Men's Basketball Heads to Emmitsburg Friday Night to Face Mount St. Mary's

GAME DIGEST
What: Bucknell (1-0) at Mount St. Mary's (0-1)
Where: Knott Arena, Emmitsburg, Md.
When: Friday, Nov. 7, 7 p.m.
Watch: ESPN+
Listen: Eagle 107 and BucknellBison.com
Live Stats: MountAthletics.com
TICKETS
COMPLETE GAME NOTES

LEWISBURG, Pa. -- After opening the 2025-26 season with an impressive 78-70 home win over Delaware, the Bison play their first official road game on Friday night at Mount St. Mary's. We say "official", because the team has already had travel opportunities to Ithaca, N.Y., for a closed scrimmage against UAlbany and to Louisville for an exhibition game against the 11th-ranked Cardinals. The Bison are looking for a 2-0 start for the second straight year and third time in the last four seasons.

This is the start of a difficult early season stretch for the Bison, who will play six of their next seven games away from home. The slate includes two Power Five opponents in Pittsburgh and St. John's; three traditionally strong mid-major programs in Mount St. Mary's, Princeton, and Hofstra; and two Mid-American Conference foes in Bowling Green and Buffalo at the Skechers Ft. Myers Tip-Off.

Freshman Amon Dörries had an impressive debut against Delaware on Monday. The 6'11" center from Germany made his first seven field-goal attempts and finished with 20 points and five rebounds in 23 minutes. The 20 points were tied for second-most in team history by a freshman on opening night.

Points by a Bucknell Freshman in a Season Opener
1. Bob Barry 28 at Bloomsburg, 1976-77
2. Amon Dörries 20 vs. Delaware, 2025-26
Mike Bright 20 vs. Susquehanna, 1989-90
4. Bryson Johnson 18 vs. Mercer, 2009-10
John Griffin 18 vs. Princeton, 2004-05

Ruot Bijiek added 14 points and seven rebounds, and Jayden Williams set career-highs in points (13), assists (6), and rebounds (4), for the Bison, who went up by 16 points inside seven minutes to play but had to fight off a late charge from the Blue Hens. Bucknell shot an efficient 10-for-24 (.417) from beyond the arc, with seven different Bison connecting from beyond the arc. Williams led the barrage with a trio of triples. The Bison outrebounded the Blue Hens, 42-34, and their improvement on the defensive glass was a big key. Delaware grabbed 10 offensive rebounds in the first half but only two in the second.

After the Blue Hens cut a 16-point deficit down to two, the Bison never yielded the lead thanks to a couple of key plays and perfect free-throw shooting down the stretch. Bijiek skied for an offensive rebound off a missed 3-pointer and stuck it back in. At the other end, Dörries altered Brown's driving layup attempt, and Brandon McCreesh followed with a huge transition 3-pointer to make it 72-65 with 2:23 remaining. Dörries, Williams, and McCreesh all made both ends of 1-and-1s to cap off Bucknell's 12-for-14 effort at the foul line (8-for-8 in the second half). Bucknell shot 45.2% from the field while limiting Delaware to 39.1%. In addition to the big game from Dörries, freshman Pat Curtin (seven points), sophomore transfer Aleksander Pachucki (two points), and junior transfer Grgur Brcic (four points, five rebounds) all contributed in their Bucknell debuts.

This is Mount St. Mary's home opener, and it comes three days after a season-opening 70-54 loss at West Virginia. Just before tip-off, The Mount will be unveiling their 2025 championship banner. They captured the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference title last March and then knocked out Patriot League representative American in the NCAA First Four in Dayton. Mount St. Mary's went 23-13 overall and 12-8 in the MAAC last season in Donny Lind's first year as head coach. The Mountaineers were seeded sixth in the MAAC Tournament and then went out and knocked off third-seeded Marist, second-seeded Merrimack, and fourth-seeded Iona to win the championship. Mount St. Mary's then downed American 83-72 in the NCAA First Four in Dayton before falling 93-49 to No. 1 seed Duke in Raleigh.

The Mount's top two returnees are guards Xavier Lipscomb and Arlandus Keyes. Lipscomb averaged 6.8 ppg, 4.3 apg, and 4.2 rpg while leading the team in minutes last year. Keyes averaged 6.8 ppg and 3.3 rpg last year and was a key contributor in the Mount's playoff run, averaging 12.6 ppg in five postseason games. Tuesday's game in Morgantown was just a six-point contest at the half before WVU pulled away. Trey Deveaux, a 6'5" graduate student who played previously at Western Illinois, Wayne State, and Central Community College, led the team with 15 points and six rebounds.

Bucknell and Mount St. Mary's first met all the way back in 1912, and the Bison hold a narrow 13-12 edge in the all-time series. The two teams met last season at Sojka Pavilion after an eight-year hiatus, and Mount St. Mary's erased a 14-point second-half deficit and won 93-89 in double-overtime. Six Bison scored in double figures, led by Josh Bascoe with 20. Jedy Cordilia came off the bench to post 22 points and eight rebounds for The Mount. Just before the 2023-24 season, Bucknell and Mount St. Mary's met in a charity exhibition game to benefit the "Behan Strong" foundation, in support of former Bison Pat Behan's battle with ALS. The Mount also won that game in double-OT at Knott Arena, 72-67.

Fans can watch Friday's game on ESPN+, with Adam Pohl and Martin Bahar on the call from Knott Arena. Doug Birdsong and Terry Conrad will have the Bucknell radio call on Eagle 107 and BucknellBison.com.

Following the game in Emmitsburg, Bucknell returns to action on Tuesday night at Princeton. The Tigers don't open their season until Saturday, when they travel to Akron for a noon start. The Bison will also visit Akron on Dec. 3. Bucknell will be looking to snap a seven-game series losing streak to Princeton. The last win came in 2011-12, when the Mike Muscala-led Bison won 62-56 at Sojka Pavilion as part of the Legends Classic.

Men's Basketball Heads to Emmitsburg Friday Night to Face Mount St. Mary's

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Players Mentioned

Josh Bascoe

Ruot Bijiek

Grgur Brcic

Pat Curtin

Brandon McCreesh

Aleksander Pachucki

Jayden Williams