Bucknell University Athletics
Men’s Basketball Completes 2-0 Week in Canada with 78-74 Win over Queen’s
7/22/2026 10:07:00 PM | Men's Basketball
MONTREAL, Quebec – Aleksander Pachucki scored 18 points, Kyle Marshall scored 11 off the bench, and Rocco Lamuno tallied 10 points and nabbed eight of Bucknell's 17 steals in a hard-fought 78-74 win over Queen's University on Wednesday night at Champlain Saint-Lambert College.
Bucknell faced two quality college programs on the trip, beating reigning Canadian national champion Carleton on Monday followed by a Queen's squad coming off a 20-win season and an appearance in the national championship. Wednesday's game followed a similar script as the Carleton win, as the Bison built a 10-point lead in the fourth quarter and then held off a late rally with a late defensive stop.
"This was another great opportunity four our group to come together, play through mistakes, and win a competitive game in July," said head coach John Griffin III. "Queens is a physical and athletic team with a bunch of good shooters. They challenged us right from the jump, and I was proud of our response. We hoped that by the end of this trip we would be a closer team, and I think we accomplished that goal and more. Now we get a couple of weeks away from basketball, and I'm looking forward to getting the group back together as we build for the 2026-27 season."
After a slow start, Bucknell shot 43.1 percent from the floor and hit 10 of 34 shots from 3-point range. The Bison committed 19 turnovers – 10 more than the Carleton game – but forced 26 turnovers. Lamuno's eight steals would have tied the school record if it were a regular-season game, and the Bison came up with 17 thefts while holding the Gaels to 40.3 percent shooting.
Bucknell led by as many as 10 in the fourth quarter and by nine at 74-65 after Marshalls's fastbreak layup with 2:44 remaining. The Bison missed their next four field-goal attempts with a turnover mixed in, however, and Queen's pulled within 75-74 on a pull-up jumper and three free throws Noah Khaja.
Lamuno's layup attempt through contact didn't go, but the Gaels wasted a chance to take the lead when they threw the ball away attempting to push it up the court with about 30 seconds to go. Queen's elected not to foul, and Jayden Williams tossed a nifty pass over the top to Lamuno for a layup with 11 seconds left.
At the other end, Pachucki's hard closeout forced an air ball from Sami Uraz on a potential tying 3-pointer, and Luke Soden iced it with a free throw with 0.8 left.
The game was knotted at 14-apiece after a ragged first quarter, but after an 0-for-6 start from the arc, the Bison knocked down 7 of 14 in a 25-point second stanza.
Down 17-14 early in the second, Patrick O'Brien and Pachucki hit back-to-back threes to ignite an 11-2 Bucknell run. Queen's shot back with a 9-3 run to draw even at 28-28, but Lamuno's fifth steal of the half and a breakaway layup helped the Bison close the half on an 11-3 run. The last nine of those points came on treys from Williams, Lamuno, and Pachucki in the final 1:20, giving Bucknell a 39-31 lead at the break.
The Gaels drew within two on a couple of occasions in the third quarter, but the Bison turned to their defense to stretch it back out. Matt Lange knocked down a 3-pointer, and then his steal led to a pair of free throws. Marshall followed with a free throw and a breakaway layup off two more thefts, and buckets from O'Brien and Soden in the final minute gave Bucknell a 60-51 lead after three.
Danny Kennard had a strong stretch in the fourth quarter with a put-back in transition and an offensive rebound off a missed free throw. Soden's layup off a drive and dish from Marshall gave Bucknell its largest lead at 71-61 with 4:17 left.
Nine of the 10 Bison in uniform scored, and 35 of the team's 78 points came off turnovers. Pachucki, a Scarborough, Ontario native, tallied 40 points in the two games back in his home country. Bucknell played without seven players who were either injured or have not yet obtained their student visas.
Khaja and Jakub Dobiech led Queen's with 15 points, while Oakland transfer Deng Majak had 11 points and 12 rebounds.
Bucknell faced two quality college programs on the trip, beating reigning Canadian national champion Carleton on Monday followed by a Queen's squad coming off a 20-win season and an appearance in the national championship. Wednesday's game followed a similar script as the Carleton win, as the Bison built a 10-point lead in the fourth quarter and then held off a late rally with a late defensive stop.
"This was another great opportunity four our group to come together, play through mistakes, and win a competitive game in July," said head coach John Griffin III. "Queens is a physical and athletic team with a bunch of good shooters. They challenged us right from the jump, and I was proud of our response. We hoped that by the end of this trip we would be a closer team, and I think we accomplished that goal and more. Now we get a couple of weeks away from basketball, and I'm looking forward to getting the group back together as we build for the 2026-27 season."
After a slow start, Bucknell shot 43.1 percent from the floor and hit 10 of 34 shots from 3-point range. The Bison committed 19 turnovers – 10 more than the Carleton game – but forced 26 turnovers. Lamuno's eight steals would have tied the school record if it were a regular-season game, and the Bison came up with 17 thefts while holding the Gaels to 40.3 percent shooting.
Bucknell led by as many as 10 in the fourth quarter and by nine at 74-65 after Marshalls's fastbreak layup with 2:44 remaining. The Bison missed their next four field-goal attempts with a turnover mixed in, however, and Queen's pulled within 75-74 on a pull-up jumper and three free throws Noah Khaja.
Lamuno's layup attempt through contact didn't go, but the Gaels wasted a chance to take the lead when they threw the ball away attempting to push it up the court with about 30 seconds to go. Queen's elected not to foul, and Jayden Williams tossed a nifty pass over the top to Lamuno for a layup with 11 seconds left.
At the other end, Pachucki's hard closeout forced an air ball from Sami Uraz on a potential tying 3-pointer, and Luke Soden iced it with a free throw with 0.8 left.
The game was knotted at 14-apiece after a ragged first quarter, but after an 0-for-6 start from the arc, the Bison knocked down 7 of 14 in a 25-point second stanza.
Down 17-14 early in the second, Patrick O'Brien and Pachucki hit back-to-back threes to ignite an 11-2 Bucknell run. Queen's shot back with a 9-3 run to draw even at 28-28, but Lamuno's fifth steal of the half and a breakaway layup helped the Bison close the half on an 11-3 run. The last nine of those points came on treys from Williams, Lamuno, and Pachucki in the final 1:20, giving Bucknell a 39-31 lead at the break.
The Gaels drew within two on a couple of occasions in the third quarter, but the Bison turned to their defense to stretch it back out. Matt Lange knocked down a 3-pointer, and then his steal led to a pair of free throws. Marshall followed with a free throw and a breakaway layup off two more thefts, and buckets from O'Brien and Soden in the final minute gave Bucknell a 60-51 lead after three.
Danny Kennard had a strong stretch in the fourth quarter with a put-back in transition and an offensive rebound off a missed free throw. Soden's layup off a drive and dish from Marshall gave Bucknell its largest lead at 71-61 with 4:17 left.
Nine of the 10 Bison in uniform scored, and 35 of the team's 78 points came off turnovers. Pachucki, a Scarborough, Ontario native, tallied 40 points in the two games back in his home country. Bucknell played without seven players who were either injured or have not yet obtained their student visas.
Khaja and Jakub Dobiech led Queen's with 15 points, while Oakland transfer Deng Majak had 11 points and 12 rebounds.
Players Mentioned
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