Box Score STORRS, Conn. – The Colgate men's basketball team put up a strong fight in its season opener at 2014 National Champion UConn Friday night as the Raiders stayed within five of the Huskies in the final minutes before UConn pulled away late for a 70-58 win.
 
Three Raiders finished in double-figures, led by sophomore Will Rayman's 19 points. Senior Jordan Swopshire chipped in 14 points and a team-best nine rebounds, while first-year Jordan Burns added 11 points in his collegiate debut.
 
Baskets from Rayman and junior Dana Batt accounted for the first points of the game, but UConn rattled off a 20-3 run over the next seven minutes to take an early 20-7 lead.
 
Back-to-back three-pointers from Rayman helped Colgate stop the Huskies' streak at the 10:34 mark. The two treys ignited a 24-13 Raider run to close the opening half. The streak saw 12 points from Rayman and nine points from Burns as Colgate pulled itself within two at 33-31 at halftime.
 
UConn scored the first seven points of the second half to extend its lead to 40-31. Colgate answered with six of the next eight points to narrow the gap to five at 42-37 with 12:33 left on the clock. The Huskies responded with another large streak of 9-0 to pull ahead 51-37 as the clock wound down to 10:01.
 
The Raiders continued to fight as Colgate stayed within five at 59-54 following five-straight points from Swopshire with 2:17 left to play. The Huskies pulled away down the stretch, however, as UConn tallied 11 of the game's final 15 points to secure the 70-58 win.
 
BOTTOM LINE

• UConn 70, Colgate 58

 
WON-LOST RECORDS

• The Raiders are 0-1 on the young season.
• UConn is now 1-0.

 
KEY RAIDER INFO

• Rayman's 19 points came from a 6-for-10 showing from the field, 3-for-5 effort from three-point range, and 4-for-5 performance from the charity stripe.
• Swopshire shot 5-for-10 from the field in a strong effort.
• Burns added a team-best six assists to his 11 points.
• Batt and senior Sean O'Brien both added seven points apiece.

FACTS & FIGURES

• Colgate finished the game shooting 38.5 percent (20-for-52) from the field, 27.6 percent (8-for-29) from three-point range and 66.7 percent (10-for-15) from free throw range.
• The Raiders held the Huskies to a 37.7 (23-for-61) shooting percentage. UConn finished just 6-for-20 (30.0 percent) from three-point range.
• The Huskies were aided by a 94.7 percent (18-for-19) showing from the charity stripe.
• UConn scored 26 points off 14 Colgate turnovers.

 
FROM THE SOURCE
Head Coach Matt Langel

• "It's not often we get an opportunity to play against a program like UConn that has won four national titles in the last 18 seasons. The environment was spectacular and I was proud of a lot that our group did over the 40 minutes."
• "To be in a two-possession game with under 2:30 to go is in many ways where we wanted to be, in striking distance late in the game. Unfortunately, we weren't able to make the requisite shots to get us over the hump and I credit UConn and a few of their veteran guys for being able to do so."
• "I'm hopeful and confident that we will use tonight as a building block and continue the work necessary for this group to find continued improvement."

UP NEXT

• The Raiders make their home debut at Cotterell Court Thursday when Colgate hosts in-state rival Cornell.
• Tipoff from Cotterell Court is set for 7 p.m.