AU has lost three straight to Bucknell
Since Vlad Moldoveanu began playing at American last year, the Eagles have beaten every team in the Patriot League at least twice, with one exception.
On Wednesday night, when AU (16-7, 6-2) travels to Bucknell (16-8, 7-1), the Eagles will try to earn their first victory over the Bison since 2009 and pull into a tie for first place in the conference.
Recommended Stories
“I think they just match up really well with us,” Moldoveanu said. “They’re built the same way. There are lots of similarities.”
One of those is the best player on each team. With their ability to score inside and out, the 6-foot-9 Moldoveanu (20 ppg, 6.2 rpg) poses a similar threat to 6-10 Bucknell sophomore Mike Muscala (15.5 ppg, 7.5).
| Up next |
| American at Bucknell |
| When » Wednesday, 7 p.m. |
| Where » Sojka Pavilion, Lewisburg, Pa. |
One difference, however, came last month in a 75-60 Bucknell win at Bender Arena. While Moldoveanu was held to a season-low seven points, Muscala produced a career-high 33 to go along with his 10 rebounds and five blocks.
“He’s not a lumbering big man,” American coach Jeff Jones said. “He can move his feet, both offensively and defensively. He does a great job defending at the basket. Offensively he mixes up very well.”
Because of his skill set and the low-post presence of American junior Stephen Lumpkins (12.8 ppg, 7.9 rpg), Moldoveanu gravitates more toward the perimeter than Muscala. This allows Bucknell to use 6-foot-3 junior Bryan Cohen, the reigning Patriot League defensive player of the year, to guard Moldoveanu.
The strategy has worked well. In three games against the Bison, Moldoveanu has hit 10 of 35 shots and averaged 9.3 points. In games against the Patriot League’s top three scorers this season — Moldoveanu, Navy’s Jordan Sugars, and Lehigh’s C.J. McCollum — Cohen has harassed them into 13-for-50 shooting.
“He takes a lot of pride in guarding and defending,” Moldoveanu said. “But nothing they do is different against me than other teams. Bucknell does a great job playing team defense.”
With Bucknell paying extra attention to Moldoveanu, it’s up to the rest of the Eagles to produce, Jones said. In the three losses, American has hit just 38.9 percent from the floor and 29.6 from beyond the arc.
“Cohen is an excellent defender. But they’re guarding Vlad with two or three guys around him. It’s not as if Cohen is shutting him down on his own,” Jones said. “Other people will have to step up and make shots. Then Bucknell will have a decision to make — to leave Vlad without as much attention, or stick to their guns.”
