Bucknell Men's Basketball Powers Past Holy Cross, 75-60

Saturday, January 11

Lewisburg, Pa.

2 p.m.

Bucknell University

7-10,3-1Patriot

Holy Cross

2-15,1-3Patriot

Holy Cross

Bucknell

Photo by: Marc Hagemeier

Bucknell Men's Basketball Powers Past Holy Cross, 75-60

1/11/2020 3:55:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score Photo Gallery

LEWISBURG, Pa. – John Meeks scored 19 points to lead four Bucknell players in double figures, as the Bison got back on the winning side with a 75-60 victory over Holy Cross on Saturday afternoon at Sojka Pavilion. Now 3-1 in the Patriot League, the Bison also received 17 points from Andrew Funk, 13 from Avi Toomer and 12 from Bruce Moore in his return from injury.

The Bison (7-10) closed the first half on a 9-2 run to go up 37-29 at the break, and then they strung together an 11-0 run in the early minutes of the second half to pull away from a young Crusaders (2-15, 1-3 PL) squad.

Bucknell continues its recent solid defensive form, recording 12 steals while forcing 22 Holy Cross turnovers. Meeks, Toomer and Jimmy Sotos all collected three steals apiece, and the Bison also blocked seven shots and committed only 10 turnovers of their own.

"For the most part, going back to the game at La Salle, we have played pretty good defense," said head coach Nathan Davis, who earned his 96th win in his fifth year at the Bison helm. "We have been giving up less than a point per possession, and that is going to win you a lot of games. I thought we came out with good focus, guys were flying around on defense, and that helped us get some easy baskets at the other end."

After missing the previous two games due to injury, Moore returned to the starting lineup at the five spot, and he scored in the lane on Bucknell's first possession of the day. The Bison made a concerted effort to get the ball inside and outscored the Crusaders 38-24 in the paint. Bucknell also repeatedly pushed the ball up the floor, scoring 18 fastbreak points, many coming off of Holy Cross turnovers.

The Crusaders were led by freshman Drew Lowder who scored a game-high 21 points while making four three-pointers for Holy Cross. Austin Butler had 17 points, while Connor Niego recorded a double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds. Leading scorer Joe Pridgen (16.2 ppg), a five-time Patriot League Rookie of the Week this season, was limited to four points in 24 minutes as he battled some foul trouble.

Bucknell forced six turnovers in the first seven minutes on the way to an early 13-6 lead, but the Crusaders battled back and took a few small leads, the last at 25-24 on a Matt Faw jumper. The Bison made some headway just before the interval, Funk and Toomer slashed down the lane for running jumpers, and then Toomer splashed a 3-pointer to give the Bison a 35-37 lead with 1:08 left in the half.

Bucknell took that eight-point margin to the locker room, and then early in the second half the Bison scored on five straight possessions to turn a six-point lead into a commanding 17-point cushion.

Moore keyed the run with a post move and a put-back, Funk made a pull-up jumper, Toomer canned his second 3-pointer, and Meeks scored on a runout after a long lead pass from Sotos to make it a 50-33 game with 15:29 to play.

Bucknell led by double figures the rest of the way, although Holy Cross did creep within 12 as Lowder got hot with three straight 3-pointers. Back-to-back buckets in the paint from Meeks and Paul Newman pushed the Bison advantage back up to 17, and they would go on to lead by as many as 19 (68-49) on a Meeks 3-pointer with 5:21 to go.

Coming off a tough loss to Navy at home on Wednesday, Funk got the Bison going with 13 first-half points, including a make on the team's first 3-point attempt of the night. After going just 5-for-29 from the arc against Navy, the Bison were 6-for-14 (.429) in this one. They shot 46.8 percent overall.

Holy Cross shot 44.0 percent in the game, including 6-for-21 from the arc.

Meeks scored 13 of his 19 in the second half, and he is now averaging 17.5 points per game in Patriot League play. Sotos, Bucknell's leading scorer coming in, was held to four in this one, but he did have eight assists. He now has 331 in his career, one shy of Russell Peyton for ninth on Bucknell's all-time list.

Bucknell will next play at American on Wednesday night at 7 p.m.

Additional Notes:
Bucknell improved to 35-6 in the month of January under head coach Nathan Davis … the Bison have now won 11 of the last 13 against the Crusaders, including five in a row at Sojka Pavilion … the Bison are now 297-123 all-time in Patriot League play … Andrew Funk led the team with seven rebounds in addition to his 17 points … Bucknell has recorded double-digit steals in four of the last seven games.

Gallery: (1/11/2020) Men's Basketball vs. Holy Cross