HAMILTON – Colgate is crafting a championship-style run thus far in the Patriot League Tournament.
The Raiders avenged two of their four Patriot League losses with a wire-to-wire 89-64 victory over Lafayette here Sunday. In two postseason games, Colgate has trailed for a total of zero seconds.
With the win, Colgate (25-8) advances to Wednesday's Patriot League Tournament championship, where the Raiders host Boston University for a trip to the Big Dance. Tipoff is 7:30 p.m. from Cotterell Court.
Six Raiders scored in double figures, led by 17 from
Jordan Burns.
Will Rayman registered his league-leading 11th double-double with 16 points and 11 rebounds,
Rapolas Ivanauskas scored 12, and
Jack Ferguson and
Keegan Records combined for 23 points off the bench.
It was all Colgate from the get-go in this one. The Raiders sped out to a 22-7 advantage and started 4-of-5 from downtown after back-to-back-to-back 3-pointers from Burns, Ivanauskas, and
Nelly Cummings in a quick 9-0 spurt.
Colgate's lead never trimmed to less than 12 points the rest of the game. Ferguson joined the scoring column and Records scored six second-chance points late in the half to push the lead all the way to 30-14.
E.J. Stephens scored seven straight points for Lafayette (19-12) to cut the margin to 32-19, but the Raiders immediately raced back with a 10-2 run after a layup by Rayman extended the double-digit lead to 42-21. The Raiders led by 20 at the intermission, 47-27.
Colgate never let up in the second half, outscoring the Leopards by five in the frame (42-37). Burns epitomized that effort with his tip-in layup, outhustling everyone underneath the basket. Records made his case with another offensive rebound and put-back, before Ferguson drilled a 3-pointer to push the lead to 75-49 midway through the second half.
Ryan Moffatt became the eighth and final Raider to score with a driving layup in the closing minutes, and Cotterell Court erupted with Colgate clinching another home game Wednesday.
BOTTOM LINE
Colgate 89, Lafayette 64
QUOTES
Head Coach Matt Langel
On finding a way to beat Lafayette:
"It is that time of year where all that is important is finding ways to win. Lafayette's offense is so difficult to guard – forget the playmakers they have – but there is so much movement and they change their spacing so well. Overall, our guys did a really good job of guarding their actions. When our defense leads to offense is when we are playing at our best."
On the game atmosphere:
"The energy, anticipation, and excitement is terrific. There is a buzz about this team and it is well deserved. We have had a great season with a lot of expectations. In some ways, we have even exceeded those expectations, but there is still a long way to go. To have a chance to play again at home on Wednesday on national television for a chance to play in the NCAA Tournament is what everybody set out to do in August when we had our first team meeting."
On getting back to the Patriot League championship:
"This means everything. We have talked about it every step of the way. The journey this year was going to be way different. We were elated to win a semifinal game last year and this year, in many peoples' eyes, we were simply meeting the expectation to do that again. This group has managed that extremely well. We have had a couple slip-ups along the way, like most teams have, but we have responded every single time. That is a testament to the leadership of the group and the belief of the guys in one another, themselves, and what we are trying to accomplish."
On Wednesday's championship battle with Boston University:
"Our focus is fully on Wednesday night. Boston University has had an outstanding year. They beat South Carolina on the road. Our game here was a bit different because they were a little banged up, but our game there was playing for first place. You could feel that in the game and our guys showed their determination to win on the road, which was as big of a win as we have had. Boston University is really good and they are really good on three different levels, which has helped them have such a great year. I know our guys will be ready on Wednesday."
GAME NOTES
• Colgate advances to its third consecutive Patriot League championship behind its program-record 25th win of the season. The 2018-19 Raiders held the record at 24.
• Wednesday's matchup will be the fourth title game in Hamilton.
• Burns reached double figures for the 21st consecutive game with his 17 points.
• Ivanauskas needs nine points to reach 1,000 for his career, with all of his points produced during his two years with the Maroon and White.
• Colgate's bench outscored Lafayette 25-6, led by 13 from Ferguson and 10 from Records.
• The Raiders won the battle on the glass, 48-30. Their 19 offensive rebounds were a season high, which led to a 22-6 advantage in second chance points.
• Seven of Records' eight rebounds were on the offensive end.
• Colgate finished with a 44-22 advantage in the paint.
• Attendance on Sunday was officially 1,427, the largest Cotterell crowd of the season.
• If Wednesday's crowd tops 1,500, Colgate's home attendance for the year would average over 1,000 for the first time since the Adonal Foyle era in the mid-90's.
UP NEXT
Colgate and Boston University meet in the Patriot League championship for the first time Wednesday with a 7:30 p.m. tipoff at Cotterell Court. The title game airs nationally on CBS Sports Network, with Westwood One radio broadcasting nationally and WKXZ-FM 93.9 covering locally. Championship tickets can be purchased by visiting GoColgateRaiders.com, calling the Colgate Athletics ticket office at 315-228-4062, or by visiting the Reid Athletic Center during business hours.
