HAMILTON – Rapolas Ivanauskas and
Nelly Cummings both scored 14 points, and
Will Rayman hauled in a career-high 15 rebounds to lead Colgate to a 65-51 victory over American in the Patriot League opener on Thursday night at Cotterell Court.
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Colgate (10-4, 1-0 Patriot) with the win became the first team in the Patriot League to reach 10 wins, plus the Raiders improved to 6-0 at Cotterell Court this season and set a program record with their 13th consecutive home triumph.
Ivanauskas did a lot of his damage early with eight straight points to overcome a slow start after American jumped out to a 5-0 lead. The senior big man splashed a pair of 3-pointers before a bucket from
Jordan Burns sparked an 8-0 run to give Colgate an 18-9 lead six minutes into the opening stanza.
American (4-8, 0-1 Patriot) chipped away to close the gap late in the first half. An Ivanauskas layup put the Raiders in front 27-19, but four straight points for Mark Gasperini and a driving layup by Sa'eed Nelson closed the gap to 27-25 with just over three minutes left in the half.
But Colgate got back into a rhythm down the stretch and closed out the half with an 8-0 run of its own.
Tucker Richardson swished a trey before Burns capped the frame with a traditional three-point play and the Raiders held a 35-25 lead at the break.
Nelson scored the first four points of the second half to get the Eagles back within six, but a second-chance, two-handed slam by Rayman and a trey from
Jack Ferguson stretched Colgate's lead back to double digits 46-36 with 13 minutes left.
A 3-pointer from Connor Nelson started a 9-2 run for the Eagles, who cut the deficit down the three at the under-8 media timeout. After another layup from Nelson made it 50-47, the Raiders closed the game on a 15-4 run to pull away.
The Raiders held American scoreless for over three minutes, while
David Maynard worked his way inside for a pair of layups and Burns drained a 3-pointer in a 7-0 spurt that carried the Raiders back in front by 10 at 57-47.
Cummings put the game to bed with back-to-back triples in the final two minutes to cap off the 65-51 victory for the Raiders.
BOTTOM LINE
Colgate 65, American 51
QUOTES
Head Coach Matt Langel
On the defensive effort (held American to season-low 51 points):
"The pace of play has a lot to do with the score. We made a few more shots, but it was a pretty low-possession game. Our defense was good enough when it needed to be, and we are going to keep pushing and shoving for this group. If we are going to be the best team we can be, we have to be locked in on defense like we were at times tonight."
On sharing the ball (16 assists):
"That was a big part of the difference in this game. American is a motion and moving team like we are, but we kept them to seven assists with nine turnovers. We had 16 assists, which means we are sharing the ball for scores, and ultimately that is what we have to keep doing."
On the continued improvement from the bench:
"I was excited to get
David Maynard back out there this season.
Jack Ferguson has proven that he can help us, and
Keegan Records has been really good. He works extremely hard every day and is coachable, and you can see the results as we continue to grow as a team."
Junior Jordan Burns
On game-high seven assists:
"The only thing I care about is winning games. We are an unselfish team and we are starting to figure out that we just need to be where we need to be on the court, stop worrying about stats, and just focus on winning games."
Senior Will Rayman
On career-high 15 rebounds:
"Tonight was a physical game. If you look at the percentages, we were both forced to take some tough shots and it was a great defensive effort for us. I just want to do whatever it takes to win every game. It is hard to play hard all the time, but that's what we do and we're just trying to keep that culture every game."
GAME NOTES
- Colgate's 13 consecutive wins at Cotterell Court eclipsed last year's 12-game home winning streak to set a program record.
- Colgate held American to a season-low 51 points. The Eagles' previous low was 53 at George Mason.
- Colgate's 51 points allowed were its fewest against a Division I opponent this season.
- The Raiders have now won six straight against American.
- Rayman's 15 rebounds bested his previous career-high of 12, which he matched for the third time in the season opener against NJIT.
- Ivanauskas posted his second double-double of the season with 14 points and 12 boards in the win.
- Preseason Player of the Year Nelson led the Eagles with 14 points on 6-of-15 shooting.
- Colgate finished with a season-high 43 rebounds.
UP NEXT
Patriot League play resumes on Monday, when the Raiders travel to West Point for a 7 p.m. tip-off at Army. The game will be televised nationally on CBS Sports Network.
