3-Point Shooting Lifts Colgate Past Bucknell 80-65

Monday, January 20

Hamilton, N.Y.

7 p.m.

Bucknell University

8-12,4-3Patriot

Colgate

15-5,6-1Patriot

Bucknell

Colgate

Photo by: Marc Hagemeier

3-Point Shooting Lifts Colgate Past Bucknell 80-65

1/20/2020 9:24:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

HAMILTON, N.Y. – Jordan Burns hit six of Colgate's 11 second-half 3-pointers, helping the Raiders to an 80-65 victory over Bucknell on Monday night at Cotterell Court. Andrew Funk scored 16 for the Bison, who played well in long stretches but just could not keep up with Colgate's red-hot shooting from downtown.

The Raiders (15-5, 6-1 PL) went 11-for-15 from the arc in the second half and 14-for-23 in the game, and they kept a hold on sole possession of first place. Bucknell (8-12, 4-3 PL) hit 10 3-pointers of its own in 29 attempts and shot 43 percent overall.

John Meeks tallied 11 points, and Avi Toomer logged 10 points and seven rebounds for the Bison. Burns scored all 23 of his points in the second half to lead Colgate. Will Rayman had 19 points, 10 rebounds and five assists, Tucker Richardson hit four treys and scored 16 points, and Nelly Cummings added 14 points.

"Give credit to Colgate, they obviously shot the ball really well in the second half," said head coach Nathan Davis. "I thought our guys fought very hard, and even though the stats won't show it, we did a lot of good things defensively. They made a lot of contested shots, and when we did have a few breakdowns they made the open ones too. There are a lot of games left, and now we will get a few extra days to get ready for Loyola on Saturday."

Bucknell trailed 32-29 after a back-and-forth, foul-laden first half. Things quickly opened up in the second stanza, however, as the teams swapped a pair of 3-pointers apiece in the first 90 seconds. But the Raiders didn't stop. Five of their first six second-half buckets were from long range, including three from Burns. A Rayman three at the 13:49 mark helped Colgate extend the margin to 10 at 49-39.

Jimmy Sotos hit a 3-pointer and then found Toomer for a transition three to cut the margin to four. Richardson buried one from deep, and then the Bison had a 1-for-4 stretch at the free-throw line that left them 3-for-10 on the night at that point.

Burns added two more treys over the next three minutes, but the Bison were still shooting nearly 60 percent in the half themselves and were able to stay in it until the final seven minutes.

Two free throws from Meeks made it 62-56. The Bison had a chance to get even closer but missed three shots on one possession, and then Rayman hit a 3-pointer to stretch the margin back to nine.

The Bison finally cooled off, enduring a 1-for-10 stretch inside four minutes, and treys by Cummings and Burns keyed an 8-0 run that gave Colgate a 77-60 lead with 2:19 to go.

Bucknell continued its recent trend of forcing turnovers. The Bison collected 10 steals among Colgate's 17 miscues, including three each by reserves Xander Rice and Paul Newman. Bucknell had only three first-half turnovers before finishing with 11.

Meeks hit a 3-pointer on the game's very first possession, but then the Bison missed their next six shots before Kahliel Spear followed his own miss with a layup. Colgate went up 16-12 on a Richardson 3-pointer, but Bucknell pitched a shutout for the next 4:20 while rattling off nine straight points.

A pull-up jumper by Rice and back-to-back 3-pointers from Funk gave the Bison a 21-16 lead. Rayman ended the Colgate drought with a three, and there would be three lead changes and a couple of ties in the final four minutes of the half.

Cummings' 3-point play with 58 seconds to go gave Colgate a 32-29 lead, and that was the halftime score after both teams finished the period with defensive stops.

Bucknell was whistled for 13 first-half fouls and Colgate was in the double-bonus with 11 minutes on the clock. Both teams left some points at the free-throw line, as Colgate finished the game 12-for-18 and Bucknell 7-for-14.

The Bison are back home on Saturday to face Loyola at 7 p.m.