WASHINGTON – For the second straight season Colgate starts its Patriot League slate 2-0 after defeating American 56-37 here Sunday afternoon.
 
The 37 points allowed by Colgate were the fewest in the Matt Langel era. It also marked the fewest given up since an 82-34 win over Division III Elmira on Dec. 6, 2006.
 
The win was Colgate's second all-time in Bender Arena and second in the last three years. Prior to the 2013-14 season, the Raiders were 0-15 against the Eagles on their home floor.
 
Colgate's 19-point victory marked its largest over American for the second consecutive season. Last year the Raiders defeated the Eagles 59-43 in Hamilton. The only other double-digit win over the Eagles came during the 2005 season.
 
Colgate quickly jumped out to the 8-0 lead following two 3-pointers from Sean O'Brien less than four minutes in.
 
After the Eagles had cut the advantage to 10-5, the Raiders responded with a 6-0 run to create their largest lead of the half with 8:27 remaining.
 
American would not go away, finishing the period on a 15-7 run including a deep trey with 10 seconds left to make it a 23-20 Colgate lead at the break.
 
A 3-pointer from American's Delante Jones tied the game at 25-all just one minute into the second half. But Colgate answered with an 11-2 run to extend its edge back to 36-27 with under 12 minutes to play.
 
American pulled to within 38-32, but two 3-pointers from Tom Rivard during the next two Raider possessions sealed the deal for Colgate as it maintained a double-figure lead the rest of the way.
 
Rivard and Austin Tillotson led Colgae with 12 and 15 points, respectively. Rookie Dana Batt matched his career-best with five rebounds, while three other Colgate players pulled down four each.
 
The Raiders have a quick turnaround as they travel to Worcester, Massachusetts, on Wednesday for another Patriot League contest with Holy Cross. That game is slated for 7 p.m. and will be streamed live on the Patriot League Network.

Bottom Line
• Colgate 56, American 37
• The Raiders start 2-0 in Patriot League play for the second straight year.
 
Won-Lost Records
• Colgate improves to 6-7 overall and 2-0 in Patriot League play.
• American drops to 2-11 and 0-2.
 
How It Happened
• Colgate started the game on an 8-0 run thanks to two 3-pointers from O'Brien.
• It took American nearly four minutes to score its first points of the game but eventually cut the Raiders lead to 10-5.
• Colgate would not waver as it answered with a 6-0 run over seven minutes to create its largest lead of the half at 16-5.
• With 5:23 remaining on the first half clock, Alex Ramon converted on two free throws to make it a 19-11 Raiders advantage.
• The Eagles would finish the half on a 9-4 run though to send Colgate into the break only up 23-20.
• Delante Jones then drained a 3-pointer early in the second half, which knotted the game at 25-25.
• Colgate again responded with an 11-2 run that handed the Raiders back their edge at 36-27.
• The Eagles would pull within 38-32 three possessions later but that would be as close as they would come. Back-to-back treys from Rivard on Colgate's next two possessions handed the Raiders a comfortable 10-point lead.
• The visitors then held a double-figure advantage throughout the remainder of the game.
 
Facts & Figures
• Tillotson led the Raiders for the sixth time this season with his game-high 15 points.   
• The senior went 7-for-14 from the floor, while dishing out a game-best eight assists.  
• Rivard was close behind with 12 points, 10 of which came in the second half of play.  
• The sophomore finished 5-of-6 from the floor and 2-of-3 from long range.
• O'Brien drained two 3-pointers as well and finished with eight points.
• Batt was solid on the boards for Colgate, matching his career-high with five rebounds. The rookie also matched his career-best scoring night with six points in the game.
• The Raiders shot a season-best 53.5 percent from the floor and hit 5-of-13 from behind-the-arc. They also converted on 5-of-9 free throws.
• Colgate tallied 32 points from inside the paint compared to American's 20. The Raiders also converted 16 points off of Eagle turnovers to American's four.
• The Raider bench outscored their host 21-11.  
• There was one tied score but for the most part Colgate controlled much of the game.
• Colgate led for 38:49, while the game was tied for 1:11. American was never in front.
• The Raiders finished the contest with their largest lead at 19 points.
 
Key Raider Info
• Tillotson has now reached twin figures in nine of the Raiders' 13 games so far this season. His 15 points was also his third straight double-digit scoring game.  
• The senior added eight assists, which shifts his career total to 336. He is now just three shy of matching former teammate Luke Roh '15 for fourth all-time.
• He also pulled his Colgate career-scoring total up to 908, which makes him 92 shy of reaching 1,000 career points in his three-year tenure in the Maroon and White.
• Sunday's victory marked only the second time in 19 games Colgate has defeated American on its home court. Both of those wins have come in the last three years.
• Colgate held the Eagles to just 37 points, which was the fewest points allowed by Colgate to a Division I opponent since a 37-34 loss at Vermont on Feb. 2, 1985. Dating back even further than that, it was the fewest points allowed by the Raiders in a Division I win since a 25-24 victory over Princeton in 1982. Both of those games were before the shot clock was introduced.
 
American's Numbers
• The Eagles saw Paris Maragkos notched a team-best 11 points. Jeese Reed, American's top scorer, was held to just eight points, all of which came in the second half.
• Charlie Jones pulled down a game-high nine rebounds, while also handing out a team-best four helpers.  
• American scored just 17 points in the second half of play. That number was the Eagles' second-worst half of the year.
• American finished the game shooting 35 percent from the floor. The hosts hit 4-of-15 from long range and 5-of-6 from the charity stripe. 
 
Gate Grab Bag
• Attendance at Bender Arena was 489.

Straight From The Source
• Colgate head coach Matt Langel: (on his team winning their first league road game) "Road wins in league play are always great. To do so at a place we haven't had great success over the years is also nice.
 
"I am most happy, however, with the overall growth of our team. We played well enough to be up more than three at the half but our guys did not let that affect them negatively. We stayed focused on our details of guarding their offense and continued to share the ball trying to find open shots and post-up opportunities.
 
"It was good for so many of our guys who haven't played a lot against American's offensive and defensive styles to get today's experience in a victory."
                                                                 
Next Up
• Colgate remains on the road for a Wednesday night tilt at Holy Cross.
• The Crusaders are coming off a 65-60 loss at Navy on Saturday.
• Live stats and video will be available at the start.