Sophomore Clayton Graham came off the bench to score five points and grab two rebounds but Colgate dropped a 66-50 decision to first place Bucknell Wednesday night. (Photo by Bob Cornell)
By Jeremiah Hergott, Director of Athletic Communications
(Hamilton, NY – Feb. 8, 2012) Three Bison scored in double-figures including reigning Patriot League Player of the Year Mike Muscala as Bucknell topped the Colgate men’s basketball team 66-50 Wednesday night at Cotterell Court.
Colgate (7-17, 1-8) got seven points from Sterling Melville, while Nick Pascale and Luke Roh both pitched in six. Freshman Matt McMullen along with junior Clayton Graham both scored career-high’s with five points for the Raiders, while McMullen also dished out three assists.
Bucknell (19-6, 9-0) opened the game with a 12-4 run in the first four minutes of action and never looked backed as it extended its winning streak to 19-straight games over Patriot League foes. After the Bison extended their lead to 20-8 with 9:54 left, the Raiders should their first sign of life as they responded with a 6-0 run, including a three-pointer from Brandon James, to make the score 20-14 with 8:23 left. But that was as close as the score would get as Bucknell closed the half with a 6-1 run to take a 26-15 lead into the locker room.
Pascale scored the first three points of the second half to trim Bucknell’s lead to 26-18, but the Bison answered back with an 11-0 run over the next four minutes to build a 37-18 lead with 15:54 left. Mitch Rolls then drained a three-pointer 10 seconds later to stop the run, but the Bison weren’t finished as they pieced together a 19-5 run over the next eight minutes to build their largest lead of the game 56-32 with 7:27 left. Colgate did close the game with an 18-10 run, including a three-pointer from Chad Johnson in the closing seconds to make the final score 66-50.
Muscala finished with 11 points and seven rebounds in 21 minutes of action to lead Bucknell, while Bryan Cohen scored a game-high 12 points and Joe Willman pitched in 11 points and six boards for the Bison.
Bucknell shot 40.4 percent from the floor, while holding Colgate to just 25.9 percent. Bucknell also won the battle on the boards 48-31.
Colgate will continue Patriot League play when it visits Lehigh on Saturday, Feb. 11. The game is scheduled to begin at 7:00 p.m. at Stabler Arena.
(Lewisburg, Pa. – Feb. 8, 2012) The Colgate women’s basketball team dropped a Patriot League contest to Bucknell 67-45 Wednesday night at the Sojka Pavilion.
Junior guard Jhazmine Lynch led the Raiders with 15 points, eight rebounds, and six assists while Kelly Korkowski and Missy Repoli each scored eight points for the Raiders.
Korkowski got things started for the Raiders with a jumper with an assist from senior Candice Green. But Bucknell made an early statement by going on a 10-0 run to break the game open as it led 15-4 with 13:56 remaining in the half. A deep three ball from Lynch ended the scoreless run and made the score 15-7 with 12:55 remaining. The single-digit deficit was short lived as the Bison caught fire over the next 10 minutes to build a 22-point lead 38-16 lead with 2:09 remaining. Colgate used a 8-3 run to trim deficit before going into the locker room trailing 41-24.
Bucknell (3-21, 1-8) began the second half with a 16-8 run to build a 57-32 lead with 11:15 remaining in regulation. With 9:25 remaining in the game the Bison had gained a 26-point lead, 59-33, their largest of the game. Down the stretch Colgate attempted to cut into the lead, but the Raiders had dug themselves to deep to overcome such a large deficit as Bucknell came out with its first Patriot League victory of the season 67-45.
Colgate was held to 27 percent shooting from the field while allowing Bucknell to shoot 42 percent. Bucknell also won the rebounding battle 58-33.
Colgate (5-19, 2-7) will host Lehigh on Saturday, Feb. 11. The game is scheduled to begin at 4:00 p.m. at Cotterell Court. The first 200 fans to the game will receive a free pink t-shirt as the Raiders are also hosting a “Play 4Kay” initiative to raise breast cancer awareness.
“The Pink Game is always one of the highlights of the basketball season,” stated Colgate head women’s basketball coach Nicci Hays Fort. “We are looking forward to making this a great event for the Hamilton and Colgate communities.”
The Women’s Basketball Coaches Association began “Play 4Kay,” formerly known as “Pink Zone” and “Think Pink,” in 2007 in memory of former North Carolina State head women’s basketball coach Kay Yow as an initiative to raise breast cancer awareness in women’s basketball, on campuses and in communities. In 2007, more than 120 schools unified for this effort and helped make the inaugural year a success. In 2008, more than 1,200 teams and organizations participated, reaching more than 830,000 fans and raising more than $930,000 for breast cancer awareness and research.
“As a young coach, there was always a high level of admiration for Coach Yow. She was a pioneer in the sport, giving countless opportunities to young people like myself to not only play the sport of basketball but also to coach it,” said coach Hays. “She continues to provide opportunities in more powerful ways now even after her death. It is gratifying for our players and coaches to be able to contribute to the Play 4Kay event.”
In addition to the free pink t-shirts, the first 200 fans in attendance will receive a free pink ice cream from Gilligan’s. There will also be a raffle for autographed pink shoes and everyone wearing pink will get in free. Following the game there will be an autograph session for the fans along with a picture with the team.
You can learn more about Play 4Kay and the Kay Yow Cancer Foundation at www.play4kay.org.
