Men's Hoops Looks to Keep Win Streak Going Saturday at Colgate

GAME DIGEST
What: Bucknell (6-12, 3-2 PL)
When: Saturday, Jan. 17, 2 p.m.
Where: Cotterell Court, Hamilton, N.Y.
Watch: ESPN+
Listen: Eagle 107 and BucknellBison.com
Live Stats: ColgateAthletics.com
COMPLETE GAME NOTES

LEWISBURG, Pa. -- Bucknell heads to Colgate on Saturday looking for a third straight win after rallying past Loyola and Lafayette at home over the last week. The Bison enter the sixth round of Patriot League play just one game behind co-leaders Colgate and Navy in the jam-packed standings. If Bucknell, American, Holy Cross, and Lehigh all win this weekend, there will be a six-way tie for first place.

The Bison are 3-0 at home and 0-2 on the road to start the Patriot League slate. Bucknell has won 14 straight regular-season home games against Patriot League opponents dating back to an overtime loss to Lehigh on Feb. 12, 2024, and now it will be looking for its third road win of the season, with the other two coming against MAAC foes Mount St. Mary's and Rider.

Bucknell continues to overcome a rash of injuries. The Bison started four guards in Wednesday's 76-69 win over Lafayette, with frontcourt regulars Ruot Bijiek and Grgur Brcic unable to go. Things got even more dire when starting center Amön Dorries picked up his second, third, and fourth fouls in the first three minutes of the second half and had to sit for about 11 minutes. Patrick O'Brien gave the Bison a big lift off the bench with a career-high five points in that stretch, and the Bison played an extended stint with 6'5" Achile Spadone at the 5 spot. They managed to surge ahead anyway, and then Dörries scored seven big points in the final 5:12 to finish off the win. Bucknell has now lost 52 man-games due to injury this season.

Bucknell's top two scorers were both freshmen in the two recent wins over Loyola and Lafayette. Patrick Curtin (25) and Dörries (19) combined for 44 points against the Greyhounds, and Curtin (17) and Dörries (15) tallied 32 against the Leopards. Curtin earned Patriot League Rookie of the Week honors on Monday following that career-best performance against Loyola. He went 10-for-17 from the field and scored 17 of his 25 points in the second half. Curtin also made the game's biggest defensive play when he drew an offensive foul with 2.4 seconds left and the Bison leading by two points. In Patriot League play, Curtin is 12th in the league in scoring (15.6 ppg) and first in steals (2.2 spg).

Dörries has begun to heat back up after a December dry spell. Over his last four games, the freshman from Germany is averaging 15.0 ppg while shooting 54.5% (24-44) from the field and 50.0% (4-8) from 3-point range. He has also blocked six shots in the last three games. The Bison have struggled with shooting accuracy for much of the season, but they broke out against Lafayette on Wednesday, hitting season highs in FG% (.510) and 3FG% (.545).

Colgate bounced back from a rare Patriot League home loss to Lehigh (78-77) with an 86-80 win at Loyola on Wednesday. The Raiders had six double-figure scorers in that game, led by Jalen Cox with 17 points and Andrew Alekseyenko with 16 points, 15 rebounds, and five assists. Cox not only leads the team in scoring at 16.3 ppg on the season, he is No. 1 in the Patriot League in assists at 5.3 apg. Cox is fourth in the PL in scoring, while the freshman Alekseyenko is eighth at 14.3 ppg. Sam Wright also scores in double figures at 12.4 ppg. As a team, Colgate is third in the league in scoring offense (76.1) and fourth in scoring defense (73.7).

This will be the 128th all-time meeting between Bucknell and Colgate in a series that dates back 106 years to 1920. The Bison have a 70-57 series lead. The only other opponents that Bucknell has played at least 100 times are Lehigh (189), Lafayette (182), Gettysburg (126) and Penn State (105). As Patriot League rivals, Bucknell is 49-31, including 29-8 in Lewisburg.

The Bison snapped a nine-game losing streak to Colgate with a 66-60 win over the Raiders at Sojka Pavilion last season, but Colgate has taken 13 of the last 15 in the series. The Raiders have won 10 straight in Hamilton dating back to a 63-51 Bison decision on Jan. 15, 2018. In last year's Bucknell victory in Lewisburg, the Bison led 23-19 after a defensive struggle in the first half, but it opened up in the second stanza with Bucknell outscoring the Raiders 43-41. Noah Williamson led the Bison with 20 points and 10 rebounds, while Sam Wright scored 16 off the bench for Colgate.

The rematch in Hamilton was a higher-scoring affair, with Colgate prevailing 87-80. Josh Bascoe scored 23 points and Williamson went 6-for-6 from 3-point range on the way to 22, but Colgate shot 59 percent from the field and went 21-for-25 from the foul line in the second half to pull away. Bucknell went 12-for-24 from 3-point range on the night. Achile Spadone (13) and Ruot Bijiek (10) also scored in double figures. Nicolas Louis-Jacques led four Raiders in double figures with 19 points.

Bucknell and Colgate played a barnburner in the Patriot League Tournament semifinals at Cotterell Court two seasons ago, and the Raiders prevailed 68-65 in a game that came right down to the final shot. The Bison built a 15-point lead in the first half before the Raiders rallied. Colgate started 0-for-16 from 3-point range but then hit 5 of 6 in one stretch to spark the comeback. These two teams recently met in back-to-back Patriot League championship games. Bucknell won 83-54 in the 2018 title tilt at Sojka Pavilion, and Colgate returned the favor with a 94-80 win at Cotterell Court in 2019. The Raiders have won six of the 10 all-time postseason meetings. The final game of John Griffin's collegiate career came in Bucknell's loss in Hamilton in the 2008 semifinals.

Following the trip to Colgate, Bucknell returns home on Wednesday to face Army at 7 p.m. The Bison have won five of the last six from the Black Knights, who host American on Sunday looking to improve on a 1-4 start in Patriot League play.

Men's Hoops Looks to Keep Win Streak Going Saturday at Colgate

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Josh Bascoe

Ruot Bijiek

Grgur Brcic

Patrick O'Brien

Achile Spadone

Noah Williamson