HAMILTON – Oliver Lynch-Daniels,
Ryan Moffatt, and
Keegan Records all scored at least 20 points to push Colgate past Army 91-74 in the Patriot League semifinals Sunday afternoon at Cotterell Court.
Colgate advances to its sixth consecutive Patriot League championship game and this will be the fifth straight title game played in Hamilton. The Raiders host sixth-seeded Lafayette for it all on Wednesday at 7:30 p.m.
Lynch-Daniels scored 21 points with four made 3s, Records had 20 on 8-of-10 shooting from the field, and Moffatt finished with 20 points, a team-high nine rebounds, and two steals.
Tucker Richardson set a career-high in assists (12) for the second consecutive game, finishing with 11 points, 12 assists, six rebounds, and two steals in another all-around balanced effort.
Colgate once again came out guns blazing. Records, Richardson, Moffatt, and Lynch-Daniels all swished early three-balls as Colgate started 4-for-4 from behind the arc to build an 18-7 advantage. Lynch-Daniels landed another deep shot, was fouled on the make, and sank the free throw for a four-point play to stretch the early lead to 24-10 at the 12:27 mark.
Army weathered the early storm and both teams eventually evened out to be 5-of-11 from behind the arc. Chris Mann had two of those triples for the Black Knights, who climbed back with a 7-0 run after two free throws from Coleton Benson cut their deficit to 35-27.
Moffatt immediately responded with a 6-0 burst by himself. He swished a 3-pointer from the top of the key and then converted a tough left-handed layup in the lane and was fouled going to the floor. The senior sank the free throw to complete the three-point play.
Richardson recorded his eighth assist of the first half on
Jeff Woodward's layup that put the Raiders in front 47-29 with 1:58 showing. Woodward added a free throw before Army scored the last five points of the half to send the game to halftime with the score 48-34 in favor of Colgate.
The early stages of the second half were back and forth with both teams trading shots. That's all Colgate needed to do to keep its distance, which never dwindled into single digits. Army was as close as 10 (57-47) when Benson was fouled on a three-point attempt for the second time and made all three free throws at the 15:23 mark.
Colgate's defense took it up another notch and capitalized on the opportunities, outscoring Army 14-0 in points off turnovers over the final 20 minutes and finishing with a 25-2 overall advantage in that category. Records had three blocked shots, and he along with Richardson,
Braeden Smith, and Moffatt each registered one steal.
Lynch-Daniels led the Raiders with 10 points in the second half, and his driving layup with 5:42 left in the game gave Colgate its largest lead at 77-57. Jalen Rucker, who led the Black Knights with 26 points, connected on back-to-back 3-pointers to cut into the lead 77-63.
Moffatt came up big from the free throw line, connecting on his final four attempts over the last 1:27 to seal the 91-74 victory.
Colgate shot 52.4 percent from the field (33-63) and 39.1 percent from the perimeter (9-23) while Army made 50.9 percent overall (27-53) and 37.0 percent from behind the arc (10-27). Led by 27 combined points from Records and Woodward, Colgate outscored Army 42-28 in the paint.
FROM THE SOURCE
Head Coach Matt Langel
"Typically we feel great about a double-digit lead, which we had for most of the second half, but Army never stops coming. They can score in so many ways and play so fast but we sustained their pressure. Our guys kept making great decisions on the offensive end. We know we're playing pretty well when we have 27 assists on 33 made field goals.
"We played great today but we need to get rested and stay as healthy as we can for Wednesday night. The crowds have been energetic and they're creating a great college basketball environment. We need everyone back here at Cotterell Court on Wednesday night."
NOTES
- Colgate has now won 30 consecutive home games against conference opponents – a winning streak that began in January 2021.
- The Raiders have tied the 2019-20 team for the most single-season wins in program history (25) and have a chance to break the record Wednesday night.
- Colgate advances to its sixth consecutive Patriot League championship game and it will be the fifth in a row played at Cotterell Court.
- Tucker Richardson set a career-high in assists for the second consecutive game, finishing with 12 to best his 11-assist quarterfinal game against Loyola. It was also his second straight double-double performance.
- The Raiders last faced Lafayette in the Patriot League tournament in 2020, coming out on top 89-64 to move to 6-5 all-time in the postseason against the Leopards.
UP NEXT
Top-seeded Colgate (25-8, 17-1 Patriot) hosts sixth-seeded Lafayette (11-22, 7-11 Patriot) for all the marbles Wednesday night at 7:30 p.m., with the game being televised on CBS Sports Network. The Leopards outlasted seventh-seeded American 84-76 in double-overtime to advance to the championship. Wednesday's winner earns the League's automatic berth to the NCAA Tournament.
TICKET INFORMATION
Patriot League Tournament Championship tickets are scheduled to go on sale Monday at 1 p.m. Tickets are priced at $25 for adults and $10 for senior citizens and children. Tickets are available on a first-come, first-served basis, while supplies last, and can be purchased by calling the Colgate Athletics ticket office at 315-228-4062 or by visiting the ticket office in the Reid Athletic Center.
