BALTIMORE – Bucknell University made two free throws with 18 seconds left Wednesday night, and the Bison held off two Loyola University Maryland 3-point attempts to take a 70-67 Patriot League win in Reitz Arena.
Achile Spadone made the free throws to give Bucknell a three-point lead, and Loyola had one more possession to tie and force overtime.
The first of two threes went off the rim and out of bounds, last touched by Bucknell (16-14 overall, 12-5 Patriot League). The Greyhounds had six seconds to shoot a final shot, but it was blocked by Noah Williamson to seal the Bison win.
Loyola (11-17, 6-11) built a 24-9 lead 8:36 into the game when
Veljko Ilic grabbed an offensive rebound and dished to
David Brown III for a layup that gave the Greyhounds a 15-point lead.
Bucknell went on a 10-0 run after that, drawing within five with 8:00 to go in the first half on an Elvin Edmonds IV layup, but Loyola stretched the lead back to 15, 38-23, at 4:09 on a
Jordan Stiemke three that followed his steal on the defensive end.
Loyola scored just two more in the first half, and Bucknell was within three, 40-37, at halftime.
The second half then featured seven lead changes and five tie scores as neither team led by more than four points.
Milos Ilic, who had a game-high 21 points on 9 of 15 from the field, scored with 3:02 remaining in regulation, and it was a tie game at 64-64.
Edmonds gave Bucknell the lead on the next Bison possession, and a minute later, Williamson scored off the glass to push the Bison advantage to three, 68-65, with 1:59 on the clock.
Jacob Theodosiou drove the left side and finished at the rim to pull Loyola within a point, 68-67, at 1:38. Both teams had a pair of empty possessions after that before Spadone's two free throws were the final points.
Theodosiou scored 17 points, and Stiemke added 10 for Loyola. All five Bucknell starters scored in double figures, led by Williamson's 15.
Loyola will be on the road Saturday, March 1, to close the regular season at Navy. With a win in that game, or a Holy Cross loss to the Bison on Saturday, Loyola will host a Patriot League Championships First Round Game on Tuesday, March 4.
