Men's Basketball Faces Navy in Annapolis Friday Night

NAVY SPECTATOR POLICY:

Accessing the U.S. Naval Academy
The USNA is closed to all vehicles without a Department of Defense-approved identification card. All other visitors must either walk through one of the security gates or ride the shuttle bus. The free shuttle bus service begins one hour before the start of the game. Whether walking on or riding the shuttle bus, those ages 18 and over must present a photo identification card (driver's license) to gain access and those ages 17 and under must be accompanied by an adult. The shuttle will depart from the blue (west) side parking lot at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium. Enter the lot off of Taylor Avenue (south side of the stadium). There is a $5 parking fee per vehicle. The shuttle will depart from and return to the bus stop next to the Blue Angel jet.

COVID-19 Policy
As per Department of Defense regulations, those who have not been vaccinated must wear a mask at all times when on the USNA grounds and those who have been vaccinated have the option to wear a mask while outdoors but must wear a mask while indoors. Additionally, masks must be worn by everyone regardless of vaccination status while riding the shuttle bus.

LEWISBURG, Pa. -- Service academy week continues for the Bison men's basketball team, with a trip to Navy on the horizon Friday night. The Bison are looking to bounce back from a 96-89 loss to Army on Tuesday, and now they will take on a Navy squad that is 9-4 overall, 2-0 in Patriot League play, and currently ranked in the top 100 nationally in the NCAA NET Rankings.

Navy is coming off an 83-71 home win over Boston University. The Midshipmen, who feature the Patriot League's top-ranked defense, went 11-for-19 from 3-point range and scored their most points against a Division I opponent this season. Meanwhile, the Bison will be looking to regroup defensively. After a solid defensive effort in a two-point loss in Boston to start conference play, the Bison conceded 96 points to Army on Tuesday, as the Black Knights shot 60.0% from the field.

The silver lining from the loss to Army was a sharp offensive performance, as the Bison shot 55.7% overall and hit 11 of 24 from 3-point distance. Junior forward Jake van der Heijden had the most productive game of his career, setting personal bests with 20 points and five assists. Andrew Funk poured in 28 points, and he is now averaging 26.5 points in Patriot League play. Funk leads the league in overall scoring at 18.6 ppg. Center Andre Screen returned to the starting lineup and tallied 17 points on 8-for-9 shooting to go along with four assists.

Bucknell starts Patriot League play with three of its first four on the road, including Monday's game at Loyola. But after that stretch, the Bison get four of their next six at home, starting with in-state rival Lehigh next Thursday. That will be Youth Basketball Night at Sojka Pavilion. All youth basketball players attending the game in uniform get in free, and parents receive a $5 discount on their tickets. Visit Bucknell's online ticket office and use promo code YBBALL22 on checkout. Call 570-577-1771 if you would like to register a full team.

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

GAME DIGEST
What: Bucknell (3-11, 0-2 PL) at Navy (9-4, 2-0 PL)
Where: Alumni Hall, Annapolis, Md.
When: Friday, Jan. 7, 7 p.m.
Internet Stream: ESPN+
Local Radio: The Valley WVLY 100.9 FM
Internet Audio: BucknellBison.com
Live Stats: NavySports.com

Bucknell Tentative Starters
G: Elvin Edmonds IV (5.6 ppg, 2.1 rpg, 2.6 apg)
G: Xander Rice (11.9 ppg, 3.2 rpg, 3.5 apg)
G: Andrew Funk (18.6 ppg, 3.8 rpg, 2.3 apg)
F: Jake van der Heijden (7.6 ppg, 3.3 rpg, 1.6 apg)
C: Andre Screen (10.6 ppg, 6.4 rpg, 0.9 bpg)

With a Win over Navy, Bucknell Would ...

... snap a three-game losing streak and improve to 1-2 in Patriot League play.
... shake an eight-game road losing streak dating back to last season.
... improve to 45-40 all-time against the Midshipmen, while also snapping a five-game series losing streak to them.
... improve to 307-140 all-time in Patriot League regular-season play.

Headlines

Bucknell turned in one of its better defensive performances of the season in a 63-61 loss at Boston University to start Patriot League play, but the Bison followed that up with a tough night on the defensive end against Army on Tuesday. The Black Knights prevailed 96-89 in the highest-scoring game in series history.
The loss to Army overshadowed one of Bucknell's better offensive showings of the season. The Bison shot 55.7% from the field, 45.8% from 3-point range, and 83.3% from the foul line. Andrew Funk had another big performance with 28 points, and Jake van der Heijden set career highs with 20 points and five assists.
Funk regained the top spot in the Patriot League scoring race after totaling 53 points in the first two Patriot League games (25 at Boston University, 28 vs. Army). His 18.6 average is two-tenths of a point better than Loyola's Cam Spencer. Funk now has six 20-point games this season and is up to 926 career points.
Bucknell has struggled on the road this season. Saturday's loss in Boston dropped them to 0-7 in true road games and 0-9 away from home, including the two neutral-site games in Cancun during Thanksgiving week.
Bucknell's next test comes on the road against a Navy team that leads the Patriot League and ranks 20th nationally in scoring defense, allowing a paltry 59.6 points per game. Navy's +7.7 scoring margin is by far the best in the league, and the Midshipmen lead the conference in both field-goal percentage (.458) and field-goal percentage defense (.404).
Navy, which opened its season with a 66-58 win at Virginia, has beaten Holy Cross (70-56) and Boston University (83-71) to start Patriot League play. The Midshipmen hit on 11 of 19 3-point attempts in Tuesday's win over the Terriers. John Carter Jr. is the team's top scorer at 14.2 ppg.

How to Get the Game

The Bucknell-Navy game can be seen on ESPN+, with Pete Medhurst and Mike Heary calling the action.
Doug Birdsong, who is in his 22nd year as "The Voice of the Bison", 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 NavySports.com.
Follow @Bucknell_MBB for in-game updates on Twitter.

Last Time Out

Bucknell and Army both had their offenses clicking at Sojka Pavilion on Tuesday night, but it was the Black Knights who were able to cobble together a few more defensive stops down the stretch as the visitors prevailed, 96-89, in the highest-scoring game in series history.
Bucknell saw its three-game home winning streak come to an end, as well as a seven-game home streak against Army, despite 28 points from Andrew Funk and a career-high 20 points from Jake van der Heijden. Andre Screen added 17 points on 8-for-9 shooting from the field, and Xander Rice tallied 15, as that quartet combined for 80 of Bucknell's 89 points.
Army also had two 20-point scorers, with Jalen Rucker (21) and Aaron Duhart (20) both hitting that mark. Duhart came in averaging 5.0 points per game on the season, but he hit his career-high on 9-for-13 shooting.
Bucknell made 34 of 61 field goals (55.7%), but the Black Knights converted on 39 of 65 (60.0%) and scored 58 points in the paint, thanks to effective dribble penetration from their backcourt group.
Bucknell trailed 50-49 at the end of a wild first half. The Bison rallied to take a seven-point lead early in the second half, but Army used a 22-5 run to surge ahead for good.

Bucknell vs. Navy Series Notes

This will be the 85th all-time meeting between the Bison and Midshipmen, with Bucknell holding a 44-40 edge in the series.
Navy has won the last five 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 Mids won 12 of 16 from the Bison prior to joining the Patriot League in 1991-92.
As conference rivals, Bucknell leads 40-28, 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 13-22 against Navy in Alumni Hall, although the Bison have won seven of their last 11 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.
The game in Annapolis was Bucknell's season opener, and the Bison ran out to a 17-point lead early in the second half, only to see Navy storm back. Bucknell led 60-43 after an Alex Timmerman bucket with 12:40 remaining, but the Bison went 0-for-13 from the field after that. Andrew Funk paced Bucknell with 16 points, while Cam Davis scored 19 of his game-high 26 in the second half for Navy.
One day later, the Bison trailed by 12 in the second half before taking a 60-59 lead on a 3-point play from Paul Newman with 11 seconds remaining, but Davis hit a pull-up jumper with five seconds left to win it for Navy. Andre Screen had a nice game for Bucknell with 11 points and seven rebounds, while Davis once again led Navy with 18 points.

Notable Numbers

Senior guard Andrew Funk is enjoying his best season to date, with a scoring average (18.6) and FG% (.458) all well above his previous career bests. Funk scored a career-high 38 points at Illinois State on Nov. 20, and his four games this season with 28 or more points are tied for the most in the nation. Funk is one of only 14 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 ninth-most in the nation.
Funk's 38 points against Illinois State tied the Cancun Challenge tournament scoring record. Norris Cole, who later played in the NBA, scored 38 against Florida A&M in 2009.
Josh Adoh has scored 47 points in 78 minutes over his last six games. In that span, he is 14-27 FG, 6-13 3FG, and 13-13 FT. Adoh is 15-16 from the FT line on the season, and his average of 19.6 ppg per 40 minutes is the second-best on the team behind only Funk (21.1).
Bucknell has been hampered by a wide disparity in turnovers this season. The Bison have a -5.1 turnover margin on the season, and their opponents have 124 steals to only 60 for Bucknell. Opponents have attempted 135 more shots this season.
Bucknell has been excellent at the free-throw line thus far, hitting at a 79.1% clip. That is the best mark in the Patriot League and seventh-best in all of Division I basketball. Bucknell ranked fourth nationally at 80.7% before an uncharacteristic 9-for-16 showing at Boston University.

Who's Got Next?

Bucknell is right back on the road on Monday for a trip to Loyola. Tip-time is 7 p.m. at Reitz Arena. The Bison and Greyhounds will be meeting for the first time in two seasons.

Men's Basketball Faces Navy in Annapolis Friday Night

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Players Mentioned

Josh Adoh

Elvin Edmonds IV

Andrew Funk

Andrew Funk

Paul Newman

Xander Rice

Xander Rice

Andre Screen

Alex Timmerman

Jake van der Heijden

Men's Basketball Faces Navy in Annapolis Friday Night

Related News

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Josh Adoh

Elvin Edmonds IV

Andrew Funk

Andrew Funk

Paul Newman

Xander Rice

Xander Rice

Andre Screen

Alex Timmerman

Jake van der Heijden

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