HAMILTON – Colgate for the first time in program history reached 18 regular-season wins with a thrilling 75-64 victory over first-place Bucknell on Tuesday night at Cotterell Court.
With the win, Colgate is the first team in the Patriot League to 18 wins this season. The Raiders extended their win streak to a season-long five straight and sit just a game out of first place with three regular-season games left.
Rapolas Ivanauskas led three Raiders in double figures with 21 points.
Tucker Richardson registered 11 points and
Malcolm Regisford contributed 10 points in 17 minutes off the bench to lead the Raider scoring.
Will Rayman pulled down 10 boards and finished just shy of a double-double with nine points.
Jordan Burns finished with eight points and dished out eight assists.
Burns knocked down a trey to start a 7-0 spurt for the Raiders, who staked an early 7-3 lead after Ivanauskas finished a bucket in the paint and
Dana Batt hit a pair of free throws.
The two teams traded baskets early on. The Raiders extended their lead to 18-12 before Bucknell struck for an 11-1 run to take a brief 21-18 lead through the middle stages of the frame.
The Bison lead did not last long as Colgate answered with a triple in the corner from
Jack Ferguson to knot the game at 21-21. After a layup from Regisford, back-to-back 3-pointers from Richardson and Burns fueled the Raiders to a 32-25 lead with just over three minutes showing in the half.
Colgate buried five of its last six treys of the half, but Bucknell sustained the red-hot Raiders and trailed by just four with 37 seconds left in the half.
Richardson stole an outlet pass with three seconds showing and quickly fired a 3-pointer from the top of the key as time expired to send the Raiders to the locker room with a 37-30 lead.
3-pointers from
Francisco Amiel and Ivanauskas ignited an 8-0 run to give the Raiders their largest lead of the night at 57-43 midway through the second half.
The Bison battled back into the game with a 15-5 run to close the gap to 62-58 on three consecutive points from Nate Sestina.
Colgate refused to let this one slip away and responded with a 13-4 run to put the game away. Rayman splashed a 3-pointer in the final minute in front of a roaring Cotterell crowd and the Raiders went on to win, 75-64.
BOTTOM LINE
• Colgate 75, Bucknell 64
RECORD UPDATES
• Colgate is now 18-10 overall and 10-5 in the Patriot League after the win.
• Bucknell fell to 17-10 on the season and 11-4 in league action.
FROM THE SOURCE
• Colgate head coach
Matt Langel:
On reaching 18 wins: "I am immensely proud of our program. We have some great coaches here and our group is continuing to grow. To have a program that is competitive with teams like Bucknell at the top of our league, that is significant to our guys and that is what we are working for."
On defeating the first-place Bison: "It is always significant to make up a game and be in contention for the lead in the Patriot League. Bucknell has had our number in the past and our guys who were here last year feel a certain way about it. To be at home and have our crowd the way it was, this hopefully gives us some continued momentum moving into the end of our regular season."
On staying focused on the regular season: "We talk a lot about perspective. We try our best to be in the position to compete for another championship. That is where we are. You cannot worry about the results but you can certainly control the process."
KEY RAIDER NOTES
• This is the fourth time in program history Colgate has reached 18 wins, and the first ever in the regular season.
• The Raiders won two postseason games last year to set the record for most wins in a complete season with 19.
• Colgate improved to 10-1 at Cotterell Court to reach double-digit victories at home for the third time in five years.
• With the win, Colgate snapped a six-game losing streak to Bucknell with its first victory over the Bison since Feb. 13, 2016.
• This was Ivanauskas' eighth game with 20-plus points this season.
• Ivanauskas also finished with a season-high three steals and three blocks.
• Six different Raiders knocked down a 3-pointer in the win.
• The Raiders held the Bison to just 27.6 percent (8-of-29) from beyond the arc.
• Colgate went 10-of-19 (52.6 percent) from 3-point range for its second-highest percentage of the season.
UP NEXT
• Colgate stays at home for Senior Day on Saturday, when the Raiders host Navy with opening tip set for 2 p.m. from Cotterell Court.
• The Raiders will honor their four seniors in a brief pregame ceremony.
• The game will be nationally televised on CBS Sports Network.
