HAMILTON – Will Rayman scored 18 points to lead four Raiders in double figures and Colgate knocked down 16 3-pointers in a 92-70 thumping of Loyola on Wednesday night at Cotterell Court.
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Colgate (12-4, 3-0 Patriot) extended its winning streak to six and remained perfect at home at 7-0. The Raiders are 3-0 in Patriot League play for the first time since 2014-15.
The Raiders' 92 points were their second-most in a game this season, only behind their 99-point performance in the Legends Classic championship at Green Bay. It was their highest scoring total at Cotterell Court since racking up 94 in the Patriot League championship last season against Bucknell.
Rayman's 18 points came on 6-of-10 shooting from the field and 3-of-5 from beyond the arc.
Jack Ferguson added a season-high 17 with four treys,
Rapolas Ivanauskas scored 15, and
Jordan Burns finished with 13 points to go with a game-high six assists.
Rayman and Ivanauskas both finished one rebound shy of double-doubles with nine boards apiece.
A pair of early treys from Burns and Ivanauskas pushed Colgate out front at the first media timeout. Ivanauskas started things off with a layup in the paint and Burns got a running floater to fall to give the Raiders a 12-9 advantage.
After Ferguson swished a trey from the wing, Loyola's Isaiah Hart countered with a 3-pointer of his own and a Jaylin Andrews bucket led to a 7-0 run for the Greyhounds, who claimed a brief 16-15 lead.
Ferguson converted a traditional three-point play and both teams were knotted at 20-20 before Rayman buried a triple from the corner and the Raiders scored seven straight points to open a 27-20 advantage with just over seven minutes left in the half.
Loyola (9-7, 1-2 Patriot) closed the gap down to four 32-28 on a 3-pointer from Kenneth Jones with 2:46 left, but the Raiders shot back with eight of the next 10 points.
Nelly Cummings sank a pair of free throws to give Colgate a 40-32 lead at the intermission.
Nine of Colgate's first 11 points in the second half came from behind the arc. That would be the trend in the second half, as the Raiders scored 27 of their first 34 points from downtown in the final stanza. Cummings and Burns both hit treys before Ivanauskas connected from long range and the Raiders were rolling 51-38 at the 14-minute mark of the second half.
Colgate continued to pour it on, as back-to-back 3-pointers from
David Maynard extended Colgate's lead to 65-44 eight minutes into the second stanza. Ferguson joined in with back-to-back triples, with the latter from
Ryan Moffatt pushing the Raiders' lead to 74-47.
The Greyhounds used a late 12-2 run over a four-minute stretch to cut the margin back to 78-61, but that was as close as they would get. Ferguson splashed his fourth trey to cap a 7-0 run down the stretch and
Milan Williams scored the final four points for the Raiders in the 92-70 victory.
BOTTOM LINE
Colgate 92, Loyola 70
QUOTES
Head Coach Matt Langel
On the win:
"After getting back early Tuesday morning from Army, our guys stayed locked in. We were able to get a lot of things accomplished tonight. They love playing here; the crowds have been great at home all season. Our guys are having fun playing together. We know every game is a big one and that's how we are approaching it."
On jumping out to an early lead:
"We had a lot of good shots. We got a couple post-ups to the basket, we had some open drives, and we got a few open 3-point looks. Loyola changed defenses a lot, but our guys did a good job recognizing it early in possessions, whether it was zone or man, and attacking the rim.
On the keys to a strong second half (season-high 52 points):
"We just stayed focused. Our guys have been through a lot with different experiences under their belts, especially our veterans, and we just talked about playing the right way and doing the right thing. We respected the opposition and we knew we had to play hard and smart."
GAME NOTES
- Colgate improved to 7-0 all-time against Loyola at home with the win.
- The Raiders extended their program-record home winning streak to 14.
- Colgate has now won six in a row and 11 of its last 12.
- The Raiders scored a season-high 52 points in the second half.
- Colgate finished with 16 3-pointers, its second-most in a game this season.
- 10 of those 3-pointers came from seven different players in the second half.
- Their season-high 19 treys earlier this season against Green Bay set a program record.
- Rayman's 18 points tied his season high from the season opener against NJIT.
- Ferguson's 17 points were a season high, eclipsing his previous best of 12 at Niagara.
- His six field goals tied a career high, plus his four 3-pointers were a season best.
- Cummings was a perfect 6-of-6 from the line for the second straight game.
- Maynard matched his career-high six points for the fourth time this season.
UP NEXT
After playing eight of its last nine games in New York State, Colgate hits the road for Annapolis, Maryland, to take on Navy on Saturday. Tip time is 4 p.m., and the game will be streamed live on the Patriot League Network.
