BALTIMORE Mike Muscala recorded 29 points and eight rebounds, and Bucknell locked in on defense after a slow start to run away from Loyola (Md.) 66-46 before a sellout crowd at Reitz Arena on Friday night. The Bison bounced back from just its second loss of the season last Saturday at Princeton, and improved to 12-2 to match the best 14-game start in program history.
Bryson Johnson scored 11 points with five assists and two steals while also holding Loyola scoring leader Dylon Cormier to 5-for-15 shooting. Joe Willman added 10 points and eight rebounds while helping limit standout forward Erik Etherly to one field goal and three points. Cameron Ayers had 10 points, and his mark, Loyola 3-point sharpshooter Robert Olson, did not make a trey and scored six points on 3-for-11 shooting.
Bucknell became only the third team in Patriot League history to win 12 non-league games and avenged last season's 72-67 home loss to the Greyhounds, who will be joining the Patriot League next season. Cormier finished with 13 points to lead Loyola (9-4).
This was a matchup of two teams ranked in the top 25 of the CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Poll Bucknell No. 6 and Loyola No. 20.
"This was a great bounce-back after losing to Princeton on the road and then taking a break for Christmas," said coach Dave Paulsen after the game. "We did remember what happened against Loyola in our gym last year. We said this game would tell us a lot about our makeup and our toughness, and I was proud of the way we responded. We played very unselfishly."
BUCKNELL 66, LOYOLA (MD.) 46
BUCKNELL (12-2)
Willman 5-10 0-0 10, Muscala 13-21 3-4 29, Hill 0-3 0-0 0, Johnson 3-5 4-4 11, Ayers 4-8 2-2 10, Kaspar 0-1 2-2 2, Fitzpatrick 0-1 0-0 0, Frazier 0-1 2-2 2, Hoffman 1-3 0-0 2. Totals 26-53 13-14 66.
LOYOLA (MD.) (9-4)
Latham 3-7 1-2 7, Etherly 1-6 1-2 3, Winbush 2-5 0-0 4, Cormier 5-15 3-3 13, Olson 3-11 0-0 6, Laster 1-2 0-0 3, Rassman 1-1 0-0 2, Jones 3-3 0-2 6, Hubbard 0-2 0-0 0, Brooks 1-4 0-2 2, Wandrusch 0-0 0-0 0, Onyiuke 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 20-56 5-11 46.
Halftime-Bucknell 34-23. 3-Point Goals-Bucknell 1-8 (Johnson 1-3, Willman 0-1, Frazier 0-1, Hill 0-1, Ayers 0-2), Loyola (Md.) 1-12 (Laster 1-1, Etherly 0-1, Winbush 0-2, Cormier 0-2, Hubbard 0-2, Olson 0-4). Fouled Out-None. Rebounds-Bucknell 34 (Muscala, Willman 8), Loyola (Md.) 30 (Winbush 9). Assists-Bucknell 14 (Johnson 5), Loyola (Md.) 8 (Cormier, Etherly, Olson 2). Total Fouls-Bucknell 11, Loyola (Md.) 14. A-2,100.
