Men's Basketball Closes Out Regular Season Saturday at Boston University

Saturday, February 29

Boston, Mass.

12 p.m.

Bucknell University

Boston University

Buy Tickets

Photo by: Marc Hagemeier

Men's Basketball Closes Out Regular Season Saturday at Boston University

2/28/2020 10:16:00 AM | Men's Basketball

One last round of Patriot League play remains in the 2019-20 regular season, and Bucknell finishes up on the road at Boston University on Saturday at noon. Plenty is at stake for both teams in terms of Patriot League Tournament positioning.

The Bison have played solid basketball of late, winning three of their last four, including victories over first-place Colgate and second-place American. Bucknell heads to Boston fresh off a thrilling 71-70 Senior Night victory over Colgate.

PATRIOT LEAGUE STANDINGS

Looking ahead to the postseason, the Bison can be seeded anywhere from sixth through eighth, while the Terriers will be either second or third. Should Bucknell garner the No. 7 or 8 seed, it would host a PL Tournament first-round game on Tuesday. The Bison have never played a first-round game, which came into existence when the league expanded to 10 teams in 2013-14.

The Bison enter the final game tied for sixth place with Navy, but the Midshipmen would own a head-to-head tiebreaker based on a season sweep of Bucknell. The Bison can only move up to the No. 6 seed (and the bye into the quarterfinals) with a win in Boston and a Navy loss at Lafayette. Bucknell would be seeded No. 7 in a three-way tie for fifth place at 9-9 with Lafayette and Navy. Bucknell would also be seeded No. 7 in a head-to-head tie with Loyola, and it would fall to the No. 8 seed in a three-way tie at 8-10 with Navy and Loyola.

Boston University enters play tied for second place with American at 11-6, but the Eagles would prevail in a head-to-head tiebreaker or a three-way tie with Army. The Terriers' path to the No. 2 seed requires a win over Bucknell and an American loss at Holy Cross.

Here's more info on Saturday's game at Boston University:

What: Bucknell (12-18, 8-9 PL) at Boston University (17-13, 11-6 PL)
Where: Case Gym, Boston, Mass.
When: Saturday, Feb. 29, 12 p.m.
Internet: Patriot League Network
Local Radio: Eagle 107 (107.3 FM WEGH)
Listen Live: BucknellBison.com and Eagle107.com
Live Stats: GoTerriers.com

COMPLETE GAME NOTES

Bucknell Probable Starters
G: Jimmy Sotos (11.4 ppg, 3.6 rpg, 3.9 apg)
G: Andrew Funk (10.9 ppg, 3.8 rpg, 1.6 apg)
G: Avi Toomer (10.9 ppg, 4.3 rpg, 1.9 apg)
F: John Meeks (11.8 ppg, 5.5 rpg, 0.9 apg)
C: Paul Newman (4.9 ppg, 4.7 rpg, 0.6 bpg)

With a Win over Boston University, Bucknell Would ...

... finish the regular season with a 9-9 Patriot League record, marking the 26th time in the 30-year history of the league that the Bison posted a .500 record or better.
... be the No. 6 seed in the Patriot League Tournament if Navy loses at Lafayette.
... be the No. 7 seed if Navy defeats Lafayette.
... split the season series and improve to 14-6 all-time against the Terriers, including 5-1 at Case Gym.

Last Time Out

Paul Newman hit a go-ahead free throw with 7.4 seconds remaining, and Jimmy Sotos and Bucknell finished the game with yet another defensive stop in a wild 71-70 victory over first-place Colgate on Senior Night at Sojka Pavilion.
It was quite a guard battle between Bucknell's Sotos and Colgate's Jordan Burns. Sotos finished with 17 points, seven rebounds, three assists and three steals, and it was his beautiful pick-and-roll feed to Newman that set up the winning free throw.
Meanwhile, Burns continued to torment the Bison. He had 24 points and four steals in this one, including 16 points in the second half to help Colgate flip a 17-point deficit into a six-point lead. But after the Newman free throw, Sotos forced Burns into a tough leaner from outside the key on the right side, and it was off the mark as time expired.
Bucknell started and finished the game with some of its best defense of the season. They harassed the Raiders into an 0-for-10 shooting start with four turnovers over the game's first eight minutes. The Bison led by as many as 16 in the first half and built the margin to 17 at 47-30 with 17:27 left in the second stanza. Colgate made a furious comeback and went up by six at 69-63 after a Jack Ferguson 3-pointer with 5:30 left. But Bucknell locked up the Raiders the rest of the way. The visitors missed their final eight field-goal attempts of the night, while the Bison finished the game on an 8-1 run.
Sotos, who was coming off a 20-point game on Sunday at Lehigh, was Bucknell's top scorer for the second straight game. He was joined in double figures by Walter Ellis with 12 points, Avi Toomer with 11 and Andrew Funk with 10. Ellis also had a career-high eight rebounds, and John Meeks chipped in six points and seven rebounds.
The Bison shot the 3-ball well, hitting 9 of 22 (.409), but their 12-for-35 (.343) shooting from inside the arc nearly proved costly. Bucknell shot 36.8% for the game, while Colgate hit at a 40.7% clip. The Raiders shot 29.6% in the first half but 51.9% in the second, and they were 6-for-19 from downtown.
Both teams connected on 20 of 30 at the free-throw line in a game that was slowed by 44 fouls.
Bucknell beat Colgate for the fifth straight time at Sojka Pavilion but also snapped a three-game overall losing streak to the Raiders
Prior to the game, seniors Toomer, Robertson and Bruce Moore were honored, along with managers, Luke Summers, Michael Bangs and L.J. Shapiro. Toomer went 3-for-4 from downtown on his way to 11 points. Robertson added five points, including his second made 3-pointer of the season. Moore is out with a broken hand, but he came out for the opening tip before leaving the game
Will Rayman had a double-double for Colgate with 12 points and 13 rebounds, but the Bison forced him into seven turnovers.
Colgate edged Bucknell on the glass 39-38, but the Raiders were limited to five offensive rebounds.

Bucknell vs. Boston University

Bucknell and Boston University have met 19 times previously in men's basketball, and the Bison have a 13-6 lead in the series.
Bucknell is 6-4 at home in the series, 6-2 on the road and 1-0 at neutral sites. In games played in Boston, Bucknell is 2-1 at Agganis Arena and 4-1 at Case Gym.
The two teams met for the first time at the 2005 Cable Car Classic at Santa Clara. The Bison won that one 63-57.
The Bison and Terriers split the season series last season, with the home team winning both times. Highlighting the two games were some awesome battles between centers Nate Sestina and Max Mahoney.
A dominant performance on the glass helped Boston University to an 87-80 win in last season's first meeting at Case Gym. The Terriers turned 13 offensive rebounds into 20 second-chance points. Mahoney had a huge night for Boston University with 26 points and 14 rebounds, offsetting a 27-point, nine-rebound effort from Sestina. Sestina hit a career-high five 3-pointers in seven attempts.
Sestina was at it again in the rematch at Sojka Pavilion. He scored 11 points in the first nine minutes to help stake the Bison to a 27-14 lead, and he finished with 25 points and 11 rebounds in an 82-76 victory. Fellow senior Kimbal Mackenzie added 20 points, while Bruce Moore and John Meeks scored 10 each. Javante McCoy scored 19 points, including five threes, while Mahoney had 16 points and 10 rebounds for the Terriers.
In the first meeting of this season, the Terriers handed Bucknell its first-ever 20-point loss in Sojka Pavilion, 77-57. It was just a six-point game at the half, but Boston University opened the second half with a 24-5 run to blow it open. Mahoney had 18 points and 11 rebounds to pace the Terriers, while Avi Toomer led Bucknell with 16 points.

Notable Numbers

Bucknell has done well to limit opponents' 3-point shooting in recent games. Over the last six contests, Bison foes are just 24-for-102 (.235) from downtown. Over the course of the entire season, only four teams have made more than seven 3-pointers in a game against the Bison: Syracuse (14), Princeton (13), Colgate (14) and Lafayette (9).
Bucknell has held 14 of its 17 Patriot League opponents to 33% shooting or worse from 3-point range. The big anomaly came in the loss at Colgate, where the Raiders went 14-for-23 (.609) from the arc.
Kahliel Spear is 23-for-39 (.590) from the field over the last seven games, upping his season field-goal percentage to .528. Spear is shooting 58.7% in Patriot League play. Despite playing in a reserve role (14.5 mpg), Spear leads the Bison in 3-point play opportunities with 11. He scored a career-high 20 points in the win over American on Feb. 15, doubling his previous personal best.
Jimmy Sotos scored 20 points at Lehigh on Saturday after combining for 20 in his previous four games. Sotos now has five 20-point games this season, the most on the team. He followed that up with 17 points against Colgate on Wednesday.
Sotos has multiple steals in seven of his last eight games and now has 47 on the season. In the last 13 seasons, only Stephen Brown (57 in 2016-17) and Abe Badmus (48 in 2006-07) have had more.
John Meeks is averaging 7.6 rebounds over his last eight games.
Walter Ellis has made a 3-pointer in 13 straight games, and he is averaging 10.4 ppg off the bench in his last five games. Ellis has three triples in four of his last five games, and he now ranks second in the Patriot League in 3-point percentage at .414.
The Bison had been a solid free-throw shooting team for most of the season, but they have struggled of late. In the last five games the Bison are 40-for-74 (.541) from the line.
In addition to getting back to a better percentage, the Bison would also like to earn more chances at the foul line. Opponents have attempted 156 more free throws this season, leading to a 458-348 scoring edge. Bucknell has attempted more charity tosses than its opponents in each of the last five seasons.
Bucknell has struggled to finish around to the basket this season. The Bison are now shooting 47.1% from 2-point distance, which ranks 10th in the Patriot League. Bucknell was just 12-for-35 (.343) from inside the arc against Colgate on Wednesday.
Bucknell's streak of 10 straight seasons with a positive assist-to-turnover ratio is likely to end, but over the last four games the Bison have 51 assists and 44 turnovers. Bucknell is now on the plus side in Patriot League play with 218 assists compared to 208 turnovers.
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

Jimmy Sotos needs 22 assist to catch Cal Puriefoy (399) for seventh on Bucknell's career chart.
Andrew Funk needs 31 points for 500 in his career.
Avi Toomer needs 24 points for 800 in his career.

Who's Got Next?

Bucknell will begin Patriot League Tournament play next week. Depending on the outcome of Saturday's final regular-season games, the Bison either will play at home in a first-round game on Tuesday, or on the road for a quarterfinal game on Thursday.