Sunday, January 16
Washington, D.C.
2 p.m.
Bucknell University
3-15,0-6Patriot
55
at
63
American
5-10,1-2Patriot
1
2
F
Bucknell
23
32
55
American
26
37
63
Photo by: Evan Bernstein/Hofstra
Bucknell Men’s Basketball Falls at American, 63-55
1/16/2022 4:12:00 PM | Men's Basketball
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Colin Smalls scored 16 of his 18 points in the second half to help American hold off Bucknell 63-55 in Patriot League men's basketball action on Sunday afternoon at Bender Arena. Andrew Funk scored 20 for the Bison, his eighth 20-point game of the season.
Bucknell suffered its seventh straight loss and fell to 3-15 overall and 0-6 in the Patriot League. American, which has had three conference games postponed, snapped a three-game skid and improved to 5-10, 1-2.
The Bison trailed by just three at 26-23 after a low-scoring first half, but American hit its first four shots of the second half to stretch its lead. A 3-pointer by Smalls made the Eagles 9-for-13 in the half and upped their lead to 48-34, but Bucknell quickly fought back with eight straight points.
Funk and Xander Rice connected on threes around two free throws by Andre Screen. Rice's trey, off a nice kick-out pass from Screen, made it a 48-42 game with 9:02 to play, but Bucknell's momentum was stymied on its next defensive possession.
Screen was called for his fourth foul while defending in the low post, and then American missed two point-blank layups but grabbed the offensive rebound both times. That led to a five-point play, as Smalls hit a 3-pointer while Josh Alexander drew a foul away from the ball. Alexander hit both ends of a 1-and-1 to push American's lead right back to 11 at 53-42.
The Bison had another run in them, as Rice fed Alex Timmerman for a layup and Jake van der Heijden for a 3-pointer. At the 4:14 mark, Funk was fouled shooting a three but made only one of the three free throws to bring the Bison within 55-50.
The Bison had several chances to get closer but could not convert. After a turnover and two missed corner 3-point attempts, Rice stole the inbounds pass coming out of an American timeout, but his contested transition layup would not go down.
Smalls made two free throws and then stole a pass for a breakaway layup and a 60-50 lead with 32 seconds left.
Funk was Bucknell's lone double-figure scorer with 20, leaving him just 10 points shy of 1,000 for his career. Screen and van der Heijden tallied eight apiece, and Rice logged a team-high five assists.
Alexander finished with 12 points for American, while Matt Rogers tallied nine points and eight rebounds. The Eagles shot 45.8 percent from the field despite hitting just 3 of 14 attempts from long range. Bucknell shot 42.6 percent and was 8-for-20 from deep.
American outscored Bucknell 16-7 at the foul line and outrebounded the Bison 34-22. The Eagles had 11 offensive rebounds and a 13-2 edge in second-chance points.
The Bison got out of the gates quickly, hitting their first three shots of the day on the way to an 8-2 lead. Van der Heijden and Funk splashed threes on the first two possessions, and then Funk fed Andre Screen for a dunk, but the Bison hit a cold spell after that.
After the 3-for-3 start, Bucknell hit four of its next 17 but maintained a small lead thanks to some solid defensive play. American took its first lead of the day at 16-15 on two free throws by Alexander. The Eagles led by as many as five in the opening half on a Smalls breakaway layup in the final minute, but Funk closed the half with a driving layup to beat the buzzer, pulling the Bison within 26-23 at the break.
Bucknell will now play three of its next four games at home, starting Wednesday against Colgate at 7 p.m.
Bucknell suffered its seventh straight loss and fell to 3-15 overall and 0-6 in the Patriot League. American, which has had three conference games postponed, snapped a three-game skid and improved to 5-10, 1-2.
The Bison trailed by just three at 26-23 after a low-scoring first half, but American hit its first four shots of the second half to stretch its lead. A 3-pointer by Smalls made the Eagles 9-for-13 in the half and upped their lead to 48-34, but Bucknell quickly fought back with eight straight points.
Funk and Xander Rice connected on threes around two free throws by Andre Screen. Rice's trey, off a nice kick-out pass from Screen, made it a 48-42 game with 9:02 to play, but Bucknell's momentum was stymied on its next defensive possession.
Screen was called for his fourth foul while defending in the low post, and then American missed two point-blank layups but grabbed the offensive rebound both times. That led to a five-point play, as Smalls hit a 3-pointer while Josh Alexander drew a foul away from the ball. Alexander hit both ends of a 1-and-1 to push American's lead right back to 11 at 53-42.
The Bison had another run in them, as Rice fed Alex Timmerman for a layup and Jake van der Heijden for a 3-pointer. At the 4:14 mark, Funk was fouled shooting a three but made only one of the three free throws to bring the Bison within 55-50.
The Bison had several chances to get closer but could not convert. After a turnover and two missed corner 3-point attempts, Rice stole the inbounds pass coming out of an American timeout, but his contested transition layup would not go down.
Smalls made two free throws and then stole a pass for a breakaway layup and a 60-50 lead with 32 seconds left.
Funk was Bucknell's lone double-figure scorer with 20, leaving him just 10 points shy of 1,000 for his career. Screen and van der Heijden tallied eight apiece, and Rice logged a team-high five assists.
Alexander finished with 12 points for American, while Matt Rogers tallied nine points and eight rebounds. The Eagles shot 45.8 percent from the field despite hitting just 3 of 14 attempts from long range. Bucknell shot 42.6 percent and was 8-for-20 from deep.
American outscored Bucknell 16-7 at the foul line and outrebounded the Bison 34-22. The Eagles had 11 offensive rebounds and a 13-2 edge in second-chance points.
The Bison got out of the gates quickly, hitting their first three shots of the day on the way to an 8-2 lead. Van der Heijden and Funk splashed threes on the first two possessions, and then Funk fed Andre Screen for a dunk, but the Bison hit a cold spell after that.
After the 3-for-3 start, Bucknell hit four of its next 17 but maintained a small lead thanks to some solid defensive play. American took its first lead of the day at 16-15 on two free throws by Alexander. The Eagles led by as many as five in the opening half on a Smalls breakaway layup in the final minute, but Funk closed the half with a driving layup to beat the buzzer, pulling the Bison within 26-23 at the break.
Bucknell will now play three of its next four games at home, starting Wednesday against Colgate at 7 p.m.
Team Stats
Buck
Americ
FG%
.426
.458
3FG%
.400
.214
FT%
.700
.800
RB
22
34
TO
12
12
STL
4
7
Game Leaders
Pts
20
FGM
7
3FGM
3
FTM
3
Pts
8
FGM
3
3FGM
0
FTM
2
Pts
8
FGM
3
3FGM
2
FTM
0
Pts
7
FGM
2
3FGM
1
FTM
2
Players Mentioned
G
/ Men's Basketball
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/ Men's BasketballC
/ Men's Basketball
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/ Men's BasketballF
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