Photo Gallery

HAMILTON – Cotterell Court was rocking Monday night as the Colgate faithful saw an epic battle between nearby rivals in a double-overtime game-for-the-ages.
 
Colgate, unfortunately, was on the losing end, falling to Cornell 101-98.
 
The contest featured highs and lows with exciting runs and last-ditch efforts in between.
 
Fans wouldn't have thought the match would end the way it did after the opening 20 minutes of play.
 
Facing a 19-point deficit with five minutes remaining in the first half, Colgate slowly staged a comeback. The Raiders eventually pulled ahead and held a three-point lead in the final 90 seconds. But Colgate saw Cornell convert on a 3-pointer with 49 seconds remaining in regulation to knot the score at 76-all.
 
The Raiders then battled back from a deficit in overtime to hold a three-point lead with 21 seconds remaining, but again the Big Red hit a jumper with two seconds left on the clock to force another overtime period.
 
Colgate increased its lead to 95-91 early in the second overtime but a 10-3 run by Cornell, including 4-of-6 makes from the free throw line, ultimately handed the visitors the win. 
 
Four Raiders reached double-figures in the game with Jordan Swopshire leading the way with a career-high 19 points. Alex Ramon and Malcolm Regisford posted 17 points each, while Austin Tillotson also hit double-figures with 15 points and a career-high 11 assists.
 
Colgate finished the game shooting 43.8 percent from the floor, 37.5 percent from long-range and 66.7 percent from the charity stripe. Cornell was nearly the same at 44.6 percent, 37.0 percent and 64.1 percent, respectively.

Cornell jumped on the Raiders, scoring the first six points of the game to take the early edge. The Big Red then extended the lead to a game-high 19 points following a Robert Hatter free throw with less than six minutes remaining in the period.
 
Colgate would battle back though, cutting the advantage to 41-30 at the break.
 
The Big Red pushed their lead back to 48-30 just three minutes into the second half, but then the Raiders took over. Colgate outscored its visitor 21-7 over the course of almost six minutes to make it a 55-51 ballgame.
 
After allowing Cornell to extend its edge back to 10, the Raiders again showed signs of a comeback. Three 3-pointers in a row, two by rookie David Favorite, in a one-minute span pulled Colgate within 62-60 with 7:24 remaining in regulation.
 
The Raiders eventually overcame the deficit thanks to two free throws from first-year Regisford with two minutes to play, making it 74-73 Colgate.
 
Matt Langel's squad then forced a Cornell turnover, which set up Tom Rivard's jumper in the paint. His bucket handed Colgate the 76-73 lead with only 1:22 remaining. 
 
As the clock was winding down, the Raiders maintained their three-point edge in the final minute until Cornell's Darryl Smith hit the game-tying 3-pointer with 49 seconds to play.
 
Neither team was able to find the go-ahead bucket, forcing the game to overtime.
 
Overtime
Cornell again jumped out to a quick start and pushed its edge to 85-77, three minutes into the extra period. A 10-0 run for Colgate handed the hosts a two-point edge with 21 seconds remaining. Swopshire led the Raiders during that time with five points.
 
The Big Red would not go away, however, again hitting the game-tying shot with two seconds on the clock to send the match into a second overtime period.
 
Double Overtime
A 3-pointer from Swopshire handed Colgate the 95-91 lead with 2:30 remaining in the second overtime, but a 7-0 run from the Big Red ultimately secured them the victory.
 
The Raiders would get as close as 100-98 but Cornell iced the game from the free throw line to preserve the thrilling victory.
 
Colgate has a quick turnaround as it heads to the home of the reigning America East champion Albany on Thursday. That contest is slated for a 7 p.m. tip and will have live stats and video available at the start.
 
Bottom Line
• Cornell 101, Colgate 98 (2 OT)
• This was the Raiders first overtime contest of the year.
 
Won-Lost Records
• Cornell evens its record at 1-1.
• The Raiders slide to 1-1.
 
Facts & Figures
• Swopshire posted a team and career-best 19 points in the contest.
• He finished 7-of-13 from the floor and 5-of-9 from downtown before adding a career-high seven rebounds on the night.
• Ramon and Regisford also notched double-figures with 17 points each.
• Ramon went 6-for-9 from the floor, 3-for-5 from behind-the-arc and 2-for-2 from the line, while Regisford recorded his career-high on 4-for-5 shooting and 9-of-10 makes from the charity stripe.  
• The Woodland Hills, California, native also compiled a career-best eight boards.
• Closing out Colgate's double-digit scoring was Tillotson with 15 points.
• The senior handed out a career-best 11 helpers in the game.
• He is now sixth all-time in Colgate's records book for career assists with 285 and is 39 shy of breaking into the top-5.
• Rivard pulled down a team-best 11 rebounds for a career-high performance of his own.    
• The Raiders finished the night shooting 43.8 percent from the floor, 37.5 percent from downtown and 66.7 percent from the free throw line.
• Colgate's 56 percent shooting from the floor and its 63.6 percent shooting from long in the second half were keys to the Raiders' comeback.
• Colgate outrebounded Cornell 51-45.
• Both teams registered 34 points in the paint with Cornell slightly outscoring the Raiders on points off turnovers at 25-20.
• Colgate finished with 28 bench points, while the Big Red compiled 23.
• Cornell held its largest lead of the contest at 36-17 with 5:42 remaining in the first half. Colgate finished holding its largest lead at 95-91 with 2:30 to play in the second overtime.
 
Cornell's Numbers
• Hatter led the Big Red with a career-high performance of 33 points from 11-of-20 shooting.    
• Matt Morgan added 16 points, while Wil Bathurst and Smith also posted double-figures with 14 points a piece.  
• David Onuorah finished with a career-high on the boards, pulling down a game-best 14 rebounds.
• The Big Red shot 44.6 percent on the night to go along with their 37 percent shooting from behind-the-arc. They also shot 64.1 percent from the charity stripe.

Turning Point
• Despite leading 95-91 with 2:30 remaining in double overtime, Colgate saw Cornell spark a 10-3 run to finish out the game and secure itself the victory.
 
Game Notes
• This was the eighth overtime match between Colgate and Cornell and just the second double overtime contest in the 127 all-time meetings.
• The score was tied by Colgate once, while Cornell pulled even three times.
• This was the most points scored by Colgate since a 98-86 victory at Tulane during the 2013-14 season.
• Colgate nearly stunned Cornell the same way the Big Red shocked the Raiders last season. Cornell came-from-behind just a year ago after trailing by 17 late in the first half to earn the 58-52 win.
 
Career-Highs All Around
• Swopshire's 19 points was a career-high for the O'Fallon, Missouri, native and so was his seven boards.
• Tillotson handed out a career-best 11 helpers and now sits sixth all-time in Colgate's records book for career assists.
• Regisford recorded his first double-figure scoring night with a career-high 17 points. He also doubled his previous career-high in rebounds with eight boards in the contest.
• Rivard pulled down 11 rebounds for Colgate, which was a career-high for him as well.
 
Gate Grab Bag
• Attendance in Cotterell Court on Monday for the Raiders home opener was 814.

Straight From The Source
• Colgate head coach Matt Langel: (on his thoughts from the game) "It was a tough loss for our team that's for sure. With that said, we again showed signs, as individuals and as a group, of our potential to be successful. Credit to Cornell and its coaches and players for helping contribute to us getting knocked on our heels to start both halves, but our resolve to battle back was a good sign. Of course it would have been nice to learn the many valuable lessons in victory, both our team, and especially a number of our inexperienced younger players, will be better moving forward for getting a game like this under our belts early in the season."
 
Next Up
• Colgate starts a six-game road trip Thursday when it travels to Albany.
• Game time is scheduled for a 7 p.m. tip in SEFCU Arena.
• The Great Danes dropped a 69-64 decision at Boston University on Monday.
• Live stats and video are available at the start.
 
Game Archive