Tuesday, February 28
Washington, D.C.
7 p.m.
Bucknell University
12-20,5-13Patriot
59
at
64
American
16-14,7-11Patriot
1
2
F
Bucknell
29
30
59
American
34
30
64
American Holds off Bucknell 64-59 in Patriot League Tournament First Round
2/28/2023 9:41:00 PM | Men's Basketball
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Johnny O'Neil scored 19 points, and his blocked shot followed by two clinching free throws with 12 seconds remaining lifted seventh-seeded American to a 64-59 win over 10th-seeded Bucknell in the first round of the Patriot League Men's Basketball Tournament on Tuesday night at Bender Arena.
Xander Rice had 17 points and five assists for the Bison, who finish the season with a 12-20 record. Elijah Stephens scored 14 of his 18 points in the second half, and Matt Rogers had 14 points and 13 rebounds to help the Eagles (16-14) snap a six-game losing streak and move on to play second-seeded Navy in the quarterfinal round on Thursday.
Bucknell defeated American in both regular-season meetings earlier in the month, hitting 19 of 29 from the 3-point arc along the way. The Bison shot it well again in this one, hitting 9 of 18 from deep while shooting 46.9 percent overall. But the Eagles were also hot, hitting 50 percent from the field and 6 of 13 from the arc.
American led for the final 13:43 of the first half, but an 80-foot bomb by Elvin Edmonds IV to end the first half kept the Bison within five at 34-29 at intermission.
Bucknell trailed by eight at 54-46 after Stephens' 3-pointer with 5:58 left, but the Bison scored six straight to get back in it. Andre Screen and Alex Timmerman scored in the lane, and then Rice drove the baseline and dished to Screen for a dunk to make it 54-52 with 4:06 to play.
Down four inside two minutes to play, Rice was fouled on a 3-pointer and made all three at the line cut the deficit to one. O'Neil scored on a reverse layup, and then Jack Forrest answered with a tough step-back jumper along the baseline to beat the shot clock with 1:03 left.
After a timeout, Stephens made one of American's biggest shots of the night from the right elbow to give the Eagles a 62-59 lead with 40 seconds left. Edmonds got to the rim at the other end, but O'Neil, the Patriot League leader in blocked shots, denied the layup attempt, grabbed the rebound and made both ends of a 1-and-1 to ice the game.
"I thought our guys fought hard, as they have all season," said head coach Nathan Davis. "They never gave up tonight after falling behind by nine in the second half and the crowd was into it. At the end of the day, give American credit for making a few more plays than we did."
Forrest finished with 12 points, Edmonds had 10, and Alex Timmerman tallied eight points, seven rebounds, and four assists for the Bison. Lorenzo Donadio was American's fourth double-digit scorer with 10.
The lead changed hands four times in the first five minutes of the game before O'Neil got going for American. He hit his first three 3-point attempts of the night, including a tough step-back three in front of the Bucknell bench to beat the shot clock and give the Eagles a 26-15 lead.
Rice hit a pair of 3-pointers and Edmonds added another to keep the Bison within six. Matt Rogers finished a layup with two seconds left, but Edmonds took the inbounds pass and banked in a heave from his own free-throw line to make it a 34-29 game at he half.
Xander Rice had 17 points and five assists for the Bison, who finish the season with a 12-20 record. Elijah Stephens scored 14 of his 18 points in the second half, and Matt Rogers had 14 points and 13 rebounds to help the Eagles (16-14) snap a six-game losing streak and move on to play second-seeded Navy in the quarterfinal round on Thursday.
Bucknell defeated American in both regular-season meetings earlier in the month, hitting 19 of 29 from the 3-point arc along the way. The Bison shot it well again in this one, hitting 9 of 18 from deep while shooting 46.9 percent overall. But the Eagles were also hot, hitting 50 percent from the field and 6 of 13 from the arc.
American led for the final 13:43 of the first half, but an 80-foot bomb by Elvin Edmonds IV to end the first half kept the Bison within five at 34-29 at intermission.
👀 ELVIN EDMONDS!!! He beats the halftime buzzer from the opposite foul line, and the Bison are down just 5 at the break. #rayBucknell | #SCTop10 | #PLTop3
— Bucknell MBasketball (@Bucknell_MBB) March 1, 2023
CC: @ESPNAssignDesk | @PatriotLeagueTV | @MarchMadnessMBB
Watch Live: https://t.co/kwbhboOEsT pic.twitter.com/GR48fYkVfP
Bucknell trailed by eight at 54-46 after Stephens' 3-pointer with 5:58 left, but the Bison scored six straight to get back in it. Andre Screen and Alex Timmerman scored in the lane, and then Rice drove the baseline and dished to Screen for a dunk to make it 54-52 with 4:06 to play.
Down four inside two minutes to play, Rice was fouled on a 3-pointer and made all three at the line cut the deficit to one. O'Neil scored on a reverse layup, and then Jack Forrest answered with a tough step-back jumper along the baseline to beat the shot clock with 1:03 left.
After a timeout, Stephens made one of American's biggest shots of the night from the right elbow to give the Eagles a 62-59 lead with 40 seconds left. Edmonds got to the rim at the other end, but O'Neil, the Patriot League leader in blocked shots, denied the layup attempt, grabbed the rebound and made both ends of a 1-and-1 to ice the game.
"I thought our guys fought hard, as they have all season," said head coach Nathan Davis. "They never gave up tonight after falling behind by nine in the second half and the crowd was into it. At the end of the day, give American credit for making a few more plays than we did."
Forrest finished with 12 points, Edmonds had 10, and Alex Timmerman tallied eight points, seven rebounds, and four assists for the Bison. Lorenzo Donadio was American's fourth double-digit scorer with 10.
The lead changed hands four times in the first five minutes of the game before O'Neil got going for American. He hit his first three 3-point attempts of the night, including a tough step-back three in front of the Bucknell bench to beat the shot clock and give the Eagles a 26-15 lead.
Rice hit a pair of 3-pointers and Edmonds added another to keep the Bison within six. Matt Rogers finished a layup with two seconds left, but Edmonds took the inbounds pass and banked in a heave from his own free-throw line to make it a 34-29 game at he half.
Team Stats
Buck
Americ
FG%
.469
.500
3FG%
.500
.462
FT%
.667
.750
RB
21
32
TO
9
9
STL
7
6
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
17
FGM
5
3FGM
4
FTM
3
Pts
12
FGM
5
3FGM
2
FTM
0
Pts
10
FGM
4
3FGM
2
FTM
0
Pts
8
FGM
4
3FGM
0
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
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/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's Basketball
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/ Men's BasketballC
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