On Feb. 1, the Bison men’s basketball team fought a tough battle against Boston University, ultimately falling by a score of 77-57. Avi Toomer ’20 led the team’s efforts with 16 points, while Andrew Funk ’22 and Jimmy Sotos ’21 collected 11 and 10 points, respectively. Two days later, the team sought to rebound against the Lafayette Leopards, falling 65-62.

During the game against Boston, the Orange and Blue sought to close the gap in the first half, making four of their last five 3-point attempts. Walter Ellis ’22 brought the score to 39-33 after the final basket of the half.

Coming out of the locker room, hope was reignited when the Bison put together a 10-0 run prompted by Toomer and Bruce Moore ’20. Moore’s fastbreak dunk only brought the team within 19 points.

Despite their best efforts, a strong second half by the Terriers halted any chance of the Bison gaining momentum. Forcing 13 turnovers and going 11-for-14 from the field, the Terriers strode to close out the half.

Looking to rebound from their performance, on Feb. 3 the team once again took the court in Sojka Pavilion to face Lafayette. Playing in a nationally televised game, the Bison fell behind by as many as 15 points in the first half. Going into halftime down 40-27, the team came alive within the first three minutes of the second half, pulling ahead 50-48.

Looking to lead the team, John Meeks ’21, who recently returned from injury, Sotos, and Toomer combined for 25 points in the second half. In a back-and-forth battle, the two teams traded points until the 4:54 mark. From this point on, the Bison went on to miss their final 11 field goals of the game.

Despite some solid stops, in the final moments of the game, three timeouts did not prove to be enough to put together a game-tying play, finishing out the game 65-52.  The Orange and Blue now stand at a 9-15 record overall and 5-6 record in Patriot League play.

“I still am very confident in our chances when the postseason comes because I still think we’re the most talented team in the Patriot League. It’s all mental for all of us right now. The vibe is just a little off right now so now more than ever we really have to come together as a unit,” Ellis said. “If and when that time comes, I like our chances to achieve what we want by the end of the season.”

The Bison will now begin their long streak of away games when they take on Loyola at 5 p.m on Saturday, Feb. 8.