Author: Cooper Sutton

By Greg Stevenson

Senior Writer

The men’s basketball team entered its contest on Saturday at Army on a nine-game winning streak, but it was the Black Knights who looked like the streaking team, scoring 90 points en route to a 20-point victory over the Orange and Blue. The defeat was only the second for the Bison since December, and it ended their quest for a perfect season in the Patriot League.

The Black Knights fired right out of the gates, showing the first-place, undefeated Bison that they had come to play. Tied at 17 eight minutes into the game, Army went on a 13-2 run for an 11-point lead, one the Orange and Blue would challenge but never overcome.

Army went into the locker room at the intermission with an eight-point advantage, having shot over 60 percent from the field.

“Army came out the gate shooting very well from three,” G.W. Boon ’11 said. “They also made a lot of hustle plays that we are accustomed to making, and that was the difference in the game.”

In the second half, the Bison traded baskets with the Black Knights, keeping the game close until the 10-minute mark. Army proved to be too much for the Orange and Blue, pulling away late for the 90-70 victory.

“They shot very well from the perimeter and were able to get these open looks in transition and from dribble penetration,” said Mike Muscala ’13, the leading scorer and rebounder for the Bison this season.  “We weren’t making the right defensive rotations, which left them a lot of open shots, and when they did miss, we didn’t do a good job of getting rebounds.  They played with more intensity than us from start to finish.”

Muscala controlled the paint on both ends of the floor for the Orange and Blue. On the offensive side, he tallied 20 points despite drawing many double- and triple-teams from the Black Knights.

Defensively, Muscala grabbed nine rebounds and recorded three blocked shots. His presence underneath the basket forced Army to shoot from the perimeter, which proved to be the difference in the contest.

Cameron Ayers ’14 registered 17 points, while Bryan Cohen ’12 and Joe Willman ’13 scored 11 each, but these individual performances were not enough to overcome Army’s potent attack from three-point range.

“In almost every Patriot League game that we had played up until the Army game, we were able to get off to a good start, and if the shots weren’t dropping, we were able to get defensive stops,” Muscala said.  “Every time we got something going for us on offense against Army, they answered on the other end, which we could never overcome.”

The Bison entered the Army game having won 13 of their previous 14 contests, including dramatic victories over Richmond, one of the nation’s best teams, and rival Holy Cross, thanks to last-second baskets by Muscala. The nine-game winning streak the Bison took into the contest versus Army had been the fifth-longest in the country.

The Orange and Blue begin the second round of Patriot League play Saturday night at home versus a Navy team they beat by seven earlier this season.

“The Army game was simply a bump in the road,” Boon said.  “We may not end up with a perfect conference record, but we still have the opportunity to be an excellent team.  It gives us a chance to highlight some of our weaknesses and attack those deficiencies in practice. Our team will only become stronger from the game at Army.”

By Rob Duffy

Editor-in-Chief

Since many readers of The Bucknellian likely did not closely follow Bison sports over winter break, here’s a recap of some of the most notable things that happened, and an explanation of why you should be excited:

5. Dec. 22 – The Bison men’s basketball team, playing strong as they have whenever they’ve faced a big opponent this season, nearly upset Boston College. Although the Orange and Blue eventually lost 84-80, the game was a thriller. The Bison, who led by as much as 17 in the first half, tied a school record with 15 three-pointers, also setting a record for the most threes Boston College has ever given up. The game showed that the Bison clearly have what it takes to play competitively against major conference opponents.

4. Jan. 2 – Mike Muscala ’13 took a long inbounds pass and hit a turnaround, fadeaway jumper from 16 feet as time expired to give the Bison a come-from-behind win at Richmond. It was the team’s biggest non-conference victory of the season, coming against a powerful Atlantic-10 Spiders squad that was at the time the only team to have defeated current-No. 11 Purdue.

3. Jan. 12 – The Bison dominated American, who had been picked in the Patriot League preseason poll to finish first in the league, 75-60 on American’s own court. Muscala had 33 points, 10 rebounds, and 5 blocked shots for the Bison, who never led by less than 10 after the halfway point of the first half. The win showed that the Bison could successfully carry the hot streak they were riding into the league games that really mattered.

2. Dec. 30 – The men’s basketball team was not the only Bison squad to accomplish big things over the break. Kevin LeValley ’11 became the first Bison wrestler ever to win an individual title at the Midlands Championships, a prestigious event attended by this year by 44 teams. LeValley, who won his five matches by a combined score of 56-9, was at the time ranked third in the nation in the 149 lb weight class. He has since fallen to No. 6 after losing to current-No. 4 Mario Mason of Rutgers on Jan. 14, but his 22-1 record is still remarkable.

1. Prompted largely by the success of the basketball team, the University saw a huge surge in school spirit from its students and fans. The basketball team’s run was certainly worth getting excited about. In a 14-game stretch lasting nearly two months, the Bison only lost once, and even that loss was in a well-played match against a powerful opponent. Their nine-game winning streak was the fifth-longest in the nation, and their 6-0 Patriot League start put them solidly in front. As a result, the Sojka Psychos became more enthusiastic as they have in years, packing the stands and cheering loudly, even in games such as the team’s blowout of Colgate. Hopes were high that this team could return the Bison basketball program to glory. School spirit has made even the most insignificant games a true joy to experience.

The Bison’s win streak was snapped last weekend against Army, but as Bison fans, we must do everything we can to keep it alive, even if more setbacks come in the future. We must continue to be enthusiastic about our teams, no matter what might happen down the road. We should not limit it to just basketball or even basketball and wrestling, but should carry it into all Bison sports. As fans, whether the Bison win the Patriot League is largely out of our control, but the quality of our fan experience is up to us. If we can preserve the winning, hopeful, enthusiastic attitude we possess now, the season for all Bison sports will be worth remembering, no matter what the final scores or standings may be.

By Andrew Lichtenauer

Writer

Both the men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams had impressive showings in the pool in the Frank Elm Rutgers Invitational last weekend in Piscataway, N.J., posting third place and second place finishes, respectively.

Jonathan Podniesinski ’12, Thomas Brown ’12, Eric Sokolosky ’12 and the 400-yard freestyle relay team posted wins on the last day of the meet. The men finished third overall behind La Salle and Delaware with 1,421 points. La Salle, the winner of the invitational, had 1,709.5 points.

“We were able to stay motivated and perform well on Sunday by coming together as a team and supporting each other,” Sokolosky said. “Everyone was tired, but having the entire team cheer each other on really made the difference.”

Mike Nicholson ’14 had an impressive showing at the three-day event. On Friday he won the 200 individual medley in 1:52.19. The next day, he won the 400 individual medley in 3:59.26, setting a record for the invitational.

Nicholson now has 11 first-place finishes across six events this year. He was named Bison Athlete of the Week for his performance.

The Bison women finished second behind Pittsburgh. The Panthers finished with 1,576.5 points, significantly ahead of the Orange and Blue’s 1157.5.

Kelly Pontecorvo ’14, Emily Wright ’14 and the 400 free relay team all posted wins on Sunday. On the other two days of competition, only Molly Goebel ’11 took a first place finish.

Pontecorvo, won the 1,650 freestyle race.

“I feel my positive performance stemmed not only from the training we have been doing but also from the competition we had at hand,” Pontecorvo said. “Racing the strong swimmers around me left me wanting to race them in finals and motivated me to swim fast in each of my races. I also wanted to contribute to the great success everyone else on the team was having.”

The Bison men and women return to the pool on Dec. 4 at 1 p.m., hosting La Salle at Kinney Natatorium.

By Justin Cohen

Writer

The end of the 2010 college football season has been nothing but spectacular, but a trio of huge Black Friday games helped to shape the possible Bowl Championship Series (BCS) landscape.

With only one week left in the college football season, pending any major upsets, the top contenders have set their place among the elite and are poised to accept invitations to key bowl games. The five big games—the Rose Bowl, Orange Bowl, Sugar Bowl, Fiesta Bowl and BCS Championship Game—are getting ready to give this year’s top schools money and publicity.

Oregon and Auburn are currently the two schools poised to play in the BCS Championship Game. Both teams are undefeated and claim stellar offenses. Auburn has defeated four ranked opponents this season. Quarterback Cam Newton has put together a marvelous season with 3,590 combined passing and running yards and 43 total touchdowns.

Oregon averages over 50 points per game. Star running back LaMichael James leads their offense with over 1,500 rushing yards and 19 touchdowns. With both offenses putting up huge scores week after week, it would not be surprising if a high-scoring championship game awaits us as the top two teams are en route to clash on Jan. 10 in Glendale, Ariz.

Beneath the top two, the non-automatic qualifying schools have been making headlines all season. TCU and Boise State have had impressive seasons, but Boise State was defeated by Nevada in overtime last Friday, ending the Broncos’ chances of playing for the national title.

TCU still remains undefeated as the number-three team in the BCS, and, with its season already finished, a Rose Bowl bid could be in the future. If a monumental upset were to happen over one of the top two teams, the Horned Frogs could even punch their ticket to Glendale for their own bid at a championship.

After the three undefeated teams, many one-loss teams are poised to accept BCS bowl bids, such as Stanford, Wisconsin, Arkansas, Ohio State, Michigan State, Oklahoma and LSU.

Stanford has had excellent play from quarterback and possible first-round draft pick Andrew Luck. The Cardinals’ only loss came at the hands of undefeated Oregon. Wisconsin has put up over 200 points in the last three weeks and claimed the Big 10 tiebreaker over Ohio State and Michigan State, even though both had the same record.

Arkansas is the second-best BCS team in the SEC. Rounding out the top 10 in the BCS are Oklahoma, whose quarterback Landry Jones has passed for nearly 4,000 yards, and LSU, who has been in numerous close games this year, with the scoring difference between its opponents in eight of their games at eight or less.

Regardless of who plays, the bowls are all played with extra meaning as every team is looking to bring victory and honor to its school.

By Eric Brod

Senior Writer

As the fall sports season comes to a close, a multitude of Bison have earned all-conference honors for their success this season.

Kelly Bruvik ’11 earned several honors to represent the field hockey team this fall, most notably a unanimous selection to the All-Patriot League team. Bruvik posted team and career highs in goals (10) and assists (26) during the regular season. She was also named to the NFHCA All-Mideast Region team.

Bruvik attributed much of her success to her team’s offensive system and her teammates.

“We play a unique system on the forward line that allows five or six forwards to contribute in different combinations every game,” she said. “Each player brings a special skill set and this allows for great things to happen. Having the opportunity to play with Katie Durkin [’13], Mallory Smith [’12] and Morgan Kauffman [’11] this year on the forward line was fantastic. We all play at a fast pace and this allowed for a great deal of my individual offensive success this season.”

Christa Matlack ’11 and midfielder Caitlin Holtz ’11 represented the women’s soccer team on the All-Patriot League first team. Matlack led the team in goals (seven) and points (17).

Stephanie Fulmer ’12 had another sensational season for the Bison cross country team that earned her first team all Patriot League. And despite an up and down season, Rachel Rodriguez ’11 represents the Orange and Blue volleyball team on the Patriot League All-Tournament team, and Heidi Kamp ’11 is a First Team All-Patriot League selection.

Brendan Burgdorf ’13 and Ross Liberati ’11 both earned first team All-Patriot league selections for the men’s soccer team. Burgdorf was also named 2010 Patriot League Offensive Player of the Year. Burgdorf was tied for the league lead in both goals (six) and points (14). Defender Mayowa Alli ’14 was named Patriot League Rookie of the Year.

Burgdorf was honored by the All-Patriot League nod. “[The Patriot League] is a great league and there are a lot of good players that deserved it, so I was happy to be one of them,” he said.

Three members of the Bison men’s water polo team were named to the Collegiate Water Polo Association All-Southern Division Teams. Richie Hyden ’11, Howie Kalter ’11 and Sean Coghlan ’11 were all named to the team, while head coach John Abdou was named the conference’s head coach of the year. Hyden finished the season with team high 52 goals, 37 assists and 89 total points. Kalter was also named to the First Team All-Eastern Championship.

By Greg Stevenson

Senior Writer

The hopes of another season-ending upset of the Holy Cross Crusaders came up short for the Bison football team two weekends ago. The Orange and Blue struggled on both sides of the ball, dropping their 10th game of the 2010 campaign 34-9 at Holy Cross.

“I feel that the effort of our team against Holy Cross was consistent even though we faced a lot of adversity,” Head Coach Joe Susan said. “The young men on our team kept playing very hard.”

On their first two drives in the opening period, the Crusaders gained just one first down and were forced into three-and-outs twice, netting just 15 yards in the quarter.

The Bison offense charged out of the gates in the first quarter, sending the ball down the field on two promising drives. The Orange and Blue went 53 yards in 16 plays on their opening series following a Holy Cross punt, but a fumble by quarterback Brandon Wesley ’14 caused the Bison to turn the ball over inside the red zone.

The second series ended more productively than the first. Starting from near midfield, Wesley and fullback Travis Friend ’14 drove the offense down to the Holy Cross two-yard line before the offense stalled and was forced into a field-goal attempt.

Kicker Alex Eckard ’14 gave the Bison a 3-0 advantage early in the second quarter. The lead was the Bison’s first since the end of their contest against Georgetown on Oct. 16, the Orange and Blue’s lone victory in 2010.

The advantage lasted just 11 seconds as Holy Cross returned the ensuing kickoff 75 yards for a touchdown.

Over the next 30 minutes, Holy Cross scored another 27 points, thanks in part to a pair of rushing touchdowns by quarterback Ryan Taggart. The Bison added a late touchdown to end the game and the season on a high note.

“We need to do a better job in protecting the ball and creating turnovers on defense,” Susan said. “We have to improve our ability to cover kickoffs as we gave up too many yards. We must be a better third down team on both sides of the ball.”

Despite finishing the year with a 1-10 record, the coaching staff sees many positives from this season that will help continue the development of the football team.

“I gained a lot of perspective on the level of talent in this league and where our primary needs are in recruiting,” Susan said. “The experience our team gained is priceless as we build this program.”