Saturday, January 3
Lewisburg, Pa.
5 p.m.
Bucknell University
vs
Lehigh
Men's Basketball Rings in New Year with Home Date with Lehigh Saturday
1/2/2026 2:46:00 PM | Men's Basketball
GAME DIGEST
What:Â Lehigh (4-10, 0-1 PL) at Bucknell (3-11, 0-1 PL)
When:Â Saturday, Jan. 3, 5 p.m.Â
Where:Â Sojka Pavilion, Lewisburg, Pa.
Watch:Â ESPN+
Listen: Eagle 107 and BucknellBison.com
Live Stats:Â BucknellBison.com
TICKETS
COMPLETE GAME NOTES
LEWISBURG, Pa. -- Two teams looking to bounce back from losses in the opening round of Patriot League play square off on Saturday when Bucknell hosts Lehigh in the first game of the new calendar year. Note the 5 p.m. start time, with coverage on ESPN+ and Eagle 107 radio. The Bison started conference play with a 65-58 setback at Holy Cross, while the Mountain Hawks lost at home in overtime to Army, 85-78.
Bucknell rallied from a 10-point halftime deficit to take a 44-41 lead midway through the second half at Holy Cross, but the Crusaders surged back ahead with a 17-5 run. The Bison limited Holy Cross to 1-for-9 shooting from the 3-point arc — the fewest threes allowed in a game since Loyola went 1-for-15 on Jan. 20, 2016 — but the Crusaders outscored Bucknell 20-2 from the foul line. Â
Freshman guard Pat Curtin returned to the lineup at Holy Cross after a four-game absence, and he made his first career start. Curtin tallied 11 points, three assists, and three steals despite being limited to 20 minutes due to some foul trouble. Aleksander Pachucki has been a nice addition as a long-range threat off the bench. The Fordham transfer hit five 3-pointers in a game for the second time this season against Holy Cross, and he now has a team-high 20 treys in 51 attempts (.392).Â
Lehigh comes in at 4-10 overall, with a 3-3 record at home and 0-6 in true road games. The Mountain Hawks have home wins over Valley Forge, Saint Francis, and Penn State Hazleton, along with an overtime victory over Texas State at the Resorts World Las Vegas Classic in November. The Mountain Hawks have the Patriot League's leading scorer in junior guard Nasir Whitlock. The Minnesota native averages 19.5 ppg. He has scored in double figures in all but one game this season and has tallied at least 18 in each of the last seven contests. Hank Alvey is coming off a 21-point game against Army, and he shoots 63.2% from the field while scoring 12.3 ppg and grabbing 7.0 rpg. Joshua Ingram (10.7) and Andrew Urosevic (10.0) also score in double figures, although Urosevic has not played since Dec. 21. Â
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Bucknell has played more games (188) and won more games (113) against Lehigh than any other school. The Bison have a 113-75 lead in a series that originated in 1902. Since the start of Patriot League play in 1990-91, Bucknell holds a 53-29 advantage, including a 30-11 mark at home.
Bucknell and Lehigh split two contests last season, with the home team winning both. In last year's first meeting at Stabler Arena, Bucknell led 49-29 with 11 minutes remaining, but Lehigh stormed back to win 66-64 in overtime. Noah Williamson recorded 17 points and 10 rebounds and frontcourt mate Pip Ajayi had a Bucknell-career-high 13 points off the bench. Nasir Whitlock scored 20 points for the Mountain Hawks, including the game-winning 3-pointer with 24 seconds remaining in OT. In the rematch at Sojka Pavilion, Williamson scored 18 of his game-high 25 points in the second half to lead Bucknell to a 67-50 win. Lehigh scored the first nine points of the game and led 19-6 after nine minutes, but the Bison closed the half on a 23-6 run. Tyler Whitney-Sidney paced the Mountain Hawks with 19 points. The 50 points were the fewest allowed by Bucknell against Lehigh since 2008.Â
Bucknell is back on the road on Wednesday to face Navy at Alumni Hall at 7 p.m. Bucknell swept the regular-season series from the Midshipmen last season, but Navy upset the top-seeded Bison 83-77 in the Patriot League Tournament semifinals. Navy was an 82-77 winner over Boston University in the Patriot League opener on Wednesday, and the Mids travel to Holy Cross on Saturday before hosting Bucknell next week.Â
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What:Â Lehigh (4-10, 0-1 PL) at Bucknell (3-11, 0-1 PL)
When:Â Saturday, Jan. 3, 5 p.m.Â
Where:Â Sojka Pavilion, Lewisburg, Pa.
Watch:Â ESPN+
Listen: Eagle 107 and BucknellBison.com
Live Stats:Â BucknellBison.com
TICKETS
COMPLETE GAME NOTES
LEWISBURG, Pa. -- Two teams looking to bounce back from losses in the opening round of Patriot League play square off on Saturday when Bucknell hosts Lehigh in the first game of the new calendar year. Note the 5 p.m. start time, with coverage on ESPN+ and Eagle 107 radio. The Bison started conference play with a 65-58 setback at Holy Cross, while the Mountain Hawks lost at home in overtime to Army, 85-78.
Bucknell rallied from a 10-point halftime deficit to take a 44-41 lead midway through the second half at Holy Cross, but the Crusaders surged back ahead with a 17-5 run. The Bison limited Holy Cross to 1-for-9 shooting from the 3-point arc — the fewest threes allowed in a game since Loyola went 1-for-15 on Jan. 20, 2016 — but the Crusaders outscored Bucknell 20-2 from the foul line. Â
Freshman guard Pat Curtin returned to the lineup at Holy Cross after a four-game absence, and he made his first career start. Curtin tallied 11 points, three assists, and three steals despite being limited to 20 minutes due to some foul trouble. Aleksander Pachucki has been a nice addition as a long-range threat off the bench. The Fordham transfer hit five 3-pointers in a game for the second time this season against Holy Cross, and he now has a team-high 20 treys in 51 attempts (.392).Â
Lehigh comes in at 4-10 overall, with a 3-3 record at home and 0-6 in true road games. The Mountain Hawks have home wins over Valley Forge, Saint Francis, and Penn State Hazleton, along with an overtime victory over Texas State at the Resorts World Las Vegas Classic in November. The Mountain Hawks have the Patriot League's leading scorer in junior guard Nasir Whitlock. The Minnesota native averages 19.5 ppg. He has scored in double figures in all but one game this season and has tallied at least 18 in each of the last seven contests. Hank Alvey is coming off a 21-point game against Army, and he shoots 63.2% from the field while scoring 12.3 ppg and grabbing 7.0 rpg. Joshua Ingram (10.7) and Andrew Urosevic (10.0) also score in double figures, although Urosevic has not played since Dec. 21. Â
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Bucknell has played more games (188) and won more games (113) against Lehigh than any other school. The Bison have a 113-75 lead in a series that originated in 1902. Since the start of Patriot League play in 1990-91, Bucknell holds a 53-29 advantage, including a 30-11 mark at home.
Bucknell and Lehigh split two contests last season, with the home team winning both. In last year's first meeting at Stabler Arena, Bucknell led 49-29 with 11 minutes remaining, but Lehigh stormed back to win 66-64 in overtime. Noah Williamson recorded 17 points and 10 rebounds and frontcourt mate Pip Ajayi had a Bucknell-career-high 13 points off the bench. Nasir Whitlock scored 20 points for the Mountain Hawks, including the game-winning 3-pointer with 24 seconds remaining in OT. In the rematch at Sojka Pavilion, Williamson scored 18 of his game-high 25 points in the second half to lead Bucknell to a 67-50 win. Lehigh scored the first nine points of the game and led 19-6 after nine minutes, but the Bison closed the half on a 23-6 run. Tyler Whitney-Sidney paced the Mountain Hawks with 19 points. The 50 points were the fewest allowed by Bucknell against Lehigh since 2008.Â
Bucknell is back on the road on Wednesday to face Navy at Alumni Hall at 7 p.m. Bucknell swept the regular-season series from the Midshipmen last season, but Navy upset the top-seeded Bison 83-77 in the Patriot League Tournament semifinals. Navy was an 82-77 winner over Boston University in the Patriot League opener on Wednesday, and the Mids travel to Holy Cross on Saturday before hosting Bucknell next week.Â
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Players Mentioned
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