Bison Men's Basketball Hosts Navy Wednesday Night

SPECTATOR POLICY: Bison Athletics and the Bucknell men's basketball team are pleased to welcome fans back to Sojka Pavilion this season. Please note that Bucknell's spectator policy recently changed, and proof of vaccination or negative COVID-19 test is now required for entry. CLICK HERE for more details on the updated policy.

LEWISBURG, Pa. -- After several close calls, the Bucknell men's basketball team found that elusive victory on Saturday at Holy Cross, with a number of different players taking on critical roles in the 68-65 win. Now the Bison look to build a winning streak when Navy comes to Sojka Pavilion on Wednesday evening. In addition to the usual streaming on ESPN+, this game will also be televised on WQMY-TV in Northeast Pennsylvania. Hall-of-Fame coach Pat Flannery serves as the color analyst alongside Adam Marco.

The Bison coaching staff will be participating in the Coaches vs. Cancer Suits and Sneakers Week festivities. This is a nationwide event that unites coaches across the country to raise funds and awareness about the fight against cancer and promotes the American Cancer Society as a source of inspiration and hope for those facing cancer. While coaching games during the week, coaches wear sneakers with their game attire as a visible reminder of their support of the American Cancer Society. The COVID-19 pandemic has presented a unique set of challenges for cancer patients and survivors who've had to pause their treatments and screening protocols. Coaches participating in Suits And Sneakers Week help raise visibility and funds to support the American Cancer Society's work to help cancer patients and survivors safely resume treatments and screenings, and contribute in a meaningful way to the mission to end cancer. For more information, visit coachesvscancer.org.

While the Bison are looking to build on a win, Navy is sure to be seething after letting a 27-point lead slip away in a one-point overtime loss to academy rival Army on Saturday. The Midshipmen were once 4-0 in Patriot League play, including a 73-55 win over Bucknell in Annapolis on Jan. 7, but they are 1-3 since then.

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

GAME DIGEST
What: Navy (12-7, 5-3 PL) at Bucknell (4-16, 1-7 PL)
Where: Sojka Pavilion, Lewisburg, Pa.
When: Wednesday, Jan. 26, 7 p.m.
TV: WQMY-TV
Internet Stream: ESPN+
Local Radio: The Valley WVLY 100.9 FM
Internet Audio: BucknellBison.com
Live Stats: BucknellBison.com
BUY TICKETS

Bucknell Tentative Starters
G: Xander Rice (12.0 ppg, 2.8 rpg, 3.9 apg)
G: Andrew Funk (17.2 ppg, 3.5 rpg, 2.2 apg)
G: Elvin Edmonds IV (5.6 ppg, 2.5 rpg, 2.2 apg)
F: Jake van der Heijden (6.9 ppg, 3.2 rpg, 1.2 apg)
C: Andre Screen (10.6 ppg, 6.8 rpg, 0.9 bpg)

With a Win over Navy, Bucknell Would ...

... avenge a Jan. 7 loss to the Midshipmen and improve to 2-7 in Patriot League play.
... post consecutive wins for the first time this season.
... snap a six-game series losing streak.
... improve to 4-4 at home this season and 197-68 all-time at Sojka Pavilion.

Headlines

Coming off a much-needed road win at Holy Cross on Saturday, the Bison return home for a pair of games this week, starting Wednesday night against Navy. These two teams met back on Jan. 7 in Annapolis, with the Midshipmen breaking open a tie game at the half to win 73-55.
Jan. 24-30 has been designated as the American Cancer Society's Coaches vs. Cancer Suits and Sneakers Week. Head coach Nathan Davis and his staff will be participating in a nationwide event that unites coaches across the country to raise funds and awareness about the fight against cancer. While coaching games during the week, coaches are wearing sneakers with their game attire as a visible reminder of their support of the American Cancer Society.
Bucknell won 68-85 at the Hart Center on Saturday, ending an eight-game losing streak and an 11-game road losing streak. Andre Screen played a starring role with 12 points and a career-high 13 rebounds, and he made it a five-point game with two free throws with 4.8 seconds remaining. Malachi Rhodes also hit double figures with a career-high 10 rebounds in 17 minutes off the bench.
Screen and Rhodes became the first Bison teammates to collect double-figure rebounds in the same game since Bruce Moore and Nate Sestina against Boston University in 2019. Screen's 13 boards were the most since Paul Newman grabbed 14 against Hofstra early in the 2019-20 season.
Andrew Funk reached the 1,000-point plateau with a 3-pointer early in the first half at Holy Cross. Funk became the 44th Bison to score 1,000 career points. He and older brother Tommy Funk also became 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 Hall-of-Famer Kevin Bettencourt (1,577 from 2002-06) and Holy Cross' Ted Bettencourt (1,035 from 1992-96) also surpassed 1,000 points.
Freshman Ian Motta emerged with two big games off the bench last week, doubling his season-to-date production in terms of points and field goals. Motta went 3-for-3 from 3-point range on the way to a career-high 10 points against Colgate last Wednesday. He then eclipsed that personal best with 12 points in the win at Holy Cross. In a span of two games, Motta upped his season field-goal percentage 105 percentage points, from .206 to .311.

Ian Motta   Pts.   FG-A   3FG-A
First 18 Games   22    7-34    3-22
Last 2 Games   22    7-11   5-6

Navy leaped to a 4-0 start in Patriot League play, but since then the Midshipmen have dropped three of their last four, with all three losses coming at home. The most recent of those setbacks was a wild 74-73 overtime defeat to rival Army on Saturday, as the Black Knights stormed back from a 27-point deficit at Alumni Hall.
John Carter Jr. is Navy's top scorer at 13.7 ppg, followed by Greg Summers at 10.5 ppg. Navy is the Patriot League's top defensive team, holding opponents to a league-best 61.2 ppg, 41.7 FG% and 30.9 3FG%.

How to Get the Game

The Bucknell-Navy game will be televised on WQMY-TV in Northeast PA and streamed on ESPN+.
Adam Marco and Bucknell Hall-of-Fame coach Pat Flannery will call the action on WQMY.
Doug Birdsong, who is in his 22nd season as the "Voice of the Bison", will join former Bison assistant coach Terry Conrad on the ESPN+ telecast.
Sam Kuperman will handle the 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 BucknellBison.com.
Follow @Bucknell_MBB for in-game updates on Twitter.

Last Time Out

Andre Screen recorded his first career double-double with 12 points and 13 rebounds, and he hit the two clinching free throws with 4.8 seconds to lift Bucknell to a 68-65 win over Holy Cross on Saturday afternoon at the Hart Center.
Andrew Funk hit three big buckets in the final six minutes after scoring his 1,000th career point earlier in the game. Funk finished with 14 points in the game, and backcourt-mate Xander Rice had a team-high 16.
The Bison received critical minutes off the bench from Ian Motta, Malachi Rhodes, and Alex Timmerman. Motta hit double figures for the second straight game with 12 points, all coming in the first half when the Bison played the final seven minutes without Funk after he picked up his second foul. Rhodes had six points and a career-high 10 rebounds in 17 minutes. Timmerman tallied six points and contributed to two key defensive stops in the final minute.
Bucknell finished with a 44-31 rebounding edge and blocked six shots, but the Bison were hampered by 20 turnovers, 14 of which came in the first half. It was only the fifth time in the last 11 years that Bucknell committed 20 or more turnovers in a victory. The last time was Jan. 17, 2018, when Bucknell defeated Loyola 78-70 despite 22 miscues. Each of the three other incidences came in double-figure wins against Navy.
Holy Cross was carried by Gerrale Gates, who tallied 32 points, 13 rebounds, and five assists. Nolan Dorsey hit three second-half 3-pointers and finished with 13.
Bucknell shot 46.2% on the day and was 6-for-17 from the arc. Those late charity tosses came after some earlier struggles at the stripe, and the Bison finished 14-for-22, including an 8-for-11 showing by Screen.
Holy Cross shot 36.5% overall, 6-for-13 from three, and 13-for-17 from the foul line. Gates was 11-for-24 from the field and 10-for-13 at the line on the way to his career-high 32 points. The Bison did limit him to two points in the final eight minutes, however.

Bucknell vs. Navy Series Notes

This will be the 86th all-time meeting between the Bison and Midshipmen, with Bucknell holding a 44-41 edge in the series.
Navy has won the last six meetings on the heels of a 19-1 stretch for Bucknell. This is Navy's longest series winning streak since it took six in a row from 2000-02. The Midshipmen's only longer streak came when they opened the series with 10 straight wins from 1920-50.
The Mids won 12 of 16 from the Bison prior to joining the Patriot League in 1991-92.
As conference rivals, Bucknell leads 40-29, with the home team winning most of the time. Since Navy joined the league, Bucknell is 27-6 against the Mids at home but is only 13-23 against Navy in Alumni Hall, although the Bison have won seven of their last 12 there.
Bucknell is 5-3 all-time against Navy in the Patriot League Tournament, including the Midshipmen's 76-75 win in the 1997 championship game. Navy won the first three postseason clashes, but the Bison have won the last five, including a 70-65 decision in the 2017 semifinal round.
Bucknell and Navy opened the modified 2021 Patriot League schedule with a home-and-home series last Jan. 2-3. The Midshipmen swept the two games, 78-69 in Annapolis and 63-60 in Lewisburg.
This season's first meeting came on Jan. 7 in Annapolis, with Navy prevailing 73-55. The game was tied at 32 at the half, and Bucknell led 35-34 after a transition layup by Xander Rice, but that was one of only four Bison buckets in the first 14 minutes of the second half. Daniel Deaver led Navy with 20 points on 8-for-8 shooting, while John Carter Jr. scored 11 of his 18 at the foul line. Rice paced the Bison with 14 points. Elvin Edmonds IV tallied 12 points, and Andre Screen had 11 points and seven rebounds.

Patriot League Success

Bucknell is 307-145 (.679) all-time in Patriot League regular-season games, the best record of any league team. The Bison have finished at least .500 in PL play 25 times in 31 Patriot League seasons.
Bucknell won three straight Patriot League regular-season titles from 2011-13, becoming the first team in league history to accomplish that feat. The Bison had won five in a row and eight of the previous nine before finishing T-6th in 2019-20.
Bucknell has made nine Patriot League Tournament appearances as the No. 1 seed and seven as the No. 2 seed.
Bucknell won Patriot League Tournament titles in 2005, 2006, 2011, 2013, 2017 and 2018. The Bison have made it to the semifinals 24 times and to the championship game 13 times in the league's first 31 years.
The Bison are the only team to go unbeaten in league play in a season (14-0 in 2006).

Home Cooking

Since Sojka Pavilion debuted in 2003, the Bison are 196-68 (.742) overall and 142-35 (.802) against Patriot League foes.
Bucknell won a record 15 home games in 2016-17, and then it matched that figure a year later. Over the last six years, Bucknell is 56-18 at home.

Who's Got Next?

Bucknell will host Loyola on Sunday at 6 p.m. in a game that will be televised on CBS Sports Network.
The Bison dropped a tight 71-67 decision at Loyola on Jan. 10.

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Bison Men's Basketball Hosts Navy Wednesday Night

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Elvin Edmonds IV

Andrew Funk

Andrew Funk

Ian Motta

Paul Newman

Malachi Rhodes

Xander Rice

Xander Rice

Andre Screen

Alex Timmerman

Jake van der Heijden

Bison Men's Basketball Hosts Navy Wednesday Night

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Elvin Edmonds IV

Andrew Funk

Andrew Funk

Ian Motta

Paul Newman

Malachi Rhodes

Xander Rice

Xander Rice

Andre Screen

Alex Timmerman

Jake van der Heijden

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