GREEN BAY, Wis. – Rapolas Ivanauskas drained a late go-ahead 3-pointer and Colgate closed the final two minutes on a 9-0 run to seal a 64-56 victory over Cal State Northridge on Sunday in the Legends Classic Subregional at the Kress Center.
Colgate trailed 56-55 with less than three minutes remaining, when Ivanauskas splashed the go-ahead triple from the left wing and followed it with a fired up fist pump. It was fitting for the senior, who finished with 16 points and 13 rebounds for his 11th career double-double.
After a big stop and rebound by Ivanauskas on the defensive end, he corralled an offensive board and kicked it out to
Nelly Cummings, who struck the dagger to stretch Colgate's lead to 61-56 with a triple from the right side.
Ivanauskas closed out the game by sinking three of four from the free throw line and the late 9-0 run secured the 64-56 triumph for the Raiders.
Points were hard to come by in the first half, as both teams combined to start 1-for-21 from the field, including an 0-for-10 mark for the Matadors. Cummings connected on a 3-pointer to give the Raiders a 5-2 lead at the first media timeout, and then Colgate hit on two of its next three in an 8-0 run.
Tucker Richardson buried a triple to push Colgate's advantage to 13-4 at the 12-minute mark. Colgate's defensive effort stifled Cal State Northridge early, forcing seven turnovers within the first 10 minutes.
Jordan Burns, Cummings, and Ivanauskas all came up with steals but unfortunately it did not turn into offense.
The Raiders went scoreless for over three minutes during an 0-for-5 cold spell, while an alley-oop from Jarred Pearre capped an 11-0 surge for the visitors, who jumped in front 22-17 late in the first half. Ivanauskas sank a free throw before a driving layup for Richardson brought the deficit back to 22-20 at the half.
Burns brought the Raiders to life with the first five points of the second half. A steal on Cal State Northridge's first possession led to a breakaway layup and a triple from the top of the key quickly gave Colgate a 25-22 lead less than a minute in. Ivanauskas and Richardson treys pushed the advantage to 31-26 lead five minutes into the frame.
But the Matadors found a rhythm offensively and fired back with five straight points before Richardson connected on another 3-pointer to reclaim a 41-38 Raider edge. Every time Colgate looked to pull away, Cal State Northridge came back with an answer and used an impressive 11-for-15 clip from the field to get back in front 46-45.
David Maynard and Burns splashed back-to-back treys in a quick 6-0 response that carried the Raiders to a 51-45 advantage, but the lead would not last. Cal State Northridge countered with a 7-0 spurt of its own and reclaimed the lead 52-51 with just over four minutes left.
The Raiders connected on nine treys in the second half to sustain a hot-shooting Cal State Northridge team that turned things around to finish over 43 percent from the field.
The lead swayed back-and-forth, 11 times total in the second half, until Ivanauskas put the Raiders up for good with the go-ahead triple with 2:28 left in regulation.
BOTTOM LINE
Colgate 64, CSUN 56
QUOTES
Head Coach Matt Langel
On finding a way to win:
"Our experience was like the NJIT game in that it was up for grabs and we had to win. I give our guys a lot of credit for executing and making shots when we needed to late. The pick-and-pop from Rapolas and then the offensive rebound and kickout to Nelly -- that's six of our points and then we got the free throws down the stretch to make the difference. It is good to get the win, but we are not playing great and we need to keep getting better."
On CSUN's second-half shooting:
"They have some talented guys and shot very well. They made some really good, tough shots, but our defense fell down a little bit in the second half. That is why you need more separation in games like this and be better for longer periods of time so when their guys do get hot, it doesn't cost you."
On the message at halftime:
"Our defense has to sustain and we have to keep working to get good shots. Sometimes when you are not seeing the ball go into the basket, you second guess yourself but I just tried to tell them that we shoot the ball really well in practice every day, we are good shooters, and to step up and shoot our shots with confidence. We did that to start the second half and enough times in the second half, although we are certainly going to have to make more shots if we want to keep winning."
GAME NOTES
- Ivanauskas' first double-double of the season was the 11th of his career.
- He matched his career high with 13 rebounds, five of which were offensive.
- Richardson was 5-of-6 from the field, including 3-of-4 from downtown en route to 15 points. He also finished with five rebounds.
- Keegan Records posted another solid line of six points and six rebounds, including four on the offensive end, in 10 minutes off the bench.
- Colgate scored 44 points in the second half, more than doubling its total (20) from the opening frame.
- The Raiders tied their season high with 40 rebounds in the win.
- 15 of those boards were offensive, and the Raiders outscored CSUN 16-4 in second-chance points.
- After shooting 22 percent (7-of-31) from the field in the first half, Colgate hit on 44 percent (15-of-34) in the second half to finish with a 33.8 clip (22-of-65).
- Nine of the Raiders' 12 3-pointers came in the second half.
UP NEXT
Colgate wraps up the Roman Legends Classic against Green Bay on Tuesday at 7 p.m. Central. Both teams have made a presence in the College Insider Mid-Major Top 25. The Raiders currently rank 16th, while Green Bay is receiving votes. FloSports will carry the livestream.
