BALTIMORE – Another gritty performance for the Raiders on the road.
That's becoming a common theme for a squad that's won six straight and sits atop the Patriot League standings with six regular season games left. The recent stretch has experienced double-digit wins and grind-it-out type wins like Saturday's 64-56 triumph over Loyola.
The win was Colgate's first here at Reitz Arena since February 2018.
Colgate's 17-point lead in the second half shrunk to a four-point margin in the final minute, but the Raiders held on to complete the regular season sweep of the Greyhounds.
Ryan Moffatt made the play of the game with the Raiders in front 60-56, stealing a pass away from Milos Ilic who was driving to the basket and looking to make it a one-possession game with 20 seconds left. Moffatt's steal instead led to a breakaway two-handed dagger from
Keegan Records on the other end.
Records was Colgate's leading scorer and rebounder with 14 points and nine boards. The junior center also added three blocks and one steal in another complete performance.
Tucker Richardson scored 13 points – all in the first half – and added six rebounds and three assists.
Jack Ferguson scored 11, and
Oliver Lynch-Daniels and Moffatt each had nine. Moffatt dished out a career-high seven assists.
Colgate bolted out to an early 14-1 lead with strong work in the paint. Records knocked down his first three field goal attempts and had a major rejection on the defensive end before Ferguson swished a 3-pointer in transition to force a Loyola timeout.
The shooting cooled off and Loyola got going offensively. Two free throws from Nick Marshall capped an 11-1 Greyhounds run before Colgate's three-balls started falling. Lynch-Daniels connected on a pair and Richardson hit another to push the lead to 25-15.
Loyola cut the margin to 25-20 but the Raiders responded with a 10-2 run that pushed the lead back to double digits. Richardson keyed the run with five points and the Raiders went into the locker room leading 35-24.
Colgate built its lead to 45-28 on the heels of a 6-2 scoring spurt early in the second half. Loyola started 0-for-6 from the field but turned it around with a quick 10-0 run. Jaylin Andrews connected on a 3-pointer on the tail end of the streak to cut the deficit to 45-38.
The lead briefly grew back to double digits on clutch 3-point shooting from Ferguson and Lynch-Daniels, but it was the defense down the stretch that made the difference.
The Raiders weren't sharp from the free throw line (63%) and Loyola went on a run to cut it to 60-56 with 20 seconds left in regulation. Moffatt turned in the key play with the steal and ensuing dunk from Records to seal the win for the Raiders 64-56.
FROM THE SOURCE
Head Coach Matt Langel
"This was a good win for a lot of reasons. We have one guy on our roster who has won here so this is a tough place to play. Good crowd and a lot of energy. Obviously we got off to a great start and built an early lead. The climate of the game switched – we didn't make the plays we needed to, to keep the game extended though it was never quite a one-possession game down the stretch.
"This was a really good experience for us to be in an intense environment where emotions are running high. We're going to have those games in the guts of a season and you've got to be able to tap into experiences and come out of those situations with good plays. Our team defense was really good. We did a really nice job on the defensive end and did enough on the offensive end to stem the tide."
UP NEXT
Colgate (14-11, 10-2 Patriot) is back for another three-game week starting Monday at home against Lafayette. Tipoff from Cotterell Court is 6 p.m., with ESPN+ carrying the livestream.
