HAMILTON – For the second straight year, the Patriot League tournament runs through Hamilton.
Colgate (22-7, 13-3 Patriot) secured at least a share of the Patriot League regular season title and the No. 1 seed for the postseason tournament with a wire-to-wire 90-60 victory over Holy Cross here Sunday.
Jordan Burns scored 23 points to lead four Raiders in double-figure scoring.
Tucker Richardson posted his second collegiate double-double with 18 points and 10 rebounds.
Rapolas Ivanauskas finished with 16 and
Jack Ferguson netted 12 in his second career start.
The Raiders led this one from start to finish. Richardson was hot from the get-go, scoring seven straight points and lock-down defense paved the way for an early 15-2 Colgate lead. Holy Cross started ice cold from the field, enduring a 1-of-11 stretch and never closed within 10 points the rest of the way.
Burns scored five straight points with a 3-pointer and driving layup before Ivanauskas was left all alone and barreled in for an easy dunk to push the Raiders' lead to their largest of the half at 33-18.
Holy Cross (3-26, 2-14 Patriot) did connect on 6-of-7 down the stretch, with 10 points over the last 5:04 coming from Joe Pridgen to close the gap to 39-29 at the break.
Burns scored 15 of his 23 points in a big second half, including an early 3-pointer in a 9-2 run to start the second stanza.
David Maynard and Burns went back-to-back from downtown and Colgate blitzed out to a 67-44 advantage at the midway point of the second half.
The Crusaders closed it to 76-56 with just under four minutes left, but Colgate finished the game on a 14-4 run to seal the deal.
Ryan Moffatt got into the scoring column late in regulation and
Keegan Records stormed in for a two-handed slam to cap the 90-60 victory.
BOTTOM LINE
Colgate 90, Holy Cross 60
QUOTES
Head Coach Matt Langel
On the second straight regular season title:
"I was just telling the guys in the locker room I am really proud of what this team has been able to do. From the beginning of the year to be picked as the favorite and to take everybody's best shot and be 22-7 with 13 league wins is a great accomplishment.
"What I am equally as proud of in this group is that our guys were happy to check this box, but there was no celebration in the locker room. That speaks to internal expectations, a culture that exists, and a work ethic and respect level for those who have come before you.
"There is nothing I could be more proud of as a coach to be a part of a group that holds that belief system. We go to work and try to best the best we can every day in the classroom, on the court, and in the community. There are more championships out there and more opportunities for us this year."
On the importance of earning the No. 1 seed:
"To be able to play the games at home certainly does not guarantee wins in any way, shape or form. But our guys love playing here. It is a nice bonus, but the reality is the team that wins in March is the team that is playing the best. That has to be our focus."
On staying focused over the last two regular season games:
"Our focus is very process oriented to be better tomorrow than we were today. You're going to have setbacks along the way, but that's how you have to be in every aspect of your life: to believe fundamentally that you are as prepared as you can be for any given situation. College basketball is fragile and you need momentum on your side. We will do everything we can to maximize that as we go through this next week."
On the game today:
"We played a really good first half, but we just didn't make enough shots to bust it open. We stayed with it, our defensive energy was great in the second half, and we stepped up and made some shots. That ultimately opened the floodgates and I was proud of our group for staying with it."
GAME NOTES
• Colgate has earned the No. 1 seed for the second straight year and fourth time overall.
• This is the Raiders' fifth regular season title (1994, 95, 96, 2019, and 2020).
• The Raiders shared the regular season championship in 1994 and were the No. 3 seed.
• Colgate has advanced to the NCAA tournament each time it has been the top seed.
• Colgate's 22 regular season wins bested last year's 21 to set a program record.
• The Raiders match last year's team for the most league wins (13) in program history.
• Colgate improved to 16-0 this season when holding opponents under 70 points.
• Rayman moved into sole possession of third all-time in scoring with 1,768 career points.
• He needs just eight points to pass Adonal Foyole '99 for second all-time.
• Burns reached double figures for the 17th straight game with his sixth 20-point game.
• Richardson's double-double was his first since posting a career-high 23 points and 11 rebounds at Niagara.
• Maynard scored eight points, matching his career high from March 14, 2018, at San Francisco.
• The Raiders registered 16 assists to just eight turnovers, improving on their 1.3 assist-turnover ratio.
UP NEXT
Colgate hits the road one last time in the regular season on Wednesday to take on Bucknell. Tip-off from Sojka Pavilion is 7 p.m., with the Patriot League Network carrying the livestream.
