Wednesday, February 7
Annapolis, Md.
7 p.m.
Bucknell University
10-14,7-4Patriot
80
at
67
Navy
8-14,4-7Patriot
1
2
F
Bucknell
35
45
80
Navy
39
28
67
Bison Take over in Second Half, Defeat Navy 80-67
2/7/2024 9:21:00 PM | Men's Basketball
ANNAPOLIS, Md. – Led by 18 points from Jack Forrest, 17 points and nine rebounds from Noah Williamson, and 14 points and a career-high 12 assists from Elvin Edmonds IV, Bucknell used a big second half to run past Navy 80-67 on Wednesday night at Alumni Hall.
The Bison trailed by as many as 10 in the first half when Williamson was limited to five minutes due to foul trouble, but Williamson scored 13 points in the second half, including a big 3-pointer that sparked a game-changing 15-2 run. Edmonds canned two treys in that surge as well, as the Bison turned a 48-all tie into a 63-50 lead.
Now 10-14 overall and 7-4 in the Patriot League, Bucknell led by at least nine the rest of the way and snapped a five-game losing streak at Alumni Hall. The Bison shot 69.6 percent in the second half and a season-best 61.2 percent overall, buoyed by 11-for-21 accuracy from 3-point range. It was the team's highest field-goal percentage since hitting at an even 60 percent in last year's season-opener against Lebanon Valley.
Williamson hit all six of his second-half shots and finished 8-for-9. Forrest, the Patriot League's scoring leader at 16.7 coming in, surpassed that total with 18 and became the first Bison to play all 40 minutes in a game since Bryan Cohen against Delaware on Feb. 21, 2009.
Edmonds recorded his third double-digit assist game of the season, all coming in Patriot League play. His 12 helpers were the most by a Bison since Jimmy Sotos dished 12 in a win over UNLV at the 2018 Diamond Head Classic in Honolulu.
"Our message to the team before the game was that this was going to be a battle," said head coach John Griffin III. "There is a certain level of endurance required to win games on the road in February, especially against a Navy team that plays all out for 40 minutes. Tonight our guys just took each possession as it came. Navy hit us with a big punch early, but we kept our poise and played through it, and then we really moved the ball and played with a purpose in the second half."
Navy led by as many as 10 on a couple of occasions in the first half, the last at 31-21 after a Mac MacDonald runner in the lane. Josh Adoh's 3-pointer helped the Bison outscore Navy 14-8 over the last 4:17 of the half.
Edmonds finished a 3-point play, Forrest scored in traffic, and Bijiek finished off a terrific half with a put-back to make it 37-35 with 0:06 left. Benigni was said to be fouled on an off-balance heave in the final second, and he made 2 of 3 at the line to give the Midshipmen a 39-35 lead at the break.
Donovan Draper's steal and breakaway dunk started the second-half scoring, but back-to-back threes from Edmonds and Adoh tied it, and Bucknell took its first lead since the opening two minutes on a Forrest transition layup.
The lead changed hands four times over the next four minutes until the Bison took over. Mitch Fischer, who had 17 points in the game, scored on a put-back to even the game at 48 with 15:24 to go, but Brandon McCreesh scored on a pretty reverse layup off a dish from Edmonds to give Bucknell the lead for good.
Williamson followed with a 3-pointer from the top of the key and a short bank shot, and then Edmonds swished a shot from deep to force a Navy timeout in a 58-48 game. Forrest made it a 12-0 run with a leaner in the lane. Benigni ended Navy's six-minute scoring drought with a tough runner, but then Edmonds drilled another trey to make it 63-50 with 8:53 to go.
Navy pulled within nine with four straight points before Bucknell embarked on another 13-5 run that put the game away. Ian Motta delivered a big bucket in the lane at the end of the shot clock to halt Bucknell's brief drought. Williamson scored off an inbounds lob, and Quin Berger knocked down a big three from deep in the left corner. By the time Forrest finished off a 3-point play with 2:40 to go, the lead had bulged to 17 at 76-59.
Bijiek was Bucknell's fourth double-digit scorer with 11 points. Ten of those came in the first half, giving the Bison some much-needed scoring with Williamson down with two fouls.
While the Bison went 16-for-23 from the floor in the second half, they held Navy to 12-for-33 (.364) and 1-for-9 from the arc. The Midshipmen, now 4-7 in the Patriot League after their fifth straight loss, finished at 44.4 percent overall and 5-for-21 from downtown.
Navy did amass a 32-27 rebounding edge, and the Patriot League's top offensive rebounding team collected 13 in the game, which led to 15 second-chance points.
Bucknell swept the season series from Navy for the first time since 2018 and kept pace with Patriot League frontrunners Colgate and Lafayette, who both won on Wednesday. Third-place American fell at home to Loyola, and the Bison have matched the Eagles at 7-4, although AU holds the tiebreaker by virtue of a season sweep.
Bucknell will play its next two games at home in a two-day span. The Bison host Boston University on Saturday at 2 p.m., and then Lehigh comes to Sojka Pavilion on Monday night in a game that will be televised on CBS Sports Network.
Fans can purchase two-for-one tickets for each of those games by using the promo code ORANGEOUT at the Bucknell Campus Box Office.
The Bison trailed by as many as 10 in the first half when Williamson was limited to five minutes due to foul trouble, but Williamson scored 13 points in the second half, including a big 3-pointer that sparked a game-changing 15-2 run. Edmonds canned two treys in that surge as well, as the Bison turned a 48-all tie into a 63-50 lead.
Now 10-14 overall and 7-4 in the Patriot League, Bucknell led by at least nine the rest of the way and snapped a five-game losing streak at Alumni Hall. The Bison shot 69.6 percent in the second half and a season-best 61.2 percent overall, buoyed by 11-for-21 accuracy from 3-point range. It was the team's highest field-goal percentage since hitting at an even 60 percent in last year's season-opener against Lebanon Valley.
Williamson hit all six of his second-half shots and finished 8-for-9. Forrest, the Patriot League's scoring leader at 16.7 coming in, surpassed that total with 18 and became the first Bison to play all 40 minutes in a game since Bryan Cohen against Delaware on Feb. 21, 2009.
Edmonds recorded his third double-digit assist game of the season, all coming in Patriot League play. His 12 helpers were the most by a Bison since Jimmy Sotos dished 12 in a win over UNLV at the 2018 Diamond Head Classic in Honolulu.
"Our message to the team before the game was that this was going to be a battle," said head coach John Griffin III. "There is a certain level of endurance required to win games on the road in February, especially against a Navy team that plays all out for 40 minutes. Tonight our guys just took each possession as it came. Navy hit us with a big punch early, but we kept our poise and played through it, and then we really moved the ball and played with a purpose in the second half."
Elvin for 3FG, it's a 10-0 run, and the Bison lead by 10! #rayBucknell
— Bucknell MBasketball (@Bucknell_MBB) February 8, 2024
Watch: https://t.co/IdYoLWCJnG@PatriotLeagueTV | @ESPN pic.twitter.com/dgdgSnv5g6
Navy led by as many as 10 on a couple of occasions in the first half, the last at 31-21 after a Mac MacDonald runner in the lane. Josh Adoh's 3-pointer helped the Bison outscore Navy 14-8 over the last 4:17 of the half.
Edmonds finished a 3-point play, Forrest scored in traffic, and Bijiek finished off a terrific half with a put-back to make it 37-35 with 0:06 left. Benigni was said to be fouled on an off-balance heave in the final second, and he made 2 of 3 at the line to give the Midshipmen a 39-35 lead at the break.
Donovan Draper's steal and breakaway dunk started the second-half scoring, but back-to-back threes from Edmonds and Adoh tied it, and Bucknell took its first lead since the opening two minutes on a Forrest transition layup.
The lead changed hands four times over the next four minutes until the Bison took over. Mitch Fischer, who had 17 points in the game, scored on a put-back to even the game at 48 with 15:24 to go, but Brandon McCreesh scored on a pretty reverse layup off a dish from Edmonds to give Bucknell the lead for good.
Williamson followed with a 3-pointer from the top of the key and a short bank shot, and then Edmonds swished a shot from deep to force a Navy timeout in a 58-48 game. Forrest made it a 12-0 run with a leaner in the lane. Benigni ended Navy's six-minute scoring drought with a tough runner, but then Edmonds drilled another trey to make it 63-50 with 8:53 to go.
Navy pulled within nine with four straight points before Bucknell embarked on another 13-5 run that put the game away. Ian Motta delivered a big bucket in the lane at the end of the shot clock to halt Bucknell's brief drought. Williamson scored off an inbounds lob, and Quin Berger knocked down a big three from deep in the left corner. By the time Forrest finished off a 3-point play with 2:40 to go, the lead had bulged to 17 at 76-59.
Bijiek was Bucknell's fourth double-digit scorer with 11 points. Ten of those came in the first half, giving the Bison some much-needed scoring with Williamson down with two fouls.
Nice move here by Ruot Bijiek to score over the larger Kehoe. Ru has our last 5 points, and we've cut a 10-point deficit down to 6. #rayBucknell
— Bucknell MBasketball (@Bucknell_MBB) February 8, 2024
Watch: https://t.co/IdYoLWCby8@PatriotLeagueTV | @ESPN pic.twitter.com/6xn61cul7E
While the Bison went 16-for-23 from the floor in the second half, they held Navy to 12-for-33 (.364) and 1-for-9 from the arc. The Midshipmen, now 4-7 in the Patriot League after their fifth straight loss, finished at 44.4 percent overall and 5-for-21 from downtown.
Navy did amass a 32-27 rebounding edge, and the Patriot League's top offensive rebounding team collected 13 in the game, which led to 15 second-chance points.
Bucknell swept the season series from Navy for the first time since 2018 and kept pace with Patriot League frontrunners Colgate and Lafayette, who both won on Wednesday. Third-place American fell at home to Loyola, and the Bison have matched the Eagles at 7-4, although AU holds the tiebreaker by virtue of a season sweep.
Bucknell will play its next two games at home in a two-day span. The Bison host Boston University on Saturday at 2 p.m., and then Lehigh comes to Sojka Pavilion on Monday night in a game that will be televised on CBS Sports Network.
Fans can purchase two-for-one tickets for each of those games by using the promo code ORANGEOUT at the Bucknell Campus Box Office.
Team Stats
Buck
Navy
FG%
.612
.444
3FG%
.524
.238
FT%
.643
.500
RB
27
32
TO
17
13
STL
7
6
Game Leaders
Pts
18
FGM
6
3FGM
2
FTM
4
Pts
17
FGM
8
3FGM
1
FTM
0
Pts
14
FGM
5
3FGM
3
FTM
1
Pts
11
FGM
4
3FGM
2
FTM
1
Players Mentioned
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