Men's Basketball Starts Postseason Play Tuesday at Lafayette

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LEWISBURG, Pa. -- The calendar is about to flip over to March, which means it's time for postseason basketball. The seeds are set for the Patriot League Tournament, and now the records get reset for a race to the championship and the NCAA Tournament bid. Bucknell's quest for a seventh Patriot League title begins on Tuesday with a first-round game at Lafayette. Game time is 7 p.m. with coverage on ESPN+.

If the Bison are going to break a tie with Holy Cross and win that seventh Patriot League Tournament crown, they will have to do it from an unusual position. Since the Patriot League expanded to 10 teams in 2013-14, Bucknell has never had to play a Tuesday-night first-round game on the road. That is the case this year, as Bucknell will be playing as the No. 9 seed for the first time, taking on eighth-seeded Lafayette. The Bison and Leopards are meeting in the postseason for the second year in a row. In last year's quarterfinals, sixth-seeded Bucknell went into Kirby Sports Center and played one of its best games of the season, winning 92-84. Bucknell is 6-2 all-time against Lafayette in the Patriot League Tournament, including 2-1 in championship games.

Bucknell enters the postseason on a high note after Saturday's 89-78 Senior Day win over third-place Boston University. It was Bucknell's 200th all-time win at Sojka Pavilion, and it gave the Bison a winning home record (7-6) for the 17th time in 18 full seasons in Sojka. Andrew Funk, the lone senior on the squad, had 15 points, five rebounds, and five assists to spark the victory in his final home game. Funk earned Second Team All-Patriot League honors on Monday, and he remains the league's second-leading scorer at 17.7 points per game.

Lafayette, meanwhile, dropped its final two regular-season games and fell into the No. 8 spot. The Leopards are 10-19 overall and 7-11 in Patriot League play, but they would love nothing more than to make one final postseason run for longtime head coach Fran O'Hanlon, who is retiring at the end of the season.

• Complete Game Notes
• 2021-22 Media Guide

GAME DIGEST
What: #9 Bucknell (8-22, 5-13 PL) at #8 Lafayette (10-19, 7-11 PL)
Where: Kirby Sports Center, Easton, Pa.
When: Tuesday, March 1, 7 p.m.
Streaming: ESPN+
Local Radio: The Valley WVLY 100.9 FM
Internet Audio: BucknellBison.com
Live Stats: GoLeopards.com
BUY TICKETS

Bucknell Tentative Starters
G: Xander Rice (13.1 ppg, 2.5 rpg, 3.8 apg)
G: Andrew Funk (17.7 ppg, 3.6 rpg, 2.8 apg)
G: Elvin Edmonds IV (5.8 ppg, 2.5 rpg, 2.3 apg)
F: Jake van der Heijden (6.4 ppg, 3.3 rpg, 1.3 apg)
C: Andre Screen (11.4 ppg, 6.6 rpg, 1.0 bpg)

With a Win over Lafayette, Bucknell Would ...

... advance to the Patriot League Tournament quarterfinals and play at top-seeded Colgate on Thursday.
... win at least one game in the PL Tournament for the sixth straight year and 25th time in the 32-year history of the league.
... improve to 45-25 all-time in PL Tournament play.
... defeat the Leopards in the postseason for the second year in a row and improve to 7-2 against them in the PL Tournament.
... win on the road for the second time in 16 away games this season.
... take the season series from the Leopards after splitting two regular-season meetings.

Headlines

The postseason has arrived, and for the first time since the Patriot League expanded to 10 teams in 2013-14, Bucknell is playing on the road in the Tuesday-night opening round. The Bison tied for ninth place with American and secured the tiebreaker for the No. 9 seed based on Saturday's win over third-place Boston University. This is the first time Bucknell has been seeded lower than seventh.
If the two regular-season meetings between Bucknell and Lafayette are any indication, Tuesday's game should be a good one. The Bison and Leopards met two weeks apart in February, and both games went to overtime. Lafayette prevailed 74-72 in Easton on Feb. 5, and the Bison returned the favor with a 92-89 win at Sojka Pavilion on Feb. 19. A closer look at just how evenly matched the two teams were in those games:

Bucknell vs. Lafayette 2022 (2 Games)
Team Points   FGM   3FGM   FTM
Bucknell   164       59    17     29
Lafayette   163 61 17    24

Bucknell has been very good offensively over the last several weeks. The Bison have shot 50% or better from the field in four of their last six games and have had a positive assist-to-turnover ratio in seven of the last eight.

Bucknell Offense Last Six Games
FGM-A Pct. 3FGM-A Pct. FTM-A Pct. Asst. TO
162-320 .506 48-111 .432 86-114 .754 98 66

While the Bison have steadily improved offensively throughout the season, they have struggled defensively and on the glass. Bucknell ranks at or near the top of the Patriot League offensive rankings, but at or near the bottom in most defensive categories.

Bucknell Patriot League Rankings (10 teams)
OFFENSE     DEFENSE
   PPG   FG%   3FG%   FT%    A/TO Opp. PPG   Opp TOs   Steals   Reb. Margin
2    3    3     1 4     10     10     9     9

Andrew Funk, the lone senior player on the Bison squad, earned Second Team All-Patriot League honors on Monday. Funk is averaging 17.7 ppg, which is second in the league behind Loyola's Cam Spencer (18.6). Funk is one of only 28 players in the nation with at least five games with 28 or more points this season; he is one of only 45 with at least three 30-point games; and he is one of 60 with 12 20-point games.
Funk was also recently named to the five-man CoSIDA Academic All-District 2 Team, and he now moves on to the national Academic All-America ballot. Funk is an accounting and financial management major with a 3.66 cumulative grade-point average.
The center tandem of sophomore Andre Screen and junior Alex Timmerman have rarely missed of late. Over the last seven games, Screen has averaged 14.1 ppg on 65.7% (44-67) shooting from the field. Timmerman is 16-for-18 (.889) from the field over his last six games, and he enters Tuesday's game on a streak of eight straight made attempts. In two games against Lafayette this season, Screen went 17-for-21 (.810) from the field.
Due to some makeup games of early season postponements, Lafayette closed the regular season by playing seven games in 15 days, and the Leopards limp into the postseason on the heels of two straight double-digit losses. After falling at Bucknell in overtime on Feb. 19, the Leopards quickly rebounded with an 84-61 rout of Holy Cross, but since then they lost 76-60 at Boston University and 78-58 at home to arch-rival Lehigh to finish out the regular season.
Lafayette had two players receive postseason honors on Monday. Junior center Neal Quinn joined Funk on the All-Patriot League Second Team, and freshman guard CJ Fulton was named to the All-Rookie Team. Quinn averages 14.6 points, 7.4 rebounds, and 3.9 assists per game, with all three figures ranking in the Patriot League's top 10. Quinn totaled 43 points, 13 rebounds, and 12 assists in the two games against Bucknell this season.

How to Get the Game

The Bucknell-Lafayette game will be streamed on ESPN+, with Gary Laubach and former Lafayette head coach John Leone on the call.
Doug Birdsong, who is in his 22nd season as the "Voice of the Bison", 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 GoLeopards.com.
Follow @Bucknell_MBB for in-game updates on Twitter.

Last Time Out

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 shot 54.9% from the field, its fourth time over 50% 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.

Bucknell vs. Lafayette Series Notes

Bucknell and Lafayette have met 174 times previously, making the Leopards Bucknell's second most-played opponent (the Bison have played Lehigh 182 times). Since the series began in 1915, Lafayette leads 93-81.
Since the start of Patriot League play in 1990-91, however, Bucknell has won 52 of 73 meetings.
Lafayette won 33 of the first 37 meetings and led the series 60-14 at one point.
Bucknell had been 15-0 all-time against Lafayette in Sojka Pavilion until the Leopards posted their first win there in 2013-14. The Bison are now 21-4 against Lafayette in Sojka Pavilion and 29-7 against the Leopards in Lewisburg going back to the Patriot League's first season.
The Bison and Leopards have met in a conference championship game four times, with Bucknell winning three of those. The Bison defeated Lafayette 71-65 in the 1989 East Coast Conference final in Towson, Md., and they also won Patriot League championship games in Sojka Pavilion in 2011 (72-57) and 2013 (64-56). Lafayette claimed the 1999 Patriot League title with a 67-63 win over the Bison in Easton.
Lafayette swept a weekend series from Bucknell during the modified 2021 season, but the Bison got payback with a 92-84 win in the Patriot League Tournament quarterfinals at Kirby Sports Center. John Meeks was the catalyst in that win with 31 points and 11 rebounds. Xander Rice hit four 3-pointers and scored 19 points, while Andrew Funk tallied 14 points. Justin Jaworski paced Lafayette with 28 points, and E.J. Stephens added 22 off the bench.
In this season's first meeting on Feb. 5, Neal Quinn's tiebreaking layup with 2.3 seconds left in overtime gave Lafayette a 74-72 win. Funk had just tied the game with a 3-pointer with 31 seconds left, only for the Leopards to win it on their final possession. Funk recorded his first career double-double with 20 points and 11 rebounds, Andre Screen tallied 18 points on 9-for-10 shooting, and Malachi Rhodes scored a career-high 12 points off the bench. Bucknell shot 45.2% to Lafayette's 38.6%, and the Leopards were just 7-for-35 from 3-point range, but the Bison were hampered by turnovers in the first half and uncharacteristically poor free-throw shooting in the second. Quinn paced Lafayette with 19 points and nine rebounds. Jon Brantley scored 16 off the bench, including four second-half 3-pointers that proved big on a day when the Leopards were otherwise struggling mightily from long range.
In round two at Sojka Pavilion, Funk beat the shot clock with an off-balance 3-pointer off an inbounds play with 5.9 seconds remaining, sending Bucknell to a wild 92-89 overtime win. Funk again finished with 20 points, while Rice and Screen added 17 each. Quinn tallied 24 points and nine assists, while Brantley had 18 off the bench for Lafayette, which rallied from 17 points down to force overtime.

Bucknell Patriot League Tournament History

Bucknell has an all-time record of 44-25 (.638) in 31 Patriot League Tournaments. The Bison have reached the championship game a league-record 13 times, including wins in 2005, 2006, 2011, 2013, 2017 and 2018, and reached at least the semifinals in 24 of the first 31 years.

Bison PL Tourney Log
Year  Seed   Results
1991   4   def. Army 67-49; lost Fordham 82-76
1992   2   def. Army 74-55; def. Holy Cross 86-77; lost Fordham 70-65
1993   1   def. Lehigh 69-65; def. Colgate 75-73; lost Holy Cross 98-73
1994   5   lost Holy Cross 96-91
1995   2   lost Army 94-78
1996   4   def. Lafayette 56-55; lost Colgate 67-61
1997   2   def. Lehigh 84-54; def. Colgate 71-58; lost Navy 76-75
1998   3   def. Holy Cross 60-56; lost Navy 80-61
1999   3   def. Holy Cross 76-52; def. Lehigh 58-50; lost Lafayette 67-63
2000   3   lost Lehigh 73-62
2001   6   def. Colgate 75-68; lost Navy 88-64
2002   3   def. Army 70-59; lost Holy Cross 64-57
2003   5   def. Lehigh 52-47; lost Holy Cross 75-50
2004   4   def. Holy Cross 66-60; lost Lehigh 60-45
2005   2   def. Lafayette 70-34; def. American 53-35; def. Holy Cross 61-57
2006   1   def. Army 59-47; def. American 64-50; def. Holy Cross 74-59
2007   2   def. Navy 62-43; def. Army 68-47; lost Holy Cross 74-66
2008   7   def. Navy 87-86 (3OT); lost Colgate 54-40
2009   7   lost Holy Cross 75-56
2010   2   lost Holy Cross 67-64
2011   1   def. Army 78-51; def. Lehigh 66-64; def. Lafayette 72-57
2012   1   def. Navy 87-63; def. Lafayette 79-52; lost Lehigh 82-77
2013   1   def. Navy 58-42; def. Army 78-70; def. Lafayette 64-56
2014   4   lost 72-71 Army
2015   1   def. Holy Cross 90-83 (OT); lost Lafayette 80-74
2016   1   lost Holy Cross 77-72 (2OT)
2017   1   def. Army 78-62; def. Navy 70-65; def. Lehigh 81-65
2018   1   def. Loyola 83-78; def. Boston U. 90-59; def. Colgate 83-54
2019   2   def. Holy Cross 77-65; def. Lehigh 97-75; lost Colgate 94-80
2020   7   def. Holy Cross 65-62; def. American 64-59; lost Boston U. 64-61
2021   6   def. Lafayette 92-84; lost Colgate 105-75
Championship games in bold.

PL TOURNAMENT BY OPPONENT
American   3-0
Army   8-2
Boston U. 1-1
Colgate 4-4
Fordham 0-2
Navy 5-3
Holy Cross  9-8
Lafayette   6-2
Lehigh 7-3
Loyola 1-0

Notable Numbers

Senior guard Andrew Funk is enjoying his best season to date, with a scoring average (17.7) and field-goal percentage (.429) well above his previous career bests. Funk scored a career-high 38 points at Illinois State on Nov. 20, and his five games this season with 28 or more points are tied for 14th-most in the nation. Funk is one of only 27 Division I players to hit six or more 3-pointers in a game at least four times this season.
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.
Funk has now entered the top 10 on Bucknell's season and career charts for made 3-pointers, and he is closing in on the top 10 list for total points in a season.

Most Made 3-Point FGs in Career, Bucknell History
   Player   Years   3FG
1.  Bryson Johnson 2009-13   323
2.  Kevin Bettencourt   2002-06   294
3.  John Griffin 2004-08   220
4.  Kimbal Mackenzie   2015-19   211
5.  Mike Bright 1989-93   206
6.  Cameron Ayers 2010-14   201
7.  Chris Hass 2012-16   190
8.  Andrew Funk 2018-pr.   184
9.  Mike Joseph 1986-90   183
10. J.R. Holden 1994-98   180

Most Made 3-Point FGs in Season, Bucknell History
    Player      Year    3FG
1. Bryson Johnson 2010-11   99
2.  Bryson Johnson    2011-12   84
3.  Kimbal Mackenzie   2018-19   83
4. Chris Hass 2014-15   82
5.  Andrew Funk 2021-22   81
6.  Kevin Bettencourt   2005-06   79
   John Griffin 2007-08   79
8.  Kevin Bettencourt 2004-05   78
9.  Bryson Johnson   2012-13   73
10. J.R. Holden 1996-97   72
   Kevin Bettencourt   2003-04   72

Points in Season, Bucknell History
   Player    Year     3FG
1.  Zach Thomas 2017-18   716
2.  Mike Muscala 2012-13   637
3.  Bill Courtney 1990-91   619
4.  Patrick King 1991-92   610
5.  Mike Muscala 2011-12   596
6.  Greg Leggett 1989-90   585
7.  Kimbal Mackenzie   2018-19   582
8.  Al Leslie 1979-80   564
9.  Zach Thomas 2016-17   558
10. Bill Courtney 1991-92   550
   Andrew Funk 2021-22   530

Funk reached the 1,000-point plateau with a 3-pointer early in the first half at Holy Cross on Jan. 22. 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.
Andrew and Tommy Funk are the only brother combo to both earn All-Patriot League honors. Tommy was a two-time selection in 2019 and 2020.
Funk currently ranks second in the Patriot League and 18th nationally in minutes played at 36.4 per game. The last Bison to play more than 36 minutes per game over a full season was Darryl Shazier (36.1) in 2008-09. In addition, Funk ranks eighth nationally in total minutes played.
Not only has Funk logged plenty of minutes this season, but he has also attempted 27.8% of his team's shots. His 465 field-goal attempts are ninth-most in the nation and fourth-most in a season in Bucknell history. Funk just broke the school record for 3-point attempts in a season with 226. Kevin Bettencourt set the previous mark with 223 in 2003-04.
Funk has 19 assists and only one turnover in his last four games, and 23 assists and two turnovers in his last five.
Limiting opponents' 3-point shooting has been a key to Bucknell's success this season. In the team's wins, opponents shoot just 29.6% from the arc, but in the losses, opponents shoot 38.9% from downtown.
Bucknell has struggled to create turnovers this season, as opponents are committing only 9.5 miscues per game on the season. That coupled with some rebounding troubles means that opponents have attempted 240 more field goals this season. The Bison have taken more shots than their opponent only three times this season — against Penn, Illinois State and Loyola — and in all three of those games the margin was just one additional attempt.
Bucknell has been excellent at the free-throw line thus far, hitting at a 76.6% clip on the season despite a recent slump. That is the best mark in the Patriot League and 22nd-best in all of Division I basketball. The Bison ranked in the top-10 nationally at around 80% for much of the season, but they endured a 51-for-86 (.593) slump over a four-game stretch before snapping out of it with a 21-for-23 effort against Lafayette on Feb. 19.

Team FT%, Bucknell History
   Year   FT%
1.  2010-11   .7883
2.  1988-89   .7877
3.  1990-91 .774
4.  1987-88 .773
5.  2021-22   .766

Individual FT%, Bucknell History
   Player Year   FT%
1.  Mike Joseph 1989-90   .929
2.  Kevin Bettencourt   2004-05   .888
3.  Xander Rice 2021-22   .883
4.  Mike Joseph 1987-88   .868
5.  Mike Joseph 1988-89   .861

The Bison have now played five overtime games this season, one shy of the school record of six set in 2008-09. Bucknell's three overtime wins are also one shy of the team record. The 1978-79 squad won four OT contests.

Patriot League Success

Bucknell is 311-151 (.673) all-time in Patriot League regular-season games, the best record of any league team. This was only the sixth time in 32 years that the Bison finished with a sub-.500 PL record.
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 200-70 (.741) overall and 146-37 (.798) 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 60-19 at home.
The Bison shot the ball much better at home than on the road this season.

       FG%   3FG% FT%
Home   47.0   40.6   81.5
Away   43.9   34.8   71.5

Who's Got Next?

The winner of Tuesday's game will advance to the Patriot League Tournament quarterfinal round and travel to top-seeded Colgate on Thursday at 7 p.m.

Men's Basketball Starts Postseason Play Tuesday at Lafayette

Players Mentioned

Josh Bascoe

Elvin Edmonds IV

Andrew Funk

Andrew Funk

John Meeks

Ian Motta

Malachi Rhodes

Xander Rice

Xander Rice

Andre Screen

Alex Timmerman

Jake van der Heijden

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