Men's Basketball Returns to the Road to Face Boston University Saturday Afternoon

LEWISBURG, Pa. -- The Bucknell men's basketball squad goes in search of some better road luck on Saturday as the Bison visit Boston University at 1 p.m. on ESPN+. Bucknell is 4-3 in Patriot League play thus far, with all four wins at home and all three losses on the road. The Bison held second-half leads in all three of those losses, and they will be looking for a finishing touch against a Terriers team with similar home/away trends (3-0 home, 0-4 away in PL play).

Bucknell has been idle since Monday, when it fell 87-80 at first-place Colgate. The Raiders are the league's hottest team, having scored 87 or more points in three of their last four games. Bucknell has been strong defensively in league play, but the Raiders shot 59 percent from the field, which was enough to overcome Bucknell's 12-for-24 effort from 3-point distance. Center Noah Williamson was a perfect 6-for-6 from the arc on the way to 22 points, and Josh Bascoe tied his career high with 23.

Williamson (15.5) and Bascoe (15.4) are Bucknell's top two scorers. Bascoe, who will play in his 100th career game on Saturday, ranks 10th nationally in minutes played and is now shooting better than 38% from downtown.

Bucknell did win at Case Gym last year, 73-57, and the Bison lead the all-time series 15-12. After Saturday's game, the Bison host Loyola on Wednesday to start a stretch of three of the next five at home.

GAME DIGEST
What: Bucknell (8-12, 4-3 PL) at Boston University (9-11, 3-4 PL)
Where: Case Gym, Boston, Mass.
When: Saturday, Jan. 25, 1 p.m.
Streaming: ESPN+
Local Radio: Eagle 107
Internet Audio: BucknellBison.com
Live Stats: GoTerriers.com
COMPLETE GAME NOTES

With a Win over Boston University, Bucknell Would ...

... improve to 5-3 in the Patriot League.
... win its first Patriot League game on the road this season.
... snap a nine-game road losing streak.
... win for the second straight year at Case Gym and improve to 16-12 all-time against the Terriers.

Headlines

Bucknell and Boston University face off for the first time this season on Saturday afternoon in Case Gym. The teams will meet again on Feb. 12 at Sojka Pavilion.
The Bison had won four of their last five before dropping an 87-80 decision at red-hot Colgate on Monday. Bucknell defeated the Raiders 66-60 at Sojka Pavilion on Jan. 5, but Colgate has not lost since then and sits alone in first pace at 6-1. Army and American are tied for second at 5-2, followed by Bucknell alone in fourth place at 4-3. Boston University is one of four teams tied for fifth at 3-4.
Bucknell is 4-0 at home but 0-3 on the road in Patriot League games, and the Bison feel like they let the three road games get away. Bucknell had a 20-point lead with 11:00 remaining at Lehigh; the Bison had an 11-point lead with just over 17:00 to play at American; and they led by eight early in the second half at Colgate.
Boston University is 3-0 in home games in the Patriot League and are 6-3 on the season in Case Gym. The Terriers are coming off two straight road losses to Army and Navy in its last two games out.
Home teams are 27-8 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 four 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 an 86-82 win over Holy Cross. They dipped again last Saturday against Navy, finishing 6-for-21, although Bucknell did connect on 4 of 7 in the second half. On Monday, the Bison were 12-for-24 from 3-point range with Noah Williamson knocking down a career-high six threes in six attempts.
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 15.5 points, 6.9 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 has posted double-doubles in three of the seven Patriot League games, including a 23-point, 11-rebound performance at American. Williamson's 19.3 ppg scoring average in league play is No. 2 in the PL, and his 8.0 rpg ranks No. 3.
Josh Bascoe is averaging a career-high 15.4 ppg, including 17.2 ppg in his last 10 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.
Boston University sits just behind Bucknell in the Patriot League standings with a 3-4 record. The Terriers are coming off of a 62-47 loss to Navy. Azmar Abdullah scored 21 of the team's 47 points off the bench, and the Terriers had just six scorers in the game. Miles Brewster followed with 11.
Kyrone Alexander (12.4) and Michael McNair (10.8) are both averaging double figures this season. McNair is fourth in the Patriot League with 2.4 threes per game and ranks seventh with a .416 shooting percentage from behind the arc. Malcolm Chimezie ranks third in the Patriot League, shooting 59.3% from the field.

How to Get the Game

The Bucknell-Boston University game will be streamed on ESPN+ with Brian Maurer and John Papale on the call from The Roof.
"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 GoTerriers.com.
Follow @Bucknell_MBB for in-game updates on Twitter.

Last Time Out

Josh Bascoe scored 23 points and Noah Williamson went 6-for-6 from 3-point range on the way to 22, but Colgate shot 59.2% from the field and went 21-for-25 from the foul line in the second half to defeat Bucknell 87-80 on Monday night at Cotterell Court.
Bucknell went 12-for-24 from 3-point range on the night, with the 7'0" Williamson canning a career-high six. Bascoe went 3-for-6 from downtown, and Achile Spadone (13) and Ruot Bijiek (10) also scored in double figures. Nicolas Louis-Jacques led four Raiders in double figures with 19 points.
Bucknell led 42-37 at the end of a fast-paced first half, even though Colgate shot 64.0% in the period. The Bison hit eight 3-pointers in the opening 20 minutes, with Bascoe's triple keying an 11-3 run that helped them open up a 20-14 lead. Colgate battled back to tie it twice before Bucknell went on a 9-2 run to take its largest lead of the half, seven points at 42-35.
Williamson's fourth 3-pointer extended the lead to eight at the start of the second half, but the Bison missed five of their next six attempts with four turnovers, and Colgate rallied to take a 50-49 lead on Jalen Cox's 3-point play. It was just a three-point margin at 63-60 when Colgate delivered a crushing five-point possession. Cox was fouled while making a layup, Colgate rebounded the missed free throw, and Louis-Jacques followed with a 3-pointer. Pip Ajayi made 1 of 2 at the line at the other end, but then Sam Wright hit another trey to give Colgate a 71-61 lead with 5:34 left.
The Raiders went 12-for-14 from the foul line in the final two minutes to offset a 3-point play by Spadone and 3-pointers from Bascoe and Williamson. Bucknell shot an even 50% from the field (28-56) and went 12-for-16 from the foul line. Colgate finished with a 29-22 rebounding edge, but the Bison led 12-5 in second-chance points.

Bucknell vs. Boston University Series Notes

Bucknell and Boston University have met 27 times previously in men's basketball, and the Bison have a 15-12 lead in the series.
Bucknell is 7-6 at home in the series, 7-6 on the road, and 1-0 at neutral sites. In games played in Boston, Bucknell is 2-1 at Agganis Arena and 5-5 at Case Gym.
The two teams met for the first time at the 2005 Cable Car Classic at Santa Clara. The Bison won that one 63-57 behind 20 points from Chris McNaughton and 15 from Charles Lee.
The Bison and Terriers split the two meetings last season, with the road team winning each time.
In the first meeting at Case Gym, Bucknell won 73-57 behind 26 points from Jack Forrest and a near triple-double from Elvin Edmonds IV, who finished with 12 points, seven rebounds, and 10 assists. Noah Williamson (13) and Ruot Bijiek (12) also scored in double figures, and Ian Motta added eight off the bench, including a dagger 3-pointer with 3:37 to go. Anthony Morales scored 19 of his 21 in the second half to lead the Terriers.
Boston University turned the tables with a 77-62 win at Sojka Pavilion. It was a 25-24 game at the half, but the Terriers outscored the Bison 52-38 in the second stanza. Kyrone Alexander led four Boston University players in double figures with 19 points. Forrest scored 18 points and Edmonds had 17 and five assists for the Bison.

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 27-for-39 (.692) since then, including 25-for-35 (.714) over his last 13 games.
The Bison have struggled in the turnover department this season, but they committed a season-low five miscues in the win over Holy Cross and then had only eight against Navy last Saturday. Bucknell has had a positive assist-to-turnover ratio in three straight games.
Achile Spadone has recorded at least four rebounds in each of the last seven games and is averaging 5.7 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 30.6% (119-389) 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 44th-most in the nation.
Williamson's 5.75 defensive rebounds per game are the most in the PL and rank 63rd nationally.

Who's Got Next?

Bucknell returns home on Wednesday to face Loyola at 7 p.m.

Men's Basketball Returns to the Road to Face Boston University Saturday Afternoon

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Players Mentioned

Pip Ajayi

Josh Bascoe

Ruot Bijiek

Elvin Edmonds IV

Jack Forrest

Ian Motta

Achile Spadone

Noah Williamson

Men's Basketball Returns to the Road to Face Boston University Saturday Afternoon

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Next Event

Players Mentioned

Pip Ajayi

Josh Bascoe

Ruot Bijiek

Elvin Edmonds IV

Jack Forrest

Ian Motta

Achile Spadone

Noah Williamson

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