HAMILTON – The Colgate men's basketball team erased a nine-point deficit in the final 1:30 of regulation to force overtime against American, but the Eagles outscored the Raiders 9-6 in the extra frame to earn a 67-64 victory Monday afternoon at Cotterell Court.
 
Junior Sean O'Brien scored a game-high 21 points to lead Colgate, while first-year Will Rayman followed with 15 points.
 
Both teams started slowly as the squads combined to go four for their first 14 attempts and American took an early 5-4 lead. The Eagles made three of their next four baskets to pull ahead 12-7 with just under 13 minutes left in the term.
 
Seven points from Rayman and an O'Brien three-pointer helped Colgate put together an 10-2 run over the next two and a half minutes as the Raiders suddenly pulled ahead 17-14 with 9:44 on the clock. American responded with a 5-0 run over the next five minutes to put the Eagles in front 19-17 with 4:30 to play.
 
A Rayman layup stopped the streak at 4:13 and tied the game at 19. The Eagles then spent the last four minutes of the half on a 9-2 run that gave American a 28-21 advantage heading into the locker room.
 
Eight points from O'Brien and a Harries layup helped the Raiders open the second half on a 10-3 streak and quickly tie the game at 31 less than five minutes into the term. The score was knotted at 33 two minutes later before the Eagles rattled off five of the next seven points and took a 40-35 lead with just over 10 minutes to play.
 
An O'Brien three-pointer followed to pull Colgate within two, but American tallied the next six to put the Raiders in a 46-38 hole with under eight minutes on the clock. Three free throws from junior Jordan Swopshire, a three-pointer from sophomore Francisco Amiel and a pair of Rayman free throws followed as Colgate tied the score at 46 with under six minutes to play.
 
American spent the next five minutes on a 9-0 run that put the Eagles in front 55-46 as the clock wound down to 1:30.  Three Colgate free throws, an O'Brien three and a layup from junior Tom Rivard put together a quick 8-1 Raider run in less than a minute as Colgate all of the sudden found itself within 56-54 with 43.5 seconds on the clock.
 
A pair of Amiel free throws had Colgate within one at 57-56 with 31 seconds to play.  The Eagles then made one of three chances from the charity stripe to go ahead by two, but O'Brien hit an off-balance jumper and drew a foul to tie the game at 58 with 0.9 seconds remaining. O'Brien missed the potential game-winning free throw, but the game went to overtime tied at 58.
 
The Eagles scored six of the first seven points of the extra frame before a Rivard layup stopped the run and pulled Colgate within 64-61 with 1:07 to play. American missed two more chances from the free throw line before Rivard came up with a clutch conventional three-point play to tie the game at 64 with 46.1 seconds on the clock.
 
The Eagles were then sent to the line on their next two possessions where American made two of four attempts to go ahead 66-64 with 15 seconds to play. The Raiders weren't able to convert on their final two possessions, however, as the Eagles walked away with the 67-64 win.
 
BOTTOM LINE

• American 67, Colgate 64 (OT)

 
WON-LOST RECORDS

• The Raiders fall to 3-12 on the season and 1-1 in league action.
• American improves to 4-9 overall and 1-1 in the Patriot League.

 
KEY RAIDER INFO

• O'Brien's 21 points came from a 6-for-11 effort from the field and 5-for-8 showing from downtown.  He added four points from the free throw line.
• Rayman's 15 points marks his fourth-straight double-digit effort and 11th of the season.
• Amiel followed with nine points, while Rivard chipped in eight.
• Rivard finished with a team-best eight rebounds.

 
FACTS & FIGURES

• Colgate finished the game shooting 36.8 percent (21-for-57) from the field, 35.0 percent (7-for-20) from three-point range and 57.7 percent (15-for-26) from the free throw line.
• American shot 45.3 percent (24-for-53) from the field, 30 percent (6-for-20) from downtown and 41.9 percent (13-for-31) from the charity stripe.
• The Eagles scored 21 points off 17 Colgate turnovers.
• Colgate held a slim 41-39 rebound advantage.

 
FROM THE SOURCE
Head Coach Matt Langel

• "We fought back at the end and had a chance to win the game at the buzzer. We weren't able to come up with the big plays, especially on defense. We let them get too many routine baskets in overtime."
• "It was a tough result. The good thing about young guys is they prove to be resilient if they so choose. We've got two days to get ready for a Holy Cross team that's pretty good."

 
UP NEXT

• Colgate remains home to host Holy Cross Thursday evening.
• Tipoff from Cotterell Court is set for 7 p.m.
• All information on how to follow can be found at Game Central.