Saturday, November 30
Wilkes-Barre, Pa. (Mohegan Arena at Casey Plaza)
6 p.m.
Bucknell University
4-5,0-0Patriot
58
vs
71
Siena
4-4,0-0MAAC
1
2
F
Siena
31
40
71
Bucknell
21
37
58
Photo by: Brad Loff
Men's Basketball Falls to Siena 71-58 in Wilkes-Barre
11/30/2024 8:11:00 PM | Men's Basketball
WILKES-BARRE, Pa. -- The Bucknell men's basketball team dropped a 71-58 decision to Siena on Saturday evening at Mohegan Arena at Casey Plaza. Josh Bascoe recorded 15 points and eight rebounds, but the Bison could not overcome a cold shooting night from both the 3-point arc and the foul line. Siena, meanwhile, hit 8 of 17 from downtown and 23 of 28 from the line, and the Saints received 40 points from their backcourt duo of Major Freeman (21) and Wilkes-Barre native Justice Shoats (19).
The key stretch in the game came just after the seven-minute mark of the first half. Brandon McCreesh's steal and breakaway layup capped a 13-4 run and gave the Bison their first lead of the night at 19-17, but they were held scoreless for the next six minutes as Siena rattled off 12 straight points. That run included a 10-for-10 showing at the charity stripe, and Siena took a 31-21 lead to the locker room.
Siena canned its first four 3-pointers of the second half, three of them coming from Brendan Coyle, a 45-percent long-range shooter coming in. Shoats' layup with 11:46 remaining made the Saints 7-for-9 in the half and gave them their largest lead of the night, 18 points at 50-32.
The Bison chipped away, cutting the lead in half thanks to an 11-1 run sparked by a McCreesh 3-pointer and a Bascoe 3-point play. Bucknell lamented four straight missed free throws in that stretch, however, and it just could not get enough threes to fall to get any closer down the stretch. Ruot Bijiek's free throws kept the margin at eight at 60-52 with 2:30 to go, but Shoats hit a dagger pull-up jumper at the end of the shot clock, and after a Bison miss, Freeman got loose for a transition layup to make it a 12-point game.
While Siena shot 46.5 percent from the field, the Bison finished at 43.1 percent. They were 19-for-29 inside the arc but just 3-for-22 from deep and 11-for-18 from the foul line. Bucknell finished with a 28-25 rebounding edge and a 36-14 lead in points in the paint. Achile Spadone joined Bascoe in double figures with 10 points.
Bucknell fell to 4-5 heading into a home date with 7-1 St. Bonaventure on Wednesday. Siena snapped a four-game losing streak and improved to 4-4 on the season.
This was the first Division I basketball game in the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton area in 19 years and was a homecoming for Siena head coach Gerry McNamara, the former Syracuse star who is a native of Scranton.
The key stretch in the game came just after the seven-minute mark of the first half. Brandon McCreesh's steal and breakaway layup capped a 13-4 run and gave the Bison their first lead of the night at 19-17, but they were held scoreless for the next six minutes as Siena rattled off 12 straight points. That run included a 10-for-10 showing at the charity stripe, and Siena took a 31-21 lead to the locker room.
Siena canned its first four 3-pointers of the second half, three of them coming from Brendan Coyle, a 45-percent long-range shooter coming in. Shoats' layup with 11:46 remaining made the Saints 7-for-9 in the half and gave them their largest lead of the night, 18 points at 50-32.
The Bison chipped away, cutting the lead in half thanks to an 11-1 run sparked by a McCreesh 3-pointer and a Bascoe 3-point play. Bucknell lamented four straight missed free throws in that stretch, however, and it just could not get enough threes to fall to get any closer down the stretch. Ruot Bijiek's free throws kept the margin at eight at 60-52 with 2:30 to go, but Shoats hit a dagger pull-up jumper at the end of the shot clock, and after a Bison miss, Freeman got loose for a transition layup to make it a 12-point game.
While Siena shot 46.5 percent from the field, the Bison finished at 43.1 percent. They were 19-for-29 inside the arc but just 3-for-22 from deep and 11-for-18 from the foul line. Bucknell finished with a 28-25 rebounding edge and a 36-14 lead in points in the paint. Achile Spadone joined Bascoe in double figures with 10 points.
Bucknell fell to 4-5 heading into a home date with 7-1 St. Bonaventure on Wednesday. Siena snapped a four-game losing streak and improved to 4-4 on the season.
This was the first Division I basketball game in the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton area in 19 years and was a homecoming for Siena head coach Gerry McNamara, the former Syracuse star who is a native of Scranton.
Team Stats
Siena
Buck
FG%
.465
.431
3FG%
.471
.136
FT%
.821
.611
RB
25
28
TO
11
12
STL
8
5
Game Leaders
Pts
15
FGM
6
3FGM
1
FTM
2
Pts
10
FGM
4
3FGM
0
FTM
2
Pts
8
FGM
3
3FGM
0
FTM
2
Pts
7
FGM
3
3FGM
1
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
G
/ Men's BasketballF
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's BasketballG
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