Box Score

HAMILTON, N.Y. – Lead by junior forward Murphy Burnatowski, the Colgate men's basketball team earned their fourth win of the season after downing Binghamton 74-47 Friday night.

“Our schedule has been really difficult to start the season, we haven't been able to play here at home, we've really been working to get better as a basketball team and we have over the past couple weeks,” head coach Matt Langel said. 

“We haven't been able to play like we've been practicing and in a lot of ways tonight we did that. We shared the ball, we moved the ball, and a lot of guys were able to be involved. Our defense played well and we forced them to take difficult shots. We limited a freshman, whose been having a really good season to some difficult opportunities and I was happy with that.”

Colgate (4-9) saw Burnatowski score 23 of their 74 points, giving him his fourth 20-point game this season. Of his 23 points, 13 came in the first 20 minutes of play. Brandon James also added to the Raiders scoring grabbing 12 points and seven boards. Sophomore Luke Roh handed out four assists, while coming up with eight rebounds.

The Raiders utilized a 19-4 run midway through the first half to create a sizeable lead heading into halftime up 40-25. Binghamton took the early advantage on the scoreboard, however a Mitch Rolls' three-pointer sent the Raiders into a scoring frenzy. Throughout the first half Colgate shot 43 percent, hitting six 3-pointers to create at 15-point deficit at the half.

Colgate hit three 3-pointers in a three-minute span to extend their lead in the first 20 minutes. The Raiders held the Bearcats scoreless for 4:20 at one point in the initial period.

Binghamton (2-10) was led by senior Jimmy Gray, who scored 12 points throughout the game. Jordan Reed and Roland Brown also added 10 points each for the Bearcats. Reed led all players on the boards grabbing a game-high 11 rebounds.

The Raiders held the Bearcats to a shooting percentage of only 28 percent. Colgate on the other hand shot 51 percent from the field, draining 11 three-pointers. Throughout the second half the Raiders were 14-of-23 from the floor and 5-of-11 from long range.

Colgate started off the second half on a 12-1 run, during which Burnatowski scored 10 for the Raiders. The Bearcats would get the deficit down to 16, after Rayner Moquete hit a jumper with 11 minutes to play, but that's as close as they would come to retaking the lead.

Up by as much as 30 points in the final period, the Raiders coasted to a much needed win, after dropping the last six games, five of which were away. Colgate welcomes the University of New Hampshire on Sunday for a 2 p.m. matchup. The Wildcats currently lead the series 20-12.