HAMILTON  – A balanced effort on both ends of the floor led the Colgate men's basketball team to a 76-56 victory over Army on Wednesday night at Cotterell Court.

Will Rayman led three Raiders in double figures with a season-high 23 points and 12 rebounds. Jack Ferguson finished with 13 points off the bench, while Tucker Richardson chipped in 11 points and Francisco Amiel dished out a season-high seven assists in the win. 

Rayman got the Raiders going with a trey from the wing. Rapolas Ivanauskas converted on a jumper from just inside the arc before a layup from Amiel had the Raiders out in front 7-0 early on.  

Rayman came out on fire, knocking down six of his first seven shots, including two from beyond the arc. He had 15 points at the midway point and the Raiders led 19-11 with 10 minutes left in the half.

Ferguson pushed the Raider lead to double digits with a corner 3-pointer, and Colgate maintained a seven-point lead 28-21 after a second-chance layup from Ivanauskas with just over three minutes showing in the half.

The Black Knights closed the gap to one point at 30-29 after Tommy Funk finished a traditional three-point play. Richardson found Rayman for a bucket underneath and Amiel drained a trey on Colgate's final possession to pull the Raiders back on top 35-29 at the half.

Army's Jordan Fox laid in the first bucket of the second half but a layup from Ivanauskas capped a quick 5-0 run for the Raiders, who jumped out to a nine-point lead at 40-31 early in the final frame.

The Black Knights sliced the margin down to five points at 40-35 on a free throw by Lonnie Grayson but Colgate stormed back with a 12-0 run to seal the deal.

Richardson registered the first five points of the streak after drawing a foul and finishing the basket for a traditional three-point play. Rayman and Ferguson drilled a pair of triples as the Raiders roared out to a 55-38 lead nearly midway through the half.

Colgate owned a double-digit lead the rest of the way, stretching it out to a game-high 23 points at 76-53 after a layup from Sam Lindgren.

Tucker Blackwell hit three free throws in the final seconds but that was it for Army as the Raiders cruised to the 76-56 victory.

BOTTOM LINE
• Colgate 76, Army 56
 
RECORD UPDATES
• Colgate is now 13-9 overall and jumped above .500 in league play at 5-4.
• Army dropped out of a tie for first place with the loss, falling to 11-11 on the season and 6-3 in Patriot League action.
• The Raiders improved to 8-0 at Cotterell Court this season and have won 12 in a row at home dating back to last season. 

FROM THE SOURCE
• Colgate head coach Matt Langel:

Final reaction: We played well tonight. We made a few defensive adjustments after the first game against them at West Point but mostly we just played better. We did not turn the ball over needlessly, especially in the second half and we were able to play good position defense to limit some of their scoring opportunities.

On the success at home: "Every game has its own identity, but teams that compete for championships typically defend their home court well. There is a reason it's called home court advantage and at this point, I know our guys have embraced playing well at home and want to keep that momentum moving forward."
 
Looking ahead to BU on Saturday: "Our message to our guys is always that we are preparing to play our best against the next opponent. We will certainly try and replicate some of the strategy that was successful against BU, but with tonight as evidence, we also know that every game takes on its own identity. Like all games, the constants of focusing on the details of playing team defense and sharing the basketball will certainly be at the top of the scouting report for Saturday's game."
 


KEY RAIDER NOTES
• Prior to the game, Colgate University Vice President and Director of Athletics Nicki Moore presented head coach Matt Langel with a commemorative ball in honor of his 100th career victory, which he earned at Cotterell Court on Jan. 12 against Lehigh. 
• Colgate shot a season-best 55.6 percent (30-for-54) from the field and finished 8-for-20 (40 percent) from beyond the arc.
• Rayman had 17 points in the first half on his way to a season-high 23 for the game.
• He finished 8-for-13 from the floor and 3-for-4 from three-point range.
• His 12 rebounds tied a career high, which he set on March 1, 2018, against Lafayette.
• Ferguson knocked down three 3-pointers and finished with 13 points.
• Zach Light scored a career-high nine points in 14 minutes off the bench.  
• Amiel's seven assists tied his career high from Feb. 6, 2017, against Army. 
• The Raiders dominated in the paint, 42-14.
• Colgate doubled up Army on points off turnovers, 14-7.
• The Raiders never trailed for the third time in the last four games.
• Colgate outrebounded Army, 35-23.

UP NEXT
• Colgate stays home to take on Boston University at 1 p.m. on Saturday at Cotterell Court.
• The Raiders have a quick turnaround with a 7 p.m. showdown at Lehigh set for Monday, Feb. 4, which will be nationally televised on CBS Sports Network.