Men's Basketball Visits Veteran Richmond Squad Wednesday Afternoon

LEWISBURG, Pa. -- Coming off a good home win over La Salle on Saturday, Bucknell will take on another Atlantic 10 foe on Wednesday afternoon at Richmond. The Bison made progress with a complete 40 minutes in the 82-70 win over the Explorers, and now they will catch a Richmond team that is piping hot with five straight victories, the last two coming against North Carolina State and Old Dominion.

Senior guard Andrew Funk continues to pace the Bison in scoring. The Patriot League scoring leader pumped in 22 against La Salle on 10-for-15 shooting, and he was named the Patriot League Player of the Week on Monday. Funk is now averaging 18.3 points per game on the season. Bucknell also benefited from the return of sophomore center Andre Screen, who had missed four of the previous six games due to injury or illness. Screen tallied 13 points and nine rebounds in 18 minutes off the bench, while junior Alex Timmerman continued his strong play in a starting role with 12 points and six rebounds. The center tandem combined for 25 points and 15 rebounds while making 11 of 17 shots from the field.

Freshman guard Elvin Edmonds IV earned his first collegiate start on Saturday, and he went 3-for-4 from 3-point distance and finished with nine points and four assists. Even though Edmonds plays only about 22 minutes per game, he now ranks 14th in the Patriot League in assists at 2.6 per game, and his 46.2 3FG% is fifth-best in the league.

Chris Mooney's Richmond team is now 8-4 after Sunday's 67-61 home victory over Old Dominion. Two days prior, the Spiders posted an 83-74 win over N.C. State, which defeated the Bison in the season opener back on Nov. 9. Bucknell and Richmond have one other common opponent in Hofstra. The Spiders defeated the Pride 81-68 at home on Nov. 22, while Bucknell lost 88-69 on Long Island on Dec. 4. Richmond, which features one of the oldest teams in the nation with a number of fifth and sixth-year players returning, has a national ranking of 63 by KenPom.com and 87 in the latest NCAA NET Rankings.

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

GAME DIGEST
What: Bucknell (3-8, 0-0 PL) at Richmond (8-4, 0-0 A10)
Where: Robins Center, Richmond, Va.
When: Wednesday, Dec. 22, 4 p.m.
TV: NBC Sports Washington
Internet Stream: ESPN+
Local Radio: The Valley WVLY 100.9 FM
Internet Audio: BucknellBison.com
Live Stats: RichmondSpiders.com

Bucknell Tentative Starters
G: Xander Rice (12.2 ppg, 3.5 rpg, 3.9 apg)
G: Andrew Funk (18.3 ppg, 4.0 rpg, 2.5 apg)
G: Elvin Edmonds IV (6.1 ppg, 2.0 rpg, 2.6 apg)
F: Jake van der Heijden (7.2 ppg, 3.4 rpg, 1.3 apg)
C: Alex Timmerman (11.0 ppg, 7.1 rpg, 0.9 apg)

With a Win over Richmond, Bucknell Would ...

... win its second straight game while snapping the Spiders' five-game winning streak.
... win on the road for the first time in six tries this season and snap a six-game road losing streak dating back to last year.
... defeat the Spiders for the fifth straight time and improve to 5-3 all-time against them.
... improve to 2-0 against the Atlantic 10 this season.

Headlines

After turning in its best overall performance of the season in Saturday's 82-70 win over La Salle, the Bison will now try to make it two in a row over another tough Atlantic 10 squad in Richmond.
While Bucknell is fielding one of its youngest teams ever with only one senior on the roster, Richmond is one of the most experienced teams in all of Division I basketball. The Spiders brought back six players for an additional year of COVID-19 eligibility, and their opening-night lineup featured two sixth-year players, two fifth-year players, and a junior. The average age of that group is 23.4 years old, while Bucknell has only one player on the team (Andrew Funk) who has even turned 22. Richmond's roster has combined for 976 career games played, compared to Bucknell's 334.
Bucknell has plenty of Virginia ties. Sophomore Andre Screen (Alexandria) and freshman Elvin Edmonds IV (Hopewell) will be returning to their home state. Head coach Nathan Davis grew up on the Maryland side of Washington, D.C., but he played his college ball and later spent six years as head coach at Randolph-Macon.
Likewise, there are a number of Bucknell ties in the Richmond athletic department. Most notably, director of athletics John Hardt was previously the AD at Bucknell for 18 years before moving on to Richmond. Former Bison quarterback Ryan Colton is now Richmond's senior associate AD for compliance and governance. Another senior associate AD, Lauren Wicklund, previously spent time as an administrator at Bucknell, where she oversaw the athletics leadership program. Head women's basketball coach Aaron Roussell and all three of his assistants came to Richmond from Bucknell. Head field hockey coach Jamie Montgomery is a former assistant coach with the Bison. Coordinator for student-athlete success R.D. Montgomery is a former assistant football coach at Bucknell. Assistant baseball coach Nate Mulberg was an assistant at Bucknell in 2016.
Senior guard Andrew Funk leads the Patriot League in scoring (18.3), 3-pointers made (3.3), and minutes played (35.6). Funk was named Patriot League Player of the Week on Monday after scoring 22 points on 10-for-15 shooting against La Salle.
Funk has two 30-point games this season, including a career-high 38 at Illinois State on Nov. 20. Funk is one of only 10 Division I players to hit six or more 3-pointers in a game at least three times this season, and his 38 points are tied for eighth most in the nation.
The Bison have logged some road miles this season, with seven of their 11 games coming away from home. Bucknell has yet to win on the road, dropping five true away games and two neutral-site games in Cancun. The difference has been defense. The Bison actually score one more point on average in true road games (75.0 to 74.0 at home), but defensively they have conceded 91.2 points per game on the road compared to 68.2 ppg at home. Bison opponents have shot 38.1% from the field in Sojka Pavilion, but 48.6% in their home arenas.
After allowing all three opponents to shoot 50% or better from the field during the three-game losing streak leading into final exams, Bucknell held La Salle to 44.3% while setting season highs in steals (9), forced turnovers (18) and blocked shots (5).
Bucknell has now shot 50% or better in each of its last two games. The 56.1% mark against La Salle on Saturday was the team's best showing since shooting 64.3% in a 118-76 win over Lafayette on Feb. 24, 2019.
Richmond, which was picked second behind St. Bonaventure in the Atlantic 10 preseason poll, is on a roll with five straight quality wins over Wofford, Northern Iowa, Toledo, North Carolina State and Old Dominion. The Spiders also own a 13-point win over Hofstra, an earlier Bison opponent which just beat 24th-ranked Arkansas on Saturday. The Spiders' four losses have come against Utah State, Drake, Maryland and Mississippi State (OT).
Tyler Burton leads Richmond in scoring at 19.1 ppg after posting 29 against Old Dominion on Sunday. Grant Golden (15.8 ppg) and Jacob Gilyard (11.1) also score in double figures. Bucknell will need to be mindful of Gilyard on the defensive end. He is the NCAA's all-time leader in career steals and currently leads the nation in thefts with 3.3 per game. Gilyard's 39 steals this season are almost as many as Bucknell's entire team (44).

How to Get the Game

The Bucknell-Richmond game can be seen on ESPN+, NBC Sports Washington and NBC Sports Philadelphia Plus. Bob Black and Greg Beckwith have the call for SpiderTV.
Doug Birdsong is in his 22nd year as "The Voice of the Bison", and he will be courtside for Bucknell's local radio broadcast on The Valley, WVLY 100.9 FM.
The audio feed is also available online free of charge via BucknellBison.com.
Live in-game statistics can be accessed at RichmondSpiders.com.
Follow @Bucknell_MBB for in-game updates on Twitter.

Last Time Out

Appearing refreshed after finishing up final exams earlier in the week, the Bison turned in one of their best all-around performances of the season in an 82-70 home win over La Salle on Saturday afternoon at Sojka Pavilion. Andrew Funk scored a game-high 22 points and the center combo of Alex Timmerman and Andre Screen combined for 25 points and 15 rebounds to lead the Bison.
Bucknell snapped a three-game losing streak while halting La Salle's three-game winning streak. The Explorers (5-5) were led by Jack Clark with 18 points off the bench.
The Bison led for the final 36:45 of the game, thanks in large part to efficient shooting and one of their best defensive outings of the year. Bucknell shot 56.1% from the field and 50% (8-16) from 3-point range, and defensively the Bison set season bests in steals (9), forced turnovers (18) and blocked shots (5).
Bucknell stretched an eight-point halftime lead up to as many as 17, then weathered one La Salle flurry before icing it with a 7-0 run coming out of the four-minute media timeout.
Funk entered the day as the Patriot League's leading scorer at 17.9 points per game, and he upped his average after hitting 10 of 15 shots from the field and 2 of 3 from the arc. Freshman guard Elvin Edmonds IV made his first career start, hit three of his four 3-point attempts, and finished with nine points and four assists. Xander Rice tallied 14 points and four assists, Josh Adoh scored eight points off the bench, and Josh Bascoe had an assist and two steals to round out a productive day for the Bison backcourt.
The frontcourt unit was just as effective. Timmerman hit 5 of 8 shots and finished with 12 points, six rebounds and two blocked shots. Screen, who missed the most recent game at Princeton just before the 11-day finals break due to illness, was 6 of 9 from the field and logged 13 points and nine rebounds in 18 minutes off the bench. Malachi Rhodes added five rebounds and two assists in his 11 minutes.

Bucknell vs. Richmond Series Notes

The Bison and Spiders have met seven times on the hardwood, with Bucknell holding a 4-3 series lead. Richmond won the first three, while Bucknell has rallied with four straight victories.
The Bison are 2-2 on Richmond's home floor and 2-1 at the Robins Center. The very first meeting came on Feb. 1, 1958, an 81-63 Spiders verdict in Richmond, but that was before the Robins Center was constructed.
These two teams last met on Dec. 19, 2017 in Richmond, with the Bison coming from 14 points down to win 86-78. Zach Thomas scored 20 of his 27 points in the second half for the Bison, who would go on to win the Patriot League championship that season.
No current Bucknell player was yet enrolled when that game took place, while three Richmond starters (Jacob Gilyard, Grant Golden, Nick Sherod) and a top reserve (Nathan Cayo) played significant minutes for the Spiders.

Notable Numbers

Josh Adoh has scored 32 points in 44 minutes over his last three games. In that span he is 9-15 FG, 5-9 3FG and 9-9 FT.
Jake van der Heijden is 13-29 (.448) from 3-point range over his last six games, and he has moved up to eighth in the Patriot League in 3FG% at 43.2% on the season.
Bucknell has made 36.3% of its shots from 3-point range this season, compared to 33.7% by the opposition.
That shooting advantage has been undermined by a wide disparity in turnovers, however. The Bison have a -5.2 turnover margin on the season, and their opponents have 99 steals to only 44 for Bucknell. Opponents have attempted 115 more shots this season.
Junior center Alex Timmerman emerged when Andre Screen missed three games due to an ankle injury and then a fourth due to illness. Screen returned to the lineup against La Salle, and now the Bison have a nice duo in the pivot. Timmerman (.628) and Screen (.611) are shooting a combined 62.1% from the field on the season, and they are both scoring in double figures while averaging 7.1 rebounds per game.
Bucknell has been excellent at the free-throw line thus far, hitting at an 80.5% clip. That is the best mark in the Patriot League and eighth-best in all of Division I basketball.

Who's Got Next?

After the Richmond game, Bucknell will take a quick break for Christmas before visiting Albany on Dec. 29. That will be the final non-conference game of the regular season.
Patriot League play starts on New Year's Day at Boston University.

Men's Basketball Visits Veteran Richmond Squad Wednesday Afternoon

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Josh Adoh

Josh Bascoe

Elvin Edmonds IV

Andrew Funk

Andrew Funk

Malachi Rhodes

Xander Rice

Xander Rice

Andre Screen

Alex Timmerman

Alex Timmerman

Jake van der Heijden

Men's Basketball Visits Veteran Richmond Squad Wednesday Afternoon

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Josh Adoh

Josh Bascoe

Elvin Edmonds IV

Andrew Funk

Andrew Funk

Malachi Rhodes

Xander Rice

Xander Rice

Andre Screen

Alex Timmerman

Alex Timmerman

Jake van der Heijden

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