Bucknell alum shock Big 5 with The Basketball Tournament upset

The Northeast Region of the Basketball Tournament got underway at Philadelphia University this past weekend as teams made up of Villanova, Temple, La Salle, St. Joe’s and Drexel alumni took the court for a chance at $2 million.

But in a bit of a shock to these respective programs, another Pennsylvania team became one of the biggest upset stories of the tournament and now can hold state bragging rights for at least one summer over the majority of the City 6.

Bucknell’s team named the PA Roadwarriors, located in the little city of Lewisburg, PA, knocked off team SuperNova in a 89-88 thriller back on Saturday.

Charles Lee hit a game-winning layup with 10 seconds left to send the Roadwarriors the regional semifinals. Chris Hass led the Bison alumni with 20 points.

Coach Bryson Johnson before the tournament started said he wanted to prove that Bucknell was “the best school in PA” and beating the program crowned national champions in April was a convincing way to do that.

The squad boasted several NCAA Tournament veterans, like Lee, from the school’s back-to-back Patriot League titles back in the mid 2000s.

It was a gutty performance from team SuperNova in the loss, who was playing with just four men for the final eight minutes of the game after Scottie Reynolds exited with an injury.

North Broad Street Bullies, a team with Temple alumni Khalif Wyatt, Juan Fernandez and Scootie Randall, advanced to the semifinals as well to play Boeheim’s Army, a team of Syracuse alumni.

The winners on Sunday advance to the Super 16, which takes place Thursday through Saturday at Philadelphia University.