WASHINGTON -- Nana Foulland and Zach Thomas combined for 36 points as Bucknell swamped American 80-61 on Saturday afternoon in preparation for the Patriot League Tournament which begins Tuesday.

Bucknell (22-9, 16-2) which has already secured the Patriot League regular season championship, will play its first game on Thursday after receiving a first-round bye. The Bison, who have won five straight after seeing a 10-game win streak halted by Lehigh, became the first team in league history to win 16 conference games in a season.

Bucknell closed the first half on a 22-6 run to take a 38-22 lead into the break. The Bison took control underneath with a 22-6 advantage on the boards in the initial period. They pushed their lead to 49-29 with 16:38 remaining in the game before American rallied to close within 51-39. Foulland hit a jump shot to switch the momentum and the Bison took a 70-49 lead with 5:58 left.

Foulland was 7 of 9 from the floor and made 6 of 11 from the free throw line for 20 points. Thomas was 5 of 9 from the floor to total 16 points with Stephen Brown adding 10.

Sam Iorio had 17 points to lead American (6-23, 3-15), which will have the last spot, the No. 10 seed, in the tournament.