Courtesy of PatriotLeague.org.
CENTER VALLEY, Pa. — Four Patriot League teams earned their first win of the season on the opening weekend, but none earned more attention than Bucknell beginning the year with a 70-65 victory at Purdue.
The Bison used 18 points from Cameron Ayers and a 14-point, 10-rebound double-double by Mike Muscala to rally from a six-point halftime deficit and top the Boilermakers. It was the first-ever win over a Big Ten opponent for the Bison, and the third for a Patriot League team.
Holy Cross posted an impressive road victory of its own with a 46-45 win at Old Dominion on Friday when Cullen Hamilton hit the game-winning free throw with 8.9 seconds left. The Crusaders won another one-point game on Sunday against Morgan State and went 2-1 at the Liberty Tax Classic over the weekend.
Army and Navy also garnered their first wins as they split weekend contests. The Black Knights beat VMI 80-74 on Sunday after falling to Air Force 76-65 on Saturday at the All-Military Classic, while the Mids dropped Marymount 75-48 Friday and lost 54-49 to Siena in overtime on Sunday as they opened the season at home.
Lehigh fell 99-77 at No. 18/19 Baylor on Friday, but preseason All-American C.J. McCollum lived up to his billing with 36 points in the game. McCollum was named Patriot League Anaconda Player of the Week for the 13th time on Monday.
Patriot League Anaconda Weekly Awards (Nov. 9-11)
Anaconda Player of the Week
C.J. McCOLLUM, LEHIGH Sr., G, 6-3, 200; Canton, Ohio/Glen Oak
McCollum opens his senior season doing something he has accomplished plenty in his career: winning a Patriot League weekly award. The 6-foot-3 guard takes home his 13th career Player of the Week award, extending his own record, after scoring 36 points in a 99-77 loss to No. 18/19 Baylor on Friday. McCollum also added eight rebounds, three steals and two assists as he tried to keep the Mountain Hawks close with two starters out of the lineup. He had 24 of Lehigh’s 41 first-half points to keep the team within 10 at the break. He shot 14-of-32 from the field, setting a Patriot League single-game record for attempts. McCollum came six points from his career high. He is up to 2,110 career points, moving into second in Patriot League history and getting to within 114 of the League record.
Anaconda Rookie of the Week
CULLEN HAMILTON, HOLY CROSS Fr., G, 6-3, 185; Washington, D.C./Potomac (Va.)
Hamilton opened his collegiate career with 15 points in a 46-45 win at Old Dominion on Friday, including the game-winning free throw with 8.9 seconds to play in the contest. He tied for the team lead in scoring and the 15 points were the most for a Holy Cross player in his collegiate debut since R.J. Evans scored the same total in 2008. Hamilton added five points, all at the line, in Holy Cross’ 74-73 win over Morgan State on Sunday. He averaged 7.7 points and 2.3 rebounds while making 10-of-13 free throws as Holy Cross went 2-1 for the weekend at the Liberty Tax Classic.
Honorable Mention
MURPHY BURNATOWSKI, COLGATE Sr., F, 6-7, 230; Waterloo, Ont./National Elite Development Academy
Burnatowski averaged 23.5 points, 8.0 rebounds, 3.0 steals and 2.0 blocks in his first two games in a Colgate uniform as the Raiders fell to Illinois and Marquette over the weekend.
CAMERON AYERS, BUCKNELL Jr., G, 6-5, 205; Blue Bell, Pa./Germantown Academy
Ayers had 18 points and seven rebounds as Bucknell rallied to beat Purdue 70-65 on Friday for its first-ever win against a Big Ten team.
JUSTIN BURRELL, HOLY CROSS So., G, 5-9, 165; Dumfries, Va./Potomac
Burrell, the 2012 Patriot League Rookie of the Year, opened his sophomore season in style by averaging 16.0 points to help Holy Cross to a 2-1 record at the Liberty Tax Classic.
Patriot League Twitter Notebook – @PL_MBB
*Three Patriot League teams are in action Monday, all against NEC opponents.
*Lehigh faces Robert Morris in the NIT Season Tip-Off, then plays either host Pittsburgh or Fordham on Tuesday.
*American is at Quinnipiac while Lafayette hosts LIU-Brooklyn.
*Bucknell opens its home schedule against George Mason on Tuesday.
*The Bison defeated Purdue 70-65 Friday for their first win vs. a Big 10 team.
*Lehigh’s C.J. McCollum opened the season with 36 points against Baylor on Friday in a 99-77 loss.
*McCollum earned his 13th career Patriot League Anaconda Player of the Week award on Monday.
*He is up to second in Patriot League history with 2,110 career points.
*Holy Cross went 2-1 at the Liberty Tax Classic in Norfolk, Va.
*The Crusaders posted one-point wins over Old Dominion and Morgan State.
*Army and Navy also each posted their first win of the year.
*Four Patriot League teams play their home openers during the mid-week.
*In addition to Bucknell, Colgate hosts Marist and Holy Cross welcomes Maine on Wednesday and American hosts Mount St. Mary’s on Thursday.
*Colgate’s Murphy Burnatowski averaged 23.5 points in his first two games for the Raiders over the weekend.
*Holy Cross’ Cullen Hamilton won the Patriot League Anaconda Rookie of the Week award on Monday.
Leave a Reply