Three runs that occurred in Colgate’s 56-53 loss to Bucknell last week tell the story of the whole game. In the opening nine minutes of play, the Raiders outscored the Bison 19-5, making Bucknell look like a disheveled CYO team rather than the NCAA Tournament Cinderella that it is. Colgate hit eight of its 13 shots and forced Bucknell to commit six turnovers. The Bison chipped away at the lead, but Colgate stood firm, holding a 31-23 lead with 16:52 left in the game.

The second run was a dagger in Colgate’s heart. Over the next nine-and-a-half minutes, the Raiders put on their worst display of offensive basketball this season. Colgate missed all but one of its eight shots and committed eight turnovers, three of which came on consecutive possessions. Bucknell took advantage of Colgate’s offensive futility and scored in bunches. Six Bison contributed to a 25-4 run that put Bucknell up by 13 with 7:22 remaining in the game.

“Anytime you get a big lead like that, a quality team is going to comeback,” Head Coach Emmett Davis said. “It’s inevitable.”

Undaunted, Colgate showed why it is one of the gutsiest teams in the Patriot League when it made a desperation comeback with time running out. Senior Jon Simon led the team on a furious offensive run that cut the Bucknell lead to single digits. He hit a three-pointer with three seconds left to pull Colgate within one point, but quick-thinking junior Donald Brown then grabbed the ball and made a long in-bounds pass to first-year Stephen Tyree. Tyree dribbled to the basket and made a last second lay-up with four-tenths of a second remaining. Colgate had no time left to set up a good three point opportunity, and the game ended in disappointment for the Raiders.

For Bucknell, seniors Abe Badmus and Chris McNaughton had 12 points, and McNaughton also led the team with nine rebounds. Simon, who scored 22 points proved to be Colgate’s leader. The Raiders’ second star of the game was senior Marc Daniels, who scored eight points and grabbed 11 rebounds.

Last Saturday, in one of the ugliest games of the season, Colgate defeated Army 42-38. Both teams struggled offensively throughout the game, as Colgate and Army combined to make only 27 shots. Colgate led for most of the contest, but Army hit timely shots to prevent the Raiders from pulling away. With under a minute remaining, Simon missed a baseline jumper, but the ball caromed off the rim and into the hands of Daniels, who made a lay-up to give the Raiders the lead. Army senior Matt Bell missed a shot on the other end, and redshirt sophomore Daniel Waddy gobbled up the rebound and made two free throws to seal the win. Daniels has come up big for the Raiders as of late, making timely buckets and grabbing important boards.

“He’s (Daniels) doing all the little things defensively for us,” Coach Davis said. “Offensively, he’s done a great job on the glass.”

Bell led Army with 10 points, while normally reliable junior Jerrell Brown only scored seven points on 2-12 shooting. Brown had 30 points in his last game against Colgate.

“Every shot he took was a contested shot,” Coach Davis said. “He just never got going.”

For the Raiders, junior Kyle Chones once again led the team in scoring with 11 points. Daniels had six points and nine rebounds while Simon had an off night with only seven points.

Colgate is playing a nationally televised game on ESPNU at 1 p.m. this Sunday at Cotterrell Court.