Men's Basketball Back Home Wednesday vs. Lafayette

NOTE: The next Bucknell Basketball Luncheon will be held on Thursday, Jan. 9 at the Bull Run Tap House on Market Street in Lewisburg. Coaches John Griffin III and Trevor Woodruff, along with select players from the men's and women's teams, will be on hand to talk about the season and answer questions.

LEWISBURG, Pa. -- Bucknell plays its second game in a stretch of four out of five at home when longtime in-state rival Lafayette visits Sojka Pavilion on Wednesday evening. The Bison and Leopards will be meeting for the 180th time dating back to 1915, and this series has been ultra-tight in recent years. Five of the last seven meetings have gone to overtime, with dramatic finishes featured in each of them.

Both teams are 1-1 in Patriot League play, with both winning at home and losing on the road. That has been the early theme across the conference thus far, as home teams are 10-0 through two rounds of Patriot League competition. Bucknell shook off a tough overtime loss at Lehigh and beat four-time defending-PL champion Colgate 66-60 at Sojka Pavilion on Sunday. Noah Williamson led the way with 20 points and 10 rebounds, and Elvin Edmonds IV scored all 13 of his points in the second half of a tight game. After starting 5-for-28 from the field, the Bison made 19 of their final 28 shots and hit at a 62.5-percent clip in the second half.

Josh Bascoe continues to lead the team in scoring at 14.3 points per game. He was held to nine against Colgate but still played a huge role with six assists, four rebounds, and three steals. Bascoe ranks eighth in the Patriot League in scoring, and he leads the league and ranks 20th nationally in minutes played (35.8).

Lafayette, meanwhile, stifled Boston University 60-46 in its league opener last week. The Leopards had a great chance to improve to 2-0 on Sunday in Annapolis, but Navy erased a five-point deficit in the final minute and won 71-70 on a Donovan Draper jumper with just over one second remaining. Lafayette has two of the league's top young shooters in freshmen Alex Chaikin (34-63 3FG, league-high 54.0%) and Caleb Williams (28-71 3FG, 39.4%). Chaikin and veteran center Alex Vander Baan lead the team in scoring at 11.2 ppg.

Bucknell hits the road again on Saturday with a trip to American, and then the Bison will host Holy Cross and Navy. Of note, Bucknell will hold Alumni Day on Jan. 18 vs. Navy. The program will celebrate the 20th anniversary of the landmark 2005 NCAA Tournament win over Kansas.

GAME DIGEST
What: Lafayette (6-0, 1-1 PL) at Bucknell (5-10, 1-1 PL)
Where: Sojka Pavilion, Lewisburg, Pa.
When: Wednesday, Jan. 8, 7 p.m.
Watch: ESPN+
Local Radio: Eagle 107
Internet Audio: BucknellBison.com
Live Stats: BucknellBison.com
COMPLETE GAME NOTES | BUY TICKETS

With a Win over Lafayette, Bucknell Would ...

... win its second straight game and improve to 2-1 in Patriot League play.
... improve to 4-3 at home this season.
... defeat the Leopards for the fourth straight time in Sojka Pavilion.

Headlines

Bucknell snapped a couple of lengthy losing streaks on Sunday against Colgate, and now the Bison go for a second straight win when Lafayette visits Sojka Pavilion on Wednesday night. The Bison had dropped eight straight overall and nine in a row in the series with the Raiders, but they overcame a cold shooting start to win 66-60.
Through two rounds of Patriot League play, the home teams are 10-0. Navy is the only 2-0 team, Army is 0-2, and the other eight squads are 1-1.
Fans tuning into Wednesday's game might want to prepare for extra basketball, because if recent trends hold up this game could go to overtime. Five of the last seven Bucknell-Lafayette games have required extra time, including all three meetings in 2021-22 and one more in each of the last two seasons. Furthermore, the Bison have already played a national-high five OT games and seven OT periods this season, while Lafayette has gone to OT once.
Bucknell will see an old friend on Wednesday, as former Bison standout Cameron Ayers '14 is in his third year as a member of the Lafayette coaching staff. Ayers was the 2014 Patriot League Player of the Year and was a key member of Bucknell's 2011 and 2013 PL championship squads. He is Bucknell's No. 10 all-time scorer with 1,526 career points.
Lafayette senior TJ Berger and Bucknell junior Quin Berger are brothers, although an on-court sibling matchup has not materialized. TJ missed all of last season with an injury, and now Quin is out this season after suffering a preseason knee injury. In 2022-23, Quin's St. Joseph's team played Lafayette, but he did not see action in that game. Their older brother, Cole, also attended Lafayette and was an All-Patriot League golfer.
Sunday's game was Bucknell's 500th regular-season Patriot League contest since the league's inception in 1990-91. The Bison are now 327-173 (.654) in the first 500.
Second-half leads have not been safe this season. Three of Bucknell's wins this season have featured dramatic second-half comebacks. The Bison trailed by as many as 12 at Delaware on opening night before ending the game on a 12-0 run to win 85-73. At Southern Indiana, Bucknell held the Screaming Eagles to one point in the last 3:58 of regulation and then led from the first possession on in overtime. At home against Richmond, the Bison trailed by as many as 21 in the first half and by 18 at the break before storming back to win 80-76 in 2OT. On the other hand, the Bison led double-digit leads get away in losses to Mount St. Mary's (14) and Lehigh (20).
Noah Williamson was a preseason All-Patriot League selection and is averaging 14.1 points, 6.8 rebounds, and 1.2 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 each of the last two games, including a 20-point, 10-rebound performance against Colgate. Williamson has five double-doubles this season and nine in his career, and if he can do it again against Lafayette, he would have three straight double-doubles for the first time in his career.
Josh Bascoe recently surpassed Williamson as the team's leading scorer. Bascoe is now averaging a career-high 14.3 ppg, including 15.8 ppg in his last five games. Bascoe ranks eighth in the Patriot League in scoring and ranks in the top 15 in the PL in eight different categories.
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 21-for-29 (.724) since then, including 19-for-25 (.760) over his last eight games.
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.
Lafayette is 6-9 overall and 1-1 in Patriot League actions, with a home win over Boston University (60-46) followed by a one-point road loss at Navy (71-70). The Leopards had a five-point lead with a minute to play in Annapolis on Sunday, but the Midshipmen rallied to win it on a Donovan Draper jumper in the closing seconds.
Lafayette shoots a league-low 41.0% from the field, and Bucknell leads the Patriot League in FG% defense at 42.5%. The Leopards are a good 3-point shooting team, however. They average 8.3 per game and rank fourth in the league at 34.3% from the arc. Leading the way is freshman Alex Chaikin, who leads the PL in 3FG% at 54.0% (34-63). Fellow rookie Caleb Williams has 28 treys and is shooting 39.4% from deep.
Chaikin and 7'0" center Justin Vander Baan lead the team in scoring at 11.2 ppg. Vander Baan has a league-high 32 blocked shots in only 11 games, with six of those rejections coming on Sunday at Navy. Guard Ryan Pettit leads the PL in steals with 33.
Lafayette head coach Mike McGarvey is familiar with the area having served as head coach at nearby Lycoming for four seasons.

How to Get the Game

The Bucknell-Lafayette game will be streamed on ESPN+, with "Voice of the Bison" Doug Birdsong and former Bison assistant coach Terry Conrad on the call from Sojka Pavilion.
Joe Vasile 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 BucknellBison.com.
Follow @Bucknell_MBB for in-game updates on Twitter.

Last Time Out

Noah Williamson logged 20 points and 10 rebounds to help Bucknell snap 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. Thanks to its own strong defensive effort, however, Bucknell never fell behind by more than five points and rallied late in the first half to take the lead.
The Bison rallied to shoot 42.9% from the field after hitting at a 62.5% clip in the second half. Bucknell also committed a season-low seven turnovers while collecting seven steals from Colgate's 11 miscues.

Bucknell vs. Lafayette Series Notes

Bucknell and Lafayette have met 179 times previously, making the Leopards Bucknell's second most-played opponent (the Bison have played Lehigh 187 times). Since the series began in 1915, Lafayette leads 95-84.
Since the start of Patriot League play in 1990-91, however, Bucknell has won 55 of 78 meetings.
Lafayette won 33 of the first 37 meetings and led the series 60-14 at one point.
Bucknell had been 15-0 all-time against Lafayette in Sojka Pavilion until the Leopards posted their first win there in 2013-14. The Bison are now 23-4 against Lafayette in Sojka Pavilion and 31-7 against the Leopards in Lewisburg going back to the Patriot League's first season.
The Bison and Leopards have met in a conference championship game four times, with Bucknell winning three of those. The Bison defeated Lafayette 71-65 in the 1989 East Coast Conference final in Towson, Md., and they also won Patriot League championship games in Sojka Pavilion in 2011 (72-57) and 2013 (64-56). Lafayette claimed the 1999 Patriot League title with a 67-63 win over the Bison in Easton.
Bucknell and Lafayette recently had a remarkable stretch of four straight meetings that were decided in overtime, and five of the last seven have required OT. All three 2021-22 meetings went beyond 40 minutes, including a Bison win in the Patriot League Tournament.
The OT trend continued in Easton last season, when Lafayette prevailed 75-72. The Leopards rallied three different times in the second half and overtime, spoiling a big game from Noah Williamson, who finished with 23 points and 16 rebounds, and a milestone day from senior Jack Forrest, who recorded his 1,000th career point and finished with 15. The Bison jumped out to a 16-3 advantage and led by as many as 16 early in the second half. Lafayette used a 22-4 run to take its first lead of the day, but the Bison struck back to go ahead by five with 20 seconds left. Two missed free throws followed by an Eric Sondberg 3-pointer sent it to overtime, where the Bison appeared to be in good shape after Forrest's fadeaway in the lane gave them a 72-66 lead. But Lafayette scored the game's final nine points, with the last five coming at the foul line. Bucknell had two good looks at 3-pointers in the closing seconds, but neither fell, and the Bison came up short despite holding the lead for 41:00 compared to Lafayette's 0:47.
Bucknell won last year's rematch at Sojka Pavilion, 60-50 on the final day of the regular season. Elvin Edmonds IV and Ruot Bijiek scored 12 points each and the Bison played terrific defense, holding Lafayette to 35.1% shooting. Sondberg and Kyle Jenkins paced the Leopards with 12 each.

Facts & Figures

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 28.8% (74-257) in all other games.
Last week's Lehigh game not withstanding, Bucknell has been a much better second-half team this season. The Bison have scored 112 more points in the second halves of games (540) than in the first halves (428).
The Bison lead the Patriot League in field-goal percentage defense, allowing opponents to shoot just 42.5% on the season. Bucknell's PL opponents are shooting just 37.3%.
Noah Williamson against Richmond became the first Bison to block five shots in a game since Nana Foulland against Loyola in 2018.
Williamson's 98 free-throw attempts are 27th-most in the nation.
Williamson has certainly been a catalyst for the Bison thus far. In the team's five wins, he is averaging 22.2 points and 8.8 rebounds while shooting 62.3% from the field. In the 10 losses, he is averaging 10.1 points, 5.8 rebounds, and shooting 39.6%.
Bucknell is shooting 33.3% from 3-point range on the road but just 29.8% at home this season.

Patriot League Success

Bucknell is 327-173 (.654) all-time in Patriot League regular-season games, the best record of any league team. Last year marked the 27th time in 34 years that the Bison finished with a PL record of .500 or better.
Bucknell won three straight Patriot League regular-season titles from 2011-13, becoming the first team in league history to accomplish that feat. The Bison had won five in a row and eight of the previous nine before finishing T-6th in 2019-20.
Bucknell has made nine Patriot League Tournament appearances as the No. 1 seed and seven as the No. 2 seed.
Bucknell won Patriot League Tournament titles in 2005, 2006, 2011, 2013, 2017 and 2018. The Bison have made it to the semifinals 25 times and to the championship game 13 times in the league's first 34 years.
The Bison are the only team to go unbeaten in league play in a season (14-0 in 2006).

Home Cooking

Since Sojka Pavilion debuted in 2003, the Bison are 216-88 (.711) overall and 155-47 (.767) against Patriot League foes.
Bucknell won a record 15 home games in 2016-17, and then it matched that figure a year later.

Who's Got Next?

Bucknell travels to American on Saturday to face an Eagles squad that is expected to be one of the title contenders in the Patriot League this season. That will be a 4 p.m. tip at Bender Arena.
Bucknell will hold Alumni Day on Jan. 18 when Navy visits Sojka Pavilion. The program will celebrate the 20th anniversary of the landmark 2005 NCAA Tournament win over Kansas.

Men's Basketball Back Home Wednesday vs. Lafayette

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Pip Ajayi

Josh Bascoe

Quin Berger

Ruot Bijiek

Elvin Edmonds IV

Jack Forrest

Noah Williamson

Men's Basketball Back Home Wednesday vs. Lafayette

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Next Event

Players Mentioned

Pip Ajayi

Josh Bascoe

Quin Berger

Ruot Bijiek

Elvin Edmonds IV

Jack Forrest

Noah Williamson

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