BOSTON, Mass. – A fast start and strong finish paced the Colgate men's basketball team to a wire-to-wire 77-56 victory over Boston University on Saturday afternoon at Case Gym.

Colgate knocked down four of its first five shots and raced out to an early 13-2 lead. Jordan Burns led the charge with six of those points and Will Rayman had a pair of steals as Boston University started just 1-for-5 from the floor.
 
BU worked its way back into the game after back-to-back 3-pointers from Jonas Harper and Andrew Petcash helped spark an 11-3 run and close the margin to five points at 23-18.
 
Jack Ferguson answered for the Raiders with back-to-back 3-pointers, plus Francisco Amiel drained a shot from beyond the arc to push the Raider lead back to double digits 32-22.  
 
Ferguson added another trey to finish the half with nine points on 3-of-4 shooting from long range. Burns also had nine points as Colgate shot over 50 percent from the floor and beyond the arc en route to a 42-33 halftime lead.
 
Colgate started the second half 0-for-5 shooting and BU scored the first four points to close the gap back to five points at 42-37. The Raider lead narrowed down to four points 47-43 with just over six minutes gone in the second half, but a dagger trey from Amiel capped a 7-0 spurt to give the Raiders a 54-43 lead midway through the second half. 

The Raiders emulated their fast start late in the second half with a 9-0 run that chewed over four minutes off the clock. Colgate's largest lead reached 23 points in the final minute of regulation as the Raiders cruised to victory, 77-56. 
 
BOTTOM LINE
• Colgate 77, BU 56
 
RECORD UPDATES
• Colgate improved to 11-8 overall and 3-3 in league play with the win.
• BU dropped to 9-10 and 2-4 in Patriot League action after the loss.
• The Raiders pick up their first road victory since Dec. 5 at Columbia.

FROM THE SOURCE
• Colgate head coach Matt Langel:

Final thoughts: "Early in league play, we have had to learn a few difficult lessons about how prepared and disciplined teams need to be at all times to win on the road. I was proud that our guys came out with a collective determination and discipline to play hard and for one another on both ends of the floor."
 
On the defense: "Our defense was arguably the best it's been all season and a huge reason for the win. We challenged our guys after this first stretch of games as the stats were showing us to be at the bottom in many categories and the guys answered the bell. Teams that can execute a defensive game plan always have a chance to win."
 
On finding the winning formula on the road: "Our offense has proven to be good because of our talent but we are surely at our best when we work together to take what the defense gives us. In doing that we limit our turnovers, most specifically the ones that often lead to points at the other end."

KEY RAIDER NOTES
• Rapolas Ivanauskas led the Raiders with 17 points and 10 rebounds for his seventh double-double of the year. 
• Burns finished with 15 points and four assists, while Rayman registered 12 points and four boards.
• Malcolm Regisford finished with 11 points and a season-high nine rebounds.
• Ferguson's three 3-pointers tied his season high.
• Dana Batt posted a season-best four blocks, one shy of his career high.

BY THE NUMBERS
• Points off turnovers finished 15-2 in favor of Colgate.
• The Raiders outscored BU in second chance points 16-11.
• Colgate dominated points in the paint 36-22 and outrebounded BU 34-31.
• The Raider bench outscored BU's 26-21, just the second bench to outscore the Terrier reserves this year. 
• Colgate's 56 points allowed tied its season low and it was the Raiders' largest margin of victory this season. 

UP NEXT
• Colgate returns home to take on Lafayette next Wednesday with tip-off set for 7 p.m. from Cotterell Court.