HAMILTON – Rapolas Ivanauskas scored 28 points to lead four Raiders in double figures as Colgate earned its program-record 20th win of the season Wednesday night with a 79-59 victory over Holy Cross at Cotterell Court.
 
Ivanauskas scored 20-plus points for the third consecutive game and led the Raiders on the glass with eight rebounds. He finished a stellar 10-of-13 from the field and 3-of-3 from beyond the arc.
 
Jack Ferguson posted 13 points on 3-of-6 from the perimeter. Malcolm Regisford tallied 11 points and Tucker Richardson finished with 10. Jordan Burns registered seven assists, while Ferguson and Richardson each added a pair of steals to pace Colgate defensively. 

After draining 17 3-pointers and pouring a season-high 93 points Saturday, Colgate turned to its defense early. The Raiders forced five turnovers on the Crusaders' first nine possessions and layups from Dana Batt and Ivanauskas had the Raiders in front 6-5.
 
Ivanauskas went on a 7-0 run on his own and Colgate held Holy Cross scoreless for nearly six minutes to jump out to an 11-5 lead. The Raiders kept the Crusaders without a field goal for 11:03, but went just 1-of-9 offensively over that stretch to hold an 11-8 lead through the middle stages of the half.

Jacob Grandison tied things up at 13-13 before Colgate caught fire down the stretch. Richardson scored eight straight points to fuel a 12-2 run over the next four minutes and give Colgate a 10-point lead, 25-15. 


Grandison hit a 3-pointer in the final minute but Richardson answered with a driving layup to send Colgate into the locker room on top 29-18. 
 
After shooting just 24 percent in the first half, Holy Cross opened the second half 6-of-7 from the floor and Jehyve Floyd led an 11-0 Crusader charge to cut the Raider lead to 34-31 four minutes into the frame.
 
The visitors kept it a three-point game 40-37 on an inside jumper from Grandison. Regisford responded with four straight points for the Raiders and Ivanauskas battled for a bucket underneath the basket to stretch Colgate's lead back to 49-40 near the midway point.
 
Both teams went back-and-forth over the next two minutes until Caleb Green hit back-to-back jumpers to close the Crusaders within four at 51-47.
 
Ferguson answered with a triple and Ivanauskas sank a 12-footer to cap a quick 7-0 spurt for the Raiders, who extended their lead back to double digits 63-51 with just under seven minutes left.

Holy Cross cut it back to 63-56 on a jumper from Matt Faw, but that was as close as the Crusaders would get.

Colgate stormed back with a 16-5 run to close the game out. Treys from Ferguson and Will Rayman ignited 14 straight points for Colgate before Ivanauskas struck the dagger with back-to-back 3-pointers to give Colgate its largest lead of the night, 77-56.
 
Burns hit a pair of free throws to cap the scoring with the Raiders cruising to victory, 79-59.

BOTTOM LINE
• Colgate 79, Holy Cross 59
 
RECORD UPDATES
• Colgate improved to 20-10 on the season and 12-5 in the Patriot League with the win.
• Holy Cross fell to 15-15 overall and 6-11 in league action after the loss.
• The Raiders are now 12-1 at Cotterell Court, just one win shy of tying the program record for most wins at home (1926-27, 2017-18). 

FROM THE SOURCE
• Colgate head coach Matt Langel: 

On program-record 20 victories: "We have a special group of guys. We have been on a mission after the way last season ended. Any time you can set a benchmark like 20 wins, as a coach, you feel like the players who have been here and the coaches here have built a strong culture and program. This is following up 19 wins last year."

On the slow start, strong finish: "Every game has its own personality.  Our defense was locked in and attentive to detail. We were not sharp on offense; they changed what they did on defense from the first time. I give credit to our guys for not panicking; we eventually found our rhythm and stuck with it late in the second half."

Looking ahead: "We have to play well Saturday. It will have significant implications. Lafayette has a different system and they are playing well of late. Winning on the road is hard, but we certainly want to close this regular season out well."

KEY RAIDER NOTES
• Colgate eclipses the previous school record of 19 victories set last season.
• This is the first seven-game winning streak for the Raiders since 1996-97.
• Colgate also tied its record of most league wins in a season with 12 (2014-15, 2017-18).
• The Raiders complete the season sweep of Holy Cross for the second straight year.
• Colgate shot 69.2 percent (9-of-13) from three-point range in the second half. 
• Ivanauskas posted his 10th 20-point game of the season and sixth in the last eight games.
• Colgate knocked down double-digit treys (11) for the fifth straight game.
• Ferguson hit three triples for the eighth time this season.
• With seven assists, Burns is now eight away from setting a new single-season record.
• Richardson is eight assists away from eclipsing the freshman record for most in a season.

UP NEXT
• Colgate wraps up its regular season at Lafayette on Saturday.
• Tip-off from Kirby Sports Center is set for noon.