Saturday, January 18
Lewisburg, Pa.
4 p.m.
Bucknell University
8-11,4-2Patriot
73
vs
69
Navy
5-14,2-4Patriot
1
2
F
Navy
36
33
69
Bucknell
27
46
73
Bison Men Ride Big Second Half to Fourth Straight Home Win, 73-69 over Navy
1/18/2025 6:04:00 PM | Men's Basketball
POSTGAME PRESS CONFERENCE:
LEWISBURG, Pa. -- Josh Bascoe and Noah Williamson scored 29 of their combined 43 points in the second half, leading the Bucknell men's basketball team to a 73-69 victory over Navy on Saturday afternoon at Sojka Pavilion. The Bison turned a 39-27 second-half deficit into a 58-51 lead thanks to a 31-12 run over 12 minutes of game time. With the win over the Midshipmen, Bucknell has won four straight home games and is tied for second place in the conference standings at 4-2 one-third of the way through Patriot League play.
Williamson finished with a game-high 25 points and eight rebounds. Several of his nine made field goals came on nifty drives to the basket, including two straight in the final five minutes, and his dunk with 50 seconds remaining off of a great feed from Bascoe gave the Bison a 72-67 lead. Austin Benigni, who led Navy with 23 points, had just hit a 3-pointer and finished a 3-point play to get the Midshipmen within three.
Donovan Draper's tip-in made it a 72-69 game with 42 seconds left, and after a pair of missed free throws, Benigni couldn't get a potential tying 3-pointer to go. Williamson rebounded and made 1 of 2 free throws to ice it with 1.2 seconds remaining.
Bascoe scored 18 points and had game-highs with seven assists and three steals in 37 minutes of game action.
Bucknell made 47.9 percent (23-for-48) of its field goal attempts, hitting at a blistering 60-percent clip (15-for-25) in the 2nd half. Navy shot only 41.0 percent (25-for-61) from the field but outrebounded Bucknell 37-26, including 15 offensive boards. There were 33 combined fouls in the very physical contest, with the Bison outscoring Navy 21-12 at the line.
Bucknell is now 4-0 at home in Patriot League play and has won six straight league home games dating back to last year. It was also Bucknell's third straight win over Navy on the heels of a nine-game series losing streak.
Ruot Bijiek scored seven of his nine points in the second half, including a big offensive rebound and put-back to stretch the lead to seven with 5:27 remaining. Achile Spadone added eight points, and Brandon McCreesh tallied five points and two assists in his first collegiate start in place of the injured Elvin Edmonds IV.
Pip Ajayi's alley-oop jam and a Bascoe 3-pointer keyed an early 9-0 run that gave the Bison a 15-8 lead. Jinwoo Kim answered with back-to-back 3-pointers and a layup for his own personal 8-0 surge, and then Navy outscored Bucknell 18-5 over the final 6:42 of the half to take a 36-27 lead to the locker room.
The Midshipmen scored the first three points of the second half to grab the largest lead of the day for either side at 39-27, but then Williamson's finish in the lane got the Bison going. Bijiek converted a 3-point play, Bascoe canned a 3-pointer, and Jayden Williams scored on the fastbreak for a quick 10-0 run.
Navy went back up by six points on a put-back by Aidan Kehoe, but less than three minutes later Williamson's layup gave Bucknell its first lead of the second half at 48-47 with 11:22 to go. Navy tied it at 51-all on a Benigni layup, and then Williamson's free throw on the next possession gave the Bison the lead for good.
Bucknell held Navy scoreless for the next three minutes, and in the meantime Spadone and McCreesh both made a pair of free throws in 1-and-1 situations, and then McCreesh stole the ball from Kehoe and made a nice bounce pass to Bascoe for the finish on the 2-on-1 break. That capped the 31-12 run and gave the Bison a 58-51 lead with 6:31 to go, and they got enough stops down the stretch to hang on despite some tough shots by the All-Patriot Leaguer Benigni.
Bucknell has a short turnaround before heading on the road to face Colgate on Monday night. The 7 p.m. game will be televised on CBS Sports Network. The Raiders sit alone in first place with a 5-1 record, but their lone loss was a 66-60 setback at Sojka Pavilion on Jan. 5. Bucknell, Army, and American are all tied for second place at 4-2.
LEWISBURG, Pa. -- Josh Bascoe and Noah Williamson scored 29 of their combined 43 points in the second half, leading the Bucknell men's basketball team to a 73-69 victory over Navy on Saturday afternoon at Sojka Pavilion. The Bison turned a 39-27 second-half deficit into a 58-51 lead thanks to a 31-12 run over 12 minutes of game time. With the win over the Midshipmen, Bucknell has won four straight home games and is tied for second place in the conference standings at 4-2 one-third of the way through Patriot League play.
Williamson finished with a game-high 25 points and eight rebounds. Several of his nine made field goals came on nifty drives to the basket, including two straight in the final five minutes, and his dunk with 50 seconds remaining off of a great feed from Bascoe gave the Bison a 72-67 lead. Austin Benigni, who led Navy with 23 points, had just hit a 3-pointer and finished a 3-point play to get the Midshipmen within three.
A huge slam from Noah off a sweet dish from Bascoe to extend the Bison lead! #rayBucknell
— Bucknell MBasketball (@Bucknell_MBB) January 18, 2025
Watch: https://t.co/XcbsDFXoFb@espn | @PatriotLeagueHQ pic.twitter.com/tPdulBGcgD
Donovan Draper's tip-in made it a 72-69 game with 42 seconds left, and after a pair of missed free throws, Benigni couldn't get a potential tying 3-pointer to go. Williamson rebounded and made 1 of 2 free throws to ice it with 1.2 seconds remaining.
Bascoe scored 18 points and had game-highs with seven assists and three steals in 37 minutes of game action.
Bucknell made 47.9 percent (23-for-48) of its field goal attempts, hitting at a blistering 60-percent clip (15-for-25) in the 2nd half. Navy shot only 41.0 percent (25-for-61) from the field but outrebounded Bucknell 37-26, including 15 offensive boards. There were 33 combined fouls in the very physical contest, with the Bison outscoring Navy 21-12 at the line.
Bucknell is now 4-0 at home in Patriot League play and has won six straight league home games dating back to last year. It was also Bucknell's third straight win over Navy on the heels of a nine-game series losing streak.
Ruot Bijiek scored seven of his nine points in the second half, including a big offensive rebound and put-back to stretch the lead to seven with 5:27 remaining. Achile Spadone added eight points, and Brandon McCreesh tallied five points and two assists in his first collegiate start in place of the injured Elvin Edmonds IV.
McCreesh with a takeaway and the dish to Bascoe! Bison leading late in the second half! #rayBucknell
— Bucknell MBasketball (@Bucknell_MBB) January 18, 2025
Watch: https://t.co/XcbsDFXoFb@espn | @PatriotLeagueHQ pic.twitter.com/UN7copgIZU
Pip Ajayi's alley-oop jam and a Bascoe 3-pointer keyed an early 9-0 run that gave the Bison a 15-8 lead. Jinwoo Kim answered with back-to-back 3-pointers and a layup for his own personal 8-0 surge, and then Navy outscored Bucknell 18-5 over the final 6:42 of the half to take a 36-27 lead to the locker room.
The Midshipmen scored the first three points of the second half to grab the largest lead of the day for either side at 39-27, but then Williamson's finish in the lane got the Bison going. Bijiek converted a 3-point play, Bascoe canned a 3-pointer, and Jayden Williams scored on the fastbreak for a quick 10-0 run.
Navy went back up by six points on a put-back by Aidan Kehoe, but less than three minutes later Williamson's layup gave Bucknell its first lead of the second half at 48-47 with 11:22 to go. Navy tied it at 51-all on a Benigni layup, and then Williamson's free throw on the next possession gave the Bison the lead for good.
Bucknell held Navy scoreless for the next three minutes, and in the meantime Spadone and McCreesh both made a pair of free throws in 1-and-1 situations, and then McCreesh stole the ball from Kehoe and made a nice bounce pass to Bascoe for the finish on the 2-on-1 break. That capped the 31-12 run and gave the Bison a 58-51 lead with 6:31 to go, and they got enough stops down the stretch to hang on despite some tough shots by the All-Patriot Leaguer Benigni.
Bucknell has a short turnaround before heading on the road to face Colgate on Monday night. The 7 p.m. game will be televised on CBS Sports Network. The Raiders sit alone in first place with a 5-1 record, but their lone loss was a 66-60 setback at Sojka Pavilion on Jan. 5. Bucknell, Army, and American are all tied for second place at 4-2.
Team Stats
Navy
Buck
FG%
.410
.479
3FG%
.368
.286
FT%
.750
.750
RB
37
26
TO
12
8
STL
5
7
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
25
FGM
9
3FGM
1
FTM
6
Pts
18
FGM
6
3FGM
4
FTM
2
Pts
9
FGM
3
3FGM
0
FTM
3
Pts
8
FGM
1
3FGM
0
FTM
6
Players Mentioned
G
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