2018–19 Bucknell Bison men's basketball team

2018–19 Bucknell Bison men's basketball
2018–19 Bucknell Bison men's basketball
Patriot League regular season co-champion
Conference	Patriot League
Record	21–12 (13–5 Patriot)
Head coach	Nathan Davis (4th season);
Assistant coaches	Paul Harrison; John Griffin; Joe Meehan;
Home arena	Sojka Pavilion
	Seasons ← 2017–18 2019–20 →

2018–19 Patriot League men's basketball standings
v t e	Conf				Overall
Team	W		L	PCT	W		L	PCT
Colgate †	13	–	5	.722	24	–	11	.686
Bucknell	13	–	5	.722	21	–	12	.636
Lehigh	12	–	6	.667	20	–	11	.645
American	9	–	9	.500	15	–	15	.500
Navy	8	–	10	.444	12	–	19	.387
Army	8	–	10	.444	13	–	19	.406
Lafayette	7	–	11	.389	10	–	20	.333
Boston University	7	–	11	.389	15	–	18	.455
Loyola (MD)	7	–	11	.389	11	–	21	.344
Holy Cross	6	–	12	.333	16	–	17	.485

† 2019 Patriot League tournament winner

The 2018–19 Bucknell Bison men's basketball team represented Bucknell University during the 2018–19 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Bison, led by fourth-year head coach Nathan Davis, played their home games at Sojka Pavilion in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania as members of the Patriot League. They finished the season 21–12, 13–5 in Patriot League play, to earn a share of the Patriot League regular season championship. As the No. 2 seed in the Patriot League tournament, they defeated Holy Cross and Lehigh before losing to Colgate in the championship game.^[1] They were not selected for postseason play.

Previous season[edit]

The Bison finished the 2017–18 season 25–10, 16–2 in Patriot League play, to win the Patriot League regular season championship. They defeated Loyola (MD), Boston University and Colgate to win the Patriot League tournament championship. As a result, they received the Patriot League's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament where they lost in the first round to Michigan State.

Offseason[edit]

Departures[edit]

Name	Number	Pos.	Height	Weight	Year	Hometown	Reason for departure
Stephen Brown	2	G	5'11"	160	Senior	Manassas, VA	Graduated
Nana Foulland	20	C	6'10"	235	Senior	Reading, PA	Graduated
Zach Thomas	23	F	6'7"	195	Senior	Ijamsville, MD	Graduated

2018 recruiting class[edit]

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes
Name	Hometown	High school / college	Height	Weight	Commit date
Walter Ellis #72 SG	South Bend, IN	Brewster Academy	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	Apr 8, 2018
Walter Ellis #72 SG	Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN grade: 72
Andrew Funk SG	Warminster, PA	Archbishop Wood High School	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	160 lb (73 kg)	Sep 4, 2017
Andrew Funk SG	Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: N/A 247Sports: ESPN grade: NR
Kahliel Spear SF	The Colony, TX	The Colony High School	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	N/A	Apr 9, 2018
Kahliel Spear SF	Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: NR
Overall recruiting rankings:
Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "2018 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved October 22, 2018.

2019 recruiting class[edit]

US college sports recruiting information for 2019 recruits
Name	Hometown	High school / college	Height	Weight	Commit date
Alex Rice #53 PG	Jersey City, NJ	The Patrick School	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	N/A	Sep 12, 2018
Alex Rice #53 PG	Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: NR
Malachi Rhodes PF	McDonough, GA	Wheeler High School	6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)	180 lb (82 kg)	Sep 19, 2018
Malachi Rhodes PF	Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: NR
Jake van der Heijden PF	Raleigh, NC	Ravenscroft School	6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)	205 lb (93 kg)	May 2, 2018
Jake van der Heijden PF	Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: NR
Alex Timmerman C	Crystal Lake, IL	Crystal Lake Central High School	6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)	250 lb (110 kg)	Apr 24, 2018
Alex Timmerman C	Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: NR
Overall recruiting rankings:
Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "2019 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved October 22, 2017.

Roster[edit]

2018–19 Bucknell Bison men's basketball team

Players

Coaches

Pos.	#	Name	Height	Weight	Year	Previous school	Hometown
C	0	Paul Newman	6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)	234 lb (106 kg)	Sr	St. Andrews School	Philadelphia, PA
G	1	Kimbal Mackenzie	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	160 lb (73 kg)	Sr	John Carroll	Oakville, ON
F	2	Walter Ellis	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	187 lb (85 kg)	Fr	Brewster Academy	Granger, IN
G	3	Jimmy Sotos	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	192 lb (87 kg)	So	Conant	Elk Grove Village, IL
F/C	4	Nate Sestina	6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)	245 lb (111 kg)	Sr	Cameron County	Emporium, PA
G	5	Jordan Sechan (W)	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)	170 lb (77 kg)	So	Northfield Mount Hermon	New Canaan, CT
G	10	Andrew Funk	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	180 lb (82 kg)	Fr	Archbishop Wood	Warrington, PA
G	11	Avi Toomer	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	192 lb (87 kg)	Jr	Grady	Atlanta, GA
F	12	John Meeks	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	225 lb (102 kg)	So	The Burlington School	Burlington, NC
F	13	Bruce Moore	6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)	223 lb (101 kg)	Jr	McDonogh	Randallstown, MD
G	14	Ben Robinson	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	200 lb (91 kg)	Jr	High Point Christian	High Point, NC
G	15	Nate Jones	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	209 lb (95 kg)	Sr	Radford	Radford, VA
G	22	Matt O'Reilly	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	195 lb (88 kg)	Sr	Prolific Prep Academy	Moraga, CA
F	23	Kahliel Spear	6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)	180 lb (82 kg)	Fr	The Colony	The Colony, TX

Head coach

Nathan Davis (Randolph–Macon)

Assistant coach(es)

Paul Harrison (Washington and Lee)
John Griffin (Bucknell)
Joe Meehan (Lebanon Valley)

Legend

(C) Team captain
(S) Suspended
(I) Ineligible
(W) Walk-on

Injured
Current redshirt

Roster
Last update: June 3, 2024

Schedule and results[edit]

Date time, TV	Rank^#	Opponent^#	Result	Record	Site (attendance) city, state
Non-conference regular season
November 7, 2018* 7:00 p.m.		at St. Bonaventure	W 88–85 ^OT	1–0	Reilly Center (4,668) Olean, NY
November 10, 2018* 7:00 p.m.		Fairfield	L 58–60	1–1	Sojka Pavilion (3,183) Lewisburg, PA
November 13, 2018* 7:00 p.m., WQMY		Canisius	L 73–82	1–2	Sojka Pavilion (2,237) Lewisburg, PA
November 25, 2018* 2:00 p.m.		at Vermont	W 69–61	2–2	Patrick Gym (2,446) Burlington, VT
November 28, 2018* 7:00 p.m.		Northeastern	L 78–96	2–3	Sojka Pavilion (2,121) Lewisburg, PA
December 1, 2018* 7:00 p.m., Stadium		Monmouth	W 65–43	3–3	Sojka Pavilion (2,579) Lewisburg, PA
December 4, 2018* 7:00 p.m.		at La Salle	W 92–79	4–3	Tom Gola Arena (1,321) Philadelphia, PA
December 15, 2018* 12:00 p.m., BTN		at No. 15 Ohio State	L 71–73	4–4	Value City Arena (14,241) Columbus, OH
December 19, 2018* 10:00 p.m.		at Saint Mary's	L 56–85	4–5	McKeon Pavilion (2,622) Moraga, CA
December 22, 2018* 10:00 p.m., ESPN3		vs. Rhode Island Diamond Head Classic quarterfinals	W 84–82	5–5	Stan Sheriff Center Honolulu, HI
December 23, 2018* 10:00 p.m., ESPN2		vs. TCU Diamond Head Classic semifinals	L 65–82	5–6	Stan Sheriff Center Honolulu, HI
December 25, 2018* 6:30 p.m., ESPNU		vs. UNLV Diamond Head Classic third-place game	W 97–72	6–6	Stan Sheriff Center Honolulu, HI
Patriot League regular season
January 2, 2019 7:00 p.m., Stadium		at Army	W 64–63	7–6 (1–0)	Christl Arena (958) West Point, NY
January 5, 2019 1:00 p.m., Stadium		at Boston University	L 80–87	7–7 (1–1)	Case Gym (841) Boston, MA
January 9, 2019 7:00 p.m.		Colgate	W 84–81	8–7 (2–1)	Sojka Pavilion (2,788) Lewisburg, PA
January 12, 2019 12:00 p.m.		American	W 55–54	9–7 (3–1)	Sojka Pavilion (3,092) Lewisburg, PA
January 14, 2019 7:00 p.m., CBSSN		Holy Cross	W 93–78	10–7 (4–1)	Sojka Pavilion (2,514) Lewisburg, PA
January 19, 2019 12:00 p.m.		at Lehigh	W 85–83	11–7 (5–1)	Stabler Arena (1,558) Bethlehem, PA
January 23, 2019 7:00 p.m.		Loyola (MD)	W 71–68	12–7 (6–1)	Sojka Pavilion (2,243) Lewisburg, PA
January 26, 2019 4:00 p.m.		at American	L 68–76	12–8 (6–2)	Bender Arena (1,172) Washington, D.C.
January 30, 2019 7:00 p.m.		Navy	W 69–57	13–8 (7–2)	Sojka Pavilion (2,154) Lewisburg, PA
February 2, 2019 2:00 p.m.		at Lafayette	W 94–66	14–8 (8–2)	Kirby Sports Center (1,487) Easton, PA
February 6, 2019 7:00 p.m.		at Loyola (MD)	W 84–72	15–8 (9–2)	Reitz Arena (730) Baltimore, MD
February 9, 2019 12:00 p.m., WQMY		Boston University	W 82–76	16–8 (10–2)	Sojka Pavilion (3,052) Lewisburg, PA
February 11, 2019 7:00 p.m., CBSSN		Lehigh	W 87–75	17–8 (11–2)	Sojka Pavilion (2,793) Lewisburg, PA
February 16, 2019 7:00 p.m.		at Holy Cross	L 71–72	17–9 (11–3)	Hart Center (1,564) Worcester, MA
February 19, 2019 7:00 p.m., Stadium		at Colgate	L 64–75	17–10 (11–4)	Cotterell Court (643) Hamilton, NY
February 24, 2019 2:00 p.m., WQMY		Lafayette	W 118–76	18–10 (12–4)	Sojka Pavilion (2,968) Lewisburg, PA
February 27, 2019 7:00 p.m.		at Navy	L 53–64	18–11 (12–5)	Alumni Hall (1,822) Annapolis, MD
March 2, 2019 12:00 p.m.		Army	W 62–61	19–11 (13–5)	Sojka Pavilion (2,982) Lewisburg, PA
Patriot League tournament
March 7, 2019 7:00 p.m.	(2)	(10) Holy Cross Quarterfinals	W 77–65	20–11	Sojka Pavilion (2,107) Lewisburg, PA
March 10, 2019 2:00 p.m., CBSSN	(2)	(3) Lehigh Semifinals	W 97–75	21–11	Sojka Pavilion (2,718) Lewisburg, PA
March 13, 2019 7:30 p.m., CBSSN	(2)	(1) Colgate Championship	L 80–94	21–12	Cotterell Court Hamilton, NY
*Non-conference game. ^#Rankings from AP poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Eastern.

Source:^[2]

References[edit]

^ "Patriot League men's basketball tournament: Colgate beats Bucknell 94-80 for title". Los Angeles Times. March 14, 2019. Retrieved October 10, 2019.
^ "Men's Basketball – Schedule – BucknellBison.com – The Official Site of Bucknell Bison Athletics". bucknellbison.com. Retrieved June 3, 2024.

[1] "Patriot League men's basketball tournament: Colgate beats Bucknell 94-80 for title". Los Angeles Times. March 14, 2019. Retrieved October 10, 2019.

[2] "Men's Basketball – Schedule – BucknellBison.com – The Official Site of Bucknell Bison Athletics". bucknellbison.com. Retrieved June 3, 2024.

[1]

[2]

v t e Bucknell Bison men's basketball
Venues	Tustin Gymnasium (1895–1938) Davis Gym (1938–2003) Sojka Pavilion (2003–present)
Culture & lore	"Ray Bucknell"
People	Head coaches Statistical leaders
Seasons	List of seasons 1895–96 1896–97 1897–98 1898–99 1899–1900 1900–01 1901–02 1902–03 1903–04 1904–05 1905–06 1906–07 1907–08 1908–09 1909–10 1910–11 1911–12 1912–13 1913–14 1914–15 1915–16 1916–17 1917–18 1918–19 1919–20 1920–21 1921–22 1922–23 1923–24 1924–25 1925–26 1926–27 1927–28 1928–29 1929–30 1930–31 1931–32 1932–33 1933–34 1934–35 1935–36 1936–37 1937–38 1938–39 1939–40 1940–41 1941–42 1942–43 1943–44 1944–45 1945–46 1946–47 1947–48 1948–49 1949–50 1950–51 1951–52 1952–53 1953–54 1954–55 1955–56 1956–57 1957–58 1958–59 1959–60 1960–61 1961–62 1962–63 1963–64 1964–65 1965–66 1966–67 1967–68 1968–69 1969–70 1970–71 1971–72 1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20 2020–21 2021–22 2022–23 2023–24 2024–25
Premo-Porretta national championship in bold