MEMPHIS, Tenn. – No. 14 Colgate (25-10, 16-2 PL) could not keep pace with hot-shooting No. 3 Baylor (24-10, 11-7 Big 12) in a 92-67 loss in the First Round of the 2024 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament on Friday at FedEx Forum in Memphis, Tenn.
Three-time All-Patriot League forward Keegan Records led the Raiders with 14 points on 6-of-10 shooting to go with three rebounds, two assists and two steals. Records concluded his decorated career second in Patriot League history in career field-goal percentage (.626).
Patriot League Player of the Year and Championship MVP Braeden Smith finished with 10 points, four rebounds and two steals, while senior forward Sam Thomson scored 11 points off the bench for the Raiders.
Baylor shot 53.3 percent (16-for-30) from 3-point range, led by senior forward Jalen Bridges’ game-high 23 points, including 5-for-8 from deep.
Patriot League Champion Colgate played their fifth NCAA Tournament game in six seasons under Head Coach Matt Langel and the seventh in program history. Langel’s Raiders concluded the 2023-24 season one victory shy of their program record (26). The Raiders’ 16 League victories were also one behind the Patriot League record. The 2022-23 Colgate squad holds both records.
NCAA Interactive Bracket
NCAA MEN’S BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT FIRST ROUND (WEST REGION)
NO. 3 BAYLOR BEARS (24-10, 11-7 Big 12) 92, NO 14 COLGATE RAIDERS (25-10, 16-2 PL) 67
FedEx Forum/Memphis, Tenn. 12:40 p.m. ET (truTV)
BOX SCORE |
POSTGAME PRESS CONFERENCE TRANSCRIPT
MEMPHIS, Tenn. – Fifth-year forward Keegan Records scored a team-high 14 points, but No. 14 Colgate’s season came to an end at the hands of No. 3 Baylor in a 92-67 loss at FedEx Forum in Memphis, Tenn in the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament First Round.
*Records connected on 6-of-10 from the floor, including the Raiders’ first eight points of the game.
*Senior forward Sam Thomson scored 11 points on 5-of-6 shooting off the bench, while Patriot League Player of the Year Braeden Smith posted 10 points, four rebounds and two steals.
*Fifth-year forward Ryan Moffatt added nine points and a team-high three assists for the Raiders.
*Trailing 54-34 at halftime, Colgate opened the second half on an 8-3 run, including four points from Records, to cut the Bears’ lead to 15 before a Baylor timeout.
*The Bears hot-shooting from the first half continued. They hit 9-of-18 from 3-point range after the break, finishing 16-of-30 from beyond the arc for the game.
*Senior forward Jalen Bridges scored 18 of his game-high 23 points in the second half. He shot 9-of-14 from the floor, including 5-of-8 shooting from deep.
*Big 12 Freshman of the Year Ja’Kobe Walter scored 15 of his 19 points in the first half, while junior guard Jayden Nunn added 15 points on 4-for-5 shooting from deep.
GAME NOTES:
*Records scored the Raiders’ first eight points, going 4-for-4 from the floor in the game’s first six minutes. The South Kingstown, R.I. native concluded his career second in Patriot League history in career field-goal percentage (.627)
*Colgate’s bench unit was impactful, combining for 15 first-half points. Colgate’s Thomson matched a team-high eight first-half points off the bench.
*Baylor connected on 7-of-12 from 3-point range in the first half, while Colgate connected on 2-of-10, leading to a 54-34 halftime deficit for the Raiders.
*Bears’ freshman guard Ja’Kobe Walter scored 15 first-half points, while freshman center Yves Missi and junior guard Jayden Nunn added nine apiece.
*Colgate forced 12 Baylor turnovers, with Records, Smith and first-year guard Parker Jones registering two steals apiece to help the Raiders score 16 points off turnovers.
*Four of the Bears’ starters made two or more 3-pointers for a team that connected on 16-of-30 from beyond the arc.
*Colgate outscored Baylor in the paint, 38-34.
*Moffatt shot 1-of-2 from long range in the Tournament loss. The Lancaster, Pa. native concluded his career tied for eighth in Patriot League history, shooting 41.5 percent from 3-point range.
*Records 862 career rebounds are 10th on the Patriot League career list, while his 177 blocked shots are 11th in League history.
*Smith dished out 196 assists this season, leading the Patriot League and tying former Raiders’ teammate Tucker Richardson for the fifth-highest single-season total in League history.
RECAPS:
COLGATE |
BAYLOR
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