Men's Basketball Travels to Colgate for Patriot League Championship Game

What: #2 Bucknell (21-11, 13-5 PL) at #1 Colgate (23-10, 13-5 PL) in Patriot League Tournament Championship Game
Where: Cotterell Court, Hamilton, N.Y. | BUY TICKETS (And reserve a seat on a fan bus)
When: Wednesday, March 13, 7:30 p.m.
TV: CBS Sports Network
Internet: CBSsports.com
Local Radio: Eagle 107 (107.3 FM WEGH)
Listen Live: BucknellBison.com and Eagle107.com
National Radio: Westwood One
Satellite Radio: Sirius 134/XM 207
Live Stats: goColgateRaiders.com

• COMPLETE GAME NOTES

Bucknell Probable Starters
G: Jimmy Sotos (8.4 ppg, 4.1 rpg, 6.0 apg)
G: Kimbal Mackenzie (17.5 ppg, 2.8 rpg, 3.0 apg)
G: Avi Toomer (8.7 ppg, 3.7 rpg, 1.8 apg)
F: Bruce Moore (9.7 ppg, 4.9 rpg, 0.9 apg)
C: Nate Sestina (15.7 ppg, 8.6 rpg, 1.2 apg)

With a Win over Colgate, Bucknell Would ...

... win the Patriot League Tournament championship for the third straight year and a record seventh time overall.
... advance to the NCAA Tournament for the ninth time in program history.
... join Holy Cross (2001-03) as the only teams in Patriot League history to win three straight Patriot League Tournament titles.
... win its ninth straight Patriot League Tournament game, which would set a new league record.
... record 22 or more wins in a season for the 13th time in school history.
... snap a three-game road losing streak.

Headlines

Bucknell and Colgate will meet in the Patriot League championship game for the second year in a row, but this time the venue changes as the top-seeded Raiders get to serve as hosts this time around. In last year's final, Bucknell ran past Colgate 83-54 at Sojka Pavilion.
The Bison are making their third straight and 13th overall Patriot League championship game appearance. Bucknell is 6-6 in its previous 12 trips to the final.

Bucknell Patriot League Championship Game Appearances
Year   Seed   Opponent Result Site
1992   #2 #1 Fordham Lost 70-65   Bethlehem, Pa. (N)
1993   #1 #2 Holy Cross Lost 98-73   Lewisburg, Pa. (H)
1997   #2 #1 Navy Lost 76-75   Annapolis, Md. (A)
1999   #3 #1 Lafayette Lost 67-63   Easton, Pa. (A)
2005   #2 #1 Holy Cross    Won 61-57 Worcester, Mass. (A)
2006   #1 #2 Holy Cross Won 74-59 Lewisburg, Pa. (H)
2007   #2 #1 Holy Cross Lost 74-66   Worcester, Mass. (A)
2011   #1 #6 Lafayette Won 72-57 Lewisburg, Pa. (H)
2012   #1 #2 Lehigh Lost 82-77   Lewisburg, Pa. (H)
2013   #1 #2 Lafayette Won 64-56 Lewisburg, Pa. (H)
2017   #1 #3 Lehigh Won 81-65 Lewisburg, Pa. (H)
2018   #1 #2 Colgate Won 83-54 Lewisburg, Pa. (H)
2019   #2 #1 Colgate TBA Hamilton, N.Y. (A)

Bucknell and Colgate both finished the regular season 13-5 in Patriot League play, with Lehigh one game back at 12-6. The Bison and Raiders split the season series and both teams swept Lehigh, but Colgate was awarded the No. 1 seed based on a better record against fourth-place American.
Bucknell and Colgate have both posted a pair of double-digit victories on the way to the championship game. The Bison topped Holy Cross 77-65 in the quarterfinals and Lehigh 97-75 in the semifinals. The Raiders stopped Boston University 81-69 and Navy 80-70.
Bucknell has now captured eight straight Patriot League Tournament victories, tying the league record.

Most Consecutive Patriot League Tournament Wins
No.    Team Years
8   Bucknell 2017-pres.
8   Bucknell 2005-07
8 Holy Cross   2001-03
7 American 2008-10
6 Colgate 1995-97
6 Fordham 1991-93

The Bison have gotten their offense going in the postseason after struggling coming down the stretch. In their final two regular-season games — a loss at Navy and a one-point win over Army — Bucknell shot 33.0% from the field and went 15-for-60 (.250) from the 3-point arc. In the two PL tourney games, however, Bucknell has shot 51.3% overall and 24-for-57 (.421) from long distance.
In Bucknell's 97-75 win over Lehigh on Sunday, the Bison set a tournament scoring record for the semifinal round, and it was the team's highest point total in any Patriot League Tournament game. The last time the Bison scored more points in a postseason game was all the way back in the 1989, when they defeated Rider 106-80 in the East Coast Conference Tournament quarterfinals in Towson, Md.
This season Bucknell captured its fifth consecutive Patriot League regular-season title and its eighth in the last nine years. All of the others in this nine-year run have been outright titles.
With Kansas ending its run of 14 consecutive crowns, the two longest active streaks now belong to Gonzaga (7) and Bucknell (5).
Bucknell on Wednesday will be doing something it has not done in more than 10 years: play a Patriot League Tournament game on the road. In a format where the higher seed hosts all tournament games, the Bison last played a Patriot League Tournament game on the road on March 4, 2009 (75-56 loss at Holy Cross). Since then, Bucknell has played its last 22 tourney games at Sojka Pavilion as the higher-seeded team.
Bucknell senior Kimbal Mackenzie has been sensational in the 2019 Patriot League Tournament, averaging 26.0 points per game thus far while shooting 56.7% from the field (17-30) and 52.4% from 3-point range (11-21). Postseason production is nothing new for Mackenzie, however. In 12 career postseason games, he averages 14.7 points per game while shooting better than 46% from 3-point range.
Bucknell captured another regular-season title despite 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.
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.
Colgate comes into the game as one of the hottest teams around. The Raiders have won 10 straight games, the seventh-longest streak in the nation (through Monday's games), which ties a school record set back in 1929. Colgate is 14-1 at home this season, including a 75-64 win over Bucknell on Feb. 19. The Raiders are led by Patriot League Player of the Year Rapolas Ivanauskas, who averages 16.5 points and 7.9 rebounds per game. Second Team All-Patriot League guard Jordan Burns scores at a 15.1 ppg clip while dishing 5.8 rebounds per game. Second Team All-Patriot League forward Will Rayman scores 13.0 ppg, and Patriot League Rookie of the Year Tucker Richardson chips in 8.1 ppg. Colgate leads the Patriot League in rebound margin (+3.8), in part because the Raiders rebound 30% of their own missed shots.

Bucknell vs. Colgate

This will be the 114th all-time meeting between Bucknell and Colgate in a series that dates back to 1920. The Bison have a 68-45 series lead. The only other opponents that Bucknell has played at least 100 times are Lehigh (174), Lafayette (167), Gettysburg (126) and Penn State (103).
As Patriot League rivals, Bucknell is 47-18, including 25-5 in Lewisburg.
Bucknell is 15-7 in its last 22 games in Hamilton.
Bucknell had won six straight game in the series until the Raiders prevailed 74-65 at Cotterell Court on Feb. 19. Rapolas Ivanauskas scored 21 points to lead Colgate. Avi Toomer scored 16 points for the Bison, who cut a 14-point deficit down to four late in the second half but could not get over the hump.
In this year's first meeting on Jan. 9 in Lewisburg, the Bison rallied for an 84-81 win behind 25 points from Kimbal Mackenzie and 15 and nine rebounds from Nate Sestina. Bucknell trailed by as many as 13 points in the first half but took over the game late, with Mackenzie and Sestina scoring 13 of the team's final 15 points down the stretch. Jordan Burns recorded 28 points, nine rebounds and six assists for Colgate, and Ivanauskas added 20 points.
In last year's Patriot League championship game at Sojka Pavilion, the Bison built a 14-point halftime lead and sailed to an 83-54 win over Colgate. Bucknell rode a sensational 22-point, six-assist performance from Tournament MVP Stephen Brown. Sestina scored 16 off the bench on 7-for-9 shooting, and the Bison posted the largest victory margin in the history of the Patriot League championship game.

Bucknell Patriot League Tournament History

Bucknell has an all-time record of 41-22 (.651) in the Patriot League Tournament. The Bison have reached the championship game a league-record 12 times, including wins in 2005, 2006, 2011, 2013, 2017 and 2018, and reached at least the semifinals in 22 of 29 years.
This is Bucknell's seventh appearance as the No. 2 seed. The Bison are 11-5 when playing as the second seed, including a championship in 2005.

Bison PL Tourney Log
Year   Seed   Results
1991   4 def. Army 67-49; lost Fordham 82-76
1992   2 def. Army 74-55; def. Holy Cross 86-77; lost Fordham 70-65
1993   1 def. Lehigh 69-65; def. Colgate 75-73; lost Holy Cross 98-73
1994   5 lost Holy Cross 96-91
1995   2 lost Army 94-78
1996   4 def. Lafayette 56-55; lost Colgate 67-61
1997   2 def. Lehigh 84-54; def. Colgate 71-58; lost Navy 76-75
1998   3 def. Holy Cross 60-56; lost Navy 80-61
1999   3 def. Holy Cross 76-52; def. Lehigh 58-50; lost Lafayette 67-63
2000   3 lost Lehigh 73-62
2001   6 def. Colgate 75-68; lost Navy 88-64
2002   3 def. Army 70-59; lost Holy Cross 64-57
2003   5 def. Lehigh 52-47; lost Holy Cross 75-50
2004   4 def. Holy Cross 66-60; lost Lehigh 60-45
2005   2 def. Lafayette 70-34; def. American 53-35; def. Holy Cross 61-57
2006   1 def. Army 59-47; def. American 64-50; def. Holy Cross 74-59
2007   2 def. Navy 62-43; def. Army 68-47; lost Holy Cross 74-66
2008   7 def. Navy 87-86 (3OT); lost Colgate 54-40
2009   7 lost Holy Cross 75-56
2010   2 lost Holy Cross 67-64
2011   1 def. Army 78-51; def. Lehigh 66-64; def. Lafayette 72-57
2012   1 def. Navy 87-63; def. Lafayette 79-52; lost Lehigh 82-77
2013   1 def. Navy 58-42; def. Army 78-70; def. Lafayette 64-56
2014   4 lost 72-71 Army
2015   1 def. Holy Cross 90-83 (OT); lost Lafayette 80-74
2016   1 lost Holy Cross 77-72 (2OT)
2017   1 def. Army 78-62; def. Navy 70-65; def. Lehigh 81-65
2018   1 def. Loyola 83-78; def. Boston U. 90-59; def. Colgate 83-54
2019   2 def. Holy Cross 77-65; def. Lehigh 97-75; vs. Colgate

PL TOURNAMENT BY OPPONENT   BUCKNELL RECORD BY ROUND
American 2-0 First Round 0-0
Army 8-2 Quarterfinals   22-7
Boston U. 1-0 Semifinals    13-9
Colgate 4-2 Championship 6-6
Fordham 0-2
Holy Cross   8-8
Lafayette 5-2
Lehigh 7-3
Loyola 1-0
Navy 5-3

Last Time Out

Bucknell rode a sensational, team-wide effort in the second half and a big day from its senior class to a 97-75 win over Lehigh in the Patriot League Tournament semifinals on Sunday afternoon at Sojka Pavilion.
Seniors Kimbal Mackenzie and Nate Sestina made their final game at Sojka Pavilion memorable, combining for 48 points, 20 rebounds and 10 assists in the victory. Mackenzie led the Bison charge in the first half, scoring 19 of his game-high 25 points and staking Bucknell to a 45-39 lead at the half. Sestina sent the Bison to the locker room with a six-point lead and some momentum when he closed the opening half with an emphatic put-back dunk, then he scored 14 of his 23 points and grabbed nine of his 14 rebounds in Bucknell's 52-point second half.
The second-seeded Bison shot 66.7% (16-24) in the second half – including 11-for-12 on two-point attempts – to pull away from the third-seeded Mountain Hawks. At the other end, Bucknell held the Patriot League's highest-scoring team to 39.3% shooting in the second half.
Lehigh came into the game leading the nation in 3-point field-goal percentage at 42.5%, but the Bison (12-31) outscored the Mountain Hawks (5-15) 36-15 from the arc.
Bucknell shot 53.4% overall and broke the Patriot League Tournament record for points scored in a semifinal game. The previous mark was 96, set by Fordham against Lehigh in 1992 and by Navy against Lafayette in 1997. It was also the most points ever scored by Bucknell in any Patriot League Tournament game, and the most the Bison have scored in a postseason tilt since a 106-80 win over Rider in the 1989 East Coast Conference quarterfinals.
Mackenzie and Sestina both stuffed the boxscore. Mackenzie had six assists and six rebounds along with his 25 points, which put him over the 1,300-point mark for his career. He went 8-for-12 from the floor and 4-for-8 from the 3-point arc. Sestina logged 23 points, 14 rebounds, four assists and a blocked shot.
Avi Toomer (12 points) and Bruce Moore (10 points) both battled foul trouble, but they registered 10 big points apiece in the second half. Jimmy Sotos finished with nine points and seven assists.
Bucknell finished with a 34-27 rebounding edge and limited Lehigh to four offensive rebounds.

Numbers Worth Noting

Senior Nate Sestina has blocked 11 shots in his last four games and now has 32 on the season. His backup, sophomore Paul Newman, has a team-high 37 despite playing only 13.1 minutes per game. Newman and Sestina rank 4-5 in the Patriot League in blocks.
Sestina, who will play in his 100th career game on Wednesday, has also been a beast on the glass of late, averaging 13.0 rebounds per game over his last four outings.
Sophomore John Meeks comes off the bench ready to score. He averages 11.7 minutes per game since returning from a foot injury at Ohio State on Dec. 15, and in his 25 appearances he averages 15.5 field-goal attempts and 19.3 points per 40 minutes.
Rebounding has been a major key to success for the Bison this season. They are 14-2 when outrebounding their opponent, but 6-9 when losing the battle on the glass.
After getting dominated on the glass in back-to-back games against Boston University and Colgate early in the Patriot League schedule, the Bison have made a concerted effort to improve their rebounding margin. In the 16 games since then, Bucknell is +85 on the boards.
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.
Head coach Nathan Davis now ranks 11th in career winning percentage (230-83, .735) among all active Division I head coaches with at least three years of experience.
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 22 drawn charges this season.
Sophomore Jimmy Sotos struggled in the turnover category early in the season, but over his last 22 games, he has 145 assists with only 57 turnovers. Sotos averages 6.6 assists per game in Bucknell's victories and 5.0 in the losses.
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.
As a team, the Bison rank 24th nationally in assists per made field goal (.597).
Bucknell ranks 25th nationally in second-half scoring at 41.4 points 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.

Who's Got Next?

The Bucknell-Colgate winner receives the Patriot League's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. As the No. 1 seed, the Raiders would be assured of a berth in the NIT should it not advance to the NCAAs.

Men's Basketball Travels to Colgate for Patriot League Championship Game

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Stephen Brown

Nana Foulland

Kimbal Mackenzie

John Meeks

Bruce Moore

Paul Newman

Nate Sestina

Jimmy Sotos

Zach Thomas

Avi Toomer

Men's Basketball Travels to Colgate for Patriot League Championship Game

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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