Bison Men Back on Road Monday at Loyola

LOYOLA SPECTATOR POLICY: Note that Loyola is currently limiting spectators to those who have already purchased tickets or are included on a team complimentary ticket list. Proof of vaccination is also required. CLICK HERE for more details.

LEWISBURG, Pa. -- The road has not been kind to the Bison thus far in 2021-22, but they will have another chance to break through on Monday with a trip to Baltimore to face red-hot Loyola at 7 p.m. The Bison have dropped four straight overall and nine straight on the road dating back to the end of last season, while the Greyhounds have won their last two over Holy Cross and Boston University and are 7-2 since a 1-4 start to the campaign.

These two teams will be facing off for the first time in nearly two years, and they both feature one of the top scorers in the Patriot League. Loyola's Cam Spencer (18.4 ppg) just jumped back ahead of Bucknell's Andrew Funk (17.9 ppg) atop the PL scoring race. The Bison average just over two more points per game than the Greyhounds, but Loyola has been the better defensive team, conceding 67.3 ppg to Bucknell's 80.3.

After the Loyola game, the Bison are looking forward to their first extended home stretch of the season. Starting with Thursday's game against Lehigh, Bucknell will play four of its next six and eight of its final 14 games at Sojka Pavilion. Thursday's game against Lehigh 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.

Please note that Bucknell has also implemented an updated spectator policy.

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

GAME DIGEST
What: Bucknell (3-12, 0-3 PL) at Loyola (8-6, 2-1 PL)
Where: Reitz Arena, Baltimore, Md.
When: Monday, Jan. 10, 7 p.m.
Internet Stream: ESPN+
Local Radio: The Valley WVLY 100.9 FM
Internet Audio: BucknellBison.com
Live Stats: LoyolaGreyhounds.com

Bucknell Tentative Starters
G: Elvin Edmonds IV (6.0 ppg, 2.1 rpg, 2.5 apg)
G: Xander Rice (12.0 ppg, 3.1 rpg, 3.4 apg)
G: Andrew Funk (17.9 ppg, 3.7 rpg, 2.4 apg)
F: Jake van der Heijden (7.3 ppg, 3.2 rpg, 1.5 apg)
C: Andre Screen (10.6 ppg, 6.5 rpg, 1.0 bpg)

With a Win over Loyola, Bucknell Would ...

... snap a four-game losing streak and improve to 1-3 in Patriot League play.
... escape a nine-game road losing streak dating back to last season.
... improve to 20-4 all-time against the Greyhounds.
... improve to 307-141 all-time in Patriot League regular-season play.

Headlines

Bucknell is on the road for the third time in four games to start Patriot League play as it travels to Loyola on Monday night. Including this game in Baltimore, the Bison will have played only five of their first 16 games at home, and they are seeking their first away win of the season.
Bucknell will finally get an extended stretch at home following the trip to Loyola. Four of the team's next six will be at Sojka Pavilion, starting Thursday against Lehigh.
This will be the third time in four Patriot League outings that the Bison will be playing a team that they have not faced in two years. The league went to a modified, divisional format last season, and Bucknell did not play Boston University, Army, Loyola, or Holy Cross. Only five current Bison have ever seen action against Loyola.
Bucknell is returning to the state of Maryland after falling 73-55 at Navy on Friday. That game was tied at the half, but the first-place Midshipmen outscored the Bison 41-23 in the second period.
Monday's game will feature the top two scorers in the Patriot League. Loyola's Cam Spencer (18.4 ppg) and Bucknell's Andrew Funk (17.9 ppg) have ranked 1-2 in some order for the last several weeks. Spencer (21.3) and Funk (20.3) are both averaging better than 20 ppg in Patriot League play.
Bucknell is searching for more consistency in league play. The Bison were solid defensively against Boston University and Navy, holding those two teams to 42.3% from the field and 27.9% from 3-point range. But in those two games, the Bison shot just 42.2% overall and 21.2% from the arc. On the other hand, Bucknell was terrific offensively against Army (55.7 FG%, 11-24 3FG) but allowed the Black Knights to score 96 points on 60.0% shooting.
Bucknell will be facing a Loyola team that is feeling good after back-to-back wins over Holy Cross at home and Boston University on the road. In fact, the Greyhounds have won seven of their last nine after a 1-4 start. Their only loss in league play was a 77-74 overtime setback at Army on New Year's Day.
Spencer shoots 46.3% from the field and a Patriot League-best 90.4% from the foul line on the way to his 18.4 ppg average. He also leads the league in steals at 2.1 per game. Jaylin Andrews also scores in double figures at 14.2 ppg, and he is No. 2 in the league in steals at 1.9 per game, just behind his teammate Spencer. As a team, Loyola forces the second-most turnovers in the conference at 14.3 per game.
Loyola finished 6-11 last season, but the Greyhounds made a postseason run to the Patriot League title game for the first time. Playing as the No. 9 seed, Loyola knocked off No. 1 Navy and No. 4 Army before falling at No. 2 Colgate in the final, 85-72.

How to Get the Game

The Bucknell-Loyola game can be seen on ESPN+, with Gary Lambrecht and Jim Chivers 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 LoyolaGreyhounds.com.
Follow @Bucknell_MBB for in-game updates on Twitter.

Last Time Out

Daniel Deaver scored 20 points off the bench, 13 of them coming in the second half when Navy broke open a tie game and pulled away from Bucknell 73-55 on Friday night at Alumni Hall.
Xander Rice led the Bison with 14 points, followed by Elvin Edmonds IV with 12 and Andre Screen with 11 and seven rebounds. John Carter Jr. added 18, with 11 coming at the foul line, to help Navy to a 3-0 Patriot League start (10-4 overall).
Bucknell held Navy to 32.1% shooting in the first half and went to the locker room knotted up at 32-32, but the Bison were ice cold at the start of the second against the Patriot League's top-ranked defensive team, and the Midshipmen methodically pulled away. The Bison led 35-34 after Screen's blocked shot led to a transition layup for Rice, but that was one of only four Bucknell buckets in the first 14 minutes of the second half.
After shooting 32.1% in the first half, Navy shot 63.0% in the second, including 4-for-6 from the arc. Bucknell shot 36.4% in the second half and 39.6% overall against a Navy squad that came in ranked 20th nationally in scoring defense at 59.6 points per game.
The Bison were outrebounded 36-29, but they did a solid job on the defensive glass, as Navy had only five offensive rebounds in the game.
Bucknell's 10 turnovers tied a season low.

Bucknell vs. Loyola Series Notes

The Bison and Greyhounds have met 23 times previously. Bucknell leads 19-4 in the series, including a 13-2 mark since Loyola joined the Patriot League in 2013-14.
Bucknell is 9-2 all-time at Loyola's Reitz Arena and 10-2 at home (2-0 in Davis Gym, 8-2 at Sojka Pavilion). Both of the Greyhounds' wins in Sojka Pavilion came before they joined the Patriot League.
The first series meeting came on Jan. 7, 1987, in Lewisburg. The Bison prevailed that day 72-70. A year later Bucknell won 80-60 on Loyola's home floor.
Bucknell and Loyola played twice within the 1992-93 season. The Bison won 75-59 in Baltimore, and in late February at Davis Gym the Bison rolled to a 116-85 victory. In the latter game, the Bison produced what was then their second-highest point total in program history, led by an incredible 9-for-10 3-point shooting performance by Hall-of-Famer Mike Bright.
Bucknell and Loyola split two meetings in 2019-20, and then did not meet last season under the COVID-modified Patriot League schedule.
In the first 2020 meeting, Bucknell shot 54.1% from the field and scored a season-high 98 points on the way to a 98-83 win over the Greyhounds. Andrew Funk recorded a then-career-high 22 points. Bucknell led 42-41 at the half, and then shot 65.5% in the second half, including 7-for-11 from three. Isaiah Hart and Andrew Kostecka dropped in 18 points apiece to lead Loyola.
In the rematch in Baltimore, Loyola returned the favor with a 78-65 verdict. The Bison trimmed a 13-point deficit to one with five minutes to play, but the Greyhounds scored their final 15 points from the foul line as part of a game-ending 20-8 run. Avi Toomer led Bucknell with 15 points, while John Meeks had a double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds. Kostecka tallied 20 for Loyola, which finished 34-for-46 from the foul line.

Notable Numbers

Senior guard Andrew Funk is enjoying his best season to date, with a scoring average (17.9) and FG% (.449) 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 second-most in the nation. Funk is one of only 15 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 11th-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.
Andre Screen is shooting 69.2% from the field (18-26) in Patriot League play.
After collecting five blocked shots in his first eight games of the season, Screen has six in his last three outings.
Bucknell averaged 14.8 turnovers per game in non-conference play, but since the start of the Patriot League schedule, the Bison have reduced that figure to 11.3 per game.
The Bison have 33 assists against 24 turnovers in their last two games, and that has bumped their season assist-turnover ratio back over 1.0 with 218 assists and 212 turnovers.
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 10th-best in all of Division I basketball.

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Players Mentioned

Elvin Edmonds IV

Andrew Funk

Andrew Funk

John Meeks

Xander Rice

Xander Rice

Andre Screen

Jake van der Heijden