On Saturday, January 20, Bucknell Men’s Basketball traveled to Easton, PA to take on Lafayette. The Bison were up for most of the game, but unfortunately, it slipped away in overtime, resulting in a loss of 75-72.
This game was the fifth overtime meeting in the last six games between Bucknell and Lafayette.
Bucknell played without starting guard Josh Bascoe ’25 due to an injury, however, Brandon McCreesh ’27 stepped up and filled the gap with a career-high 10 points with perfect shooting (3-3 FG, 2-2 3FG, 2-2 FT). Additionally, Elvin Edmonds IV ’25 contributed 13 points and the Bison looked for Jack Forrest ’24 throughout the game as he is currently the Patriot League scoring leader.
Forrest achieved a big milestone on Saturday as he recorded his 1000th career point. Noah Williamson ‘26 also finished with 23 points and 16 rebounds in the loss.
To start the game, the Bison came out firing with a 16-3 advantage and kept a 36-23 lead heading into halftime. Early in the second half, the Bison pulled ahead by 16 points. However, the lead didn’t last and Lafayette narrowed the gap.
With 20.4 seconds left in regulation, McCreesh had two clutch free throws to give Bucknell a 64-59 lead after Lafayette drove to the basket to make it a one-possession game. With 4.6 seconds remaining, Lafayette sank a 3-pointer to tie the game.
Only seconds were left on the clock when the Bison called a timeout in the frontcourt. Once resuming, Bucknell tried to get the ball to Williamson, but it was broken up and time expired, forcing overtime.
Forrest opened the OT scoring with a free throw that earned him his 1000th point. Following up was Edmonds with a 3-pointer from the right side to make it 68-64. After Lafayette scored on the Bison, Williamson and Forrest tallied back-to-back buckets for a 72-66 lead with 2:22 to go.
Sadly, those were Bucknell’s last points for the game and Lafayette took over clinching a 75-72 victory.
At the end of this week, the Bison now have a 3-3 record in the Patriot League.
On Saturday, Jan. 27 the Bison head to West Point, N.Y. to face off against Army.
