NEW YORK, N.Y. – Francisco Amiel drained a three-pointer with less than two minutes left in regulation and the Colgate men's basketball team held on for a tight 64-62 victory over Columbia on Wednesday night inside Levien Gymnasium.

Colgate led by as many as 15 points in the second half but Columbia found its rhythm late, using a 14-2 scoring run to take a 62-61 advantage with 3:38 remaining. A trio of three-pointers from Quinton Adlesh, Gabe Stefanini, and Jake Killingsworth fueled the momentum swing, while the Raiders were held without a field goal for over three minutes during that stretch.
 
Amiel stepped up with a season-high 10 points in the game, but none bigger than the go-ahead three to silence the home crowd with 1:41 showing. Rapolas Ivanauskas set up the game-winning shot by driving inside before leaving a pass back for Amiel, who took care of the rest from beyond the arc. 
 
The two teams traded opportunities on both ends of the floor over the final one-plus minute. Columbia had the in-bound under the basket with two ticks left, but Adlesh rattled a three-pointer off the rim and time expired with the Raiders holding on for the 64-62 triumph.
 
Colgate dominated most of the first half, leading nearly from the get-go. The Lions opened the scoring on a layup by Ike Nweke but a three-pointer from Ivanauskas just 17 seconds later gave the Raiders the lead for the rest of the opening stanza. Amiel pelted another three-pointer from the left wing to push Colgate's lead to 17-12 midway through the frame.
 
Columbia ensued to hit on five of its next seven shots but the Raiders withstood the Lions surge and the margin remained at five until a Dana Batt layup gave Colgate a 26-19 lead with 5:07 left. Jordan Burns added another layup as eight of the Raiders final 12 first-half points came in the paint en route to a 36-23 lead at intermission.
 
Malcolm Regisford made his presence known in the second half and kept Colgate's lead in double-digits 56-43 midway through the final frame. The Lions caught fire from distance after that, hitting four three-pointers over the final 7:28 of regulation.
 
The last trey gave the Lions the brief one-point lead and set the stage for Amiel's final blow for the Raiders first victory at Columbia since the 1964-65 season.
 
BOTTOM LINE
• Colgate 64, Columbia 62
 
FOR THE RECORD
• Colgate is now 7-3 on the season and 4-3 on the road with the win. 
• Columbia fell to 1-6 and 1-2 on its home court after the loss. 

FROM THE SOURCE
• Colgate head coach Matt Langel: 
 
"Basketball is a game of runs. And winning on the road is extremely hard to do. Columbia deserves credit tonight. They picked up the intensity on defense and started making shots, but much like the South Florida game, we did not play like we needed to at either end of the floor to sustain the lead we had worked so hard to get early on.

"I am nonetheless extremely proud of our guys for finding a way tonight. I am equally happy for Francisco to make that big three and get that late steal and save to put us in the position to win. We talk often about how the game rewards guys who work hard at their craft and are 100 percent committed to their team, and that is what we saw tonight in Francisco's play.

"In college basketball, players get so few opportunities in their careers. The good teams appreciate that and never take a game or possession for granted. So this win was big for many reasons, but most importantly, because it was the next one in front of us." 

KEY RAIDER NOTES
• Tonight's win is Colgate's first victory at Columbia since the 1964-65 season.
• It is also the first time the Raiders have beaten the Lions in back-to-back years since 1960-61 and 1961-62.
• Columbia entered the night averaging 81 points per game but was held to a season-low 62 points.
• The Raiders complete the season sweep of the Ivy League with the victory.
• Burns for the fifth straight game paced Colgate in scoring with a game-high 18 points.
• Amiel finished with 10 points behind a 3-of-6 showing from three-point range.

BY THE NUMBERS
• Colgate shot 44.1 percent (26-of-59) from the floor and 30.8 percent (8-of-26) from beyond the arc.
• The Raiders finished 4-of-8 (50 percent) from the charity stripe.
• Columbia finished with a 42.4 percent (25-of-59) clip from the field and 35.5 percent (11-of-31) showing from three-point range.
• The Lions were held to just one free throw in the game.
• Rebounds finished dead even at 34 apiece. 

UP NEXT
• Colgate is back on the road Saturday to take on reigning NIT Champion Penn State at 2 p.m.