Bucknell crushes Lafayette

Lafayette entered Wednesday night’s home game against Bucknell attempting to end a five-game losing streak.

However, from the very beginning of the game, Bucknell took an early lead and never looked back. The final score of the game was 78-55, and Bucknell showed why they are currently on top in the Patriot League standings.

“Obviously in this game, [Bucknell] get off to such a great start,” Lafayette Head Coach Fran O’Hanlon said. “It’s a hard team to play catch-up against.”

In the first five minutes of the game, Bucknell had just a one-point lead of 11-10. But after the first media timeout, Bucknell went on a 17-3 run and extended their lead to 28-13 with 9:04 remaining in the first half.

After a lucky tip-in to end the half by Kyle Stout for Lafayette, Bucknell led at the half 40-23.

At the start of the second half, Lafayette showed a small glimpse of a comeback. With 17:36 remaining, Lafayette cut the lead down to 12 after a deep Stout Jumper.

But as they did consistently all night, Bucknell quickly responded and cruised easily to a 23-point victory.

“We knew it was going to be a tough game,” O’Hanlon said. “They are as good as anybody.”

Bucknell had a complete team win, as nine different players were on the scoreboard. Zach Thomas and Kimbal Mackenzie each led the way with 14 points, while Stephen Brown and John Azzinaro chipped in with 11 a piece.

“They have everything,” O’Hanlon said. “They have a rim protector, they have a great point guard, they shoot the ball extremely well and they are deep.”

The two main keys in this game for Bucknell were their defense and offensive rebounding. Remarkably, Bucknell only shot around 32 percent from the field, but their 22 offensive rebounds and 18 forced turnovers resulted in extra shot attempts and transition opportunities.

Lafayette, only shot 34% from the field as well, but had a -10 rebounding margin, and committed 18 turnovers.

Hunter Janacek led the way for Lafayette with 11 points for the game, while Matt Klinewski added 10 of his own. In a night where Eric Stafford was out hurt with a groin injury, the depleted Lafayette Leopards lacked the necessary offensive firepower to defeat a tough Bucknell team.

“Right now we are down to 8 or 9 guys,” O’Hanlon said. “Its hard for our practices to be competitive.”

But as Lindner and O’Hanlon preached after the game, there are no excuses, and it is up to the Leopards to turn it around.

“It's up to us right now,” Lindner said. “It’s on nobody else to get us out of this.”


The leopards play against Loyola Maryland at 2 p.m. this Saturday. Loyola Maryland is 4-5 in the league and 10-10 overall.



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Nick Lindner: Mentally Tough on and off the Court

Image
Forty seconds remain in the 2015 Patriot League men’s basketball championship and Lafayette is up by one. Lafayette is hosting American University in Kirby Sports Center Arena. The stands are packed with Lafayette students, all geared up in white for the “whiteout” theme. The crowd has been rowdy all night long, but at this moment, they are quiet. All eyes are glued on Lafayette point guard, Nick Lindner, as he tries to put the game away for the Leopards. Lindner controls the ball on the left wing of the court. Using a screen from center Dan Trist, Lindner drives to the right side. Lindner drives right past the American help defender and finds the angle to get off his shot. With his eyes focused on the rim and while getting bumped by an American defender, Lindner scoops the ball softly off the backboard and through the net. The basket counts and the ref calls a foul on American. Lindner stares at the Lafayette student section as the crowd erupts. L
Read more

The Clairemont Times: SDSU Defeats USD in a Hostile Environment

Image
It was a packed house at the Jenny Craig Pavilion on Thursday, November 31 st for the college basketball game between the University of San Diego and San Diego State. The USD students came out in full force to watch their team take on the mighty Aztecs. Holding Ron Burgundy and Nicholas Cage fat heads and screaming all game long, the student section was rowdy from the beginning. Entering the game, the Toreros were attempting to win their sixth game in a row, while the Aztecs were looking to rebound after a loss to Washington State. From the tip, SDSU point guard Devin Watson controlled the pace of the game.   He was relentless, attacking the paint at will as well as shooting from the outside. After a couple of early layups by Watson, the quick point guard then hit a 3-pointer with 10:32 remaining in the first half to put SDSU ahead 16-8. Around this time period, SDSU Coach Brian Dutcher elected to go zone, and it made a big difference. The Aztec’s l
Read more

The Clairemont Times: UCSD is Moving to the Big West Conference in the Fall of 2020

Image
It was quite the spectacle in Rimac Arena at UCSD’s campus on Monday, November 27th. The pep band, media personnel, alumni, coaches, players, and even the mascot were in all attendance for an announcement that has “been a long time coming” for UCSD athletics. UCSD’s athletic director, Earl Edwards, announced the big news of the day: The University will be moving to the division 1 level in the fall of 2020. More specifically, UC San Diego will be joining the Big West Conference. At the event, Edwards, the Chancellor, the Mayor, and the former Mayor were all seated on the front of the stage. Each of these individuals took turns speaking about what this move means for UCSD and the community. The school Chancellor, Pradeep Khosla, began the press event and said that the move will “significantly increase visibility” and “elevate the student experience.” “The timing of this D1 move could not be better,” Khosla said. “UC San Diego is currently undergoing a physical, intellect
Read more