Saturday, December 21
Spokane, Wash.
9 p.m. (ET)
Bucknell University
4-8,0-0Patriot
65
at
86
Gonzaga
9-3,0-0WCC
1
2
F
Bucknell
27
38
65
Gonzaga
38
48
86
Men’s Basketball Falls 86-65 at No. 13/14 Gonzaga
12/21/2024 11:18:00 PM | Men's Basketball
SPOKANE, Wash. – Graham Ike tallied 25 points and 10 rebounds to lead No. 13/14 Gonzaga to an 86-65 win over Bucknell on Saturday night at McCarthey Athletic Center. Noah Williamson scored 16 points to lead the Bison, who played good basketball in several stretches against the nation's third-highest-scoring team.
Williamson went 7-for-13 from the field on the way to his 16 points. Josh Bascoe scored 12 of his 14 points in the second half, and freshman Jayden Williams scored a career-high 10 points off the bench. The Bison, who were playing for the first time in 13 days after final exams, fell to 4-8 on the season.
In addition to Ike's 25 points, Ben Gregg scored 15 points, Nolan Hickman had 14, and national assists leader Ryan Nembhard finished with nine points and nine helpers as Gonzaga improved to 9-3.
Bucknell led eight minutes into the contest and hung around for most of the first half, but Gonzaga pulled away in a pivotal first four minutes of the second stanza. The Bison missed their first six shots of the half while the Bulldogs ran off nine straight points to stretch their 38-27 halftime advantage to 47-27.
Bucknell regrouped, hitting four 3-pointers over the next three minutes to get back in it. Brandon McCreesh started a 14-7 run with a trey, Bascoe hit two in a row, and Williams canned his second of the night to cut it to 13 at 54-41.
That was as close as Bucknell could get, however, as Gonzaga warmed up later in the half. Ike's layup capped a 9-0 run that shoved the margin to 22 at 69-47. The Bison had three and-ones and a nice alley-oop lob from Achile Spadone to Williamson in the last four minutes, but the Bulldogs answered each of those buckets with one of their own.
Ike scored Gonzaga's first nine points of the night, and his 3-pointer gave the Bulldogs an early 9-3 lead. The Bison shot back with a 9-0 run, sparked by a Williams 3-pointer followed by six straight points from Williamson.
Williams' tough floating bank shot gave the Bison a 14-12 lead, but that would be their last of the night. Gregg, who was 3-for-20 from the 3-point arc on the season, hit his second in a row to give the hosts the lead back at 15-14. It was still just a one-point game at 20-19 after Bascoe fed Pip Ajayi for a layup, but Gonzaga scored nine straight as part of a 16-3 run over the next seven minutes.
The Bulldogs led by as many as 14 in the first half, and it was 11 at the break at 38-27 after an Elvin Edmonds IV trey in the final minute.
Bucknell shot 40.7 percent from the floor and went 10-for-31 from 3-point range and 7-for-10 from the foul line. The Bison were hampered by 19 turnovers, which led to 24 Gonzaga points.
Gonzaga shot 47.9 percent overall and went 12-for-35 from the arc and 6-for-9 from the foul line. The Bulldogs outrebounded Bucknell 41-34 and had 21 assists to 12 turnovers.
The Bison have one more non-conference game remaining. They will be at Syracuse next Saturday at 2 p.m.
Williamson went 7-for-13 from the field on the way to his 16 points. Josh Bascoe scored 12 of his 14 points in the second half, and freshman Jayden Williams scored a career-high 10 points off the bench. The Bison, who were playing for the first time in 13 days after final exams, fell to 4-8 on the season.
In addition to Ike's 25 points, Ben Gregg scored 15 points, Nolan Hickman had 14, and national assists leader Ryan Nembhard finished with nine points and nine helpers as Gonzaga improved to 9-3.
Some thoughts on tonight's game and a holiday message from Coach Griffin. #rayBucknell #Team130 🦬🔶🔷 pic.twitter.com/ESbPmqbMg7
— Bucknell MBasketball (@Bucknell_MBB) December 22, 2024
Bucknell led eight minutes into the contest and hung around for most of the first half, but Gonzaga pulled away in a pivotal first four minutes of the second stanza. The Bison missed their first six shots of the half while the Bulldogs ran off nine straight points to stretch their 38-27 halftime advantage to 47-27.
Bucknell regrouped, hitting four 3-pointers over the next three minutes to get back in it. Brandon McCreesh started a 14-7 run with a trey, Bascoe hit two in a row, and Williams canned his second of the night to cut it to 13 at 54-41.
That was as close as Bucknell could get, however, as Gonzaga warmed up later in the half. Ike's layup capped a 9-0 run that shoved the margin to 22 at 69-47. The Bison had three and-ones and a nice alley-oop lob from Achile Spadone to Williamson in the last four minutes, but the Bulldogs answered each of those buckets with one of their own.
Ike scored Gonzaga's first nine points of the night, and his 3-pointer gave the Bulldogs an early 9-3 lead. The Bison shot back with a 9-0 run, sparked by a Williams 3-pointer followed by six straight points from Williamson.
Williams' tough floating bank shot gave the Bison a 14-12 lead, but that would be their last of the night. Gregg, who was 3-for-20 from the 3-point arc on the season, hit his second in a row to give the hosts the lead back at 15-14. It was still just a one-point game at 20-19 after Bascoe fed Pip Ajayi for a layup, but Gonzaga scored nine straight as part of a 16-3 run over the next seven minutes.
The Bulldogs led by as many as 14 in the first half, and it was 11 at the break at 38-27 after an Elvin Edmonds IV trey in the final minute.
Bucknell shot 40.7 percent from the floor and went 10-for-31 from 3-point range and 7-for-10 from the foul line. The Bison were hampered by 19 turnovers, which led to 24 Gonzaga points.
Gonzaga shot 47.9 percent overall and went 12-for-35 from the arc and 6-for-9 from the foul line. The Bulldogs outrebounded Bucknell 41-34 and had 21 assists to 12 turnovers.
The Bison have one more non-conference game remaining. They will be at Syracuse next Saturday at 2 p.m.
Team Stats
Buck
Gonz
FG%
.407
.479
3FG%
.323
.343
FT%
.700
.667
RB
34
41
TO
19
12
STL
7
11
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
16
FGM
7
3FGM
1
FTM
1
Pts
14
FGM
5
3FGM
3
FTM
1
Pts
10
FGM
4
3FGM
2
FTM
0
Pts
8
FGM
2
3FGM
2
FTM
2
Players Mentioned
G
/ Men's Basketball
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/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's Basketball
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/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's BasketballC
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