Men's Basketball Visits Navy Saturday at Alumni Hall

LEWISBURG, Pa. -- The second half of the Patriot League men's basketball schedule has arrived, and Bucknell hits the road again on Saturday with a trip to Annapolis to face a red-hot Navy team. The Bison and Midshipmen are tied for fourth place in the crowded Patriot League standings at 5-4, and a win on Saturday would give Bucknell the season sweep.

Bucknell clipped Navy 73-69 at Sojka Pavilion just two weeks ago, and the Midshipmen have not lost since. Navy has been impressive in three straight blowout wins, the last two coming on the road against arch-rival Army and Lehigh. The Bison dropped their next two on the road to Colgate and Boston University after the Navy win, and then they bounced back with a mostly comfortable 79-67 win over Loyola on Wednesday night at Sojka Pavilion. The Bison led that game 40-29 at the half and withstood a Greyhounds run early in the second that saw them close within three, but Bucknell stretched it back out with an 8-0 spurt and put the game away with 8-for-8 free-throw shooting in the final minutes. The win kept Bucknell perfect (5-0) at home in league play.

Noah Williamson (15.9) and Josh Bascoe (15.1) have been Bucknell's top scorers all season. They were held to 13 and nine points, respectively, by Loyola, but both came up big in other areas. Williamson matched his career high with 16 rebounds to help the Bison go +9 on the glass while holding Loyola to only four offensive rebounds. Bascoe dished out seven assists with only one turnover, and as a team, the Bison had 17 assists with only eight miscues (three in the second half).

American has taken over sole possession of first place at 7-2, and the Eagles will visit Sojka Pavilion on Wednesday night.

GAME DIGEST
What: Bucknell (9-13, 5-4 PL) at Navy (8-14, 5-4 PL)
Where: Alumni Hall, Annapolis, Md.
When: Saturday, Feb. 1, 2 p.m.
Watch: ESPN+
Local Radio: Eagle 107
Internet Audio: BucknellBison.com
Live Stats: NavySports.com
COMPLETE GAME NOTES

With a Win over Navy, Bucknell Would ...

... win its second straight game and improve to 6-4 in the Patriot League.
... snap a nine-game road losing streak and improve to 3-9 on the road this season.
... snap the Midshipmen's three-game winning streak and sweep the season series from Navy for the second straight year.
... defeat the Midshipmen for the fourth straight time and improve to 48-44 all-time against them.

Headlines

Bucknell and Navy get together for the second time in two weeks on Saturday in Annapolis. The Bison won 73-69 at Sojka Pavilion on Jan. 18, but the Midshipmen have not lost since then. Navy has been one of the Patriot League's hottest teams of late, winning three straight games by an average margin 17.7 points. After the Navy win, Bucknell lost its next two on the road to Colgate and Boston University before bouncing back with a 79-67 victory over Loyola on Wednesday.
Bucknell started the season with consecutive away wins over Delaware and Southern Indiana, but the road has not been kind since then. The Bison have dropped their last nine road tilts, including four in Patriot League play in which they led by at least eight points in each. On the flip side, Bucknell is 5-0 at home in league play.
At Case Gym last Saturday, Bucknell shot 60.4% in regulation and led the game for 36 minutes, but the Terriers forced OT with 12 seconds left and then held the Bison to 1-4 shooting in the extra period on the way to the 85-82 win. Earlier in Patriot League play, 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.
Bucknell and Navy are two of the three teams (along with Boston University) 5-4 and tied for fourth place in a crowded Patriot League table. American has taken over sole possession of first place at 7-2, with Colgate and Army tied for second at 6-3.
Home teams are 33-12 in Patriot League games entering the weekend. The Bison are 7-3 at home 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 picked up the pace offensively over the last five games. Since going 2-for-19 from 3-point range and being held to 58 points in a loss at American on Jan. 11, the Bison have put up these offensive numbers in the five games since then:

Scoring Average 80.0
FG% .495
3FG% .452
ASST/TO 72/45

Last Saturday's game in Boston was Bucknell's seventh overtime game and ninth 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 45 minutes of extra time this season. Bucknell is now within one 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 seven OT games are a new school record. The Bison played six in 2008-09 and 2021-22.

Most Overtime Games, 2024-25 Season
Bucknell 7
Tennessee-Martin 5
DePaul 4
Hofstra 4
Missouri State 4
Northwestern 4

Noah Williamson was a preseason All-Patriot League selection and is averaging a team-high 15.9 points, 7.1 rebounds, and 1.0 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. His 13-point tally against Loyola ended a run of three straight 20-point games, but he tied his career high with 16 rebounds and dished out four assists.
Williamson has been on a tear from the 3-point arc, going 9-for-9 over the last three games. He was 6-for-6 at Colgate, 2-for-2 at Boston University, and he made his only attempt against Loyola on Wednesday. Williamson tied the school record for consecutive made threes, originally set by Mike Bright on the night when he went 9-for-10 against Loyola in Davis Gym in 1993.
Josh Bascoe is averaging a career-high 15.1 ppg. 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 ninth nationally in minutes played at 36.9 per game. He has played more than 40 minutes in a game six 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.
Navy returned home after losing at Bucknell stifled Boston University 62-47 at Alumni Hall on Jan. 22. The Midshipmen then went back out on the road and posted two more impressive wins, 66-53 over arch-rival Navy and 79-54 over Lehigh last time out on Wednesday.
Saturday's game features a matchup of two of the Patriot League's top big men. Navy's Aidan Kehoe had 20 rebounds last Sunday at Army and leads the league with 9.7 rpg. Noah Williamson is coming off a 16-rebound game against Loyola, and he ranks fifth in the league with 7.1 rpg.
All-Patriot League guard Austin Benigni is the PL's No. 2 scorer at 17.5 ppg. Williamson (152) and Benigni (143) rank 1-2 in the league in free-throw attempts. Benigni also leads the league in assists at 4.4 apg, just ahead of Bucknell's Josh Bascoe at 4.0 apg.
Bucknell will have to be good on the glass again, as Navy leads the league in offensive rebounds at 11.6 per game. The Bison allowed 14 offensive boards in last Saturday's loss at Boston University but cleaned that up on Wednesday, limiting Loyola to only four.
This is an experienced Navy team, with all five starters and nine lettermen back from last season. The Mids returned 80% of their points from last season.

How to Get the Game

The Bucknell-Navy game will be streamed on ESPN+ with Joe Miller and former Navy guard Mike Heary on the call from Alumni Hall.
"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 NavySports.com.
Follow @Bucknell_MBB for in-game updates on Twitter.

Last Time Out

Strong outside shooting and interior rebounding led the Bucknell men's basketball team to a 79-67 victory over Loyola Maryland on Wednesday night at Sojka Pavilion. The Bison went 11-for-21 from 3-point distance, led by four from Ruot Bijiek, and outrebounded the Greyhounds 36-27. Noah Williamson tied his career-high with 16 rebounds while adding 13 points and four assists, and Bucknell improved to 5-0 at home and 5-4 overall in Patriot League play.
Achile Spadone scored a team-high 14 points — eight coming in the game's first three minutes to get the Bison off and running — and added five rebounds and three steals. Bijiek's 12 points and 11 each from Elvin Edmonds IV and Brandon McCreesh gave the Bucknell five players in double figures. Josh Bascoe finished with nine points, seven assists (compared to one turnover), and three steals. The Bison turned the ball over only three times in the second half and finished with 17 assists to eight miscues.
Bucknell never trailed in the game and led for all but 50 seconds as Spadone's eight points staked the Bison to a quick 11-2 lead. Later in the half, Bijiek hit a 3-pointer after an offensive rebound from Williamson to provide the first 10-point lead of the night at 21-11. McCreesh canned the first of his three trifectas to make it 31-19, and Bucknell led 40-29 at halftime.
Loyola started the second half on a 17-9 run, and the Greyhounds pulled within three at 49-46 after a 3-point play from Braeden Speed. Bucknell quickly responded with an 8-0 to regain control. Bijiek's 3-pointer off a feed from Bascoe triggered the surge, and McCreesh and Bascoe followed with layups. After Speed ended Loyola's drought with a layup of his own, Williamson hit his record-tying 3-pointer and Edmonds added a layup to give the Bison their largest lead of the night at 62-48.

Bucknell vs. Navy Series Notes

This is the 92nd all-time meeting between Bucknell and Navy, with the Bison hanging on to a slim 47-44 lead in a rivalry that dates back to 1920.
The series has been marked by long stretches of dominance by both sides. Navy won the first 10 meetings between 1920-50; the Midshipmen had an 11-2 stretch in the late-90s/early-2000s; and they were riding a nine-game winning streak until Bucknell swept the season series last year. That recent Navy run came right on the heels of Bucknell's 19-1 stretch from 2011-19. The Bison also won 11 of 13 from 2003-08, culminating with current head coach John Griffin's half-court buzzer-beater in an 87-86 triple-overtime thriller in the 2008 Patriot League Tournament quarterfinals.
As conference rivals, Bucknell leads 43-32, with the home team winning most of the time. Since Navy joined the league, Bucknell is 29-8 against the Mids at home but is only 14-24 against Navy in Alumni Hall.
Bucknell is 5-3 all-time against Navy in the Patriot League Tournament, including the Midshipmen's 76-75 win in the 1997 championship game. Navy won the first three postseason clashes, but the Bison have won the last five, including a 70-65 decision in the 2017 semifinal round.
In this year's first meeting at Sojka Pavilion two weeks ago, Josh Bascoe and Noah Williamson scored 29 of their combined 43 points in the second half, leading the Bison to a 73-69 victory. 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.

Facts & Figures

Brandon McCreesh now ranks sixth in the Patriot League in 3-point percentage (.426) thanks to a recent hot streak. McCreesh has hit at least one trey in seven straight games and is 12-for-19 from the arc in that stretch.
The Bison lead the Patriot League in free-throw attempts (20.6) and made free throws (13.5) per game, even though they rank ninth in free-throw percentage (.658).
Bucknell also leads the PL in opponent turnovers (12.9) per game.
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 31-for-46 (.674) since then, including 29-for-42 (.690) over his last 15 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 have had a positive or even assist-to-turnover ratio in five straight games. In Wednesday's win over Loyola, Bucknell had 17 assists to only eight turnovers.
Williamson's seven double-doubles are second-most in the Patriot League, trailing only Navy's Aidan Kehoe with eight.

Men's Basketball Visits Navy Saturday at Alumni Hall

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Pip Ajayi

Josh Bascoe

Ruot Bijiek

Elvin Edmonds IV

Brandon McCreesh

Achile Spadone

Noah Williamson

Men's Basketball Visits Navy Saturday at Alumni Hall

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Pip Ajayi

Josh Bascoe

Ruot Bijiek

Elvin Edmonds IV

Brandon McCreesh

Achile Spadone

Noah Williamson

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