HAMILTON – A turnaround jumper by
Rapolas Ivanauskas rattled in and out in the waning seconds of regulation and Lafayette held on to beat the Raiders 80-78 Wednesday night at Cotterell Court.
Photo Gallery
The two heavyweights conclude their regular season series decided by a combined six points. And both games went down to the final minutes of regulation.
Jack Ferguson swished a 3-pointer from the corner to stake Colgate a 75-74 advantage with just over three minutes left. The two teams traded buckets over the next two minutes, and Rayman sank one of two free throws to knot the score at 78-78.
Lafayette (13-7, 5-4 Patriot) drew up the perfect play on its next possession and Myles Cherry laid in an uncontested layup to go up 80-78 with 1:04 left. Ivanauskas came up short on a 3-pointer, Rayman grabbed the offensive board, and had a step-back jumper rattle out with 44 seconds left.
Needing a defensive stop, Colgate stood tall and forced a shot clock violation to get the ball back. The Leopards got a shot off and it banked home off the backboard, but the replay showed it did not get off in time and Colgate took over possession with 17 seconds left.
The Raiders got the ball inside to Ivanauskas, who scored a game- and season-high 25 points, but his turnaround jumper rimmed in and out before falling short and Lafayette held on for the 80-78 triumph.
The Leopards with the win hand Colgate its first season sweep in two years and snap the Raiders' 16-game home winning streak, which was the seventh-longest in the nation.
Ivanauskas posted a double-double with 25 points and 10 rebounds. He connected on 9-of-18 from the field and knocked three 3-pointers.
Jordan Burns went for 23 points with five boards and three assists. Rayman finished with 13 and nine to lead Colgate's scoring.
Colgate (16-6, 7-2 Patriot) got off to a hot start with back-to-back 3-pointers from Rayman and Ivanauskas sparking an early 6-0 lead. Burns splashed another trey before Ivanauskas hammered home a two-handed slam to give the Raiders an 11-8 edge.
Ivanauskas' dunk would be Colgate's last field goal over the next five minutes. A couple free throws from Ivanauskas sustained the drought, but eight straight misses from the field allowed Lafayette to climb in front for the first time 16-13 on a 3-pointer from Myles Cherry.
The Raiders reclaimed the lead 22-20 on an inside floater by Ferguson, but three straight treys from Lafayette in a 9-0 run gave the visitors a 31-24 lead at the eight-minute mark. The Leopards led by as many as eight (38-30) before Ferguson keyed a 6-0 spurt to cut the deficit to 43-40 at the intermission.
An inside layup for
Tucker Richardson gave Colgate its first lead of the second half 54-53 five minutes in. The two teams were knotted up 62-62 on a trey from Ivanauskas, but Lafayette raced back in front with five unanswered points after a trey from Jaworski gave the Leopards a 67-62 lead with 7:48 left.
The deficit remained five until Burns drained a triple and Ivanauskas finished a second-chance layup to draw even 70-70. A pair of free throws from Burns gave the Raiders their largest lead of the half 72-70, before a pair of mid-range jumpers swayed the lead back in Lafayette's favor, 74-72.
Ferguson's go-ahead trey with three minutes left had the Cotterell Faithful on their feet, but Lafayette for the second time this season against the Raiders found a way in the closing minutes and secured the 80-78 victory.
BOTTOM LINE
Lafayette 80, Colgate 78
QUOTES
Head Coach Matt Langel
On the game:
"Lafayette is a very talented offensive team. They run great actions and spend so much of your energy trying to guard them. Multiple guys can make shots and that is evident by their five guys in double figures. They hurt us in a lot of different ways. I give them credit for stepping up and making shots.
"That being said, I am really proud of our guys for grinding it out a little bit shorthanded. We were missing 46 minutes in our normal rotation, but we fought hard. We limited our turnovers, we rebounded offensively, and typically when you get 10 more attempts and 12 more free throws, you win games. Unfortunately, there's a but, we have to make more shots and we were not able to."
On the final minutes:
"Sometimes in our league the team with the ball last, if you make the shot you win the game. Rapolas [Ivanauskas] just missed on a 3, Will [Rayman] had a great offensive rebound and couldn't get it go. Then, Rapolas' move late rims out, and Jordan [Burns] had a layup that was more than halfway down and it came out. That's the way it goes sometimes."
On bouncing back:
"College basketball is fragile. We have to find ways to win as we move to February. Hopefully we can get healthy with our regular rotation, but nobody cares about that and it happens to a lot of teams. We just have to keep moving ahead, work hard, and find ways to win."
GAME NOTES
· Ferguson made his first collegiate start and tallied a career-high 35 minutes.
· Lafayette's 80 points were the most allowed by the Raiders at home since last year's 94-80 victory in the Patriot League championship against Bucknell.
· Burns moved him into fourth in program history in career assists with 357.
· Ivanauskas' double-double was his fifth of the season. His three 3-pointers were a season high and he led the Raiders in scoring for the fifth time this season.
· Lafayette shot 52% (30-of-58) from the field in the win.
· Five Leopards finished in double figures for the second time this season against the Raiders.
· Colgate finished with 10 more field goal attempts, 12 more free throws, and outscored Lafayette 12-0 in points off turnovers, but the Leopards bench outscored the Raider reserves 34-2.
UP NEXT
Colgate heads to Worcester, Massachusetts, on Saturday to take on Holy Cross. Tip-off is set for 2 p.m., and the game will be nationally televised on CBS Sports Network.
