Men's Basketball Welcomes Old Dominion for Home Opener Saturday at 5 p.m.

GAME DIGEST
What: Old Dominion (2-0) at Bucknell (0-1)
When: Saturday, Nov. 7, 5 p.m.
Where: Sojka Pavilion, Lewisburg, Pa.
Watch: ESPN+
Listen: WKOK 1070 AM and BucknellBison.com
Live Stats: BucknellBison.com
Tickets: Single-game and season tickets on sale!
COMPLETE GAME NOTES

HAPPENINGS

ORANGE OUT, presented by Weis Markets (free t-shirts while supplies last!)
Schedule Magnet Giveaway, presented by Aspire Wealth Group
Sojka Pavilion debut of the Rusty Rail Beer Stand, located on the concourse in Section G

LEWISBURG, Pa. -- Bucknell begins its 25th season of play in Sojka Pavilion when Old Dominion visits for the 2026-27 home opener on Saturday evening. The Bison and Monarchs are meeting for just the fourth time, and for the first time since Bucknell won a double-overtime thriller in Sojka in 2008-09.

Bucknell opened up with a 96-67 loss at Maryland on Monday, and Old Dominion is already 2-0 after posting home wins over Western Michigan (61-49) and Regent (91-47). The Bison came away from the Maryland game with plenty of positives, despite what turned into a one-sided scoreline. Bucknell led 25-23 with seven minutes left in the first half, but the Terrapins closed the half on a 21-5 run and then outscored the Bison 52-37 in the second period. Aleksander Pachucki led all scorers with 23 points, hitting on 7 of 11 3-point attempts. Bucknell went 12-for-31 from the arc on the night and had 17 assists on 23 made field goals. The Bison were just outmanned on the glass, as the bigger Terps piled up a 54-22 rebounding advantage, which led to 28 second-chance points.

Pachucki's seven 3-pointers were tied for the most in the nation on opening night. Three other players also canned seven: Northwestern's Jack Karasinski against Binghamton, Ohio's Kolton Mitchell against South Alabama, and Charlotte's Keyshaun Tillery against Indiana State. The seven threes were also the most by a Bison since Andrew Funk hit seven at Illinois State on Nov. 20, 2021.

Bucknell has plenty of new faces on the squad this season, so fans should be sure to purchase a scorecard when arriving at Sojka Pavilion. Eleven newcomers dot a 17-player roster. Transfers Luca Soroa Schaller (Northeastern), Kyle Marshall (Air Force), Rocco Lamuno (Spring Hill), and Luke Soden (Regis) will all be integral parts of the rotation, as will freshmen Ludvik Bergseng (6'11"), Danny Kennard (6'11"), Mert Kocagozoglu (6'6"), and Ethan Marten-Coney (6'9"), who boost the team's overall size profile. Center Patrick O'Brien is the team's lone senior, and guards Pachucki, Jayden Williams, and Jacob Meachem are also returning rotation players.

Lamuno (12 points, 3 assists) and Soroa Schaller (7 points, 4 assists) were both in the starting lineup at Maryland, and Marshall, Soden, Bergseng, Kennard, Kocagozoglu, and Marten-Coney all made their Bison debuts off the bench.

The Monarchs are off to a 2-0 start thanks in large part to their defense. Old Dominion has held both opponents — Western Michigan and Division III Regent — in the 40s. Through two games, opponents are shooting 32.1% from the field, 27.7% from 3-point range, and have committed 39 turnovers. Zacch Wiggins scored a career-high 25 points in the season-opening win over Western Michigan, which was part of the MAC-Sun Belt Challenge. Scottie Hubbard scored a career-high 16 points off the bench in the win over Regent.

ODU was picked to finish 11th in the Sun Belt preseason poll. Adante' Holiman was named to the Preseason All-SBC squad. Holiman was on the roster at Arizona State last season but did not appear in a game, and two years ago at Georgia State he was a Third Team All-Sun Belt selection. He also played at UTRGV and UTSA at the start of his career. Third-year head coach Mike Jones has added 11 newcomers this season to go with six returnees. The Monarchs finished 12-21 overall and 7-11 in the Sun Belt last season. Playing as the No. 11 seed, they defeated No. 14 seed Louisiana-Monroe 87-80 in the first round of the Sun Belt Tournament before falling to No. 10 seed Georgia Southern 88-84 in round two, despite 45 points from senior Jordan Battle.

These two teams are meeting for the fourth time. Old Dominion won the first matchup 88-76 as part of the ODU Classic on Jan. 5, 1979, and then the two teams clashed twice in the 2008 calendar year. The Monarchs won 65-55 in Norfolk on Feb. 23 as part of the ESPN BracketBusters event, and then in the return game the following November, Bucknell won 83-82 in double overtime.

That 2OT thriller at Sojka came in the fourth game of the 2008-09 season, and it was Dave Paulsen's first win as Bucknell's head coach. Justin Castleberry had the best game of his career with 31 points, including the go-ahead layup with 15 seconds remaining. Darryl Shazier, a Newport News, Va., native who had played AAU ball with four ODU players, just missed Bucknell's first-ever triple-double with 14 points, nine rebounds, and nine assists. Patrick Behan added 16 points and eight rebounds, and Bryan Cohen tallied 21 points and nine boards. Gerald Lee paced the Monarchs with 26 points, Frank Hassell added 20 points and 11 rebounds, and future NBAer Kent Bazemore scored 10 off the bench.

The previous season in Norfolk, the Bison fell 65-55 despite 19 points from then-senior John Griffin. Lee led ODU with 20 points and seven rebounds. In the first meeting in 1978-79, Bucknell fell in the first round of the ODU Classic, then came back the next day and defeated Georgia Southern 79-78. Steve Sigl scored 20 points to lead Bucknell, while Monarchs stars Ronnie McAdoo (25) and Ronnie Valentine (24) combined for 49 points. Both were future NBA Draft picks.

The Bison do not have much history against the Sun Belt Conference. This will be Bucknell's fourth-ever game against a team that was a member of the SBC at the time of the game. The Bison lost all three of those previous meetings to South Alabama in 1978, New Orleans in 1992, and FIU in 1998. Among current Sun Belt members, Bucknell is 3-0 against Georgia Southern, 1-2 against Old Dominion, 0-2 against James Madison, 0-1 against Appalachian State, 0-1 against Marshall, 0-1 against Southern Miss, and 0-1 against South Alabama.

Bucknell heads back out on the road again on Tuesday at Virginia. Put on a pot of coffee, as it's a 9 p.m. Eastern tip on ACC Network.

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Players Mentioned

Ludvik Bergseng

Danny Kennard

Mert Kocagozoglu

Rocco Lamuno

Kyle Marshall

Ethan Marten-Coney

Jacob Meachem

Patrick O'Brien

Aleksander Pachucki

Luke Soden

Luca Soroa Schaller

Jayden Williams

Bucknell University Athletics