Saturday, December 30
Lewisburg, Pa.
2 p.m.
Bucknell University
3-10,0-0Patriot
58
vs
67
Saint Peter's
6-5,2-0MAAC
1
2
F
Saint Peter's
28
39
67
Bucknell
33
25
58
Men's Basketball Downed by Saint Peter's, 67-58
12/30/2023 4:09:00 PM | Men's Basketball
LEWISBURG, Pa. - The Bucknell men's basketball team fell 67-58 to Saint Peter's on Saturday afternoon at Sojka Pavilion. In their final game before the beginning of Patriot League play on Wednesday, the Bison led the Peacocks 40-36 with 14 minutes to go in the second half, but Saint Peter's scored on its next four possessions en route to a game-changing 10-0 run. The Bison cut that margin to three a few times, but the Peacocks made several tough shots down the stretch to pull away.
The Bison shot 50 percent (22-44) from the field but only 5-for-19 on 3-pointers, while the Peacocks shot 44.9 percent (22-49) and 6-for-14 behind the arc. After hitting at a 34.6 percent clip in the first half, Saint Peter's shot 56.5 percent in the second, including 4-for-7 from long range.
Ruot Bijiek scored a team-high 13 points for Bucknell (3-10), while Elvin Edmonds IV, Jack Forrest, and Noah Williamson each scored 10 points. Josh Bascoe finished with nine points, six rebounds, and five assists, while Edmonds added five assists and three steals. Latrell Reid scored a game-high 16 points for Saint Peter's (6-5), making five of his six free throw attempts in the final minute of play to help seal the victory.
It was a physical, defensive struggle in the early going, as the teams combined to make just five of their first 19 shots. Saint Peter's didn't lead until the 5:24 mark, when Reid's 3-point play put the visitors ahead 21-18. That was the first of four lead changes over the next two minutes, and then the Bison finished the half with one of their best stretches of the day.
Bascoe snapped a 24-all tie with a 3-pointer, and then Edmonds fed Pip Ajayi for a thunderous one-handed dunk. Forrest's 3-pointer at the end of the shot clock capped an 8-2 run to give Bucknell its largest lead of six points, and the Bison went into the locker room with a 33-28 advantage.
The lead was still four at 40-36 after Bascoe's layup on an inbounds play, but those would be Bucknell's last points for more than three minutes. Saint Peter's came in shooting 27 percent from 3-point range on the season and was just 2-for-13 in the game at that point, but Roy Clarke and Brent Bland connected from deep as part of the pivotal 10-0 run that put the Peacocks in front for good. Bland's trey made them 7-for-10 in the half and gave his team a 46-40 lead with 12:00 to play.
A 3-pointer from Edmonds and a long two from Forrest cut the gap to three points, but the Peacocks had another rally in them. Down 57-52 coming out of the under-4 media timeout, Bucknell got a couple of stops, but a turnover and a missed shot in the lane kept the margin at five. Bland followed with a 3-pointer, and after a Bison miss from deep, Michael Houge scored in the paint to make it a 62-52 game with 1:37 to go.
Forrest's layup after Reid's missed front end of a 1-and-1 cut it to six with 57 seconds left, but Reid went 5-for-6 at the stripe the rest of the way to prevent the Bison from getting closer.
Bucknell will play its first two Patriot League games at home to start the New Year. Next up is Holy Cross on Wednesday, Jan. 3 at 7 p.m.
The Bison shot 50 percent (22-44) from the field but only 5-for-19 on 3-pointers, while the Peacocks shot 44.9 percent (22-49) and 6-for-14 behind the arc. After hitting at a 34.6 percent clip in the first half, Saint Peter's shot 56.5 percent in the second, including 4-for-7 from long range.
Ruot Bijiek scored a team-high 13 points for Bucknell (3-10), while Elvin Edmonds IV, Jack Forrest, and Noah Williamson each scored 10 points. Josh Bascoe finished with nine points, six rebounds, and five assists, while Edmonds added five assists and three steals. Latrell Reid scored a game-high 16 points for Saint Peter's (6-5), making five of his six free throw attempts in the final minute of play to help seal the victory.
It was a physical, defensive struggle in the early going, as the teams combined to make just five of their first 19 shots. Saint Peter's didn't lead until the 5:24 mark, when Reid's 3-point play put the visitors ahead 21-18. That was the first of four lead changes over the next two minutes, and then the Bison finished the half with one of their best stretches of the day.
Bascoe snapped a 24-all tie with a 3-pointer, and then Edmonds fed Pip Ajayi for a thunderous one-handed dunk. Forrest's 3-pointer at the end of the shot clock capped an 8-2 run to give Bucknell its largest lead of six points, and the Bison went into the locker room with a 33-28 advantage.
Pip with some more 💥!
— Bucknell MBasketball (@Bucknell_MBB) December 30, 2023
Watch: https://t.co/WkwVyFfRlH@PatriotLeagueTV | @ESPN pic.twitter.com/JgVMTUNu1t
The lead was still four at 40-36 after Bascoe's layup on an inbounds play, but those would be Bucknell's last points for more than three minutes. Saint Peter's came in shooting 27 percent from 3-point range on the season and was just 2-for-13 in the game at that point, but Roy Clarke and Brent Bland connected from deep as part of the pivotal 10-0 run that put the Peacocks in front for good. Bland's trey made them 7-for-10 in the half and gave his team a 46-40 lead with 12:00 to play.
A 3-pointer from Edmonds and a long two from Forrest cut the gap to three points, but the Peacocks had another rally in them. Down 57-52 coming out of the under-4 media timeout, Bucknell got a couple of stops, but a turnover and a missed shot in the lane kept the margin at five. Bland followed with a 3-pointer, and after a Bison miss from deep, Michael Houge scored in the paint to make it a 62-52 game with 1:37 to go.
Forrest's layup after Reid's missed front end of a 1-and-1 cut it to six with 57 seconds left, but Reid went 5-for-6 at the stripe the rest of the way to prevent the Bison from getting closer.
Bucknell will play its first two Patriot League games at home to start the New Year. Next up is Holy Cross on Wednesday, Jan. 3 at 7 p.m.
Team Stats
SP
Buck
FG%
.449
.500
3FG%
.429
.263
FT%
.810
.692
RB
29
23
TO
8
13
STL
5
5
Game Leaders
Pts
13
FGM
4
3FGM
1
FTM
4
Pts
10
FGM
4
3FGM
0
FTM
2
Pts
10
FGM
4
3FGM
1
FTM
1
Pts
10
FGM
4
3FGM
2
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
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