Bison Head to Lafayette Sunday in Search of 2-0 Start in Patriot League

Sunday, January 5

Easton, Pa.

2 p.m.

Bucknell University

Lafayette

Photo by: Jon Lambert

Bison Head to Lafayette Sunday in Search of 2-0 Start in Patriot League

1/3/2020 5:09:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Two longtime rivals coming off nailbiters on the opening night of Patriot League play square off on Sunday afternoon at Kirby Sports Center. Lafayette led for more than 39 minutes at Boston University on Thursday but lost 73-72 thanks to a Jonas Harper go-ahead 3-pointer with 13 seconds remaining. Meanwhile, the Bison led for only 12:46 against Army but won 67-65 on the strength of two key shots from Jimmy Sotos and John Meeks in the final minutes, and a walk-off blocked shot by Paul Newman, who swatted Lonnie Grayson's layup attempt at the buzzer.

Bucknell will make the day trip to Easton on Sunday for the first of at least two 2020 meetings with Lafayette. The Bison and Leopards first met all the way back in 1915, and they have met annually since the 1945-46 season. This year's Lafayette team was picked eighth in the Patriot League preseason poll, but the Leopards' hopes are high after a strong 8-3 showing in non-conference play. Lafayette is typically one of the best offensive teams in the Patriot League, and this year is no exception, but the Leopards appear to be much improved defensively, as they are giving up 10 fewer points per game than last season.

The Bison scored 94 and 118 points in the two games with Lafayette a year ago, but they will have their work cut out on the road on Sunday. The good news for Bucknell is that the team had one of its better offensive showings of the season on Saturday against Army. The Bison went 10-for-21 from 3-point range and shot 46 percent overall. The five players who played the majority of the second-half minutes -- Sotos, Avi Toomer, Andrew Funk, Meeks and Newman -- outscored Army 41-20 during their time on the floor together while scoring a strong 1.4 points per possession.

Here's more info on Sunday's game vs. Lafayette:

What: Bucknell (5-9, 1-0 PL) at Lafayette (8-4, 0-1 PL)
Where: Kirby Sports Center, Easton, Pa. | TICKETS
When: Sunday, Jan. 5, 2 p.m.
Webcast: Patriot League Network
Local Radio: The Valley (100.9 FM WVLY) **Note radio station change for this game due to Eagle 107 conflict with Philadelphia Eagles playoff game**
Listen Live: BucknellBison.com and Eagle107.com
Live Stats: GoLeopards.com

COMPLETE GAME NOTES

Bucknell Probable Starters
G: Jimmy Sotos (13.8 ppg, 4.0 rpg, 4.1 apg)
G: Andrew Funk (10.4 ppg, 4.0 rpg, 1.3 apg)
G: Avi Toomer (12.5 ppg, 3.6 rpg, 1.4 apg)
F: John Meeks (11.0 ppg, 4.3 rpg, 0.7 apg)
C: Paul Newman (5.3 ppg, 6.5 rpg, 0.7 bpg)

With a Win over Lafayette, Bucknell Would ...

... win back-to-back games for the first time this season, while handing their Leopards their first two-game losing streak of the season.
... improve to 2-0 in Patriot League play for the first time since 2016-17. In each of the last two seasons the Bison won their PL opener but lost the second league game.
... defeat the Leopards for the ninth straight time, which would mark Bucknell's second-longest winning streak in the series. The Bison beat Lafayette 13 straight times from 1990-96 and have had three eight-game winning streaks since then.
... snap a six-game road losing streak dating back to a season-opening win at Fairfield. The six-game road losing streak is the team's longest since 2009-10, when it lost seven straight.
... improve to 296-122 all-time in Patriot League play.
... give head coach Nathan Davis his 95th win as Bucknell's head coach.

Headlines

Bucknell entered Patriot League play at 4-9, but that record came against a non-conference schedule that was the 82nd most-difficult out of 353 Division I teams, according to Ken Pomeroy's formula. That was the second-toughest in the Patriot League behind Lehigh (25). It should be noted that games against non-Division I teams are not factored into the formula, and Bucknell and American were the only two PL teams not to play a non-DI this season.

Patriot League Non-Conference Strength-of-Schedule Ranking (via Ken Pomeroy, D-I opponents only)
1. Lehigh 25
2. Bucknell 82
3. Holy Cross 64
4. Boston U. 195
5. Colgate 197
6. American 234
7. Lafayette 265
8. Navy 277
9. Loyola 314
10. Army 340

Sotos and Avi Toomer have carried much of the scoring load in recent weeks. Sotos, who is also one of the league's top assist men, is averaging 19.8 points over his last four games and has taken over the team scoring lead at 13.8 ppg. Toomer has been red-hot from downtown. He went 4-for-5 from the 3-point arc in the win over Army and is 14-for-22 (.636) over his last five games. Toomer now ranks second in the Patriot League in 3-point percentage (.446), trailing only Loyola's Kenneth Jones (.487).
Bucknell has used five different starting lineups this season, and a sixth is on the way on Sunday as senior Bruce Moore is likely to see his streak of 47 straight games played come to an end due to an injury sustained late in the first half of the Army game.
Bucknell last week played its final game of the decade of the 2010s. Some of the highlights:
- 215-116 (.650) overall record
- 128-36 (.780) Patriot League record
- 8 PL regular-season titles
- 4 PL tournament titles
- 4 NCAA bids
- 3 NIT bids
Bucknell was picked second to Colgate in the Patriot League preseason poll. Those two teams played in the 2019 Patriot League Tournament final, with the Raiders prevailing 94-80 to thwart Bucknell's hopes of a third straight NCAA Tournament appearance.
Bucknell and Colgate shared the 2019 Patriot League regular-season title with 13-5 conference records. It was Bucknell's fifth straight PL regular-season crown and eighth in the last nine years. The run of five regular-season titles in a row is the second-longest current streak in the nation, behind only Gonzaga (7).
Lafayette posted the Patriot League's best record (8-3) during non-conference play. The Leopards posted an impressive 4-0 record against the Ivy League, with wins over Penn and Columbia at home and Princeton and Cornell on the road. They also won by 23 points on the road at Saint Joseph's and closed out the non-league slate with a 67-66 win at Sacred Heart, but Lafayette dropped their Patriot League opener 73-72 at Boston University.
Junior guard Justin Jaworski is having a terrific season. He is the league's No. 2 scorer at 18.8 points per game, and he also ranks No. 2 in 3-pointers per game (2.7) and No. 1 in free-throw percentage (.933). Lafayette's other two double-digit scorers — E.J. Stephens (11.3) and Myles Cherry (10.6) — both come off the bench. Stephens tallied 17 points against Boston University on Thursday. As a team, Lafayette shoots 48.4% from the field and 39.4% from 3-point range, by far the best marks in the conference. They also lead the league and rank 25th nationally in 3-point percentage defense (.276).

How to Get the Game

The Bucknell-Lafayette game will be televised regionally through the Lafayette Sports Network (RCN Cable and WBPH-60), with Gary Laubach and John Leone on the call. The broadcast will also stream live on the Patriot League Network at PatriotLeague.tv.
The game can be heard in the Susquehanna Valley on the radio on The Valley (WVLY 100.9 FM). Doug Birdsong handles the play-by-play duties. The pregame show begins 30 minutes before tip-off.
Live statistics can be accessed at GoLeopards.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

Paul Newman blocked a potential game-tying layup by Lonnie Grayson at the buzzer to help Bucknell clinch a back-and-forth 67-65 victory over Army West Point in its Patriot League opener Thursday evening at Sojka Pavilion. John Meeks had a career night with 22 points and nine rebounds, and his no-look put-back with 58 seconds remaining proved to be the winning bucket as the Bison won their 22nd straight home game against Patriot League competition.
Newman was a difference-maker defensively all night, particularly with starting center Bruce Moore sidelined in the second half due to injury. Newman finished with four points, four rebounds and three of Bucknell's eight blocked shots in just over 19 minutes of playing time, and he helped limit Army scoring leader Matt Wilson to just six points on five field goal attempts. Wilson entered the game averaging more than 14 points per game.
Meeks' 22 points came on 8 of 14 shooting, including 3-for-5 from 3-point range. Overall, the Bison were 10-for-21 from deep, with Meeks, Jimmy Sotos and Avi Toomer combining for all 10 makes.
Sotos added 16 points and five assists while locked up in quite an entertaining point guard battle with Army's Tommy Funk, who finished 19 points and eight assists.
Toomer went 4-for-5 from the arc on the way to 14 points, and Andrew Funk — Tommy's younger brother — added 11 points and two of Bucknell's eight steals.
It was a game of big momentum swings, and in the end there were eight ties and 15 lead changes. The last of those came with 1:43 remaining in the game, when Sotos broke a 62-all tie with a step-back 3-pointer. After Wilson missed the front end of a 1-and-1 for Army, the Bison used up most of the shot clock. Sotos' contested three was an air ball, but Meeks came all the way from the opposite corner to snatch the rebound, and without looking at the basket he flipped it over his head off the glass and in to give Bucknell a 67-62 lead with 58 seconds to go. Lonnie Grayson (17 points) quickly answered with a three just five seconds later to bring Army within 67-65. After a defensive stop, Sotos' front end of a 1-and-1 rimmed out — ending Bucknell's streak of 25 straight made free throws dating all the way back to the Siena game on Dec. 21 — giving the Black Knights one more shot to tie or take the lead. Grayson drove and momentarily appeared to have a lane to the basket, but Newman came over from the weak side and smashed his shot off the backboard as time expired.
Bucknell won its Patriot League opener for the sixth straight year.
The Bison have beaten Army 12 straight times, the second-longest streak in series history. Bucknell won 15 in a row from 2002-07. The last three Bucknell-Army games have been decided by a total of four points, and the one before that went to overtime before the Bison pulled away and won by 12. In the last four wins over Army, Bucknell has held the lead for 22:16 of a possible 165:00, and they overcame deficits of 19, 26, 14 and 9 points.
Meeks' previous career high was 19 points against Fairfield on opening night. His nine rebounds tied his career best, set at Canisius on Nov. 16
Meeks, Sotos, Funk and Toomer combined for 63 of Bucknell's 67 points, with Newman accounting for the other four.

Bucknell vs. Lafayette

Bucknell and Lafayette have met 167 times previously, making the Leopards Bucknell's second most-played opponent (the Bison have played Lehigh 174 times). Since the series began in 1915, Lafayette leads 89-78.
Since the start of Patriot League play in 1990-91, however, Bucknell has won 49 of 66 meetings.
Lafayette won 33 of the first 37 meetings and led the series 60-14 at one point.
Bucknell had been 15-0 all-time against Lafayette in Sojka Pavilion until the Leopards posted their first win there in 2013-14. The Bison are now 20-2 against Lafayette in Sojka Pavilion and 28-5 against the Leopards in Lewisburg going back to the Patriot League's first season.
The Bison and Leopards have met in a conference championship game four times, with Bucknell winning three of those. The Bison defeated Lafayette 71-65 in the 1989 East Coast Conference final in Towson, Md., and they also won Patriot League championship games in Sojka Pavilion in 2011 (72-57) and 2013 (64-56). Lafayette claimed the 1999 Patriot League title with a 67-63 win over the Bison in Easton.
Bucknell has won the last eight in the series, including sweeps in each of the last four seasons. Lafayette's last win over the Bison was an 80-74 verdict in the 2015 Patriot League semifinals.
In Bucknell's current eight-game streak, two of the games have gone into overtime (the 2016 game in Easton went double-overtime), but the other six have been decided by an average margin of 26.7 points.
Both of last season's matchups resulted in one-sided Bison victories. They won 94-66 in Easton behind Kimbal Mackenzie's career-high 31 points. In the rematch at Sojka Pavilion later in the year, Bucknell drained a school-record 21 3-pointers on the way to a 118-76 verdict. The Bison set a team mark with a 63-point first half and just missed the school record of 119 points in a game set back in 1968. Ten different players hit 3-pointers for the Bison, who led by as many as 57 midway through the second half. The 21 3-pointers and 45 total field goals were also Patriot League records. Andrew Funk led the Bison with 21 points.

Patriot League Success

Over the previous nine seasons coming into 2019-20, Bucknell had a Patriot League record of 119-31 (.793). That is the ninth-best conference winning percentage in the nation over that span.

Conference Winning %, Last 9 Seasons (entering 2019-20)
Gonzaga 137-15   .901
Belmont 132-22   .857
Vermont 120-24   .833
Wichita State 134-28   .827
Texas Southern   130-32   .802
New Mexico State 109-27   .801
St. Mary's 121-31   .796
Kansas 127-33   .794
Bucknell 106-26   .793

Bucknell is 295-122 (.707) all-time in Patriot League regular-season games, the best record of any league team. The Bison have finished at least .500 in PL play 25 times in 29 Patriot League seasons.
Bucknell won three straight Patriot League regular-season titles from 2011-13, becoming the first team in league history to accomplish that feat. The Bison have now won five in a row and eight of the last nine.
Bucknell has made nine Patriot League Tournament appearance as the No. 1 seed and seven as the No. 2 seed.
Bucknell won Patriot League Tournament titles in 2005, 2006, 2011, 2013, 2017 and 2018. The Bison have made it to the semifinals 22 times and to the championship game 13 times in the league's first 29 years.
The Bison are the only team to go unbeaten in league play in a season (14-0 in 2006).
In 2017-18, Bucknell became the first team to win 16 Patriot League games. The league expanded to 10 teams and an 18-game schedule in 2013-14.

Notable Numbers

Over his last four games, Jimmy Sotos has 79 points and has hit 10-24 (.417) from 3-point range and 21-25 (.840) from the foul line.
Sotos has 58 points in the last four second halves of games.
Avi Toomer has hit multiple 3-pointers in seven of his last eight games and is shooting 44.6% from the arc this season, up from 35.3% last year.
Andrew Funk has 10 steals in his last four games after logging four in his first 10 games.
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 eight or more in three of their last four games.
John Meeks is averaging a team-best 18.8 points per 40 minutes.
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 10 of the 14 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

Andrew Funk needs one point for 300 in his career.
Paul Newman needs five points for 200 in his career, 13 rebounds for 200 in his career, and three blocks for 50 in his career.
Walter Ellis needs one point for 100 in his career.
Jimmy Sotos needs 15 assists to catch Russell Peyton (332) for ninth on Bucknell's career chart.

Who's Got Next?

After the Lafayette game, the Bison will play twice in a row at home. Navy comes in on Wednesday night, followed by Holy Cross on the following Saturday afternoon.
The Navy game will be Community Night, sponsored by M&T Bank, as well as Scout Night.
Bucknell will celebrate the 16th Annual Dirk Sojka's Slam Dunk with Bison Basketball during the Holy Cross game on Saturday, Jan. 11.