Wednesday, January 10
Bethlehem, Pa.
7 p.m.
Bucknell University
5-11,2-1Patriot
86
at
80
Lehigh
4-10,1-2Patriot
1
2
F
Bucknell
47
39
86
Lehigh
30
50
80
Photo by: Jon Lambert
Bison Men Earn Big Road Win at Lehigh, 86-80
1/10/2024 9:35:00 PM | Men's Basketball
BETHLEHEM, Pa. – Josh Bascoe scored 18 of his career-high 23 points in the first half, Jack Forrest added 24, and Noah Williamson finished with 18 points and 12 rebounds with several critical plays down the stretch to lead Bucknell to an 86-80 win over Lehigh in Patriot League men's basketball action on Wednesday night at Stabler Arena.
Lehigh cut a 19-point deficit down to three on Nasir Whitlock's 3-pointer with 4:24 to go, but Williamson was the difference-maker for the Bison in crunch time. He made both ends of a 1-and-1 coming out of the under-4 media timeout, and then after Elvin Edmonds IV stood tall and absorbed a charge on big Burke Chebuhar, Williamson put back his own miss. After a defensive stop, Williamson powered in for two more in the paint to make it a 79-72 game with 2:33 to play.
The Bison came up with some big stops in the final two minutes and went 7-for-8 at the foul line to ice the victory. Bucknell's best offensive output of the season was made possible by some efficient shooting. The Bison shot 49.1 percent from the field, they hit half of their 3-point attempts (11-22), and the Patriot League's best free throw-shooting team hit 21 of 25 (.840) from the charity stripe.
"I thought we played within ourselves down the stretch and made enough winning plays to win on the road," said head coach John Griffin III. "We want our team to take pride in winning close games, especially on the road. We've probably done more three-minute situational games in practice than anyone in the country, and tonight we finished it with defense, rebounding, and free-throw shooting. All road wins in Patriot League play are special, because they are hard to come by, whether it's by 10 points or one point."
Bascoe was sensational right from the game's very first possession, and he finished 9-for-11 from the field, 3-for-3 from the arc, and 2-for-2 from the foul line. He also had three steals and two assists in 38 minutes of action.
After starting slowly offensively in each of the first two Patriot League games, Bucknell came out on fire in this one. The Bison started 9-for-10 from the field with three of those buckets coming from downtown. Bascoe was the catalyst, scoring the team's first seven points and 13 of the first 17.
Two threes from Forrest and one from Josh Adoh keyed an 11-0 run that snapped a 17-all tie, and the Bison led by as many as nine for the rest of the half. Forrest hit a runner in the lane, and then Bascoe closed the half by stealing an outlet pass and sticking a contested 3-pointer at the buzzer to make it 47-30 at the break.
Bucknell thought it actually had a 19-point lead going to the locker room, but the officials reviewed and reversed a goaltending call at the 3:00 mark, taking two points off the board.
Forrest's layup off a backdoor feed from Edmonds did give the Bison that 19-point lead early in the second half, but Lehigh began to chip away as Bucknell's foul ledger quickly piled up. Forrest, Edmonds, and Pip Ajayi all picked up their fourth fouls in the first 10 minutes of the half.
Even as Bucknell's offense began to stagnate, the Bison did hit five 3-pointers, including two big ones from reserves Ian Motta and Brandon McCreesh to preserve a double-digit lead. McCreesh's corner triple made it 71-58 with 8:02 to play, but they would manage only two more points over the next four minutes.
Threes from Tyler Whitney-Sidney and Whitlock bookended a 12-2 run, with the other six points all coming at the foul line. With the lead down to 73-70 at the 3:57 mark, Williamson's free throws and Edmonds' drawn charge proved critical. Edmonds made two free throws to make it a seven-point game, and Forrest made four straight at the line to end it.
Lehigh (4-10, 1-2 PL) shot 35.3 percent in the first half but 60.9 percent in the second, finishing at 45.6 percent for the game. The Mountain Hawks went 7-for-20 from the arc and 21-for-29 from the foul line and finished with a 36-32 rebounding edge. Lehigh was held back by 16 turnovers, 10 coming from Bucknell steals.
Now 2-1 in the Patriot League (5-11 overall), Bucknell moved into a tie for second place in the early standings, one game behind league-leading Lafayette, which is off to a 3-0 start after winning at Colgate on Wednesday.
The Bison will host the Raiders on Alumni Day this Saturday at 3:30 p.m. Among the former Bison in attendance will be Hall-of-Fame coach Charlie Woollum and members of his 1989 East Coast Conference championship team.
Lehigh cut a 19-point deficit down to three on Nasir Whitlock's 3-pointer with 4:24 to go, but Williamson was the difference-maker for the Bison in crunch time. He made both ends of a 1-and-1 coming out of the under-4 media timeout, and then after Elvin Edmonds IV stood tall and absorbed a charge on big Burke Chebuhar, Williamson put back his own miss. After a defensive stop, Williamson powered in for two more in the paint to make it a 79-72 game with 2:33 to play.
The Bison came up with some big stops in the final two minutes and went 7-for-8 at the foul line to ice the victory. Bucknell's best offensive output of the season was made possible by some efficient shooting. The Bison shot 49.1 percent from the field, they hit half of their 3-point attempts (11-22), and the Patriot League's best free throw-shooting team hit 21 of 25 (.840) from the charity stripe.
"I thought we played within ourselves down the stretch and made enough winning plays to win on the road," said head coach John Griffin III. "We want our team to take pride in winning close games, especially on the road. We've probably done more three-minute situational games in practice than anyone in the country, and tonight we finished it with defense, rebounding, and free-throw shooting. All road wins in Patriot League play are special, because they are hard to come by, whether it's by 10 points or one point."
NOAH!!! The Big man has 6 straight points since Lehigh cut it to 3, and we're back up by 7 with 2:33 to go. #rayBucknell
— Bucknell MBasketball (@Bucknell_MBB) January 11, 2024
Watch: https://t.co/pDTmjFYJQq@PatriotLeagueTV | @ESPN pic.twitter.com/UXTcYWUf3N
Bascoe was sensational right from the game's very first possession, and he finished 9-for-11 from the field, 3-for-3 from the arc, and 2-for-2 from the foul line. He also had three steals and two assists in 38 minutes of action.
After starting slowly offensively in each of the first two Patriot League games, Bucknell came out on fire in this one. The Bison started 9-for-10 from the field with three of those buckets coming from downtown. Bascoe was the catalyst, scoring the team's first seven points and 13 of the first 17.
Two threes from Forrest and one from Josh Adoh keyed an 11-0 run that snapped a 17-all tie, and the Bison led by as many as nine for the rest of the half. Forrest hit a runner in the lane, and then Bascoe closed the half by stealing an outlet pass and sticking a contested 3-pointer at the buzzer to make it 47-30 at the break.
Bucknell thought it actually had a 19-point lead going to the locker room, but the officials reviewed and reversed a goaltending call at the 3:00 mark, taking two points off the board.
"JUST HOW THEY DREW IT UP!"
— Bucknell MBasketball (@Bucknell_MBB) January 11, 2024
Josh Bascoe caps an 18-point half (7-7 FG) with this steal and splash at the buzzer. Bison are up big at the break. #rayBucknell #PLTop3
Watch: https://t.co/pDTmjFYJQq@PatriotLeagueTV | @ESPN pic.twitter.com/tbvpmMeQzb
Forrest's layup off a backdoor feed from Edmonds did give the Bison that 19-point lead early in the second half, but Lehigh began to chip away as Bucknell's foul ledger quickly piled up. Forrest, Edmonds, and Pip Ajayi all picked up their fourth fouls in the first 10 minutes of the half.
Even as Bucknell's offense began to stagnate, the Bison did hit five 3-pointers, including two big ones from reserves Ian Motta and Brandon McCreesh to preserve a double-digit lead. McCreesh's corner triple made it 71-58 with 8:02 to play, but they would manage only two more points over the next four minutes.
Threes from Tyler Whitney-Sidney and Whitlock bookended a 12-2 run, with the other six points all coming at the foul line. With the lead down to 73-70 at the 3:57 mark, Williamson's free throws and Edmonds' drawn charge proved critical. Edmonds made two free throws to make it a seven-point game, and Forrest made four straight at the line to end it.
Lehigh (4-10, 1-2 PL) shot 35.3 percent in the first half but 60.9 percent in the second, finishing at 45.6 percent for the game. The Mountain Hawks went 7-for-20 from the arc and 21-for-29 from the foul line and finished with a 36-32 rebounding edge. Lehigh was held back by 16 turnovers, 10 coming from Bucknell steals.
Now 2-1 in the Patriot League (5-11 overall), Bucknell moved into a tie for second place in the early standings, one game behind league-leading Lafayette, which is off to a 3-0 start after winning at Colgate on Wednesday.
The Bison will host the Raiders on Alumni Day this Saturday at 3:30 p.m. Among the former Bison in attendance will be Hall-of-Fame coach Charlie Woollum and members of his 1989 East Coast Conference championship team.
Team Stats
Buck
Lehigh
FG%
.491
.456
3FG%
.500
.350
FT%
.840
.724
RB
32
36
TO
14
16
STL
10
8
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
24
FGM
7
3FGM
4
FTM
6
Pts
23
FGM
9
3FGM
3
FTM
2
Pts
18
FGM
6
3FGM
0
FTM
6
Pts
5
FGM
1
3FGM
1
FTM
2
Players Mentioned
G
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's Basketball
C
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