Bucknell’s 6-11 junior scores 27 points in 66-51 romp
Few Patriot League teams come as fully-equipped as Bucknell. As the Bison have ripped through the first half of the conference schedule, it’s reasonable to wonder whether they can match the feat of the school’s 2005-06 squad, the only team in 21 years to win all of its league games.
Saturday night at Alumni Hall in Annapolis, Bucknell demonstrated why it will take a monumental effort by any Patriot League team to topple the defending champions. Behind 6-foot-11 Mike Muscala, Bucknell rolled to a 66-51 victory before 3,718.
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“The big kid is a very special player,” Navy coach Ed DeChellis said. “When they needed a basket, they went to him.”
With Muscala (27 points, eight rebounds) flashing his rare combination of low-post and perimeter skills as he hit 11 of 15 shots, Bucknell took control early and never let go. The Bison hit 53 percent of their shots and limited the Midshipmen to 36.4 percent shooting.
“He can score inside. He can knock down a three,” Bucknell coach Dave Paulsen said. “[He] creates opportunities for other guys as well.”
Coming to Muscala’s assistance was junior defensive stopper Bryan Cohen (12 points) who hit five of nine shots, including a pair of three-pointers, while limiting Navy standout Jordan Sugars to eight points.
Muscala also showed he could play defense as he held Navy’s top scorer, sophomore J.J. Avila (eight points) to single-digits for just the second time this season.
In losing for the 14th straight time, Navy (3-18, 0-7) moved within one game of the program’s all-time losing streak, established in 1988-89. The Mids got a career-high 16 points from 6-5 freshman Worth Smith on seven of 10 shooting, and 13 points from sophomore guard Isaiah Roberts, which matched his career high. But it wasn’t nearly enough.
After Navy took an early 6-2 lead, Bucknell answered with a 13-0 run, which included two baskets each from 6-7 junior Joe Willman (eight points, nine rebounds) and 6-2 junior Bryson Johnson (seven points). After that, the Midshipmen never made a serious run.
Bucknell did many things well. The Bison had 16 assists on 26 baskets, and hit all 10 of their free throws.
“They share the ball well and they make open shots,” DeChellis said. “Shooting covers a multitude of sins.”
On Saturday, Bucknell had few of those.
