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HAMILTON – Colgate Basketball did something it hasn't done since the 1998-99 season – start 2-0 in Patriot League play.
 
The Raiders made it two straight victories after defeating Bucknell here Saturday afternoon 68-62, another feat they haven't done in a while. The last Colgate win over the Bison came during the 2008-09 season when the Raiders recorded a 68-57 regular season victory at home.
 
The win didn't come without some adversity, however, as the Raiders found themselves down by 13 points at the break. A 12-0 run to start the second 20 minutes though erased any Bison lead they had built.
 
Colgate continued to fight and took its first edge of the game with 13 minute remaining when senior Pat Moore drained a 3-pointer. The Bison would take back the lead by one a few minutes later but a back-and forth contest would give fans a tie game at 58-all with three minutes and 42 seconds left to play.
 
Four straight points then from the Raiders would give Colgate the lead it would need as senior Damon Sherman-Newsome iced the game after hitting all six of his final free throw attempts.
 
The Anchorage, Alaska, native finished the contest with a game-high 24 points from 6-of-11 shooting from the floor. He added 2-of-3 makes from behind the arc to go along with his 10-for-12 shooting from the free throw line.
 
Austin Tillotson and Ethan Jacobs both chipped in double-figures with 12 and 11 points, respectively.
 
Matt McMullen was tied for a game-high eight boards to lead the Raiders on the glass, while Tillotson handed out a game-high six helpers in the contest.
 
The Raiders are back on home court Wednesday when they host Holy Cross on Cotterell Court at 7 p.m.

Bottom Line
• Colgate 68, Bucknell 62
 
Won-Lost Records
• Colgate improves to 5-10 overall and 2-0 in Patriot League play
• Bucknell dips to 6-9 and 1-1, respectively
 
Facts & Figures
• Sherman-Newsome led all scorers in the game with 24 points.
• He went 6-for-11 from the floor, 2-for-3 from downtown and a season-best 10-for-12 from the charity stripe. The senior added five boards and two assists during his 34 minutes of action.  
• Two other Raider players reached double-figures in Tillotson and Jacobs with 12 and 11 points, respectively. Tillotson added a game-high six helpers in the contest, while Jacobs grabbed five rebounds.
• McMullen was solid on the boards for Colgate pulling down a team-high eight rebounds to match his season-best.
• Overall both teams shot around the same from the floor with Colgate finishing hitting 22 of its 49 shots (44.9%) and Bucknell 24 of its 54 attempts (44.4%).
• From long, Colgate held the edge matching its season-high 11 makes from behind the arc to finish the game shooting 47.8 percent from 3-point range.
• Seven players contributed to Colgate's hot shooting from long, with Jacobs knocking down a team-best three.
• The Raiders scored their second-fewest points during a half in the opening period of play, but Colgate exploded for 48 points in the second half to tie its best-scoring period of the season.
• Colgate held the edge on assists at 15-14, while committing just six turnovers, which was a season-low for the Raiders.
• Colgate converted 16 points from inside the paint and scored nine points off of second chance opportunities. The Bison recorded 30 of their final 62 points from inside the paint, while adding 13 points on second chance attempts. Bucknell's bench also outscored the Raiders 26-13.   
• Bucknell saw rookie Nana Foulland post a team-high 17 points after going 7-for-11 from the floor and 3-for-4 from the free throw line. Three other Bison players reached double-digits in J.C. Show (15 points), John Azzinaro (12 points), and Cory Starkey (10 points). Show added 5-of-8 makes from behind the arc, which was a game-high.
• The Bison saw Chris Hass and Starkey lead them on the boards with eight rebounds each, with Hass adding a team-best four helpers.
• The game saw three tie scores to go along with its five lead changes.
• Colgate's largest lead of the game came with a little less than six minutes to play after Tillotson converted on a layup to make the score 58-50. The Bison had their largest edge of the game at 13 heading into halftime.
• The Raiders had the lead for 14 minutes and 44 seconds, while the Bison held the edge for 22:28. The game was tied for 2:48.

Game Recap
• Bucknell quickly jumped out to a 13-6 lead 12 minutes into the game following consecutive treys.  
• The Bison extended its lead to 10 points before they finished the half on a 9-6 run to take a 13-point edge into the break.  
• During the opening period, Colgate was shooting just 29.2 percent from the floor and 30.8 percent from long compared to the Bisons' 50 percent, respectively.  
• Despite the large deficit, Colgate responded immediately out of halftime, scoring the opening 12 points of the second half. Two 3-pointers from Jacobs sparked Colgate's rally.
• That run also pulled the Raiders to within one and then Moore's lone trey of the game lifted Colgate to its first lead of the contest with 13 minutes left to play.
• The Raiders would hold the advantage until a 3-pointer from Show tied the game at 58-all with less than four minutes to go.
• Four straight points though from Colgate would give the Raiders the final edge it would need as Sherman-Newsome's 6-for-6 from the free throw line down the stretch iced the game.
 
Bench Help
• Colgate found itself in slight foul trouble heading into the second half but Alex Ramon, Jordan Robertson and John Fenton all stepped up to make key plays for the Raiders off the bench.
• With Jacobs holding three fouls, Fenton showcased his solid frame underneath the bucket to come up with two big rebounds. He was also able to earn a block during his seven minutes of action.
• Also coming up with a timely block was Robertson, who played great defense after having to step in due to starter Luke Roh being in foul trouble.
• Finally Ramon drained a 3-pointer to give Colgate a two-point edge with 10 minutes left to play. His make sparked a 15- 6 run that gave the Raiders their largest lead of the game at eight.

Interesting Notes
• With the victory Colgate is now 2-0 in league play. An achievement the Raiders haven't met since the 1998-99 season.
• Saturday's contest marked just Colgate's fifth home game of the year. The Raiders have been on the road for 10 matchups so far this season.
• Sherman-Newsome and Tillotson both recorded double-figures in the game with 24 and 12 points, respectively, for the 13th time this season.
• The only two games Sherman-Newsome missed that mark were contests in which he got injured during the game. Tillotson missed that feat twice as well but each time he didn't reach double-figures he registered a career-best 10 helpers.
• All but one player that stepped onto the court Saturday tallied at least three points for Colgate.  
• Jacobs matched his career-best in blocks with three. He last reached that mark on Jan. 27, 2014 at Lafayette. 
 
Gate Grab Bag
• Saturday's contest marked the largest home crowd of the season (attendance: 739)

Straight From The Source
• Colgate head coach Matt Langel: (on his team responding the right way after being down 13 points at the break) "We talked a lot at halftime about trusting in each other, trusting in the offense and not trying to make plays out of what we are supposed to do and what we practice everyday. We did that in the second half by running our stuff well and getting some good looks. Obviously Damon (Sherman-Newsome) was huge down the stretch for us."
 
(on Damon going 6-for-6 from the line down the stretch to secure the victory) "We battled a lot of adversity. Our seniors in Ethan (Jacobs), Luke (Roh), and Matty (McMullen) were in foul trouble. We kind of had to throw some other guys in there and Damon stepped up and became stable for us on the offensive end as well as on the defensive end, which is critical to winning league games. After missing his first two, he nailed 10 straight and iced the game there at the end."
 
(On his team's defensive efforts throughout the game) "We shared responsibilities on the defensive end. We helped each other, we switched much better in the second half than we did in the first half and I think it affected them. I credit Bucknell's young guys, Show and Foulland, who played great games and I'm sure it will be a battle next time we get to play them."

Up Next
•  Colgate next faces Holy Cross for a midweek home league contest on Wednesday at 7 p.m.
• The Crusaders are coming off a 53-49 setback at American on Saturday.
• The Raiders and Crusaders will go head-to-head for their 77th all-time meeting. Holy Cross holds the 56-20 record advantage.
• The Crusaders took both meetings a season ago with the last Raider victory coming during the 2012-13 season when they defeated Holy Cross 63-45 at home.

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