Saturday, February 26
Lewisburg, Pa.
2 p.m.
Bucknell University
8-22,5-13Patriot
89
vs
78
Boston University
20-11,11-7Patriot
1
2
F
Boston U.
41
37
78
Bucknell
37
52
89
Photo by: Lianne Garrahan
Men's Basketball Closes Out Regular Season With 89-78 Victory Over Boston U.
2/26/2022 4:00:00 PM | Men's Basketball
NOTE: Tickets for Tuesday's Patriot League Tournament game at Lafayette are now on sale via the Campus Box Office. Tickets are $12 for adults and $6 for students.
LEWISBURG, Pa. – Andrew Funk celebrated his Senior Day in style with 15 points, five rebounds, and five assists to help Bucknell to an 89-78 victory over Boston University on Saturday in the regular-season finale at Sojka Pavilion.
The Bison received contributions from up and down the lineup, with five players scoring in double figures for the first time since the Illinois State game back on Nov. 20. Xander Rice, who was coming off a career-high 25 points at Army on Wednesday, led the team with 19 in this one, boosted by an 11-for-13 showing from the free-throw line. Elvin Edmonds IV tallied 13 points, including a couple of key buckets down the stretch, and the center combo of Alex Timmerman (13) and Andre Screen (10) also hit double figures.
Freshmen Ian Motta (seven points) and Josh Bascoe (four points, five rebounds) also made key contributions as Bucknell's bench outscored Boston University's 27-12.
Bucknell improved to 8-22 overall and 5-13 in the Patriot League. The Bison will be the No. 9 seed in next week's Patriot League Tournament and will play at No. 8 Lafayette in the first round on Tuesday night in Easton, Pa. Boston University (20-11, 11-7 PL) will be the No. 3 seed and after a first-round bye will host No. 6 Loyola in the quarterfinals on Thursday.
"I thought our guys came out a little nervous, a little tentative, but at about 12 minutes they decided they had had enough and started to battle," said head coach Nathan Davis. "They shared the ball well all game long and got good shots. We bounced back from a poor performance the other night and played pretty well today."
At three different junctures of the contest, Boston University threatened to pull away, but each time Bucknell had an answer. The first came right out of the gates when the Terriers opened the game 4-for-4 and led 8-0 less than three minutes in. The Bison got their legs under them after an Edmonds layup, which led to quick a 7-0 retort.
Soon after, the Terriers connected on three 3-pointers, two of them coming from Caelan Jones off the bench, and a Walter Whyte layup gave them a 24-15 lead. But that would be Boston University's last field goal for more than seven minutes, and a 12-0 run pushed Bucknell in front for the first time in the game. The highlight of that surge came when Jake van der Heijden hustled back to block a fastbreak layup attempt, which led to a Funk transition 3-pointer the other way.
Boston University led 41-37 at halftime and stretched its advantage back to nine at 47-38 on a couple of free throws by White. This time Bucknell's answer came largely in multiples of three during a 13-0 run. After a fastbreak layup by van der Heijden, Timmerman and Malachi Rhodes sandwiched a pair of old-fashioned 3-point plays around a Funk 3-pointer. Motta made two at the foul line to cap the run and give Bucknell a 51-47 lead with 13:29 to go.
The Bison led by six at 63-57 after a Timmerman slipped a screen and scored off a feed from Funk, but White and Jonas Harper hit consecutive threes to tie it for the Terriers. Motta answered with a 3-pointer on Bucknell's next possession, and the Bison led for the final 6:28 of the game.
After the Motta trey, Edmonds grabbed a defensive rebound near the foul line and raced the ball up the court for a strong finish through contact, resulting in a 3-point play. After Sukhmail Mathon split a pair at the foul line, Timmerman made both at the stripe, and then Edmonds got into the lane for an 8-footer just after Boston University switched to a 2-3 zone.
That 10-1 run gave Bucknell a 73-64 lead with 4:16 to go, but a five-point possession got the Terriers right back in it. Javante McCoy, who led all scorers with 23 points, scored while drawing a foul. He missed the free throw, but Boston University grabbed the offensive rebound and found Ethan Brittain Watts for a 3-pointer.
Two minutes later, Harper nailed a three to bring the Terriers within 77-74, but Screen followed with perhaps Bucknell's biggest shot of the day. Back on the floor after sitting for a long stretch with four fouls, Screen hit a five-foot jump-hook over Mathon with 1:21 to play.
Screen did foul out on the next defensive possession, but after the inbounds, Rice did well to deny McCoy the ball, and then Timmerman stuck right with White on a drive down the right alley and forced a traveling violation.
Boston University was forced to foul with the clock under a minute, and Edmonds started a run of 10 straight makes in the final 53 seconds.
Bucknell shot 54.9 percent from the field, its fourth time over 50 percent in the last six games. The Bison went 7-for-20 from the 3-point arc and 26-for-32 from the foul line. After some early struggles at the stripe, the Bison made their final 17 in a row.
Bucknell matched its season low with seven turnovers, while Boston University committed only nine.
Boston University shot 44.1 percent overall after being limited to 36.8 percent in the second half. The Terriers were 7-for-25 from long range and 11-for-16 from the foul line. Boston University outrebounded Bucknell 38-29, including 15-3 on the offensive glass, and finished with an 18-3 edge in second-chance points.
Mathon, who is averaging a double-double on the season, tallied 17 points and 13 rebounds. White added 13 points despite a 3-for-14 shooting day.
Funk is the lone senior on this year's roster, and he and team manager Kenny Wu were honored prior to the game. Funk then went out and passed Joe Gallagher and Dan Bowen on Bucknell's all-time scoring list. He now has 1,196 career points, 24th-most in school history. He also moved past Mike Joseph into eighth place on Bucknell's career list for made 3-pointers with 184.
The win was Bucknell's 200th in Sojka Pavilion. The Bison men's team is now 200-70 (.741) since the facility opened in 2003.
If this season's first two Bucknell-Lafayette matchups are any indication, Tuesday's Patriot League Tournament game should be a good one. The Bison and Leopards went to overtime in both regular-season meetings. Lafayette won 74-72 in Easton on Feb. 5, and Bucknell returned the favor with a 92-89 verdict last Saturday.
POSTGAME PRESS CONFERENCE:
Gallery: (2-26-2022) Men's Basketball vs. Boston University
LEWISBURG, Pa. – Andrew Funk celebrated his Senior Day in style with 15 points, five rebounds, and five assists to help Bucknell to an 89-78 victory over Boston University on Saturday in the regular-season finale at Sojka Pavilion.
The Bison received contributions from up and down the lineup, with five players scoring in double figures for the first time since the Illinois State game back on Nov. 20. Xander Rice, who was coming off a career-high 25 points at Army on Wednesday, led the team with 19 in this one, boosted by an 11-for-13 showing from the free-throw line. Elvin Edmonds IV tallied 13 points, including a couple of key buckets down the stretch, and the center combo of Alex Timmerman (13) and Andre Screen (10) also hit double figures.
Freshmen Ian Motta (seven points) and Josh Bascoe (four points, five rebounds) also made key contributions as Bucknell's bench outscored Boston University's 27-12.
Bucknell improved to 8-22 overall and 5-13 in the Patriot League. The Bison will be the No. 9 seed in next week's Patriot League Tournament and will play at No. 8 Lafayette in the first round on Tuesday night in Easton, Pa. Boston University (20-11, 11-7 PL) will be the No. 3 seed and after a first-round bye will host No. 6 Loyola in the quarterfinals on Thursday.
"I thought our guys came out a little nervous, a little tentative, but at about 12 minutes they decided they had had enough and started to battle," said head coach Nathan Davis. "They shared the ball well all game long and got good shots. We bounced back from a poor performance the other night and played pretty well today."
At three different junctures of the contest, Boston University threatened to pull away, but each time Bucknell had an answer. The first came right out of the gates when the Terriers opened the game 4-for-4 and led 8-0 less than three minutes in. The Bison got their legs under them after an Edmonds layup, which led to quick a 7-0 retort.
Soon after, the Terriers connected on three 3-pointers, two of them coming from Caelan Jones off the bench, and a Walter Whyte layup gave them a 24-15 lead. But that would be Boston University's last field goal for more than seven minutes, and a 12-0 run pushed Bucknell in front for the first time in the game. The highlight of that surge came when Jake van der Heijden hustled back to block a fastbreak layup attempt, which led to a Funk transition 3-pointer the other way.
Boston University led 41-37 at halftime and stretched its advantage back to nine at 47-38 on a couple of free throws by White. This time Bucknell's answer came largely in multiples of three during a 13-0 run. After a fastbreak layup by van der Heijden, Timmerman and Malachi Rhodes sandwiched a pair of old-fashioned 3-point plays around a Funk 3-pointer. Motta made two at the foul line to cap the run and give Bucknell a 51-47 lead with 13:29 to go.
The Bison led by six at 63-57 after a Timmerman slipped a screen and scored off a feed from Funk, but White and Jonas Harper hit consecutive threes to tie it for the Terriers. Motta answered with a 3-pointer on Bucknell's next possession, and the Bison led for the final 6:28 of the game.
After the Motta trey, Edmonds grabbed a defensive rebound near the foul line and raced the ball up the court for a strong finish through contact, resulting in a 3-point play. After Sukhmail Mathon split a pair at the foul line, Timmerman made both at the stripe, and then Edmonds got into the lane for an 8-footer just after Boston University switched to a 2-3 zone.
That 10-1 run gave Bucknell a 73-64 lead with 4:16 to go, but a five-point possession got the Terriers right back in it. Javante McCoy, who led all scorers with 23 points, scored while drawing a foul. He missed the free throw, but Boston University grabbed the offensive rebound and found Ethan Brittain Watts for a 3-pointer.
Two minutes later, Harper nailed a three to bring the Terriers within 77-74, but Screen followed with perhaps Bucknell's biggest shot of the day. Back on the floor after sitting for a long stretch with four fouls, Screen hit a five-foot jump-hook over Mathon with 1:21 to play.
Screen did foul out on the next defensive possession, but after the inbounds, Rice did well to deny McCoy the ball, and then Timmerman stuck right with White on a drive down the right alley and forced a traveling violation.
Boston University was forced to foul with the clock under a minute, and Edmonds started a run of 10 straight makes in the final 53 seconds.
Bucknell shot 54.9 percent from the field, its fourth time over 50 percent in the last six games. The Bison went 7-for-20 from the 3-point arc and 26-for-32 from the foul line. After some early struggles at the stripe, the Bison made their final 17 in a row.
Bucknell matched its season low with seven turnovers, while Boston University committed only nine.
Boston University shot 44.1 percent overall after being limited to 36.8 percent in the second half. The Terriers were 7-for-25 from long range and 11-for-16 from the foul line. Boston University outrebounded Bucknell 38-29, including 15-3 on the offensive glass, and finished with an 18-3 edge in second-chance points.
Mathon, who is averaging a double-double on the season, tallied 17 points and 13 rebounds. White added 13 points despite a 3-for-14 shooting day.
Funk is the lone senior on this year's roster, and he and team manager Kenny Wu were honored prior to the game. Funk then went out and passed Joe Gallagher and Dan Bowen on Bucknell's all-time scoring list. He now has 1,196 career points, 24th-most in school history. He also moved past Mike Joseph into eighth place on Bucknell's career list for made 3-pointers with 184.
The win was Bucknell's 200th in Sojka Pavilion. The Bison men's team is now 200-70 (.741) since the facility opened in 2003.
If this season's first two Bucknell-Lafayette matchups are any indication, Tuesday's Patriot League Tournament game should be a good one. The Bison and Leopards went to overtime in both regular-season meetings. Lafayette won 74-72 in Easton on Feb. 5, and Bucknell returned the favor with a 92-89 verdict last Saturday.
POSTGAME PRESS CONFERENCE:
Team Stats
BU
Buck
FG%
.441
.549
3FG%
.280
.350
FT%
.688
.813
RB
38
29
TO
9
7
STL
4
4
Game Leaders
Pts
19
FGM
3
3FGM
2
FTM
11
Pts
15
FGM
6
3FGM
3
FTM
0
Pts
13
FGM
4
3FGM
0
FTM
5
Pts
13
FGM
4
3FGM
0
FTM
5
Players Mentioned
G
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's Basketball
F
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's Basketball
C
/ Men's BasketballC
/ Men's Basketball
F
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