Boston University upsets Colgate for Patriot League title
HAMILTON, N.Y. (AP) Tournament MVP Max Mahoney had 18 points and 10 rebounds to lead four players in double figures and Boston University shocked Colgate 64-61 on Wednesday night to win its first Patriot League Tournament and earn an automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament.
The third-seeded Terriers (21-13) lost both regular-season matchups to top-seeded Colgate (25-9), which was 15-1 at home entering the game, the lone loss to Lafayette. Colgate was going for its fourth overall and second consecutive NCAA Tournament berth.
Fears of the coronavirus were nonexistent at Cotterell Court - capacity 1,675 - as a crowd of 1,724 jammed the tiny venue to cheer the hometown Raiders.
Walter Whyte and Jonas Harper each scored 12 points and Javante McCoy had 11 points and seven assists with no turnovers for the Terriers.
Jordan Burns had 21 points, Jack Ferguson had 17, and Rapolas Ivanauskas had 13 points and 11 rebounds for Colgate.
BU never trailed after jumping to an early 17-point lead in its 64-61 win at home over Bucknell in the semifinals. But the Terriers trailed for most of this one until early in the second half and held on at the end.
BU regained the lead for the first time since the opening minutes when Whyte hit a 3 from the right wing and Mahoney converted off the glass in the opening minute of the second half. Two free throws by Will Rayman put Colgate back on top 39-38 with 15:53 left.
After Whyte hit a 3 from the top of the key to knot the score at 45-all with 13:12 to go, Ferguson hit a pair of free throws after being fouled shooting a 3 to give Colgate the lead again.
Harper broke a 53-all tie with his fourth 3-pointer of the game with 7:03 left. A tip-in by Mahoney put BU up 60-55 with 4:04 to go and the Raiders couldn't rally.
Burns and Rayman each missed 3s in the closing seconds.
Colgate has finished with double-digit 3-pointers in 18 games this season but was 4 of 22 from the arc, a season low, Wednesday.
Boston University was 0-9 when scoring fewer than 63 points and 20-4 when scoring at least 63.
Colgate won both of the regular-season matchups, the last one on Feb. 10 when the Raiders shot 47.5% and made five more 3-pointers en route to a 16-point victory.
The Raiders are 30-3 at home the past two seasons, but two of those losses were to the Terriers.
The Terriers came back from deficits at halftime in four of their last six wins.
TIGHT FIRST HALF
Colgate led 33-29 at halftime despite a 3-for-12 performance from the arc. The Raiders entered the game with 338 makes from 3, fourth nationally, averaging 10 a game but missed their first six tries from deep. After BU's Tynen Fletcher hit a runner to tie the game at 10-all with 12:56 left, the Raiders scored seven straight points and led the rest of the half. Rayman started the spurt with a reverse layup, Jack Ferguson hit a 3 from the left corner, and Burns followed with a driving reverse layup. Burns had 13 points to lead all scorers while Mahoney led the Terriers with 10. BU was 2 of 9 on free throws in the first half.
TOP SEED STREAK ENDS
Colgate's three previous titles were all as the No. 1 seed, with wins over Navy (1994-95), Holy Cross (1995-96), and Bucknell (2018-19).
MILESTONE GAME
Ivanauskas became the 36th member of Colgate's 1,000-point club. His 1,004 career points have all come during his two years with the team after transferring from Northwestern. His 558 points in 2018-19 marked the highest single-season total since Adonal Foyle finished with 682 points in 1996-97.
CUTOFF LINE
Colgate is now 18-1 when it holds opponents to 69 points or fewer.
BIG PICTURE
Boston University: The Terriers are the first No. 3 seed to win the Patriot League Tournament and earned their first NCAA bid since 2011 when they won the America East Conference Tournament. The Terriers made it to the 2014 Patriot League title game but lost to American. The teams had met once before in the postseason, and it was last year. Colgate erased a 12-point second-half deficit and won 81-69 in the quarterfinals at Cotterell Court.
Colgate: The Raiders were regular season champions and earned an automatic bid to the NIT.
UP NEXT
Boston University: Terriers find out Sunday where they will play in the NCAA Tournament.
Colgate: Raiders will find out Sunday where they'll play in the NIT.
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