Bison Men Visit Defending MAC Champ Akron Wednesday Night

GAME DIGEST
What: Bucknell (2-7) at Akron (6-2)
When: Wednesday, Dec. 3, 7 p.m.
Where: James A. Rhodes Arena, Akron, Ohio
Watch: ESPN+
Listen: Eagle 107 and BucknellBison.com
Live Stats: GoZips.com
TICKETS
COMPLETE GAME NOTES

LEWISBURG, Pa. -- The injury bug and a tough stretch of opponents have caught up to the Bison men's basketball team, which will look to shake a seven-game losing streak on Wednesday at defending Mid-America Conference champion Akron. Bucknell comes in with a 2-7 record after opening the season with wins over Delaware and reigning MAAC champion Mount St. Mary's. Akron brings a 6-2 mark and one of the highest-scoring offenses in the nation.

Coming into this season, Bucknell had not faced a MAC opponent since an 87-83 win over Ball State in 2017-18, but this will be the team's third game against a MAC team in the last nine days. Last week at the Skechers Fort Myers Tip-Off, the Bison dropped a pair of close games to Bowling Green (71-66) and Buffalo (73-71). The unbeaten Bulls won it on a Daniel Frietag running bank shot at the final buzzer.

The 3-point arc has not been kind to the Bison during this seven-game stretch. Bucknell has been outscored 255-153 from long range, with opponents hitting at a 45.7% clip. In the most recent outing, Cornell went 20-for-32 from downtown. The Big Red came in leading the nation with 14.5 made 3FGs per game.

3-Point Shooting, First Two Games (2-0)
Bucknell 18-46 (.391)
Opponents   13-52 (.250)

3-Point Shooting, Last Seven Games (0-7)
Bucknell    51-163 (.313)
Opponents   85-186 (.457)

Bucknell's defense has certainly been put to the test in recent weeks. Including Akron, Bucknell's last five opponents average 89.4 points per game and have a combined 28-10 record.

Last 5 Opponents' Scoring Average (NCAA Rank)
St. John's    92.3 (17)
Bowling Green   85.6 (74)
Buffalo 78.8 (167)
Cornell   94.3 (8)
Akron   96.1 (5)

Bucknell played shorthanded in Sunday's 101-72 loss to Ivy League contender Cornell. The Bison played without starters Ruot Bijiek and Brandon McCreesh, key reserve Pat Curtin left with an injury late in the first half and did not return. The silver lining was that Aleksander Pachucki (17), Quin Berger (9), and Josh Fulton (8) all took advantage of extended playing time and set career scoring highs. Berger, a senior who missed all of last season with an ACL injury, made his first career start. Freshman Amon Dörries continues to lead the Bison in scoring at 14.7 ppg. Dörries recorded his second 20-point game of the season with 22 against Bowling Green last week, and he is shooting 50.0% from the field and 76.2% from the foul line.

Akron went 28-7 last season, including a 16-0 record at home and a 17-1 mark in the Mid-American Conference. The Zips beat Miami 76-74 in the MAC Tournament final, and as a No. 13 seed fell 93-65 to Arizona in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. They also captured the MAC crown in 2024 and dropped a 77-60 verdict to third-seeded Creighton in the NCAA Tournament. This year's Akron squad is 6-2, with the only losses coming to No. 1 Purdue (97-79) on the road and to Ivy League favorite Yale (97-94) in the championship game of the Paradise Jam in the U.S. Virgin Islands. Most recently, the Zips ran past Milwaukee 105-81 at home on Saturday night.

Akron shoots 52.2% as a team, including a 39.4% clip from the 3-point arc. Senior Tavari Johnson, a First Team All-MAC selection last season, leads the team in scoring at 18.0 ppg. Johnson attended Lyons Township High School in La Grange Park, Ill., the same school as Bucknell soccer standouts Jackson and Collin Sullivan. Amani Lyles (14.5), Shammah Scott (13.9), Evan Mahaffey (11.1), Eric Mahaffey (9.5), and Bowen Hardman (9.4) all score at least 9.0 ppg, and all five shoot at least 41% from the 3-point arc.

Bucknell and Akron have only met twice previously, both coming in Akron's home tournament, the Rubber City Classic, in the mid-1960s. The Zips won 65-63 on Dec. 22, 1964, despite 22 points from Lorry Hathaway. Ken Mackovic had 25 points, including two go-ahead free throws with five seconds remaining, and Bill Turner had19 points and 18 rebounds for Akron. The game wasn't as close two years later, when Akron beat Bucknell 87-60 on Dec. 21, 1966. Turner led all players with 21 points, while Jim Soller paced Bucknell with 16, one more than his season total coming in.

While Bucknell and Akron have not met in 59 years, the Bison have played one game against a John Groce-coached team. Groce was in his first season as head coach at Ohio when the Bobcats defeated Bucknell 85-67 in Athens on Jan. 3, 2009.

Bucknell will host UMBC on Saturday in its final non-conference home game of the season. The Retrievers are 5-2 on the season heading into Wednesday night's game at Georgetown.

Bison Men Visit Defending MAC Champ Akron Wednesday Night

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Players Mentioned

Quin Berger

Ruot Bijiek

Pat Curtin

Josh Fulton

Brandon McCreesh

Aleksander Pachucki