HAMILTON – A strong defensive effort led the Colgate men's basketball team to a low-scoring 57-47 victory over Lafayette Wednesday night at Cotterell Court.
 
Both teams got off to a slow start with three ties and just 14 points inside the first eight minutes. A layup from Will Rayman gave the Raiders a 9-7 lead at the 11-minute mark and they never looked back.
 
A 3-pointer from Justin Jaworski brought the Leopards back within one at 14-13, but Rapolas Ivanauskas drained a shot from beyond the arc to ignite a 9-0 scoring run that built the Raiders' lead to 10 points at 23-13 with just over seven minutes left in the half.
 
The two teams went back-and-forth over the next four minutes and Colgate maintained a six-point lead after a layup from Dana Batt gave the Raiders a 27-21 edge. A dunk from Ivanauskas capped the first-half scoring as the Raiders went into the locker room with a 29-21 advantage.
 
Ivanauskas started the second half the same way he ended the first with a layup inside to push the Raiders' lead back to 10 points at 31-21. A layup in the paint from Sam Lindgren kept the Raiders in front 42-34 midway through the second half. 
 
Six of the next eight points belonged to the Leopards, who closed the gap to just four points at 44-40 after a jumper from Paulius Zalys with just over seven minutes left. A 3-pointer from Alex Petrie made it 48-45 three minutes later, but the Leopards could not get any closer.
 
Tucker Richardson finished a layup inside and Rayman extended Colgate's lead to 55-47 with a deep 3-pointer inside the final minute. Batt sank a pair of free throws down the stretch as the Raiders closed out Lafayette, 57-47.
 
BOTTOM LINE
• Colgate 57, Lafayette 47
 
RECORD UPDATES
• Colgate won its second straight game to improve to 12-8 overall and 4-3 in league play with the win.
• Lafayette dropped to 5-13 on the season and 2-5 in the league after the loss.
• The Raiders are now 7-0 at home for their best home start since the 1976-77 season.
• Colgate has won 11 in a row in Hamilton dating back to last year.

FROM THE SOURCE
• Colgate head coach Matt Langel:

Final breakdown: "Winning teams find ways to win. Neither team was scoring like it can today but I thought that without Jordan, we managed the game pretty well and the guys stayed locked in on defense to make sure we did not give up the lead."
 
On the Defense: "On the defensive end of the floor everyone who played was focused on playing great team defense. Despite some breakdowns that led to chances Lafayette did not convert, I was pleased with our overall intensity and togetherness on that end of the floor."
 
Looking Ahead: Loyola can be a dangerous team that has been playing well. Obviously with a new coach they are continuing to adjust to the new things being asked of them and seem to be very invested and coming together as Patriot League play continues."

KEY RAIDER NOTES
• This was the first time Colgate held an opponent under 50 points since defeating Loyola 52-49 on Jan. 21, 2017. It was the Raiders' fewest points allowed since Jan. 3, 2016, when they defeated American, 56-37.
• Colgate finished with three players in double figures. Ivanauskas led the way with 13 points.
• Batt finished with 12 points and eight rebounds, while Rayman had 10 points and seven rebounds.
• Richardson led Colgate with five assists.
• All five Colgate starters finished with a steal and the Raiders forced 11 turnovers.


BY THE NUMBERS
• Colgate outrebounded its opponent for the 15th time this season, 39-27.
• The Raiders held Lafayette to just 23.1 percent (3-for-13) from beyond the arc.
• Colgate dominated points in the paint, 34-18.

UP NEXT
• Colgate hits the road to take on Loyola at noon on Saturday in Baltimore, Md.
• The game will be nationally televised on CBS Sports Network.