Bison, Raiders Meet Sunday in Patriot League Semifinals

LEWISBURG, Pa. -- Fresh off a 23-point road win over American on Thursday night, the Bucknell men's basketball squad continues its Patriot League championship quest with a semifinal game at top-seeded Colgate on Sunday. Tip time is 2 p.m., and the game will be nationally televised on CBS Sports Network.

Bucknell finished in a four-way tie for second place with a 10-8 record in the regular season but settled for the No. 5 seed based on the tiebreakers. The Bison have been a good road team in Patriot League play this season, and they turned in one their best all-around performances of the year in the quarterfinal round at Bender Arena on Thursday. Top scorer Jack Forrest set the tone with 11 early points on the way to 16, right on his season average. Sophomore center Noah Williamson continued his breakout season with 23 points and 10 rebounds, and defensively he helped limit American's outstanding big man Matt Rogers to two field goals before fouling out with more than six minutes remaining. Elvin Edmonds IV and Ian Motta, who were both scoreless at the half, scored 13 and 10, respectively, in the second to help the Bison pull away.

With all the madness happening in the middle of the Patriot League standings, Colgate finished 16-2 and won the regular-season crown by six games. The three-time defending champs have exceptional balance with their top six scorers averaging between 7-12 points per game. Patriot League Player of the Year Braeden Smith (12.2 ppg, 5.3 rpg, 5.9 apg) does a little bit of everything for Colgate, and fifth-year big men Keegan Records (11.1 ppg, 6.5 rpg) and Ryan Moffatt (10.9 ppg, 4.4 rpg) are also all-conference players. Colgate was an 81-64 winner over No. 9 Holy Cross in the quarterfinals.

These two teams have combined to win 11 of the last 12 Patriot League regular-season titles. The Bison won eight in nine years from 2011-19, and Colgate has dominated the league since then. Bucknell and Colgate met in back-to-back title games in 2018 and 2019. The Bison captured the 2018 crown at home in 2018, and the Raiders returned the favor the following season. Colgate also eliminated Bucknell in the 2021 semifinals and the 2022 quarterfinals and leads 5-4 in nine all-time postseason meetings.

No. 2 Boston University will host No. 6 Lehigh in the other semifinal matchup on Sunday at 4 p.m. The winners will meet in the championship game on Wednesday at 7 p.m. on CBS Sports Network. The higher seed hosts, so Bucknell would have a chance to have the final in Sojka Pavilion with a victory at Colgate and a Lehigh win in Boston.

GAME DIGEST
What: #5 Bucknell (14-18, 10-8 PL) at #1 Colgate (13-9, 16-2 PL)
Where: Cotterell Court, Hamilton, N.Y.
When: Sunday, Mar. 10, 2 p.m.
Watch: CBS Sports Network
Local Radio: The Valley 100.9 FM
Internet Audio: BucknellBison.com
Live Stats: ColgateAthletics.com
COMPLETE GAME NOTES

With a Win over Colgate, Bucknell Would ...

... win its fifth straight game and improve to 15-18 on the season.
... record its first five-game winning streak since 2018-19.
... advance to the Patriot League Tournament final to face either No. 2 Boston University (away) or No. 6 Lehigh (home) on Wednesday.
... reach the PL championship game for the 14th time, extending its league record.
... improve to 5-5 against the Raiders and 47-27 all-time in the Patriot League Tournament.
... snap an eight-game losing streak to the Raiders.
... improve to 9-10 on the road this season.

Headlines

Two teams coming off one-sided quarterfinal performances square off on Sunday in the semifinal round of the Patriot League Tournament. Fifth-seeded Bucknell turned in one of its most complete performances of the season in an 80-57 rout at No. 4 American, and top-seeded Colgate advanced with an 81-64 victory over No. 9 Holy Cross.
Bucknell is making its 25th semifinal appearance in the 34-year history of the Patriot League. The Bison have gone to the final a league-high 13 times and have won the title six times.
These two teams have combined to win 11 of the last 12 Patriot League regular-season titles.

PATRIOT LEAGUE REGULAR-SEASON CHAMPIONSHIPS
2010-11   Bucknell
2011-12   Bucknell
2012-13   Bucknell
2013-14   Boston University
2014-15   Bucknell
2015-16   Bucknell
2016-17   Bucknell
2017-18   Bucknell
2018-19   Bucknell/Colgate
2019-20   Colgate
2020-21   Not Awarded
2021-22   Colgate
2022-23   Colgate
2023-24   Colgate

After finishing in 10th place last season and being picked ninth in the preseason poll, the Bison finished in a four-way tie for second place this season. Bucknell, Boston University, Lafayette, and American all finished with 10-8 records, and the tiebreakers placed the Bison in the No. 5 seed.
Bucknell was eliminated by American in the first round last season, but the Bison avenged that defeat on Thursday. It was an even game for the first 12 minutes, but Bucknell outscored the Eagles 59-36 over the final 28 minutes. Noah Williamson had a big night, finishing with 23 points and 12 rebounds while holding AU's First Team All-Patriot League center Matt Rogers to two field goals.
This is only the third time in the 34-year history of the tournament that Bucknell has been seeded fifth. In 1994, the Bison dropped their quarterfinal game to Holy Cross. In 2003, the Bison defeated Lehigh before falling to top-seeded Holy Cross in the semis.
Bucknell is now on a season-high four-game winning streak, and defense has been the key to the team's recent success. In the victories over Army, Loyola, Lafayette, and American, the Bison conceded only 41, 46, 50, and 57 points. The 41 points allowed in the Army game was Bucknell's best since a 75-41 win over Holy Cross in 2011-12, and then the Bison held two straight opponents under 50 points for the first time since 2012-13, when they did it three straight times. Bucknell's recent run has vaulted the team to 54th nationally in scoring defense at 67.2 ppg allowed.

BUCKNELL DEFENSE, LAST FOUR GAMES
    OPP Points   OPP FG%     OPP 3FG% OPP TO
Army    41      28.6% (16-56)   20.0% (4-20)   15
Loyola 46 34.0% (18-53)   26.7% (4-15)   15
Lafayette  50 35.1% (20-57)   24.1% (7-29)   11
American   57 34.0% (16-47)   24.0% (6-25)   11
Total 194 (48.5)   32.9% (70-213)   23.6% (21-89)   52 (13.0)

Bucknell is in the midst of its 129th season of basketball, dating back to its first game on Feb. 14, 1896, a 16-14 victory over Lock Haven. The Feb. 28 win at Loyola was the 1,500th in team history.
Bucknell this year posted a .500 or better Patriot League record for the 27th time in the league's 34-year history.
Jack Forrest earned two prestigious awards this week. On Monday he was named to the All-Patriot League First Team, and on Wednesday he was selected as the Patriot League Scholar-Athlete of the Year. Forrest is the first Bison to earn First Team honors since Kimble Mackenzie in 2019, and Bucknell has now claimed a First Team honoree in 26 of the Patriot League's 34 years of existence. Bucknell has also landed the Patriot League's top scholar-athlete award in 14 of 34 years. Andrew Funk was the most recent recipient in 2022.
Williamson also earned an all-conference citation with a Third Team nod. That is quite the ascent for the sophomore, who played a total of only 86 minutes as the No. 3 center a year ago. This year he has started every game except last Saturday's Senior Night contest. Williamson ranks ninth in the Patriot League in scoring (12.1), fifth in rebounding (6.3), fifth in field-goal percentage (.500), and sixth in blocked shots (1.0).
In a year of great parity in the Patriot League, Colgate finished 16-2 and won the regular-season title by six games. The Raiders' only losses in league play came at home to Lafayette and American.
Colgate sophomore guard Braeden Smith earned Patriot League Player of the Year honors, and head coach Matt Langel was the pick for Coach of the Year. Smith and Keegan Records were First Team All-Patriot League honorees, and Ryan Moffatt was a Second Team choice. Records was also named to the All-Defensive Team.

How to Get the Game

The Bucknell-Colgate game will be televised on CBS Sports Network. Jason Knapp and Mo Cassara will call the action from courtside at Cotterell Court.
"Voice of the Bison" Doug Birdsong will have the local radio call on The Valley 100.9 FM in the Susquehanna Valley.
The audio feed is also available online free of charge via BucknellBison.com.
Live statistics can be accessed via ColgateAthletics.com.
Follow @Bucknell_MBB for in-game updates on Twitter.

Bucknell Patriot League Tournament History

Bucknell has an all-time record of 46-27 (.630) in 34 Patriot League Tournaments. The Bison have reached the championship game a league-record 13 times, including wins in 2005, 2006, 2011, 2013, 2017 and 2018, and reached at least the semifinals in 25 of the first 34 years.

Bison PL Tourney Log
Year   Seed   Results
1991   4 def. Army 67-49; lost Fordham 82-76
1992   2 def. Army 74-55; def. Holy Cross 86-77; lost Fordham 70-65
1993   1 def. Lehigh 69-65; def. Colgate 75-73; lost Holy Cross 98-73
1994   5 lost Holy Cross 96-91
1995   2 lost Army 94-78
1996   4 def. Lafayette 56-55; lost Colgate 67-61
1997   2 def. Lehigh 84-54; def. Colgate 71-58; lost Navy 76-75
1998   3 def. Holy Cross 60-56; lost Navy 80-61
1999   3 def. Holy Cross 76-52; def. Lehigh 58-50; lost Lafayette 67-63
2000   3 lost Lehigh 73-62
2001   6 def. Colgate 75-68; lost Navy 88-64
2002   3 def. Army 70-59; lost Holy Cross 64-57
2003   5 def. Lehigh 52-47; lost Holy Cross 75-50
2004   4 def. Holy Cross 66-60; lost Lehigh 60-45
2005   2 def. Lafayette 70-34; def. American 53-35; def. Holy Cross 61-57
2006   1 def. Army 59-47; def. American 64-50; def. Holy Cross 74-59
2007   2 def. Navy 62-43; def. Army 68-47; lost Holy Cross 74-66
2008   7 def. Navy 87-86 (3OT); lost Colgate 54-40
2009   7 lost Holy Cross 75-56
2010   2 lost Holy Cross 67-64
2011   1 def. Army 78-51; def. Lehigh 66-64; def. Lafayette 72-57
2012   1 def. Navy 87-63; def. Lafayette 79-52; lost Lehigh 82-77
2013   1 def. Navy 58-42; def. Army 78-70; def. Lafayette 64-56
2014   4 lost 72-71 Army
2015   1 def. Holy Cross 90-83 (OT); lost Lafayette 80-74
2016   1 lost Holy Cross 77-72 (2OT)
2017   1 def. Army 78-62; def. Navy 70-65; def. Lehigh 81-65
2018   1 def. Loyola 83-78; def. Boston U. 90-59; def. Colgate 83-54
2019   2 def. Holy Cross 77-65; def. Lehigh 97-75; lost Colgate 94-80
2020   7 def. Holy Cross 65-62; def. American 64-59; lost Boston U. 64-61
2021   6 def. Lafayette 92-84; lost Colgate 105-75
2022   9 def. Lafayette 82-81 (OT); lost at Colgate 96-68
2023   10   lost at American 64-59
2024   5 def. American 80-57; at Colgate

Bucknell vs. Colgate Series Notes

This will be the 125th all-time meeting between Bucknell and Colgate in a series that dates back 104 years to 1920. The Bison have a 69-55 series lead. The only other opponents that Bucknell has played at least 100 times are Lehigh (186), Lafayette (179), Gettysburg (126) and Penn State (105).
As Patriot League rivals, Bucknell is 48-29, including 28-8 in Lewisburg.
Colgate has won eight straight and 11 of the last 12 in the series. Bucknell's last win was a 71-70 verdict at Sojka Pavilion late in the 2019-20 regular season. Its last win in Hamilton was a 63-51 verdict on Jan. 15, 2018.
The Raiders won this year's first meeting 84-73 at Sojka Pavilion on Jan. 13. The game was tied in the late stages of the first half, but Brady Cummins beat the buzzer with a 3-pointer, and then Colgate scored the first eight points of the second half for an 11-0 run. Jack Forrest and Elvin Edmonds IV scored 17 points for Bucknell, while Braeden Smith led six Raiders in double figures with 14 to go with nine rebounds and six assists.
In the rematch in Hamilton on Feb. 17, the Bison could not sustain a hot start and fell 62-50. Bucknell finished with a 36-35 rebounding edge, held the Patriot League's leading 3-point shooting team to 3-for-18, and allowed only four second-chance points. But the Bison struggled offensively after jumping out to an 8-0 lead, finishing at 31.0% from the field and 5-for-24 from the arc. Forrest led the Bison with 14 points, while Keegan Records had 13 to lead the Raiders.
These two teams recently met in back-to-back Patriot League championship games. Bucknell won 83-54 in the 2018 title tilt at Sojka Pavilion, and Colgate returned the favor with a 94-80 win at Cotterell Court in 2019. The Raiders have won five of the nine all-time postseason meetings. The final game of John Griffin's collegiate career came in Bucknell's loss in Hamilton in the 2008 semifinals.

Bucknell vs. Colgate in Postseason Play
1993 PL Semifinals: Bucknell 75, Colgate 73 (at Bucknell)
1996 PL Semifinals: Colgate 67, Bucknell 61 (at Holy Cross)
1997 PL Semifinals: Bucknell 71, Colgate 58 (at Lehigh)
2001 PL Quarterfinals: Bucknell 75, Colgate 68 (at Navy)
2008 PL Semifinals: Colgate 54, Bucknell 40 (at Colgate)
2018 PL Final: Bucknell 83, Colgate 54 (at Bucknell)
2019 PL Final: Colgate 94, Bucknell 80 (at Colgate)
2021 PL Semifinals: Colgate 105, Bucknell 75 (at Colgate)
2022 PL Semifinals: Colgate 96, Bucknell 68 (at Colgate)

Notable Numbers

Bucknell committed only three turnovers in Thursday's win at American. That is the team's fewest since the 2013 Patriot League Tournament quarterfinals when it committed only three miscues in a 78-70 win over Army.
Bucknell's win at American was its eighth-largest postseason win in the Patriot League era, and its largest ever in a true road game.

BUCKNELL'S LARGEST VICTORY MARGIN IN PATRIOT LEAGUE TOURNAMENT
36   2005 Quarterfinals vs. Lafayette (70-34)
31   2018 Semifinals vs. Boston University (90-59)
29   2018 Championship vs. Colgate (83-54)
27   2012 Semifinals vs. Lafayette (79-52)
27   2011 Quarterfinals vs. Army (78-51)
24   2012 Quarterfinals vs. Navy (87-63)
24   1999 Quarterfinals vs. Holy Cross (76-52) (at Army)
23   2024 Quarterfinals at American (80-57)
22   2019 Semifinals vs. Lehigh (97-75)

Jack Forrest needs one more 3-pointer for 200 in his career.
Bucknell has shot 50% or better from the field six times this season, and four of them have come on the road, including last Wednesday's win at Loyola . The Bison have shot 43.5% on the road compared to 42.3% at home this season.
Overtime has not been friendly to the Bison this season. Of Bucknell's eight Patriot League losses, three have come in overtime, including a Feb. 3 loss at American. In those three OT periods, the Bison are a combined 5-for-22 (.227) from the field and have been outscored 35-15.
Bucknell had been the Patriot League's best free-throw shooting team all season and ranked as high as 25th nationally at 76.6% going into the Lafayette game on Jan. 20. But the Bison have struggled at the stripe since then, hitting 129 of 201 (.642) over the last 13 games. Missed free throws in the final seconds of regulation proved costly in the overtime losses at Lafayette and American.
Bucknell went 15-for-15 from the foul line against Radford on Dec. 16 and 13-for-13 from the stripe at Boston University. The Bison are one of only six Division I teams to have two perfect free-throw shooting games with at least 10 attempts, joining Indiana State, Kentucky, Stetson, Villanova, and Wisconsin.
Forrest and Josh Bascoe against Lehigh became the first Bison tandem to both score at least 23 points in a game since Nate Sestina (25) and Kimbal Mackenzie (23) did it against the Mountain Hawks in a 97-75 win in the 2019 Patriot League Tournament semifinals.
Bascoe in the win over Penn State had 11 points, 10 assists, five rebounds, and three steals. The only other Bison besides Bascoe in the last 20 years to have a game with at least 10 points, 10 assists, five rebounds, and three steals was Steven Kaspar, who went 12-10-7-3 against Navy on Jan. 15, 2014.
Elvin Edmonds' line of 12 points, 10 assists, and seven rebounds at Boston University was also the first such game since Kaspar's 2014 performance at Navy.
Forrest has carried a heavy minutes load this season. He ranks 23rd nationally in minutes per game (36.1), and twice in recent weeks he played all 40 minutes. Prior to Forrest, the last Bison to play all 40 minutes in a regulation-time game was Bryan Cohen against Delaware in 2009. With his 39 minutes played at American on Thursday, Forrest broke the Bucknell record for minutes played in a season. Patrick King's 1,133 minutes in 1991-92 had been the record, and Forrest now has 1,154 this season.
Forrest recently joined the top-10 on Bucknell's single-season 3-point field goal charts, and he is now up to third.

3-POINT FIELD GOALS MADE, SEASON
1. Bryson Johnson   2010-11   99
2. Andrew Funk   2021-22   87
3. Jack Forrest 2023-24   85
4. Bryson Johnson    2011-12   84
5. Kimbal Mackenzie 2018-19   83
6. Chris Hass 2014-15   82
7. Kevin Bettencourt 2005-06   79
   John Griffin 2007-08   79
9. Kevin Bettencourt 2004-05   78
10.Bryson Johnson   2012-13   73

Last Time Out

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 at Bender Arena.
It was a sensational all-around performance for the Bison, who 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.
Williamson 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 Ian 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 and 34.0% shooting for the game.
Bucknell shot 46.6% 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% 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.
John 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.

Bison, Raiders Meet Sunday in Patriot League Semifinals

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Josh Bascoe

Elvin Edmonds IV

Jack Forrest

Ian Motta

Noah Williamson

Bison, Raiders Meet Sunday in Patriot League Semifinals

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Josh Bascoe

Elvin Edmonds IV

Jack Forrest

Ian Motta

Noah Williamson

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