The # 15 seed, Colgate, made a strong bid to start the NCAA tournament on Friday, taking a 52-50 lead over Tennessee, seeded second, in the middle of the second half.
A pink eye may have cost them their best shot to win.
The Flights started late for a 77-70 win and qualified for the second round while the Raiders' best player was off the field. Rapolas Ivanauskas spent the second half of the evening struggling.
Head coach Matt Langel told reporters after the match that he had pink eyes.
"He woke up this morning, and it did not happen like that," Langel said. "Your heart breaks for him."
Langel said it was a recurring problem that Ivanauskas struggled with a few weeks ago.
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March Madness 2019: Photos of the first round
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Bruno Fernando (23) of Maryland celebrates the last moments of the second half of a men's first round basketball game against Belmont at the NCAA Tournament in Jacksonville, Florida on Thursday, March 21, 2019. (Photo AP / John Raoux)
Striker Xavier Tillman (23) of Michigan State wins rebound against Ja? Shon Henry (22), Bradley goalkeeper, in a men's basketball first round match of the NCAA Tournament, Thursday, March 21, 2019, in Des Moines, Iowa. (AP Photo / Charlie Neibergall)
Striker Jordan Nwora of Louisville was offended by Minnesota goaltender Amir Coffey, right, at a men's basketball game in the first round of the NCAA tournament on Thursday, March 21, 2019 in Des Moines, in l & # 39; Iowa. (AP Photo / Charlie Neibergall)
Attacker Horace Spencer (0) of Auburn (0) and New Mexico guard JoJo Zamora (4) vie for a rebound in the first period during a men's basketball game of the first round of the NCAA Tournament, Thursday, March 21, 2019 in Salt Lake City. (AP Photo / Rick Bowmer)
Paul Atkinson (20) of Yale and Kavell Bigby-Williams of LSU vie for a rebound in the first half of a men's basketball game in the first round of the NCAA tournament held in Jacksonville, Florida on Thursday, March 21, 2019 (AP Photo / Stephen B. Morton)
In the center, Belmont's Dylan Windler goes to the trash between Bruno Fernando of Maryland, left, and Darryl Morsell, 11, of the second half of the NCAA tournament's first round of the NCAA tournament in Jacksonville. Florida, Thursday, March 21, 2019. (AP Photo / Stephen B. Morton)
SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH – MARCH 21: The New Mexico State Aggies' No. 20 Trevelin Queen reacts after being defeated by the Auburn Tigers 78-77 in the first round of the 2017 NCAA men's basketball tournament at the Vivint Smart Home Arena March 21, 2019 in Salt Lake City, Utah. (Photo by Patrick Smith / Getty Images)
SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH – MARCH 21: Terrell Brown, No. 3 New Mexico State Aggies, tries to shoot the ball against Anfernee McLemore, No. 24 Auburn Tigers, in the second half of the first round of the 2017 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at Vivint Smart Home Arena on March 21, 2019 in Salt Lake City, Utah. (Photo by Patrick Smith / Getty Images)
THE MOONS, IOWA – MARCH 21: Elijah Childs, No. 10 Bradley Braves, celebrates after a three-pointer draw against the Michigan State Spartans in their first round match of the NCAA basketball tournament at the Wells Fargo Arena March 21, 201 Monks, Iowa. (Photo of Jamie Squire / Getty Images)
SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH – MARCH 21: Clayton Henry, No. 5 New Mexico State Aggies, plunges for the ball in the first half against the Auburn Tigers in the first round of the 2017 NCAA men's basketball tournament at Vivint Smart Home Arena on March 21, 2019 in Salt Lake City, Utah. (Photo by Tom Pennington / Getty Images)
HARTFORD, CONNECTICUT – MARCH 21: Tevin Brown, No. 10 Murray State Racers, celebrates victory after hitting a pointer in the second half of the first-round match of the 2017 NCAA men's basketball tournament against the Marquette Golden Eagles at the XL Center on March 21, 2019 in Hartford, Connecticut. (Photo by Rob Carr / Getty Images)
Purdue's Matt Haarms celebrates a basket as Old Dominion Judge Kithcart (2) follows in the second half of a first-round match of the NCAA men's basketball tournament on Thursday, March 21, 2019, at Hartford, Conn. Purdue won 61-48. (AP Photo / Elise Amendola)
Villanova's Jermaine Samuels (23) faces Malik Fitts (24) of St. Mary's during the second half of a men's basketball match of the first round in the NCAA Tournament on Thursday, March 21, 2019, in Hartford, in Connecticut (AP Photo / Elise Amendola)
SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH – MARCH 21: Johnny MCCants, No. 35 New Mexico State Aggies, dunks the ball against Chuma Okeke, No. 5 Auburn Tigers in the second half of the first round of the tournament 2017 NCAA Men's Basketball Championship at Vivint Smart Home Arena on March 21, 2019 in Salt Lake City, Utah. (Photo by Tom Pennington / Getty Images)
MOONS, IOWA – MARCH 21: Michigan State Spartans head coach Tom Izzo glares at Aaron Henry, # 11, after a play played in the first round of the NCAA basketball tournament against the Bradley Braves at the Wells Fargo Arena on March 21, 2019 in Des Moines, Iowa. (Photo of Jamie Squire / Getty Images)
Jacksonville, Florida – March 21: Belmont Bruins # 5 Adam Kunkel reacts on the bench in the second half of the game against the Maryland Terrapins in the first round of the 2019 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at VyStar Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Arena on the 21st March 2019 in Jacksonville, Florida. (Photo by Mike Ehrmann / Getty Images)
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Ivanauskas, who scored 6-10, led the team this season with 16.4 points and 7.9 rebounds per game, while shooting 43.4% on a 3-point distance. He was the year 's player of the Patriot League.
Against Tennessee, he shot 0 to 4 from the field and did not score in 16 minutes.
Ivanauskas started the second half of the match on the bench with a towel on his eyes. Allie LaForce, of CBS, said during the match that Ivanauskas was struggling to bring out his contacts before the match and that he had to start the match with a pair in backup.
Ivanauskas eventually met his father at halftime, according to the report, a meeting that LaForce described as unusual.
He continued to rub his eyes on the bench in the first minutes of the half before heading to the locker room with about 18 minutes remaining. He did not return to the game.
Colgate started the 42-30 half and actually started his comeback without Ivanauskas, largely behind Jordan Burns' defense shot, who scored 8 of 13 points at 3 and scored 32 points.
But Tennessee concluded the deal, overtaking Colgate, 27-18 in the final of the match at 10:42 to delay the bid and qualify for the second round, led by Admiral Schofield's 19 points.
It is obvious that no one knows if the Raiders could have stood up to Ivanauskas' anger in the formation, or if they would even have organized a rally to start.
But we can not deny that Ivanauskas who leaves the game with a pink eye is an extremely disappointing way out.
