Category: Sports

By Greg Stevenson

Senior Writer

It is impossible to go to Sojka Pavilion for a Bison men’s or women’s basketball game without hearing the sounds of Brad Brown ’11, who has been dubbed by many as “The Sojka Psycho.” His spirited voice bounces off the walls of the arena and his energy is unmatched as he gets the fans to stand up and cheer.

Brown, who lives just down the road in Milton, Pa., said he has been watching Bison basketball since the games were played in Davis Gym. He has for nearly his entire life lived and died with every shot for Orange and Blue basketball.

“I am literally living a dream,” Brown said. “I love Bucknell and it is an honor to help showcase the collective spirit and passion that we as students have for our school.”

As a part of his job, Brown is charged with not only pumping up the Sojka Psychos, but also to give away free pizza and T-shirts to lucky fans. He is usually there 90 minutes before each game starts, to get himself and his energy ready for the two-hour game ahead. Getting ready usually involves putting on his orange wig and Bison basketball jersey, as well as rolling up shirts that will be thrown into the crowd.

But Brown’s job truly begins once fans start rolling into the gym. His exuberance and energy are contagious, and anyone who runs into him before the game starts can feel the emotion he has for Bison basketball.

The Sojka Psychos have fed off his energy and have packed Sojka Pavilion in droves. In the men’s basketball team’s final home game of the regular season, the eighth-largest crowd in facility history showed up to watch the Bison defeat Army to complete a 13-1 season in the Patriot League. The noise in the building that day was deafening, a good part of which can be attributed to Brown’s passion.

The student section has grown even more since the regular season finale for the Orange and Blue’s two Patriot League Tournament games, the rematch in the quarterfinals against Army and the semifinal contest with Lehigh. At certain points in the Lehigh game, the intensity of the Sojka Psychos made the entire building shake.

“The best part of my job is knowing that the crowd and its supportive energy can have an impact on the outcome of the game,” Brown said.

Brown’s omnipresence in Sojka Pavilion, just like this magical season that the men’s basketball team has been having, cannot last forever. When this semester ends, Brown will graduate from the University. His job as the Sojka Psycho still is in question.

“I would love to have the job after I graduate,” he said.

The Patriot League final against Lafayette tonight is a game that most fans have been waiting a whole year for. For the Bison’s most spirited fan, this may just be the game he has been wishing for his entire life.

By Cooper Sutton

Sports Editor

Returning all five young, talented starters from last year, much hype surrounded the Bison basketball team going into the 2010-2011 season. Chosen to finish second in the Patriot League behind American, the Bison surpassed expectations, finishing first with a 13-1 league record.

The season did not start as smoothly as it ended for the Orange and Blue squad. Before league play began, the team faced a tough out-of-conference schedule and went 9-7.

After ending that schedule on a three-game win streak, the Bison carried momentum into league play. They won their first six Patriot League games, including a 75-56 home defeat of Lafayette.

On Jan. 29, the team saw its streak snapped on the road at Army in its only league loss of the year, a crushing 90-70 defeat. Since that game, the team has won nine straight.

In one of the most satisfying wins of the season, the Bison convincingly knocked the Black Knights out of the Patriot League tournament, 78-51 in the first round.

In the second round, the team fought through one of the most contested games of the season, defeating Lehigh 66-64. The Bison commanded the game throughout, but Lehigh kept it close until the end. In front of a packed and raucous crowd of “Sojka Psychos,” the team punched its ticket to the finals behind the always-strong play of Mike Muscala ’13, the Patriot League Player of the Year.

Muscala has led the Bison all year, dominating the boards at 6’11”. Muscala is averaging 14.8 points and 7.5 rebounds per game.

The strength of the team, though, lies in its balance. Along with Muscala, point guard Darryl Shazier ’11 was awarded first-team all-Patriot League honors. Bryson Johnson ’13 played superb basketball all season using his long-range shooting. He averaged 11.5 points per game and made second-team all-Patriot League.

Bryan Cohen ’12 was awarded the Patriot League’s defensive player of the year award for his shut-down abilities. Cameron Ayers ’14 also made the Patriot League all-rookie team, and the coach of the year award went to Dave Paulsen. This is Paulsen’s third year with the team and his first winning season in Lewisburg.

By Cooper Sutton

Sports Editor, The Bucknellian

The Bison are 2-0 against Lafayette this year, and in the one game they played in Lewisburg, they took down the Leopards by almost 20 points. Once again, in this game the Bison will be favored over Lafayette, but this time the game means much more.

No doubt, the Leopards will be a stern test for a relatively inexperienced Bison squad. The Lafayette offense seems like it could explode at any time and should provide a tough game for defensive player of the year Bryan Cohen ’12 and his teammates.

Look for the championship atmosphere of an excited Sojka Pavilion, which sold out in less than a day, along with the incredible balance of the Bison to carry the first-place team to victory.

As was shown last time these two teams matched up, even when the best player is pinned down, others can step up to take his place. Look for more than just Patriot League MVP Mike Muscala ’13 to carry the team in this game. In the end, the talented, first-place Bison squad will prove to be just too much for the sixth-place Leopards, winning 75-68.

Eric Goldwein (Sports Editor, The Lafayette):

Two weeks ago, the Bison marched into Easton, Pa. as a heavy favorite but barely escaped in an overtime victory. The Leopards handled Patriot League player of the year Mike Muscala ’13, who went just 4-12, but a heroic performance from Bryson Johnson [’13] gave the Bison the victory. On that night, Lafayette proved they could play with the Patriot League’s finest.

That being said, there is no harder challenge than defeating the Bison on their home court, let alone this squad, which has lost only once since Christmas and hasn’t lost a home game since November. But Lafayette has already overcome the odds this post-season. The Leopards snapped an eight-game losing streak at the Hart Center with their victory over Holy Cross in the quarterfinals. The Leopards had not defeated American in half a decade but put an end to that trend on Sunday. Until now, a six-seeded team has never reached the Patriot League Championship game.

Like most of the Patriot League playoff matchups, the championship will be decided in the final minutes. If Lafayette can convert from long-distance and keep Muscala and Johnson under control, another streak will come to an end: Lafayette 70, Bucknell 69.

By Cooper Sutton

Sports Editor

Kevin LeValley ’11

Bio

Weight class: 149 lbs

Class: Senior

Major: Education

Hometown: Hugo, Colo.

Kevin LeValley ’11 attained three major feats in the EIWA Championships this past weekend. First, he was crowned champion of the 149 lb. division, punching his ticket to the National Championships in Philadelphia. Second, he was named the EIWA Outstanding Wrestler for the tournament. Finally and most notably, he defeated the former National Champion of the 141 lb division, Kyle Dake of Cornell.

“I feel my accomplishment this weekend truly shows the direction that Bucknell wrestling is headed in the future,” he said. “I am proud to have been given the opportunity to win an EIWA championship in Sojka Pavilion, in front of Bucknell wrestling alumni and supporters.”

LeValley became the first ever Bison wrestler to win the Coach’s Trophy, given to the outstanding wrestler of the EIWA Championships. He also became the second Bison ever to win an individual title.

He will continue his impressive run in the NCAA Tournament on March 17. He is looking to perform better than he did last year, when he took seventh in his weight class.

“Winning an individual EIWA Championship was definitely on my ‘to-do’ list this year, however it is definitely not my ultimate goal for the season,” he said. “My ultimate goal is to win an NCAA title in Philly on March 19.”

By Andrew Arnao

Writer

The women’s lacrosse team fell to Drexel on Sunday by a final score of 19-3. The Bison also dropped Wednesday’s home game against St. Francis 15-4.

While visiting Drexel, the Orange and the Blue fell behind early when the Dragons scored twice in the opening minute of the game and led 10-2 by halftime. Drexel then scored eight straight before the Bison made their third goal with 2:20 remaining.

“We had talked a lot about our game plan all week and we knew the things we needed to improve on, but we just weren’t able to execute them,” Ali Carey ’14 said. “We have a really talented team; once everything clicks we have the chance to be really successful.”

Julia Braun ’11, Katelyn Miller ’14 and Madison Hurwitz ’13 scored a goal apiece. Braun and Char Damico ’14 had two ground balls each, and Miller caused three turnovers. Goalie Alyssa DeLorenz ’11 made 16 saves.

“We need to be more aggressive on attack and create more shooting opportunities,” Miller said. “Ground balls win games and we need to focus on getting as many of these as we can and really winning all of the 50-50 balls.”

Against St. Francis, the Bison fell behind in a 6-0 hole before making it 6-2 by halftime with goals from Lindsey Ferro ’14 and Miller. Miller also opened the second half with a goal, but six more goals from St. Francis put the game out of reach with Hurwitz adding the final goal for the Bison.

DeLorenz made 12 saves for the Bison, who were outshot 34-21. St Francis also led in draw controls 14-7.

“Although we lost, I think it was good that we can pinpoint what we need to work on looking ahead to our league games,” Sophie Kleinert ’14 said. “We have a lot of important games coming up, and we can only learn from our losses.”

The Bison begin their Patriot League games on Saturday when they host Navy at 1 p.m.

By Cooper Sutton

Sports Editor

With 2:40 left in double overtime of Monday’s Patriot League opener at Christy Mathewson-Memorial Stadium, Todd Heritage ’14 ripped the game-winning goal to push the men’s lacrosse team to a huge 12-11 win against Navy.

Heritage’s game-winner saved what could have been a disappointing Bison meltdown. Navy seemed defeated after Chase Bailey ’13 scored a goal in the final minutes to extend the Bison lead to two, but in the furious final 18 seconds of regulation the Midshipmen scored twice to keep their hopes alive.

The Bison started the game fast, jumping out to a 4-1 lead in the first quarter. In just over a minute of game time in the middle of the quarter, Billy Eisenreich ’12, Mike Danylyshyn ’11 and Nick Gantsoudes ’12 each scored a goal to take a commanding lead.

The Midshipmen did not give up, evening up the score at five in the second quarter. After Navy took its run, the Orange and Blue responded in kind. In the second half, the Bison looked once again as if they would cruise to victory, taking a 9-5 lead.

The tide turned once more when the Bison stopped winning the face-off battle. Giving away extra possessions to the Midshipmen down the stretch, the team gave up its four-point lead and nearly let its first league win disappear.

It took nearly two sudden death overtime periods to restore the Bison advantage one final time. With Heritage’s goal, the Bison moved to 1-0 in the Patriot League.

Midfielder Eisenrich recorded one of the best games of his career, registering two goals and five assists. Danylyshyn and Gantsoudes, also midfielders, also scored two goals apiece.

On attack, Ryan Klipstein ’11 scored three goals to lead the team, and Heritage scored two. In goal, Kyle Feeney ’13 saved seven while letting in 11.

In the end, the Bison took advantage of the extra possessions that Navy gave away. The Orange and Blue had the advantage in face-offs, 15-13, and turnovers, 15-16. The Midshipmen’s 16th and final turnover led to the Bison’s winning shot.

The Bison will once again play an out-of-conference opponent against Hobart tomorrow at 1 p.m.

By Joe Ruby

Writer

The wrestling team had place-winners in five of the 10 weight classes at the EIWA Championships held in Sojka Pavilion this past weekend and will be sending two wrestlers to the NCAA National Championships. Kevin LeValley ’11 won the 149 lb. weight class, defeating top seed and returning national champion Kyle Dake of Cornell. He was named Most Outstanding Wrestler by a vote of the event’s 13 coaches.

Jay Hahn ’11 placed fourth in the 197 lb. weight class to join LeValley as an automatic qualifier for the national tournament in Philadelphia. Rob Waltko ’11 took sixth place at 184 lbs. and Brantley Hooks ’11 and Corey Lear ’13 placed seventh at 157 and 165 lbs., respectively.

LeValley, ranked fourth in the nation and seeded second in the tournament, pinned Andrew Murano of Franklin & Marshall in his first round match to earn a 10-2 major decision against seventh-seeded Daniel Young of Army in the quarterfinals. Defeating third seed Ganbayar Sanjaa of American in overtime, LeValley completed his feat with a takedown in the second sudden-victory period for a 4-2 win over second-ranked Dake.

The fifth-seeded Hahn won his opening match by an 18-3 technical fall over Daniel Santoro of Princeton before losing 3-2 to Joseph Kennedy of Lehigh in the second round. Hahn wrestled back to the consolation semifinals with major decisions of 12-2 and 12-3. After earning a place in the third/fourth place match with a last-second takedown against Michael Wagner of Rutgers for a 7-6 victory, Hahn fell to third-seeded Daniel Mitchell of American by a 4-3 margin. His fourth place finish still earns him a chance to compete on a national stage.

“Hosting the tournament in Sojka Pavilion was a great way to finish my wrestling career as a Bison,” Hahn said. “It was one of the most exciting venues that I had ever wrestled in, and I attribute part of my success in the tournament to the fact that we could stay in our routines by not having to travel.”

“I will be training hard these next two weeks, and I am very excited to be going to the national tournament. My attitude going in is that I have nothing to lose and everything to gain, so hopefully I will be able to put together another solid performance so I can reach my goal of becoming an NCAA All-American,” he said.

Hahn was not the only Bison to have success in the consolation rounds. Hooks and Lear each won three of their five matches to take seventh place, and Waltko, despite losing his first match, won two consecutive consolation bouts to gain a place in the fifth/sixth bout.

The Bison finished eighth of 13 in the team standings, earning 59 team points. Cornell easily won the team championship, with 173.5 points to runner-up Lehigh’s 119. The Big Red boasted five of the 10 top-seeded wrestlers in the bracket and the Mountain Hawks claimed four. The lone exception was national No. 1 Steve Fittery, a 157 lb. wrestler for American.

LeValley, Hahn and the 48 other nationally qualifying EIWA wrestlers will compete for All-American honors on March 17-19 at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia. LeValley took seventh at the NCAA Tournament last year.