Box Score

WASHINGTON – For the first time in the Matt Langel era -- scratch that, the history of Colgate men's basketball -- a Raiders team toppled American on its home court.
 
Colgate built a 15-point second-half lead against the Eagles and then held on down the stretch for the 63-60 win. The victory ended American's eight-game winning-streak over the Raiders and gave Colgate its first win at Bender Arena. The Raiders were 0-15 here prior to the game.

"We have been in so many close games, and to be honest, I expect all Patriot League games to be close at this point in the season," Langel said. "Hopefully the fact that we held on to win one will give us a little more confidence for the next one. We certainly made some foolish plays that combined with their good plays, made it interesting down the stretch. I was proud of our guys for not panicking, showing good poise not to turn the ball over, and ultimately find a way to victory."
 
American clawed its way back to make it a three-point game, which made for an exciting final minute of play. The Eagles got the margin down to one at 61-60 with three seconds left, but the Raiders kept their composure with two made free throws from Matt McMullen to hand American its second loss in a row and just its second loss at home this season.
 
"Free throws are obviously very important in close games," Langel said. "Not just at the end, but throughout. We missed a few late, but the fact that we only came up empty on one trip combined with Matt (McMullen) making those two big ones to ice it was huge for the team."
 
Colgate (9-14, 3-9) saw transfers Austin Tillotson and Ethan Jacobs lead the way with 17 and 14 points, respectively. Tillotson went 6-of-8 from the floor for his game-high total. He also was 4-of-5 from the charity stripe. Jacobs added three from behind the arc to finish with 14 points on the afternoon. Murphy Burnatowski and McMullen earned eight points each, with McMullen 5-of-6 from the free throw line.
 
American (14-9, 10-2) saw John Schoof and Jesse Reed record 15 points each. Schoof registered two 3-pointers and Reed added three to lead the Eagles. Two other American players reached double-figures in Darius Gardner and Tony Wroblicky, who finished the night with 13 and 12 points, respectively. Wroblicky also pulled down a game-high 11 boards in the loss.
 
Colgate shot 46 percent from the floor on the night, making 22 of its 43 shots. The Raiders also hit eight of their 15 attempts for 53 percent shooting from downtown. Colgate held the slight edge of rebounds 28-26 and recorded nine points off of Eagle turnovers.

American started the game hitting two treys on its first two possessions, taking the early 6-2 lead. Colgate would answer on the opposite side of the court, however, going on a 7-2 run sparked by Tillotson to take over the advantage at 9-8. 
 
After the Eagles had pushed their edge back to four-points at 13-9, the Raiders went on an 8-0 run, keeping American scoreless for two minutes to give themselves the four-point lead.
 
Colgate kept a comfortable seven-point advantage for the remainder of the half, taking the 33-26 lead into the break.
 
Just as American had done in the first half, Colgate came out and hit two 3-pointers to quickly extend its lead to 11-points at 39-28.
 
With 12:14 remaining in the game, McMullen drained one from behind the arc to create the game's largest margin at 15-points.
 
American cut into the lead over the course of the next five minutes but a good layup from Tillotson pushed the Raider lead back to 11, at 53-42 with 7:37 left to play.
 
The Eagles responded with a 10-3 run to make it a four-point game with less than two minutes on the clock.
 
American would again cut the advantage down this time to one, at 61-60 with 3.3 seconds left but two clutch free throws from McMullen sealed the Raider victory.
 
Colgate is back on its home court Wednesday when it welcomes Boston University at 7 p.m. for another tough matchup on Cotterell Court.
 
"The difference from first to last in our league, and maybe I say this because we are towards the bottom, is very small in terms of who can win on any given night," Langel added.
 
"American is very good, as is Boston University. Extremely different teams, but both very good. We will have our hands full at home on Wednesday night, but I know our guys will be excited to get back out there and hopefully play another good game."