Men's Basketball Visits Rider in Last Game Before Final Exam Break

GAME DIGEST
What: Bucknell (2-9, 0-0 PL) at Rider (1-7, 0-2 MAAC)
When: Tuesday, Dec. 9, 7 p.m.
Where: Alumni Gymnasium, Lawrenceville, N.J.
Watch: ESPN+
Listen: Eagle 107 and BucknellBison.com
Live Stats: GoBroncs.com
TICKETS
COMPLETE GAME NOTES

LEWISBURG, Pa. -- Two teams looking to get back on the winning side of the ledger heading into extended breaks square off on Tuesday night when Bucknell visits former Middle Atlantic Conference and East Coast Conference rival Rider at Alumni Gymnasium. The Bison are looking to shake a nine-game losing streak that came on the heels of a 2-0 start, while Rider has dropped its last five to fall to 1-7 on the season. Both teams have played very difficult schedules. Bucknell just finished a run of eight straight opponents with winning records, including Power 5 foes Pittsburgh and St. John's, with a trip to Iowa on tap later in the month. The Bison have already played three reigning conference champions in St. John's, Akron, and Mount St. Mary's, and three of their last six opponents average more than 90 points per game (St. John's, Cornell, Akron). Meanwhile, Rider's first four Divison I foes were Virginia, Rutgers, Texas, and Houston.

In their most recent outing, the Bison fell 73-66 to UMBC on Saturday at Sojka Pavilion. Bucknell led by two inside six minutes to play when the Retrievers flipped the game with an 8-0 run. DJ Armstrong stretched a 1-point lead to four with a 3-pointer with 39 seconds left, and UMBC hit its free throws down the stretch. Grgur Brcic had a career day with 14 points and 16 rebounds, but UMBC made some timely shots down the stretch. Amon Dörries led Bucknell with 16 points, all in the second half, and Achile Spadone (13) and Quin Berger (11) also scored in double figures for the Bison. Both teams shot under 40% in a first half dominated by the defenses, but both sides warmed up in the second half. UMBC shot 64.3% in the second stanza and flipped a one-point halftime deficit into a seven-point lead on Cougar Downing's layup just under six minutes in. Bucknell went 1-for-14 from 3-point range in the first half before Berger hit three bombs in a row to get the Bison right back in it.

Bucknell has played the last several games without as many as five injured players. In addition to Brady Muller, who is out for the season after undergoing offseason surgery, the Bison have been without starters Ruot Bijiek and Brandon McCreesh and key reserves Pat Curtin and Josh Fulton. Freshman Amon Dörries continues to lead the Bison in scoring at 14.2 ppg. Dörries recorded his second 20-point game of the season with 22 against Bowling Green, and he is shooting 50.9% from the field and 79.2% from the foul line. Three Bison who have taken advantage of increased playing time over the last week are senior Quin Berger, junior Brcic, and sophomore Aleksander Pachucki. Berger made his first career start against Cornell and tallied a career-high nine points, then he doubled that mark with 18 on 6-for-8 3-point shooting at Akron on Wednesday. He added 11 more against UMBC and is averaging 12.7 ppg in his three starts. Brcic has started the last five games, and in that span he has totaled 43 points, 39 rebounds, and five blocked shots while shooting 19-for-27 from the field. The Toledo transfer is coming off a monster effort against UMBC, when he tallied 14 points and 16 rebounds. Pachucki, in his first season at Bucknell after transferring from Fordham, hit five treys on the way to a career-high 17 points against Cornell, and then he followed it up with 15 at Akron.

Rider played its first two MAAC games last week and fell at Merrimack 68-66 and at preseason favorite Quinnipiac 72-58. Sophomore guard Flash Burton and senior guard Zion Cruz share the team lead in scoring at 11.1 ppg. Caleb Smith, a 6'5" junior transfer, scores 8.8 ppg and leads the team in rebounding at 7.9 rpg. Freshman AB Coulibaly exploded for 20 points off the bench against Quinnipiac on Sunday after scoring 15 points in his first seven career games.

Bucknell and Rider were once league rivals in both the Middle Atlantic Conference and the East Coast Conference. The Bison lead the all-time series 31-27, including a 2-2 mark in ECC Tournament action. Rider defeated Bucknell 73-71 in the 1984 ECC Championship game. Bucknell came back to win 74-62 in the semifinals the following year, and the Bison also won 106-80 in the 1989 quarterfinals on the way to the league title.

The first meeting between the two teams came on Dec. 3, 1969 in Lawrenceville. It was the season opener for both teams and also a MAC in-conference matchup. The Broncs won that one 94-90 in overtime, coming from 10 points down in the second half to force extra time. Chris Riley and Bob McKernan led Bucknell with 18 points each, while Jim Wherry tallied 17 and Vic Cegles 15.

Last season, Rider won 57-53 at Sojka Pavilion. Bucknell had a possession down one point in the final 10 seconds but could not convert, and Rider finished off the win at the free-throw line. It was a defensive struggle all night with both teams shooting well under 40%, and offensive rebounding and free throws played a big role in the result. Rider grabbed the first eight rebounds of the game and led 16-0 in second-chance points in the first half and 20-9 in total. All told, the Broncs finished with a 42-29 edge on the glass. Josh Bascoe led the Bison with 13 points, while Tariq Ingraham had 14 for Rider.

After the Rider game, Bucknell heads into final exams before resuming the schedule on Dec. 20 against Iowa in Des Moines. It will be a homecoming for Bijiek, who hails from the Des Moines suburb of Waukee.

The 2025-26 Bucknell men's basketball season is presented by Aspire Wealth Group.

Men's Basketball Visits Rider in Last Game Before Final Exam Break

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Players Mentioned

Josh Bascoe

Quin Berger

Ruot Bijiek

Grgur Brcic

Pat Curtin

Josh Fulton

Brandon McCreesh

Brady Muller

Aleksander Pachucki

Achile Spadone