By Paul Gotham
BETHLEHEM, PA — Dave Paulsen survived his brush with karma Monday night.
On the road, playing for first place in the Patriot League and against the team who defeated Bucknell in January, the last thing the Bison head coach wanted to worry about was facing that task with his leading scorer limited by foul trouble.
But less than eight minutes into the contest at Stabler Arena, that was Paulsen’s situation. Mike Muscala picked up his second infraction with 12:35 to go in the first half, and Paulsen had to make a decision.
His alternative was to turn to his bench and call upon Brian Fitzpatrick, a player who received exactly zero minutes in Bucknell’s most recent loss.
Paulsen wasn’t sure what he was going to get out of his senior forward. Fortunately for Paulsen and Bucknell any youthful angst Fitzpatrick might have had for his coach’s oversight was channeled into his play.
Fitzpatrick scored six straight and grabbed a career and game-high ten rebounds as the Bison avenged an earlier loss with a 61-55 triumph at Stabler Arena.
“I’m sure he was probably ticked off at me on Saturday and probably had good reason to be,” Paulsen said. “But he just channeled that into doing what the team needed.”
Fitzpatrick took a dish off from Steven Kaspar at the 7:15 mark of the first half and finished at the rim to give Bucknell a 15-7 advantage. Two minutes later, the Bison held a 19-11 lead with Fitzpatrick accounting for all his team’s points.
“I’ve struggled this year,” Fitzpatrick noted. “It was good to play this way in a big game.”
Fitzpatrick and Kaspar combined again when the sophomore guard fed him on the baseline for a catch-and-shoot jumper. Fitzpatrick grabbed his own miss and converted the putback for the eight-point edge.
“Gabe (Lehigh forward Knutson) is a lefty,” Fitzpatrick explained when asked about his success. “I’ve studied tape on him and know a lot of his tendencies.”
Fitzpatrick sat and watched, a coach’s decision, as Bucknell fell at Lafayette on Saturday, 63-62.
“I can only play the minutes I get,” Fitzpatrick said. “You can only control what you have.”
The Middletown, Connecticut native grabbed nine rebounds in 12 minutes of playing time during the first half.
“Fitz played great,” Muscala commented. “Whatever it takes. We’re a total team.”
“Normally I don’t like to play a guy with two fouls in the first half,” Paulsen explained. “I was prepared to put Mike back in if we needed to, but Fitzy did such a great job one the glass and defensively. It is such a tribute to Fitzy.”
Muscala, who averages 19.4 points, 11.6 rebounds and 2.6 blocks in 32 minutes of playing time, picked up his first foul less than four minutes into the contest. The second came less four minutes later.
“I wanted to strangle him,” Paulsen said of his reaction to the second foul. “We just said ‘Mike you have to be smart. Mike, are you looking at me? You have to be smart.’ Having said that a big factor at the end of the game was his ability to block shots and alter shots. It’s a Catch-22. But to win on the road at Lehigh with him not at his stellar-best, is a real good sign for our team. Hopefully, it gives us all confidence.”
With the win, Bucknell controls its own destiny. The Bison have three games left in the regular season ledger with a chance to clinch first place and secure home-court advantage throughout the conference tournament.
Leave a Reply