BOSTON – The Colgate men's basketball team found itself down early, but rallied to come back for a 67-58 win over first-place Boston University Wednesday evening at Case Gym.
 
The Terriers led 15-2 ten minutes into the game before Colgate closed the first half on a 24-7 run. The Raiders held on from there, leading by as much as ten and fighting off a late BU surge. Colgate handed the Terriers their first home Patriot League loss of the season and just second home loss overall.
 
First-year Will Rayman led Colgate with 21 points, while junior Sean O'Brien added 20 of his own. The two players combined for nine of Colgate's 11 three-pointers. Sophomore Malcolm Regisford tallied his third double-double of the season with 10 points and 14 rebounds.
 
The Terriers' early 15-2 lead was aided by Colgate's 1-for-15 start from the field. Back-to-back treys from O'Brien and a conventional three-point play from senior Andrew Bargmann comprised a 9-0 Colgate response that pulled Colgate within 15-11 with 8:40 on the clock.
 
After a pair of BU free throws, three free throws from junior Jordan Swopshire and four points from Regisford capped off Colgate's 16-2 run to give the Raiders an 18-17 advantage with 4:55 left on the first-half clock.
 
An exchange of baskets had the score tied at 21 just over a minute later, but a pair of Rayman free throws and another O'Brien three-pointer put the Raiders in front 26-21. A single Terrier free throw served as the final point of the half as Colgate carried a 26-22 lead into the locker room.
 
A Rayman three-pointer opened the second half and sparked an 8-3 Raider run that stretched Colgate's lead to nine at 34-25 with 17:52 on the clock. The teams exchanged 4-0 runs to run the score to 38-29 three minutes later before a Rayman trey gave Colgate its largest lead yet at 41-31 and forced a BU timeout with 13:07 to play.
 
The Terriers scored the next eight points to trim Colgate's advantage down to 41-39, but Rayman's fourth three-pointer of the night sparked an 8-0 Raider run that ran the score to 49-39 with 9:13 on the clock. Eight points from both Eric Fanning and Justin Alston then comprised a 16-7 BU streak that took over six minutes off the clock and pulled the Terriers all the way within one at 56-55 with 3:05 to play.
 
Rayman answered with the game's next four points to stop the Terrier streak and give Colgate a five-point cushion with 2:17 on the clock. Three points from Alston then pulled the Terriers back within two at 60-58 as the clock wound down to 1:25.
 
Neither team converted on their next possession and the Terriers were then forced to foul the Raiders down the stretch. Colgate converted 7-of-8 attempts from the charity stripe in the final 33 seconds to lock up the 67-58 victory. 
 
 
BOTTOM LINE

• Colgate 67, Boston University 58

 
WON-LOST RECORDS

• The Raiders improve to 3-4 in league play with all three of their Patriot League wins coming on the road. Colgate is now 5-15 overall.
• Boston University falls to 5-2 in the league and 10-9 on the season.

 
KEY RAIDER INFO

• Rayman connected on a career high-tying five three-pointers and added six points from the free throw line en route to his 21 points.
• O'Brien drained four treys and finished 6-for-11 from the field en route to his 20 points.
• Regisford's double-double is his first in Patriot League play this season.
• Bargmann added a career high-tying eight points. It's his most career points in a Patriot League game.
• Sophomore Francisco Amiel dished a career-high five assists.

 
FACTS & FIGURES

• The Raiders finished the game shooting 40.0 percent (20-for-50) from the field, 39.3 percent (11-for-28) from three-point range and 88.9 percent (16-for-18) from the free-throw line.
• Colgate held BU to a 35.1 percent (20-for-57) clip from the field  - its lowest field goal percentage in any Patriot League game this season.
• The Terriers finished 25.0 percent (5-for-20) from three-point range and 65.0 percent (13-for-20) from the free-throw line.
• The Raiders held a 38-35 rebound edge.
• Colgate scored 15 points off nine BU turnovers.

 
FROM THE SOURCE
Head Coach Matt Langel

• "I thought it was a great all-around team effort. We scored a lot of different ways and the defense was consistent. This group keeps plugging away and approaching every game as another opportunity."
•  "Our defense was really solid. The defensive resolve kept BU from getting good shots even when we were down early. That helped us get through the sluggish start on the offensive end."
• "Both Sean (O'Brien) and Will (Rayman) are very consistent. They're consistent in how they practice every day so that's going to translate to consistency come game time. The guys who get the shots are the guys you need to make the shots, and they've done a good job of that."

 
UP NEXT

• The Raiders return home for their next two Patriot League games, beginning with a Saturday contest against Loyola.
• Tipoff from Cotterell Court is set for 2 p.m.
• All information on how to follow can be found at Game Central.