Men's Basketball Hosts Loyola on 21st Annual Dirk Sojka's Slam Dunk with Bison Basketball

GAME DIGEST
What: Loyola (5-11, 1-2 PL) at Bucknell (4-12, 1-2 PL)
When: Saturday, Jan. 10, 5 p.m.
Where: Sojka Pavilion, Lewisburg, Pa.
Watch: ESPN+
Listen: Eagle 107 and BucknellBison.com
Live Stats: BucknellBison.com
TICKETS
COMPLETE GAME NOTES

LEWISBURG, Pa. -- Bucknell hosts Loyola on Saturday in one of the annual highlights of the home calendar, as it will be the 21st Annual Dirk Sojka's Slam Dunk with Bison basketball. Proceeds from the game, including a raffle drawing and silent auction, will benefit SUNCOM Industries, a local organization that provides a workplace for people with developmental and physical disabilities. The late Dirk Sojka, son of former Bucknell University president Gary Sojka and his wife Sandy, was employed by SUNCOM prior to his passing.

Bucknell and Loyola are two of seven teams deadlocked at 1-2 in the Patriot League standings. Navy and Colgate are off to 3-0 starts followed by American at 2-1, and then the rest of the league is tied for fourth place. The Bison are looking to bounce back from a 76-55 loss at red-hot Navy on Wednesday. Bucknell led by as many as seven in the early stages and trailed by just one at the half, but the Midshipmen opened the second stanza on a game-changing 20-3 run.

Senior Ruot Bijiek has begun to heat up as the calendar has flipped to 2026. Bijiek turned in arguably the best game of his career against Lehigh last Saturday. He was the catalyst in the rally from 13 points down against the Mountain Hawks, matching his career high with 20 points — his most ever in a Patriot League game — while setting a new personal best with 10 rebounds. Six of those boards came on the offensive end of the floor, four of which resulted in put-back buckets. Bijiek led the Bison once again with 16 points and six rebounds at Navy on Wednesday, and he is now the team's leading scorer at 12.3 ppg. Freshman Pat Curtin missed the final four non-conference games due to a lower leg injury, but since returning he has made his first three career starts and scored in double figures all three times. Curtin, an Ellicott City, Md., native who will be going up against a second straight Maryland foe on Saturday, stuffed the stat sheet with 14 points, four rebounds, four assists, and five steals in 29 minutes of action against Lehigh.

Loyola started Patriot League play with double-digit losses to American and Lafayette, but the Greyhounds bounced back with an 84-76 overtime win at Army on Wednesday. Braeden Speed paced the team with 19 points, nine rebounds, and four assists, and Loyola got a big lift from the bench trio of Emmett Adair (10), Sebastien Emanalo (10), and Troy Cicero Jr. (9), who combined for 29 points. Preseason All-Patriot League selection Jacob Theodosiou leads the team in scoring at 15.3 ppg, followed by Speed at 13.6 ppg. As a team, the Greyhounds rank third in the Patriot League in scoring at 75.1 ppg, but they are 10th in points allowed at 77.6 ppg.

Loyola head coach Josh Loeffler is in his second season at the helm. He was previously the head coach at Johns Hopkins, and his first season there was the senior year for current Bucknell assistant coach Jesse Flannery, who was an outstanding guard for the Blue Jays.

The Bison and Greyhounds have met 32 times previously. Bucknell leads 25-7 in the series, including five straight wins and a 19-5 mark since Loyola joined the Patriot League in 2013-14. Bucknell is 11-4 all-time at Loyola's Reitz Arena and 14-3 at home (2-0 in Davis Gym, 12-3 at Sojka Pavilion). Bucknell has swept the last two season series, and the Bison also prevailed in last year's Patriot League Tournament quarterfinals.

In that 2025 postseason encounter, the top-seeded Bucknell played its NCAA-record ninth overtime game of the season and prevailed 76-72 over No. 8 seed Loyola. Noah Williamson led the way with 21 points and 10 rebounds, and Josh Bascoe added 20 points, eight rebounds, and six assists. The Bison jumped out to a 29-12 lead, but Loyola got hot from downtown and got right back into the game with a 22-6 run. Jacob Theosodiou paced Loyola with 17 points, seven rebounds, and seven assists.

In last year's first meeting on Jan. 29 at Sojka Pavilion, Bucknell won 79-67, behind 13 points, 16 rebounds, and four assists from Williamson and a team-high 14 points from Achile Spadone. Five Bison scored in double figures and they turned it over only eight times in the game. Theodosiou led Loyola with 22 points. In the rematch in Baltimore, Loyola jumped out to an early 21-6 before the Bison rallied to win 70-67. Elvin Edmonds IV scored on a driving layup to break a 64-64 tie with 2:37 to go, and in the final 30 seconds Williamson came up with a steal and blocked shot to protect the lead. All five Bison starters scored in double figures, led by Williamson with 15 and Bascoe with 14. Milos Ilic scored 21 and Theodosiou 17 for the Greyhounds.

Next up, Bucknell hosts Lafayette on Wednesday in the back half of a hoops doubleheader. The Bucknell-Lafayette women's game tips off at 5 p.m., with the men slated to follow at 7:30 p.m. The Leopards are 4-12 overall and 1-2 in the Patriot League heading into Saturday's game at Navy.

Men's Basketball Hosts Loyola on 21st Annual Dirk Sojka's Slam Dunk with Bison Basketball

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Players Mentioned

Josh Bascoe

Ruot Bijiek

Pat Curtin

Elvin Edmonds IV

Achile Spadone

Noah Williamson