HAMILTON – The scorching-hot Colgate men's basketball team dropped a season-high 17 3-pointers to extend its winning streak to six straight games with a 93-71 victory over Navy Saturday afternoon at Cotterell Court.
 
With the win, Colgate clinches a first-round bye and home quarterfinal matchup in Hamilton on March 7. The Raiders, still in a battle for first place, cannot finish lower than fourth in the standings with two regular-season games left.
 
Three Raiders finished with 20-plus points. Jordan Burns led the way with 27 on a blistering 7-of-10 from beyond the arc. Will Rayman scored 21 and went 4-for-4 from the perimeter, while Rapolas Ivanauskas sank four triples and finished with 20 points.
 
Colgate got off to a sizzling start with 12 points and a 10-point lead inside the first three minutes. The Raiders scored on six of their first seven possessions, including 2-of-3 from downtown, after back-to-back triples from Rayman and Burns forced a Navy timeout with the score 12-2.
 
Tucker Richardson led the charge on defense with steals on consecutive Midshipmen possessions. His ensuing dunk on the second turnover staked Colgate to an 18-6 lead six minutes into the game.
 
Ivanauskas rejected an inside layup from George Kiernan and answered with a 3-pointer from the wing to give Colgate a 28-10 advantage midway through the half.
 
Navy began to chip away and eventually cut it down to a 12-point game at 34-22 on a layup by Hasan Abdullah with just over six minutes left in the half.
 
Colgate shot back with a 10-2 spurt over the next three minutes. Dana Batt knocked down a free throw and then consecutive 3-pointers from Rayman and Burns had the Raiders back in front by 20 points at 44-24.
 
The 20-point lead held at the half after Ivanauskas drained a trey with seven seconds left to send the Raiders into intermission with a 52-32 lead.
 
A relatively slow start to the second half allowed Navy to close the gap to 52-38 on a layup by Evan Wieck at the under-16 media timeout. It remained a 14-point game after a 3-pointer from Cam Davis made it 64-50 nine minutes in.
 
The Midshipmen never got closer than 14 the rest of the way. A layup in the paint from Batt put Colgate back in control by 20 with just over five minutes left.
 
Rayman brought the Cotterell fans to their feet with a second-chance dunk and gave the Raiders their largest lead of the night 89-67 three minutes later. 

Zach Light capped the scoring with a layup in the paint as Colgate ran away for the 93-71 victory.

BOTTOM LINE
• Colgate 93, Navy 71
 
RECORD UPDATES
• Colgate improved to 19-10 on the season and 11-5 in the Patriot League after the win.
• Navy dropped to 9-18 overall and 6-10 in the league with the loss.

FROM THE SOURCE
• Colgate head coach Matt Langel: 

On 11-1 at home: "It is great to play at home. Our guys have a routine here and we had great community support here today. We obviously shot the ball well today and we really have here all season."

On the fast start: "The beginning of the game sets the tone. We learned a lesson at American that it can be difficult to get out of an early hole. Our defense was aggressive from the start and it works in tandem. Defense leads to offense and we were able to utilize all our weapons at our disposal today."

Looking ahead: "We need to finish as well as we can to maximize our chances of playing at home for as long as we can. The teams that win are the teams that are playing the best. If we can continue to grow and develop as a group, even in these late stages, then we are putting our best foot forward towards our goals."

KEY RAIDER NOTES
• Colgate tied the program record for most wins in a season with 19.
• This is the Raiders' first six-game winning streak since 2008, and the first in the Matt Langel era.
• The Raiders improved to 11-1 at Cotterell Court this season.
• Colgate's 93 points are a season high.  
• The Raiders never trailed in the wire-to-wire triumph. 
• The 17 3-pointers were one shy of a program and Patriot League record shared by five teams. 
• The Raiders finished 17-for-27 from the perimeter for a season-high 63.0 percentage. 
• Burns' seven 3-pointers were a career high.
• Burns also dished out a game-high eight assists.
• Ivanauskas' four 3-pointers matched his season high. 
• Five Raiders knocked down a trey in the win.
• Colgate posted a season-high nine blocks, led by three from Malcolm Regisford.
• Richardson led the Raiders and tied his career high with three steals.

UP NEXT
• Colgate closes out its three-game homestand against Holy Cross on Wednesday.
• Opening tip is set for 6 p.m. in a doubleheader at Cotterell Court.
• Stadium will carry the livestream.