LEWISBURG, Pa. – Colgate Men's Basketball went on the road and took down undefeated Bucknell here Saturday night for a gutsy 84-73 victory.
 
In a game that saw nine lead changes and four tie scores the Raiders strung together the needed buckets down the stretch to end the Bison's clean sheet in Patriot League play.
 
After trailing 34-32 at the break, the Raiders outscored their hosts 52-39 in the second period, for their highest scoring half of the year. A lot of that had to do with Colgate finding and making open shots in the final 20 minutes. Colgate finished the half shooting 53 percent from the floor and 62 percent from long range, while limiting Bucknell to 38 and 33 percent, respectively.
 
Sophomore Tom Rivard had a solid game overall, matching his career-high in points with 23. The Worcester, Massachusetts, native also pulled down a team-best nine rebounds, while compiling two blocks and two steals.
 
Closing out the Colgate players in twin figures were Jordan Swopshire, Austin Tillotson and Jordan Robertson with 17, 16 and 14 points, respectively. The Raiders are 3-2 when finishing with four or more players in double-digits, with their only two losses coming in overtime contests with Cornell and Navy.
 
At the break it was a 34-32 Bison edge and for nearly the first 15 minutes of the second half it was a battle back-and-forth between the teams.
 
That is until the Raiders sparked a rally that ultimately handed them to lead for good.
 
Following two made free throws from Chris Hass with 5:23 remaining, Colgate drained back-to-back 3-pointers to go along with a layup for a small 8-0 run. With the score swaying back in their favor, the Raiders then used another 10-2 run to break the game open at 77-67 with 1:24 remaining.
 
The Bison saw Nate Jones hit a trey seven seconds later to cut the deficit to 77-70, but that would be as close as they would come as Colgate went 7-for-8 from the charity stripe in the final 1:10 to secure the win.
 
Colgate is back home on Wednesday for a 7 p.m. tilt with Boston University on Cotterell Court. The Terriers host Loyola on Monday before coming to Hamilton. Live stats and video will be available at the start.
 
Bottom Line
• Colgate 84, Bucknell 73
• The win marked the Raiders' third straight against the Bison and second consecutive in Sojka Pavilion.
 
Won-Lost Records
• Colgate improves to 8-9 on the year and 4-2 in Patriot League play.
• Bucknell drops to 8-9 and 5-1, respectively.
• With the victory the Raiders slide into sole possession of second place in the league standings. Loyola can match them there with a win at Boston U. on Monday.
 
How It Happened
• After the Bison opened the game with a jumper, Colgate answered with five straight to pull in front early.
• Colgate maintained a 7-4 lead until the Bison used a 14-2 run to take over the edge at 18-9 with under nine minutes to play in the half.
• A trey from Robertson a minute later made it a 18-13 ballgame, but again the hosts sparked a 11-3 run to build their largest lead in the game at 29-16 with 4:06 remaining.
• In those final four minutes though Colgate responded with a 16-5 run of its own to trail by only two at the break.
• Bucknell increased its lead to 39-34 early in the second half but the Raiders rallied to knot the score at 46-all with a little more than 13 minutes to play.
• Neither team held larger than a four-point advantage over the next 7½ minutes until Colgate sparked another rally.
• Following two made free throws from Hass, Bucknell held the 63-62 lead with 5:23 remaining.
• Over the next 78 seconds the Raiders answered with an 8-0 run to pull in front 67-63. During that stretch Colgate drained back-to-back attempts from downtown.
• A Ryan Frazier layup ended the Bison drought but another 10-2 rally from Colgate ultimately handed the visitors a comfortable edge.
• Despite a Bucknell 3-pointer with 1:17 remaining on the clock, the Raiders finished the game from the free throw line, hitting seven of their final eight to secure the win.
 
Facts & Figures
• Rivard led Colgate in scoring for just the third time this season with 23 points in the game. That number matched his career-high, which he achieved in the Raiders' season-opening 66-53 victory at George Mason.
• The sophomore went 9-for-15 from the floor, 2-for-4 from behind-the-arc and 3-for-5 at the line. He added a team-best nine rebounds, two blocks and two steals to his already impressive night.
• Swopshire and Tillotson continued their double-digit scoring streak with 17 and 16 points, respectively. The two shift their streak to three and seven straight games.
• Tillotson matched his career-best effort from the line hitting 9-of-12.
• Robertson jumped back in double-figures with 14 points in the contest after going 4-for-7 from the floor, 3-for-6 from beyond the 3-point line and 3-for-4 from the charity stripe.
• Rivard led Colgate in rebounding but Swopshire also chipped in eight boards, while Tillotson handed out nine assists.  
• For the second straight game, Colgate compiled at least 19 assists, which is two shy of matching its season-best mark in that category.  
• Colgate finished the night shooting 43.5 percent from the floor on 27-of-62 attempts. The Raiders also drained 12-of-28 from long range, while converting on 17-of-25 shots from the free throw line.  
• Bucknell outscored Colgate from inside the paint 36-28 and held the slight edge on points off turnovers at 14-13 and in fast break points at 8-6. Colgate recorded 10 second-chance points to the Bison's eight.
• Colgate's bench outscored Bucknell's 22-20.
• In total there were nine lead changes and four tie scores.   
• The Bison held the edge for 24:37, while the Raiders were in front for 12:52. The game was tied for 2:31.
• Colgate increased its lead to the largest of the game at 84-70 with 36 seconds remaining. Bucknell had its largest edge in the game at 29-16 with 4:06 to play in the opening half.  
 
Records Watch
• Tillotson pulls to within 19 of reaching that 1,000-career point plateau in his three-year tenure in the Maroon and White.
• The York, Pennsylvania, native also shifted into third place all-time in Colgate's records book following his nine assists in Saturday's game. He sits with 358 in his career.
 
Bucknell's Numbers
• Hass led the Bison with 18 points on 7-of-15 shooting.
• Also reaching double-figures was Stephen Brown and Frazier with 10 points apiece.
• Dom Hoffman pulled down a team-best nine rebounds, while Nana Foulland collected eight.
• The Bison shot 42.6 percent from the floor but hit just 5-of-17 from long range. Bucknell converted on 16-of-21 from the free throw line.
 
Gate Grab Bag
• Attendance at Sojka Pavilion was 3,137
 
Straight From The Source
• Colgate head coach Matt Langel: (on his team's gutsy performance) "For our program to get to where we're trying to go, and this is year five now, it's a big deal every time we get a chance to play Bucknell. It's an even bigger deal for us to win here on the road and put ourselves in good position for the next week. That's all we're trying to do is take it one step at a time."
 
"I couldn't be prouder of my team. Every single guy has been working his tail off over this break and we've gotten immensely better. Our young guys, our first-years and our sophomore class, which includes two transfers, have really grown into good players."
 
"I thought we took what the defense gave us, stepped up and made some timely shots and got some really tough lose balls with a small lineup out there."
                                                                 
Next Up
• Colgate welcomes Boston University on Wednesday to Cotterell Court for a 7 p.m. matchup.
• The Terriers host Loyola on Monday night before traveling to Hamilton.  
• Live stats and video will be available at the start.