CINCINNATI – Tucker Richardson's free throw with 2.1 seconds remaining capped a furious rally in the closing seconds and Colgate stunned Cincinnati 67-66 here Saturday night.
After
Will Rayman put back his own miss with 8.8 seconds left to tie the score at 66-all, Cincinnati's Jarron Cumberland took the inbounds pass and slowly began dribbling up court. Then, at the urging of his teammates and fans, Cumberland suddenly hurried his dribble and let loose with a 60-foot heave despite the clock showing more than four seconds remaining.
The shot slammed off the backboard and into the waiting arms of Richardson, who was fouled some 75 feet from the basket.
Richardson calmly stepped to the line for a 1-and-1 and swished the game-winner. He then intentionally missed the second shot and the clock struck zeroes.
Rapolas Ivanauskas led the charge for the Raiders, scoring 19 of his game-high 21 points after halftime. The big man was 9-of-11 from the floor in the second half as Colgate rallied from a 32-25 halftime deficit.
Nelly Cummings scored 10 of his 14 in the second half, while Richardson finished with 11. Colgate made five of its last six shot attempts from the field and scored on its last seven possessions.
In a back-and-forth game from the start,
Jordan Burns got the Raiders going early with a triple on their first possession. Rayman then connected from long range and scored the next five points to get Colgate out front early 8-5.
Colgate (8-4) turned to its defense early, forcing six turnovers in the first eight minutes to keep the Bearcats at bay.
Jack Ferguson knocked down a pair of treys as part of a 10-0 run that built the Raiders' lead to 22-16.
Cincinnati (6-4) shot back with a 16-3 scoring spurt to turn a six-point deficit into a seven-point lead at the intermission. Burns swished a 3-pointer from the corner to cut the deficit to 27-25, but the Bearcats scored the final five points to take a 32-25 lead at the break.
Cummings ignited Colgate in the second half with a baseline jumper. Ivanauskas and Richardson accounted for the next 10 Raider points, and an inside layup for Ivanauskas capped a 10-2 spurt that pulled the Raiders in front 37-36.
Cincinnati fought back and a pair of dunks by Keith Williams electrified the crowd with the home team in front 46-39. Colgate stayed composed and kept hanging around, with a driving layup from Cummings closing the gap to 57-55 with just over three minutes left.
The Bearcats grew their lead back to five 64-59 with 1:27 left, but that was when Colgate mounted its late comeback. Colgate connected on five of its last six shots and a second-chance layup from Rayman capped a 7-2 run that tied the game at 66-66 with 8.8 seconds showing.
An errant half-court shot from Cumberland set the stage for Richardson, who sank the last-second free throw to seal the victory for the Raiders.
BOTTOM LINE
Colgate 67, Cincinnati 66
QUOTES
Head Coach Matt Langel
On the final seconds:
"Our guys kept fighting. We tried to divide the game into four-minute boxing rounds. We knew Cincinnati was going to be a fight physically and mentally. The environment was great and our guys just stuck with it. We just stayed in it enough to be there and got a little lucky with the late foul, but that's basketball. Crazy things happen, but you have to worry about what you can take care of and our guys really executed well down the stretch."
On the win:
"Our guys are excited. They had it as one of their marks this year that they wanted to win one of these big games. Clemson, we felt like we had plenty of chances, but did not come through when we needed to. Auburn and Syracuse did not go well either so our guys are feeling like their hard work is paying off and this was a big stepping stone to get this win."
Sophomore Tucker Richardson
On the game-winning free throw:
"The last few seconds went by in a flash for me. Will [Rayman] hit a crazy layup to tie it up and then [Jarron] Cumberland took that shot so I just flew in for the rebound. When I stepped up to the line it was so loud that I could not even think, which helped me on my shot. The rest is history and this game means so much for our team and program. I couldn't be more excited."
Senior Rapolas Ivanauskas
On 19 points in the second half:
"I just let the game come to me and did what Coach told me to do. I felt relaxed and tried to be positive for the team. This is the most important win for us to date because conference play is right around the corner.
"We feel good about ourselves and when we all let the game come to us and play together, this game tonight shows that we can beat anyone and it definitely gives us some confidence.
"I was talking with my teammates the other day and we were just talking about how we have to put the expectations away, put our hard hats on, and go to work. This was a combination of everything tonight."
GAME NOTES
- Colgate earns its first win over a current member of the American Athletic Conference since the Raiders knocked off Tulane 98-86 on Nov. 26, 2013.
- Assistant Coach Pat Moore scored 17 points on five 3-pointers in that victory.
- This was Colgate's first non-conference win over an NCAA Tournament opponent since 2013, when the Raiders defeated Albany, 69-60.
- Cincinnati is coming off back-to-back AAC championships. Colgate and Cincinnati were both in the Columbus Regional of the NCAA Tournament last season.
- Ivanauskas' 21 points led three Raiders in double figures.
- He finished one rebound shy of a double-double.
- His 10 field goals were a season high.
- Colgate outscored Cincinnati 42-34 in the second half and shot a stellar 63.3% (19-of-30) over the final 20 minutes.
- The Raiders outscored Cincinnati in points off turnovers 24-9.
UP NEXT
Colgate wraps up non-league action next Sunday, Dec. 22, when Columbia comes to town in a basketball doubleheader at Cotterell Court. Tip-off is noon and the game will stream live on the Patriot League Network.
