Silence traveled throughout Webster Bank Arena as the Bisons of Bucknell University took the Fairfield Stags to overtime and left with a victory. Bucknell defeated Fairfield 72-66, led by guard Chris Haas who had 18 points, six of which came in overtime.
In this game, Bucknell had three separate scorers who scored in double digits. Sophomore K.J. Rose broke out with 26 points, and was perfect from beyond the arc.
“We definitely need a couple of guys to step up, and K.J. was aggressive,” said Head Coach Sydney Johnson. “We need more of a balanced attack. We’re really just trying to get the right core guys.”
The Bisons came out hot, shooting the ball well. They were fighting to the basket through heavy defense, getting to the free throw line easily. Bucknell led Fairfield by seven, with a score of 13-6 in the opening minutes.
Bucknell held the lead until Rose started knocking down shots, as he scored seven straight to bring the game to a one-point margin. After patient offense and great defense by the Stags, they gained the lead and finished the half leading 24-18. The Stags were able to knock down open shots.
By the end of the half, the Bisons had committed eight fouls. The Stags did a great job of contesting shots as the Bisons were struggling from the field. The Stags were aggressive on the defensive end having eight blocks, five from Malcolm Gilbert ‘15 in the first half. Rose ended the half leading all scorers with 13.
The Stags came out the second half with the same mentality as in the first. Defense was the main focus, as they made it their duty to be near the ball wherever it went. Malcolm Gilbert and Coleman Johnson ‘16 led the defense for the Stags as they manned the paint, preventing the opposing team to get close to the rim.
The offense continued to move the ball, as everybody was contributing by knocking down shots. Johnson, along with Rose and Malcolm Gilbert, were big for the offense as they each added points for the Stags. Slowly, the Bisons were making their way back into the game, driving their way to the free-throw line. The Stags began to slow down and had a change in tempo, leaving them struggling and vulnerable to be taken advantage of by Bucknell.
With less than two minutes left in the game, Haas knocked down a tough contested three-pointer to tie the game at 47. With 1:21 remaining in the game, both teams turned up the intensity on defense. No team was able to score and the game needed extra time.
“Everything went down defensively, we gave open shots,” said Rose. “It went to our offense and we started struggling and getting frustrated on defense, but those are small things we can fix.”
Overtime belonged to Bucknell as they continued to knock down jumpers. They took the lead and never looked back after consecutive clutch shots. The Stags were forced to foul, but Bucknell was able to knock down all of their free throws.
After many attempts in the closing minutes to succeed on a foul and shoot strategy, the Stags had been defeated. Bucknell fought back to win in overtime and gave the Stags their fifth loss.
“There’s a lot of basketball to be played and I think we learned from this one,” said Johnson. “No one’s going to bail us out. We’ve got to bail ourselves out.”
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