Wednesday, January 3
Lewisburg, Pa.
7 p.m.
Bucknell University
4-10,1-0Patriot
70
vs
58
Holy Cross
3-11,0-1Patriot
1
2
F
Holy Cross
20
38
58
Bucknell
23
47
70
Men's Basketball Rides Big Second Half to 70-58 Win over Holy Cross in Patriot League Opener
1/3/2024 9:03:00 PM | Men's Basketball
LEWISBURG, Pa. - Bucknell junior Josh Bascoe scored a career-high 21 points, sophomore Ruot Bijiek added a career-high 14, and the Bison men's basketball team opened Patriot League play with a 70-58 win over Holy Cross on Wednesday evening at Sojka Pavilion. Leading 23-20 at the half after both teams got out to frosty starts, the Bison came out on fire in the second stanza, hitting seven of their first nine attempts from 3-point distance, running their lead up to as many as 18.
Elvin Edmonds IV matched Bijiek with 14 points while contributing six assists, five rebounds, and a pair of steals. Bijiek also stuffed the stat sheet, adding five rebounds, three assists, two steals, and two blocks. Jack Forrest was the fourth Bison in double figures, scoring 10 points and adding three steals. Pip Ajayi was terrific off the bench with seven points and a season-high nine rebounds along with two steals.
Joe Octave scored 17 points and Caleb Kenney had 16 points, eight rebounds, and three steals to lead the Crusaders (3-11, 0-1 PL), who saw their three-game series winning streak against the Bison (4-10, 1-0 PL) snapped.
Former Bison head coach Dave Paulsen made his return to Sojka Pavilion, this time on the visitors' bench alongside his associate head coach Bryson Johnson, who is Bucknell's all-time leading 3-point shooter. Not long after a pregame tribute was played on the arena video boards, Paulsen and Bison first-year head coach John Griffin III saw their teams struggle offensively at the outset.
The game was tied at 11-11 at the under-8 media timeout, with Bucknell 5-for-19 and Holy Cross 5-for-14 from the field at that point. Down 20-19 in the final minute, the Bison surged ahead on two free throws by Edmonds, and then a steal and a tough fadeaway jumper by Forrest with three seconds to go.
The Bison went 1-for-13 from 3-point range in the first half, but Forrest set the tone in the second by draining a triple on the opening possession. Kenney's follow kept Holy Cross within four at 32-28, but the Crusaders were held to only one more bucket over the next 4:36 as Bucknell made the game's first big run.
Noah Williamson's layup followed by Edmonds' 3-point play stretched the margin to nine. After Louth Coulibaly missed two free throws, Forrest buried another trey to make it 40-28. Bijiek and Edmonds hit threes around an Ajayi layup, and the lead ballooned to 48-30 with 12:13 to go. Bijiek's third triple made the Bison 7-for-9 from the arc in the half, but a cold stretch helped Holy Cross get back in the game.
Strong drive here by Elvin for the and-1, and the Bison are trying to stretch this lead out. He'll have the free throw coming after the TV break with the Bison up 8. #rayBucknell
— Bucknell MBasketball (@Bucknell_MBB) January 4, 2024
Watch: https://t.co/271UHS1vE8@PatriotLeagueTV | @ESPN pic.twitter.com/TuH96WsoRS
Bucknell missed seven straight shots while the Crusaders scored seven straight points, with Will Batchelder's 3-pointer pulling them within nine at 6:15 to go. Holy Cross had a chance to get even closer after forcing a rare Bison turnover, but they gave it right back with an errant pass on the fastbreak. Bascoe ended Bucknell's drought with two free throws, and then Ajayi's tip-in shoved the margin back to 13 at 60-47 with 4:20 to go.
Bijiek added one more 3-pointer, and the Bison closed it out at the foul line with four straight makes in the final 1:13.
Bucknell shot 48.3 percent in the second half and 38.3 percent overall. The Bison finished 9-for-28 (.321) from 3-point range and 15-for-18 (.833) from the foul line. They had 13 assists and 12 steals against a season-low six turnovers.
Some early alley-oopage from Pip! #rayBucknell
— Bucknell MBasketball (@Bucknell_MBB) January 4, 2024
Watch: https://t.co/271UHS1vE8@PatriotLeagueTV | @ESPN pic.twitter.com/62WDQyCZoM
Holy Cross shot 41.5 percent for the game, including a 5-for-17 (.294) mark from downtown. The Crusaders struggled at the foul line (9-18) and turned the ball over 15 times, which led to Bucknell's 18-8 edge in second-chance points. The Bison finished with a 37-35 rebounding edge.
Now 1-0 in Patriot League play for the first time since 2019-20, Bucknell will look to make it two straight wins on Saturday when American visits Sojka Pavilion for a 2 p.m. game that will be televised on CBS Sports Network. The Eagles also won their opener on Wednesday, 75-66 over Lehigh in Washington, D.C.
Team Stats
HolyCr
Buck
FG%
.415
.383
3FG%
.294
.321
FT%
.500
.833
RB
35
37
TO
15
6
STL
4
12
Game Leaders
Pts
21
FGM
7
3FGM
2
FTM
5
Pts
14
FGM
3
3FGM
1
FTM
7
Pts
14
FGM
4
3FGM
4
FTM
2
Pts
10
FGM
4
3FGM
2
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
G
/ Men's BasketballF
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's Basketball
C
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