Men's Basketball Set for Home Opener Sunday vs. Penn

SPECTATOR POLICY: Bison Athletics and the Bucknell men's basketball team are pleased to welcome fans back to Sojka Pavilion this season. Please note that per University policy, masks are required for all individuals inside all public and academic indoor campus spaces, regardless of social distancing or vaccination status.

LEWISBURG, Pa. -- Bucknell makes its 2021-22 home debut on Sunday afternoon against Penn. The Bison will be playing in front of home fans at Sojka Pavilion for the first time since the end of the 2019-20 season, and they will be in search of their first win of the young season after falling at N.C. State on Tuesday.

The Bison got out to a dream start in Raleigh. Josh Adoh, making his first career start, hit a 3-pointer on the team's first possession of the season, sparking a 13-1 run to open the game. The Wolfpack fought back to tie it at 40-40 at the half, then pulled away in the second half to win 88-70. Despite the loss, there were some positives for the Bison, especially at the offensive end where all five starters scored in double figures. Xander Rice was the catalyst in that strong first half, when he scored 12 of his 14 points. Rice also tallied six assists.

Bucknell will be taking on an 0-2 Penn team that has already logged quite a few road miles. The Quakers lost at No. 20 Florida State on Wednesday and at George Mason on Friday. The Quakers will be making only their fourth all-time trip to Lewisburg, two of which came at the old Tustin Gymnasium more than a century ago.

Here are some links to get you up to speed on this year's squad.

• 2021-22 Season Preview
• Complete Game Notes
• 2021-22 Media Guide
• Digital Game Program

GAME DIGEST
What: Penn (0-2, 0-0 Ivy) at Bucknell (0-1, 0-0 PL)
Where: Sojka Pavilion, Lewisburg, Pa.
When: Sunday, Nov. 14, 2 p.m.
Internet Stream: ESPN+
Local Radio: WKOK 1070 AM
Internet Audio: BucknellBison.com
Live Stats: BucknellBison.com
Happenings: Veterans and Hero Appreciation Day; free t-shirts for Bucknell students.

Bucknell Tentative Starters
G: Xander Rice (14.0 ppg, 3.0 rpg, 6.0 apg)
G: Andrew Funk (14.0 ppg, 4.0 rpg, 3.0 apg)
G: Josh Adoh (12.0 ppg, 2.0 rpg, 0.0 apg)
F: Jake van der Heijden (11.0 ppg, 3.0 rpg, 1.0 apg)
C: Andre Screen (10.0 ppg, 8.0 rpg, 1.0 bpg)

With a Win over Penn, Bucknell Would ...

... level its season record at 1-1.
... snap a three-game series losing streak to Penn and improve to 4-4 all-time against the Quakers.
... improve to 194-64 all-time in Sojka Pavilion.
... give head coach Nathan Davis his 109th victory as Bucknell's head coach and bring him within one of Malcolm Musser for fourth on the program's all-time wins list.

Headlines

Bucknell makes its home debut against Penn on Sunday afternoon. The Bison are in action for the first time since Tuesday's season-opening loss at North Carolina State, while the well-traveled Quakers are playing on the road for the third time in five days.
The Bison will be playing in front of fans at Sojka Pavilion for the first time in 621 days, dating back to a Patriot League Tournament win over Holy Cross on March 3, 2020. Bucknell played five home games last year during the abbreviated, conference-only schedule, but fans were not permitted per Patriot League policy.
As part of Veterans Day week, the men's basketball team will be honoring local veterans and first responders at Sunday's game.
The Bison got out to a great start in Raleigh on Tuesday, but N.C. State pulled away in the second half for an 88-70 win. Bucknell jumped out to a 13-1 lead on the Wolfpack, and the game was tied at 40-40 at halftime.
All five starters scored in double figures for the Bison, led by Xander Rice and Andrew Funk with 14 apiece. Josh Adoh added 12 points in his first career start, Raleigh native Jake van der Heijden had 11, and Andre Screen tallied 10 points and eight rebounds.
Tuesday's game at N.C. State was Bucknell's first non-conference game in 682 days. The Bison played a COVID-abbreviated, Patriot League-only slate after New Year's last year, so the Wolfpack were Bucknell's first non-league foe since Dec. 28, 2019, a 71-59 loss to La Salle at The Palestra.
The Bison finished 5-7 in that modified schedule last year. The Patriot League went to a three-division format to reduce travel, with teams playing weekend home-and-home series on Saturdays and Sundays. Bucknell finished second in the Patriot League Central Division and advanced to the Patriot League Tournament semifinals before falling to eventual-champion Colgate.
Bucknell won eight Patriot League regular-season titles in a nine-year span from 2011-19, and the Bison went to the NCAA Tournament in 2011, 2013, 2017 and 2018 during that stretch. This year Bucknell is trying to rebound from rare back-to-back sub-.500 seasons, although the Bison did get as far as the conference tournament semifinals in both years.
Head coach Nathan Davis is looking forward to playing a full non-conference schedule, as this year's squad is short on experience. Andrew Funk is the only senior on the roster and the only player on the squad who has appeared in more than 47 games. Funk has played in 79 career contests, with junior Xander Rice, Funk's fellow co-captain, next at 47.
Penn is off to a busy start, having already played road games at Florida State on Wednesday and George Mason on Friday. The Quakers dropped their opener to the 20th-ranked Seminoles, 105-70, and then fell at GMI 87-66. Jordan Dingle leads the team in scoring at 21.5 ppg after tallying 23 against Florida State and 20 against George Mason. Jonah Charles is 10-for-23 from the arc and is averaging 15.0 ppg.
Like all Ivy League programs, Penn did not play in 2020-21 due to COVID-19.

How to Get the Games

Sunday's game will be streamed on ESPN+, with Doug Birdsong calling the play-by-play and former Bucknell assistant coach Terry Conrad serving as the color analyst. Birdsong is in his 22nd season as Bucknell's lead announcer.
Sam Kuperman have the radio call on WKOK 1070 AM in the Susquehanna Valley.
The audio feed is also available online free of charge via BucknellBison.com.
Live statistics can be accessed via BucknellBison.com.
Follow @Bucknell_MBB for in-game updates on Twitter.

Bucknell vs. Penn Notes

The Bison and Quakers have met seven time previously, with Penn winning four, including the last three.
These teams last met on Dec. 1, 2004 at The Palestra, and it was a turning point in what would eventually become a landmark season for Bucknell. The Bison played poorly that day in Philadelphia, losing 65-52 to fall to 3-4 on the season. But three days later they came from behind to beat Yale on the road, igniting an 11-game winning streak. Bucknell would go on to win the Patriot League title and famously defeat Kansas in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
Bucknell's last win over the Quakers was a 66-64 decision on Dec. 3, 1975 at the Palestra.
Bucknell's only home victories over Penn came in the old Tustin Gymnasium in 1897 and 1901. The Quakers have made only one other trip to Lewisburg, that coming in 2003, a 58-49 Penn win at Sojka Pavilion.

Bucknell vs. the Ivy League

The Bison have played 100 all-time games against teams from the Ivy League.
Bucknell is 48-52 (.480) all-time against the Ivy League. The Bison have played 48 games against Cornell, but only 52 combined against the other seven Ivy teams. In addition to its 25-23 record against Cornell, Bucknell is 4-3 against Yale, 3-1 vs. Brown, 3-4 vs. Penn, 4-1 vs. Dartmouth, 4-4 vs. Columbia, 4-15 vs. Princeton and 1-1 vs. Harvard.
The Bison are 10-9 against the Ivy League since the start of the 2010-11 season but have lost five straight.

Patriot League Success

Bucknell is 306-138 (.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 31 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 in 2019-20.
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 24 times and to the championship game 13 times in the league's first 31 years.
The Bison are the only team to go unbeaten in league play in a season (14-0 in 2006).

Home Cooking

Since Sojka Pavilion debuted in 2003, the Bison are 193-64 (.751) overall and 142-32 (.816) against Patriot League foes.
Bucknell won a record 15 home games in 2016-17, and then it matched that figure a year later. Over the last five years, Bucknell is 53-14 at home.

Who's Got Next?

The Bison are back home again on Wednesday to face Rider at 7 p.m.
After the back-to-back home games against Penn and Rider, the Bison head out to the Cancun Challenge for a Thanksgiving-week tournament. Bucknell first visits Illinois State in a campus-site game, then it's off to Cancun, Mexico for two games on Nov. 23-24. The Bison open the event against Mercer, and then they will play either Middle Tennessee State or Rider in the championship/consolation round.

Men's Basketball Set for Home Opener Sunday vs. Penn

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Josh Adoh

Andrew Funk

Andrew Funk

Xander Rice

Xander Rice

Andre Screen

Jake van der Heijden

Men's Basketball Set for Home Opener Sunday vs. Penn

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Josh Adoh

Andrew Funk

Andrew Funk

Xander Rice

Xander Rice

Andre Screen

Jake van der Heijden

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