Bison Men Fall to American, 75-57

Sunday, February 22

Lewisburg, Pa.

12 p.m.

Bucknell University

Holy Cross

Photo by: Isabelle Roes

2/18/2026 10:22:00 PM | Men's Basketball

LEWISBURG, Pa. – American outscored Bucknell 25-10 from the free-throw line on the way to a 75-57 win on Wednesday night at Sojka Pavilion. Amon Dörries scored 21 points and Achile Spadone had 18 points and seven rebounds for the Bison, while Madden Collins had 16 off the bench for the Eagles, who gained a split of the season series.

Pat Curtin returned from a one-game absence due to illness and chipped in 12 points, seven rebounds, and five assists. Reserve forward Grgur Brcic also came back after missing 11 games, but then starting point guard Jayden Williams left with an injury only six minutes into the game, and the Bison struggled to take care of the ball with 15 turnovers.

The game was ragged throughout, with Bucknell whistled for 25 of the game's 43 fouls. American went 25-for-31 from the free-throw line to offset 40.4 percent shooting from the field.

Bucknell cut a 12-point deficit to just five at 54-49 on a Spadone 3-pointer with 8:52 left, but American outscored the Bison 21-8 the rest of the way, even though it made only three field goals in that stretch. Of those last 21 points, 13 came from the free-throw line.

There were six lead changes in a tightly contested first half. After American jumped out to a quick 8-2 run, prompting a Bucknell timeout, Spadone's 3-pointer ignited a 9-0 run that gave the Bison their first lead of the night. Spadone scored eight of the team's first 14 points with a 3-for-3 start from the field.

A three-point play from Dörries pushed the Bison in front 24-22 at the 6:09 mark, but Geoff Sprouse answered with a 3-pointer at the other end, and the Eagles led the rest of the way. They closed the half on a 7-2 run to take a 36-30 lead to the locker room, and then Sprouse hit a 3-pointer on the first possession of the second half to make it a nine-point game.

Down 50-38 later in the second half, Bucknell had a good stretch with back-to-back buckets from Dörries closing game to 50-44. Julen Iturbe beat the shot clock with a scoop shot before five more points from Spadone made it a five-point game, but Matt Mayock's left-corner 3-pointer launched American's final surge.

The Bison shot 44.0 percent, going 11-for-25 from the field in both halves, but they struggled again from 3-point range. Bucknell was 3-for-17 for the arc, with Spadone accounting for all three. The Bison went 10-for-14 from the foul line.

Bucknell won the rebounding battle 34-27, but American committed only seven turnovers to finish plus-8 in that category.

The Bison fell to 5-10 in Patriot League play, while American improved to 8-7 with three games remaining in the regular season. The Eagles are now in a three-way tie for third place, while Bucknell slipped into a tie for eighth with Army.

Bucknell next hosts Holy Cross on Sunday. The noon contest will be preceded by Senior Day ceremonies as the Bison honor the five members of the Class of 2026.