Bucknell beats American 64-59 in Patriot League quarterfinal

WASHINGTON (AP) — Avi Toomer scored 18 points and No. 7 seed Bucknell pulled away with a 6-1 surge in the final minute to beat second-seeded American 64-59 on Thursday night in a Patriot League quarterfinal.

Bucknell (14-19) will play in a Sunday semifinal at third-seeded Boston University (19-13), which swept the Bison in the regular season.

Toomer was 6 of 9 from the floor and made three 3-pointers. Paul Newman added 12 points and John Meeks had 10 for Bucknell.

Sa’eed Nelson scored 22 points to lead American (16-14). Jamir Harris added 15 points.

Meeks hit a jumper with 1:01 remaining to give the Bison a two-point lead. American had a turnover on its next possession, and Bucknell made it 62-58 with 18.7 seconds to go when Jimmy Sotos drove the lane, dribbled the ball behind his back that tripped up a defender and finished with a left-handed layup.

Toomer capped the scoring with a pair of free throws with nine seconds left.