Men's Basketball Improves to 4-2 in PL With 72-56 Win Over Lehigh

Saturday, January 18

Lewisburg, Pa.

7 p.m.

Bucknell University

8-11,4-2Patriot

Lehigh

5-13,2-4Patriot

Team	1	2	F
Lehigh	23	33	56
Bucknell	38	34	72

Photo by: Marc Hagemeier

Men's Basketball Improves to 4-2 in PL With 72-56 Win Over Lehigh

1/18/2020 9:25:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score Photo Gallery

LEWISBURG, Pa. – Seniors Avi Toomer and Bruce Moore scored 15 points apiece to lead four Bison in double figures as the Bucknell men's basketball team posted a wire-to-wire 72-56 win over Lehigh on Saturday evening at Sojka Pavilion. The Bison moved back into a tie for second place in the Patriot League standings at 4-2, one game behind 5-1 Colgate heading into a showdown with the Raiders in Hamilton, N.Y., on Monday night.

Jimmy Sotos chipped in 12 points, including a two critical 3-pointers in the final 5:30 to help stave off a Lehigh comeback attempt. John Meeks posted his first career double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds, and Kahliel Spear played a major role off the bench with nine points, six rebounds and three blocks.

Moore scored Bucknell's first seven points of the night, including a fadeaway in the lane on the very first possession that gave the Bison a lead that they would never relinquish. Bucknell led by 15 points at the half, and after Lehigh pulled within five at 53-48 with 5:50 to go, the Bison closed the game on a 19-8 run. The final 16-point margin matched the biggest lead of the game for Bucknell.

"I thought that we came out with a lot of purpose and energy defensively, and it carried over offensively," said head coach Nathan Davis. "We were getting stops, getting deflections and getting out and running. At the start of the second half we lost a little bit of that intensity defensively, but once we got it back we were fine."

Bucknell (8-11, 4-2) put together one of its best first halves of the season, shooting 53.8 percent while holding Lehigh to 30.8 percent on the way to a 38-23 lead. The Mountain Hawks (5-13, 2-4) came in ranked second in the Patriot League in field-goal percentage (.469) and first in 3-point percentage (.400) in conference play, but the Bison limited them to 33.3 percent overall and just four 3-pointers in 14 attempts.

After Moore scored the first seven to stake the Bison to the early lead, Toomer grabbed the next eight points, including back-to-back 3-pointers that made it 15-6 at the 12:30 mark.

Later in the half the baton was passed to Ellis, who scored eight of the team's next 11 points, including a transition 3-pointer on the right wing off a nice outlet from Xander Rice (four assists).

Spear was impressive off the bench in the second half of Wednesday's one-point loss at American, and he carried that over into this one. Just as Lehigh switched to a 1-3-1 zone, Ellis found Spear on the baseline, and the sophomore brought the crowd to its feet with a monster one-handed jam. Moments later he blocked a shot on the defensive end, then nearly had another dunk on an offensive rebound. It didn't go, but he drew the third foul on Lehigh center Nic Lynch.

KAHLIEL SPEAR are you kidding me!!! pic.twitter.com/dVUnOcvQdO
— Bucknell MBasketball (@Bucknell_MBB) January 19, 2020

After Spear made 1 of 2 at the line, the Bison turned a steal into a Moore fastbreak layup and a 31-18 lead with 3:09 to go. Toomer's third 3-ball in as many attempts and two straight buckets by Meeks helped push the margin up to 16 at 38-22 in the late stages of the half.

Bucknell's only real lull came at the start of the second period, when Lehigh got back in the game with a 9-2 run. Jordan Cohen's fastbreak layup cut the margin to 40-32, but Meeks ended Bucknell's 3:32 scoreless drought with a 3-pointer.

Spear scored six straight Bison points in one stretch midway through the second half, but the Mountain Hawks used a couple of mini-runs to chip away at the lead. They crept within five at 53-48 after Evan Taylor's 3-pointer with 5:50 to go.

Sotos answered with a big 3-pointer before Jeameril Wilson scored on a floater in the lane. Down 56-50, Lehigh had a chance to get even closer, but reserve guard Andrei Arion, who had not seen any action until the final eight minutes of the game, missed two free throws.

Toomer followed with a strong drive to the basket, and after the Bison forced Cohen into a contested miss in the lane, Spear kicked a pass out to Sotos for a dagger three that made it 61-50 with 3:03 to play.

Marques Wilson hit a trey of his own from the right corner on the next possession, but Meeks came up with a layup and a great pass to Moore for a dunk to prevent any further damage. The Bison then went 7-for-8 at the foul line in the final 1:20 to ice the game.

Jeameril Wilson led Lehigh with 16 points and six rebounds. The Bison did a solid job on Cohen, one of the league's premier scorers who was coming off a 28-point game against Navy. Cohen had 11 in this one, seven under his league-high scoring average in Patriot League games, on 4-for-11 shooting. Taylor and Marques Wilson followed with 10 points apiece.

One game after the Bison lamented an 11-for-31 shooting performance on 2-point attempts against American, they finished at a 16-for-28 rate inside the arc against Lehigh. That led to a season-best 51.0-percent mark on the night. The forward trio of Moore, Meeks and Spear combined to go 15-for-21 from the field.

The Bison now have a quick turnaround with a Sunday trip to Colgate in advance of Monday night's nationally televised game against the Raiders. These two teams have squared off in each of the last two Patriot League championship games, and they will meet again Monday at 7 p.m. on CBS Sports Network.

Additional Notes:
The Bison are now 298-124 all-time in Patriot League play … Bucknell is now 107-68 all-time against Lehigh, which is the most wins against any opponent in school history … the Bison have won six of the last seven from the Mountain Hawks, including five in a row at home … Bucknell finished with a 38-30 rebounding edge … Spear's nine points, six rebounds and three blocks cam in 15 minutes of action … Bucknell outscored Lehigh by 20 points while Spear was on the floor … Ellis was also +20, and Toomer was +17.

Gallery: (1/18/2020) Men's Basketball vs. Lehigh