By Josh Lamel

Maroon-News Staff

A feeling of upset was in the air as Colgate took the court at the University of Dayton Arena to face number one seeded Kansas in the NCAA tournament. Earlier in the day, Miami of Ohio, a 12 seed, knocked off the heavily favored Arizona Wildcats. In the second game, Nicholls State, a 13 seed, actually led late in the first half before faltering to Virginia. Another 13 seed, Manhattan, had already won, knocking off Ryan Minor and the Oklahoma Sooners in Baltimore. Anything could happen, as senior captain Tucker Neale led the Red Raiders out onto the floor.

But realistically, this was Kansas. 7'2" Greg Ostertag, 6'11" Raef Lafrentz, 6'10" Scot Pollard and point guard Jacque Vaughn were the famed "Jacque and the Beanstalks." Jerod Haase, their off guard, had led them in scoring. They could go 12 deep without missing a step. Most people felt that Colgate was in over their heads.

The game began with a bang, as Neale found the big man down low and first-year Adonal Foyle slammed it through the rim with authority. Neale then hit a three pointer, and Colgate was up 5-0 early. Foyle hit a free throw to extend the lead to six, 2:46 in, and Colgate was actually winning. No one could believe it. Kansas, however, responded.

The Jayhawks went on a 17-2 run over the next seven minutes to take a 17-8 lead. Their size down low started to give Colgate trouble. Sophomore Tim Bollin picked up two early fouls, and Colgate was forced to go to 6'5" junior Malik Cupid against much taller Kansas power forwards. Kansas extended its lead to 31-16 with 6:08 to play in the first half. When Colgate got the ball for the half's last shot, the lead was still 15 for Kansas. Neale watched the clock tick down, pulled up with confidence, and nailed a three pointer as time ran out.

Kansas led 41-29 at half time, as Colgate held their own in the first half. There was still a glimmer of hope remaining as the Raiders left the floor at the half.

Colgate was led by Neale, who scored 13 first half points and including three from beyond the arc. Foyle held his own against the Beanstalks, with seven points and six rebounds and Cupid picked up his game, contributing six.

For Kansas, the star was Billy Williams, who had 13 points and shot 80 percent from the field. The key statistic was free throws, as Kansas sank 9-10 from the charity stripe, even though they only shot 66 percent from the line for the year.

The second half began much like the first, with Colgate coming out of the gate quickly. Bollin hit two free throws, and Foyle had a lay-up to cut the lead to 41-33. The 13,000 fans in the stands, mostly without an alliance to either team, began to jump on the Red Raiders' bandwagon, and got loud. Kansas pulled right ahead to 13 with 17:27 to play. But Colgate responded.

Junior Mike Roberts hit a three to make it 10, and Neale hit a three to cut it to seven. LaFrentz hit a jumper for Kansas to get the lead back up to nine, but a Neale lay-up cut it back to seven. Then Cupid stepped up and buried a three pointer to make it 50-46 off a TV time-out with 15:05 to play. The crowd was going nuts. Never before had a 16 seed knocked off a one seed in the first round. Unfortunately, Kansas responded once again.

They went on a 14-4 run to get the lead up to 14 with 7:15 to play. With 5:30 to play, Vaughn hit a tough three pointer to make it 69-55, and it looked like the game was over. Then Sean Pearson hit a three to make the lead 17 and Colgate was on the verge of being blown out.

The Red Raiders then went on an 8-1 run over the next two minutes, and the Kansas lead was only ten with 2:19 to play. That was the closest Colgate would get, as Kansas went on to win 82-68. It was the closest a 16 seed had come to victory in five years. It was also the best performance ever by the Patriot League in the NCAA Tournament. The Raiders, despite the loss, left the court with their heads held high.

With 54.6 seconds left in the game, Foyle fouled out. As he left the court, the crowd came to a roaring standing ovation in honor of Colgate's outstanding first-year star. Kansas Coach Roy Williams called the youngster who he had recruited just a year earlier over, and shook his hand.

After Raef LaFrentz hit the first free throw, Coach Bruen took Neale out of the game for the last time. He too received a standing ovation from the crowd. When Neale came to the bench, he and Foyle embraced, with Neale telling him, "You went out like a gunfighter with your boots on." Tucker, the same could be said for you.

Notes & Quotes:

* "The hardest part is the relationships you develop over the years. I'm kind of a steely guy, and I broke down in the locker room. My teammates mean a lot to me. My coaches mean a lot to me. And it's really tough to say good-bye to Colgate," Neale said after the game.

* "The kids fought their hearts out. The battle toe-to-toe was a fabulous experience," commented Coach Bruen.

* "We congratulate Colgate," Kansas coach Roy Williams said after the game.

* "We can beat Kansas," Neale said, displaying the confidence that made him the darling of the Midwest regional.

* "It was a great thrill. We had fun. All positives," stated junior point guard Jimmy Maloney.

* Maloney had his best career game, with 10 assists and two turnovers. He had 8 assists and no turnovers in the second half.

* Colgate actually shot better from the field than Kansas, with Colgate at 45 percent and Kansas at 43 percent. The big difference: Kansas was 20-26 from the charity stripe, Colgate was 4-9.