Bison Men Entertain Lehigh Saturday Night

Saturday, January 18

Lewisburg, Pa.

7 p.m.

Bucknell University

Lehigh

Buy Tickets

Photo by: Marc Hagemeier

1/17/2020 4:30:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Wednesday's game at American ended in crushing fashion for Bucknell fans, but the Bison remain just one game off the Patriot League lead heading into a big home contest on Saturday night against in-state rival Lehigh.

Boston University and Colgate are tied for first place in the Patriot League standings, and those two teams will meet on Saturday afternoon in Hamilton, N.Y. So with a victory, Bucknell would not only catch one of them, but it would also move two games clear of Lehigh, which currently occupies sole possession of seventh place in the crowded standings. This is a tough 48-hour stretch for the Bison, who will turn around on Sunday and travel up to Hamilton for a Monday night game on CBS Sports Network. The Bison and Raiders have met in each of the last two Patriot League Tournament finals, with Bucknell winning at home in 2018 and Colgate returning the favor last year at Cotterell Court.

The first 1,000 fans attending Saturday's game against Lehigh will receive a free pedometer, courtesy of Geisinger.

Pedometer Geisinger

Here's more info on Saturday's game vs. Lehigh:

What: Lehigh (5-12, 2-3 PL) at Bucknell (7-11, 3-2 PL)
Where: Sojka Pavilion, Lewisburg, Pa. | TICKETS
When: Saturday, Jan. 18, 7 p.m.
TV: WQMY-TV
Webcast: 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 (12.4 ppg, 3.9 rpg, 4.2 apg)
G: Andrew Funk (10.8 ppg, 4.2 rpg, 1.2 apg)
G: Avi Toomer (11.8 ppg, 4.1 rpg, 1.6 apg)
F: John Meeks (12.1 ppg, 4.4 rpg, 0.8 apg)
F: Bruce Moore (9.6 ppg, 3.3 rpg, 0.9 apg)

With a Win over Lehigh, Bucknell Would ...

... improve to 4-2 in Patriot League play and 8-11 overall.
... move two games clear of the Mountain Hawks in the Patriot League standings.
... improve to 36-7 in the month of January over the last five seasons.
... improve to 136-27 all-time against Patriot League opponents in Sojka Pavilion.
... improve to 107-68 all-time against the Mountain Hawks and 6-1 in the last seven meetings.
... improve to 298-124 all-time in Patriot League play.
... give Nathan Davis his 97th win as Bucknell's head coach.

Headlines

Bucknell is looking to bounce back from a gut-punch loss at American on Wednesday, as the Eagles won 61-60 on a Conner Nelson 3-pointer with no time remaining. The buzzer-beater erased two clutch go-ahead free throws from Avi Toomer with five seconds to play, and it cost the Bison a chance to join Colgate and Boston University in a tie for first place in the Patriot League standings.
Bucknell played without two starters on Wednesday. Guard Andrew Funk remained home due to illness, and forward/center Bruce Moore was unable to go due to a lower-body injury. Both are probable for Saturday's game, and with Ben Robertson returning to action for the first time since early December due a back ailment, the Bison on Saturday could have all 13 players available for the first time since the Yale game in Orlando on Nov. 26.
Despite Wednesday's tough loss, Bucknell's defensive numbers in Patriot League continue to be strong. In five league games, the Bison are conceding 62.4 points per game and 0.9 points per possession. Opponents are shooting 43.3% from the field and 29.0% from 3-point distance. Normally not known as a team that piles up a lot of steals, the Bison are averaging a league-high 9.6 steals per game in league play and forcing 17.0 turnovers per game. Bucknell leads the league with a +5.4 turnover margin, and its 5.0 blocked shots per game also ranks No. 1 in the PL.
John Meeks entered the starting lineup just before the start of league play and has been terrific in the month of January. He set career highs with 22 points and nine rebounds in the win over Army, and he ranks third in the Patriot League in scoring at 16.8 points per game in conference action. Meeks is shooting 50.8% from the field and is 15-for-16 from the foul line in the four PL contests.
Lehigh has alternated losses and wins in Patriot League play and comes in with a 2-3 PL mark. The Bison will be looking to break their trend, as the Mountain Hawks are coming off an 88-83 home setback to Navy on Wednesday. Their league wins have come against Loyola and American at home, while the other two PL losses came on the road at Navy and Boston University. Bucknell and Lehigh had three common non-conference opponents. Both teams defeated Albany, and both lost to Yale and Princeton.
Lehigh is annually one of the league's highest-scoring teams, and this year's squad ranks second in the league at 73.6 points per game in Patriot League play. The Mountain Hawks have allowed the second-most points in the conference, however, at 76.0 per game. In PL action, Lehigh ranks first in 3-point percentage (.400) and free-throw percentage (.821) and second in overall field-goal percentage (.469). Jordan Cohen, who is coming off a 28-point game against Navy, averages a league-high 18.2 ppg in league play and a team-high 15.4 ppg overall. James Karnik scores 12.4 ppg and grabs a team-high 7.8 rebounds per game, but Karnik has missed the last few contests due to injury.

How to Get the Game

The Bucknell-Lehigh game will be televised throughout Northeastern Pennsylvania on WQMY-TV, and it will also be streamed live via the Patriot League Network at PatriotLeague.tv. Adam Marco and Bucknell Hall-of-Famer Pat Flannery '80 will have the call.
The game can be heard in the Susquehanna Valley on the radio on Eagle 107 (WEGH 107.3 FM). Doug Birdsong handles the play-by-play duties. The pregame show begins 30 minutes before tip-off.
Live statistics can be accessed at BucknellBison.com.
The audio feed is available online free of charge via BucknellBison.com and Eagle107.com.
Follow @Bucknell_MBB for in-game updates on Twitter.

Last Time Out

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 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 Ellis, 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 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.
Bucknell hit 7 of 17 shots from 3-point distance, but the interior shooting struggles (11-31 on 2-point shots) led to a 37.5% 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.
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.
Jimmy Sotos collected four assists to move past Russell Peyton for ninth on Bucknell's career list with 335.

Bucknell vs. Lehigh

Bucknell has played more games (174) and won more games (106) against Lehigh than any other school. The Bison have a 106-68 lead in a series that originated in 1902.
Since the start of Patriot League play in 1990-91, Bucknell holds a 46-22 advantage, including a 26-8 mark at home.
Lehigh owns the most wins of any team over Bucknell in Sojka Pavilion (7).
Lehigh is responsible for snapping Bucknell's 35-game home winning streak against Patriot League foes. The Bison had not lost to a conference opponent at Sojka Pavilion in nearly five years, until the Mountain Hawks won 56-54 in Lewisburg on Jan. 30, 2008.
Lehigh also won the first game ever played in Sojka Pavilion, a 60-56 decision on Jan. 15, 2003. Including that game, Bucknell is 14-7 against the Mountain Hawks in Sojka.
Bucknell is 7-3 against Lehigh in Patriot League Tournament action, including an 81-65 win in the 2017 championship game and a 97-75 verdict in last year's semifinals.
A year ago, Bucknell swept the regular-season series from the Mountain Hawks for the first time since 2011, when current NBA players Mike Muscala and C.J. McCollum were sophomores. The Bison won a thriller in Bethlehem, 85-83, on Jan. 19, and then they prevailed 87-75 at Sojka Pavilion on Feb. 11.
In the first meeting, Jimmy Sotos raced the length of the floor for a layup with 1.2 seconds remaining, giving Bucknell an 85-83 win at Stabler Arena. The Mountain Hawks had just come up with a steal in the backcourt, which led to Pat Andree's tying layup, but Sotos countered at the other end to cap a crazy finish. Five Bison scored in double figures, led by Kimbal Mackenzie with 25 points and Bruce Moore with a career-high 19. Kyle Leufroy tallied 26 points for Lehigh, which went 14-for-23 from 3-point distance.
In the rematch in Lewisburg, Mackenzie scored 27 points, nine of them coming in a 15-1 run early in the second half that sent the Bison on their way. Bucknell did a much better job against Lehigh's vaunted 3-point shooters in that one, holding the Mountain Hawks to 6-for-22 from the arc. James Karnik led Lehigh with 21 points.
In the Patriot League Tournament semifinals, the Bison piled up 97 points, 48 coming from seniors Mackenzie (25) and Nate Sestina (23) in their final games at Sojka Pavilion. Avi Toomer added 12 points and Moore had 10 to help counter 23 points from Lehigh's Jordan Cohen.
Bucknell averaged 89.7 points in the three games against Lehigh last season, led by 25.7 ppg from Mackenzie.
In the Nathan Davis era, Bucknell has a 6-4 lead in the series, with an average score of 81.4-76.4.

Notable Numbers

Avi Toomer has hit multiple 3-pointers in nine of his last 12 games and is shooting 43.7% from the arc this season, up from 35.3% last year. Toomer is 10-for-20 in Patriot League play, which includes an 0-for-5 in the loss to Navy.
As a team, Bucknell did not have more than seven steals in any of its first 10 games of the season, but they have pilfered seven or more in seven of their last eight games and 10 or more in five of the last eight.
John Meeks is averaging a team-best 19.4 points per 40 minutes.
Freshman guard Xander Rice had one of his best games of the season at Lafayette. He had a modest four points, three rebounds and two assists in 19 minutes, but he was a +12 in the game, and the team averaged a robust 1.5 points per possession when he was on the floor. Rice has 27 points in his last four games, marking his best scoring stretch of the season.
The Bison have had difficulty shutting down opponents' scoring runs this season. Bucknell foes have put together a run of at least 10 or more unanswered points in a row in 11 of the 18 games thus far.
Bucknell had a perfect day at the free-throw line at La Salle, finishing 18-for-18. That is the fifth-most free throws without a miss in team history. The Bison ran their streak to 25 straight made free throws before missing late in the Army game.

Possible Upcoming Milestones

Avi Toomer needs 40 points for 700 in his career.
John Meeks needs four points for 400 in his career.
Jimmy Sotos needs 40 assists to catch Abe Badmus (375) for eighth on Bucknell's career chart.
Sotos needs 11 steals for 100 in his career and eight rebounds for 300 in his career.

Who's Got Next?

Bucknell has a quick turnaround before facing Colgate on Monday night in a rematch of the 2018 and 2019 Patriot League championship games. The contest will be nationally televised on CBS Sports Network.