Men's Hoops Right Back in Action Monday Night at Colgate on CBS Sports Network

LEWISBURG, Pa. -- Bucknell and Colgate get together for the second time in 15 days in a battle for first place in the Patriot League on Monday night at Cotterell Court. The 7 p.m. game will be televised on CBS Sports Network, with local radio coverage on Eagle 107 and right here on BucknellBison.com.

Bucknell defeated Colgate 66-60 at Sojka Pavilion on Jan. 5, but the Raiders have won four straight since then and sit alone at the top of the Patriot League standings at 5-1. The Bison are just one game back at 4-2, however, and they can catch Colgate for the top spot and also secure the head-to-head tiebreaker with a win on Monday. Army and American are also 4-2, followed by Loyola and Boston University at 3-3 in a crammed PL table.

Noah Williamson (15.2 ppg) and Josh Bascoe (15.0 ppg) have carried much of the offensive load for Bucknell, and they rank fifth and sixth in the league in scoring. Bucknell and Army are the only two teams in the league with two players scoring at least 15 points per game. Williamson is coming off a sensational 25-point performance in Saturday's 73-69 win over Navy. He tallied 18 of his points in the second half, including three critical buckets in a tight game in the final five minutes. Bascoe added 18 points and a season-high seven assists against the Midshipmen, hitting 4 of 6 from 3-point range.

Expect another good battle between Williamson and Colgate's Jeff Woodward, two of the biggest and best centers in the conference. Woodward is back in full form after missing time due to injury during the non-league portion of the schedule. Woodward leads the Raiders in scoring (13.0), rebounding (7.1), and field-goal percentage (62.8%). Colgate, which has also heated up from 3-point range during its current winning streak, has won the last four Patriot League titles.

Bucknell's win earlier this month snapped a nine-game series losing streak to Colgate. The two teams played a classic last season in the Patriot League Tournament semifinals. The Bison jumped out to a big early lead before the Raiders came back to win 68-65.

After playing twice in three days, Bucknell will have extra rest before hitting the road again to face Boston University on Saturday.

GAME DIGEST
What: Bucknell (8-11, 4-2 PL) at Colgate (8-11, 5-1 PL)
Where: Cotterell Court, Hamilton, N.Y.
When: Monday, Jan. 20, 7 p.m.
TV: CBS Sports Network
Local Radio: Eagle 107
Internet Audio: BucknellBison.com
Live Stats: ColgateAthletics.com
COMPLETE GAME NOTES

With a Win over Colgate, Bucknell Would ...

... win its fifth game in the last six and improve to 5-2 in the Patriot League.
... move into a first-place tie in the Patriot League alongside the Raiders.
... snap a seven-game road losing streak.
... sweep the season series from the Raiders for the first time since the 2017-18 season.
... improve to 71-56 all-time against the Raiders.

Headlines

Bucknell and Colgate get together for the second time in 15 days when they meet at Cotterell Court in the Patriot League's Monday-night CBS Sports Network slot.
The Bison defeated the Raiders 66-60 at Sojka Pavilion on Jan. 5 and will now be going for the season sweep. Colgate, which has won the last four Patriot League titles, has not been swept since 2019-20 when Lafayette got the Raiders twice.
Bucknell has won two straight and four of the last five, with all four those wins coming at home against Colgate, Lafayette, Holy Cross, and Navy. Most recently, the Bison came from 12 points down early in the second half to beat Navy 73-69 on Saturday. Center Noah Williamson was the catalyst, scoring 18 of his game-high 25 points in the second half.
The Patriot League standings continue to be a logjam, with the top six teams separated by only two games. Colgate has won four straight since the loss in Lewisburg, and the Raiders are alone in first place at 5-1. Bucknell, Army, and American are all one game back at 4-2, followed by Boston University and Loyola at 3-3.
In league play, Bucknell is 4-0 at home and 0-2 on the road, and the Bison feel like they let the two road games get away. Bucknell had a 20-point lead with 11:00 remaining at Lehigh and an 11-point lead with just over 17:00 to play at American, but the Mountain Hawks and Eagles both rallied late.
Home teams are 24-6 in Patriot League games thus far. The Bison are 6-3 at home this season and have not lost to a Patriot League foe at home since last Feb. 12, when Lehigh won in overtime at Sojka Pavilion.
Bucknell has struggled from the 3-point arc this season, but the last three games have been a roller coaster. The Bison followed a 2-for-19 showing in the loss at American with an eye-popping 16-for-34 performance in last Wednesday's 86-82 win over Holy Cross. They dipped again on Saturday against Navy, finishing 6-for-21, although Bucknell did connect on 4 of 7 in the second half.
The 65-62 win over Lafayette on Jan. 8 was Bucknell's sixth overtime game and eighth overtime period this season. Both of those figures are the most in all of Division I men's basketball, and it means that the Bison have played a full 40 minutes of extra time this season. Bucknell is now within two of the NCAA record for overtime games in a season. Western Kentucky (1978), Portland (1984), and Valparaiso (1993) all played eight in a season. The six OT games have matched the school record. The Bison also played six in 2008-09 and 2021-22.
Noah Williamson was a preseason All-Patriot League selection and is averaging a team-high 15.2 points, 7.1 rebounds, and 1.1 blocks per game. Williamson scored a career-high 32 points in the win over Southern Indiana, and he scored 22 of his 26 after halftime to lead the comeback charge against Richmond. He posted double-doubles in three of the six Patriot League games, including his 23-point, 11-rebound performance at American last Saturday. Williamson's 18.8 ppg scoring average in league play is No. 2 in the PL, and his 8.8 rpg ranks No. 2.
Josh Bascoe is averaging a career-high 15.0 ppg, including 16.6 ppg in his last nine games. Bascoe ranks sixth in the Patriot League in scoring and is in the top 15 in the PL in seven different categories. He leads the league and ranks 10th nationally in minutes played at 36.6 per game. He has played more than 40 minutes in a game five times this season.
This is year No. 2 under head coach John Griffin III, a 2008 Bucknell graduate who was a standout guard for the Bison. Bucknell went 14-19 overall and 10-8 in the Patriot League last season. The Bison were playing their best basketball at the end of the year and finished in a four-way tie for second place, although tiebreakers relegated them to the No. 5 seed in the Patriot League Tournament. An 80-57 rout of American in the PL quarterfinals was the team's fourth straight victory, and then the Bison took top-seeded Colgate to the final seconds in a 68-65 loss in the semifinals.
Colgate has been the Patriot League's premier team in recent seasons, as the Raiders have captured each of the last four league titles and have played in seven straight PL Tournament finals.
Colgate struggled a bit in non-league play, however, going 3-10 with wins over SUNY Canton, UNC Wilmington, and Vermont. The Raiders have jumped out to a 5-1 start in Patriot League play however, including four straight wins over Lehigh (67-62), Boston University (87-50), Navy (73-66), and Lafayette (90-67). Nicolas Louis-Jacques hit five 3-pointers and scored 21 points in the rout at Lafayette on Saturday. The Raiders went 15-for-27 from the arc and shot 58.3% from the field as a team.
Jeff Woodward, Colgate's 6'11", 270-pound fifth-year center, missed eight games due to injury earlier in the season, and he now averages a team-high 13.0 points and 7.1 rebounds while shooting 62.8% from the field. Louis-Jacques tallies 12.0 ppg and Jalen Cox 10.1. In league play, Colgate's 74.7 ppg and 47.8 FG% lead the league.

How to Get the Game

The Bucknell-Colgate game will be televised on CBS Sports Network, with Jason Knapp and Mo Cassara on the call.
"Voice of the Bison" Doug Birdsong will have the local radio call on Eagle 107.
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.

Last Time Out

Josh Bascoe and Noah Williamson scored 29 of their combined 43 points in the second half, leading Bucknell 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.
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.
Bucknell made 47.9% (23-for-48) of its field goal attempts, hitting at a blistering 60% clip (15-for-25) in the 2nd half. Navy shot only 41.0% (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 vs. Colgate Series Notes

This will be the 127th all-time meeting between Bucknell and Colgate in a series that dates back 105 years to 1920. The Bison have a 70-56 series lead. The only other opponents that Bucknell has played at least 100 times are Lehigh (187), Lafayette (180), Gettysburg (126) and Penn State (105).
As Patriot League rivals, Bucknell is 49-30, including 29-8 in Lewisburg.
The Bison snapped a nine-game losing streak to Colgate with a 66-60 win over the Raiders at Sojka Pavilion, but Colgate has taken 12 of the last 14 in the series. Bucknell's previous victory was a 71-70 verdict at Sojka Pavilion late in the 2019-20 regular season. Its last win in Hamilton was a 63-51 decision on Jan. 15, 2018.
In the matchup 15 days ago in Lewisburg, Bucknell led 23-19 after a defensive struggle in the first half, but it opened up in the second stanza with the Bison outscoring the Raiders 43-41. Noah Williamson led the Bison with 20 points and 10 rebounds, while Sam Wright scored 16 off the bench for Colgate.
The Raiders won all three meetings last season, including a 62-50 decision in Hamilton. 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.
Bucknell and Colgate played a barnburner in the Patriot League Tournament semifinals at Cotterell Court, and the Raiders prevailed 68-65 in a game that came right down to the final shot. The Bison built a 15-point lead in the first half before the Raiders rallied. Colgate started 0-for-16 from 3-point range but then hit 5 of 6 in one stretch to spark the comeback. Noah Williamson scored the game's first eight points and finished with 19 and eight rebounds. Smith scored 17 of his 21 in the second half to lead Colgate.
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 six of the 10 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)
2024 PL Semifinals: Colgate 68, Bucknell 65 (at Colgate)

Facts & Figures

Pip Ajayi has been a big factor off the bench for the Bison. The reserve frontcourt player tallied 13 points — his most in a Bucknell uniform — five rebounds, and three steals in 18 minutes at Lehigh. After starting the season 3-for-8 from the field, Ajayi is 26-for-37 (.703) since then, including 24-for-33 (.727) over his last 12 games.
Bucknell has 26 offensive rebounds in the last two games, including a season-high 16 at American last Saturday. The Bison lead the Patriot League with 10.2 offensive boards per game in conference play.
The Bison have struggled in the turnover department this season, but they committed a season-low five miscues in the win over Holy Cross on Wednesday and then had only eight against Navy on Saturday.
Achile Spadone has recorded at least four rebounds in each of the last six games and is averaging 5.5 rpg over that span.
Bucknell shot the three better against its "high major" opponents this season. The Bison shot 35.0% (41-117) from the arc against Kentucky, Maryland, Gonzaga, and Syracuse, compared with 29.3% (107-365) in all other games.
Noah Williamson against Richmond became the first Bison to block five shots in a game since Nana Foulland against Loyola in 2018.
Williamson's six double-doubles are tied for the most in the Patriot League with Loyola's Milos Ilic and Navy's Aidan Kehoe and tied for 34th-most in the nation.
Williamson's 5.95 defensive rebounds per game are the most in the PL and rank 49th nationally.

Men's Hoops Right Back in Action Monday Night at Colgate on CBS Sports Network

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Pip Ajayi

Josh Bascoe

Achile Spadone

Noah Williamson

Men's Hoops Right Back in Action Monday Night at Colgate on CBS Sports Network

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Pip Ajayi

Josh Bascoe

Achile Spadone

Noah Williamson

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