The Bulls kicked off the 2022-23 season with a win Monday night, beating the Colgate Raiders, 88-87, at Alumni Arena. Despite poor free-throw shooting and foul trouble, UB was able to emerge victorious against a quality Colgate team that made it to the NCAA tournament last season.
The victory was a team effort from UB, with four players scoring double-digit points. Junior guard Zid Powell led the way with a game-high 24 points to go along with five assists, five rebounds and three steals. Powell was a star in the junior college ranks, playing for Harcum College in Pennsylvania for the past two seasons before transferring to UB. An explosive playmaker who averaged 13.5 points per game in 2021-22 and 17.4 points per game in 2020-21, Powell is already helping fill the scoring void left by last year’s seniors Ronaldo Segu and Jeenathan Williams.
Sophomore guard Curtis Jones scored 15 points, along with a team-high six assists. Junior forward Isaiah Adams had 13 points and graduate guard Armoni Foster scored 11.
Freshman guard Devin Ceaser, one of the highlights of the Bulls’ 2022 recruiting class, provided a spark off the bench with nine points in only nine minutes played.
UB struggled mightily from the free throw line, shooting only 12-for-22 (54.5%) for the game. However, the Bulls were able to overcome their charity-stripe woes thanks to 17 turnovers by Colgate, which UB was able to convert into 15 points. Also aiding the Bulls was a solid 25 points coming from players off the bench.
For Colgate, senior guard Tucker Richardson led the Raiders with 23 points and eight assists, but he also turned the ball over seven times. Freshman guard Braeden Smith had 20 points to go with seven rebounds, and senior forward Ryan Moffatt finished with 15 points.
With some clutch shooting late in the game by Powell and Jones, UB was able to maintain just enough of a lead over Colgate to escape with the victory. Next up, UB will be back at home Saturday at 1 p.m. as they take on James Madison. The game came be streamed on ESPN+ or listened to on The Varsity Network app.
The sports desk can be reached at sports@ubspectrum.com
