Bucknell Men’s Basketball kicked off its 2024-25 season with an 85-73 victory over Delaware. This is Bucknell’s first opening game win of the season versus a Division I opponent since the 2019-20 season.

The Bison struggled defensively in the first half, giving up 46 points to the Blue Hens. The Orange and Blue look like a team with a lot of scoring potential this season; of the nine Bison who played in the game, eight scored, and five made at least one three-point basket.

The Bison shot an impressive 52.7 percent from the field and 52.6 percent from three while attempting 19 three-point shots. Bucknell also assisted on 14 of its 29 made field goal attempts.

The defense shut down Delaware in the second half, limiting the Blue Hens to just 27 points to Bucknell’s 48. The Bison held Delaware to 42 percent shooting from the field and 31 percent from three-point range.

Noah Williamson ’26 led the way for the Bison with a double-double of 19 points and 12 rebounds to go along with an assist and a steal. Ian Motta ’25, Josh Bascoe ’25 and Elvin Edmonds IV ’25 also finished with double figures in the scoring column.

The Bison outscored Delaware 38-18 in the paint while out-rebounding the Blue Hens 40-32.

Turnovers were a bit of an issue as Bucknell committed 16 of them, but in the first game of the season, a few more slip-ups than usual can be expected.

Next up, the Bison hit the road to take on Kentucky on Nov. 9 at 4 p.m..