Bison Men Drop Tight 67-62 Verdict at Loyola

Saturday, January 24

Baltimore, Md,

2 p.m.

Bucknell University

6-15,3-5Patriot

Loyola

7-14,3-5Patriot

Bucknell

Loyola Maryland

Photo by: Steven Schoenfelder

1/24/2026 4:33:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

BALTIMORE, Md. – Freshman Amon Dörries scored a career-high 26 points, but it wasn't quite enough as a shorthanded Bucknell men's basketball squad fell 67-62 at Loyola on Saturday afternoon at Reitz Arena. The Bison trailed for much of the game but had look at a potential tying 3-pointer in the closing seconds, and Loyola capped off a 20-for-22 day at the foul line to snap Bucknell's six-game series winning streak.

The Bison entered the game without five injured players, and then they lost red-hot scorer Pat Curtin just 2:27 into the contest. Curtin came into the game averaging 17.3 points per game in conference play and was coming off a 25-point performance against Army. Dörries and Achile Spadone picked up the scoring load, accounting for 44 of the team's 62 points, and point guard Jayden Williams set a career high with eight assists without a turnover.

Bucknell got plenty of stops and generated open looks throughout the day but just could not get enough shots to drop and fell to 3-5 in Patriot League play. The Bison shot 40.7 percent overall and hit 6 of 27 from 3-point range, with three of those treys coming in the final five minutes as they hung around until the very end.

The first 16 minutes of the first half were played within a four-point margin either way, but Loyola opened things up with a 10-0 run late in the first half and led 31-23 at the break. The Bison opened the second half on a 12-3 run and regained the lead on Spadone's steal and breakaway layup.

Later in the half, Spadone's layup tied the game at 41 and then Bucknell had two good looks to retake the lead but missed an open three and a layup. Loyola responded with seven straight points to take the lead for good. Braeden Speed, who led the Greyhounds with a career-high 24 points, hit a 3-pointer to cap that run.

Bucknell's deficit was seven at 54-47 in the final five minutes, but Dörries and Quin Berger both made 3-pointers off assists from Williams to spark an 8-2 run that made it a 1-point game at 56-55. Speed answered with a baseline jumper, and after a Dörries 3-point try rimmed out, Carter Berg-McLean scored in the lane to make it 60-55 with 1:57 to go.

Down 62-59 with 45 seconds left, Bucknell forced a turnover in the backcourt but gave it back away while trying to attack the basket. Berger's second 3-pointer made it 64-62 with 19 seconds left, and then Jordan Stiemke split a pair at the foul line. After a timeout in the frontcourt with 4.5 seconds left, Berger's three from the right corner wouldn't go, and Dörries was on the baseline as he tried to collect the rebound. Speed ended it with two more free throws.

Loyola shot 41.7 percent from the field and went 7-for-25 from downtown. The Greyhounds had a 36-30 rebounding edge and overcame 14 turnovers to Bucknell's nine. Spadone, who ranks in the top five in the Patriot League in steals, tallied five thefts in this one.

Late in the first half, Aleksander Pachucki's 3-pointer at the 3:53 mark tied the game at 21, but the Bison didn't score again until the final minute. In the meantime, Tyson Commander hit two 3-pointers to spark that 10-point surge for the Greyhounds. Dörries ended the drought with a layup, and the Bison thought they had three more in the closing seconds, but Spadone's corner trey was waved off on a shot clock violation after a replay review.

The Bison are back in action on Wednesday at Lafayette at 7 p.m. The game was originally scheduled for Monday but was pushed back due to the winter storm headed for the region on Sunday and Monday.