Lehigh University Athletics
Lehigh travels to Bucknell Wednesday for first-place showdown
1/21/2013 8:28:00 PM | Men's Basketball
BETHLEHEM, Pa. - Riding four straight victories and wins in 12 of its last 14, the Lehigh men's basketball team heads to Bucknell on Wednesday for a first-place showdown against the Bison. Tipoff is set for 6 p.m. on CBS Sports Network. Lehigh and Bucknell have won the last three Patriot League Championships and are both off to 3-0 league starts. It's a rematch of last season's Patriot League Championship Game, an 82-77 Lehigh victory.
The Mountain Hawks made history last year by becoming the first team to win at Bucknell's Sojka Pavilion twice in the same season. After the Bison won the first meeting in Stabler Arena, 68-61, Lehigh rebounded with a dramatic 56-53 victory which included a last-second three-pointer from C.J. McCollum featured on SportsCenter's Top 10 Plays. Then in the championship game, the Mountain Hawks led from the beginning and fought off a second-half charge to win their third Patriot League Title and advance to their fifth NCAA Tournament.
Bucknell and Lehigh have competed against the nation's best this season as evident by their place in various rankings. The Bison are 43rd in Ken Pomeroy's rankings with a 16-3 record while the Mountain Hawks are 60th with their 13-4 mark. Bucknell earned a big win this year at Purdue while nearly topping #22 Missouri, the same night Lehigh nearly beat VCU, who's currently 16th nationally (in the USA Today Coaches Poll and 19th in the AP Top 25). Each earned big wins in the postseason last year; while Lehigh beat Duke in the NCAA tournament, Bucknell defeated top-seeded Arizona in the NIT.
The Mountain Hawks come in winners of four straight and 12 of their last 14. Dating back to last February, Lehigh is 22-5 in its last 27 games. The squad has used defense over its latest winning streak, holding its opponent to less than 50 points in three of its last four games and less than 60 in each of its last six. The Mountain Hawks held Colgate's leading scorer Murphy Burnatowski, who was averaging more than 17 points per game coming in, to just two on 1-of-13 shooting. This came after holding Holy Cross' leading scorer Dave Dudzinski to just seven points on 1-of-7 shooting. Despite shooting just 18 percent in the second half Saturday, Lehigh maintained its lead because of its excellent defense. The Mountain Hawks finished with 11 steals, their fourth-straight game in double figures.
Junior Mackey McKnight led the way with 14 points while adding a season-high seven rebounds, four assists and career-high five steals. Senior Holden Greiner added 12 points and 12 boards for his fourth-career double-double and second this season while junior Anthony D'Orazio finished with 12 points and a career-high eight rebounds. After struggling on the glass for much of the season, Lehigh has outrebounded its opponents in four of its last five games.
With a win Wednesday, Lehigh would win its third straight game at Bucknell's Sojka Pavilion. The Mountain Hawks would improve to 4-0 in Patriot League play for the first time since 2005-06, when the squad began 5-0, while winning on the road for the sixth time in its last seven games.
Bucknell has enjoyed a stellar season, coming in with a 16-3 record, winners of five of its last six games. The Bison began the year 11-1 (with its lone loss coming at Penn State) before dropping a 79-67 final at Princeton and slim 66-64 game at Missouri. Bucknell owns impressive wins over Purdue, George Mason, Kent State and La Salle, among others, while owning a perfect 7-0 record at home. Mike Muscala is leading the way, averaging 20.1 points and 11.2 rebounds per game. Three others average double figures as well: Cameron Ayers (12.0), Bryson Johnson (11.2) and Joe Willman (11.1). Muscala also leads the team in assists (55). Bucknell is shooting 46.6 percent from the field this season and owns a 36.2-31.0 edge on the glass, due in large part to Muscala.
Bucknell holds a 95-63 edge in the all-time series. Lehigh has won two straight (both on the road) after the Bison won four in a row. The Mountain Hawks have won two straight at Sojka Pavilion and have enjoyed strong success there, winning the first-ever game in the facility (60-56) on Sept. 16, 2003 while becoming the first team to win twice there in a single-season. Those two wins came in a mere 20 days. The second most-played rivalry in school history (only behind Lafayette), the first meeting between the sides came in 1901-02, a 38-16 Bucknell victory.
Lehigh returns home on Sunday to host archrival Lafayette at 12 p.m. on CBS Sports Network. The Mountain Hawks then travel to Navy next Wednesday (Jan. 30) to face the Midshipmen at 7 p.m.
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Date:
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January 23, 2013
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Opponent:
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Bucknell Bison
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Tip-off:
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6:00 PM
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Arena/Capacity:
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Sojka Pavilion/4,000
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Location:
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Lewisburg, Pa.
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Lehigh's Record:
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13-4 overall, 3-0 Patriot League
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Bucknell's Record:
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16-3, 3-0 Patriot League
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Series:
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Bucknell leads, 94-64-1
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Radio:
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Live on ESPN Radio 1230 and 1320 AM and Lehighsports.com with Matt Kerr. Pregame coverage gets underway at 5:30 PM
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Television:
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CBS Sports Network
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Internet Video:
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None
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Behind Enemy Lines:
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