Wednesday, November 24
Cancun, Mexico
12:30 p.m.
Bucknell University
1-5,0-0Patriot
79
vs
85
Rider
3-4,0-0MAAC
1
2
F
Rider
39
46
85
Bucknell
44
35
79
Rider Uses Late Run to Edge Men’s Basketball 85-79 at Cancun Classic
11/24/2021 3:20:00 PM | Men's Basketball
RIVIERA MAYA, Mexico – Rider used a late 11-0 run to rally past Bucknell 85-79 on Wednesday afternoon at the Cancun Challenge. Both teams had double-digit leads in the game, but the Bison couldn't hold on down the stretch despite getting career scoring highs from Xander Rice (24) and Jake van der Heijden (15) along with the first career double-double from Alex Timmerman (11 points, 12 rebounds).
Bucknell (1-5) dropped its third straight since beating Rider seven days earlier, while the Broncs (3-4) snapped their own three-game losing streak.
The Bison trailed by 12 early on, but some terrific play at both ends of the floor late in the first half and early in the second led to an 11-point advantage. Rider got hot thanks to some unusually good 3-point shooting – they hit 8 of 17 on the day after coming in at 24.6 percent – and regained the lead on a Mervin James layup with 9:22 to go.
Van der Heijden's fifth 3-pointer of the day sparked an 8-2 run for the Bison, and they led 73-69 after an Elvin Edmonds IV free throw with 5:28 to go. But those would be Bucknell's final points for almost five minutes. While the Bison missed six straight shots with a moving screen violation mixed in, Rider ran off 11 straight points.
Dimencio Vaughn's third-chance put-back snapped a 73-all tie, James hit two free throws, and then Corey McKeithan banked in a 3-pointer at the end of the shot clock to give Rider an 80-73 lead with 1:03 to play.
Rice converted a 3-point play and a 3-point jumper in the final half-minute, but the Broncs hit five straight free throws to seal it.
"We are all frustrated, but I can't fault anyone for how hard they are playing," said Nathan Davis. "We are playing very well for long stretches, but we have to find a way to eliminate these moments in the game where a few bad possessions start piling up. Today it was the first five minutes and last five minutes. We are playing really tough opponents, and in a close game those runs are costing us."
Up five at halftime, Bucknell scored eight of the first 10 points in the second half to grab a double-digit lead for the first time. Jake van der Heijden hit two 3-pointers and Rice drove hard to the rim for a layup 52-41 lead.
Funk's 3-pointer made it 59-50, but Rider answered with seven straight points to cap a stretch where it went 6-for-7 from the field. Timmerman scored in the post twice to help the Bison maintain small leads, but Rider finally took the lead on back-to-back buckets from James.
James led rider with 23 points, followed by Vaughn with 16 and McKeithan and Dwight Murray Jr. with 12 each. Murray, who had 30 at Sojka Pavilion last week, also had 10 rebounds and six assists. Rider shot 42.6 percent on the day and went 19-for-24 from the foul line.
Funk was Bucknell's fourth double-digit scorer with 12 points. Rice not only had a career-high 24 points, but he set a new personal best with eight rebounds. Timmerman continued his breakout week with starting center Andre Screen missing the last two games with an injury. In the three games at the Cancun Classic, including Saturday's campus-site game at Illinois State, Timmerman totaled 43 points and 29 rebounds while hitting 19 of 27 shots from the field (.704).
Bucknell shot 44.6 percent against Rider, including 9 of 28 from 3-point range, and hit 20 of 24 at the foul line.
The Bison got out of the gates slowly and found themselves in an early 11-0 hole. The Broncs hit their first three 3-point attempts of the day, with Powell's triple giving them a 14-2 lead.
Malachi Rhodes spun into the lane for Bucknell's first field goal at the 14:55 mark. Freshman Brock Newton gave the Bison some good minutes off the bench to help get things back on track. Newton grabbed an offensive rebound and kicked it out to Josh Adoh for a 3-pointer, and then Newton ran the floor for a dunk off a nice transition feed from Adoh.
Bucknell's deficit was still 10 at 26-16 after a Murray 3-pointer for Rider, but the Bison outscored the Broncs 28-13 over the final eight minutes of the half. Bucknell scored eight straight after the Murray trey, keyed by a 3-pointer and a 3-point pay by Rice.
The Bison took their first lead of the day on a four-point sequence at the 5:20 mark. Funk slashed through the lane for a layup just as Rhodes was drawing a foul away from the ball. Rhodes went to the line and made both end of a 1-and-1 to give Bucknell a 31-29 lead.
A van der Heijden 3-pointer off a Rice assist gave Bucknell its largest lead of the half at seven, and the Bison took a 44-39 advantage to the locker room.
Bucknell will be back at Sojka Pavilion on Sunday to face Siena at 2 p.m. The Saints are 1-4 on the season but are coming off a good win over Harvard on Monday.
Gallery: (11-24-2021) Men's Basketball vs. Rider at Cancun
Bucknell (1-5) dropped its third straight since beating Rider seven days earlier, while the Broncs (3-4) snapped their own three-game losing streak.
The Bison trailed by 12 early on, but some terrific play at both ends of the floor late in the first half and early in the second led to an 11-point advantage. Rider got hot thanks to some unusually good 3-point shooting – they hit 8 of 17 on the day after coming in at 24.6 percent – and regained the lead on a Mervin James layup with 9:22 to go.
Van der Heijden's fifth 3-pointer of the day sparked an 8-2 run for the Bison, and they led 73-69 after an Elvin Edmonds IV free throw with 5:28 to go. But those would be Bucknell's final points for almost five minutes. While the Bison missed six straight shots with a moving screen violation mixed in, Rider ran off 11 straight points.
Dimencio Vaughn's third-chance put-back snapped a 73-all tie, James hit two free throws, and then Corey McKeithan banked in a 3-pointer at the end of the shot clock to give Rider an 80-73 lead with 1:03 to play.
Rice converted a 3-point play and a 3-point jumper in the final half-minute, but the Broncs hit five straight free throws to seal it.
"We are all frustrated, but I can't fault anyone for how hard they are playing," said Nathan Davis. "We are playing very well for long stretches, but we have to find a way to eliminate these moments in the game where a few bad possessions start piling up. Today it was the first five minutes and last five minutes. We are playing really tough opponents, and in a close game those runs are costing us."
Up five at halftime, Bucknell scored eight of the first 10 points in the second half to grab a double-digit lead for the first time. Jake van der Heijden hit two 3-pointers and Rice drove hard to the rim for a layup 52-41 lead.
Funk's 3-pointer made it 59-50, but Rider answered with seven straight points to cap a stretch where it went 6-for-7 from the field. Timmerman scored in the post twice to help the Bison maintain small leads, but Rider finally took the lead on back-to-back buckets from James.
James led rider with 23 points, followed by Vaughn with 16 and McKeithan and Dwight Murray Jr. with 12 each. Murray, who had 30 at Sojka Pavilion last week, also had 10 rebounds and six assists. Rider shot 42.6 percent on the day and went 19-for-24 from the foul line.
Funk was Bucknell's fourth double-digit scorer with 12 points. Rice not only had a career-high 24 points, but he set a new personal best with eight rebounds. Timmerman continued his breakout week with starting center Andre Screen missing the last two games with an injury. In the three games at the Cancun Classic, including Saturday's campus-site game at Illinois State, Timmerman totaled 43 points and 29 rebounds while hitting 19 of 27 shots from the field (.704).
Bucknell shot 44.6 percent against Rider, including 9 of 28 from 3-point range, and hit 20 of 24 at the foul line.
The Bison got out of the gates slowly and found themselves in an early 11-0 hole. The Broncs hit their first three 3-point attempts of the day, with Powell's triple giving them a 14-2 lead.
Malachi Rhodes spun into the lane for Bucknell's first field goal at the 14:55 mark. Freshman Brock Newton gave the Bison some good minutes off the bench to help get things back on track. Newton grabbed an offensive rebound and kicked it out to Josh Adoh for a 3-pointer, and then Newton ran the floor for a dunk off a nice transition feed from Adoh.
Bucknell's deficit was still 10 at 26-16 after a Murray 3-pointer for Rider, but the Bison outscored the Broncs 28-13 over the final eight minutes of the half. Bucknell scored eight straight after the Murray trey, keyed by a 3-pointer and a 3-point pay by Rice.
The Bison took their first lead of the day on a four-point sequence at the 5:20 mark. Funk slashed through the lane for a layup just as Rhodes was drawing a foul away from the ball. Rhodes went to the line and made both end of a 1-and-1 to give Bucknell a 31-29 lead.
A van der Heijden 3-pointer off a Rice assist gave Bucknell its largest lead of the half at seven, and the Bison took a 44-39 advantage to the locker room.
Bucknell will be back at Sojka Pavilion on Sunday to face Siena at 2 p.m. The Saints are 1-4 on the season but are coming off a good win over Harvard on Monday.
Team Stats
Rider
Buck
FG%
.426
.446
3FG%
.471
.321
FT%
.792
.833
RB
39
33
TO
8
16
STL
10
4
Game Leaders
Pts
24
FGM
7
3FGM
2
FTM
8
Pts
15
FGM
5
3FGM
5
FTM
0
Pts
12
FGM
4
3FGM
1
FTM
3
Pts
11
FGM
4
3FGM
0
FTM
3
Players Mentioned
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/ Men's Basketball
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/ Men's Basketball
F
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's Basketball
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/ Men's BasketballC
/ Men's BasketballF
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