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HAMILTON – Austin Tillotson scored a game-high 22 points, including his 1,000th career point at Colgate, to help men's basketball edge visiting Boston University, 85-78.
 
After a slow start, the senior closed out the first half with 10 points, making him just nine shy at the break. Early in the second period, the York, Pennsylvania, native converted on an and-1 to knot the score at 44-all. That play ignited a 13-2 run for the Raiders, with Tillotson recording 10 of those 13 points over the three-minute span. His final shot during that stretch was his milestone-breaking bucket and ultimately handed Colgate the needed points to break the back-and-forth affair.
 
The Raiders increased their advantage to double-digits midway through the half and maintained that lead for nearly the rest of the game. Despite allowing a late 9-0 run, Colgate closed out its fifth conference victory and third in a row in comfortable fashion.
 
Tillotson led all scorers with his 22 points, followed by Jordan Swopshire and Alex Ramon with 16 points each. Malcolm Regisford notched 10 points on 4-of-6 shooting to close out the Raider players in twin figures.
 
Regisford was one rebound shy of a double-double, leading the team with nine boards. Both Tillotson and Sean O'Brien handed out four assists, while Tom Rivard chipped in two blocks.
 
For the second straight game, the Raiders recorded 50 or more points in the second period of play. They notched 50 in Wednesday's game and 52 against Bucknell during their last outing. In league play alone Colgate is outscoring its opponents 42-34 in the second half, rounding to whole numbers.
 
A lot of that has to do with the Raiders taking quality shots. Colgate finished the game shooting 58.3 percent from the floor, which was a season-high. The Raiders also went 14-of-25 for a season-best 56 percent shooting from behind-the-arc.
 
Colgate is back in action Sunday at Loyola. These two teams will square off in a 1 p.m. tip in Reitz Arena. Live stats and video will be available at the start. 
 
Bottom Line
• Colgate 85, Boston U. 78
• The win marked the Raiders third straight victory and third consecutive over the Terriers.
 
Won-Lost Records
• Colgate pulls to .500 on the season at 9-9, with a 5-2 mark in Patriot League play.
• Boston U. drops to 10-10 and 3-4, respectively.  
• Colgate remains in third place in the conference standings and trails just Bucknell and Navy who sit tied for first with a 6-1 league record.  
 
How It Happened
• Neither team held larger than a five point lead in the opening 20 minutes of play as there were six tie scores and lead changes.
• The visitors created a 44-38 gap between the teams, following an Erik Fanning three-point play with 17:19 remaining in the game.
• Ramon answered for Colgate with an old fashioned three-point play of his own to pull the Raiders to within 44-41.
• Colgate then got a key stop on the game's next possession before Tillotson converted on another three-point play to tie the game at 44-all.
• Those two offensive plays sparked a 13-2 run for Colgate, which handed the hosts a 51-46 edge over the Terriers with 14:18 left to play. During that run Tillotson drained a 3-pointer that sent him over the edge of reaching 1,000 career points in his three-year tenure at Colgate.
• Boston U. cut the advantage down to three, on two different occasions over the next minute, but another 9-0 run increased the Raiders' lead to double-figures. Colgate hit back-to-back treys in that span, including a four-point play from Swopshire.
• The Raiders then held a comfortable lead in the remaining 11 minutes and despite a late 9-0 run from Boston U. were able to hold on for the victory.
 
Facts & Figures
• Tillotson led Colgate in scoring for the 10th time this season with 22 points on 7-of-13 shooting from the floor.
• He added 3-of-6 makes from long and was a perfect 5-for-5 from the charity stripe. The senior chipped in two steals as well.
• Swopshire and Ramon both registered 16 points apiece with Swopshire draining 5-of-7 from long range and Ramon 3-of-3. Both of those marks matched their career-highs from downtown.  
• Regisford closed out the Raiders in twin figures with 10 points and was one rebound away from a double-double. His nine rebounds led the team.
• Jordan Robertson had nearly a perfect shooting night, going 2-for-2 from the floor, 1-for-1 from behind-the-arc and 3-for-4 from the charity stripe for his eight points.
• Colgate shot 58.3 percent from the floor (28-of-48) and 56 percent from long range (14-of-25) in the game. Both of those numbers were season-highs. The Raiders also converted on 15 of their 22 attempts from the charity stripe.
• Boston U. held the edge on points in the paint at 32-28, in second chance points at 12-2, and in bench points at 31-26.
• Colgate, however, scored 19 points off turnovers to the Terriers' 15 and five points off of fast break opportunities to Boston U.'s two.
• In total, there were 10 ties and 10 lead changes throughout the contest.
• The Raiders led for 19:26, while Boston U. was in front for 10:46. The game was knotted for 9:16.  
• The Terriers held their largest edge in the game at 44-38 with 17:19 remaining in the second. Colgate built its largest lead in the game with a little more than 8½ minutes left to play following a steal and layup from Robertson to create a 74-56 gap between the teams.
 
Records Watch
• Tillotson now has 1,003 career points in the Maroon and White and has compiled a total of 1,192 points throughout his collegiate career, which spans his three years at Colgate and rookie season at Monmouth.
• With Tillotson's four helpers in the game he pulls his career total to 362, which is four assists shy of second place all-time in Colgate's records book.
 
Boston U.'s Numbers
• Cheddi Mosely finished with a team-high 17 points on 4-of-8 shooting. He added 3-of-7 makes from long range to go along with his 6-of-6 free throws.
• Also reaching double-figures was Nathan Dieudonne, Kyle Foreman and Fanning with 14, 10 and 10 points, respectively.
• Dieudonne notched a double-double as he led the Terriers on the boards with 10 rebounds.
• John Papale earned a team-best six assists, while Foreman was credited with three steals.
• Boston U. shot 47.2 percent from the floor for the night. The Terriers added 7-of-22 makes from downtown to go along with their 21-of-30 attempts from the free throw line.
 
Gate Grab Bag
• Attendance at Cotterell Court was 795.
 
Straight From The Source
• Colgate head coach Matt Langel: (on his team's third straight victory in league play) "I was proud of the group for the commitment to raise the level of attention to detail, especially on the defensive end at critical points of the game.
 
"I thought our defense led to good offense at times and we made big shots to open the lead in the second half. Both of our seniors provided much needed leadership and strong play at various points of the game.
 
"At the end of the day, winning at home in league play is what a team needs to do if it's going to compete for a championship. We will have our hands full this weekend as we travel to a dangerous Loyola team."
 
(on Tillotson reaching 1,000 career points at Colgate) "Of course, we are excited for Austin to score his 1,000th point. That is a major accomplishment for any college basketball player, but to do it in just three years, with as many assists as he has, is a compliment to both his talent and hard work."
                                                                 
Next Up
• Colgate is on the road for its next two Patriot League matchups at Loyola and Lehigh.
• The Raiders face the Greyhounds on Sunday for a 1 p.m. tip before traveling to meet the Mountain Hawks a week from Wednesday in a 7 p.m. start.
• Loyola dropped a tough 67-58 decision to Bucknell on Wednesday.
• Live stats and video will be available at the start of that game.