Raiders Take Care of Holy Cross, 81-64

Colgate put together a balanced performance in front of its home playoff crowd to knock off Holy Cross 81-64 in the Patriot League Tournament quarterfinals on Thursday night at Cotterell Court. For the seventh consecutive year, Colgate will host a Patriot League semifinal matchup and this time welcomes fifth-seeded Bucknell on Sunday at 2 p.m. The Bison upset fourthseeded American 80-57 in their quarterfinal game on Thursday. All 10 Raiders who played found the scoring column. Ryan Moffatt led four double-figure scorers with 14 points, while Keegan Records finished with 13 points and seven rebounds. Braeden Smith filled the stat sheet with 12 points, eight assists, seven rebounds, and two steals.

“Holy Cross played really hard. They have some veteran guys who were really poised and made a lot of good plays. I’m proud of our guys for sustaining. We did force some turnovers which ultimately helped us on the offensive end. We stepped up and made enough foul shots over the course of the game. Chandler’s three-point shooting — the shooting off the bench was a big spark. Our team played a really good game. We were intense and tough, hopefully getting some postseason jitters out of the way.”

“To play your best you just have to find the identity of the game you’re in. We’re playing a connected brand of basketball, but you’ve got to do that every time you step on the court this time of year. Our players will be focused on competing like crazy next time out. It will be important for our community to be here and carry that energy that March can bring for us.”

Colgate missed its first three attempts from the floor, but Moffatt’s trey was the first of four straight makes that followed. He scored five early points after banking home a layup that gave the Raiders a 9-6 edge four minutes into the contest.

Nicolas Louis-jacques and Parker Jones swished 3-balls in succession but Colgate’s margin was still three points 19-16 after a pair of 3-pointers from Holy Cross’ Joe Octave, who led the visitors with 20 points in the game.

Colgate kept feeding inside and back-to-back layups from Jeff Woodward, who scored 10 points, stretched the lead to 24-16. Two free throws from Moffatt capped a 9-2 Colgate burst that extended the lead to double digits for the first time 31-20 with 6:55 left in the half.

The Raiders led by as many as 13 (38-25) when Smith stepped back for a triple with 3:43 remaining in the first half. Records and Woodward scored Colgate’s final four points of the frame to give Colgate a 42-30 lead at the intermission.

Holy Cross opened the second half with a 3-pointer from Joe Nugent and that sparked a 7-2 surge for the visitors, who closed within 44-37 three minutes into the frame. Colgate immediately shot back with seven straight points, capped off by a free throw from Woodward, to put the lead in double digits the rest of the way 51-37 with 14:49 remaining.

Jalen Cox became the 10th different Colgate player to score when his tough jumper made it 62-47 midway through the second half. The Raiders led by as many as 18 and never saw the margin shrink below 11 points the rest of the way to seal their third win in 22 days against Holy Cross, 81-64.

Colgate shot 57 percent overall (29-51) including 66.7 percent in the second half. The Raiders connected on 47.1 percent from behind the arc (8-17) and 68.2 percent from the free throw line (15-22). Colgate’s bench outscored Holy Cross reserves 34-9 led by 19 combined from Woodward and Chandler Baker.

Colgate (23-9, 16-2 PL) welcomes fifth-seeded Bucknell on Sunday at 2 p.m. with a trip to the Patriot League championship on the line. The game will be broadcast nationally on CBS Sports Network. The Raiders swept the Bison during the regular season, winning 84-73 on Jan. 13 in Lewisburg followed by a 62-50 victory on Feb. 17 at Cotterell Court. Stay tuned to Colgateathletics.com for more ticket information.