Trending
HAMILTON, N.Y. -- Josh Bascoe scored 23 points and Noah Williamson went 6 for 6 from 3-point range on the way to 22, but Colgate shot 59% from the field and went 21 for 25 from the foul line in the second half to defeat Bucknell 87-80 on Monday night at Cotterell Court.
The first-place Raiders improved to 6-1 in Patriot League play - their only loss came at Bucknell 15 days ago - while the Bison saw their two-game winning streak end and fell to 4-3 in the league.
Bucknell went 12 for 24 from 3-point range on the night, with the 7-foot Williamson canning a career-high six. Bascoe went 3 for 6 from downtown, and Achile Spadone (13) and Ruot Bijiek (10) also scored in double figures. Nicolas Louis-Jacques led four Raiders in double figures with 19 points.
The Bison ran into a red-hot team on the road, as Colgate has now scored at least 87 points in three of its last four games and has won five straight since losing 66-60 at Sojka Pavilion on Jan. 5.
Bucknell led 42-37 at the end of a fast-paced first half, even though Colgate shot 64.0 percent in the period. The Bison hit eight 3-pointers in the opening 20 minutes, with Bascoe's triple keying an 11-3 run that helped them open up a 20-14 lead.
Colgate battled back to tie it twice before Bucknell went on a 9-2 run to take its largest lead of the half, seven points at 42-35. Back-to-back buckets by Spadone capped the surge.
Williamson's fourth 3-pointer extended the lead to eight at the start of the second half, but the Bison missed five of their next six attempts with four turnovers, and Colgate rallied to take a 50-49 lead on Jalen Cox's 3-point play.
Bucknell scored the next six points, three coming on another Williamson trey followed by a Bascoe drive, to retake the lead at 55-50. Colgate immediately responded with a 10-0 run in a span of just 1:39. Parker Jones' 3-pointer from the left wing gave the Raiders the lead for good at 57-55 with 10:21 left.
It was just a three-point margin at 63-60 when Colgate delivered a crushing five-point possession. Cox was fouled while making a layup, Colgate rebounded the missed free throw, and Louis-Jacques followed with a 3-pointer. Pip Ajayi made 1 of 2 at the line at the other end, but then Sam Wright hit another trey to give Colgate a 71-61 lead with 5:34 left.
The Raiders went 12 for 14 from the foul line in the final two minutes to offset a 3-point play by Spadone and 3-pointers from Bascoe and Williamson.
Bucknell shot an even 50% from the field (28 of 56) and went 12 for 16 from the foul line. Colgate finished with a 29-22 rebounding edge, but the Bison led 12-5 in second-chance points.
BUCKNELL (8-12, 4-3 PL)
Josh Bascoe 9-17 2-4 23; Noah Williamson 7-12 2-3 22; Achile Spadone 5-9 3-3 13; Ruot Bijiek 3-9 2-2 10; Brandon McCreesh 3-4 0-0 7; Pip Ajayi 1-2 3-4 5; Jayden Williams 0-3 0-0 0; Elvin Edmonds IV 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 28-56 12-16 80.
COLGATE (9-11, 6-1 PL)
Nicolas Louis-Jacques 5-11 7-8 19; Jeff Woodward 7-8 4-5 18; Jalen Cox 7-10 3-4 17; Brady CUmmins 3-7 3-4 11; Parker Jones 2-5 0-0 5; Julian Scott 1-1 4-4 6; Sam Wright 2-3 0-0 6; Chandler Baker 1-2 0-0 3; Kyle Carlesimo 1-2 0-1 2. Totals 29-49 21-26 87.
Halftime: Bucknell 42-37. 3-point goals: Bucknell 12-24 (Williamson 6-6, Bascoe 3-6, Bijiek 2-7, Brandon 1-1, Williams 0-1, Ajayi 0-1, Spadone 0-2), Colgate 8-19 (Cummins 2-5, Louis-Jacquez 2-4, Jones 1-3, CHandler 1-3, Wright 2-3, Cox 0-1, Carlesimo 0-1). Fouled out: Bucknell-none; Colgate-none. Rebounds: Bucknell 22 (Spadone 7), Colgate 29 (Woodward 9). Assists: Bucknell 14 (Bascoe 3, Williams 3), Colgate 13 (Jones 5). Technical fouls: Bucknell-none; Colgate-none. Total fouls: Bucknell 17, Colgate 14. A: 814.