Saturday, January 21
Lewisburg, Pa.
2 p.m.
Bucknell University
8-13,1-7Patriot
73
vs
80
Holy Cross
7-14,4-4Patriot
1
2
F
Holy Cross
38
42
80
Bucknell
32
41
73
Men's Basketball Falls to Holy Cross 80-73
1/21/2023 4:02:00 PM | Men's Basketball
LEWISBURG, Pa. – Will Batchelder scored a game-high 22 points and spearheaded a big 3-point shooting performance for Holy Cross in an 80-73 win over Bucknell on Saturday afternoon at Sojka Pavilion. The Bison received 17 points and nine rebounds from Alex Timmerman but couldn't get enough stops down the stretch in a tight game.
Bucknell (8-13, 1-7 PL) trimmed a 10-point second-half deficit down to one, as the two teams traded blows over the game's final 13 minutes. In a span of just over two minutes, the Bison converted three 3-point plays, two from Timmerman and one from Xander Rice. The last of the three cut Bucknell's deficit to 70-69 with 3:52 left.
Bo Montgomery and Gerrale Gates followed with back-to-back buckets for Holy Cross before Timmerman answered with a lefty layup. Bucknell came up with two straight defensive stops, but two missed free throws and a missed layup proved costly as Gates scored again on a drive to make it 76-71 with 1:08 to go.
Holy Cross had a 2-for-8 stretch from the free-throw line in the late stages, but the Bison couldn't take advantage. Batchelder final hit two from the line with 12 seconds left to seal it for the Crusaders (7-14, 4-4 PL).
Three-point accuracy was the biggest differentiator on the stat sheet, as Holy Cross went 10-for-19 from the arc compared to Bucknell's 5-for-23. The Bison came into the game leading the Patriot League in field-goal percentage defense (.418) and had just held the league's top two 3-point shooting teams – Army and Colgate – in check on the road earlier in the week, but the Crusaders shot 52.6% overall in this one.
Timmerman scored 13 of his 17 points in the second half, when Bucknell shot 50.0 percent as a team. Jack Forrest added 14 points and freshman Ruot Bijiek achieved career highs with 12 points and seven rebounds over 28 minutes of action. Three of Bijiek's field goals came via acrobatic tip-ins on Bison missed shots.
Gates tallied 18 points, eight rebounds, and six assists, and Bo Montgomery scored all 13 of his points in the second half.
Holy Cross led 38-32 at halftime and opened the second stanza with buckets from Caleb Kenney and Batchelder to up the margin to 10 at 42-32.
Elvin Edmonds IV ended Bucknell's run of nine straight missed 3-pointers at the 16:27 mark. Batchelder answered with a three, but then the Bison got going thanks to a strong two-minute stretch from Josh Adoh off the bench. Adoh went coast-to-coast for a layup, hit a 3-pointer from the right corner, and then made a nice dish to Bijiek who was fouled going up for a dunk. His free throw coming out of a timeout made it a 47-44 game with 12:47 to play.
Every time the Bison got close, Holy Cross seemed to answer with three of its own. Jade Tse finished a 3-point play, Montgomery hit two straight threes, and Batchelder hit another to make it 63-56 with 7:08 to go. Bijiek's put-back followed by the first of two and-1s for Timmerman cut the margin to two, but the Bison never could get the game tied.
The Bison are back in action on Wednesday night at home against Navy. Tip-off is slated for 7 p.m. at Sojka Pavilion.
PRESS CONFERENCE:
Bucknell (8-13, 1-7 PL) trimmed a 10-point second-half deficit down to one, as the two teams traded blows over the game's final 13 minutes. In a span of just over two minutes, the Bison converted three 3-point plays, two from Timmerman and one from Xander Rice. The last of the three cut Bucknell's deficit to 70-69 with 3:52 left.
Bo Montgomery and Gerrale Gates followed with back-to-back buckets for Holy Cross before Timmerman answered with a lefty layup. Bucknell came up with two straight defensive stops, but two missed free throws and a missed layup proved costly as Gates scored again on a drive to make it 76-71 with 1:08 to go.
Holy Cross had a 2-for-8 stretch from the free-throw line in the late stages, but the Bison couldn't take advantage. Batchelder final hit two from the line with 12 seconds left to seal it for the Crusaders (7-14, 4-4 PL).
Three-point accuracy was the biggest differentiator on the stat sheet, as Holy Cross went 10-for-19 from the arc compared to Bucknell's 5-for-23. The Bison came into the game leading the Patriot League in field-goal percentage defense (.418) and had just held the league's top two 3-point shooting teams – Army and Colgate – in check on the road earlier in the week, but the Crusaders shot 52.6% overall in this one.
Timmerman scored 13 of his 17 points in the second half, when Bucknell shot 50.0 percent as a team. Jack Forrest added 14 points and freshman Ruot Bijiek achieved career highs with 12 points and seven rebounds over 28 minutes of action. Three of Bijiek's field goals came via acrobatic tip-ins on Bison missed shots.
Gates tallied 18 points, eight rebounds, and six assists, and Bo Montgomery scored all 13 of his points in the second half.
Holy Cross led 38-32 at halftime and opened the second stanza with buckets from Caleb Kenney and Batchelder to up the margin to 10 at 42-32.
Elvin Edmonds IV ended Bucknell's run of nine straight missed 3-pointers at the 16:27 mark. Batchelder answered with a three, but then the Bison got going thanks to a strong two-minute stretch from Josh Adoh off the bench. Adoh went coast-to-coast for a layup, hit a 3-pointer from the right corner, and then made a nice dish to Bijiek who was fouled going up for a dunk. His free throw coming out of a timeout made it a 47-44 game with 12:47 to play.
Every time the Bison got close, Holy Cross seemed to answer with three of its own. Jade Tse finished a 3-point play, Montgomery hit two straight threes, and Batchelder hit another to make it 63-56 with 7:08 to go. Bijiek's put-back followed by the first of two and-1s for Timmerman cut the margin to two, but the Bison never could get the game tied.
The Bison are back in action on Wednesday night at home against Navy. Tip-off is slated for 7 p.m. at Sojka Pavilion.
PRESS CONFERENCE:
Team Stats
HolyCr
Buck
FG%
.526
.475
3FG%
.526
.217
FT%
.476
.588
RB
33
35
TO
10
9
STL
4
6
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
17
FGM
7
3FGM
0
FTM
3
Pts
14
FGM
6
3FGM
2
FTM
0
Pts
12
FGM
5
3FGM
1
FTM
1
Pts
9
FGM
3
3FGM
1
FTM
2
Players Mentioned
F
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