Sunday, January 5
Lewisburg, Pa.
2 p.m.
Bucknell University
66
vs
60
Colgate
Bison Men Shake off Frosty Start, Rally Past Colgate 66-60
1/5/2025 4:38:00 PM | Men's Basketball
POSTGAME PRESS CONFERENCE:
LEWISBURG, Pa. -- Noah Williamson logged 20 points and 10 rebounds, and the Bucknell men's basketball team snapped a couple of nagging losing streaks in a 66-60 win over four-time defending Patriot League champion Colgate before 2,572 fans on Sunday afternoon at Sojka Pavilion. The Bison made 19 of their final 28 shots after starting the game 5-for-28, and the victory ended a run of eight straight losses overall and nine straight in the series with the Raiders.
Elvin Edmonds IV (13) and Ruot Bijiek (10) also scored in double figures, and Josh Bascoe added nine points, six assists, and three steals as Bucknell bounced back nicely from a frustrating overtime loss at Lehigh on Thursday.
Playing at home for the first time in more than a month, the Bison were ice-cold at the outset, missing 16 of their first 19 and 23 of their first 28 attempts from the field. However, thanks to its strong defensive effort, Bucknell never fell behind by more than five points and rallied late in the first half to take the lead. Down 19-14 inside three minutes to play, the Bison scored nine straight points on a Pip Ajayi layup, Bascoe's off-balance 3-pointer at the end of the shot clock, a fadeaway jumper from Williamson, and a Bijiek transition layup after steal and nice lookahead pass from Bascoe.
Bucknell pushed its four-point halftime edge up to seven on an Edmonds 3-pointer early in the second half, but Colgate quickly scored eight straight points to regain the lead at 28-27. Bijiek followed with a running bank shot and a 3-pointer, and later in the half another trey by Edmonds gave the Bison their largest lead of eight points at 46-38 with 9:11 to play.
Again Colgate countered, this time with a 9-1 run, as Kyle Carlesimo's 3-pointer evened the game at 47-all. The teams alternated buckets as the game opened up over the next three minutes – twice Williamson put back his own misses in that stretch -- and it was still tied at 54-54 after Sam Wright's layup with 4:20 to go.
Bucknell won the all-important final four minutes, as Williamson's 3-pointer kicked off a 12-6 surge to end the game. After the Williamson triple, Jalen Cox missed two free throws and then Bascoe got a floater to drop. That was followed by one of the game's biggest plays when Williamson stood in and took a charge from Jeff Woodward, Colgate's 6'11", 275-pound center. Woodward fouled out on the play, and Achile Spadone finished a tough drive to give Bucknell a 61-54 lead with 1:55 to go.
Colgate responded with Wright's fourth 3-pointer of the day and a Cox layup to make it a 61-59 game, but Williamson scored again in traffic in the paint to make it a two-possession game with 39 seconds left. Cox split two free throws at the other end, but Edmonds made two clutch attempts at the line with 19 seconds left to push the lead back to five. The Raiders missed two contested shots in the final seconds, and the Bison walked off with their first Patriot League win of the season.
Colgate (4-11, 1-1 PL) went 9-0 on the road in Patriot League play last season, and this was its first away defeat in league play since a 61-60 loss at American on Feb. 4, 2023.
Bucknell (5-10, 1-1 PL) improved to 3-3 at home this season with a win in its 500th regular-season Patriot League game. The Bison are now 327-173 (.654) since the league's inception in 1990-91.
Williamson recorded his fifth double-double of the season and second in a row. The Bison rallied to shoot 42.9 percent from the field after hitting at a 62.5-percent clip in the second half. Bucknell also committed a season-low seven turnovers while collecting seven steals from Colgate's 11 miscues.
Wright led the Raiders with 16 points in 17 minutes off the bench. Woodward and Cox both tallied 12 points as Colgate finished at 41.5 percent from the field, 6-for-22 from the 3-point arc, and 10-for-19 from the foul line.
It was a spirited day for the Bucknell program in more ways than one, as it also celebrated the 20th Annual Dirk Sojka's Slam Dunk with Bison Basketball. Proceeds from the game, including a large silent auction and a raffle drawing, go to SUNCOM Industries, a local organization that provides a workplace for people with developmental and physical disabilities. The late Dirk Sojka, son of former Bucknell University president Gary Sojka and his wife Sandy, was employed by SUNCOM prior to his passing.
Bucknell plays at home again on Wednesday night against Lafayette at 7 p.m. The Leopards are also 1-1 in Patriot League play after falling 71-70 at Navy on Sunday.
LEWISBURG, Pa. -- Noah Williamson logged 20 points and 10 rebounds, and the Bucknell men's basketball team snapped a couple of nagging losing streaks in a 66-60 win over four-time defending Patriot League champion Colgate before 2,572 fans on Sunday afternoon at Sojka Pavilion. The Bison made 19 of their final 28 shots after starting the game 5-for-28, and the victory ended a run of eight straight losses overall and nine straight in the series with the Raiders.
Elvin Edmonds IV (13) and Ruot Bijiek (10) also scored in double figures, and Josh Bascoe added nine points, six assists, and three steals as Bucknell bounced back nicely from a frustrating overtime loss at Lehigh on Thursday.
Playing at home for the first time in more than a month, the Bison were ice-cold at the outset, missing 16 of their first 19 and 23 of their first 28 attempts from the field. However, thanks to its strong defensive effort, Bucknell never fell behind by more than five points and rallied late in the first half to take the lead. Down 19-14 inside three minutes to play, the Bison scored nine straight points on a Pip Ajayi layup, Bascoe's off-balance 3-pointer at the end of the shot clock, a fadeaway jumper from Williamson, and a Bijiek transition layup after steal and nice lookahead pass from Bascoe.
Great sequence to finish the half! Tough shot by Noah, and then Bascoe strips Woodward and makes a sweet feed ahead to Ru for the layup. Bison lead by four at the break. #rayBucknell #Team130
— Bucknell MBasketball (@Bucknell_MBB) January 5, 2025
Watch: https://t.co/eeqwSWOEFa@ESPN | @PatriotLeagueHQ pic.twitter.com/9CAnaTfwja
Bucknell pushed its four-point halftime edge up to seven on an Edmonds 3-pointer early in the second half, but Colgate quickly scored eight straight points to regain the lead at 28-27. Bijiek followed with a running bank shot and a 3-pointer, and later in the half another trey by Edmonds gave the Bison their largest lead of eight points at 46-38 with 9:11 to play.
Again Colgate countered, this time with a 9-1 run, as Kyle Carlesimo's 3-pointer evened the game at 47-all. The teams alternated buckets as the game opened up over the next three minutes – twice Williamson put back his own misses in that stretch -- and it was still tied at 54-54 after Sam Wright's layup with 4:20 to go.
Bucknell won the all-important final four minutes, as Williamson's 3-pointer kicked off a 12-6 surge to end the game. After the Williamson triple, Jalen Cox missed two free throws and then Bascoe got a floater to drop. That was followed by one of the game's biggest plays when Williamson stood in and took a charge from Jeff Woodward, Colgate's 6'11", 275-pound center. Woodward fouled out on the play, and Achile Spadone finished a tough drive to give Bucknell a 61-54 lead with 1:55 to go.
Colgate responded with Wright's fourth 3-pointer of the day and a Cox layup to make it a 61-59 game, but Williamson scored again in traffic in the paint to make it a two-possession game with 39 seconds left. Cox split two free throws at the other end, but Edmonds made two clutch attempts at the line with 19 seconds left to push the lead back to five. The Raiders missed two contested shots in the final seconds, and the Bison walked off with their first Patriot League win of the season.
Colgate (4-11, 1-1 PL) went 9-0 on the road in Patriot League play last season, and this was its first away defeat in league play since a 61-60 loss at American on Feb. 4, 2023.
Bucknell (5-10, 1-1 PL) improved to 3-3 at home this season with a win in its 500th regular-season Patriot League game. The Bison are now 327-173 (.654) since the league's inception in 1990-91.
Williamson recorded his fifth double-double of the season and second in a row. The Bison rallied to shoot 42.9 percent from the field after hitting at a 62.5-percent clip in the second half. Bucknell also committed a season-low seven turnovers while collecting seven steals from Colgate's 11 miscues.
Wright led the Raiders with 16 points in 17 minutes off the bench. Woodward and Cox both tallied 12 points as Colgate finished at 41.5 percent from the field, 6-for-22 from the 3-point arc, and 10-for-19 from the foul line.
It was a spirited day for the Bucknell program in more ways than one, as it also celebrated the 20th Annual Dirk Sojka's Slam Dunk with Bison Basketball. Proceeds from the game, including a large silent auction and a raffle drawing, go to SUNCOM Industries, a local organization that provides a workplace for people with developmental and physical disabilities. The late Dirk Sojka, son of former Bucknell University president Gary Sojka and his wife Sandy, was employed by SUNCOM prior to his passing.
Bucknell plays at home again on Wednesday night against Lafayette at 7 p.m. The Leopards are also 1-1 in Patriot League play after falling 71-70 at Navy on Sunday.
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