Bison Men Kick off Saturday Hoops Doubleheader vs. Boston University

What: Boston University (11-13, 4-7 PL) at Bucknell (15-8, 9-2 PL)
Where: Sojka Pavilion, Lewisburg, Pa. | BUY TICKETS
When: Saturday, Feb. 9, 12 p.m.
TV: WQMY in Northeast PA
Internet: Patriot League 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 (8.9 ppg, 4.4 rpg, 6.0 apg)
G: Kimbal Mackenzie (16.7 ppg, 2.5 rpg, 3.1 apg)
G: Avi Toomer (8.9 ppg, 4.0 rpg, 1.8 apg)
F: Bruce Moore (10.1 ppg, 5.0 rpg, 0.8 apg)
C: Nate Sestina (16.0 ppg, 7.5 rpg, 1.0 apg)

With a Win over Boston University, Bucknell Would ...

... improve to 16-8 overall and 10-2 in the Patriot League.
... remain in sole possession of first place in the Patriot League.
... win its seventh straight home game and improve to 7-3 at home this season.
... improve to 291-119 all-time in Patriot League play and 116-28 in the PL over the last nine seasons.
... avenge an 87-80 loss to the Terriers earlier this season and improve to 13-5 all-time against them.
... win at least 10 conference games for the ninth year in a row and for the 21st time in school history.

Headlines

Bucknell regained sole possession of first place in the Patriot League this week. After Lehigh fell at home to Colgate on Monday, the Bison downed Loyola 84-72 on Wednesday to take a one-game lead over the Mountain Hawks. Colgate, American and Army are now tied for third place, three full games behind Bucknell.
Saturday will feature the lone home doubleheader of the season, with the Bucknell women following with a game against Lafayette at 2:30 p.m. Bucknell is one of seven schools with both its men's and women's teams currently in first place, joining Belmont, Gonzaga, New Mexico State, Radford, Robert Morris and South Dakota State (through Wednesday's games).
Since losing at American on Jan. 26, the Bison have responded with three straight double-digit victories. It is the first time this season that Bucknell has won three in row by 10 or more points.
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.
The Bison have won 15 straight home games against Patriot League competition, dating back to an 84-79 loss to Boston University on Jan. 2, 2018.
Bucknell went 10-for-25 (.400) from 3-point range at Loyola, breaking a brief long-distance shooting slump. The Bison had been just 22-for-86 (.256) from the arc in their three previous games.
Senior Kimbal Mackenzie has been sensational over the last two games. He scored a career-high 31 points at Lafayette last Saturday, and then he followed it up with a 24-point performance at Loyola, boosted by a career-high six 3-pointers. Mackenzie is 9-for-14 from downtown over the last two games while averaging 27.5 points, and his season average is up to 16.7 ppg, the fourth-highest figure in the Patriot League.
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.
Nate Sestina has lived up to his Preseason All-Patriot League billing thus far. The Bison are 15-6 this season with Sestina in the lineup — he missed the Fairfield and Canisius games with an injury — and he is averaging 16.0 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.
Boston University is coming off a 79-72 home loss to Lafayette on Wednesday. The setback dropped the Terriers to 4-7 in the Patriot League and into a three-way tie for seventh place alongside Holy Cross and Loyola. Max Mahoney, who torched Bucknell for 26 points and 14 rebounds in the Terriers' 87-80 win back on Jan. 5, leads the team in scoring (16.6), rebounding (6.0) and field-goal percentage (.635). Tyler Scanlon scores at a 13.9 ppg clip after his career-best 28-point game against Lafayette, and Javante McCoy also scores in double figures at 10.8 ppg.

How to Get the Game

The Bucknell-Boston University game will be televised locally on WQMY-TV out of Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. Joe Vasile and former Bison point guard Abe Badmus will have the call. The game will also be streamed live on the Patriot League Network at PatriotLeague.tv.
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

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.
Loyola was led by 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 earlier 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.
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.
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% in the second half to wind up at 45.6%. Loyola shot 42.4% 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 vs. Boston University

Bucknell and Boston University have met 17 times previously in men's basketball, and the Bison have a 12-5 lead in the series.
Bucknell had won seven straight from the Terriers until Boston University won 84-79 at Sojka Pavilion in the second game of last year's conference schedule. That was Bucknell's only home loss of the season, as the Bison went 15-1 at Sojka in 2017-18. Bucknell avenged the setback with two more wins later in the year, the last a 90-59 verdict in the Patriot League Tournament semifinals.
Bucknell is 5-3 at home in the series, 6-2 on the road and 1-0 at neutral sites. In games played in Boston, Bucknell is 2-1 at Agganis Arena and 4-1 at Case Gym.
The two teams met for the first time at the 2005 Cable Car Classic at Santa Clara. The Bison won that one 63-57.
In last season's first meeting, Boston University ended Bucknell's 15-game home winning streak behind 21 points from Cedric Hankerson. Bucknell committed 19 turnovers, including 14 in the first half, leading to 24 points by the Terriers. The Bison were led by 25 points, 13 rebounds and three steals by Zach Thomas.
In the rematch in Boston on Jan. 28, Bucknell won 91-79 as Stephen Brown had 21 points to go with five rebounds, five assists, and four steals. Thomas tallied 18 points, five rebounds and four assists, and Nana Foulland had 15 points in just 15 minutes while battling foul trouble. Walter Whyte had a double-double for the Terriers with 14 points and 10 rebounds. Bucknell shot 57.4% from the field and posted its highest point total in a road game all season.
In the rubber match back at Sojka Pavilion in the Patriot League Tournament, the Bison soared into the championship game with a 31-point runaway. Brown scored 19 of his 26 points in the first half to help Bucknell go up 46-23 at the break. Tyler Scanlon led the Terriers with 14 points.
A dominant performance on the glass helped Boston University to an 87-80 win over Bucknell in this season's first meeting at Case Gym on Jan. 5. The Terriers turned 13 offensive rebounds into 20 second-chance points. Max Mahoney had a huge night for Boston University with 26 points and 14 rebounds, offsetting a 27-point, nine-rebound effort from Nate Sestina. Sestina hit a career-high five 3-pointers in seven attempts.

Numbers Worth Noting

Rebounding has been a major key to success for the Bison this season. They are 8-1 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 seven games since then, Bucknell is +33 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 14.7 ppg clip while shooting 34.3%.
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.

NCAA LEADERS, MOST FIELD GOALS WITHOUT A MISS IN 2018-19
Levi Bradley (Northern Illinois) 13   11/25 vs. Oakland
Raasean Davis (North Carolina Central 12   1/14 vs. Delaware State
Connor MacDougall (Utah Valley) 12   12/19 vs. Idaho State
Darius Brown II (Cal-State Northridge) 12   11/27 vs. Washington State
Xavier Hill-Mais (Oakland) 12   11/19 vs. Defiance
Nate Sestina (Bucknell) 11   1/14 vs. Holy Cross
Obi Toppin (Dayton) 11   12/19 vs. Western Michigan
Matt Wilson (Army) 11   11/17 vs. UMass-Lowell

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   .879
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 an eight-game stretch where he is averaging 8.1 boards per game. Moore has upped his season rebounding average from 3.3 to 5.0 per game. Moore is also averaging 10.7 points per game over the same eight-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 14 games, he has 90 assists with only 32 turnovers. Sotos averages 6.6 assists per game in Bucknell's victories and 4.9 in the losses.
As a team, the Bison rank 35th nationally in assists per made field goal (.586).
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 14.3 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 203 of a possible 220 minutes in the second halves of Patriot League games thus far.
Bucknell is shooting 76.9% 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 81.6%.

Who's Got Next?

Bucknell will have a short turnaround after the Boston University game, as Lehigh comes in for a Monday-night affair that will be televised on CBS Sports Network.
The Bison and Mountain Hawks have been the top two teams in the Patriot League standings throughout league play. Bucknell won a thriller 85-83 in Bethlehem on Jan. 19, highlighted by Jimmy Sotos' coast-to-coast drive for the winning layup with just over one second remaining.

Bison Men Kick off Saturday Hoops Doubleheader vs. Boston University

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Stephen Brown

Nana Foulland

Andrew Funk

Kimbal Mackenzie

Bruce Moore

Paul Newman

Nate Sestina

Jimmy Sotos

Zach Thomas

Avi Toomer

Bison Men Kick off Saturday Hoops Doubleheader vs. Boston University

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Stephen Brown

Nana Foulland

Andrew Funk

Kimbal Mackenzie

Bruce Moore

Paul Newman

Nate Sestina

Jimmy Sotos

Zach Thomas

Avi Toomer

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