Men's Basketball Concludes Regular Season Saturday at Holy Cross, Bison in Contention for No. 1 Seed

LEWISBURG, Pa. -- The Bucknell men's basketball team is tied for first place in the Patriot League with one game to play, and the Bison will go for at least a share of the regular-season title on Saturday at Holy Cross. Bucknell has won eight of its last nine, and Wednesday's win at Loyola combined with American's loss to Navy pulled the Bison into a first-place tie with the Eagles. Both teams are 12-5 at the top of the standings and have clinched top-two seeds, and both will be gunning for the No. 1 seed on Saturday. American plays at Colgate at noon, and the Bison and Crusaders tip off at the Hart Center at 2 p.m.

Bucknell has a few different paths to the No. 1 seed, but at the very least the Bison can clinch at least a share of their 14th Patriot League regular-season title with a win in Worcester. Bucknell obviously would swipe the No. 1 seed with a win and an American loss. The Bison would also have the tiebreakers in their favor if both teams were to lose on Saturday. If Bucknell and American both win, Bucknell would be the No. 1 seed if Navy defeats Loyola.

Holy Cross, led by former Bison head coach Dave Paulsen and associate head coach Bryson Johnson '13, will certainly have something to say about all of that. The Crusaders have a talented squad, led by PL Rookie of the Year Candidate Max Green and reigning Defensive Player of the Year Caleb Kenney, but they have been decimated by injuries throughout the season. Holy Cross also has tournament seeding to play for. While locked into a bottom-four seed and a first-round game on Tuesday, Holy Cross can move up to the No. 8 seed and host that game with a win and some help.

Regardless of what happens on Saturday, Bucknell will be playing at home next Thursday, March 6 in the quarterfinal round of the Patriot League Tournament. It will be a 7 p.m. game at Sojka Pavilion, and general public tickets will go on sale later this weekend.

GAME DIGEST
What: Bucknell (16-14, 12-5 PL) at Holy Cross (13-17, 5-12 PL)
Where: Hart Center, Worcester, Mass.
When: Saturday, March 1, 2 p.m.
Watch: ESPN+
Local Radio: Eagle 107
Internet Audio: BucknellBison.com
Live Stats: GoHolyCross.com
COMPLETE GAME NOTES

With a Win over Holy Cross, Bucknell Would ...

... win its sixth straight game and ninth in the last 10.
... claim at least a share of its 14th Patriot League regular-season title (first since 2018-19).
... earn the No. 1 seed for the Patriot League Tournament with a Colgate win over American or a Navy win over Loyola.
... finish 13-5 in the Patriot League, its best league record since going 13-5 in 2018-19.
... win six straight games for the first time since 2017-18.
... snap a two-game losing streak at the Hart Center and sweep the season series from the Crusaders for the first time since 2019-20.
... improve to 17-14 overall and be assured of a winning season.

Headlines

Bucknell wraps up the regular season Saturday afternoon at Holy Cross, and the Bison control their own destiny for at least a share of the Patriot League regular-season title. Bucknell and American enter the 18th and final round of league play with identical 12-5 records and will be seeded 1-2 in some order for the Patriot League Tournament, which gets underway next week.
Bucknell has a few different paths to the No. 1 seed.
- A Bucknell win and an American loss at Colgate would give the Bison the outright PL title and the top seed.
- If Bucknell and American both lose, Bucknell would be the No. 1 seed.
- If Bucknell and American both win, Bucknell would be the No. 1 seed provided Navy also wins on Saturday at home against Loyola.
With eight wins in their last nine games, the Bison are assured of at least a top-two seed, which is important in a league tournament format where every game is played on the home court of the higher-seeded team. Bucknell will host a quarterfinal game next Thursday against one of the bottom four seeds.
Holy Cross also has a lot riding on Saturday's game. The Crusaders are currently tied for ninth place with Lehigh at 5-12, but they can move up to the No. 8 seed with a win over Bucknell and losses by both Loyola (at Navy) and Lehigh (at Army). That is significant, because the 7 and 8 seeds host first-round games next Tuesday.
Bucknell has gotten hot at the right time, going 7-1 in the month of February. The Bison have bounced back nicely from a wild 116-110 double-overtime loss at Army with five straight wins, including an 84-53 rout of the Black Knights in the rematch last Sunday. Josh Bascoe exploded for a career-high 30 points in that game, as the Bison led for all but 18 seconds despite playing without injured leading scorer Noah Williamson.
Williamson returned on Wednesday at Loyola and helped the Bison recover from an early 15-point deficit in a 70-67 win. Williamson tallied 15 points, eight rebounds, and four assists, and in the final seconds he recorded a steal and a blocked shots as Bucknell ended the game with two big defensive stops.
Bucknell's last eight wins have come by an average margin of 14.6 points, with six of them by 10 or more.
Bascoe earned his first Patriot League Player of the Week honor on Monday. He became the ninth Bison to score 30 points in a game at Sojka Pavilion, and he also added five assists and four steals. Bascoe is averaging 15.5 ppg, and he continues to lead the league in assists at 4.4 apg.
Bucknell has tied the NCAA record with eight overtime games this season. The Bison lead the nation with eight OT games and 11 OT periods in 2024-25. Western Kentucky (1977-78), Portland (1983-84), Valparaiso (1992-93), Michigan State (2014-15), Toledo (2016-17), and Texas (2017-18) also played eight in a season.

Most Overtime Games, 2024-25 Season
Bucknell 8
South Alabama 6
Tennessee-Martin 6
Fresno State 5

Bucknell has picked up the pace offensively over the last 13 games. Since going 2-for-19 from 3-point range and being held to 58 points in a loss at American on Jan. 11, the Bison have put up these offensive numbers in the 13 games since then:

Scoring Average 79.8
FG% .518
3FG% .425
ASST/TO 192/148

Williamson was a preseason All-Patriot League selection and is averaging a team-high 17.1 points, 7.6 rebounds, and 1.1 blocks per game. Williamson scored a career-high 32 points in the win over Southern Indiana, and he scored 22 of his 26 after halftime to lead the comeback charge against Richmond. Williamson leads the Patriot League with nine double-doubles, he has 11 20-point games, and he is averaging 20.1 ppg in conference play.
This is year No. 2 under head coach John Griffin III, a 2008 Bucknell graduate who was a standout guard for the Bison. Bucknell went 14-19 overall and 10-8 in the Patriot League last season. The Bison were playing their best basketball at the end of the year and finished in a four-way tie for second place, although tiebreakers relegated them to the No. 5 seed in the Patriot League Tournament. An 80-57 rout of American in the PL quarterfinals was the team's fourth straight victory, and then the Bison took top-seeded Colgate to the final seconds in a 68-65 loss in the semifinals.
The Bison will reconnect with some friendly faces on Saturday. Holy Cross head coach Dave Paulsen guided the Bison for seven seasons from 2008-15, winning two Patriot League titles (2011, 2013) on the way to a 134-94 record and three Patriot League Coach of the Year honors. Paulsen's .588 winning percentage is second-best in program history among coaches with 40 or more games, trailing only Hall-of-Famer Charlie Woollum (.590). Paulsen's associate head coach at Holy Cross is Bryson Johnson '13, who is the most prolific 3-point shooter in Bucknell history. Johnson played a key role on the 2011 and 2013 championship teams, and his 323 career 3-pointers are 29 more than any other player in team history. Johnson ranks 14th on Bucknell's all-time scoring list with 1,384 points, and he was one of three 1,000-point scorers in his class, along with Mike Muscala (1st, 2036) and Joe Willman (30th, 1162).
Holy Cross has a young roster with only one senior (Caleb Kenney) and three juniors. Kenney is the reigning Patriot League Defensive Player of the Year.
The Crusaders are 7-5 at home and have been in most of their games this season. After beating Lafayette in overtime, Holy Cross dropped two straight on the road over the last week, an OT decision at Navy and an eight-point loss at Colgate on Wednesday.
The Crusaders feature a PL Rookie of the Year candidate in Max Green, who leads the team in scoring (14.6) and assists (3.4). Green, who missed the last game with an injury, has 62 3-pointers on the season. Joe Nugent (12.0) is one of the league's top sharpshooters with 75 treys while hitting 41.4% from beyond the arc.
As a team, Holy Cross shoots a league-high 38.1% from downtown and has a PL-best 270 made threes. The Crusaders also have league's No. 2 3-point percentage defense (.330).

How to Get the Game

The Bucknell-Holy Cross game will be streamed on ESPN+. Kevin Gehl and Jacob VanRyn will call the action from the Hart Center.
"Voice of the Bison" Doug Birdsong will have the local radio call on Eagle 107.
The audio feed is also available online free of charge via BucknellBison.com.
Live statistics can be accessed via GoHolyCross.com.
Follow @Bucknell_MBB for in-game updates on Twitter.

Last Time Out

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. 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.
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.
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.

Bucknell vs. Holy Cross Series Notes
The Bucknell-Holy Cross rivalry has been one of the league's best through the years. Some of the highlights:

The Bison and Crusaders have combined to win 11 of the last 24 Patriot League titles.
These two teams have met 17 times in the 34 Patriot League Tournaments, with Bucknell winning nine of the 17. That includes four times in the championship game. Bucknell defeated Holy Cross in the 2005 and 2006 title tilts, while the Crusaders topped the Bison in the final in 1993 and 2007.
The Bison and Crusaders had never met until the formation of the Patriot League in 1990-91, but this will be the 85th meeting in 35 years. The two teams did not play during the 2020-21 season under the COVID-modified Patriot League schedule that placed them in different divisions.
Bucknell leads the series 50-34 after winning a high-scoring affair 86-82 at Sojka Pavilion on Jan. 15. The Bison hit a season-high 16 3-pointers in that game. All eight Bison players who took the court scored at least six points, and seven made a shot from beyond the arc. Bucknell also received a season-high 26 points from its bench and only committed five turnovers. Josh Bascoe, who led Bucknell with 17 points, Ruot Bijiek (14), Jayden Williams (11), and Brandon McCreesh (9) all made three triples. Noah Williamson (12 points) and Elvin Edmonds (10) gave the Bison five players in double figures. Caleb Kenney scored a game-high 23 points as all five Holy Cross starters scored in double figures.
Bucknell is 27-13 against Holy Cross in Lewisburg and 20-7 at Sojka Pavilion. Bucknell is 18-18 vs. Holy Cross at the Hart Center, with one of the wins coming in the 2005 Patriot League championship game.

Facts & Figures

The first Army game was one the wildest in team history. The 116-110 double-overtime loss was the highest-scoring game in school history, eclipsing the 225 points from a 119-106 win over Colgate in 1968. There was high drama throughout the afternoon. Bucknell trailed 87-74 with 3:17 remaining in regulation before stunning the Black Knights with a 13-0 run to force overtime. Noah Williamson scored the tying basket with 16 seconds left, and then he did it again with 26 seconds to go in the first OT period. The Bison led 105-102 in the second OT session, but Army took control with an 8-0 run. The 116 points were the most ever scored by the Black Knights, and it was the most points allowed by Bucknell since a 117-93 loss to Lafayette in 1955.
Brandon McCreesh ranks third in the Patriot League in 3-point percentage (.443) thanks to a recent hot streak. McCreesh has hit at least one trey in 12 of the last 15 games and is 20-for-35 from the arc in that stretch.
Williamson has been on a tear from the 3-point arc, going 15-for-26 over his last 10 games. He was 6-for-6 at Colgate, 2-for-2 at Boston University, and he made his only attempt against Loyola to tie the school record for consecutive made threes, originally set by Mike Bright on the night when he went 9-for-10 against Loyola in Davis Gym in 1993. The streak ended at nine when he missed his first attempt against American.
Also heating up from downtown is Elvin Edmonds IV, who went 4-for-5 at Army and is 15-for-25 in his last nine games.
The Bison lead the Patriot League in free-throw attempts (20.3) and made free throws (13.5) per game, even though they rank ninth in free-throw percentage (.666). Williamson's 207 free-throw attempts are ninth-most in the nation.
Pip Ajayi has been a big factor off the bench for the Bison. The reserve frontcourt player tallied 13 points — his most in a Bucknell uniform — five rebounds, and three steals in 18 minutes at Lehigh. After starting the season 3-for-8 from the field, Ajayi is 48-for-70 (.686) since then, including 46-for-66 (.697) over his last 23 games.
Williamson's nine double-doubles are the most in the Patriot League and 36th-most in the nation.
Williamson ranks in some pretty good company when it comes to national scoring leaders among 7-footers.

NCAA Leaders, Points per Game, Players 7'0" or Taller
1. Maxime Raynaud, Stanford   20.0
2. Ryan Kalkbrenner, Creighton   18.9
3. Noah Williamson, Bucknell   17.1
4. Hunter Dickinson, Kansas   16.8
5. Bent Leuchten, UC Irvine   15.7
6. Vladislav Goldin, Michigan   15.6

NCAA Leaders, Made 3-Pointers, Players 7'0" or Taller
1. Maxime Raynaud, Stanford 52
2. Tomislav Ivisic, Illinois   39
3. Danny Wolf, Michigan 29
4. Nate Bittie, Oregon   28
5. Noah Williamson, Bucknell   27

Who's Got Next?

Bucknell has a bye into the Patriot League Tournament quarterfinals and will host a game at Sojka Pavilion next Thursday at 7 p.m.

Men's Basketball Concludes Regular Season Saturday at Holy Cross, Bison in Contention for No. 1 Seed

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Pip Ajayi

Josh Bascoe

Ruot Bijiek

Elvin Edmonds IV

Brandon McCreesh

Achile Spadone

Jayden Williams

Noah Williamson

Men's Basketball Concludes Regular Season Saturday at Holy Cross, Bison in Contention for No. 1 Seed

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Pip Ajayi

Josh Bascoe

Ruot Bijiek

Elvin Edmonds IV

Brandon McCreesh

Achile Spadone

Jayden Williams

Noah Williamson

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