HAMILTON – Colgate used a 10-0 run midway through the second half to avenge its lone Patriot League loss to date with an 87-80 comeback win over Bucknell on Monday night at Cotterell Court. 

Nicolas Louis-Jacques led four Raiders in double figures with 19 points and Jeff Woodward had another standout performance with 18 points, nine rebounds, and two assists on 7-of-8 from the field. Jalen Cox was 7-of-10 from the floor and registered 17 points, four assists and four steals. 

Colgate as a team shot 59 percent (29-49) and got two triples each from Brady Cummins, Louis-Jacques, and Sam Wright. The Raiders finished 8-of-19 (.421) from behind the arc and 81 percent from the free throw line (21-26), including 21-of-25 in the second half to put up a season-high 50 points after halftime.

HOW THE GAME WAS DECIDED

Bucknell led by as many as eight points after center Noah Williamson drilled a 3-pointer and then sank two free throws to give the visitors a 47-39 lead two minutes into the second half. Williamson finished the game 6-for-6 from behind the arc but was 1-of-6 from two-point range going toe-to-toe with Woodward. 

The Raiders missed their first four attempts from behind the arc in the second half before Parker Jones drilled a triple to spark the game-changing 10-0 run – which included a wing 3-pointer from Wright – and Colgate established its first lead of the second half, 60-55, with 9:30 remaining. 

Colgate's lead was still five points when Nicolas Louis-Jacques and Wright connected on back-to-back deep shots in an 8-1 surge to stretch the lead to double-digits, 71-61. Cox scored 13 of his 17 points after halftime, and his pull-up jumper gave Colgate its largest lead, 73-61, with 5:36 left.

The Bison cut the gap to five points down the stretch but Colgate made five of its last six attempts from the free throw line to hold off Bucknell, 87-80, to improve to 6-1 in Patriot League play. 

FAST-PACED FIRST HALF

Both teams got off to a red-hot start in a fast-paced opening frame. Woodward scored six of Colgate's first nine points with a trey from Cummins mixed in. Bucknell came out hot as well, opening 3-for-3 from behind the arc and the teams were deadlocked at 9-9 five minutes into the game. 

The Bison were the first team to get going defensively, and that led to a 6-0 burst and a 20-14 lead until Wright rattled in a 3-pointer to trim the deficit to 20-17 with 11:30 showing on the clock. That was still Bucknell's leading margin after Kyle Carlesimo sank a floater, 31-28, with 5:54 remaining in the half.

Woodward was 5-for-5 from the field and led the team with 10 points at the break. Colgate shot 64 percent from the floor in the first half but couldn't stop the three-ball. Bucknell made eight treys in the first half (8-15) and built a 42-37 margin at the intermission. Colgate was 5-for-11 from downtown in the opening frame.

KEY SHOOTING DOWN THE STRETCH

Williamson scored the first five points of the second half to give Bucknell its largest lead, 47-39, a minute into the frame. Colgate's defense picked up the intensity and held the Bison scoreless for more than five minutes, and a three-point play from Cox gave the Raiders a 50-49 lead with 14:11 remaining.

The back-and-forth action continued from there. Bucknell shot back with six unanswered points – capped by another trey from Williamson. Julian Scott ended Colgate's drought with a stepback jumper in the lane to cut the margin to 55-52 with 11:10 showing – and that turned the tides in the second half. 

Colgate's reserves outscored Bucknell 17-5 and those points came at critical times down the stretch. Wright had two 3-balls and Scott scored four of his six points during Colgate's big 10-0 run to take the lead and then hold on for good in the second half. 

GAME NOTES
 

• Jeff Woodward needed 18 points to reach 1,000 for his career. He reached the milestone with a free throw in the second half to become the program's 42 member of the 1,000-point club.
• Colgate, 6-1 in Patriot League play for the second consecutive season, extended its season-long winning streak to five games with the victory. The Raiders remain unbeaten at home in PL play (4-0).
• Colgate's offense has been humming of late, scoring 87 points or more in three of the last four games.
• The Raiders improved to 2-9 on the season when trailing at halftime.
• Colgate's 50 points in the second half bested its previous high 47 in the season-opening win against Canton. 

UP NEXT
Colgate (9-11, 6-1 Patriot) heads to the nation's capital for a showdown at American (10-9, 4-2 Patriot) on Saturday at 4 p.m.