Sunday, March 9
Lewisburg, Pa.
12 p.m.
Bucknell University
77
vs
83
Navy (PL Semifinals)
Men's Basketball Upset by Navy in Patriot League Semifinals, 83-77
3/9/2025 2:39:00 PM | Men's Basketball
JOHN GRIFFIN POSTGAME:
LEWISBURG, Pa. -- The No. 1-seeded Bucknell men's basketball team suffered an upset at the hands of fifth-seeded Navy, 83-77 in the Patriot League Tournament semifinals on Sunday afternoon at Sojka Pavilion. The loss snapped the Bison's 10-game home winning streak and seven-game overall winning streak, while the Midshipmen move on to play at either American or Colgate on Wednesday evening for the Patriot League Tournament title.
Patriot League Player of the Year Noah Williamson scored a team-high 22 points for the Orange and Blue, who finished the season 18-15. He also added seven rebounds and four blocked shots. Achile Spadone scored 21 points and grabbed three steals, while Josh Bascoe scored 16 and had three steals.
The Bison held All-Patriot League guard Austin Benigni to 2-for-12 shooting from the field, but Benigni still scored a game-high 24 points thanks to 20 free throws in 22, all coming in the second half. He also handed out seven assists without committing a turnover. Jordan Pennick (15 points), Jinwoo Kim (13), Donovan Draper (12), and Mike Woods (11) also scored in double figures.
Navy's defense kept the Bison out of an offensive flow throughout the first half, and the Midshipmen (15-18) jumped out to a 24-13 lead after 11 minutes. Pip Ajayi grabbed an offensive rebound off a missed free throw, leading to a Bascoe 3-pointer and a five-point possession that got the Bison going.
Bucknell cut the deficit to three on Williamson's dunk with 1:22 left, and it might have had the lead at halftime if not for a missed layup and two missed free throws in the final minute. That proved big when Navy started the second half on a 14-6 run, and the Midshipmen went up by 12 at 55-43 on an Austin Kehoe layup with 12:38 to go.
The Bison allowed only three more field goals the rest of the way and fought back to take the league, but Benigni and the Midshipmen won the game at the foul line.
Spadone, who finished one point shy of his career high, canned three 3-pointers in a three-minute span, the last of which brought the Bison within one at 59-58. Bascoe hit 2 of 3 free throws after being fouled on a corner 3-point attempt, giving Bucknell its first lead of the day with 5:55 to go.
Pennick and Williamson traded pairs of foul shots, but then Bucknell's free-throw struggles proved costly. The Bison were off the mark on two of their next three, including a missed front end of a 1-and-1, and their two-point lead vanished with Draper connected on a go-ahead 3-pointer with 3:54 left. Draper came into the game shooting 27 percent from 3-point distance in his career, but he went 3-for-6 in this one.
A turnover and a missed three led to four straight Benigni free throws, and the Mids never trailed again. The second of those fouls was the fifth on Spadone, who not only scored 21 points but had three steals and defended Benigni well for much of the day.
The crafty Benigni came into the game ranked third nationally in made free throws, and he got himself to the line time after time down the stretch. He went 17-for-18 in the final 3:31 and set the Patriot League Tournament record with 20 FTs on the day.
Bucknell had some life when Bascoe hit a deep three to make it 81-77 with 13 seconds left, but the Bison could not come up with a takeaway to get closer.
Bucknell shot 46.3 percent to Navy's 40.0 percent. Both teams made eight 3-pointers, but the difference was at the foul line where the Midshipmen went 35-for-42 compared to Bucknell's 19-for-29.
Williamson recorded his 14th 20-point game, and he ends his junior season with 982 career points. He finished an outstanding season averaging 17.6 points and 7.6 rebounds per game. His 562 points this season are 10th-most in Bucknell history.
Sunday's game was the last for Bucknell seniors Ajayi, Bascoe, Elvin Edmonds IV, and Ian Motta, a starting wing who missed the final 26 games of the season with a knee injury. The group led a remarkable turnaround, helping the Bison go from 10th place in the Patriot League to a regular-season championship in two seasons.
LEWISBURG, Pa. -- The No. 1-seeded Bucknell men's basketball team suffered an upset at the hands of fifth-seeded Navy, 83-77 in the Patriot League Tournament semifinals on Sunday afternoon at Sojka Pavilion. The loss snapped the Bison's 10-game home winning streak and seven-game overall winning streak, while the Midshipmen move on to play at either American or Colgate on Wednesday evening for the Patriot League Tournament title.
Patriot League Player of the Year Noah Williamson scored a team-high 22 points for the Orange and Blue, who finished the season 18-15. He also added seven rebounds and four blocked shots. Achile Spadone scored 21 points and grabbed three steals, while Josh Bascoe scored 16 and had three steals.
The Bison held All-Patriot League guard Austin Benigni to 2-for-12 shooting from the field, but Benigni still scored a game-high 24 points thanks to 20 free throws in 22, all coming in the second half. He also handed out seven assists without committing a turnover. Jordan Pennick (15 points), Jinwoo Kim (13), Donovan Draper (12), and Mike Woods (11) also scored in double figures.
Navy's defense kept the Bison out of an offensive flow throughout the first half, and the Midshipmen (15-18) jumped out to a 24-13 lead after 11 minutes. Pip Ajayi grabbed an offensive rebound off a missed free throw, leading to a Bascoe 3-pointer and a five-point possession that got the Bison going.
Bucknell cut the deficit to three on Williamson's dunk with 1:22 left, and it might have had the lead at halftime if not for a missed layup and two missed free throws in the final minute. That proved big when Navy started the second half on a 14-6 run, and the Midshipmen went up by 12 at 55-43 on an Austin Kehoe layup with 12:38 to go.
The Bison allowed only three more field goals the rest of the way and fought back to take the league, but Benigni and the Midshipmen won the game at the foul line.
Spadone, who finished one point shy of his career high, canned three 3-pointers in a three-minute span, the last of which brought the Bison within one at 59-58. Bascoe hit 2 of 3 free throws after being fouled on a corner 3-point attempt, giving Bucknell its first lead of the day with 5:55 to go.
Pennick and Williamson traded pairs of foul shots, but then Bucknell's free-throw struggles proved costly. The Bison were off the mark on two of their next three, including a missed front end of a 1-and-1, and their two-point lead vanished with Draper connected on a go-ahead 3-pointer with 3:54 left. Draper came into the game shooting 27 percent from 3-point distance in his career, but he went 3-for-6 in this one.
A turnover and a missed three led to four straight Benigni free throws, and the Mids never trailed again. The second of those fouls was the fifth on Spadone, who not only scored 21 points but had three steals and defended Benigni well for much of the day.
The crafty Benigni came into the game ranked third nationally in made free throws, and he got himself to the line time after time down the stretch. He went 17-for-18 in the final 3:31 and set the Patriot League Tournament record with 20 FTs on the day.
Bucknell had some life when Bascoe hit a deep three to make it 81-77 with 13 seconds left, but the Bison could not come up with a takeaway to get closer.
Bucknell shot 46.3 percent to Navy's 40.0 percent. Both teams made eight 3-pointers, but the difference was at the foul line where the Midshipmen went 35-for-42 compared to Bucknell's 19-for-29.
Williamson recorded his 14th 20-point game, and he ends his junior season with 982 career points. He finished an outstanding season averaging 17.6 points and 7.6 rebounds per game. His 562 points this season are 10th-most in Bucknell history.
Sunday's game was the last for Bucknell seniors Ajayi, Bascoe, Elvin Edmonds IV, and Ian Motta, a starting wing who missed the final 26 games of the season with a knee injury. The group led a remarkable turnaround, helping the Bison go from 10th place in the Patriot League to a regular-season championship in two seasons.
Players Mentioned
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