Wednesday, February 26
Baltimore, Md,
7 p.m.
Bucknell University
16-14,12-5Patriot
70
at
67
Loyola
11-17,6-11Patriot
1
2
F
Bucknell
37
33
70
Loyola Maryland
40
27
67
Photo by: Keith Lucas
Late Defensive Stops Lead Bison Men to 70-67 Comeback Win at Loyola, Share of First Place in Patriot League
2/26/2025 9:29:00 PM | Men's Basketball
NOTE: The final Bucknell Basketball Luncheon of the season will take place on Thursday at noon at the Bull Run Tap House on Market Street in Lewisburg. Bison head coaches John Griffin III and Trevor Woodruff will be joined by players from the men's and women's squads.
BALTIMORE, Md. – Noah Williamson recorded 15 points and eight rebounds, and his steal and blocked shot in the final seconds of the game helped Bucknell hold off Loyola 70-67 on Wednesday night at Reitz Arena. The Bison have won five straight and eight of their last nine, and with American losing to Navy in Washington, D.C., Bucknell is now tied for first place with the Eagles with one game remaining.
Now 16-14 overall and 12-5 in the Patriot League, Bucknell fell behind by as many as 15 points early in the game but an 18-2 run wrapped around the halftime break set up a back-and-forth second half that featured seven lead changes and five ties. The Bison have clinched at least a top-two seed in the Patriot League Tournament and will now play for at least a share of the regular-season title on Saturday at Holy Cross.
All five Bucknell starters scored in double figures, led by Williamson with 15. Josh Bascoe followed with 14 points, Achile Spadone had 12, Elvin Edmonds IV tallied 11, and Ruot Bijiek scored 10.
The Bison had great success driving the ball to the basket all night, and Edmonds and Williamson scored on tough drives in the final three minutes. Edmonds broke a 64-64 tie with 2:37 left, and after Milos Ilic split two free throws, Williamson took him to the hole to stretch the lead to 68-65. Jacob Theodosiou scored with 1:39 to go to cut the margin to one, and those would be Loyola's final points of the night.
Both teams turned the ball over on inbounds passes, and then Williamson took over on the defensive end in the final 30 seconds. The seven-footer got caught in a switch guarding the smaller Jacob Theodosiou, and Williamson held his ground and then blocked a pass and came up with the steal. He handed the ball to Spadone, who made both ends of a 1-and-1 with 18 seconds left to make it a 70-67 game.
On the final possession, Bucknell forced the ball out of the hands of Ilic (21 points) and Theodosiou (17 points). Braeden Speed was off the mark on a corner three, Loyola got the long rebound, and Williamson blocked Jordan Stiemke's desperation attempt as time expired.
On a night when the Bison made only three 3-pointers in 12 attempts they scored 44 points in the paint, went 15-for-16 from the foul line, and outrebounded the Greyhounds 34-25.
Loyola (11-17, 6-11) entered the game ranked last in the Patriot League with 7.1 made 3-pointers per game, but the Greyhounds canned eight in the first 15:51 of the contest. They made treys on three straight possessions to take a 22-7 lead, and after Bucknell pulled within five with a 10-0 run, Theodosiou and Stiemke hit two more in succession later in the half to restore the 15-point margin at 38-23.
The final four minutes of the half were all Bison, however, as they outscored Loyola 14-2 to climb within 40-37 at the break. Bascoe and Edmonds hit 3-pointers in the run, and Spadone finished the half with a buzzer-beating layup.
Bucknell started the second half with paint buckets from Bijiek and Williamson, and the Bison took their first lead of the night at 41-40. Milos Ilic responded with a 3-pointer and a scoop shot, setting up a back-and-forth final stretch.
The Bison cooled off in the middle portion of the second half, and five straight missed shots helped lead to an 8-2 Loyola run that gave the hosts a 58-55 lead. Bucknell struck back with a 7-0 run and took a 62-58 lead on two free throws by Bijiek. Two straight layups by Ilic tied the game at 64, but the Bison defense was stout in crunch time.
Bucknell held Loyola to 27 second-half points, and after the Greyhounds went 8-for-18 from the 3-point arc in the first half, they were just 1-for-11 in the second.
The Bison shot 66.7 percent from the field in the first half but were held back by nine turnovers. And while they shot only 37.5 percent in the second half, they turned it over only three more times. Bucknell finished the game at 49.1 percent from the field, compared to Loyola's 45.0 percent.
Bucknell has built a five-game winning streak for the first time since 2018-19 and closed out the month of February with a 7-1 record.
Bucknell concludes the regular season on Saturday at Holy Cross. Tip-off is set for 2 p.m. at the Hart Center with coverage on ESPN+.
BALTIMORE, Md. – Noah Williamson recorded 15 points and eight rebounds, and his steal and blocked shot in the final seconds of the game helped Bucknell hold off Loyola 70-67 on Wednesday night at Reitz Arena. The Bison have won five straight and eight of their last nine, and with American losing to Navy in Washington, D.C., Bucknell is now tied for first place with the Eagles with one game remaining.
Now 16-14 overall and 12-5 in the Patriot League, Bucknell fell behind by as many as 15 points early in the game but an 18-2 run wrapped around the halftime break set up a back-and-forth second half that featured seven lead changes and five ties. The Bison have clinched at least a top-two seed in the Patriot League Tournament and will now play for at least a share of the regular-season title on Saturday at Holy Cross.
All five Bucknell starters scored in double figures, led by Williamson with 15. Josh Bascoe followed with 14 points, Achile Spadone had 12, Elvin Edmonds IV tallied 11, and Ruot Bijiek scored 10.
The Bison had great success driving the ball to the basket all night, and Edmonds and Williamson scored on tough drives in the final three minutes. Edmonds broke a 64-64 tie with 2:37 left, and after Milos Ilic split two free throws, Williamson took him to the hole to stretch the lead to 68-65. Jacob Theodosiou scored with 1:39 to go to cut the margin to one, and those would be Loyola's final points of the night.
Both teams turned the ball over on inbounds passes, and then Williamson took over on the defensive end in the final 30 seconds. The seven-footer got caught in a switch guarding the smaller Jacob Theodosiou, and Williamson held his ground and then blocked a pass and came up with the steal. He handed the ball to Spadone, who made both ends of a 1-and-1 with 18 seconds left to make it a 70-67 game.
On the final possession, Bucknell forced the ball out of the hands of Ilic (21 points) and Theodosiou (17 points). Braeden Speed was off the mark on a corner three, Loyola got the long rebound, and Williamson blocked Jordan Stiemke's desperation attempt as time expired.
On a night when the Bison made only three 3-pointers in 12 attempts they scored 44 points in the paint, went 15-for-16 from the foul line, and outrebounded the Greyhounds 34-25.
Loyola (11-17, 6-11) entered the game ranked last in the Patriot League with 7.1 made 3-pointers per game, but the Greyhounds canned eight in the first 15:51 of the contest. They made treys on three straight possessions to take a 22-7 lead, and after Bucknell pulled within five with a 10-0 run, Theodosiou and Stiemke hit two more in succession later in the half to restore the 15-point margin at 38-23.
The final four minutes of the half were all Bison, however, as they outscored Loyola 14-2 to climb within 40-37 at the break. Bascoe and Edmonds hit 3-pointers in the run, and Spadone finished the half with a buzzer-beating layup.
Bucknell started the second half with paint buckets from Bijiek and Williamson, and the Bison took their first lead of the night at 41-40. Milos Ilic responded with a 3-pointer and a scoop shot, setting up a back-and-forth final stretch.
The Bison cooled off in the middle portion of the second half, and five straight missed shots helped lead to an 8-2 Loyola run that gave the hosts a 58-55 lead. Bucknell struck back with a 7-0 run and took a 62-58 lead on two free throws by Bijiek. Two straight layups by Ilic tied the game at 64, but the Bison defense was stout in crunch time.
Bucknell held Loyola to 27 second-half points, and after the Greyhounds went 8-for-18 from the 3-point arc in the first half, they were just 1-for-11 in the second.
The Bison shot 66.7 percent from the field in the first half but were held back by nine turnovers. And while they shot only 37.5 percent in the second half, they turned it over only three more times. Bucknell finished the game at 49.1 percent from the field, compared to Loyola's 45.0 percent.
Bucknell has built a five-game winning streak for the first time since 2018-19 and closed out the month of February with a 7-1 record.
Bucknell concludes the regular season on Saturday at Holy Cross. Tip-off is set for 2 p.m. at the Hart Center with coverage on ESPN+.
Team Stats
Buck
Loyola
FG%
.491
.450
3FG%
.250
.310
FT%
.938
.571
RB
34
25
TO
12
9
STL
6
10
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
15
FGM
6
3FGM
0
FTM
3
Pts
14
FGM
5
3FGM
2
FTM
2
Pts
12
FGM
2
3FGM
0
FTM
8
Pts
11
FGM
5
3FGM
1
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
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