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Bison roll to a rout over Loyola

LEWISBURG — Bucknell’s Stephen Brown scored 20 points, Zach Thomas had 12 points and 12 rebounds and Bucknell routed Loyola, 94-53, on Wednesday night to clinch the Patriot League regular season title.

Bucknell (19-9, 13-2) has won 12 of its last 13 games, including six straight at home, and will be the top seed into the league tournament for the seventh time in the last eight seasons. The Bison have a four-game lead over Colgate after the Raiders lost to Lehigh at home Wednesday, and Navy with three games remaining.

The senior class led the way on a night when they made history. Aside from Brown and Thomas, Nana Foulland added 15 points, eight rebounds and three assists.

Bucknell also outrebounded the Greyhounds, 51-33.

Isaiah Hart scored 12 points and Andrew Kostecka 10 for Loyola (8-18, 6-9), which has lost four of its last five games.

It was also a big night for the Bison reserves. Backup center Nate Sestina achieved career highs in both scoring (18) and blocked shots (3) in 17 minutes off the bench.

“This was probably our most complete game of the year,” said coach Nathan Davis. “We came out with intensity and maintained it offensively and defensively for 40 minutes. First and foremost, I want to congratulate the seniors on a great accomplishment. Winning four straight regular-season titles has never been done before, and it really speaks to the impact they have had on this program on and off the floor for the last four years. They obviously have a lot more that they want to accomplish here moving forward, but tonight is a good night to pause for a moment and appreciate what these guys have done.”

The Bison trailed for just one possession at 3-2 and led 20-9 after Brown’s 3-pointer at the 10:36 mark. Bucknell led by as many as 14 in a foul-infested first half, but Loyola was able to cut it to five at 33-28 on two free throws by Cam Gregory.

Foulland powered his way to the rim to end Bucknell’s brief drought, then Jones hit a 3-pointer, Kimbal Mackenzie took a charge, and Brown hit a tough runner in the lane to restore the lead to 13 at 42-29.

The Bison will be the No. 1 seed in the tourney for the ninth time. They are 103-26 against league opponents since 2010-11.

At 13-2 in Patriot League play, Bucknell now has a four-game lead over Navy and Colgate with three games to go. Lehigh and Boston University are tied for fourth at 8-7, with Holy Cross moving up to sixth at 7-8.

The Bison will next play at Holy Cross on Saturday at noon.

Bucknell 94, Loyola 54

Loyola (8-18, 6-9 Patriot League)

Cam Gregory 1-5 2-6 4; Isaiah Hart 4-8 4-8 12; Andre Walker 2-3 1-2 7; Andrew Kostecka 4-9 2-6 10; Chuck Champion 3-11 2-2 9; KaVaughn Scott 0-1 1-3 1; Luke Johnson 0-2 0-0 0; Nevell Provo 1-3 0-0 2; River Reed 0-0 0-0 0; Sam Norton 3-5 0-0 7; Brent Holcombe 0-4 1-2 1; Ian Langendoerf 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 18-63 13-29 53.

Bucknell (19-9, 13-2 Patriot League)

Zach Thomas 4-7 4-4 12; Nana Foulland 5-7 5-10 15; Kimbal Mackenzie 2-6 4-4 9; Stephen Brown 7-11 4-5 20; Avi Toomer 0-1 2-2 2; Paul Newman 2-3 1-2 5; Jimmy Sotos 0-1 2-2 2; Nate Sestina 7-9 2-5 18; Jordan Sechan 0-0 0-0 0; John Meeks 1-1 0-0 2; Bruce Moore 0-5 1-2 1; Ben Robertson 1-3 0-0 2; Nate Johnes 2-4 0-0 6. Totals 31-58 25-36 94.

Halftime: Bucknell, 44-31. 3-point goals: Loyola 4-16 (Walker 2-6, Champion 1-3, Norton 1-2, Kostecka 0-1, Holcombe 0-1, Langendoerfer 0-1, Provo 0-2), Bucknell 7-20 (Brown 2-5, Sestina 2-3, Jones 2-4, Mackenzie 1-3, Toomer 0-1, Moore 0-2, Robertson 0-2). Fouled out: Loyola-none-Bucknell-none. Rebounds: Loyola 33 (Gregory 11), Bucknell 51 (Thomas 12). Assists: Loyola 9 (Hart 4), Bucknell 18 (Thomas 3, Foulland 3, Mackenzie 3). Total fouls: Loyola 26, Bucknell 23. Technical fouls: Loyola-Hart; Bucknell-Toomer. A: 2,208.

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