LEWISBURG -- Dave Paulsen's not a yeller, per se. Oh, he gets a little red in the face from time to time, but rarely do you see the Bucknell men's coach really upset on the floor.
Six minutes into Wednesday's Patriot League game against Bucknell, Paulsen was hot and everyone in Sojka Pavilion knew it. Colgate, a team which thrives on the 3-pointer, hit three quick ones in the early going Wednesday and Paulsen was, to say the least, upset. So he called a timeout and lit into his players, loud enough that if most of the 2,416 in attendance didn't know exactly what he said, they knew he was yelling.
Whatever he said, he got his point across. Bucknell limited Colgate to just one 3-pointer in the final 24 minutes and Bucknell topped the Raiders 70-57 to win their 12th consecutive league game.
"It was frustrating because you spend two days preparing and countless hours of film and we were absolutely unequivocal that we were never to go under a handoff or ball-screen and we did three times and they all led to open 3s," said Paulsen. "If we tell them to do something and they counter it, then that's on me. It reflected a lack of focus and a sense of urgency."
Bucknell won its fourth in a row to improve to 12-6 overall, 2-0 in the Patriot League. The Bison now play their next two on the road, heading to Lafayette on Saturday before next Wednesday's showdown at Lehigh. Colgate (6-10, 0-2) dropped its sixth straight.
Bryson Johnson came off the bench to hit five 3s on his way to a game-high 17 points, Mike Muscala, honored for reaching the 1,000-point mark earlier this year, had his eighth double-double with 13 points and 11 boards and Bryan Cohen poured in 13 more to continue his climb toward the 1,000-point plateau as well.
But it wasn't easy. Colgate, which averages a little more than 63 points a game, scored 16 in the first six minutes Wednesday night. Mitch Rolls' second 3 in the early going prompted Paulsen's timeout. The Bison responded with a 10-0 spurt with Cameron Ayers scoring five in the run and Johnson draining his second 3 in the early going. Bucknell never trailed again.
"I don't know what it was, but I know we can't do that," Paulsen said of the lack of focus at the start. "It's not that they're not there, it's that they're a half-step away from challenging a shot. Right from the get-go at Army we had that focus and we need to make that a part of our nature."
With Colgate surrounding and collapsing on Muscala all night, it opened up the lane for Cohen and sophomore point guard Ryan Hill to get inside. Cohen, whose offense has been hit or miss most of the year, hit 6-of-8 shots for 13 points while Hill handed out a career-high eight assists while turning the ball over just twice in a career-high 28 minutes. In the last three games, Hill has 13 assists and just 3 turnovers.
"Things were more open for Ryan and myself in this game with the way (Colgate) was staying with Mike in the paint," said Cohen. "It's been an up-and-down season for me with my offense, but I just have to take it day-by-day. I have to stay aggressive every night whether it's falling or not."
The Raiders hung around for most the game, getting within eight on a jumper by Matt McMullen with nine and half minutes left. But Johnson answered with a 3 at the other end and Bucknell was in control the rest of the way.
