National Basketball Association
BOXSCORE | RECAP
Bucknell 65, Arizona 54
When: 9:00 PM ET, Wednesday, March 14, 2012
Where: McKale Center, Tucson, Arizona
Officials: # Dan Chrisman, # Wilson Holland, # Shawn Lehigh
Attendance: 8433

Bucknell 65, Arizona 54: Mike Muscala had a game-high 20 points and nine rebounds as the visiting Bison upset No. 1 seed Arizona in the first round of the NIT.

Bryson Johnson finished with 14 points, Cameron Ayers had 12 points and 10 rebounds and Joe Willman added 10 points for Bucknell (25-9), which will take on No. 5 seed Nevada in the second round.

Arizona trailed 32-26 at the half and fell behind by as many as 10 midway through the second. But the Wildcats, who fell to 0-4 all-time in the NIT, pulled within 56-54 on Jesse Perry’s free throw with 2:59 left.

Bucknell, however, responded with a pair of Bryan Cohen free throws to stretch the lead to four, and Johnson sealed the victory with a 3-pointer with 52 seconds left.

The Wildcats (23-12) missed four shots and committed a turnover on their final five possessions and didn’t make a field goal over the game’s final 5:54.

Solomon Hill had a team-high 17 points and 10 rebounds for Arizona, which missed the NCAA tournament for the second time in the last three years. Perry added 14 on 5-of-8 shooting.

Bucknell went 18 for 22 from the free throw line and converted 7 of 15 3-point attempts.

GAME NOTEBOOK:
Arizona opened the second half with a 10-0 run to regain the lead, but went scoreless for more than five minutes midway through the second half. … Bucknell reached the 25-win mark for the third time in program history. … The Wildcats fell to 14-4 at home this season. … The Bison, who picked up their first win against a major-conference opponent this season, held a 34-28 advantage in rebounds.
Top Game Performances
 
Bucknell   Arizona
Mike Muscala 20 Scoring Solomon Hill 17
Bryan Cohen 3 Assists Solomon Hill 4
Cameron Ayers 10 Rebounds Solomon Hill 10
Mike Muscala 8 Free Throws Made Solomon Hill 4
Cameron Ayers 2 Steals Solomon Hill 2
Mike Muscala 4 Blocks Angelo Chol 1
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Points FG% 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA Assists Rebounds Blocks Steals Turnovers
Bucknell 65 40.8 7-15 18-22 13 34 4 4 13
Arizona 54 35.4 6-20 14-18 13 28 3 4 12