Sunday, February 28
Washington, D.C.
4 p.m.
Bucknell University
4-6,4-6Patriot
68
at
81
American
4-5,4-5Patriot
1
2
F
Bucknell
28
40
68
American
37
44
81
Photo by: Marc Hagemeier
Bucknell Closes Out Regular Season with 81-68 Loss at American
2/28/2021 6:44:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Note: The next Bucknell basketball virtual luncheon is scheduled for this Wednesday at noon. Join coaches Nathan Davis and Trevor Woodruff, and student-athletes from the Bison men's and women's teams as they chat about the season and look ahead to the Patriot League Tournament. REGISTER HERE.
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Jamir Harris scored 24 points to lift American to an 81-68 victory over Bucknell on Sunday at Bender Arena on the final day of the Patriot League men's basketball regular season. Xander Rice led four players in double figures with 16 points on 7-for-7 shooting for the Bison, who will be the No. 6 seed in the Patriot League Tournament and play at No. 3 Lafayette in the quarterfinal round next Saturday.
The Bison, who were once again playing without leading scorer John Meeks and reserve frontcourt players Andre Screen, Malachi Rhodes and Alex Timmerman due to COVID-19 protocols, closed out the regular-season with a 4-6 record. Bucknell returned to action this weekend after a four-week pause, and after dropping a hard-fought game that came right down to the wire against American a day earlier, the Bison struggled defensively and from the 3-point arc in this one.
The Bison hit 5 of 23 attempts from three (and 21 of 32 inside the arc), while the Eagles (4-5) hit 11 of 27, including eight of their first 11 in the second half. American was 16-for-21 overall in the second half until missing its final four shots, and the Eagles shot 55.4 percent for the game. Bucknell finished at 47.3 percent.
In addition to Rice's 16 points, Andrew Funk tallied 13, Walter Ellis 12 and Paul Newman 11 for the Bison. Freshman Josh Adoh, in just his second collegiate appearance, scored the first five points of his career and also grabbed six rebounds in 12 minutes off the bench.
Harris, the Patriot League's top 3-point shooter, hit five more in this one on the way to his 24 points. Stacy Beckton Jr. added 13, and Connor Nelson and Johnny O'Neil had 12 each for American. With their two wins over Bucknell, the Eagles moved up to the No. 5 seed and will travel to No. 4 Army for a quarterfinal game next Saturday.
Bucknell got out to good start in both halves. The Bison attacked the basket in the early going, and Adoh's 3-pointer on his first career shot attempt gave the Bison a 7-for-10 start and a 16-11 lead. That would be their last points for the next six minutes, however, as seven straight misses led to a 12-0 American run. Two straight buckets by Beckton Jr. gave AU the lead, and Matt Rogers finished the run with a layup.
Bucknell trailed 37-28 at halftime, but then shot out of the locker room with consecutive buckets by Deuce Turner, Ellis and Rice to pull within 37-34. It was still a three-point margin at 41-38 after Funk's reverse layup, but then American really got going offensively.
The Eagles hit just 3 of 14 attempts from the arc in the first half, but then in a stretch of just over two minutes they knocked down four. O'Neil hit two of them, the second of which capped a decisive 16-3 run and provided American with a commanding 57-41 lead.
Bucknell and Lafayette will be meeting in the Patriot League Tournament for the first time since 2015, when the Leopards upset the top-seeded Bison 80-74 in the semifinal round. The two teams squared off on the second weekend of this season, with the Leopards winning 83-60 at Sojka Pavilion and 87-76 at Kirby Sports Center.
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Jamir Harris scored 24 points to lift American to an 81-68 victory over Bucknell on Sunday at Bender Arena on the final day of the Patriot League men's basketball regular season. Xander Rice led four players in double figures with 16 points on 7-for-7 shooting for the Bison, who will be the No. 6 seed in the Patriot League Tournament and play at No. 3 Lafayette in the quarterfinal round next Saturday.
The Bison, who were once again playing without leading scorer John Meeks and reserve frontcourt players Andre Screen, Malachi Rhodes and Alex Timmerman due to COVID-19 protocols, closed out the regular-season with a 4-6 record. Bucknell returned to action this weekend after a four-week pause, and after dropping a hard-fought game that came right down to the wire against American a day earlier, the Bison struggled defensively and from the 3-point arc in this one.
The Bison hit 5 of 23 attempts from three (and 21 of 32 inside the arc), while the Eagles (4-5) hit 11 of 27, including eight of their first 11 in the second half. American was 16-for-21 overall in the second half until missing its final four shots, and the Eagles shot 55.4 percent for the game. Bucknell finished at 47.3 percent.
In addition to Rice's 16 points, Andrew Funk tallied 13, Walter Ellis 12 and Paul Newman 11 for the Bison. Freshman Josh Adoh, in just his second collegiate appearance, scored the first five points of his career and also grabbed six rebounds in 12 minutes off the bench.
Harris, the Patriot League's top 3-point shooter, hit five more in this one on the way to his 24 points. Stacy Beckton Jr. added 13, and Connor Nelson and Johnny O'Neil had 12 each for American. With their two wins over Bucknell, the Eagles moved up to the No. 5 seed and will travel to No. 4 Army for a quarterfinal game next Saturday.
Bucknell got out to good start in both halves. The Bison attacked the basket in the early going, and Adoh's 3-pointer on his first career shot attempt gave the Bison a 7-for-10 start and a 16-11 lead. That would be their last points for the next six minutes, however, as seven straight misses led to a 12-0 American run. Two straight buckets by Beckton Jr. gave AU the lead, and Matt Rogers finished the run with a layup.
Bucknell trailed 37-28 at halftime, but then shot out of the locker room with consecutive buckets by Deuce Turner, Ellis and Rice to pull within 37-34. It was still a three-point margin at 41-38 after Funk's reverse layup, but then American really got going offensively.
The Eagles hit just 3 of 14 attempts from the arc in the first half, but then in a stretch of just over two minutes they knocked down four. O'Neil hit two of them, the second of which capped a decisive 16-3 run and provided American with a commanding 57-41 lead.
Bucknell and Lafayette will be meeting in the Patriot League Tournament for the first time since 2015, when the Leopards upset the top-seeded Bison 80-74 in the semifinal round. The two teams squared off on the second weekend of this season, with the Leopards winning 83-60 at Sojka Pavilion and 87-76 at Kirby Sports Center.
Team Stats
Buck
Americ
FG%
.473
.554
3FG%
.217
.407
FT%
.579
.727
RB
26
29
TO
9
11
STL
5
7
Game Leaders
Pts
16
FGM
7
3FGM
2
FTM
0
Pts
13
FGM
3
3FGM
0
FTM
7
Pts
12
FGM
5
3FGM
0
FTM
2
Pts
11
FGM
5
3FGM
0
FTM
1
Players Mentioned
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/ Men's Basketball
F
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C
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