Loyola Holds off Bucknell’s Rally, Wins 78-65 in Baltimore

Saturday, February 8

Baltimore, Md.

5 p.m.

Bucknell University

9-16, 5-7PL

Loyola

12-13, 4-8PL

Bucknell

Loyola Maryland

Photo by: Marc Hagemeier

Loyola Holds off Bucknell’s Rally, Wins 78-65 in Baltimore

2/8/2020 7:54:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

BALTIMORE, Md. – Bucknell cut a 13-point deficit to one with five minutes to play, but Loyola scored its final 15 points from the foul line in a game-ending 20-8 run and prevailed 78-65 at Reitz Arena on Saturday evening.

Avi Toomer led the Bison (9-16, 5-7 Patriot League) with 15 points, and John Meeks recorded his second double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds. Patriot League scoring leader Andrew Kostecka scored 20 points for Loyola (12-13, 4-8 PL), which won its third straight game while handing Bucknell its fourth straight loss.

In three of Bucknell's setbacks during this stretch, the Bison fought off double-digit deficits, only to go cold again in the final several minutes. In this one, Bucknell trailed by 13 at the half, but some improved 3-point shooting helped trim the gap..

The Bison missed their final 12 3-point attempts of the first half, but threes from Toomer and Andrew Funk in the opening three minutes of the second stanza got them going. Meeks canned two threes just past the midway point of the second half, and a trey from Sotos at the 4:57 mark made it a one-point game at 58-57.

Loyola was 1-for-13 from the arc at that point, but Kostecka swished a deep triple from the top of the key to answer Sotos' shot. After a Bucknell miss, Golden Dike converted a 3-point play to push Loyola's lead back up to seven at 64-57 with 3:49 left. The Bison missed their next six attempts after the Sotos three and Loyola finished it off at the foul line.

The Greyhounds never made another field goal, but they went 15-for-17 from the foul line in the last four minutes. Loyola was 34-for-46 from the stripe in the game, giving them 92 free-throw attempts in the two games against Bucknell this season. The Greyhounds came into the game ranked ninth nationally in free-throw attempts, and they outscored the Bison 34-17 from the line in this one.

"We searching for some answers right now, and I've got to keep everyone positive while we figure this out," said head coach Nathan Davis. "The same types of mistakes are hurting us, especially early in games, and there are times where seem to be getting in our own way. We have shown good fight getting back in games, but falling behind by double figures just can't happen every night."

Bucknell led 9-7 after a Kahliel Spear put-back 4:35 into the game, but the Bison missed their next 11 shots, eight of them from beyond the arc. Loyola ran off 12 straight points, six from Kostecka, in that stretch and led 19-9 after two free throws from Cam Spencer.

Down 31-18, Bucknell scored five straight on a nifty tip-in for a 3-point play from Malachi Rhodes and two free throws from Bruce Moore. The Bison pulled within eight on a couple of occasions in the final four minutes, but Loyola scored the final five points of the half to go up 40-27.

Bucknell shot 31.3 percent from the field and went 8-for-35 from 3-point range. The Bison did have a good night at the foul line, hitting 17 of 21. Meanwhile Loyola shot 52.5 percent, despite a 2-for-14 showing from the arc.

Bucknell attempted 24 more shots than Loyola, but the free-throw disparity was too much to overcome.

Loyola outrebounded the Bison 34-32, but Bucknell held the Greyhounds to two offensive rebounds and built a 15-2 edge in second-chance points.

The Bison return to the state of Maryland on Wednesday to face Navy at Alumni Hall at 7 p.m.