Lewisburg, PA – Bucknell was looking to get revenge against Boston University after an early season Patriot League upset. The Bison trailed by four points at halftime but managed to have a big second half to come out on top in a 82-76 victory.
Bucknell were led by senior big man Nate Sestina. Sestina was in foul trouble for the last ten minutes of the first half but still managed 11 points. He came out strong in the second half with 14 points and eight rebounds to give him a double-double. Sestina has a unique offensive game that makes him one of the best players in the Patriot League. He is a gifted shooter as evidenced by his 4-of-6 shooting from 3. He is also able to overpower smaller players underneath. Late in the second half he was able to convert a pair of offensive rebounds into buckets that put a fork in the late Boston run. Sestina has really progressed his passing as the season has progressed as he was able to get three assists, finding the open man when double teamed.
Sestina had a tough defensive match-up guarding Max Mahoney for much of the afternoon. He was able to make life difficult on Mahoney and frustrated him into some bad shots. He even got a pair of well-timed blocks on help defense. Along with a strong effort from Sestina, the team’s leading scorer Kimbal Mackenzie had a good game as well with 20 points on only 11 field goal attempts. Mackenzie did a good job in transition in the second half getting behind the BU defense and converting on a couple of contested fast break lay-ups to build the Bison lead out to 11 points.
Forward Bruce Moore did a good job of grabbing some contested rebounds in the second half. He finished with 10 points and 10 rebounds. Moore showed some nifty work in the post against smaller defenders that resulted in a couple of key second half baskets for the Bison. Avi Toomer and Jimmy Sotos had a good game getting into the lane and distributing the ball as they combined for 12 assists between them.
Boston University was paced in scoring by guard Javante McCoy. At 6’5 McCoy is about as tall of guard as you’ll find in the Patriot League. He was able to use his height to get some contested 3-point shots away. He finished 5-of-8 on the afternoon from 3 and was able to hit a pair in the last minute to help melt to Bucknell lead down to three points. Forward Max Mahoney was able to score 16 points and grab 10 rebounds. He really has a strong post game with an accurate right handed hook shot. Mahoney struggles with his jump shot though forcing some that were not even close to going in. Forward Tyler Scanlon serves as a bit of an x-factor for the Terriers doing a little bit of everything. His passing was on display as he was able to use his height to see over the defense and set his teammates up for six assists. He also poured in 16 points on a diverse offensive game with 3-pointers and drives to the bucket.
Bucknell leads the Patriot League at (10-2) and will face second place Lehigh on Monday night in Sojka Pavilion. Boston University (4-8) will head to West Point to face Army on Wednesday.
This article was written by Noah Molk, a correspondent and scout for NetScouts Basketball. You can follow us on Facebook, or on twitter.
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