Tuesday, October 28
Louisville, Ky.
7 p.m.
Bucknell University
0-0,0-0Patriot
76
at
99
Louisville (exhibition)
0-0,0-0ACC
1
2
F
Bucknell
39
37
76
Louisville
56
43
99
No. 11 Louisville Uses 3-Point Barrage to Turn Back Bison Men, 99-76
10/28/2025 9:35:00 PM | Men's Basketball
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The Bucknell men's basketball team displayed many positives in Tuesday night's exhibition game at Louisville, but the Bison could not keep up with an epic 3-point shooting barrage from the 11th-ranked Cardinals and fell 99-76 before 13,840 fans at the KFC Yum! Center.
Louisville connected on 23 of 46 shots from 3-point range, with all but eight of its field goals coming from downtown. The Cardinals made their fourth 2-point shot with 12 minutes left in the game, and they shot their way out of an early deficit as Bucknell jumped out to a strong start.
Ruot Bijiek led three Bison in double figures with 15 points. Aleksander Pachucki went 4-for-4 from the arc and scored 12 points off the bench in his first game in a Bucknell uniform, and freshman center Amon Dörries scored 11 points. Jayden Williams and Achile Spadone scored nine points each, and Grgur Brcic recorded seven points and a team-high six rebounds.
Freshman guard Mikel Brown Jr. went 8-for-11 from the arc and recorded a game-high 28 points with six assists. Virginia transfer Isaac McNeely hit 6 of 9 from deep and scored 18 points for the Cardinals, who were picked second behind Duke in the ACC preseason poll.
Bucknell shot 40.4 percent on the night and went 8-for-22 from 3-point range and 22 of 28 from the foul line. The Bison made their first 13 free throws and outscored Louisville 22-14 from the stripe. Bucknell held its own on the glass, notching 35 rebounds to Louisville's 37, and the Bison came up with nine steals while finishing +1 in turnover margin.
"A lot of really important takeaways from tonight's game," said head coach John Griffin III. "I'm really excited about the way our team competed. The physicality, the playmaking, and the attitude in which we came into the game, albeit an exhibition, were excellent. I'm proud of the team's preparation up to this point, and we really learned a lot about ourselves tonight. Obviously Louisville made a ton of 3-pointers tonight, but I thought we showed some good resilience that we'll be able to build on moving forward."
The Bison got out to a nice start and led for much of the game's first 14 minutes. After Louisville threw an alley-oop on the game's first possession, Dörries finished a lob at the other end along with a foul, igniting a 10-2 Bucknell run.
Later in the half, Pachucki canned a 3-pointer and Bijiek finished at the rim off a feed from Pat Curtin to give the Bison a 32-27 lead with 7:09 left. The Bison would manage only one more field goal the rest of the half, however, and Louisville knocked down seven more treys to give them 14 in the half and a 56-39 lead at the break.
The Cardinals didn't let up from downtown, as their first four buckets in the second half were from beyond the arc, and they eventually stretched the lead to as many as 27 as the Bison subbed liberally.
The exhibition contest benefitted Kentuckiana Friends of V. Bob Valvano, brother of the legendary coach Jim Valvano, founded the organization as an offshoot of his work with the V Foundation to raise funds that will stay in and directly impact the Kentuckiana region. Besides cancer research, KFV supports other cancer-related initiatives, including prevention, education, and screening.
Jim Valvano was Bucknell's head coach from 1972-75 before moving on to Iona (1975-80) and North Carolina State (1980-90). He won a national championship at NC State and later became a popular commentator on ESPN until his passing from cancer in 1993. Several members of Valvano's family live in the broader Louisville area, including Bob Valvano, who serves as a radio color analyst for the Cardinals.
"Obviously a big reason for playing this game is something that's very near and dear to a lot of our hearts," said Griffin. "The Jimmy V Foundation and Kentuckiana Friends of V is a great cause. I'm very appreciative of Louisville and Bob Valvano for giving us this opportunity."
Bucknell officially opens the 2025-26 season at home next Monday against Delaware at 7 p.m. at Sojka Pavilion.
Louisville connected on 23 of 46 shots from 3-point range, with all but eight of its field goals coming from downtown. The Cardinals made their fourth 2-point shot with 12 minutes left in the game, and they shot their way out of an early deficit as Bucknell jumped out to a strong start.
Ruot Bijiek led three Bison in double figures with 15 points. Aleksander Pachucki went 4-for-4 from the arc and scored 12 points off the bench in his first game in a Bucknell uniform, and freshman center Amon Dörries scored 11 points. Jayden Williams and Achile Spadone scored nine points each, and Grgur Brcic recorded seven points and a team-high six rebounds.
Freshman guard Mikel Brown Jr. went 8-for-11 from the arc and recorded a game-high 28 points with six assists. Virginia transfer Isaac McNeely hit 6 of 9 from deep and scored 18 points for the Cardinals, who were picked second behind Duke in the ACC preseason poll.
Bucknell shot 40.4 percent on the night and went 8-for-22 from 3-point range and 22 of 28 from the foul line. The Bison made their first 13 free throws and outscored Louisville 22-14 from the stripe. Bucknell held its own on the glass, notching 35 rebounds to Louisville's 37, and the Bison came up with nine steals while finishing +1 in turnover margin.
"A lot of really important takeaways from tonight's game," said head coach John Griffin III. "I'm really excited about the way our team competed. The physicality, the playmaking, and the attitude in which we came into the game, albeit an exhibition, were excellent. I'm proud of the team's preparation up to this point, and we really learned a lot about ourselves tonight. Obviously Louisville made a ton of 3-pointers tonight, but I thought we showed some good resilience that we'll be able to build on moving forward."
The Bison got out to a nice start and led for much of the game's first 14 minutes. After Louisville threw an alley-oop on the game's first possession, Dörries finished a lob at the other end along with a foul, igniting a 10-2 Bucknell run.
Later in the half, Pachucki canned a 3-pointer and Bijiek finished at the rim off a feed from Pat Curtin to give the Bison a 32-27 lead with 7:09 left. The Bison would manage only one more field goal the rest of the half, however, and Louisville knocked down seven more treys to give them 14 in the half and a 56-39 lead at the break.
The Cardinals didn't let up from downtown, as their first four buckets in the second half were from beyond the arc, and they eventually stretched the lead to as many as 27 as the Bison subbed liberally.
The exhibition contest benefitted Kentuckiana Friends of V. Bob Valvano, brother of the legendary coach Jim Valvano, founded the organization as an offshoot of his work with the V Foundation to raise funds that will stay in and directly impact the Kentuckiana region. Besides cancer research, KFV supports other cancer-related initiatives, including prevention, education, and screening.
Jim Valvano was Bucknell's head coach from 1972-75 before moving on to Iona (1975-80) and North Carolina State (1980-90). He won a national championship at NC State and later became a popular commentator on ESPN until his passing from cancer in 1993. Several members of Valvano's family live in the broader Louisville area, including Bob Valvano, who serves as a radio color analyst for the Cardinals.
"Obviously a big reason for playing this game is something that's very near and dear to a lot of our hearts," said Griffin. "The Jimmy V Foundation and Kentuckiana Friends of V is a great cause. I'm very appreciative of Louisville and Bob Valvano for giving us this opportunity."
Bucknell officially opens the 2025-26 season at home next Monday against Delaware at 7 p.m. at Sojka Pavilion.
Team Stats
Buck
LOU
FG%
.404
.500
3FG%
.364
.500
FT%
.786
.778
RB
35
37
TO
13
14
STL
9
7
Game Leaders
Pts
15
FGM
5
3FGM
2
FTM
3
Pts
12
FGM
4
3FGM
4
FTM
0
Pts
11
FGM
4
3FGM
0
FTM
3
Pts
9
FGM
2
3FGM
1
FTM
4
Players Mentioned
F
/ Men's Basketball
C
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's Basketball
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/ Men's Basketball
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