Saturday, November 11
Niagara Falls, N.Y.
7 p.m.
Bucknell University
1-2,0-0Patriot
73
at
64
Niagara
0-2,0-0MAAC
1
2
F
Bucknell
32
41
73
Niagara
29
35
64
Photo by: Jon Lambert
Men’s Basketball Pulls Away from Niagara 73-64, Delivers John Griffin III First Head Coaching Win
11/11/2023 9:33:00 PM | Men's Basketball
NIAGARA UNIVERSITY, N.Y. – Sophomore center Noah Williamson had a career night with 22 points and 11 rebounds, Ontario native Josh Bascoe scored 12 of his career-high 15 points in key moments in the second half, and the Bucknell men's basketball team defeated Niagara 73-64 at the Gallagher Center on Saturday night. The Bison not only earned their first win of the season, but they also delivered the first head coaching win for John Griffin III.
The Bison also received major contributions from Elvin Edmonds IV, who had 15 points and six assists, and Jack Forrest, who logged his first double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds. Bucknell trailed by as many as nine points early in the game but made a run late in the first half to take the lead, and then the Bison shot 58.3 percent in the second half to take over the game.
Of vital importance was Bucknell flipping around two areas where it had struggled in the first two games of the season, which ended up as losses to Delaware and Penn. After being outrebounded 52-22 at The Palestra on Wednesday night, the Bison dominated the glass 36-16 against Niagara. Bucknell had also struggled a bit at the free-throw line, but went 13-for-15 in this one, including 10-for-10 in the final 4:12 after the Purple Eagles had cut a 12-point deficit down to four.
"The team shared a nice celebratory moment together in the locker room," said Griffin, who emerged soaking wet after getting a water cooler bath from his players after the game. "Winning is hard, especially here at the Gallagher Center. This is not an easy place to play and Niagara has a lot of very talented players, but our guys have worked very hard and I'm so happy to see them earn this win. They bring an attitude of competition day in and day out, and we've learned a lot collectively from the first two games. Delaware and Penn made us pay for every mistake, but tonight I thought we executed much better at both ends of the floor."
Bucknell trailed by nine on a couple of occasions in the first half, but the Bison outscored the Purple Eagles 16-5 over the final five minutes to take a 32-29 lead at the break. Forrest logged seven points in that run, and Bascoe ducked behind a screen for a 3-pointer.
Williamson, who had 12 points in the half, hit two free throws to give the Bison a 28-27 lead. After Harlan Obioha hit a 17-foot jumper for Niagara, Ruot Bijiek and Williamson finished the half with buckets off feeds from Edmonds.
The lead changed hands twice in the early stages of the second half, but Williamson's second straight dunk off a screen and roll gave the Bison the lead for good at 38-37. Edmonds' backdoor cut for an and-one finish followed by a layup from Bascoe extended the margin to six at 43-37.
Niagara freshman guard Ahmad Henderson, who was sensational with 28 points, hit a 3-pointer to cut Bucknell's lead to 47-44 with 11:05 left before the Bison responded with a game-changing 7-0 run. Williamson scored twice on post moves and Bascoe splashed a three from the right corner, and Niagara coach Greg Paulus needed a timeout with his team suddenly trailing by 10 with 8:46 to go.
Edmonds' fastbreak finish off a turnover gave Bucknell its largest lead of 12 points at 58-46, but the Purple Eagles quickly responded with an 11-2, with six of the points coming from Henderson, to close within 60-57 with 3:48 still to play.
Forrest made both ends of a 1-and-1, Henderson missed a contested three, and then Bascoe was left all along on the right wing for a dagger 3-pointer. Henderson answered with his fifth triple of the night to make it 65-60, but Bascoe came up big again with a tough scoop shot in the lane. After a Niagara miss, Williamson was fouled on an offensive rebound and made both ends of a 1-and-1 for a 69-60 lead with 1:26 left.
Bijiek and Bascoe added four more charity tosses in the final minute to ice the victory.
Bascoe, who grew up only about an hour's drive from Niagara in Milton, Ontario, scored in double figures for the first time in his career with a 10-point outing against Penn on Wednesday. He upped that mark again with 15 against the Purple Eagles, hitting 5 of 7 shots from the field and all three of his 3-point attempts.
Williamson was 9-for-12 from the floor and 4-for-4 from the foul line en route to his first career double-double. Combined with Forrest's stat line, Bucknell had two players record double-doubles in the same game for the first time since Nate Sestina and Bruce Moore both did it against Boston University in 2019.
Bucknell was playing for the third time in six days to start the season, while Niagara had been idle since a loss at Notre Dame last Monday in which it held an early 12-point lead and was tied with five minutes to go.
The Bison won their fifth straight in the series and moved to 6-5 all-time against Niagara.
Bucknell's next three games will all be part of the Blue Devil Challenge. The Bison will play at La Salle on Tuesday before heading to Duke next Friday. Then Southern Indiana comes to Sojka Pavilion the following Monday, Nov. 20.
The Bison also received major contributions from Elvin Edmonds IV, who had 15 points and six assists, and Jack Forrest, who logged his first double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds. Bucknell trailed by as many as nine points early in the game but made a run late in the first half to take the lead, and then the Bison shot 58.3 percent in the second half to take over the game.
Of vital importance was Bucknell flipping around two areas where it had struggled in the first two games of the season, which ended up as losses to Delaware and Penn. After being outrebounded 52-22 at The Palestra on Wednesday night, the Bison dominated the glass 36-16 against Niagara. Bucknell had also struggled a bit at the free-throw line, but went 13-for-15 in this one, including 10-for-10 in the final 4:12 after the Purple Eagles had cut a 12-point deficit down to four.
"The team shared a nice celebratory moment together in the locker room," said Griffin, who emerged soaking wet after getting a water cooler bath from his players after the game. "Winning is hard, especially here at the Gallagher Center. This is not an easy place to play and Niagara has a lot of very talented players, but our guys have worked very hard and I'm so happy to see them earn this win. They bring an attitude of competition day in and day out, and we've learned a lot collectively from the first two games. Delaware and Penn made us pay for every mistake, but tonight I thought we executed much better at both ends of the floor."
The first of many. Congrats @JohnGriffinIII 🦬#TheBisonWay pic.twitter.com/7ZZ2kB9O8H
— Bucknell MBasketball (@Bucknell_MBB) November 12, 2023
Bucknell trailed by nine on a couple of occasions in the first half, but the Bison outscored the Purple Eagles 16-5 over the final five minutes to take a 32-29 lead at the break. Forrest logged seven points in that run, and Bascoe ducked behind a screen for a 3-pointer.
Williamson, who had 12 points in the half, hit two free throws to give the Bison a 28-27 lead. After Harlan Obioha hit a 17-foot jumper for Niagara, Ruot Bijiek and Williamson finished the half with buckets off feeds from Edmonds.
The lead changed hands twice in the early stages of the second half, but Williamson's second straight dunk off a screen and roll gave the Bison the lead for good at 38-37. Edmonds' backdoor cut for an and-one finish followed by a layup from Bascoe extended the margin to six at 43-37.
Niagara freshman guard Ahmad Henderson, who was sensational with 28 points, hit a 3-pointer to cut Bucknell's lead to 47-44 with 11:05 left before the Bison responded with a game-changing 7-0 run. Williamson scored twice on post moves and Bascoe splashed a three from the right corner, and Niagara coach Greg Paulus needed a timeout with his team suddenly trailing by 10 with 8:46 to go.
Edmonds' fastbreak finish off a turnover gave Bucknell its largest lead of 12 points at 58-46, but the Purple Eagles quickly responded with an 11-2, with six of the points coming from Henderson, to close within 60-57 with 3:48 still to play.
Forrest made both ends of a 1-and-1, Henderson missed a contested three, and then Bascoe was left all along on the right wing for a dagger 3-pointer. Henderson answered with his fifth triple of the night to make it 65-60, but Bascoe came up big again with a tough scoop shot in the lane. After a Niagara miss, Williamson was fouled on an offensive rebound and made both ends of a 1-and-1 for a 69-60 lead with 1:26 left.
Bijiek and Bascoe added four more charity tosses in the final minute to ice the victory.
Bascoe, who grew up only about an hour's drive from Niagara in Milton, Ontario, scored in double figures for the first time in his career with a 10-point outing against Penn on Wednesday. He upped that mark again with 15 against the Purple Eagles, hitting 5 of 7 shots from the field and all three of his 3-point attempts.
Williamson was 9-for-12 from the floor and 4-for-4 from the foul line en route to his first career double-double. Combined with Forrest's stat line, Bucknell had two players record double-doubles in the same game for the first time since Nate Sestina and Bruce Moore both did it against Boston University in 2019.
Bucknell was playing for the third time in six days to start the season, while Niagara had been idle since a loss at Notre Dame last Monday in which it held an early 12-point lead and was tied with five minutes to go.
The Bison won their fifth straight in the series and moved to 6-5 all-time against Niagara.
Bucknell's next three games will all be part of the Blue Devil Challenge. The Bison will play at La Salle on Tuesday before heading to Duke next Friday. Then Southern Indiana comes to Sojka Pavilion the following Monday, Nov. 20.
Team Stats
Buck
Niag
FG%
.528
.444
3FG%
.267
.348
FT%
.867
.667
RB
36
16
TO
13
10
STL
6
5
Game Leaders
Pts
22
FGM
9
3FGM
0
FTM
4
Pts
15
FGM
6
3FGM
0
FTM
3
Pts
15
FGM
5
3FGM
3
FTM
2
Pts
11
FGM
4
3FGM
1
FTM
2
Players Mentioned
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/ Men's Basketball
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/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's BasketballC
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