The men’s basketball team was defeated by Bucknell University at home on Saturday by a score of 75-69 after the Leopard’s second-half comeback fell just short. The Leopards then fell to Holy Cross in overtime on Wednesday night.
The game against Bucknell (10-5 Patriot League, 14-14 overall) was the Leopards’ first game at home since their recent victory against Navy, which snapped a 3-game losing streak at Kirby Sports Center. Looking to build on their success at home, the Leopards (5-10 Patriot League, 10-18 overall) grabbed the first significant lead of the game after scores from senior center Justin Vander Baan and sophomore guard Mark Butler were followed by eight straight points from freshman guard Alex Chaikin, including two made 3-pointers, to open up a 14-9 advantage.
Bucknell quickly leveled the game at 14-14, and shortly after, the Leopards received a huge blow when Butler had to leave the game through injury midway through the first half, a loss that Chaikin said had a big impact.
“We definitely have a different team without him,” Chaikin said. “He sets up the offense, facilitates us, gets downhill. We definitely had to adapt.”
The teams would play neck-and-neck for the remainder of the first half, with neither side being able to establish a large lead. Chaikin would continue his scoring as the half progressed, leading the team with 13 points at the half. Ultimately, however, it was the Bison who held a slender advantage at the interval, leading the game 32-30.
The second half started much like the first, with both teams matching each other’s offensive production. Chaikin and freshman guard Caleb Williams both nailed 3-pointers in the opening minutes of the frame to notch the game at 40-40. It was at this point that Bucknell finally blew the game open, rattling off a 22-5 run to open up a massive 62-45 lead.
“I think we just lost a little detail defensively, didn’t communicate as much, didn’t have any urgency,” Chaikin said. “We kind of got stagnant on offense.”
Junior guard Ryan Pettit and senior guard Luka Savicevic both connected on 3-pointers to spark a 13-2 run in response from the Leopards, getting the game back within two possessions at 64-58. However, the Bison kept the Maroon and White at arm’s reach, holding on to a 75-69 win.
The Leopards’ free throw shooting cost them, shooting just 58.1% from the line and leaving 13 points on the table.
“It’s really frustrating,” Chaikin said. “I think we have a lot of guys that can make free throws, so it’s even harder when we know we can make them and we come up a little short.”
Chaikin led the scoring for the Leopards with 23 points, a career-high that saw him win Patriot League Rookie of the Week.
The Leopards continued to struggle on Wednesday at Holy Cross (5-10 Patriot League, 13-15 overall), falling 74-69 in overtime. Both teams were playing with injury and sickness-depleted benches, including Butler, who was still out from his injury on Saturday, and Chaikin, who was inactive with the flu.
The short roster forced several players into bigger roles, including senior guard Luka Savicevic, who is averaging 15.2 minutes per game this season. He tallied 42 on Wednesday.
After a low-scoring first half in which sophomore forward Andrew Phillips notched 13 of the team’s 24 points, the teams traded the lead throughout the second half. Savicevic emphasized the importance of executing plays coming down the stretch.
“In tight games like this, it comes down to details, so we tried our best to put all the potential details on offense,” Savicevic said.
Down one with 15 seconds to play, Vander Baan drew a foul and had a 1-and-1 opportunity from the free throw line. He made the first, tying the game, but missed the second and neither team scored before the buzzer, sending the game to overtime.
However, the Leopards never led during the 5-minute overtime period, and the Crusaders cruised to a crucial Patriot League win, while the Leopards are now 0-7 in single-digit Patriot League games.
“We just need to focus on executing down the stretch and play into our strengths,” Chaikin said.
With only three games remaining in the regular season, the Leopards have dropped to the bottom of the Patriot League and need wins against Army West Point (10-5 Patriot League, 16-11 overall) and Lehigh University (5-10 Patriot League, 10-16 overall) for better seeding going into the tournament.
“The most important thing in the last couple of games is our defense for sure,” Savicevic said.
Grace Sanborn ’25 contributed reporting.
Correction 02/21/25: A previous version of this article stated that the men’s basketball team needs wins in its final regular season games to make the Patriot League tournament. All teams make the tournament.
