The Bison pulled off an impressive win on Sunday, Jan. 30 knocking off Loyola Maryland 82-80 in overtime at Sojka Pavilion. Andrew Funk ’22 scored a game-high 34 points including 27 after halftime while Xander Rice ’23 knocked down four free throws in the final 13 seconds to secure the victory. The win came at the heels of a tough 81-63 loss to Navy at home on Jan. 26. The Bison now sit at 2-8 in Patriot League play and 5-17 overall on the season. 

The game was a back-and-forth affair with 12 ties, 12 lead changes and neither team leading by more than eight at any point during the contest. The Bison held the lead for most of the contest, but Loyola mounted a comeback to take a 69-67 lead with 25 seconds left in regulation. Rice knocked down a go-ahead bucket that seemed like the game-winner on the next Bison possession. However, the Greyhounds got fouled and split a pair of free throws to send the game to overtime. In overtime, the Bison managed to take a 77-74 lead on the back of their stellar defense. Every time the Greyhounds looked like they were about to take the lead back, the Bison got defensive stops and knocked down free throws on the other end. Loyola made a half-court shot at the buzzer to make the final score 82-80, but the Bison still walked away with a victory. 

Funk led the way offensively for the Bison with his third 30-point game of the season. Funk also had one of his best defensive games of the season, holding Loyola’s leading scorer Cam Spencer to only 11 points despite averaging 19.4 coming into the game. Rice made some important free throws late on his way to 14 points and also contributed eight assists and six rebounds. The Bison bench gave them a big lift on the backs of eight points from Alex Timmerman ’23 in 28 minutes and nine points from Malachi Rhodes ’23 in 13 minutes.

The Bison shot 53.2 percent from the field and an impressive 92 percent from the free-throw line in a 23-25 performance. Loyola was able to stay in the game thanks to a 27-0 edge in points off turnovers due to the Bison’s 20 turnovers. The Bison will need to clean up on the turnovers in their upcoming contests.

Earlier in the week, the Bison lost at home against Navy by a score of 81-63. The first half was close with the Midshipman going into halftime up 35-27. The Midshipman were able to pull away early in the second half making their first seven shots of the second half. The Bison were never able to get back into the contest.

Funk finished with a game-high 17 points and moved into 41st place on the all-time Bison scoring leaders. Andre Screen ’24 finished with 15 points, eight rebounds and three blocks in a very well-rounded game. Rice had another good game scoring 10 points and dishing out four assists.

The Bison will be back in action on Feb. 2 as they travel to rivals Colgate. The game will take place at 7 p.m. The Bison will then travel to Easton, Pa.to take on Lafayette on Feb. 5 at 2 p.m.