Thursday, March 7
Washington, D.C.
7 p.m.
Bucknell University
14-18,10-8Patriot
80
at
57
American (PL Quarterfinals)
16-16,10-8Patriot
1
2
F
Bucknell
40
40
80
American
29
28
57
Photo by: Lianne Garrahan
Bison Stampede to 80-57 Win at American to Move on to Patriot League Semifinals
3/7/2024 1:50:00 PM | Men's Basketball
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Noah Williamson recorded 23 points and 10 rebounds, Jack Forrest notched 16 points, and Elvin Edmonds IV scored all 13 of his points in the second half to lead fifth-seeded Bucknell to an 80-57 win over No. 4 American on Thursday night in the quarterfinal round of the PenFed Credit Union Patriot League Men's Basketball Tournament.
Winners of four straight games, the Bison are now headed to Hamilton, N.Y., to face top-seeded Colgate in the semifinals on Sunday at 2 p.m. The game will be televised on CBS Sports Network, and it will be Bucknell's 25th semifinal appearance in the 34-year history of the Patriot League.
It was a sensational all-around performance for the Bison, who saw their season end on this floor at the hands of the Eagles in the first round last season. Bucknell committed only three turnovers despite facing heavy full-court pressure throughout the second half, and the Bison limited American to only three field goals in the first 17:32 of the second half.
Bucknell outscored American 19-8 over the final 8:19 of the first half to take a 40-29 lead at intermission. Offensive rebound put-backs by Josh Adoh, Williamson, and Ruot Bijiek helped stretch the lead to 16. Josh Bascoe had a 3-pointer that would have made it a 19-point game waved off on a travel call, and then American's Lorenzo Donadio and Geoff Sprouse hit back-to-back threes to get the Eagles within 10 at 49-39 and force a Bucknell timeout.
The Bison executed a nice set play out of the break, with Edmonds finding Forrest for a layup. After Donadio hit a floater in the lane, Edmonds scored three straight buckets, all on drives to the rim, and the lead was back to 16 at 57-41.
A key moment in the game came around the seven-minute mark, when Ian Motta drained a 3-pointer from the left corner after some excellent ball movement, and then American's First Team All-Patriot League center Matt Rogers was called for his fifth foul going after a rebound with 6:49 left.
The floodgates opened from there, as the Bison scored nine more points in succession, with yet another Edmonds drive bumping the lead to 72-48 with 3:23 to go.
"I am so proud of this group for the way they approached this game one possession at a time, and I'm so happy that I get to coach them for another day," said head coach John Griffin III. "All of the things that you need to do to win in March we were able to do tonight. Turning the ball over only three times is an enormous accomplishment. The guards took care of the ball against their pressure, and we crashed the glass and played physical around the rim."
Williamson, a Third Team All-Patriot League center, turned in one of the best performances of his career. He went 8-for-12 from the field, 2-for-3 from the arc, and 5-for-8 from the foul line. Four of his 10 rebounds came at the offensive end, he drew 10 fouls, and he even tossed in two assists without a turnover in 31 minutes of action.
Edmonds and Motta were both scoreless at the half, but they combined for 23 in the second stanza. Motta went 2-for-3 from the arc and 4-for-4 from the foul line on the way to 10 points.
Both teams came out of the gates on fire, and it was a 13-13 game after a frenetic first five minutes. The Eagles started the game 6-for-8 with three of the buckets coming from downtown, but the Bison settled in defensively and held them to 4-for-19 the rest of the half.
Down 16-13, Forrest canned a 3-pointer, Quin Berger beat the shot clock with a drive to the hoop, and Williamson converted a put-back into a 3-point play to give the Bison a 21-16 lead. Donadio scored five quick points to tie it, but Williamson answered with five straight of his own to ignite a 15-4 run.
Bascoe and Bijiek hit from deep, and Pip Ajayi's free throws gave Bucknell its first double-digit lead at 36-25 with 4:33 left in the half.
Bucknell shot 46.6 percent for the game, hit nine threes in 25 attempts (.360), and went 17-for-22 (.773) from the foul line. Defensively, the Bison held the Eagles (16-16) to 34.0-percent shooting, including 6-for-25 (.240) from the arc. American was just 6-for-20 from the field in the second half, with half of its 28 points coming at the foul line.
Donadio paced the Eagles with 16 points, while Rogers was limited to two field goals with eight of his 13 points coming at the foul line.
Griffin's first postseason game as a head coach came on the same floor where his former Bucknell roommate Pat Behan coached his last game. Behan, who is currently in a battle with ALS, led St. John's College High School to the Washington Catholic Athletic Conference championship at Bender Arena last year.
Winners of four straight games, the Bison are now headed to Hamilton, N.Y., to face top-seeded Colgate in the semifinals on Sunday at 2 p.m. The game will be televised on CBS Sports Network, and it will be Bucknell's 25th semifinal appearance in the 34-year history of the Patriot League.
It was a sensational all-around performance for the Bison, who saw their season end on this floor at the hands of the Eagles in the first round last season. Bucknell committed only three turnovers despite facing heavy full-court pressure throughout the second half, and the Bison limited American to only three field goals in the first 17:32 of the second half.
Moving on to Hamilton, NY! 🦬 pic.twitter.com/UQ1MeTVFRh
— Bucknell MBasketball (@Bucknell_MBB) March 8, 2024
Bucknell outscored American 19-8 over the final 8:19 of the first half to take a 40-29 lead at intermission. Offensive rebound put-backs by Josh Adoh, Williamson, and Ruot Bijiek helped stretch the lead to 16. Josh Bascoe had a 3-pointer that would have made it a 19-point game waved off on a travel call, and then American's Lorenzo Donadio and Geoff Sprouse hit back-to-back threes to get the Eagles within 10 at 49-39 and force a Bucknell timeout.
The Bison executed a nice set play out of the break, with Edmonds finding Forrest for a layup. After Donadio hit a floater in the lane, Edmonds scored three straight buckets, all on drives to the rim, and the lead was back to 16 at 57-41.
A key moment in the game came around the seven-minute mark, when Ian Motta drained a 3-pointer from the left corner after some excellent ball movement, and then American's First Team All-Patriot League center Matt Rogers was called for his fifth foul going after a rebound with 6:49 left.
The floodgates opened from there, as the Bison scored nine more points in succession, with yet another Edmonds drive bumping the lead to 72-48 with 3:23 to go.
"I am so proud of this group for the way they approached this game one possession at a time, and I'm so happy that I get to coach them for another day," said head coach John Griffin III. "All of the things that you need to do to win in March we were able to do tonight. Turning the ball over only three times is an enormous accomplishment. The guards took care of the ball against their pressure, and we crashed the glass and played physical around the rim."
Williamson, a Third Team All-Patriot League center, turned in one of the best performances of his career. He went 8-for-12 from the field, 2-for-3 from the arc, and 5-for-8 from the foul line. Four of his 10 rebounds came at the offensive end, he drew 10 fouls, and he even tossed in two assists without a turnover in 31 minutes of action.
It's another and-1 for Noah and we lead by 20! #rayBucknell
— Bucknell MBasketball (@Bucknell_MBB) March 8, 2024
Watch: https://t.co/Y46liL6B6G@PatriotLeagueTV | @ESPN pic.twitter.com/ba7zKxEIW7
Edmonds and Motta were both scoreless at the half, but they combined for 23 in the second stanza. Motta went 2-for-3 from the arc and 4-for-4 from the foul line on the way to 10 points.
Both teams came out of the gates on fire, and it was a 13-13 game after a frenetic first five minutes. The Eagles started the game 6-for-8 with three of the buckets coming from downtown, but the Bison settled in defensively and held them to 4-for-19 the rest of the half.
Down 16-13, Forrest canned a 3-pointer, Quin Berger beat the shot clock with a drive to the hoop, and Williamson converted a put-back into a 3-point play to give the Bison a 21-16 lead. Donadio scored five quick points to tie it, but Williamson answered with five straight of his own to ignite a 15-4 run.
Bascoe and Bijiek hit from deep, and Pip Ajayi's free throws gave Bucknell its first double-digit lead at 36-25 with 4:33 left in the half.
Bucknell shot 46.6 percent for the game, hit nine threes in 25 attempts (.360), and went 17-for-22 (.773) from the foul line. Defensively, the Bison held the Eagles (16-16) to 34.0-percent shooting, including 6-for-25 (.240) from the arc. American was just 6-for-20 from the field in the second half, with half of its 28 points coming at the foul line.
Donadio paced the Eagles with 16 points, while Rogers was limited to two field goals with eight of his 13 points coming at the foul line.
Griffin's first postseason game as a head coach came on the same floor where his former Bucknell roommate Pat Behan coached his last game. Behan, who is currently in a battle with ALS, led St. John's College High School to the Washington Catholic Athletic Conference championship at Bender Arena last year.
Now 14-18 overall and 8-10 on the road this season, Bucknell will now face three-time defending champion Colgate at Cotterell Court on Sunday. The Raiders, who went 16-2 to claim the Patriot League regular-season title by six games, defeated ninth-seeded Holy Cross 81-64 on Thursday night. No. 6 Lehigh and No. 2 Boston University will meet in the other semifinal in Boston on Sunday at 4 p.m.Thank you @JohnGriffinIII for always supporting @CoachBehanSJC! Congratulations on the win! #BehanStrong #EndALS pic.twitter.com/Q3B4uUkE9C
— Behan Strong (@BehanStrong) March 8, 2024
Team Stats
Buck
Americ
FG%
.466
.340
3FG%
.360
.240
FT%
.773
.792
RB
34
33
TO
3
11
STL
7
0
Game Leaders
Pts
23
FGM
8
3FGM
2
FTM
5
Pts
16
FGM
6
3FGM
3
FTM
1
Pts
13
FGM
5
3FGM
0
FTM
3
Players Mentioned
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