SYRACUSE, N.Y. – Meeting for the 168th time between them, Colgate and Syracuse battled it out in a gritty rivalry game here Tuesday night.
 
The Raiders were ultimately edged 78-51 but it wasn't easy for the Orange.
 
A little more than two minutes into the contest, 'Cuse found itself down 7-3 after Sean O'Brien converted on his second bucket of the game.
 
The Orange answered though with a 24-4 run of their own to pull in front 27-11. With five minutes remaining in the half a good jumper from Jordan Swopshire ended the Raiders' lack of scoring, which spanned nearly 12 minutes.
 
Colgate kept within striking distance for the remainder of the half and midway into the second until the Orange started to slowly pull away. It was a 56-39 ballgame with nine minutes remaining when 'Cuse used another 22-12 run to unfortunately secure the victory.
 
O'Brien finished with a career-best shooting night, going 6-for-12 from the floor and 4-for-7 from long for his team-leading 16 points.
 
Joining him in double-figures was Swopshire with 10 points, while rookie Dave Krmpotich reeled off seven. Swopshire and first-year Malcolm Regisford pulled down a team-best five rebounds, to go along with Austin Tillotson's four helpers and three steals.
 
Colgate shot 33.3 percent from the floor and drained 10 of its 28 attempts from behind-the-arc. The Raiders also converted on seven of their nine free throws in the game.
 
Matt Langel's squad has a very quick turnaround as it plays host to Utica on Thursday for another out-of-conference matchup. That contest is slated for a 7 p.m. tip on Cotterell Court and will have live stats and video available at the start.
 
Bottom Line
• Syracuse 78, Colgate 51
 
Won-Lost Records
• Syracuse shifts to 7-2
• Colgate dips to 2-6
 
Facts & Figures
• O'Brien finished with 16 points after going 6-for-12 from the floor and 4-for-7 from downtown for his career-high scoring night.
• The sophomore posted three assists, one steal and a rebound on his already impressive night.
• Swopshire added 10 points to Colgate's final total and helped pull down five rebounds.
• Krmpotich had a solid outing earning seven points and four rebounds to go along with his one block.
• Regisford matched Swopshire on the boards with five, while Tillotson handed out four helpers and accounted for three steals.
• Tillotson and Jordan Robertson finished their nights with six and five points, respectively.
• Colgate ended the game shooting 33.3 percent from the floor. The Raiders hit 10-of-28 from downtown and 7-of-9 from the charity stripe.
• The rebounds were tied at 32-each, but Colgate committed 19 turnovers to the Orange's 10.
• Steals were slightly swayed in the hosts favor at 11-7 as were blocks at 5-1.
• 'Cuse converted on 22 points inside the paint to Colgate's 12, while the Orange also notched 23 points off of Colgate turnovers. The Raiders cashed in on 10 points.
• The Raiders held their largest lead of the game at 7-3 just 17:48 into the opening period, while the Orange held their largest margin at 78-49 with 33 seconds remaining in the game.
 
Syracuse's Numbers
• The Orange saw five players reach double-digit scoring with Malachi Richardson and Michael Gbinije leading the way with 17 points each.
• Trevor Cooney added 14 points, while Tyler Lydon and DaJuan Coleman chipped in 11 and 10 points, respectively.
• Tyler Roberson pulled down a game-high seven rebounds. Gbinije handed out six helpers to go along with Lydon's three blocks.
• 'Cuse shot 49 percent from the floor, while matching its season-high in 3-pointers made with 14.
 
Gate Grab Bag
• Attendance at Syracuse's Carrier Dome was 21,201.

Straight From The Source
• Colgate head coach Matt Langel: (on his thoughts from the game) "I was proud of our guys tonight. We have a very inexperienced team. We play a lot of freshmen and sophomores. We got off to a decent start to the season with a nice win at George Mason and then we've had some less than enthusiastic performances. And despite the final result of the game tonight, we grew up a little bit. We had some guys who stepped up and made some good plays. They didn't always result in baskets or made field goals or assists but we made good basketball plays."
 
"We battled on the glass a little bit more than we have been. I think they've got some strong rebounders in Tyler (Lydon) and DaJuan (Coleman) and even (Michael) Gbinije and (Malachi) Richardson rebounding from the perimeter; so they can put some pressure on you. And we did a good job of battling on the glass."
 
"Again, despite the result we can move ahead and take some positive things away from the game."
                                                                 
Next Up
• Colgate closed out its six-game road swing on Tuesday and is finally back in the comfy confines of Cotterell Court for its next contest.
• The Raiders welcome Utica on Thursday at 7 p.m.
• Live stats and video will be available at the start.