Men's Hoops Hosts NJIT Thursday

LEWISBURG, Pa. -- The Bucknell men's basketball team has certainly been busy over the last two weeks with three overtime games in the last four outings, including back-to-back double-OT marathons last week against Mount St. Mary's and Richmond. Saturday's win over the Spiders featured a comeback from as many as 21 points down, and the Bison survived Richmond's buzzer-beating 3-pointer at the end of the first overtime and won 80-76.

Bucknell is now 3-2 on the season heading into Thursday's home date with NJIT. This is the Highlanders' first visit to Lewisburg, as the two teams met for the first time just two seasons ago in Newark. Bucknell won that one 76-63, but none of the NJIT players from that 2022-23 squad are still on the roster. NJIT is off to an 0-5 start after falling at George Washington on Monday. The Highlanders are led by the reigning America East Rookie of the Year Tariq Francis, who is averaging 17.4 points through five games this season.

Noah Williamson (19.2) and Josh Bascoe (16.8) have carried much of the scoring load for the Bison thus far, and Ruot Bijiek is coming off a career-high 20-point game against Richmond. Williamson had a 32-point effort in a win over Southern Indiana, and his performance against Richmond was one of the best of his career. He scored 22 of his 26 points after halftime, he either scored or assisted on 11 of the team's 13 field goals in the second half, and he also tallied 10 rebounds, four assists, and a career-high five blocked shots.

The Bucknell men's basketball team will be dedicating Thursday's game to Morgan's Message, an organization that aims to end the stigma surrounding mental health within athletics and equalize access to both mental and physical health treatment. Bucknell's Morgan's Message chapter strives to unite our campus as we support those struggling with their mental health, through empowerment, advocacy, and community building. Morgan's Message is dedicated to the life and legacy of Morgan Rodgers, a former Duke University Lacrosse student-athlete who died tragically in July 2019 after battling mental health struggles. For more information on Morgan's life and legacy and how you can help those with mental health struggles, please visit MorgansMessage.org.

GAME DIGEST
What: NJIT (0-5) at Bucknell (3-2)
Where: Sojka Pavilion, Lewisburg, Pa.
When: Thursday, Nov. 21, 7 p.m.
Watch: ESPN+
Local Radio: Eagle 107
Internet Audio: BucknellBison.com
Live Stats: BucknellBison.com
COMPLETE GAME NOTES | BUY TICKETS

With a Win over NJIT, Bucknell Would ...

... win its second straight game and improve to 4-2 on the season.
... improve to 2-0 all-time against the Highlanders.
... improve to 2-1 this season and 215-86 all-time at Sojka Pavilion.

Headlines

Bucknell's four-game homestand continues on Thursday when NJIT makes its first-ever trip to Lewisburg. The Bison and Highlanders met for the first time two seasons ago, with Bucknell winning 79-63 in Newark.
The schedule says Bucknell has competed in five games so far this month, but in reality it's 5.6 games when factoring in the five overtime periods the team has already played. The Bison lead all Division I teams in overtime games (3) and overtime periods (5), and just last week they played back-to-back 2OT games in a span of four days against Mount St. Mary's and Delaware. It was the first time Bucknell played consecutive 2OT games since 1978-79, when the Bison defeated Saint Joseph's and American.
The two games last week were a roller coaster of emotions for the Bison. They were left frustrated after Mount St. Mary's came from 14 points down in the second half to win in double overtime on Wednesday. But then on Saturday it was the Bison storming back from a 21-point deficit to shock defending Atlantic 10 regular-season champion Richmond in double OT.
All three of Bucknell's wins this season have featured second-half comebacks. The Bison trailed by as many as 12 at Delaware on opening night before ending the game on a 12-0 run to win 85-73. At Southern Indiana, Bucknell held the Screaming Eagles to one point in the last 3:58 of regulation and then led from the first possession on in overtime.
Noah Williamson ranks second in the Patriot League in both scoring (19.2) and rebounding (9.2), and he leads the league in blocked shots (2.0) after swatting a career-high five against Richmond last time out. Williamson scored a career-high 32 points in the win over Southern Indiana, and on Saturday he scored 22 of his 26 after halftime to lead the comeback charge against the Spiders.
Josh Bascoe (16.8) has scored at least 15 points in every game so far and is the league's No. 5 scorer. Bascoe ranks in the top 10 in the league in eight statistical categories, and he ranks fourth in the nation in minutes played at 38.1 per game.
Senior Ian Motta had never missed a game at Bucknell — 100 straight — before sitting out last Wednesday's game against Mount St. Mary's due to injury. Motta returned for the Richmond game and hit a big 3-pointer in the second overtime period.
Ruot Bijiek has stepped up his offensive production in the last week. He matched his career high with 14 points against Mount St. Mary's and then blew past that total with 20 against Richmond.
This is year No. 2 under head coach John Griffin III, a 2008 Bucknell graduate who was a standout guard for the Bison. Bucknell went 14-19 overall and 10-8 in the Patriot League last season. The Bison were playing their best basketball at the end of the year and finished in a four-way tie for second place, although tiebreakers relegated them to the No. 5 seed in the Patriot League Tournament. An 80-57 rout of American in the PL quarterfinals was the team's fourth straight victory, and then the Bison took top-seeded Colgate to the final seconds in a 68-65 loss in the semifinals.
The Bison returned all but three members of last year's team. Josh Adoh graduated and is using his extra COVID year at Cal State San Bernardino, a reigning Division II Final Four team. Also graduated from last year's team are top scorer Jack Forrest (16.0 ppg, First Team All-Patriot League) and walk-on Alek Delev.
That continuity leaves the Bison with one of its oldest teams in several years. Of the 15 players on the roster, 10 are either seniors (4) or juniors (6).
NJIT is off to a tough start at 0-5. After falling 58-57 to Penn on opening night, the Highlanders have dropped double-digit verdicts to Villanova, Loyola, Morgan State, and George Washington.
Head coach Grant Billmeier has an extremely young team, with 13 of the 15 players on the roster either a freshman or sophomore. No NJIT player who saw action against Bucknell just two seasons ago is still with the team.
NJIT features one of the America East's top players in sophomore guard Tariq Francis. The Pittsburgh native was the America East Rookie of the Year last season, when he led the Highlanders in scoring (14.8), assists (2.6), and steals (1.5). Francis is averaging 17.4 ppg this season, including 20-point efforts against Penn and George Washington.
NJIT freshman Jordan Rogers is the son of Portland TrailBlazers assistant coach Roy Rogers, who played at Alabama and the NBA. Bucknell upset Rogers' Crimson Tide team 72-64 at the Cessna Classic in Wichita during the 1995-96 season.

How to Get the Game

The Bucknell-NJIT game will be streamed on ESPN+ with "Voice of the Bison" Doug Birdsong and former Bison assistant coach Terry Conrad calling the action.
Joe Vasile will have the local radio call on Eagle 107 in the Susquehanna Valley.
The audio feed is also available online free of charge via BucknellBison.com.
Live statistics can be accessed via BucknellBison.com.
Follow @Bucknell_MBB for in-game updates on Twitter.

Last Time Out

Noah Williamson scored 22 of his 26 points after halftime to help the Bison dig out of a deep hole and defeat Richmond 80-76 in double overtime on Saturday afternoon at Sojka Pavilion. The Bison trailed by as many as 21 points in the first half and by 18 at intermission, and they even survived Richmond's gut-punch 3-pointer at the buzzer that sent the game to a second overtime.
For the second consecutive game, Bucknell found itself in double overtime, and this time the team emerged victorious, erasing the sour taste of letting a big second-half lead get away on Wednesday against Mount St. Mary's.
Williamson, Ruot Bijiek, and Josh Bascoe combined to score 62 points for Bucknell, and the Bison defense held the Spiders to 30.4% (14-for-46) shooting across the second half and overtime periods.
Bucknell trailed 37-19 at halftime but outscored Richmond 42-24 in the second stanza. Williamson took over in the second period, scoring or assisting on 11 of his team's 13 made field goals and blocking four shots. For the game, Williamson finished with a game-high tying 26 points, 10 rebounds, five blocks, and four assists. Bijiek added five rebounds and two steals to his career-high 20 points, and Bascoe finished with 16 points, seven rebounds, and 6 assists in over 45 minutes of game action.

Bucknell vs. NJIT Series Notes

The Bison and Highlanders have met just once previously, a 79-63 Bucknell win in Newark on Dec. 3, 2022.
Xander Rice led four Bison in double figures with 14 points, and the bench contributed 26 to the victory. Bucknell shot 52.5% from the field while holding NJIT to 32.8%. The Bison took control with a 20-4 run in the early moments of the game, and they maintained a double-digit lead for the final 23 minutes.

Facts & Figures

Noah Williamson's three double-doubles are third-most among all Division I players. Stanford's Maxime Raynaud and Binghamton's Gavin Walsh both have four.
Williamson's 8.8 defensive rebounds per game are fifth-most in the nation.
Williamson against Richmond became the first Bison to block five shots in a game since Nana Foulland against Loyola in 2018.
The Bison are looking to cut down on their turnover totals. Their 15.8 per game are the most in the Patriot League.
Bucknell is shooting 37.7% from 3-point range on the road but just 27.6% at home this season.

Who's Got Next?

Bucknell wraps up a four-game homestand against Rider on Saturday.
The Rider game will be part of an exciting sports quadruple-header on campus on Nov. 23. The women's basketball team hosts Youngstown State at 11 a.m., followed by the football team's regular-season finale against Colgate at 1 p.m., followed by the men's hoops game at 7 p.m. Next door in Kinney Natatorium, the Bison swimming & diving teams will be on day two of the three-day Bucknell Invitational, with trials starting at 10 a.m. and finals at 6 p.m.

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Josh Adoh

Josh Bascoe

Ruot Bijiek

Alek Delev

Jack Forrest

Ian Motta

Noah Williamson