Category: Sports

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Basketball Men Sports

Men’s basketball wins third straight regular-season PL title

 

Conor Pierson | The Bucknellian The men's basketball team prepares for their game against Holy Cross. The Bison defeated both Holy Cross and American this week.
Conor Pierson | The Bucknellian
The men’s basketball team prepares for their game against Holy Cross. The Bison defeated both Holy Cross and American this week.

Eric Brod

Senior Writer

For the third straight year, the road to the NCAA tournament in the Patriot League will go through Sojka Pavilion. Thanks to convincing home victories over Patriot League Rivals American and Holy Cross, the men’s basketball team ceremoniously clinched its third straight regular season league championship. With the two wins, the Bison improved to 24-5 overall and 11-2 in league play.

Against American on Feb. 27, the Orange and Blue were able to ride a stout defensive effort and efficient offensive play en route to a 66-47 victory over the American Eagles. With the win, the senior class of Mike Muscala, Bryson Johnson, Joe Willman, Brian Fitzpatrick, and Colin Klebon set the program for most wins by a class with 88. With his impressive week, Muscala now has an astounding 1,962 career points, 11 behind the program record set by Al Leslie.

On this night, the Bison were led by Muscala, who scored 21 points and pulled down six rebounds. Cameron Ayers ’14 scored 18 points to go along with six boards and three assists, and surpassed the 1,000 point mark for his collegiate career. Johnson added 16 points with a mixture of three-point baskets and crafty drives to the hoop.

In the first half, the team rode the hot shooting of Ayers and stalwart defense to take a 29-20 lead going into the half. In the second half, the Eagles made a couple runs to get within five points, the last time at 38-33 with 13:07 left. Willman responded by drawing a foul and sinking both foul shots, and Muscala made good on a three-point play to extend the Bison lead to 43-33. Thanks to a three from Ayers and a three-point play from Johnson, the Orange and Blue extended their lead to 59-41 to virtually seal the Bison victory.

On Feb. 24, the Bison completed their regular season sweep of Holy Cross with a 74-57 victory. The senior players were honored before the game.

Against the Crusaders, the offense was paced by Muscala, who finished with 25 points on 11-16 shooting and also added seven rebounds, and Willman who added 14 points, nine rebounds and four assists. Ayers also added 15 points.

“I was able to hit a few jump shots, an area I’ve been struggling in a bit lately. Also, getting on the offensive glass is a huge aspect leading to my scoring,” Willman said. “I think I was a bit more aggressive getting to the basket in part because they have bigger and more lumbering forwards than most other teams in the Patriot League.”

In the first half, the Bison took command early with a 27-12 advantage. The Crusaders did not go away, finishing the half on a 10-2 run to close within 31-24 at intermission.

The Orange and Blue came out firing in the second half, opening up a 42-26 lead, and a three-point play by Muscala extended the lead to 47-28. After the Crusaders made a little push, the Bison put the game away thanks to three’s from Johnson, Ayers and Ben Brackney ’14 that gave the Bison a 70-49 lead.

For the game, the Bison shot 47.7 percent overall and distributed the ball nicely, registering 18 assists on 31 field goals, led by Steven Kaspar ’15, who made his first start of the season as point guard and recorded three of those assists.

“I don’t think my mentality was too different because I was starting,” Kaspar said. “Coach [Dave] Paulsen always stresses that the bench be very involved and energetic, so we are always ready to go.”

Klebon also spoke about his favorite memories so far during his career.

“I would have to say I have two favorite moments. There is a tie between beating Lafayette in the Patriot League Championship and being selected to play Connecticut on selection Sunday. Making the NCAA tournament is every child’s dream and it was a surreal feeling that I will never forget,” Klebon said.

The Bison return to action tomorrow when they travel to Annapolis, Md. to wrap up the regular season against Navy.

Categories
Basketball Sports Women

Women’s basketball toppled by Holy Cross, American

Ajan Caneda

Senior Writer

The women’s basketball team overcame a 14-point second half deficit to beat Holy Cross at home on Jan. 26, but the Bison weren’t as fortunate in their second meeting against the Crusaders, as they fell 57-49 in Worcester, Mass. on Feb. 23. At American, another double-digit first half deficit led the Orange and Blue to a 54-43 loss on Feb. 27. The Bison are 13-15 overall (4-9 in conference play) with one regular season game remaining.

Free throw shooting was the main source of offense for the Orange and Blue in the Holy Cross game. The Bison made seven of its first nine attempts at the line, while holding Holy Cross to a missed free throw in the first half. Despite the free throw discrepancy, the Crusaders were strong from the field, shooting 53.6 percent (15-28) in the first half. This led to a 31-18 Holy Cross lead at the break.

“We got ourselves into a rather large hole in the later part of the first half and early part of the second half. We were not able to consistently string together defensive stops and offensive scores until late in the second,” Alyssa Dunn ’13 said.

In the second half, Holy Cross built its lead up to 21 points, the largest of the game. The Orange and Blue chipped away at the deficit behind a 75 percent free throw showing in the second half (12-16). Audrey Dotson ’15, Katherine Harris ’15 and Rachel Voss ’13 each made two free throws within a four-minute stretch that stifled the Crusaders’ momentum. The effort would not be enough, as Holy Cross made 12 of its 30 field goal attempts in the second half.

“We fought back very well towards the end when we started playing more like ourselves, but we just weren’t able to get over that hump,” Dunn said.

Forwards Lindsay Horbatuck ’13 and Dotson led the Bison in scoring with 15 points and 10 points, respectively. They also combined for eight steals. Romine and Harris followed up with eight points each. The Bison held Holy Cross to just 1-3 from the free throw line, but the Crusaders controlled the tempo of the game with a 20-4 advantage in fast break points. 

Against American, the Eagles led the entire game. Horbatuck continued her dominance on the glass with 11 rebounds. Felicia Mgbada ’13 came off the bench, scoring eight points and pulling down eight rebounds. Tyler Craig ’16 added seven points.

The Bison were down 30-15 at halftime but fought back in the second half behind a 9-2 run that trimmed American’s lead to 10 with 3:36 remaining. Romine, who was scoreless in the first half, registered 11 points to keep the Orange and Blue in the game, but American’s balanced offensive attack guided them to the win.

“We are looking to gain some momentum to prepare ourselves for a competitive run in the league tournament and we have all the confidence in the world that we can turn things back around,” Dunn said.

The Bison close out their regular season Saturday night against Navy. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m. in Sojka Pavilion. Seniors Ashley Baxter, Mgbada, Voss, Dunn and Horbatuck will all be honored before the game. 

Categories
Men Sports Wrestling

Wrestling defeated by Lehigh

 

Estie Pyper | The Bucknellian Stephen McPeek '14 grapples with an opponent. The Wrestling team only won two matches against Lehigh.
Estie Pyper | The Bucknellian
Stephen McPeek ’14 grapples with an opponent. The Wrestling team only won two matches against Lehigh.

Billy Tyler

Assistant Sports Editor

The men’s wrestling team wrapped up its regular season on Feb. 22 with its Senior Day against in-state powerhouse Lehigh. Unfortunately, the Bison were unable to come away with a victory in their final dual match, falling 31-9.

Two wrestlers, Corey Lear ’13 and Joe Stolfi ’15, won bouts for the Bison. Lear, ranked 17th in the nation in the 165 lb. weight class, pinned his opponent in 6:22. This victory put Lear’s regular season record at 23-5, including 18 wins in his last 20 matches.

Stolfi finished the day’s events with a hard-fought 7-6 victory in the heavyweight match. This close match featured several lead changes early, but Stolfi was able to grab the lead before the end of the second period and hang on in a scoreless third period to clinch the win.

Following this match was a brief exhibition against Penn College of Technology. Containing only three bouts, this match was a valuable experience for several members of the team that have not seen much time in the starting rotation this year. Competing for the Bison were Mark Edmonds ’16 with a 4-2 OT victory in the 133 lb. class, Bob Hauser ’14, winning a 11-0 major decision, and Ray Schlitt ’15, who fell to a pin in 1:08.

With the loss to a Lehigh team and four nationally-ranked wrestlers in its lineup, the Bison end their regular season with a 6-14 overall record and a 2-5 EIWA conference record. The Bison will take the floor next on March 8-9 at Rutgers University for the EIWA Championships.

 

Categories
Men Sports Track & Field Track & Field Women

Women’s track wins PL Tournament

Edward Louie | The Bucknellian Chrissy Haney '16 embraces a teammate. Her contributions helped the women's track & field team win the Patriot League Tournament.
Edward Louie | The Bucknellian
Chrissy Haney ’16 embraces a teammate. Her contributions helped the women’s track & field team win the Patriot League Tournament.

Billy Tyler

Assistant Sports Editor

Both the men’s and women’s track teams capped off successful regular seasons with great performances at the Patriot League Championships this past weekend.

The women’s track team won their 15th Patriot League Championship in program history. The Bison entered the final day of the three-day competition with only a 1.67 point advantage over second place Lehigh. As other teams faded after multiple days of grueling events, the Bison continued to perform at a high level.

Behind gold medal performances from Sophia Nnadi ’16, Caroline Tolli ’13, Jennifer Zymet ’14 and Alexandra Romanelli ’13, the Bison surged ahead to win with a final score of 162 points, 52 ahead of second place Navy.

The men’s track team also found great success at the Patriot League Championships, finishing in second place, only 23 points behind winner Navy. The 182 points scored by the Bison would have been good enough to win two of the past three championship meets, but unfortunately Navy had too many strong performances in the end.

Fourteen members of the team earned All-Leagues Honors, including Alex Prieto ’14, Kevin Keller ’15, Justin Hicks ’13 and Kevin Tapper ’15 who all earned recognition in multiple events.

The final indoor event of the season for the Bison will be on March 1-3 at the IC4A/ECAC Championships in Boston.

Categories
Softball Sports Uncategorized Women

Softball opens season

Thomas Walter

Senior Writer

After winning its season opener, the softball team dropped three straight during its road trip in Cleveland last weekend. The final scores were an 8-7 victory against St. Bonaventure, two losses (3-0, 6-2) to Cleveland State and a 4-1 loss to Canisius.

Mallory Lyons ’14 led the Bison with three hits and three RBIs, as the Orange and Blue defeated St. Bonaventure 8-7 in 10 innings. Caryn Connors ’14, who pinch-ran and scored the go-ahead run for the Bison in the ninth inning, was pleased with the Bison’s performance.

“Our first game win was a great start to the season. We battled through 10 innings to get the win so that made it that much more special,” Connors said. “However, there is still a lot more work to be done and we have not lost sight of that.”

The Bison dropped their next three games, two to Cleveland State with a game against Canisius in between. Connors, who also pinch-ran in the fourth and final game of the weekend, said that the team will continue to just focus on the little things as the season gets underway.

“Winning our first game of the season proves that we have a lot of potential this year. It also gave us a perspective on what was successful and what wasn’t which will help us tremendously in the practices and games to come,” Connors said.

Lyons has a team-leading .375 batting average, as well as three RBIs. The Bison will be back in action this weekend as the travel to Farmville, Va. to compete against Stony Brook and Longwood in the Longwood Spring Classic.

Categories
Lacrosse Sports Women

Women’s lacrosse v. Stony Brook; @ Penn State

Andrew Arnao

Sports Editor

The Bison women’s lacrosse team fell in its season openers against two nationally ranked opponents. The Orange and the Blue fell in their home opener against Stony Brook 20-5, and later suffered an 18-2 loss on the road to Penn State.

Against No. 18 Stony Brook, the Bison fell behind 2-0 after the first seven minutes of regulation. A goal by Emily Kookogey ’15 on a free position shot suggested a change in momentum for the Orange and the Blue, but Stony Brook proceeded to score four more to assume a 6-1 lead. After a couple of goals by Cori Thielemann ’15 and Emily Becker ’16, the Stony Brook offense exploded for 12 straight goals to turn a 7-3 lead into 19-3 blowout. Sam Rickels ’16 and Katelyn Miller ’14 rounded out the scoring with two late goals as the Bison suffered their first defeat of the season.

Goalie Caroline O’Neill ’15 allowed 18 goals in 52:27 of play, but also recorded 10 saves for the Bison.

“We started out very strong. Our goalie had one of the best games of her career and the defense looked very solid,” Miller said. “However, Stony Brook was very aggressive and we had a difficult time translating on offense.”

Things were not any easier for the Bison against No. 9/10 Penn State. The offense was shutout during the first half, while Penn State rattled off 13 straight goals in the game’s first 35 minutes. The Orange and the Blue got on the scoreboard with back-to-back goals by Kookogey and Madison Hurwitz ’13, but that was it for the Bison as Penn State finished with off the game with five more goals.

“Penn State [was] expected to be just as good, if not better than Stony Brook,” Miller said. “These two games [were] much harder than any game we expect to see in our conference so this is great preparation for us.”

The women’s lacrosse team will look to get back on track as they travel to Johns Hopkins to face off against the undefeated Blue Jays Saturday at 4 p.m.

Categories
Lacrosse Men Sports

Men’s lacrosse suffers upset

 Reed Dempsey

Writer

After starting the season with a win on the road against Delaware, the Bison traveled to Emmitsburg, Md. on Feb. 17 for a matchup against the Mount St. Mary’s Mountaineers. Two late fourth-quarter goals helped the Mountaineers rally past the Orange and Blue for a 12-11 upset.

Todd Heritage ’14 opened the day’s scoring with a shot that found the back of the net just six seconds after the opening whistle. Over the next seven minutes, the Mountaineers responded with two goals of their own to take their first lead. Not to be outdone, the Bison quickly leveled the game at two with a Chase Bailey ’13 tally and restored their one-goal lead on a man-up advantage with just under three minutes left in the first quarter. The Mountaineers were able to work the ball down the field and add a goal of their own to tie the game at three as the first quarter came to a close.

As play resumed for the second quarter, the Bison were able to rekindle some of the offensive firepower seen in week one, going on a 4-1 run with goals from Sean Doyle ’16, Peter Burke ’14, Thomas Flibotte ’16 and Heritage. By the end of the second quarter, the Bison squad had limited the Mountaineers to just three shots while forcing three turnovers.

“We got good opportunities and limited our turnovers,” midfielder David Dickson ’15 said. “The offense looked solid.”

As play resumed for the second half, Mount St. Mary’s had a four-goal rally of their own, bringing the score to 8-7 in favor of the Mountaineers. Less than a minute later, Heritage tied the game with his third goal of the day. With time coming to a close in the third quarter, Mount St. Mary’s was able to take advantage of its fourth extra-man opportunity, to regain the lead for the third time.

The Mountaineers added a tally early in the fourth quarter to extend their lead to two goals. Over the next 10 minutes, the Orange and Blue utilized goals from Burke and Heritage to tie the game before Bailey found the back of the net on an unassisted tally to reinstate the Bison lead.

The Mountaineers tied the game with 1:35 left in the game. They then won the ensuing face-off, established the ball on offense and scored to bring the game to 12-11.

The Mountaineers again won the face-off and held the ball until Jackson Place ’14 forced a turnover, allowing the Bison to gain possession on the offensive half of the field with less than 30 seconds remaining. The Orange and Blue were unable to capitalize on their shots before time expired.

“We’ve already put the Mount St. Mary’s game behind us and we now know what it is going to take to win moving forward,” Dickson said.

The Bison look to rebound against the Bryant Bulldogs, who will visit campus Saturday at 1 p.m.

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Men Sports Tennis

Men’s tennis triumphs

Emily Evancho

Contributing Writer

The men’s tennis team returned to its winning ways last weekend, defeating Niagara and St. Bonaventure 5-2 in two road matches. Kyle Rosen ’14 secured the team’s victories for both matches, bringing the Bison’s record for the season to 3-2.

Against Niagara, the Orange and Blue struggled in doubles matches, only securing an 8-4 win from the team of Octavio Canibe ’15 and Aidan Lynch ’14. For the singles matches, Nick Bybel ’16 succeeded with a dual victory and Kelly Morque ’13 and Josh Katten ’13 both split their opening sets, but were still successful with twin 6-1 final sets. Rosen’s 6-0, 6-4 win in his singles match brought the overall score to a 4-3 victory over Niagara.

“I am happy that we were able to pull out a tough victory,” Rosen said. “A close win like this always gives us confidence moving forward.”

The Bison wasted no time against St. Bonaventure, sweeping away doubles points early in the match. The team of Morque and Evan Zimmer ’13 took control with an 8-6 victory, and Canibe and Lynch cleaned up the doubles matches with an 8-3 win. In singles play, both Bybel and Zimmer finished their matches with two wins each. Rosen won two tough sets, each bringing 7-5 wins, to settle the score at 5-2 over St. Bonaventure.

“I was very impressed with everyone’s ability to stay positive during tough moments,” Zimmer said. “We lost to both Niagara and St. Bonaventure last year, so it felt great to pull both out this year. I hope we can bring the same intensity and focus for this weekend’s matches against Hofstra and Princeton.”

The Bison will return to the court when they challenge Hofstra and Princeton on the road this weekend.

Categories
Sports Water Polo Women

W. water polo goes 3-2

 

Edward Louie | The Bucknellian Barbara Peterson '15 winds up for a shot on goal. The women's water polo team finished with three wins.
Edward Louie | The Bucknellian
Barbara Peterson ’15 winds up for a shot on goal. The women’s water polo team finished with three wins.

Lauren Boone

Staff Writer

The Orange and Blue kicked off their season this past weekend at the Bison Invitational, where the Bison played in five matches against Mercyhurst, George Washington, Brown, Villanova and Marist. The Orange and Blue ended the weekend’s contests with a record of 3-2.

The Bison launched the weekend competition and their season with a 14-5 win over Mercyhurst. Highlight players of the game were Hannah Sunday ’16, Krystle Morgan ’13 and Julianne Valdes ’14. Sunday led the Bison with five goals, while Morgan and Valdes contributed three goals each. The Bison led the Lakers 7-1 at halftime, maintaining a lead of at least six goals throughout the second half.

Against George Washington, the Orange and Blue fell 10-9. The Bison outscored the Colonials 6-3 during the second half, but eventually gave way to George Washington’s offensive pressure. Sunday and Valdes each posted three goals for the Orange and the Blue in the loss.

The Bison then rebounded to defeat Brown 10-9. With the score tied 9-9 and just 1:36 left to play, Taylor Barnett ’15 scored the game-winning goal. To secure the victory, Rena Heim ’14 saved a shot on goal with less than a minute to go.

The Orange and Blue added to their wins with a 9-4 victory over Villanova. Sunday scored four goals, assisting in an 8-0 lead during the game. This win brought the Bison’s weekend record thus far to 3-1.

The Bison lost their final match of the weekend 9-6 to Marist. Entering the fourth quarter, the Bison trailed by only one goal. Within just under two minutes, the Red Foxes posted three goals against the Bison to put the match out of reach.

“This weekend was a great start to our season; it was a highly anticipated weekend because we had been practicing for so long. I think that the team played well together. We made a lot of mistakes but we now know exactly what we need to focus on in practice,” Sunday said.

After the opening weekend’s competition, the Bison will be back in action against Harvard and George Washington on March 2 and 3 .

Categories
Sports Tennis Women

W. tennis splits weekend

Lauren Boone

Staff Writer

The women’s tennis team travelled to Olean, N.Y. to face Niagara and St. Bonaventure this past weekend. After dropping the match against Niagara 4-3, the Orange and Blue pulled out a 5-2 win over St. Bonaventure, snapping a three-match losing streak.

Against St. Bonaventure, the Bison won the doubles point with ease. On the number one doubles court, Maria Cioffi ’16 and Elena Vidrascu ’14 dropped only one game to the Bonnies, winning 8-1. Lydia Colvin ’15 and Stephanie Pino ’16, on the second doubles court, won  8-4. St. Bonaventure defaulted the third doubles court.

The Orange and Blue were successful in their singles matches as well. St. Bonaventure defaulted another match, giving the Bison another victory in the sixth singles position.

At the number three singles position, Colvin won her match with a score of 6-3, 6-2. Jen Bush ’15 was also successful, winning her match 6-1, 6-1. On court five, Pino claimed the final point for the Bison without dropping a single game (6-0, 6-0).

“Overall, the team came out with great energy and focus. We secured the doubles point, winning both first and second doubles with relative ease. As far as singles goes, it was easy to see that we all really wanted to win, supporting one another immensely in the process,” Colvin said.

Against Niagara, Cioffi and Vidrascu gave the Bison a good start in the first doubles match with an 8-5 decision, while Bush and Christie Schneider ’15 also won their doubles match 8-3. Vidrascu and Pino also contributed individual victories, but the Bison were unable to overcome a late Niagara comeback in the loss.

The Orange and Blue will be back on the courts tomorrow at 1 p.m. in Quakertown, Pa. against Hofstra.