HAMILTON, N.Y. – Talk about turning the tables.
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Colgate turned a three-point halftime deficit into a 19-point win with a monster second half in front of a great Cotterell Court crowd here Saturday afternoon. The Raiders avenged a late January loss to Boston University with their ninth consecutive win, 72-53.
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Colgate sits atop the Patriot League standings by three games and needs just one more win to secure its third Patriot League regular season championship in four seasons. The Raiders won't have long to wait as American come to town Monday for a 6:30 p.m. tipoff at Cotterell Court.
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Nelly Cummings led four in double figures with 18 points.
Jack Ferguson scored 15 points on 4-of-8 from behind the arc,
Ryan Moffatt had 12 points to go with seven rebounds and four assists while
Keegan Records posted 10 points, six rebounds and two blocked shots.
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The Raiders trailed 30-27 at intermission and it would have been a six-point deficit had Cummings not swished a 3-pointer at the buzzer. That momentum carried over to the second half with Colgate outscoring Boston U 45-23 over the final 20 minutes.
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Moffatt's hard work paid off when his second-chance layup put Colgate in front 36-35 four minutes into the second stanza.
Oliver Lynch-Daniels knocked down back-to-back triples in a quick 10-0 Raider run and suddenly it was a double-digit lead 48-37 midway through the frame.
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As good as the offense performed in the second half the defense was just as impressive. Colgate turned the ball over just five times all game, but only once in the second half. Records showed his presence with two blocked shots and the Raiders forced five BU turnovers while holding the Terriers to 9-of-26 (34.6%) from the field and 2-for-12 (16.7%) from behind the arc.
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Colgate just blistered the nets in the second half, shooting 55.6% (15-of-27) from the field. Richardson and Ferguson swished a pair of 3-pointers to stretch the lead to 20, and then a two-handed slam from
Jeff Woodward gave the Raiders their largest lead of the game at 66-45 with 4:05 showing.
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Reserves played a key role in the final stretch and Colgate rolled to its ninth straight win, 72-53.
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Boston U took control of a back-and-forth first half with a late 7-0 run. It was tied at 21-21 when Walter Whyte hit a 3-pointer in the quick spurt to put the visitors in front 28-21.Â
Ferguson connected from long range and it was a six-point margin until Cummings beat the buzzer with a 3-pointer from the wing to send the game to halftime with Colgate trailing 30-27.Â
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It took less than four minutes into the second half for the Raiders to take the lead for good.Â
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RICHARDSON REACHES ANOTHER MILESTONE
Tucker Richardson reached another milestone in the victory, becoming the first player in program history to reach 1,000 career points, 500 rebounds, and 400 assists. He's just the fourth player in Patriot League history to achieve the feat.
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FROM THE SOURCE
Head Coach Matt Langel
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"The second half was great. We fought hard in the first half and Boston University is a championship caliber team. It was a battle in the first half and they had a lot to do with that.
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"Our defense really picked up in the second half - we made everything difficult on that end and it led to some offensive opportunities in transition for us. We moved the ball a little bit better in the second half and solved some of their physicality on the defensive end. We made some great decisions, got it inside, stepped up and made some jump shots, and got ourselves to the foul line.Â
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"The crowd was a huge, huge part of the game. That crowd made a lot of noise and that makes a difference for a team on the road to take it to the next step."
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UP NEXT
Colgate (17-11, 13-2 Patriot) is right back at Cotterell Court on Monday night when the Raiders host American at 6:30 p.m. The game is being televised on CBS Sports Network.
