Box Score

WEST POINT, N.Y. – Behind the hot-shooting hand of Ella Ellis, the Army Black Knights grabbed a 77-63 win over the Colgate men's basketball team Wednesday night.

“Ella Ellis had a great game,” head coach Matt Langel said. “He was locked in on guarding Murphy (Burnatowski) on the other end of the court and I thought he did a great job and really forced him to take difficult shots. Ellis certainly was an all-league kind of player tonight.”

Colgate (10-18, 4-7 PL) was led by junior Murphy Burnatowski, who collected 19 points throughout the game. Pat Moore went 4-of-7 to notch 13 points while Mitch Rolls added 10. John Brandenburg and Brandon James both pulled down six rebounds and James' missed his 11th double figure game this season by one, scoring nine.

“Anytime you dig yourself a hole you really have to be locked in on the details,” Langel added “We cut it to four but then we left one of their guys open for three and he stepped up making the big shot. A couple balls didn't bounce our way and got away from us a little bit there at the end but you have to give Army a lot of credit for the game that they played.”

The Raiders started out shooting 26.5 percent in the first 20 minutes but followed that up by hitting 13 of their 30 shots in the second for an overall shooting percentage of 34.4. Colgate also had a tough shooting night from behind the arc, hitting only five of their 26 shots, for 19.2 percent shooting. The Raiders scored 26 of their 63 points from inside the paint and put back 10 points on second chance opportunities.

Army (13-13, 6-5 PL) saw Ellis have a breakout performance, making 11 of his 15 shots and going 4-of-7 from downtown. He recorded his first ever 30-point game in regulation, scoring 34 points on the night. Josh Herbeck added 11 points to the Army total, while Larry Toomey led the Black Knights with seven boards.

The Black Knights made seven of their overall 10 3-pointers in the first half alone, with Ellis hitting four and Herbeck three. Army held the slight advantage on the boards 37-34, however, the Raiders outrebounded the Black Knights on the offensive glass 17-10.

“Two of their better shooters were the guys who got open in the first to hit their seven 3-pointers,” Langel said “Ellis and Herbeck really hurt us from the three point line in the first half. We left Ellis open at the top of the key that kind of got him started on his great night. I credit those guys on making the shots, but we weren't really paying attention to our details when we needed too and we let them get off to a good start.”

While the Raiders scored the first three points of the game, the Black Knights answered hitting three 3-pointers to take the early 9-3 lead. Ellis led the way with two of those baskets. Army continued on their 9-0 run hitting another basket to extend their lead to 14-3 with 14:16 remaining.

The Raiders would get the lead down to eight, after Rolls hit his first three-pointer, cutting the Black Knights lead to 14-6 with 13:45 remaining in the half. Army would go on a 13-5 run midway through the first to take its largest lead of the night at 17, 28-11. Herbeck hit two of his three 3-pointers during that stretch.

Moore ended the Raiders drought, which lasted more than six minutes, with a jumper in the paint, making the score 28-13. The Raiders grabbed one of their offensive rebounds with five seconds remaining in the half to cut the Army lead down to 12 (37-25), as the teams headed into the locker room.

Moore kick started the Raiders in the second half, hitting two quick baskets to pull within seven at 37-30. After the Black Knights had pushed their lead back to nine, James scored four straight to lift the Raiders to within five, 44-39, with 13:30 remaining in the game. Army quickly answered with a 3-pointer by Kyle Toth, extending its lead back to six, 47-39.

Colgate would get as close to three after Burnatowski finished off a rebounded jumper in the paint. But yet again the Black Knights answered with one from downtown creating a seven-point margin between the teams. Army then utilized an 8-0 run to increase its advantage back to double digits at 57-47.

In the remaining minutes the Raiders would cut the lead down to eight after Burnatowski converted on a three-point play. But Army would not allow the Raiders to get any closer, as they finished out the game with a 14-point edge.

The Raiders head back home to Hamilton, where they will prepare for Navy on Sunday at noon. Five Colgate seniors will be recognized prior to the Patriot League matchup with the Mids.