Bison clinch No. 1 seed in Patriot League
Since going to the NCAA tournament in 2009, there has been only one Patriot League team American University has not beaten: Bucknell. It has not been for lack of trying.
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On Thursday night, AU summoned its best effort yet, leading much of the way before succumbing to its nemesis. Bucknell got 26 points and 14 rebounds from junior Mike Muscala and clutch 3-pointers from three different players in the final five minutes to turn back the determined Eagles 55-50 at Bender Arena.
AU harassed Bucknell into 33.3 percent shooting and led by 10 points in the first half, but the Bison were unflappable as Bryson Johnson (11 points), Cameron Ayers (eight points) and Bryan Cohen (three points) drained shots from beyond the arc.
“Tough loss. Really hard fought. I really don’t think our guys could play a whole lot harder,” AU coach Jeff Jones said. “Muscala just wore us down. He was clearly the difference in the game.”
Defending champion Bucknell (21-8, 11-2) clinched the regular-season title and the top seed in the Patriot League tournament. AU (18-10, 9-4) will be either the second or third seed and will host a game in the quarterfinals on Wednesday night.
AU was led by junior Daniel Munoz (15 points, four assists), senior Troy Brewer (13 points) and sophomore Tony Wroblicky (11 points, eight rebounds).
But the rest of the Eagles struggled on offense. AU hit 36.5 percent from the floor. Hounded by Cohen, Charles Hinkle made just one of nine shots and finished with a season-low three points, 16 fewer than his average. Reserve guard Blake Jolivette hit one of 11 attempts.
“They played good team defense. Cohen’s a great defender,” Hinkle said. “They did a great job defending our sets.”
It was AU’s sixth straight loss to Bucknell. Four have come by six or fewer points. In the last four meetings, Muscala has averaged 25.3 points and 11.5 rebounds.
“In my collegiate days, I was fortunate enough to play with a guy named Ralph Sampson, and he made all of us better defenders,” said Jones, a former guard at Virginia. “For the Patriot League, Muscala is that kind of player.”
