Scranton native Gerry McNamara, left, is in his first season as head coach at Siena, leading the Saints to a win over Bucknell on Saturday at Mohegan Arena. Holy Redeemer grad Justice Shoats, right, made his first start for Siena and scored 19 points.
Fred Adams | For Times Leader
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Siena guard Justice Shoats was moved into the starting lineup for the first time on Saturday in the Holy Redeemer grad’s return to Wilkes-Barre.
Fred Adams | For Times Leader
Justice Shoats gestures to the fans holding his arms up in victory after downing Bucknell 71-58 on Saturday.
Fred Adams | For Times Leader
Siena guard Justice Shoats moves the ball against Bucknell in the first half on Saturday.
Fred Adams | For Times Leader
Siena guard Justice Shoats holds the ball as he is double-teamed by Bucknell defenders in the first half.
Fred Adams | For Times Leader
Siena guard Justice Shoats works past Bucknell’s Jayden Williams during the second half.
Fred Adams | For Times Leader
Siena guard Justice Shoats goes up for a bucket in the first half against Bucknell at the Mohegan Arena on Saturday.
Fred Adams | For Times Leader
Siena coach Gerry McNamara cheers along with his team as the Scranton native made his return to the area.
Fred Adams | For Times Leader
WILKES-BARRE TWP. — The Homecoming scenario was a factor in Gerry McNamara’s decision to move Justice Shoats from heavily used sixth man to his first NCAA Division I start Saturday night.
Shoats’ performance was responsible for the Holy Redeemer graduate being on the court for the final buzzer and every second in between.
Major Freeman scored 21 points and Shoats added 19 as Siena defeated Bucknell 71-58 before a crowd of 3,079 in the first Division I men’s basketball game at Mohegan Arena since December of 2005.
Shoats was the only player to go all 40 minutes.
“That’s usually predicated on how the player plays,” said McNamara, the Scranton native, who was the drawing card for the 2005 Syracuse win over Towson and Bishop O’Reilly graduate Tim Crossin. “I never predetermine going into the game.”
McNamara said he knew he needed extra minutes from his reserve big men against Bucknell’s Noah Williamson, but the rest was the result of how well Shoats played.
“As far as minute determination, that’s these guys,” he said. “I just liked the way that (Justice) looked.
“Obviously, he had a little bit of a boost coming home. He was jacked for this. He was incredibly excited to play in front of his people.”
Bucknell coach John Griffin III noted that he has seen the Homecoming excitement backfire and lead to frustrating outings. He was impressed that Shoats did not allow that to happen.
“It was definitely a great night,” Shoats said. “I was excited to see all my friends and family that got here to support me.”
Shoats was sharp right from the start. He grabbed Siena’s first defensive rebound and scored the game’s first points on his team’s second possession.
The points – and most that followed – were scored the same way Shoats did as a Royal whether in three appearances at the arena or in gyms all around the Wyoming Valley Conference.
Shoats scored first on a spinning move in the lane. He mixed drives and pull-up, elbow jumpers into an 8-for-15 shooting effort. Shoats was 3-for-4 from the line and missed his only two 3-point attempts while adding four defensive rebounds, two assists, a steal and a block over a corner 3-point attempt.
“He played like we thought he would,” Griffin said. “He’s a scrappy, gritty guard with a really fearless, attacking approach.
“Forty minutes is impressive.”
Shoats and McNamara, who led Bishop Hannan of Scranton to a PIAA title and was a big part of a Syracuse national title a year later, are both in their first season at Siena. Shoats transferred there after two standout seasons with NCAA Division II Lock Haven.
Freeman had 13 of his points in the second half, taking away the game scoring lead from Shoats in the last two minutes.
Brendan Coyle went 4-for-6 on 3-pointers while adding 14 points for the Saints.
Siena snapped a four-game losing streak to improve to 4-4.
The Saints limited Bucknell 7-footer Williamson to six points and two rebounds after he came in averaging 15.6 points and 7.9 rebounds.
Josh Bascoe had 10 of his team-high 15 points for the Bison (4-5) in the second half when he led a charge that cut an 18-point deficit to eight. He also led the team in rebounds (eight) and assists (three).