Men's Basketball Set to Battle Lehigh Twice this Weekend

LEWISBURG, Pa. -- Bucknell welcomes Patriot League Central Division rival Lehigh to Sojka Pavilion on Saturday, and then the Bison return the trip to Bethlehem on Sunday. The Bison and Mountain Hawks are both looking to snap losing streaks. Bucknell has dropped its first four games to Navy and Lafayette, including an 87-76 loss in Easton in its most recent outing last Sunday. Lehigh has played the same two teams but in reverse order. The Mountain Hawks beat Lafayette in the season opener on a Marques Wilson buzzer-beater in overtime, but they have lost three straight since then.

The Bison hope to benefit from the return of senior forward John Meeks this weekend. Meeks, a Third Team All-Patriot League selection last year, missed the first four games of the season due to injury. He is projected as a starter at the 4 spot on Sunday and will be tasked with battling a good Lehigh frontcourt. The Mountain Hawks have gotten the bulk of their offensive production from inside the paint, particularly from center Nic Lynch, who leads the team in scoring (18.3) and rebounding (7.3).

Bucknell will be counting on sophomore point guard Xander Rice to continue his recent strong play. Rice is coming off a career-best 23-point performance against Lafayette, and he was 12-for-19 from the field with seven assists and only two turnovers in the two-game set against the Leopards.

Both teams have similar scoring margins. Bucknell scores 66.3 ppg and allows 77.8 ppg, while Lehigh scores 69.8 ppg and allows 78.3 ppg. Lehigh has been more efficient from the field, shooting 49.8% overall compared to Bucknell's 40.5%, but the Bison have been much better at the free-throw line (80.5% to 60.7%). Both teams have been outrebounded by a little over six boards per game.

These two teams will see quite a bit of each other over the next few weeks. They meet again on Jan. 30-31, with Lehigh hosting the Saturday game and Bucknell the Sunday game that weekend. In between, the Bison play twice at Colgate on Jan. 23-24. Those are the only two scheduled games between the Bison and Mountain Hawks, and that is Bucknell's only scheduled overnight trip of the regular season.

• Complete Game Notes
• 2020-21 Media Guide
• Week 3 Digital Game Program

SERIES GAME ONE
What: Lehigh (1-3, 1-1 PL Central) at Bucknell (0-4, 0-2 PL Central)
Where: Sojka Pavilion, Lewisburg, Pa. | VIRTUAL SEASON TICKETS
When: Saturday, January 16, 2 p.m.
TV: WQMY-TV
Internet Stream (U.S.): ESPN+ | Internet Stream (International): SIDEARM Sports
Local Radio: Eagle 107 (107.3 FM WEGH)
Listen Live: BucknellBison.com and Eagle107.com
Live Stats: BucknellBison.com

SERIES GAME TWO
What: Bucknell at Lehigh
Where: Stabler Arena, Bethlehem, Pa.
When: Sunday, January 17, 4 p.m.
TV: Service Electric
Internet Stream (U.S.): ESPN+ | Internet Stream (International): SIDEARM Sports
Local Radio: Eagle 107 (107.3 FM WEGH)
Listen Live: BucknellBison.com and Eagle107.com
Live Stats: LehighSports.com

Bucknell Tentative Starters
G: Xander Rice (12.3 ppg, 3.0 rpg, 3.8 apg)
G: Andrew Funk (13.3 ppg, 3.8 rpg, 1.8 apg)
G: Walter Ellis (6.5 ppg, 4.5 rpg, 1.3 apg)
F: John Meeks (season debut)
C: Paul Newman (5.5 ppg, 4.8 rpg, 0.8 bpg)

With a Win over Lehigh on Saturday, Bucknell Would ...

... pick up its first victory of the season and avoid its first 0-5 start to a season since 2003-04.
... improve to 108-69 all-time against the Mountain Hawks.
... win its sixth straight against the Mountain Hawks at Sojka Pavilion.
... improve to 141-31 all-time against Patriot League opponents in Sojka Pavilion.
... give head coach Nathan Davis his 104th victory as Bucknell's head coach and bring him within six of Malcolm Musser for fourth on the program's all-time wins list.

Headlines

Bucknell continues its search for its first victory of the season when it takes on Lehigh in a home-and-home set this weekend.
The Bison and Mountain Hawks have played similar schedules thus far with two games each against Navy and Lafayette. Lehigh split with Lafayette on opening weekend, pulling out a dramatic win in game one on a Marques Wilson buzzer-beater, but the Mountain Hawks were swept by Navy last week to fall to 1-3 on the season.
Bucknell joins Lehigh and Lafayette in the new Patriot League Central Division. The Bison have never before played the same team four times in one season, but they are scheduled to do so against both division rivals this year. All four Bucknell-Lehigh games come in a two-week span, as the Bison and Mountain Hawks meet again Jan. 30-31.
After two straight difficult offensive performances in Sojka Pavilion against Navy and Lafayette, the Bison were much sharper at the offensive end last time out in Easton. In the two previous games, Bucknell shot a combined 35.9% from the field and averaged 60.0 ppg, but on Sunday the Bison tallied a season-high 76 points while shooting 50.8% from the field.
Bucknell should benefit from the return of John Meeks to the lineup this week. Meeks was a Third Team All-Patriot League selection last year. He missed the first four games of this season due to an upper-body injury.
Lehigh is looking to shake a three-game losing streak after falling 69-61 and 73-58 to Navy last weekend. The Mountain Hawks were originally slated to play American, but they pivoted to Navy when both American and Loyola were forced to pause competition due to COVID-19 issues.
Lehigh comes in averaging 69.7 ppg while allowing 78.2 ppg. Nic Lynch (18.3) and Marques Wilson (18.0) are accounting for 52.0% of the team's scoring through four games. Lynch, a 6'11" center is shooting 58.2% from the field and also leads the team in rebounding at 7.3 rpg. Recent Lehigh teams have been among the best 3-point shooting squads in the country, but this year's version is only attempting 10.3 threes per game and making 3.5 per game, fewest in the Patriot League.

How to Get the Games

The streaming of Patriot League games moves to the ESPN+ platform in 2020-21, and both of this weekend's Bucknell-Lehigh games will be available on the network. Joe Vasile handles the call of Saturday's game from Sojka Pavilion, and Steve Degler and Jim Wills will describe the action on Sunday in Bethlehem.
Both games this weekend can also be seen on local television. Adam Marco and Bucknell Athletics Hall-of-Famer Pat Flannery will call the action on Saturday for WQMY-TV throughout Northeast Pennsylvania. Sunday's game at Lehigh can also be seen on Service Electric Cable.
Both games can be heard in the Susquehanna Valley on the radio on Eagle 107 (WEGH 107.3 FM), with Doug Birdsong now in his 21st season as play-by-play announcer. The pregame show begins 30 minutes before tip-off both days.
The audio feed is also available online free of charge via BucknellBison.com and Eagle107.com.
Live statistics can be accessed via BucknellBison.com on Saturday and LehighSports.com on Sunday.
Follow @Bucknell_MBB for in-game updates on Twitter.

Recapping Last Week

Bucknell fell twice to Lafayette last weekend, 83-60 at home and 87-76 on the road.
It was all Leopards on Saturday in Sojka Pavilion. Lafayette led wire-to-wire and were boosted by 20 offensive rebounds, which led to 23 second-chance points, and 17 steals, which led to 25 points off turnovers. E.J. Stephens paced Lafayette with 18 points, while Andrew Funk tallied 15 for the Bison. Bucknell did whittle a 23-point deficit down to 12 with about six minutes remaining but could get no closer.
The Bison were much more efficient offensively on Sunday at Kirby Sports Center, but the problem was Lafayette rarely missed from the perimeter. The Leopards scored only 24 of their 87 points in the paint, compared to 42 for the Bison. Bucknell led by nine early in the game but Lafayette rallied for a 45-39 halftime lead, then started the second half 10-for-12 from the field to break it open. Stephens once again led Lafayette with a career-high 31 points, while Xander Rice posted a career-high 23 for the Bison.

Boiling Rice

Sophomore point guard Xander Rice had a tough shooting weekend in the two games against Navy, but he came alive last week against Lafayette. After starting the year 4-for-17 from the field and 2-for-7 from 3-point distance, Rice went 12-for-19 overall and 2-for-2 from the arc last week. He tallied 17 points in two games against Navy and 32 in two games against Lafayette, including the career-high 23 in Easton on Sunday.

Freshman Contributions

Two Bucknell first-year players have made major contributions thus far.
Center Andre Screen totaled 19 points and 11 rebounds while starting both games against Navy, and he was named Patriot League Rookie of the Week for his efforts. He was solid again against Lafayette with 16 points, 11 rebounds and five blocked shots in two games.
Screen became Bucknell's first PL Rookie of the Week since Andrew Funk on Dec. 31, 2018.
Screen is the first Bison freshman since Bryan Cohen in 2008-09 to score at least eight points in his first four collegiate games. Cohen started his career with nine points against Maryland, 10 against Boston University, 22 against Saint Francis (Pa.) and 12 against Old Dominion.
Screen enters the weekend leading the Patriot League in blocked shots (2.5 bpg) while ranking third in field-goal percentage (.615).
Guard Deuce Turner has come off the bench in all four games thus far. He is averaging 6.8 ppg, with a high of 15 against Navy at Sojka Pavilion. Turner has yet to get hot from the perimeter, but he is a Patriot League-best 13-for-13 from the foul line.
Freshman guard John Adoh has not yet played due to injury.

Latimer Makes Bison Debut

Junior Miles Latimer, a transfer from Stony Brook, received his eligibility clearance last Friday and made his Bucknell debut the following day against Lafayette.
Latimer, who played in 65 career games for a pair of 20-win Stony Brook teams prior to joining the Bison, played a total of 54 minutes off the bench in the two games against Lafayette and tallied 20 points on 7-for-15 shooting.

Getting to the Line

While the Bison have struggled with outside shooting this season (26.7 3FG%), they have made the most of their opportunities at the free-throw line. The Bison are attempting 19.3 free throws per game, up from 16.3 last season, and they are converting at an 80.5% clip.
Bucknell ranks seventh nationally in free-throw percentage and second in the Patriot League behind Lafayette at 81.6%.
Bucknell's guards have been particularly sharp at the line. Deuce Turner (13-13), Miles Latimer (4-4), Walter Ellis (3-3), Andrew Funk (17-18) and Xander Rice (13-17) are a combined 50-for-55 (.909).

Bucknell vs. Lehigh Series Notes

Bucknell has played more games (176) and won more games (107) against Lehigh than any other school. The Bison have a 107-69 lead in a series that originated in 1902.
Since the start of Patriot League play in 1990-91, Bucknell holds a 47-23 advantage, including a 27-8 mark at home.
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.
The two teams split last year's season series, with the home team winning each time.
In last year's initial meeting at Sojka Pavilion on Jan. 18, Avi Toomer and Bruce Moore scored 15 points apiece in Bucknell's 72-56 victory. 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. John Meeks posted his first career double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds. Jeameril Wilson paced Lehigh with 16 points.
Lehigh won the rematch at Stabler Arena, 69-60, behind 17 points each from big men Nic Lynch and James Karnik. The Bison, who were led by 20 points from Jimmy Sotos, hit just 7 of 32 attempts from 3-point range and shot 39.2% overall.

Patriot League Success

Bucknell is 302-136 (.689) 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 30 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 had won five in a row and eight of the previous nine before finishing T-6th last season.
Bucknell has made nine Patriot League Tournament appearances 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 23 times and to the championship game 13 times in the league's first 30 years.
The Bison are the only team to go unbeaten in league play in a season (14-0 in 2006).

Who's Got Next?

Bucknell makes its only scheduled overnight trip of the regular season next weekend when it plays back-to-back games at Colgate. Both games tip off at 1 p.m. and will be streamed on ESPN+.

Men's Basketball Set to Battle Lehigh Twice this Weekend

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Walter Ellis

Andrew Funk

Miles Latimer

John Meeks

Bruce Moore

Paul Newman

Xander Rice

Andre Screen

Jimmy Sotos

Avi Toomer

Deuce Turner

Men's Basketball Set to Battle Lehigh Twice this Weekend

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Walter Ellis

Andrew Funk

Miles Latimer

John Meeks

Bruce Moore

Paul Newman

Xander Rice

Andre Screen

Jimmy Sotos

Avi Toomer

Deuce Turner

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