WASHINGTON – Colgate staved off American's comeback bid and then pulled away late for an 86-68 win Saturday night inside Bender Arena.
For the first time this season Colgate had two 20-point scorers.
Nelly Cummings led the way with 21 points to go with four assists and two steals.
Keegan Records was a force in the second half on his way to 20 points and eight rebounds on 9-of-11 from the field.
Colgate was terrific from the floor, shooting 65% (34-of-52) for a season-high percentage. Efficient 3-point shooting led to a 47% clip (8-of-17) from behind the arc.
Tucker Richardson had 16 points, five rebounds, and three assists.
Jack Ferguson rounded out Colgate's double-figure scoring with 10 points, and he also grabbed four rebounds.
Ryan Moffatt ended with nine points on 4-of-5 from the field.
Both teams raced out of the gates and Colgate led 9-8 at the first break. Each side netted four field goals but one was a 3-pointer from Cummings to give the Raiders the early edge.
The two teams went back-and-forth for most of the half. Neither side led by more than three points until Ferguson sank two free throws with 6:00 left. Ferguson keyed a 10-0 Raider run with seven straight points after his 3-pointer from the wing extended Colgate's lead to 34-24.
A two-handed slam by Records lifted the Raiders to their largest lead of the half 38-26 and that would be the halftime margin 40-28 after Cummings swished a turnaround jumper in the final seconds of the stanza.
American chipped away at the lead and some aggressive defense under the basket allowed the Eagles to close the gap from the charity stripe. Two free throws from Stacy Beckton Jr. brought the home team within 54-49 eight minutes into the second half.
It was still a five-point margin 56-51 when Cummings swished two 3s and Ferguson netted another to put the Raiders in front 67-55. Records was a force, scoring 16 of his 20 points over the final 20 minutes, and his inside presence kept the Eagles at bay.
The lead trimmed to nine 72-63 on a 3-pointer from Johnny O'Neil, who led American with 19 points, but Colgate took care of possessions and pulled away with a 14-5 closing run over the final five minutes to seal the Raiders' third straight win, 86-68.
FROM THE SOURCE
Head Coach Matt Langel
"We did a great job to get a nice lead by halftime despite far too many turnovers. Fortunately, in the second half we cut down on the turnovers, executed offense well and made shots because we needed to score. They got very comfortable on the offensive end, found a rhythm and were grabbing critical rebounds and getting to the free throw line. For us to get the win tonight to get us to the halfway point of league play was really important. Keegan was terrific around the basket, Nelly took over in the second half and Tucker played the game we have started to take for granted - terrific defense, and efficient offense.
"I will get together with Coach Moore and game plan for a team that I know plays really hard and is finally getting some validation for their work with the recent results. We will watch film and get on the court tomorrow with the guys and I know we will have their attention for one day of preparation. We will for sure have to play hard, smart and together on Monday against a hungry team coming off a few great wins."
UP NEXT
Colgate (11-11, 7-2 Patriot) starts another stretch of three games in six days with a Monday night showdown against Holy Cross. Both teams head into the matchup sporting three-game winning streaks. Tipoff from Cotterell Court is 6 p.m., with ESPN+ carrying the livestream.
