Photo by: Marc Hagemeier
Men's Basketball Back on Road Saturday at Holy Cross
1/21/2022 9:07:00 AM | Men's Basketball
HOLY CROSS SPECTATOR POLICY: Note that Holy Cross is currently limiting spectators at men's basketball games to season-ticket holders and team pass lists. Proof of vaccination is required for those permitted to attend.Â
LEWISBURG, Pa. --Â Bucknell and Holy Cross renew one of the Patriot League's great historical rivalries on Saturday afternoon at the Hart Center. Game time is 2 p.m., with coverage on ESPN+ and NBC Sports Boston.
The Bison and Crusaders did not meet during the abbreviated 2020-21 campaign, but prior to that, the two teams clashed 77 times in 30 years, or an average of 2.6 times per season. That is because Bucknell and Holy Cross matched up in 17 of the first 30 Patriot League Tournaments, including four times in championship games. The last game between the Bison and Crusaders was a postseason tilt on March 3, 2020, a 65-62 first-round win for Bucknell at Sojka Pavilion. Not much can be gleaned from that game, however, as no current Holy Cross player saw action in that game, and only two Bison -- Andrew Funk and Xander Rice -- appear in the boxscore.Â
While Bucknell and Holy Cross both have long histories of success, both are currently fighting to work their way back up the standings. The Crusaders are 1-3 in league play after having their last three games postponed due to COVID-19 protocols. Their one Patriot League victory was a 79-74 decision against Lafayette at the Hart Center on Jan. 7 that snapped an eight-game losing streak. The Bison are looking to shake their own eight-game skid that dates back to a Dec. 18 home win over La Salle. Bucknell is coming off a 75-56 loss to Colgate on Wednesday. That was a one-point game about midway through the second half, but the Raiders used a 20-1 run to pull away. Â
• Complete Game Notes
• 2021-22 Media Guide
GAME DIGEST
What:Â Bucknell (3-16, 0-7 PL) at Holy Cross (3-13, 1-3 PL)
Where: Hart Center, Worcester, Mass.
When:Â Saturday, Jan. 22, 2 p.m.
TV: NBC Sports Boston
Internet Stream:Â ESPN+
Local Radio:Â The Valley WVLY 100.9 FM
Internet Audio:Â BucknellBison.com
Live Stats:Â GoHolyCross.com
Bucknell Tentative Starters
G:Â Elvin Edmonds IVÂ (5.7 ppg, 2.4 rpg, 2.3 apg)
G: Xander Rice (11.7 ppg, 2.7 rpg, 4.0 apg)
G: Andrew Funk (17.3 ppg, 3.5 rpg, 2.2 apg)
F: Jake van der Heijden (7.3 ppg, 3.4 rpg, 1.3 apg)
C: Andre Screen (10.5 ppg, 6.3 rpg, 0.9 bpg)
With a Win over Holy Cross, Bucknell Would ... Â
Bison Club support is the driving force behind Bucknell Athletics. Your donations directly impact the holistic development of more than 750 student-athletes who are building a foundation at Bucknell to become leaders and difference-makers around the globe. Click here to make a gift, or call 570-577-1771 to support your favorite Bison team today. 'ray Bucknell! Â
Â
LEWISBURG, Pa. --Â Bucknell and Holy Cross renew one of the Patriot League's great historical rivalries on Saturday afternoon at the Hart Center. Game time is 2 p.m., with coverage on ESPN+ and NBC Sports Boston.
The Bison and Crusaders did not meet during the abbreviated 2020-21 campaign, but prior to that, the two teams clashed 77 times in 30 years, or an average of 2.6 times per season. That is because Bucknell and Holy Cross matched up in 17 of the first 30 Patriot League Tournaments, including four times in championship games. The last game between the Bison and Crusaders was a postseason tilt on March 3, 2020, a 65-62 first-round win for Bucknell at Sojka Pavilion. Not much can be gleaned from that game, however, as no current Holy Cross player saw action in that game, and only two Bison -- Andrew Funk and Xander Rice -- appear in the boxscore.Â
While Bucknell and Holy Cross both have long histories of success, both are currently fighting to work their way back up the standings. The Crusaders are 1-3 in league play after having their last three games postponed due to COVID-19 protocols. Their one Patriot League victory was a 79-74 decision against Lafayette at the Hart Center on Jan. 7 that snapped an eight-game losing streak. The Bison are looking to shake their own eight-game skid that dates back to a Dec. 18 home win over La Salle. Bucknell is coming off a 75-56 loss to Colgate on Wednesday. That was a one-point game about midway through the second half, but the Raiders used a 20-1 run to pull away. Â
• Complete Game Notes
• 2021-22 Media Guide
GAME DIGEST
What:Â Bucknell (3-16, 0-7 PL) at Holy Cross (3-13, 1-3 PL)
Where: Hart Center, Worcester, Mass.
When:Â Saturday, Jan. 22, 2 p.m.
TV: NBC Sports Boston
Internet Stream:Â ESPN+
Local Radio:Â The Valley WVLY 100.9 FM
Internet Audio:Â BucknellBison.com
Live Stats:Â GoHolyCross.com
Bucknell Tentative Starters
G:Â Elvin Edmonds IVÂ (5.7 ppg, 2.4 rpg, 2.3 apg)
G: Xander Rice (11.7 ppg, 2.7 rpg, 4.0 apg)
G: Andrew Funk (17.3 ppg, 3.5 rpg, 2.2 apg)
F: Jake van der Heijden (7.3 ppg, 3.4 rpg, 1.3 apg)
C: Andre Screen (10.5 ppg, 6.3 rpg, 0.9 bpg)
With a Win over Holy Cross, Bucknell Would ... Â
- ... snap an eight-game losing streak and improve to 1-7 in Patriot League play.
- ... avoid the first nine-game losing streak since the team dropped 11 straight bridging the 1993-94 and 1994-95 seasons.
- ... snap an 11-game road losing streak dating back to last season. Â
- ... beat the Crusaders for the fifth straight time and improve to 48-30 all-time against them.
- Bucknell has more Patriot League victories than any other program over the league's 31-year history, but the Bison currently find themselves in the unusual quandary of trying to shake a lengthy losing streak. The Bison have dropped eight straight since beating La Salle on Dec. 18, and they are looking to move up after starting league play 0-7.
- Saturday's date with Holy Cross will be Bucknell's fifth road game in eight Patriot League tilts thus far. The Bison will be taking on a Crusaders squad that has had its last three games postponed due to COVID-19 protocols. Holy Cross last played on Jan. 10, a 77-69 loss at Lehigh. That came on the heels of a home win over Lafayette, which erased the Crusaders' own eight-game losing streak. Â
- This will be Bucknell's third straight contest against an opponent that was coming off having at least one game postponed.
- These are two of the Patriot League's youngest teams. The Bison and Crusaders last met on March 3, 2020, when Bucknell won 65-62 in the first round of the Patriot League Tournament. Holy Cross does not have a single player on its roster who played in that game, while the Bison have only two: Andrew Funk and Xander Rice.
- Rice is fresh off one of his better games of the season. Rice tallied 20 points and seven assists against Colgate on Wednesday. He is the first Bison with at least 20 points and seven assists since Stephen Brown tallied 21 and seven in a win at La Salle in 2017-18. Rice has 25 assists and only seven turnovers in his last four games.Â
- Funk is just five points shy of 1,000 for his career. When Funk hits that milestone, he and older brother Tommy Funk would become just the second Patriot League brother combination to both score 1,000 career points. Tommy tallied 1,544 points for Army from 2016-20. The other brother combo to accomplish the feat also involved a Bucknell standout, as Kevin Bettencourt (1,577 from 2002-06) and Holy Cross' Ted Bettencourt (1,035 from 1992-96) also surpassed 1,000 points.Â
- Funk was limited to five points by Colgate on Wednesday, but he has scored at a high rate for the Bison this season. Funk has recorded eight 20-point games, four of them coming in Patriot League contests. Funk's 17.3 ppg average ranks second in the Patriot League behind only Loyola's Cam Spencer (19.1). Â Â
- Holy Cross features one of the league's top frontcourt players in senior Gerrale Gates, who averages 13.9 points and 7.7 rebounds per game. The Preseason All-Patriot League selection tallies 19.8 ppg in Patriot League play, which ranks second in the league to Spencer's 21.3. Gates, who was the Southland Conference Freshman of the Year before transferring to Holy Cross, went for 27 points and 14 rebounds in the win over Lafayette.Â
- Freshman guard Kyrell Luc (12.1) and sophomore guard Judson Martindale (10.5) also score in double figures for a Crusaders team that starts three sophomores, a freshman and a senior.Â
- The Bucknell-Holy Cross game will be televised on NBC Sports Boston and streamed on ESPN+.Â
- Doug Birdsong, who is in his 22nd season as the "Voice of the Bison", will handle the local radio broadcast on The Valley, WVLY 100.9 FM.Â
- The audio feed is also available online free of charge via BucknellBison.com.Â
- Live in-game statistics can be accessed at GoHolyCross.com.
- Follow @Bucknell_MBB for in-game updates on Twitter.Â
- Xander Rice tallied 20 points and seven assists, but it wasn't enough for Bucknell on Wednesday night at Sojka Pavilion, as Colgate used big runs to start and finish the game on the way to a 75-56 Patriot League verdict.
- Colgate opened the game on an 18-2 run, and then after Bucknell closed within 51-50 on freshman Ian Motta's third 3-pointer of the game, the Raiders outscored the Bison 24-6 over the final 10:46.
- Bucknell outpaced Colgate 48-33 over the middle 22 minutes of the game, but the Raiders never did yield the lead thanks to some hot 3-point shooting.
- Down 23-7, the Bison stormed back with a 17-3 run, keyed by 10 points and two assists from Rice over that five-minute span. Bucknell trailed 33-29 at halftime, but then five times in the first 9:14 of the second half the Raiders hit a 3-pointer that immediately followed a Bison score that cut it to a one-possession game.
- Bucknell received good play off the bench from Motta and Malachi Rhodes. Motta scored a career-high 10 points in 16 minutes, while Rhodes collected five points, five rebounds, and a blocked shot while playing strong defense over a career-high 26 minutes of action.
- Bucknell shot 35.2% overall and hit 8 of 22 from 3-point range. The Bison made their first 10 free throws of the night before finishing 10-for-11. They entered the game ranked ninth nationally in free-throw percentage. Bucknell was hampered by 16 turnovers, which led to 22 Colgate points and ended a run of six straight games with an even or positive assist-to-turnover ratio.
- The Bucknell-Holy Cross rivalry has been one of the league's best through the years. Some of the highlights:
- The Bison and Crusaders have combined to win 11 of the last 21 Patriot League titles.
- These two teams have met 17 times in the 31 Patriot League Tournaments, with Bucknell winning nine of the 17. That includes four times in the championship game. Bucknell defeated Holy Cross in the 2005 and 2006 title tilts, while the Crusaders topped the Bison in the final in 1993 and 2007.
- The Bison and Crusaders had never met until the formation of the Patriot League in 1990-91, but this will be the 78th meeting in 31 years. The two teams did not play last season under the COVID-modified Patriot League schedule that placed them in different divisions.
- Bucknell leads the series 47-30. The road team has won just 11 of the last 32.
- Bucknell is 25-11 against Holy Cross in Lewisburg and 18-5 at Sojka Pavilion. Bucknell is 17-16 vs. Holy Cross at the Hart Center, with one of the wins coming in the 2005 Patriot League championship game.
- The Bison have won the last four meetings, including close verdicts in the 2019 and 2020 Patriot League Tournaments. Holy Cross' last series win was a 72-71 thriller at the Hart Center in 2018-19. Â Â
- Bucknell is home for its next two contests, Wednesday against Navy and Sunday vs. Loyola. The Bison dropped games on the road against both of those teams earlier this month.Â
- Sunday's game against Loyola is a 6 p.m. game and will be televised on CBS Sports Network. Â
Bison Club support is the driving force behind Bucknell Athletics. Your donations directly impact the holistic development of more than 750 student-athletes who are building a foundation at Bucknell to become leaders and difference-makers around the globe. Click here to make a gift, or call 570-577-1771 to support your favorite Bison team today. 'ray Bucknell! Â
Â
Players Mentioned
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