By Kat Castner
(Bethlehem, Pa. – March 7, 2013) The Colgate men’s basketball team saw defending Patriot League champion Lehigh sneak from behind late to earn the 71-64 victory here Wednesday night.
“I thought we played great in both halves,” Raiders head coach Matt Langel said. “We played the game we hoped we would play. The big difference was that they stepped up and made a few more shots than we did, specifically from the 3-point line. We were a couple threes shy. They also got themselves to the foul line, which in post season play is very critical to moving forward.
“We played well enough to create a nine-point lead in the second half but you have to credit Lehigh’s seniors, such as Gabe Knutson. I know I voted for him for an All-League spot, because he’s that good of a player and he proved it tonight. We couldn’t double-team him because of their 3-point shooters and he took advantage, making difficult shots and jump shots. Holden Greiner, another senior, stepped up making some big plays.”
Colgate (11-21) received top performances from Murphy Burnatowski and Chad Johnson. Both scored in double figures, with Burnatowski leading all scorers with 23. With his 28th double digit game this season, Burnatowski finishes 10th all-time in Colgate season history with 557 points in his debut campaign. Johnson went 6-of-8 from the floor for his season-high 12 points. He also led the team with seven boards on the night. Luke Roh handed out a team-high six assists, boosting him into ninth in Colgate season history with 117 assists.
“I thought Matt (McMullen) and Chad (Johnson), specifically, are two guys who have earned opportunities throughout the season because of what they do in practice every day,” Langel added. “Everybody who got a chance to see them tonight saw what they bring in practice every day. They really stepped up and produced for us when we really needed something on both ends of the floor. Hopefully they’ll have this bad taste in their mouths for a long time and they’ll move forward and continue to work really hard so we aren’t on the losing end next year.”
The Raiders shot 49.2 percent overall on the night, hitting 29 of their 59 attempts. They tallied only four from behind the arc, however, for 23.5-percent shooting. The Raiders edged the Mountain Hawks on the boards 29-27, and converted 34 points in the paint.
“In most of the game we were right there with them,” Langel said. “I’m really proud of the progress we’ve made and growth the guys have made. You feel terrible for the seniors who don’t get to put on their uniform ever again, but I’m proud of them for the efforts they’ve given over the last two years.
“It’s never an easy thing to come in and inherit a new coach for your last two seasons, but these guys have stuck with it and they have a lot to be proud of.”
Lehigh (21-8) saw three players in double-digit scoring, with the senior Knutson notching 21 points to lead the team. He scored 15 of those points in the second half. Fellow teammates B.J. Bailey earned 16 points and went 3-of-4 from downtown, while Greiner scored 15 points, going 5-of-9 from the floor.
After shooting 44 percent in the first 20 minutes the Mountain Hawks rallied, making 14 of their 22 shots for 63.6 percent shooting in the second. Overall they shot 53.2 percent from the field and 38.9 percent from behind the arc, hitting seven of their 18 attempts from long range.
The Raiders led by as many as nine with 16:58 to play in the game, but the Mountain Hawks went on a 10-0 run in 2:30 to retake the lead by one at 45-44. That was the first time Lehigh had led since the score was 12-10 at the 13:54 mark in the first half.
To start the game, the Mountain Hawks came out hitting two of their seven 3-pointers for the early 6-2 lead. After exchanging buckets, the Raiders stepped up their defensive effort and made two big stops to pull to within two at 8-6 five minutes in. Burnatowski led Colgate with four of those six points.
Back-to-back baskets by Johnson tied the game at 12-all, but his steal on the defensive end was what really sparked a Raiders’ rally. Johnson used his quick hands to knock the ball away and start a fast break opportunity with Burnatowski. They exchanged passes before Johnson converted the easy layup, taking Colgate’s first lead of the game at 14-12.
The run forced Lehigh head coach Brett Reed to call his first timeout.
Knutson tied the game coming out of the timeout, knotting the score at 14. But back-to-back buckets by Burnatowski extended the Raiders lead to four at 18-14.
And back and forth it went, as Corey Schaefer hit a trey to pull the Mountain Hawks within one at 18-17 midway through the half. But Matt McMullen drained a 3-pointer to extend Colgate’s lead back to four with 9:50 remaining.
The Raiders forced Lehigh to call another timeout with 5:14 to play in the half after Burnatowski drilled a fade away jumper to lift Colgate to its largest lead to that point at six, 27-21.
Lehigh would not go away, however, as the Hawks hit back-to-back baskets to pull them to with one at 29-28. Colgate responded with two quick buckets to increase the advantage back to six. But a good jumper by Corey Schaefer sent Lehigh into the locker room only down four, 34-30.
Burnatowski kicked off the second 20 minutes by draining his only trey of the night to create a seven-point lead for the Raiders.
The teams exchanged baskets before John Brandenburg found a wide-open Burnatowski down low for the dunk, silencing the crowd. Senior captain Mitch Rolls added one from long range to lift the Raiders to their largest lead of the game at 44-35 with 16:29 remaining on the clock.
But the Mountain Hawks responded with their 10-0 run to retake their lead by one at 45-44. Knutson and Stefan Cvrkalj both had three points during that stretch.
Pat Moore ended the Raiders’ drought with a layup to put the Raiders back on top by one, 46-45, with 13:22 to play.
Knutson worked his way under the basket and earned an and-one to take the two-point lead, but a Johnson jumper in the paint knotted the score at 48-all.
The teams went back and forth on the offensive end, keeping the score close until the 4:39 mark when Knutson scored four quick points to create a five-point advantage for the Mountain Hawks.
After two makes at the charity stripe for Roh, Greiner launched a 3-pointer that took a home-rim bounce and ultimately secured the win for the Mountain Hawks. The Raiders could not recover from the seven-point difference in the closing 2:57.
The Raiders got the advantage down to five after Burnatowski made a layup. He followed that up with a steal on the other end of the court, giving Colgate a chance with 1:10 remaining.
Rolls had a good look from the top of the key but it bounded in an out, forcing the Raiders to foul. Lehigh made their final two free throws for the seven-point win, advancing them to the semifinals against Lafayette on Saturday.
NOTES: Rolls finishes his career with 171 makes from behind the arc, placing him seventh in Colgate history for 3-pointers made. He also sits second all-time with 365 assists throughout his four years.