Category: Sports

Eric Brod

Senior Writer

The true character of a team is best seen in times of adversity.  That was the case as the Bison took sole possession of first place in the Patriot League with a pivotal 61-55 victory over Lehigh on Feb. 18 after falling to Lafayette 63-62 on Feb. 16. The Bison’s record now stands at 22-5 overall and 9-2 in league play. The Orange and Blue have three games remaining to secure home-court advantage throughout the Patriot League Tournament.

The Bison traveled to Stabler Arena with first place in the league on the line and were able to snap their three-game losing streak to Lehigh. On a night when Mike Muscala ’13 and Joe Willman ’13 were in foul trouble in each half, the bench came up huge to give the team a much needed lift. Bryson Johnson ’13 heated up in the second half and led the team with a game-high 19 points to push the Bison past the Mountain Hawks (18-7, 8-3).

The Orange and Blue got off to a quick 7-0 lead, capped off by a three from Cameron Ayers ’14, but Muscala, who finished with 12 points and nine rebounds, picked up two quick fouls. Brian Fitzpatrick ’13 provided a tremendous spark off the bench with six first-half points and 10 rebounds in place of Muscala. 

“Obviously Mike [Muscala] is our best player, so with him out it is definitely a big loss. I just went out there and played my game. I played good defense, rebounded and scored when I got the opportunities,” Fitzpatrick said.

Fitzpatrick’s effort helped the Bison maintain the lead for much of the first half, but a 13-4 run by Lehigh to end the half gave the Mountain Hawks a slim 24-23 lead going into halftime.

The first 7:20 of the second half were frantic with seven lead changes and three ties. Johnson, who struggled for much of the first half, found his stroke as he made two straight three’s to break the 37-37 time to push the Orange and Blue lead to 43-37. A three-point play by Muscala and two more threes from Johnson and Ben Brackney ’14 gave the Bison a 52-41 lead. Lehigh cut the Bison lead to 52-48 with 5:59 remaining in the game.

Driving baskets by Johnson and Ryan Frazier ’16 extended the lead back to 58-51 with 1:57 left. Frazier also provided a tremendous defensive effort off the bench, holding Lehigh guard Mackey McKnight to just two points in the final 15 minutes of the game.

The Orange and Blue could not put the game away at the foul line, and a Lehigh basket cut the lead to 58-55 with just 51 seconds remaining. Trying to use up as much clock as possible, the Bison ran the clock down near the end of the shot clock, at which time Ayers drove to the basket and somehow got a miraculous circus-like layup in the basket to give the Bison a 60-55 lead that virtually sealed the victory.

After shooting just 29.6 percent in the first half, the Bison shot 51.9 percent in the second half, while holding Lehigh to 40.0 percent shooting for the game. After Lehigh shot 10-18 three-pointers in the first match-up between the two teams, the defense held them to just 1-15, while the Bison shot 6-17 from three-point range.

The Bison saw their five-game winning streak come to an end on Feb. 16 when they lost to Lafayette on guard Tony Johnson’s game winning jumper with just 4.5 seconds remaining. Muscala recorded 29 points and 15 rebounds while Ayers had 20 points and was 8-12 shooting overall and 4-6 from beyond the arc.

Ayers, who scored 17 of his 20 points in a second half effort, nailed a three to give the Bison a 60-59 lead. Ayers then hit another jumper to give extend the Bison lead to 62-59.

The team was unable to put the game away as Johnson and Brackney both missed threes in the final minute of the game. After Brackney’s miss, Lafayette hit the game winning jumper. Ayers contested three at the buzzer came up short to give Lafayette the victory.

“Obviously it’s a huge boost in our confidence.  The loss to Lafayette really stung, and I am just glad we were able to rebound and get a big win,” Fitzpatrick said. “We still got three  big games left in league play to clinch home court. We need to keep getting better as a team because we will most likely see Lehigh again in the tournament.”

The Bison return home this weekend to face Holy Cross at noon on Feb. 24.

Eric Brod

Senior Writer

The Orange and Blue held off Colgate for a 69-61 victory on Feb. 13 after a 60-58 road victory against Army on Feb. 9. With the two wins, the Bison improved to 21-4 overall, and 8-1 in league play.

Mike Muscala ’13 lead the Bison against Colgate, recording his 18th double-double of the season, posting 27 points and 12 rebounds. Muscala’s 10th rebound of the night was the 1,000th of his collegiate career, making him the second player in program history to accomplish this feat.

The Bison jumped to an early 9-0 lead thanks to five quick points from guard Ryan Hill ’14. The Raiders then cut the lead to 20-18 in the first half. The Bison responded with a three-pointer by Bryson Johnson ’13, giving him three of his 12 points on the night. Muscala and Cameron Ayers ’14 made a pair of baskets to extend the lead to 34-22, and the Orange and Blue took a 34-23 lead at half.

Colgate started the second half cutting the Bison lead to 40-34. Joe Willman ’13 responded with a clutch jumper, but the Raiders eventually cut the lead down to 49-47. Muscala then scored 20 of his 27 points to help keep control of the game. Ayers helped put the game away, extending the lead to 62-54 with 3:58 to play.

Against Army, the Bison defense held the usually fast-paced Black Knight attack to 38.2 percent shooting and 12 points below their season average. The Orange and Blue were led by Ayers, who registered 19 points.

“The key for me was to be aggressive early and attack them from the start. My teammates did a good job of finding me and getting me open shots,” Ayers said. “I thought it was a total team effort to pull out a tough win like that on the road.”

Johnson also heavily contributed, scoring 17 points to break the Patriot League record for three-point baskets in a career. Johnson continued his sensational all-around play, tallying eight rebounds and six assists. Muscala came away with 12 points and 10 rebounds for his 17th double-double on the season.

“Army is always a tough team to play against, especially on their home floor. We knew it would be a battle heading into the game but Bryson and Cam[eron] hit some big shots in the second half that really helped us out,” Muscala said. “I thought we forced them to make tough shots for the most part, but also made some defensive errors that allowed them to get back in the game.”

The Orange and Blue took a 25-21 halftime lead into the locker room. The Bison opened up a 47-36 advantage with 8:46 left in the contest, until Army closed the gap to 49-45. Ayers responded with a three to extend lead back to seven at 52-45. With 2:16 remaining, the Orange and Blue had a 60-54 lead. Army pulled the score to 60-58 with 1:27 left. Both teams missed opportunities on the offensive end in the final minute, which ended with Ryan Frazier ’16 forcing a touch game-tying attempt by Army that hit back iron to secure the Bison victory.

“I thought we did a really good job of contesting their shooters and our guards did a great job of getting through ball screens,” Muscala said. “They got hot late in the second half but for the most part we played well defensively.”

“I think these tight games have definitely proved to us that we have to play all 40 minutes and play until the end,” Ayers said. “We are able to learn from these situations win or lose and grow from them for the future.”

The team returns to action Saturday when they travel to Easton, Pa. to take on league rival Lafayette. Tip-off is scheduled for 2 p.m.