WASHINGTON – The Colgate men's basketball team used a strong team effort to capture a 70-65 road win at American in front of a nationally-televised audience Sunday afternoon at Bender Arena.
 
Colgate trailed 29-15 15 minutes into the game, but put together a 17-3 run over a seven-minute span to make it a brand new ballgame at 32-32 early on in the second half. The lead changed seven times from there on, but Colgate came up with key stops and big shots in the final minutes en route to the 70-65 victory.
 
Four Raiders finished in double-figures, led by 15 points from sophomore Malcolm Regisford. Junior Jordan Swopshire added 14 points, first-year Will Rayman chipped in 13 and junior Tom Rivard finished with 11.
 
Six points from both Lonnie Rivera and Mark Gasperini helped American get out to an early 12-6 lead six minutes into the game. The Eagles held onto at least a six-point advantage until a Rayman tip-in put the score at 20-15 in favor of American with 9:11 on the clock.
 
The Eagles answered with nine-straight points and held Colgate scoreless for nearly four minutes as American pulled ahead 29-15 with 5:48 to play. A Regisford layup stopped the Eagle streak and was followed by a pair of free throws from junior Sean O'Brien, a Rayman layup and a three-pointer from sophomore Francisco Amiel as Colgate narrowed the American advantage to 29-24 at the 2:41 mark.
 
That 8-0 streak saw the Raider defense keep American off the board for over three minutes until an Eagle layup snapped Colgate's run with just over two minutes left in the term. A Regisford free throw and last-second three-pointer from Swopshire wrapped up Colgate's 13-2 half-closing streak to pull the Raiders within 31-28 heading into the locker room.
 
Baskets from Regisford and sophomore Dana Batt helped Colgate put up four of the first five second-half points to tie the score at 32 just over a minute into the term. The Eagles answered with a 7-1 streak to pull ahead 39-33 before another Swopshire trey and three Colgate free throws had the Raiders within one once again at 40-39 with 15:21 on the clock.
 
American pulled ahead by five at 48-43 as the clock wound under 12. Colgate then used an 8-2 run over the next three minutes that was capped off by a jumper from Rivard to give the Raiders their first lead of the game at 51-50. The Eagles momentarily grabbed the lead back, but five-straight points from Rivard put Colgate ahead 55-52 at the under-eight media timeout.
 
American scored the game's next six points from the charity stripe to reclaim the lead at 58-55 with just over five minutes to play. Rayman put three points on the board for Colgate, the Raiders' first in nearly four minutes, to tie the score at 58 with 3:38 to play.
 
The Eagles pulled ahead 62-60 before a pair of Amiel free throws and a Rayman layup gave Colgate a 64-62 advantage with under two minutes to play. An off-balance three-pointer from Sa'eed Nelson put the Eagles ahead by one, but O'Brien drained a big trey of his own on Colgate's next possession to put the score at 67-65 with 55 seconds to play.
 
The Eagles didn't convert on their next possession and were then forced to foul the Raiders. Swopshire then made three of four attempts from the free throw line down the stretch to seal the 70-65 Colgate victory.
 
 
BOTTOM LINE

• Colgate 70, American 65

 
WON-LOST RECORDS

• The Raiders improve to 5-5 in Patriot League play and 7-16 overall. Colgate is now 4-1 in league road games.
• The Eagles fall to 2-8 in the Patriot League and 5-16 overall.

 
KEY RAIDER INFO

• Regisford finished the game 6-for-8 from the field. He put together his 12th double-digit scoring effort of the season.
• Eleven of Swopshire's 14 points came in the second half, with the exception being the last-second three-pointer to close the opening term. He finished 3-for-4 from downtown and 5-for-6 from the free throw line.
• Rayman secured his team-leading 18th double-digit effort of the season, while Rivard picked up his sixth.
• In addition to O'Brien's clutch three-pointer in the final minute, he also dished a team-best five assists.

 
FACTS & FIGURES

• Colgate finished the game shooting 56.1 percent (23-for-41) from the field, 55.6 percent (5-for-9) from three-point range and 67.9 percent (19-for-28) from the free throw line.
• American shot 57.1 percent (24-for-42) from the field, 35.7 percent (5-for-14) from downtown and 70.6 percent (12-for-17) from the charity stripe.
• The Eagles held a 21-19 rebound edge.
• Gasperini tallied a game-high 18 points.

 
FROM THE SOURCE
Head Coach Matt Langel

• "We were really focused on what we do and trying to play well. They're a hard team to play against because they play such a slow style and play very deliberately. We were on our heels a little bit, but we switched to zone in the first half and that broke the rhythm and got us going a little bit."
• "Our guys fought really hard in the second half. I thought it was a really well-played offensive game and people came up with key shots. I'm really proud of our guys for stepping up and making free throws and making critical stops when we needed to in order to come out of here with a win."

 
UP NEXT

• The Raiders remain on the road to take on Holy Cross Wednesday.
• Tipoff from Worcester, Mass. is set for 7 p.m.
• All information on how to follow can be found at Game Central.