 57.7 percent in the second half to wind up at 45.6 percent. Loyola shot 42.4 percent overall and hit on just 3 of 16 from long range. Kostecka, who came into the game averaging a league best 20.7 points per game, hit all three of those in five attempts.
Mackenzie, who was coming off a career-best 31-point performance in a win at Lafayette, surpassed his previous high of five 3-pointers against West Virginia in the 2017 NCAA Tournament.
Bucknell returns home on Saturday to face Boston University at noon at Sojka Pavilion, and then Lehigh comes to town on Monday night.
Let's hear from coach Nathan Davis after tonight's win at Loyola! pic.twitter.com/uNeJbDbJNj
— Bucknell MBasketball (@Bucknell_MBB) February 7, 2019
Coach Davis looks ahead to the big homestand coming up. pic.twitter.com/WhfeOCidsm
— Bucknell MBasketball (@Bucknell_MBB) February 7, 2019
Team Stats
BUCKNELL
LOYOLA
FG%
.456
.424
3FG%
.400
.188
FT%
.880
.650
RB
37
33
TO
18
14
STL
5
11
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
24
FGM
8
3FGM
6
FTM
2
Pts
22
FGM
9
3FGM
2
FTM
2
Pts
11
FGM
2
3FGM
0
FTM
7
Pts
7
FGM
3
3FGM
1
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
G
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's BasketballF
/ Men's Basketball
C
/ Men's BasketballF/C
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's Basketball
G
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