The Colgate Raiders men’s basketball team looked to start the second-half of the conference slate on a good note on Saturday at Cotterell Court. Despite a strong second half, the Raiders were unable to leave the court with a victory, ultimately losing to visiting Bucknell 79-68.

The Raiders were led by senior captain Murphy Burnatowski, who scored a team-high 20 points including three

three-pointers. However, Bucknell senior guard Cameron Ayers was able to continue his string of stellar performances with a 21-point game, which paced the Bison throughout the game. Both Burnatowski and Ayers posted a consistent scoring performance in both halves, which provided the spark the teams needed to potentially secure the win.

Bucknell took advantage of Colgate’s struggles in the first half. The Raiders were only able to successfully convert 14.3 percent of their signature three pointers in the first half while Bucknell drained 55.6 percent of their three-point attempts.  Colgate junior Damon Sherman-Newsome attempted to help the Raiders’ struggles from the three point line with some stellar plays of his own creating many scoring opportunities of his own and successfully adding to the Raider offense with six

first-half points. He also contributed to the Raider defense grabbing two boards and

a steal.

Bucknell’s offense was stellar throughout the first half with a wide range of scoring distribution. Along with Ayers’ performance, Bucknell sophomore guard Chris Hass tallied eight points of his own including six from downtown. Senior forward

Brian Fitzpatrick scored eight points

as well.

Bucknell’s bench also provided some security for the team throughout the first half, which helped to confuse the Raiders’ game. Coming off the bench, Bucknell junior guard Steven Kaspar scored six points and recorded four assists providing a great presence for the Bucknell offense.  Bucknell’s stellar shooting in the first half led to a 39-24 lead leaving the Raiders in a 15-point hole going into the second half.

The Raiders rallied in the second-half to keep the game close behind the performances of Burnatowksi, Sherman-Newsome, sophomore guard Austin Tillotson and junior center Ethan Jacobs. The four combined for 34 second-half points giving the Raiders an advantage in attempting a comeback. After struggling to convert some shots in the first half, Tillotson maintained his composure and led a stellar second half performance with 11 points and three assists, providing the offense with the spark it needed to compete

with Bucknell.