Heartbreak in D.C. as Bison Men Beaten 61-60 on 3-Pointer at the Buzzer

Wednesday, January 15

Washington, D.C.

7 p.m.

Bucknell University

7-11,3-2Patriot

American

7-9,3-2Patriot

Bucknell

American

Photo by: Marc Hagemeier

Heartbreak in D.C. as Bison Men Beaten 61-60 on 3-Pointer at the Buzzer

1/15/2020 9:15:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Avi Toomer made two tiebreaking free throws with five seconds remaining in the game, but Connor Nelson answered with a long 3-pointer at the buzzer to give American a 61-60 victory over Bucknell on Wednesday night at Bender Arena. Playing without two starters due to injury or illness and two others battling foul trouble, the Bison showed tremendous fight coming back from 12 down in the second half to take the lead, but the night ended with a tough setback and a missed chance to move into a tie for first place in the Patriot League.

John Meeks recorded 14 points and seven rebounds, and Walter Ellis scored 12 points in his first career start. Strong play from Xander Rice (8 points) and Kahliel Spear (6 points) down the stretch helped spark the comeback on a night when the Bison played without starters Andrew Funk (illness) and Bruce Moore (injury).

Nelson, one of five Eagles in double figures with 13 points, found himself wide open, albeit well beyond the arc, after two Bison defenders ran to hot-shooting Jamir Harris on the left wing. The American sophomore, who was 3-for-4 from the arc in the game, hit the clutch shot to get the Eagles to 3-2 in Patriot League play.

"I thought our guys came out with determination and showed great fight throughout the night, but we came up one play short in the end," said head coach Nathan Davis. "We will go back and analyze what went wrong on the last play of the game, but the thing that stands out is that we have to be much better finishing at the rim. We missed six or seven layups and shot 11-for-31 on twos. We have to improve in that area. The game doesn't come down to that last shot if we just finished better."

The game was knotted at 27 at the half, but the Bison missed their first seven shots of the second stanza while American erupted on a 12-0 run. Harris' runner made it a 39-27 game before Meeks' layup finally ended a Bison scoring drought of 8:25 extending back into first half.

Toomer had to depart after picking up his fourth foul at the 12:52 mark and the Bison down by 11, but Spear, Rice and Ellis helped spark the comeback.

Spear powered up for a layup off a nice feed from Jake van der Heijden to start a 21-8 Bison surge. Ellis swished a transition 3-pointer, and Rice followed with a 3-point play on a nice move down the lane. After two straight buckets put American back up by nine, the Bison conceded only one more field goal over the next six minutes.

Rice connected on a 3-pointer at the top of the key and then Ellis split a pair of free throws. Meeks rebounded the miss and was fouled going back up, and his two free throws made it a 48-45 game with 8:01 to play.

Mark Gasperini's tip-in momentarily halted the Bison momentum, but the defense continued to string together stops. A great big-to-big passing play from Spear to Meeks resulted in a layup, and then at the 4:52 mark Ellis tied it up at 50 with a 3-pointer.

After Ellis rebounded a Gasperini miss at the other end, Spear flew in for a follow jam and a 52-50 Bucknell lead with 4:07 to play.

KAHLIEL SPEAR! His follow jam gives the Bison the lead back. Great comeback from 12 down earlier in the half. pic.twitter.com/cPzjCnbOPn
— Bucknell MBasketball (@Bucknell_MBB) January 16, 2020

Harris answered with a 3-pointer for American, and then Spear gave the Bison the lead right back with a driving layup. Harris missed a 3-pointer, and then after Toomer kept a possession alive with a tip out of a missed shot, he finished a tough layup under the basket for a 56-53 lead with 2:21 left.

Sa'eed Nelson, the Patriot League Preseason Player of the Year who was having a tough night until then, converted a 3-point play with 1:56 left to tie it at 56.

Bucknell turned the ball over on its next two possessions, but Nelson had a giveaway and a missed layup to keep the game tied. Ellis drew a foul on a pump fake on the perimeter and made both free throws with 43 seconds left. This time Nelson answered with another drive to the basket, and the Bison called timeout with 30 seconds left in the game and 25 on the shot clock.

Toomer drove the lane and had the ball poked loose, but he wrestled it back and was fouled with one second left on the shot clock and 5.4 on the game clock. Toomer calmly made both free throws for a 60-58 lead.

The Bison needed just one more stop, and they made Sa'eed Nelson give the ball up at the top of the key, but Connor Nelson was there with the dagger.

Bucknell hit 7 of 17 shots from 3-point distance, but the interior shooting struggles led to a 37.5-percent overall ledger. The Bison had a very good night at the foul line, hitting 17 of 20, and they finished with 10 steals and just 11 turnovers. It was the fifth time in the last eight games that Bucknell recorded double-digit steals.

American shot 45.1 percent overall, 7-for-21 from the arc and 8-for-12 from the foul line. Harris led the Eagles with 14 points, followed by Connor Nelson with 13 and Gasperini, Stacy Beckton Jr. and Sa'eed Nelson with 10 each. Sa'eed Nelson added six assists, but the Bison kept the Eagles star to 3-for-14 shooting and six turnovers. Gasperini added 11 rebounds for a double-double.

The Bison jumped out to a dream start, leading 11-2 after Toomer's 3-pointer 3:34 in. American went nearly the first five minutes without a field goal, but back-to-back 3-pointers from Harris and Beckton got the Eagles going.

Jimmy Sotos' step-back 3-pointer put the Bison up 16-10, but that would be their last field goal for a span of 7:56. In the meantime, the Eagles went on a 13-1 run and took a 23-17 lead on Connor Nelson's second trey of the half.

Meeks, who came in averaging 17.5 points per game in Patriot League play, had yet to score until he notched eight points in under three minutes in the late stages of the half. His second 3-pointer in that stretch tied the game at 27 with 2:12 remaining, and both defenses pitched shutouts over the rest of the period.

Bucknell is back in action on Saturday night against Lehigh at 7 p.m.

While you enjoy tonight's hoops games, we'd like to remind you about an awesome giveaway coming up. Fans attending the @Bucknell_MBB game on Saturday and the @Bucknell_WBB game next Wednesday will receive free pedometers, courtesy of our friends @GeisingerHealth! #rayBucknell pic.twitter.com/Rufz9jJr8P
— Bucknell Athletics (@Bucknell_Bison) January 15, 2020

Additional Notes: Ellis equaled his career high with 12 points, and he added three steals and two blocked shots … Ellis became the 10th Bison to start a game this season … Sotos collected four assists to move past Russell Peyton for ninth on Bucknell's career list with 335 … despite the loss, the Bison are still one game out of first place in the Patriot League standings … Boston University and Colgate are 4-1, followed by Bucknell, American, Navy and Lafayette at 3-2.