Colgate players are too young to remember the last time the Raiders made the NCAA Tournament -- if they even were born at the time. So what they did Wednesday counts as a first-in-a-lifetime event.
Riding a 22-9 run midway through the first half to a lead it would never relinquish, top-seeded Colgate defeated second-seeded Bucknell 94-80 to win the Patriot League tournament on its home floor, qualifying for the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1996.
The Raiders (23-10) got a game-high and tournament championship game-record 35 points from Jordan Burns as they prevented the Bison (21-11) from winning the tournament for the third straight season. Bucknell got 23 points from Kimbal Mackenzie.
--Field Level Media
Bucknell | Colgate | |
Kimbal MacKenzie 23 | Scoring | Jordan Burns 35 |
Jimmy Sotos 8 | Assists | Jordan Burns 6 |
Nate Sestina 5 | Rebounds | Rapolas Ivanauskas 8 |
Bruce Moore 7 | Free Throws Made | Jordan Burns 9 |
Kimbal MacKenzie 2 | Steals | Jordan Burns 3 |
Nate Sestina 1 | Blocks | Will Rayman 1 |