Sunday, March 6
Lewisburg, Pa.
7:30:00 PM
Lehigh University
64
at
66
Bucknell
Valiant effort falls short in 66-64 Patriot League Semifinal loss at Bucknell
3/7/2011 2:52:00 AM | Men's Basketball
LEWISBURG, Pa. – Despite a spirited second-half comeback, the top -seeded Bucknell Bison proved too much, barely holding on to a 66-64 win over the fourth-seeded Lehigh men's basketball team on Sunday evening. The Mountain Hawks erased a 10-point second-half deficit to pull even on two occasions, but the Bison fended off Lehigh's last-second attempt to tie the score and force overtime.With the win, Bucknell advances to play the sixth-seeded Lafayette Leopards in the Patriot League Championship Game on Friday. The Mountain Hawks conclude their season with a 16-15 record, falling just short of their second straight appearance in the Patriot League Title Game.
"Bucknell is a very fast starting team," said Lehigh head coach Brett Reed. "They executed very well, getting high-quality shorts. Ultimately, we settled down and regained our focus on what we were trying to accomplish."
Up 64-60 with 24 seconds remaining in regulation, it looked as if the Bison would pull away with the victory. Lehigh responded, however, with a layup from sophomore C.J. McCollum. The Mountain Hawks then forced an errant pass on the ensuing inbounds, giving them one last chance to pull even. McCollum made a driving move to the lane looking to draw contact. However, his shot was off the mark and no foul was called as Bucknell's Mike Muscala grabbed the rebound and hit both free throws with only eight seconds remaining. Senior Prentice Small hit a layup as time expired, but it proved too little too late.
"We had the ball in the hands of a tremendous player attacking the basket," said Reed. "I was pleased to get to the situation where we had that opportunity, but obviously disappointed by the outcome."
McCollum finished the evening with 19 points and 11 rebounds for his 13th career double-double, 10th this season. Sophomore Gabe Knutson was stellar with 18 points on 6-of-10 shooting while Small posted a season-high 17 along with three assists.
"One of the biggest differences [from our previous games against Bucknell]," was when they threw a 'punch' at the beginning of the game, we were able to refocus," said Reed.
"They do a tremendous job of helping out [on defense]," said McCollum. "We had some shots, but they just didn't fall. We were right where we wanted to, but just didn't close out the game."
Bucknell placed four Bison in double figures, led by 17 from Muscala on only 6-of-15 shooting. Darryl Shazier added 15 and six assists.
Knutson and Small were the stories of the first half. The two combined for 23 of Lehigh's 30 first-half points on a combined 8-of-13 shooting. The only other Mountain Hawk to score in the opening stanza was McCollum, who had seven.
Bucknell was on fire to begin the game, scoring on its first two possessions and four of its first five. After Shazier hit a pair of jumpers, Small made a steal at center court and went all the way for the layup to pull within 5-2. The Bison answered with four straight points, though, forcing Reed to call timeout.
Another Shazier three gave Bucknell the 12-4 lead with 15:22 on the clock, but Small answered with a trey of his own at the other end to pull Lehigh right back within five.
A Bryson Johnson three-pointer gave the Bison their first double-digit lead, 17-7. A Joe Willman jumper with 10:09 remaining gave Bucknell its largest lead at 23-11, but Small responded with six straight points behind four free throws and an off-balance jumper to pull Lehigh right back within 23-17.
Bucknell reopened an 11 point, 28-17 lead following a Cameron Ayers trey, but the Mountain Hawks again fought right back, scoring six of the next eight points to pull within 30-23 with 5:07 to go following a pair of Knutson baskets.
The Bison again regained a double-digit lead at 36-25, but Lehigh responded with the final five points of the half – capped off by a McCollum three-pointer with time winding down – to pull Lehigh as close as it had been since 12-7 heading into the locker room.
It didn't take long for Bucknell to regain a double digit lead as a Johnson three-pointer with 17:09 to go gave the Bison a 44-34 advantage. Small and Knutson continued their hot hands, each scoring on the Mountain Hawks' initial second-half possessions.
Lehigh answered right back with a 10-2 run to pull within 46-44 following three-pointers on consecutive possessions from senior Michael Ojo with 12:43 remaining. After a Bucknell basket, sophomore Holden Greiner hit a driving layup to pull within two, then McCollum tied the score via a tough jumper in the lane to make it 48-48 with 10:34 to go.
Two McCollum free throws knotted the score at 50, but the Bison responded with a 7-0 run capped off by a Johnston three-pointer with 5:25 to go in the second. It looked like freshman Mackey McKnight had given Lehigh its first lead of the game with 8:24 remaining, but an offensive foul was called on junior Jordan Hamilton before the shot went up. Bucknell used the momentum shift to stage its run and go up, 57-50.
The Mountain Hawks used a mini 6-2 run to pull right back within three at 59-56 with 4:02 remaining following a pair of Knutson free throws.
The resilient bunch wouldn't say die as despite a disputed intention foul call on Ojo with 3:30 remaining, it still pulled within 61-60 following a pair of McCollum free throws with 2:35 on the clock. The Lehigh offense went cold, however, failing to score for 2:20, which allowed Bucknell to regain a four-point advantage leading into the wild set of circumstances in the final seconds.
Lehigh finished at 39 percent (21-of-54) from the field and 25 percent (4-of-16) from three-point range. Bucknell was 45 percent (24-of-53) and 43 percent (6-of-14) from long range. The Bison won the battle of the boards, 35-34.
The Mountain Hawks wrap up a successful season with a 16-15 record and their second straight trip to the Patriot League Semifinals. The season saw McCollum become the fastest active sophomore in the nation to reach 1,000 career points, while also seeing a season sweep of rival Lafayette and three wins over Navy. Lehigh will return 12 letterwinners next season as seniors Rob Keefer, Michael Ojo, David Safstrom and Prentice Small all wrapped up decorated careers in the Brown & White.
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