Sunday, November 28
Lewisburg, Pa.
2 p.m.
Bucknell University
2-5,0-0Patriot
65
vs
56
Siena
1-5,0-0MAAC
1
2
OT 1
F
Siena
31
19
6
56
Bucknell
28
22
15
65
Photo by: Phil Inglis
Bison Ride Strong Defensive Effort to 65-56 Overtime Win over Siena
11/28/2021 4:21:00 PM | Men's Basketball
NOTE: The first Bucknell Basketball Luncheon of the season is coming up this Thursday, Dec. 2, at noon at the Bull Run Taphouse in Lewisburg. The $11 entry includes lunch and Q&A with coaches and student-athletes from the Bison men's and women's basketball teams.
LEWISBURG, Pa. – Alex Timmerman continued his torrid play with 20 points and 12 rebounds, and Bucknell outscored Siena 15-6 in overtime to win 65-56 on Sunday afternoon at Sojka Pavilion. The Bison snapped a three-game losing streak with their best defensive performance of the season, holding the Saints to 33.8 percent shooting from the field and 21.4 percent from 3-point range.
Bucknell (2-5) struggled offensively for much of the day against Siena's pressure defense, but the Bison hit 4 of 6 shots from the field and 6 of 6 from the foul line in the extra period. Meanwhile, the Saints (1-5) went 1-for-10 from the field in overtime, with the lone bucket an uncontested layup with six seconds left in an 11-point game.
Andrew Funk and Xander Rice, Bucknell's top two scorers coming in, were held in check for most of the game, but both still reached double figures while contributing in other ways. Rice had 11 points, five rebounds, four assists and three steals, and he went 9-for-10 from the foul line after drawing nine fouls. He opened the overtime scoring with his only made field goal of the day, and he came up with two big steals in overtime.
Funk, the Patriot League scoring leader at 19.7 points per game, was held to 10, but he hit a critical 3-pointer in overtime that stretched a two-point lead up to five.
Jake van der Heijden had a strong game with seven points and a career-high nine rebounds. He hit a go-ahead 3-pointer late in regulation, he hit another big jumper to beat the shot clock in overtime, and he made a key defensive play to force a miss from Siena's top scorer Anthony Gaines, just after the Funk three in OT.
"Coming off the Cancun trip we worked very hard on defensive assignments the last few days in practice, and credit to our guys they came out today and really got after it on the defensive end," said head coach Nathan Davis. "It wasn't always pretty, but I thought we forced them to take some tough shots. We got 18 deflections today, which was a season high. We always want to be over 20, but this was a step in the right direction."
Van der Heijden's put-back at the halftime buzzer trimmed what had been a seven-point deficit down to three at 31-28, but the Bison were ice cold coming out of the locker room. They started the second half 3-for-15 from the field, and Siena stretched its lead to eight on an Andrew Platek 3-pointer with 10:10 to go.
Josh Adoh followed with one of Bucknell's biggest shots of the day, a right-corner three off a kick-out pass out of the post from Timmerman. The Bison held Siena to one field goal in a five-minute stretch and took a 46-45 lead – their first since 17-16 -- on van der Heijden's 3-pointer with 5:34 to go.
Colby Rogers quickly answered with a 3-pointer for Siena, but the Bison tied it at 48 on a spinning bank shot from Timmerman and then took a 50-48 lead on two free throws by Timmerman with 2:15 remaining.
Bucknell had a chance to go up by two possessions but Funk's jumper rimmed out, and Siena tied it at 50-all on two Gaines free throws with 1:20 left. Funk was whistled for an offensive foul, but van der Heijden blocked Platek's shot at the other end, and the Bison called timeout with 34 seconds left.
At that point, Siena had committed only five team fouls and Bucknell four, so both teams could afford to put pressure on the ball, and it worked out well for both teams. Siena was able to force a turnover, but then Bucknell used up both of its fouls to give, making the Saints inbound with just nine seconds left. Rogers then tried a deep three from the left wing but missed everything, and Siena couldn't control the offensive rebound as time expired.
Playing overtime for the second time in eight days – the Bison lost 105-100 at Illinois State in a much-different style game last Saturday – Bucknell never trailed in the added period.
Rice slashed through the paint for a layup on the first possession of overtime. Gaines tied it with two free throws before Funk fed Timmerman for a layup that gave the Bison the lead for good.
Van der Heijden's right-wing jumper beat the shot clock and put the Bison up 56-52. After two more charity tosses by Gaines, Funk swished a three from the left side for a 59-54 lead. Bucknell missed its next two attempts, but at the defensive end van der Heijden made Gaines change his shot on a baseline drive, and then Rice and Funk came up with steals.
Siena was forced to foul, and Rice went 6-for-6 at the line in the final 46 seconds.
Bucknell shot 37.5 percent from the field even though it hit 40.0 percent (8-20) from outside the arc. The Bison bench went 4-for-4 from 3-point range, with Adoh and Elvin Edmonds IV both hitting both of their attempts. The Bison were 15-for-19 from the foul line, while the Saints were 6-for-8.
Gaines, a Northwestern transfer, led the Saints with 20 points, while North Carolina transfer Andrew Platek added 11 and Pepperdine transfer Jackson Stormo 10. Siena was coming off a good home win over Harvard after dropping their four tough tasks against No. 23 St. Bonaventure, Delaware, Yale and Georgetown.
Timmerman has been a big story for the Bison over the last week. He has started the last three games with Andre Screen sidelined by an ankle injury, and in those three games Timmerman has averaged 17.7 points and 10.7 rebounds while shooting 70 percent from the field (21-30).
Bucknell will play its next three games on the road, starting with a trip to Saint Francis (Pa.) on Wednesday at 7 p.m.
Bucknell-Siena Highlights:
Postgame Press Conference:
LEWISBURG, Pa. – Alex Timmerman continued his torrid play with 20 points and 12 rebounds, and Bucknell outscored Siena 15-6 in overtime to win 65-56 on Sunday afternoon at Sojka Pavilion. The Bison snapped a three-game losing streak with their best defensive performance of the season, holding the Saints to 33.8 percent shooting from the field and 21.4 percent from 3-point range.
Bucknell (2-5) struggled offensively for much of the day against Siena's pressure defense, but the Bison hit 4 of 6 shots from the field and 6 of 6 from the foul line in the extra period. Meanwhile, the Saints (1-5) went 1-for-10 from the field in overtime, with the lone bucket an uncontested layup with six seconds left in an 11-point game.
Andrew Funk and Xander Rice, Bucknell's top two scorers coming in, were held in check for most of the game, but both still reached double figures while contributing in other ways. Rice had 11 points, five rebounds, four assists and three steals, and he went 9-for-10 from the foul line after drawing nine fouls. He opened the overtime scoring with his only made field goal of the day, and he came up with two big steals in overtime.
Funk, the Patriot League scoring leader at 19.7 points per game, was held to 10, but he hit a critical 3-pointer in overtime that stretched a two-point lead up to five.
Jake van der Heijden had a strong game with seven points and a career-high nine rebounds. He hit a go-ahead 3-pointer late in regulation, he hit another big jumper to beat the shot clock in overtime, and he made a key defensive play to force a miss from Siena's top scorer Anthony Gaines, just after the Funk three in OT.
"Coming off the Cancun trip we worked very hard on defensive assignments the last few days in practice, and credit to our guys they came out today and really got after it on the defensive end," said head coach Nathan Davis. "It wasn't always pretty, but I thought we forced them to take some tough shots. We got 18 deflections today, which was a season high. We always want to be over 20, but this was a step in the right direction."
Van der Heijden's put-back at the halftime buzzer trimmed what had been a seven-point deficit down to three at 31-28, but the Bison were ice cold coming out of the locker room. They started the second half 3-for-15 from the field, and Siena stretched its lead to eight on an Andrew Platek 3-pointer with 10:10 to go.
Josh Adoh followed with one of Bucknell's biggest shots of the day, a right-corner three off a kick-out pass out of the post from Timmerman. The Bison held Siena to one field goal in a five-minute stretch and took a 46-45 lead – their first since 17-16 -- on van der Heijden's 3-pointer with 5:34 to go.
Colby Rogers quickly answered with a 3-pointer for Siena, but the Bison tied it at 48 on a spinning bank shot from Timmerman and then took a 50-48 lead on two free throws by Timmerman with 2:15 remaining.
Bucknell had a chance to go up by two possessions but Funk's jumper rimmed out, and Siena tied it at 50-all on two Gaines free throws with 1:20 left. Funk was whistled for an offensive foul, but van der Heijden blocked Platek's shot at the other end, and the Bison called timeout with 34 seconds left.
At that point, Siena had committed only five team fouls and Bucknell four, so both teams could afford to put pressure on the ball, and it worked out well for both teams. Siena was able to force a turnover, but then Bucknell used up both of its fouls to give, making the Saints inbound with just nine seconds left. Rogers then tried a deep three from the left wing but missed everything, and Siena couldn't control the offensive rebound as time expired.
Playing overtime for the second time in eight days – the Bison lost 105-100 at Illinois State in a much-different style game last Saturday – Bucknell never trailed in the added period.
Rice slashed through the paint for a layup on the first possession of overtime. Gaines tied it with two free throws before Funk fed Timmerman for a layup that gave the Bison the lead for good.
Van der Heijden's right-wing jumper beat the shot clock and put the Bison up 56-52. After two more charity tosses by Gaines, Funk swished a three from the left side for a 59-54 lead. Bucknell missed its next two attempts, but at the defensive end van der Heijden made Gaines change his shot on a baseline drive, and then Rice and Funk came up with steals.
Siena was forced to foul, and Rice went 6-for-6 at the line in the final 46 seconds.
Bucknell shot 37.5 percent from the field even though it hit 40.0 percent (8-20) from outside the arc. The Bison bench went 4-for-4 from 3-point range, with Adoh and Elvin Edmonds IV both hitting both of their attempts. The Bison were 15-for-19 from the foul line, while the Saints were 6-for-8.
Gaines, a Northwestern transfer, led the Saints with 20 points, while North Carolina transfer Andrew Platek added 11 and Pepperdine transfer Jackson Stormo 10. Siena was coming off a good home win over Harvard after dropping their four tough tasks against No. 23 St. Bonaventure, Delaware, Yale and Georgetown.
Timmerman has been a big story for the Bison over the last week. He has started the last three games with Andre Screen sidelined by an ankle injury, and in those three games Timmerman has averaged 17.7 points and 10.7 rebounds while shooting 70 percent from the field (21-30).
Bucknell will play its next three games on the road, starting with a trip to Saint Francis (Pa.) on Wednesday at 7 p.m.
Bucknell-Siena Highlights:
Postgame Press Conference:
Team Stats
Siena
Buck
FG%
.338
.375
3FG%
.214
.400
FT%
.750
.789
RB
40
40
TO
13
13
STL
6
8
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
20
FGM
7
3FGM
0
FTM
6
Pts
11
FGM
1
3FGM
0
FTM
9
Pts
10
FGM
4
3FGM
2
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
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F
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