Some players go their whole careers without an NCAA tournament appearance.
For Stefan Cvrkalj, he's headed to the dance as a freshman.
Sensational guard CJ McCollum poured in 29 points, and Gabe Knutson made a game-saving block in the dying seconds as the Mountain Hawks (#2 seed) went on the road and defeated Bucknell (#1 seed) 82-77 last night in the Patriot League championship game.
Lehigh led most of the way, leading 41-34 after the first half before a 16-9 Bucknell run to open the second half allowed them to tie it. McCollum answered the call though, as he keyed a 9-0 Lehigh run after that.
Down the stretch, Lehigh held a 78-71 with under 1:00 to play, but sharpshooting CWOSSA grad (St. David '09) Bryson Johnson made two three-pointers in the span of five seconds (the second coming after a Lehigh turnover/offensive foul) --- cutting things down to 1 (78-77) and :38 left.
Johnson fouled Mackey McKnight, who missed two pressure free-throws, which gave Bucknell the chance to hold for the final shot and go for the win. Cameron Ayers' baseline attempt, however, was blocked by Knutson and the Hawks would tack on 4 free-throws in the final seconds for the margin of victory.
"Patriot League champions.....can't get better than this," tweeted Cvrkalj after the game.
Cvrkalj, who saw action in 29 of 33 Lehigh games this year while averaging 2.4 PPG, did not play in the championship final.
Johnson, in his third year at Bucknell, played 20 minutes off the bench and hit 11 points on 3-of-8 shooting (3-for-7 beyond the arc) and 2-for-2 from the line. He also added 2 assists and one steal.
Meanwhile, here's a look at Cvrkalj in action during the Patriot League semifinal, including a key put-back right before halftime (go to 0:58 for that clip):
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