Friday, December 30
Worcester, Mass.
2 p.m.
Bucknell University
7-7,0-1Patriot
58
at
60
Holy Cross
4-10,1-0Patriot
1
2
F
Bucknell
22
36
58
Holy Cross
34
26
60
Bucknell Makes Big Second-Half Rally but Drops Patriot League Opener 60-58 at Holy Cross
12/30/2022 4:23:00 PM | Men's Basketball
WORCESTER, Mass. – Bucknell fought back to tie the game after trailing by 18 points with 11 minutes to play, but Holy Cross held the Bison without a field goal for the final two minutes and survived a last-second miss in a 60-58 win in the Patriot League openers for both teams on Friday afternoon at the Hart Center. Gerrale Gates tallied 23 points and 14 rebounds for the Crusaders, who were stout defensively throughout most of the game.
Alex Timmerman logged 18 points and nine boards to lead the Bison, who shot just 36.7 percent from the field and 2-for-19 from 3-point range. Bucknell came into the game ranked 14th nationally in 3-point shooting at 39.8 percent but missed its first 11 in this one.
Bucknell trailed 49-31 after Joe Octave's layup with 11:12 remaining. Ruot Bijiek's three from the left wing, the team's first of the day, ignited a furious 26-8 run over the nine minutes. Rice made all three free throws after being fouled outside the arc, and Timmerman followed with a 3-point play to make it a 51-44 game with 7:26 left.
Will Batchelder's 3-pointer halted Bucknell's surge momentarily, but the Bison rattled off another eight in a row and pulled within 54-52 on Timmerman's layup with 4:12 to play. Nolan Dorsey and Xander Rice swapped 3-pointers, and then the Bison tied it with exactly 2:00 remaining when Elvin Edmonds IV fed Jake van der Heijden for a layup.
Batchelder broke the tie with a spinning shot in the lane, and then Timmerman couldn't get three shots in the lane to fall. Dorsey split two at the line to make it 60-57 with 17 seconds left. The Crusaders elected to foul Ian Motta with a 3-point lead with 5.9 to go. Motta made 1 of 2, but then Jade Tse missed the front end of a 1-and-1. Bucknell had one last shot, but Rice's contested three hit the back iron as time expired.
Rice finished with 10 points, and Andre Screen had eight points and eight rebounds. The Bison finished with a 41-34 edge on the glass. Bo Montgomery joined Gates in double figures with 17 points, 13 coming in the first half, before fouling out when Timmerman took a charge in a key moment in the game with 4:41 remaining.
Holy Cross shot 43.3 percent from the field and also struggled from the arc, hitting just 5 of 23.
The lead changed hands five times in the first 15 minutes of the game, and Bucknell's deficit was just one at 23-22 after a Screen layup with 3:44 left in the half. Those would be Bucknell's final points of the half, however, as a banked-in 3-pointer at the end of the shot clock by Dorsey kicked off an 11-0 Holy Cross run. Octave finished a 3-point play, Montgomery hit a three from the right corner, and Gates hit a baseline jumper with one second left to give the Crusaders a 34-22 halftime lead.
Gates made five of Holy Cross's first six field goals in the second half, with his layup at the 15:52 mark extending the margin to 16 at 41-25. It was an 18-point margin after the Octave layup, and then Bucknell pieced together its first extended run of the second half to get back in it.
Bucknell returns home on Monday afternoon to face Boston University in the first game of the 2023 calendar year. Tip time is 2 p.m. at Sojka Pavilion.
Alex Timmerman logged 18 points and nine boards to lead the Bison, who shot just 36.7 percent from the field and 2-for-19 from 3-point range. Bucknell came into the game ranked 14th nationally in 3-point shooting at 39.8 percent but missed its first 11 in this one.
Bucknell trailed 49-31 after Joe Octave's layup with 11:12 remaining. Ruot Bijiek's three from the left wing, the team's first of the day, ignited a furious 26-8 run over the nine minutes. Rice made all three free throws after being fouled outside the arc, and Timmerman followed with a 3-point play to make it a 51-44 game with 7:26 left.
Will Batchelder's 3-pointer halted Bucknell's surge momentarily, but the Bison rattled off another eight in a row and pulled within 54-52 on Timmerman's layup with 4:12 to play. Nolan Dorsey and Xander Rice swapped 3-pointers, and then the Bison tied it with exactly 2:00 remaining when Elvin Edmonds IV fed Jake van der Heijden for a layup.
Batchelder broke the tie with a spinning shot in the lane, and then Timmerman couldn't get three shots in the lane to fall. Dorsey split two at the line to make it 60-57 with 17 seconds left. The Crusaders elected to foul Ian Motta with a 3-point lead with 5.9 to go. Motta made 1 of 2, but then Jade Tse missed the front end of a 1-and-1. Bucknell had one last shot, but Rice's contested three hit the back iron as time expired.
Rice finished with 10 points, and Andre Screen had eight points and eight rebounds. The Bison finished with a 41-34 edge on the glass. Bo Montgomery joined Gates in double figures with 17 points, 13 coming in the first half, before fouling out when Timmerman took a charge in a key moment in the game with 4:41 remaining.
Holy Cross shot 43.3 percent from the field and also struggled from the arc, hitting just 5 of 23.
The lead changed hands five times in the first 15 minutes of the game, and Bucknell's deficit was just one at 23-22 after a Screen layup with 3:44 left in the half. Those would be Bucknell's final points of the half, however, as a banked-in 3-pointer at the end of the shot clock by Dorsey kicked off an 11-0 Holy Cross run. Octave finished a 3-point play, Montgomery hit a three from the right corner, and Gates hit a baseline jumper with one second left to give the Crusaders a 34-22 halftime lead.
Gates made five of Holy Cross's first six field goals in the second half, with his layup at the 15:52 mark extending the margin to 16 at 41-25. It was an 18-point margin after the Octave layup, and then Bucknell pieced together its first extended run of the second half to get back in it.
Bucknell returns home on Monday afternoon to face Boston University in the first game of the 2023 calendar year. Tip time is 2 p.m. at Sojka Pavilion.
Team Stats
Buck
HolyCr
FG%
.367
.433
3FG%
.105
.217
FT%
.857
.375
RB
41
34
TO
10
8
STL
6
6
Game Leaders
Pts
18
FGM
6
3FGM
0
FTM
6
Pts
10
FGM
3
3FGM
1
FTM
3
Pts
8
FGM
4
3FGM
0
FTM
0
Pts
6
FGM
3
3FGM
0
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
F
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's BasketballC
/ Men's BasketballC
/ Men's BasketballF
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