Courtesy of BucknellBison.com
LEWISBURG, Pa. – D.J. MacLeay paced five Bucknell players in double figures with a career-high 15 points, and the Bison used a 50-point second half to pull away from Lafayette 79-67 on Monday night at Sojka Pavilion. Bucknell improved to 11-9 overall and 8-1 in the Patriot League, while defending-champion Lafayette fell to 5-14, 2-6.
MacLeay hit 5 of 9 shots from the field and all four of his attempts at the stripe, and he nabbed five of his game-high eight rebounds on the offensive glass. Chris Hass scored 14 points coming off a one-game injury absence. Stephen Brown, named the Patriot League Player of the Week earlier in the day, had 12 points, five rebounds and four assists. Ryan Frazier and Zach Thomas added 11 points each, with Thomas also pulling down eight rebounds.
“We have talked all year about our depth, and tonight I thought D.J. and Zach really came in and played well, especially on the glass,” said head coach Nathan Davis. “Lafayette is a very tough team to defend, especially when you don’t have much time to prepare for them, because they really cut hard and run their offense well. You always have to be mindful of their shooters, and they have some good young players up front. Even though it wasn’t always pretty at times, we are very pleased to come out of a hectic week with three wins, and now we have a few extra days to recover and get ready for Army.”
Bryce Scott hit 5 of 6 from 3-point range and scored 17 points off the bench for Lafayette. Matt Klinewski tallied 16, and Paulius Zalys and Monty Boykins had 12 apiece for the Leopards, who upset top-seeded Bucknell in last year’s Patriot League Tournament semifinals.
Playing for the third time since Wednesday, including a long trip back from Boston just 48 hours earlier, Bucknell battled tired legs early on in this one. The Bison shot just 26.5 percent from the field, including 4-for-23 shooting from 2-point distance, in the first half. They warmed up a bit after halftime and finished at 36.1 percent for the night, still managing their season average of 79 points despite going 14-for-40 inside the arc.
Offensive rebounding, a wide free-throw disparity, and Brown’s defense on all-conference point guard Nick Lindner proved to be the difference for Bucknell.
The Bison outrebounded the Leopards 44-28, with 16 of those coming at the offensive end, which led to a 14-3 edge in second-chance points. The Bison were sharp at the foul line, hitting 27 of 34 (.794), while Lafayette uncharacteristically struggled at the stripe, managing just 11 of 25 (.440).
Brown negated Lindner, who came in ranked fifth in the Patriot League in scoring at 16.3 points per game. Lindner scored a combined 49 points in Lafayette’s two wins over Bucknell last season, but he was held to five points on just three shots in this game, with his only field goal a 3-pointer with 1:13 left in the game and Bucknell leading by 13.
Wearing 1970s-era “throwback” uniforms, the Bison led 29-28 after both teams slogged through a cold-shooting first half. Bucknell never gave up the lead in the second period, although it was still just a one-point game at 45-44 after Klinewski hit a 15-foot jumper for the Leopards.
Dom Hoffman answered with a 3-pointer, and then Hass got the ball back after his own miss and drove to the basket for a 3-point play to open up a 51-44 Bison lead. Lafayette got within four on a couple of occasions, the last on a Boykins jumper with 4:53 remaining, but Hass converted another 3-point play to start a 9-3 run that finally provided Bucknell with some breathing room.
MacLeay and Brown both knocked down free throws, and Brown found MacLeay ahead of the pack for a layup that made it 68-58 with2:58 to go. The margin grew to as many as 13 at 74-61 after Brown’s 3-point play with 1:19 left, and the Bison went 9-for-11 from the foul line in the final two minutes to seal the win.
Bucknell finished 8-for-21 from the 3-point arc, compared to Lafayette’s 8-for-16. Bucknell’s first seven treys came from seven different players, tying a school record. It was the third time in team history that seven different players hit a three in a game, and all three have come this season.
Bucknell has now started 8-1 or better nine times in 26 seasons in the Patriot League. The Bison now have a one-game lead over 6-1 Navy atop the standings, while Colgate sits in third place at 6-2.
Bucknell is now idle until Saturday, when it hosts Army West Point at 7 p.m. at Sojka Pavilion.
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