WORCESTER, Mass. – It hasn’t been a storybook season for Bucknell by a long shot. A lot of things have been thrown at the Bison, starting with the retirement of coach Pat Flannery last April, then the September injury of guard Stephen Tyree that meant missing this season, to go along with being a younger team. They have the record as a battle scar as well, as they entered Saturday’s matchup with arch-rival Holy Cross at 5-19 overall and 2-8 in the Patriot League.
It’s an oft-repeated cliché that when arch-rivals meet, the records get thrown out and all the statistics in the world don’t matter. The Bison proved that once again on Saturday as they came away with a 72-66 win over Holy Cross, which had been in a tie atop the Patriot League.
“It’s really gratifying because I don’t know of too many 5-19 teams that would practice the way that these guys have practiced,” said first-year head coach Dave Paulsen. “They have really worked so hard, have such good attitudes and have been so resilient, and they need to be rewarded.”
Symbolic of the Bison continuing to battle through a tough season was the game MVP, G.W. Boon. The sophomore wing missed two weeks of early practice with a shoulder injury, and was slow to get going once the season started as was 5-19 from the field in the first four games, including 1-11 from long range. He broke out of it right away in the fifth game, scoring a career-high 24 points against Wagner. That got him a promotion to the starting lineup, where he has been for much of Patriot League play.
Boon had a streak of seven straight games in double figures for much of January, but came into Saturday’s game with five straight in single digits. Paulsen said Boon continued to go to work in practice all along, and it was rewarded on Saturday. Boon scored 16 points on 6-11 shooting, including 4-7 from long range. He helped the Bison start the second half strong, as he made three straight three-pointers to cap off a 14-0 run that gave them the lead for good.
“It feels good to get out of that slump,” Boon said after the game. “The coaches have been talking to me and encouraging me to keep shooting and stay aggressive.”
The other player who had a big hand in that run was Darryl Shazier, a major reason the team hasn’t gone into the tank. Shazier has grown up at the point guard spot after showing promise there last season, and has shown no signs of a sophomore jinx. He had 17 points, six assists and just one turnover in Saturday’s win, and aside from the points it was just another day at the office. He leads the Patriot League in assists and assist/turnover ratio, but has been particularly impressive in league games as both numbers have jumped up.
“He’s really gotten better from the day he got back on campus this year,” said junior forward Patrick Behan, the team’s leading scorer and rebounder.
Behan has anchored a smaller frontcourt this season. He’s the leader of a balanced attack, and wasn’t among the game’s top scorers on Saturday until the final minutes. In the final 45 seconds, he made eight straight free throws before missing the last two with three seconds left, finishing with a game-high 23 points to go with eight rebounds.
The other big bright spot for this team has been the contributions of freshmen. Boon and Behan both spoke highly of them, from wing Bryan Cohen to reserve post players Ryan Ebner and Enoch Andoh. Cohen is second on the team in scoring and has won two league Rookie of the Week honors, a category dominated this season by one of his opposite numbers, Holy Cross guard R.J. Evans.
“The freshmen have come in and stepped up for their first year, and it’s really nice to have three or four of them coming in off the bench and some even starting,” said Boon. “It’s really a big boost for our team.”
Boon said that Tyree, the Patriot League Defensive Player of the Year last season, is still the team’s leader despite not playing this season. He hasn’t missed a practice or workout, often simply being a presence there, so it’s as if they’ve had him in every way except come game time. While they would surely love to have him then as well, his continued presence has helped.
“Nobody can replace Stephen Tyree, he was the leader of the team in the preseason, he still is now and he will be next year,” said Boon. “He’s our leader, I love him to death. He’s my brother.”
At times, it was easy to see why the Bison came into Saturday’s game at 5-19 overall and 2-8 in the Patriot League. They had 16 turnovers and were certainly sloppy at times. They made some of the plays that Bison teams in past years would never make. Still, they kept working, like they have all season long.
“You may look at the record and think this team isn’t doing many things, but every day in practice we’re going at it,” said Behan. “We’re looking at the next game, we’re not sulking and we’re trying to get better every day.”
It’s been hard to find rewards on the bottom line, and there’s only so much comfort to be taken in losing close games. The Bison have lost nine games by 11 or more points, including four by at least 20, but they’ve also been in ten games decided by five points or less. Their record is 3-7 in those games, including a 1-4 mark in Patriot League play. There’s a positive in being in most of the games, but losing them adds up.
That just makes Saturday’s win all the better. That it came on the road against their arch-rival only helps a little more.
