Wednesday, March 13
Hamilton, NY
7:30 p.m.
Bucknell University
21-12
80
at
94
Colgate (PL Championship)
24-10
1
2
F
Bucknell
30
50
80
Colgate
43
51
94
Photo by: Marc Hagemeier
Bison Fall to Hot-Shooting Colgate 94-80 in Patriot League Championship Game
3/13/2019 9:46:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Mackenzie scores 23, Sestina 21 but Bison come up one game shy of third straight NCAA bid
HAMILTON, N.Y. – Kimbal Mackenzie scored 16 of his 23 points in a second-half flurry that cut what was once a 17-point deficit down to two, but Bucknell couldn't overcome Colgate's 71-percent shooting in the second half and fell 94-80 in the Patriot League Tournament championship game on Wednesday night at Cotterell Court.
Colgate, led by a career-high and Patriot League championship game-record 35 points from Jordan Burns, won its 11th straight game and improved to 24-10 while earning the Patriot League's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. Bucknell closed the season at 21-12, falling one game short of becoming only the second team in league history to win three straight tournament titles.
Mackenzie and Nate Sestina (21 points) closed out sensational senior years with big games, and both were named to the All-Tournament Team. The senior class of Mackenzie, Sestina, Nate Jones and Matt O'Reilly go out with 89 career wins, four straight Patriot League regular-season titles, and two NCAA Tournament appearances.
"Congratulations to Coach Langel and Colgate on a well-deserved win tonight," said Bucknell head coach Nathan Davis. "They played really well as a group and I give them all the credit in the world. From our perspective, it really hurts because I know just how much winning means to our guys and to our program. Right now my thoughts are with our seniors, who will go down as one of the great classes in Bucknell history."
Trailing 43-30 at the half, Mackenzie went crazy at the start of the second period, hitting four straight 3-pointers and scoring 14 points in first 2:49. He added two more free throws at the 15:48 mark that made it a two-point game at 50-48.
The Bison had a possession to tie or take the lead, but they turned the ball over on their next three possessions, and Colgate simply would not miss. The Raiders scored six straight points to regain some separation. Sestina's 3-pointer made it 58-54, but Jack Ferguson answered with a corner three the other way.
Burns made two free throws after drawing the fourth foul on Avi Toomer with 10:36 to go, and after a pair of Bruce Moore free throws, Rapolas Ivanauskas made a three to give Colgate a 66-56 lead. Burns followed with consecutive treys as part of his own personal 8-0 run, and the Raiders led by at least 10 the rest of the way.
Colgate went 17-for-24 (.708) from the field in the second half, including 6-for-8 from behind the arc. The Raiders finished at 57.7 percent overall and went 12-for-21 from long distance. The Bison actually made one more 3-pointer than Colgate, finishing 13-for-31, but shot 43.6 percent overall.
Burns was the difference-maker for Colgate in the first half with 19 points. He canned four of his first five 3-pointers of the night, including two in a row that stretched the Raiders' lead up to 34-19.
Burns followed with a pair of free throws to give Colgate its largest lead of the half, but 3-pointers by Andrew Funk and Sestina, and a half-ending 3-point play by Mackenzie helped the Bison inch within 13 at 43-30 at the break.
Toomer was Bucknell's third double-digit scorer in the game with 10 points, while Moore added nine and John Meeks eight.
Jimmy Sotos tallied eight assists, giving him 189 on the season, third-most in Bucknell history. Only Chris Seneca (197 in 1986-87 and 191 in 1985-86) has produced more assists in a season.
Mackenzie finished 5-for-10 from the 3-point arc in this one, giving him 16 threes in 31 attempts in the Patriot League Tournament. Mackenzie, who averaged 25.0 points per game in the tournament, hit 83 3-pointers on the season, which were third-most in school history, behind only Bryson Johnson's 99 in 2010-11 and 84 in 2011-12. Mackenzie's 211 career triples are fourth-most in school history.
Mackenzie, who was both a First Team All-Patriot League selection and the 2019 Scholar-Athlete of the Year, will graduate with 1,330 career points. His 23 at Colgate moved him past former teammate Stephen Brown and the great J.R. Holden into 18th place on Bucknell's all-time list. Mackenzie's 582 points in 2018-19 are seventh-most in school history.
Bucknell and Colgate both finished the season 13-5 in Patriot League play, and they split the regular-season series with the home team winning both times. The Raiders garnered the top seed and the right to play the championship game at home based on a better record against fourth-place American.
In a tournament format where the higher-seeded team hosts each game, the Bison had not played a tourney game on the road in more than 10 years, dating back to a quarterfinal loss at Holy Cross on March 4, 2009.
Next season, Bucknell will carry a streak of five straight regular-season conference championships. Only Gonzaga with seven has a longer streak in Division I men's basketball.
POSTGAME PRESS CONFERERNCE:
PHOTO GALLERY:
Gallery: (3/13/2019) Men's Basketball at Colgate
Colgate, led by a career-high and Patriot League championship game-record 35 points from Jordan Burns, won its 11th straight game and improved to 24-10 while earning the Patriot League's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. Bucknell closed the season at 21-12, falling one game short of becoming only the second team in league history to win three straight tournament titles.
Mackenzie and Nate Sestina (21 points) closed out sensational senior years with big games, and both were named to the All-Tournament Team. The senior class of Mackenzie, Sestina, Nate Jones and Matt O'Reilly go out with 89 career wins, four straight Patriot League regular-season titles, and two NCAA Tournament appearances.
"Congratulations to Coach Langel and Colgate on a well-deserved win tonight," said Bucknell head coach Nathan Davis. "They played really well as a group and I give them all the credit in the world. From our perspective, it really hurts because I know just how much winning means to our guys and to our program. Right now my thoughts are with our seniors, who will go down as one of the great classes in Bucknell history."
Trailing 43-30 at the half, Mackenzie went crazy at the start of the second period, hitting four straight 3-pointers and scoring 14 points in first 2:49. He added two more free throws at the 15:48 mark that made it a two-point game at 50-48.
The Bison had a possession to tie or take the lead, but they turned the ball over on their next three possessions, and Colgate simply would not miss. The Raiders scored six straight points to regain some separation. Sestina's 3-pointer made it 58-54, but Jack Ferguson answered with a corner three the other way.
Burns made two free throws after drawing the fourth foul on Avi Toomer with 10:36 to go, and after a pair of Bruce Moore free throws, Rapolas Ivanauskas made a three to give Colgate a 66-56 lead. Burns followed with consecutive treys as part of his own personal 8-0 run, and the Raiders led by at least 10 the rest of the way.
Colgate went 17-for-24 (.708) from the field in the second half, including 6-for-8 from behind the arc. The Raiders finished at 57.7 percent overall and went 12-for-21 from long distance. The Bison actually made one more 3-pointer than Colgate, finishing 13-for-31, but shot 43.6 percent overall.
Burns was the difference-maker for Colgate in the first half with 19 points. He canned four of his first five 3-pointers of the night, including two in a row that stretched the Raiders' lead up to 34-19.
Burns followed with a pair of free throws to give Colgate its largest lead of the half, but 3-pointers by Andrew Funk and Sestina, and a half-ending 3-point play by Mackenzie helped the Bison inch within 13 at 43-30 at the break.
Toomer was Bucknell's third double-digit scorer in the game with 10 points, while Moore added nine and John Meeks eight.
Jimmy Sotos tallied eight assists, giving him 189 on the season, third-most in Bucknell history. Only Chris Seneca (197 in 1986-87 and 191 in 1985-86) has produced more assists in a season.
Mackenzie finished 5-for-10 from the 3-point arc in this one, giving him 16 threes in 31 attempts in the Patriot League Tournament. Mackenzie, who averaged 25.0 points per game in the tournament, hit 83 3-pointers on the season, which were third-most in school history, behind only Bryson Johnson's 99 in 2010-11 and 84 in 2011-12. Mackenzie's 211 career triples are fourth-most in school history.
Mackenzie, who was both a First Team All-Patriot League selection and the 2019 Scholar-Athlete of the Year, will graduate with 1,330 career points. His 23 at Colgate moved him past former teammate Stephen Brown and the great J.R. Holden into 18th place on Bucknell's all-time list. Mackenzie's 582 points in 2018-19 are seventh-most in school history.
Bucknell and Colgate both finished the season 13-5 in Patriot League play, and they split the regular-season series with the home team winning both times. The Raiders garnered the top seed and the right to play the championship game at home based on a better record against fourth-place American.
In a tournament format where the higher-seeded team hosts each game, the Bison had not played a tourney game on the road in more than 10 years, dating back to a quarterfinal loss at Holy Cross on March 4, 2009.
Next season, Bucknell will carry a streak of five straight regular-season conference championships. Only Gonzaga with seven has a longer streak in Division I men's basketball.
POSTGAME PRESS CONFERERNCE:
PHOTO GALLERY:
Team Stats
Buck
Colg
FG%
.436
.577
3FG%
.419
.571
FT%
.760
.759
RB
24
35
TO
12
14
STL
4
9
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
23
FGM
6
3FGM
5
FTM
6
Pts
21
FGM
7
3FGM
3
FTM
4
Pts
10
FGM
3
3FGM
2
FTM
2
Pts
9
FGM
1
3FGM
0
FTM
7
Players Mentioned
G
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G
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G
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/ Men's BasketballF/C
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