EASTON, Pa. – Colgate men's basketball first-year Will Rayman netted 34 points to set a freshman single-game scoring record and led the Raiders to an 85-75 win at Lafayette Friday night in the Patriot League opener at Kirby Sports Center.
 
Rayman's 34 points bested the previous Colgate freshman scoring record of 32 points that was set by former Raider All-American and NBA player Adonal Foyle. Rayman scored 20 of his 34 points in the first half, starting his Patriot League debut by converting eight of his first nine attempts from the floor.
 
Rayman led a trio of Raiders in double-figures, as junior Sean O'Brien went 6-for-8 from three-point range to finish with 18 points. Senior Nathan Harries followed with 13 points.
 
The Raiders converted six of their first eight field goal attempts thanks to six points from both Harries and Rayman as Colgate found itself ahead 12-7 five minutes into the contest. Rayman continued his hot start to the game, but Lafayette drained four three-pointers in the opening 10 minutes. The treys helped the Leopards stay within striking distance until a jumper from Matt Klinewski knotted the score at 20 with 10:14 on the clock.  
 
Six more points from Rayman and a three-pointer from junior Jordan Swopshire helped Colgate answer with a 9-2 run over the next two and a half minutes as the Raiders took a 29-22 lead and forced a Leopard timeout. Lafayette scored the next five points to pull within two before another Klinewski basket tied the score at 32 with 4:34 to play.
 
Three treys from O'Brien helped Colgate put up 13 of the next 17 points to give the Raiders a 45-36 advantage with 41 seconds on the first-half clock. The Leopards scored the final four points of the half, but Colgate took its 45-40 lead into the locker room.
 
The Raiders came out strong in the second half as three-pointers from O'Brien and Swopshire sparked an 11-2 run to open the stanza. The streak was capped off by a Rayman layup at 17:09 as Colgate took its largest lead of the game, 56-42, and forced another Lafayette timeout.
 
The Leopards responded with a 14-8  run over the next six minutes to trim the Colgate advantage down to six at 62-56 with just over 11 minutes to play. The teams exchanged 5-0 streaks over the next few minutes to run the score to 67-61 with 7:38 on the clock.
 
Five points from Rayman helped comprise a 9-5 Raider run that stretched Colgate's lead back to 10 at 76-66 with just over four minutes to play. Lafayette wouldn't get closer than six the rest of the way as Colgate continued to make clutch baskets down the stretch en route to the 85-75 win.
 
BOTTOM LINE

• Colgate 85, Lafayette 75

 
WON-LOST RECORDS

• The Raiders begin Patriot League play with a 1-0 record and move to 3-11 overall.
• Lafayette drops to 4-8 on the season and 0-1 in the league.

 
KEY RAIDER INFO

• Rayman made a career-high 11 field goals en route to his career-best 34 points. He finished the game 11-for-20 from the floor, 5-for-11 from three-point range and 7-for-8 from the free throw line.  He also added five rebounds.
• Rayman is the first Raider to eclipse the 30-point mark since former standout Damon Sherman-Newsome did so on Jan. 7, 2015 against Holy Cross.
• O'Brien's six treys set a new career high and bested his previous personal record of four three-pointers. He added a team-best seven assists.
• Harries finished 6-of-8 from the floor, which tied his career high for field goals made.
• Sophomore Malcolm Regisford turned out another strong rebounding performance, finishing with a game-high 14 boards.  It marks his fourth double-digit rebounding effort of the season.
• Colgate's 85 points marked the Raiders' third-highest offensive effort of the season.

 
FACTS & FIGURES

• Colgate finished the game shooting 53.6 percent (30-for-56) from the field, highlighted by a 64.3 percent (18-for-28) first-half clip.
• The Raiders shot 48.4 percent (15-for-31) from three-point range and 52.6 percent (10-for-19) from the charity stripe.
• Lafayette shot 50.8 percent (30-for-59) from the field, 34.5 percent (10-for-29) from downtown and 55.6 percent (5-for-9) from the free throw line.
• The Raiders controlled a 36-26 rebounding edge.
• Colgate committed 10 turnovers in the first half, but just three in the second half.
• Lafayette was led by Klinewski's 33 points. Nick Lindner followed with 20 points.

 
FROM THE SOURCE
Head Coach Matt Langel

• "To get a win as league play starts on the road gives a little bit of validation to the work these guys have done. Winning on the road is so important in any conference. Hopefully this win helps validate the process that this team has gone through and will continue to go through as the season progresses."
• "We've known that Will Rayman is a really good player for a long time. He's got great size, he can make shots, he's really a threat with how we play. He's a hard worker and keeps getting better, which we're really proud of."
• "We moved the ball, got good shots and adjusted to their defense. We only had three turnovers in the second half and a lot of that falls on Sean O'Brien. He's learning how to lead the team both on and off the court. He barely comes out of the game and guarded Lafayette's best player tonight. He's as good of a point guard as there is in our league."

 
First-year Will Rayman

• "This win was huge. Hopefully this will help us build some more confidence as we go forward. We know we can compete in the league and we're all looking forward to showing everyone what we can do."
• On the freshman scoring record: "I was able to find open space tonight. My teammates got me really good looks, which is where it all starts. It's really easy when we're executing as a team."
• On Sean O'Brien: "Sean is definitely the best point guard I've ever played with. He's a great leader and everyone follows him on the court. He's a great passer and made a lot of clutch threes tonight."

 
UP NEXT

• The Raiders return home to Cotterell Court for their next two Patriot League contests.
• Colgate hosts American at 2 p.m. Monday (Jan. 2) before welcoming Holy Cross on Jan. 5.
• Monday's game against the Eagles will be Boy Scout Day at Cotterell Court.
• All information can be found at Game Central.