Saturday, December 28
Syracuse, N.Y.
2 p.m.
Bucknell University
4-9,0-0Patriot
63
at
75
Syracuse
6-6,0-1ACC
1
2
F
Bucknell
31
32
63
Syracuse
43
32
75
Bucknell Falls 75-63 at Syracuse, Patriot League Play up Next
12/28/2024 4:44:00 PM | Men's Basketball
SYRACUSE, N.Y. – Josh Bascoe hit a career-high six 3-pointers and scored a game-high 22 points, but the Bucknell men's basketball team couldn't overcome a couple of untimely offensive droughts and fell 75-63 at Syracuse on Saturday afternoon before 15,987 fans at the JMA Wireless Dome.
Bascoe came within one point of his career scoring high, and his six treys were the most by a Bison since Elvin Edmonds IV canned six against Lebanon Valley in the 2022-23 season opener. Noah Williamson added 12 points and eight rebounds, and Pip Ajayi and Ruot Bijiek scored eight points each.
Big center Eddie Lampkin, who led Colorado to the NCAA Tournament a year ago, tallied 18 points and 11 rebounds to lead Syracuse (6-6). Donnie Freeman added 15 points and 11 boards as the Orange outrebounded Bucknell 43-27 and led 14-9 in second-chance points.
Both teams struggled to hold on to the ball, as Syracuse committed 21 turnovers and the Bison 17. Bucknell's 12 steals were a season high.
A key stretch in the game came in the final 5:25 of the first half. Edmonds had just hit a 3-pointer in transition to give the Bison a 14-5 run and a 26-22 lead, but Syracuse scored 13 straight points as part of a 19-5 run to close the half.
Lucas Taylor, who was 3-for-16 from the arc on the season, went 3-for-4 in the first half and sparked that Syracuse run with a pair of treys. Freeman scored eight of his 12 first-half points in the final three minutes, including a 3-pointer just before the buzzer that gave the Orange a 43-31 lead at intermission.
Chris Bell scored on a drive on the opening possession of the second half, but the Bison answered with a 12-3 run keyed by back-to-back threes from Bascoe and Williamson. Ajayi made a nice catch in traffic in the low post and spun free for a dunk to pull the Bison within five at 48-43 with 14:10 to go.
Bucknell missed nine of its next 10 shots, however, which helped Syracuse start to pull away. The Bison got two defensive stops down by five but missed two wide-open threes. Lampkin scored in the lane to end Syracuse's four-minute field-goal drought, and after Williamson split a pair at the foul line, Kyle Cuffe Jr. hit back-to-back buckets to start a 9-2 run.
Jaquan Carlos' pull-up jumper stretched the run to 13-4 and gave the Orange a game-high 15-point cushion at 63-48 with 7:52 to go.
Bucknell didn't go away, as Bascoe hit back-to-back threes to get the margin back to single digits. Later, Bascoe hit his sixth trey of the day to make it an eight-point game at 67-59 with 4:23 to go. Lampkin answered with two free throws and then an offensive rebound and put-back, and the Bison never got closer than nine the rest of the way.
Bucknell shot 38.2 percent from the field and went 10-for-29 from 3-point range and 11-for-15 from the foul line. Syracuse shot 47.4 percent overall and finished 7-for-23 from the arc and 14-for-23 from the line.
The Bison finished up the non-league portion of the schedule with a 4-9 record after starting 4-2. Bucknell starts Patriot League play on the road at Lehigh on Jan. 2. The next home game is Sunday, Jan. 5 against Colgate, when the program will celebrate the 20th Dirk Sojka's Slam Dunk with Bison Basketball, benefitting Suncom Industries.
Bascoe came within one point of his career scoring high, and his six treys were the most by a Bison since Elvin Edmonds IV canned six against Lebanon Valley in the 2022-23 season opener. Noah Williamson added 12 points and eight rebounds, and Pip Ajayi and Ruot Bijiek scored eight points each.
Big center Eddie Lampkin, who led Colorado to the NCAA Tournament a year ago, tallied 18 points and 11 rebounds to lead Syracuse (6-6). Donnie Freeman added 15 points and 11 boards as the Orange outrebounded Bucknell 43-27 and led 14-9 in second-chance points.
Both teams struggled to hold on to the ball, as Syracuse committed 21 turnovers and the Bison 17. Bucknell's 12 steals were a season high.
A key stretch in the game came in the final 5:25 of the first half. Edmonds had just hit a 3-pointer in transition to give the Bison a 14-5 run and a 26-22 lead, but Syracuse scored 13 straight points as part of a 19-5 run to close the half.
Lucas Taylor, who was 3-for-16 from the arc on the season, went 3-for-4 in the first half and sparked that Syracuse run with a pair of treys. Freeman scored eight of his 12 first-half points in the final three minutes, including a 3-pointer just before the buzzer that gave the Orange a 43-31 lead at intermission.
Chris Bell scored on a drive on the opening possession of the second half, but the Bison answered with a 12-3 run keyed by back-to-back threes from Bascoe and Williamson. Ajayi made a nice catch in traffic in the low post and spun free for a dunk to pull the Bison within five at 48-43 with 14:10 to go.
Bucknell missed nine of its next 10 shots, however, which helped Syracuse start to pull away. The Bison got two defensive stops down by five but missed two wide-open threes. Lampkin scored in the lane to end Syracuse's four-minute field-goal drought, and after Williamson split a pair at the foul line, Kyle Cuffe Jr. hit back-to-back buckets to start a 9-2 run.
Jaquan Carlos' pull-up jumper stretched the run to 13-4 and gave the Orange a game-high 15-point cushion at 63-48 with 7:52 to go.
Bucknell didn't go away, as Bascoe hit back-to-back threes to get the margin back to single digits. Later, Bascoe hit his sixth trey of the day to make it an eight-point game at 67-59 with 4:23 to go. Lampkin answered with two free throws and then an offensive rebound and put-back, and the Bison never got closer than nine the rest of the way.
Bucknell shot 38.2 percent from the field and went 10-for-29 from 3-point range and 11-for-15 from the foul line. Syracuse shot 47.4 percent overall and finished 7-for-23 from the arc and 14-for-23 from the line.
The Bison finished up the non-league portion of the schedule with a 4-9 record after starting 4-2. Bucknell starts Patriot League play on the road at Lehigh on Jan. 2. The next home game is Sunday, Jan. 5 against Colgate, when the program will celebrate the 20th Dirk Sojka's Slam Dunk with Bison Basketball, benefitting Suncom Industries.
Team Stats
Buck
SU
FG%
.382
.474
3FG%
.345
.304
FT%
.733
.609
RB
27
43
TO
17
21
STL
12
13
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
22
FGM
7
3FGM
6
FTM
2
Pts
12
FGM
4
3FGM
1
FTM
3
Pts
8
FGM
3
3FGM
1
FTM
1
Players Mentioned
G
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/ Men's Basketball
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