Bucknell University Athletics
Photo by: Charles Fortin
Men’s Basketball Holds off Canadian National Champion Carleton, 70-62, in Can-Am Exhibition Game
7/20/2026 9:46:00 PM | Men's Basketball
BOXSCORE
OTTAWA, Ontario – Scarborough, Ontario native Aleksander Pachucki led all scorers with 22 points to help the Bucknell men's basketball team to a 70-62 exhibition win over reigning Canadian national champion Carleton in front of a spirited crowd on Monday night.
Patrick O'Brien tallied 16 points, Jayden Williams handed out seven assists, and newcomers Rocco Lamuno (9 points, 3 assists), Luke Soden (8 points), Danny Kennard (5 points, 5 rebounds), and Kyle Marshall (4 points, 3 assists, 3 steals) all made important contributions in their debuts in Bucknell colors.
The Bison broke open a 40-40 tie with a 23-11 second-half surge, and then they held off a late Carleton run. The Ravens held Bucknell scoreless for more than five minutes and pulled within four with 2:22 left, but the Bison pitched a shutout the rest of the way. Soden came up with the biggest shot of the night, a driving layup with 2:00 to go that ended Bucknell's drought, and Soden later hit two clinching free throws and put an exclamation point on the victory with a steal in the closing seconds.
"First of all, a huge thank you to Carleton for hosting us and providing a first-class atmosphere for a basketball game in the middle of July," said head coach John Griffin III. "We have great respect for their program. From our standpoint, I was very happy with our togetherness and our competitive attitude against a team coming off a national championship. We came into the game not looking to play perfectly, but to play together. Everyone who played made an impact, and that was the whole point of this experience coming up to Canada."
The Bison did most of their offensive damage from long range, as 14 of their 25 made field goals came from beyond the 3-point arc. Pachucki made six of his first eight, including a pair late in the third quarter to help Bucknell pull away. The Bison went 14-for-37 (.378) from downtown and shot 37.9 percent overall, and they had 19 assists on 25 made buckets.
Bucknell was scrappy at the defensive end, forcing 18 turnovers and limiting the Ravens to 31.2 percent shooting overall and just 5 of 30 from downtown. The Bison did have trouble on the glass, as an athletic Carleton squad grabbed 25 offensive rebounds as part of a 63-28 rebounding edge, but the Ravens only managed 16 second-chance points off those 25 offensive boards.
Playing without a handful of likely contributors who are either nursing injuries or do not yet have their student visas, Bucknell played well in large stretches and committed only 10 turnovers despite facing stiff pressure for most of the night.1
The first half featured five lead changes and five ties, with the largest margin for either side just five after O'Brien gave Bucknell a 32-27 lead with 1:50 left. Pachucki hit three of Bucknell's seven first-half treys, with O'Brien, Lamuno, and Kennard accounting for the other three.
The Bison trailed 16-12 after the first quarter, and 25-24 after a Daniel Duala-Ekoko free throw. Bucknell jumped back in front late in the half thanks to an 8-2 run, keyed by a Marshall fastbreak layup off an assist from Matt Lange, and triples from centers Kennard and O'Brien.
Lamuno's free throws gave the Bison a 37-31 lead early in the third quarter, but Carleton answered with a 9-3 run to tie it. The Ravens' surge was keyed by a pair of tip-ins and a 3-pointer off a rare Bison turnover.
After Carleton tied it at 40-40 on Tyler Brown's tip, Pachucki knocked down a 3-pointer on the very next possession. Marshall picked off a pass in the lane on Carleton's next possession and fed Lamuno for a breakaway, and Bucknell led the rest of the way.
Pachucki hit threes on consecutive possessions later in the third quarter, and O'Brien's layup with four seconds left in the third quarter ended Carleton's 5-0 run. Up 55-49 heading to the fourth, the Bison opened the period with a well-executed lob from Williams to O'Brien, and then Soden followed with a 3-pointer to make it 60-49. O'Brien added a trey at the 8:40 mark to give the Bison their largest lead of a dozen at 63-51.
Williams drained the final trey of the night for a 66-55 advantage with 7:19 left, but the Bison didn't score again until Soden's drive with 2:00 to go. After Carleton closed within 66-62 on a pair of Mark Dike free throws, O'Brien grabbed a couple of big defensive rebounds and Lamuno took a charge on Brown to keep the Ravens off the board.
Augustas Brazdeikis led Carleton with 15 points and 10 rebounds, while Brown had 14 and 9.
Bucknell has one more game on this summer tour north of the border. The Bison will take on Queen's University in Montreal on Wednesday night.
OTTAWA, Ontario – Scarborough, Ontario native Aleksander Pachucki led all scorers with 22 points to help the Bucknell men's basketball team to a 70-62 exhibition win over reigning Canadian national champion Carleton in front of a spirited crowd on Monday night.
Patrick O'Brien tallied 16 points, Jayden Williams handed out seven assists, and newcomers Rocco Lamuno (9 points, 3 assists), Luke Soden (8 points), Danny Kennard (5 points, 5 rebounds), and Kyle Marshall (4 points, 3 assists, 3 steals) all made important contributions in their debuts in Bucknell colors.
The Bison broke open a 40-40 tie with a 23-11 second-half surge, and then they held off a late Carleton run. The Ravens held Bucknell scoreless for more than five minutes and pulled within four with 2:22 left, but the Bison pitched a shutout the rest of the way. Soden came up with the biggest shot of the night, a driving layup with 2:00 to go that ended Bucknell's drought, and Soden later hit two clinching free throws and put an exclamation point on the victory with a steal in the closing seconds.
"First of all, a huge thank you to Carleton for hosting us and providing a first-class atmosphere for a basketball game in the middle of July," said head coach John Griffin III. "We have great respect for their program. From our standpoint, I was very happy with our togetherness and our competitive attitude against a team coming off a national championship. We came into the game not looking to play perfectly, but to play together. Everyone who played made an impact, and that was the whole point of this experience coming up to Canada."
The Bison did most of their offensive damage from long range, as 14 of their 25 made field goals came from beyond the 3-point arc. Pachucki made six of his first eight, including a pair late in the third quarter to help Bucknell pull away. The Bison went 14-for-37 (.378) from downtown and shot 37.9 percent overall, and they had 19 assists on 25 made buckets.
Bucknell was scrappy at the defensive end, forcing 18 turnovers and limiting the Ravens to 31.2 percent shooting overall and just 5 of 30 from downtown. The Bison did have trouble on the glass, as an athletic Carleton squad grabbed 25 offensive rebounds as part of a 63-28 rebounding edge, but the Ravens only managed 16 second-chance points off those 25 offensive boards.
Playing without a handful of likely contributors who are either nursing injuries or do not yet have their student visas, Bucknell played well in large stretches and committed only 10 turnovers despite facing stiff pressure for most of the night.1
The first half featured five lead changes and five ties, with the largest margin for either side just five after O'Brien gave Bucknell a 32-27 lead with 1:50 left. Pachucki hit three of Bucknell's seven first-half treys, with O'Brien, Lamuno, and Kennard accounting for the other three.
The Bison trailed 16-12 after the first quarter, and 25-24 after a Daniel Duala-Ekoko free throw. Bucknell jumped back in front late in the half thanks to an 8-2 run, keyed by a Marshall fastbreak layup off an assist from Matt Lange, and triples from centers Kennard and O'Brien.
Lamuno's free throws gave the Bison a 37-31 lead early in the third quarter, but Carleton answered with a 9-3 run to tie it. The Ravens' surge was keyed by a pair of tip-ins and a 3-pointer off a rare Bison turnover.
After Carleton tied it at 40-40 on Tyler Brown's tip, Pachucki knocked down a 3-pointer on the very next possession. Marshall picked off a pass in the lane on Carleton's next possession and fed Lamuno for a breakaway, and Bucknell led the rest of the way.
Pachucki hit threes on consecutive possessions later in the third quarter, and O'Brien's layup with four seconds left in the third quarter ended Carleton's 5-0 run. Up 55-49 heading to the fourth, the Bison opened the period with a well-executed lob from Williams to O'Brien, and then Soden followed with a 3-pointer to make it 60-49. O'Brien added a trey at the 8:40 mark to give the Bison their largest lead of a dozen at 63-51.
Williams drained the final trey of the night for a 66-55 advantage with 7:19 left, but the Bison didn't score again until Soden's drive with 2:00 to go. After Carleton closed within 66-62 on a pair of Mark Dike free throws, O'Brien grabbed a couple of big defensive rebounds and Lamuno took a charge on Brown to keep the Ravens off the board.
Augustas Brazdeikis led Carleton with 15 points and 10 rebounds, while Brown had 14 and 9.
Bucknell has one more game on this summer tour north of the border. The Bison will take on Queen's University in Montreal on Wednesday night.
Players Mentioned
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/ Men's BasketballSaturday, July 18
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