Wednesday, January 24
Lewisburg, Pa.
7 p.m.
Bucknell University
7-13,4-3Patriot
71
vs
63
Navy
8-10,4-3Patriot
1
2
F
Navy
27
36
63
Bucknell
32
39
71
Photo by: Lianne Garrahan
Forrest Scores 24 as Men's Basketball Downs Navy, 71-63
1/24/2024 9:11:00 PM | Men's Basketball
LEWISBURG, Pa. -- Bucknell senior Jack Forrest scored 20 of his game-high 24 points in the second half and made four of his team's 10 3-point field goals as the Bison defeated Navy, 71-63, on Wednesday night at Sojka Pavilion. Noah Williamson continued his strong run with 14 points, and Josh Adoh gave the Bison a huge early lift, scoring all of his season-high 10 points in the first half to help Bucknell snap a nine-game series losing streak to the Midshipmen.
Bucknell (7-13) continued its trend of alternating wins and losses in the Patriot League and now stands at 4-3, pulling into a tie for fourth place along with Navy (8-10). The Midshipmen saw their two-game winning streak come to an end, despite 22 points from Austin Benigni and 11 points and 11 rebounds from Donovan Draper.
The Bison shot 48.9 percent for the contest, hitting at a 61.9 percent clip in the second half, while holding the Midshipmen to 35.2 percent. Bucknell hit half of its 20 3-point tries and led for more than 38 minutes, although the game was not decided until the late stages.
Bucknell stormed out to a 30-15 lead, but Navy shot back with a 15-2 run, with Austin Inge's 3-pointer on the first possession of the second half making it a two-point game at 32-30. The Bison responded well, scoring 17 of the next 21 points to build the margin back to 15 at 49-34.
Williamson's free throws gave Bucknell its largest lead of the night at 16 points (55-39) with 10:55 to go, but a Navy team that overcame double-digit deficits in three of its Patriot League wins made things interesting down the stretch.
Back-to-back 3-pointers by Mac MacDonald cut the Bison lead to 59-51. On Navy's next possession, MacDonald hit yet another bomb, but it was waived off when MacDonald was called for an offensive foul kicking a leg out against Forrest. Forrest then hit a three on the Bison's next possession, and the six-point swing had the Bison lead back to 62-51.
Another key sequence for Forrest came with just over two minutes remaining and the Bison clinging to a 65-59 lead. The senior blocked Benigni's shot in the lane, saved the rebound from going out of bounds, and then scored with a driving layup at the other end to build the Bison lead back to eight with 1:52 remaining. Navy got as close as six one more time, and it might have been closer if not for a 2-for-6 stretch at the foul line, but the Bison closed it out with a couple of defensive stops and just enough free throws of their own.
Forrest, who was honored before the game for reaching the 1,000-point mark on Saturday against Lafayette, had a team-high seven rebounds to go along with his 24 points. It was the sixth 20-point game of the season for the Patriot League's scoring leader.
Adoh added five rebounds, four assists, and two steals in 19 active minutes. Elvin Edmonds IV finished with nine points and five assists, and Pip Ajayi blocked three shots in his 12 minutes of action.
Bucknell faces another service academy on Saturday when it travels to Army West Point for a 1 p.m. start. The Black Knights improved to 2-5 in the Patriot League with a come-from-behind road win over Boston University on Wednesday.
Bucknell (7-13) continued its trend of alternating wins and losses in the Patriot League and now stands at 4-3, pulling into a tie for fourth place along with Navy (8-10). The Midshipmen saw their two-game winning streak come to an end, despite 22 points from Austin Benigni and 11 points and 11 rebounds from Donovan Draper.
That's pretty basketball! Jack with the tough finish off the backdoor feed from Elvin, and it's a 51-36 game. #rayBucknell
— Bucknell MBasketball (@Bucknell_MBB) January 25, 2024
Watch: https://t.co/X7mtnG4TaQ@PatriotLeagueTV | @ESPN pic.twitter.com/bqYuFiT5Qj
The Bison shot 48.9 percent for the contest, hitting at a 61.9 percent clip in the second half, while holding the Midshipmen to 35.2 percent. Bucknell hit half of its 20 3-point tries and led for more than 38 minutes, although the game was not decided until the late stages.
Bucknell stormed out to a 30-15 lead, but Navy shot back with a 15-2 run, with Austin Inge's 3-pointer on the first possession of the second half making it a two-point game at 32-30. The Bison responded well, scoring 17 of the next 21 points to build the margin back to 15 at 49-34.
What a start for Josh Adoh! He has 7 of our first 11 points, plus an assist, and this game is off to a lively start at Sojka. #rayBucknell
— Bucknell MBasketball (@Bucknell_MBB) January 25, 2024
Watch: https://t.co/X7mtnG4TaQ@PatriotLeagueTV | @ESPN pic.twitter.com/GFBeDTyK28
Williamson's free throws gave Bucknell its largest lead of the night at 16 points (55-39) with 10:55 to go, but a Navy team that overcame double-digit deficits in three of its Patriot League wins made things interesting down the stretch.
Back-to-back 3-pointers by Mac MacDonald cut the Bison lead to 59-51. On Navy's next possession, MacDonald hit yet another bomb, but it was waived off when MacDonald was called for an offensive foul kicking a leg out against Forrest. Forrest then hit a three on the Bison's next possession, and the six-point swing had the Bison lead back to 62-51.
Another key sequence for Forrest came with just over two minutes remaining and the Bison clinging to a 65-59 lead. The senior blocked Benigni's shot in the lane, saved the rebound from going out of bounds, and then scored with a driving layup at the other end to build the Bison lead back to eight with 1:52 remaining. Navy got as close as six one more time, and it might have been closer if not for a 2-for-6 stretch at the foul line, but the Bison closed it out with a couple of defensive stops and just enough free throws of their own.
Forrest, who was honored before the game for reaching the 1,000-point mark on Saturday against Lafayette, had a team-high seven rebounds to go along with his 24 points. It was the sixth 20-point game of the season for the Patriot League's scoring leader.
Adoh added five rebounds, four assists, and two steals in 19 active minutes. Elvin Edmonds IV finished with nine points and five assists, and Pip Ajayi blocked three shots in his 12 minutes of action.
Bucknell faces another service academy on Saturday when it travels to Army West Point for a 1 p.m. start. The Black Knights improved to 2-5 in the Patriot League with a come-from-behind road win over Boston University on Wednesday.
Team Stats
Navy
Buck
FG%
.352
.489
3FG%
.318
.500
FT%
.667
.652
RB
32
35
TO
7
11
STL
4
3
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
24
FGM
9
3FGM
4
FTM
2
Pts
14
FGM
5
3FGM
0
FTM
4
Pts
9
FGM
3
3FGM
2
FTM
1
Players Mentioned
G
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