Box Score

ITHACA, N.Y. – The Colgate men's basketball team dropped a 70-63 decision Saturday night to Central New York rival Cornell, after rallying back from 13 points down with two minutes left to play.

“We turned them over late,” head coach Matt Langel said. “They were playing the clock so the game clock was on our side, because they weren't really trying to score. With that you get a chance to grab a few turnovers. It would have been interesting had Murphy's shot gone down at the top of the key and made it a one-possession game there with only a couple dozen seconds left.”

Colgate moves to 3-5 on the season but saw Murphy Burnatowski and Brandon James reach double digit scoring. Burnatowski led all scorers with 24 points, while James earned himself his second double-double of the season with 11 points and 11 boards. Luke Roh added to the scoring knocking down all four of his shots. He also grabbed nine rebounds throughout the game.

“Cornell was at home and they were coming off a pretty tough loss, where they didn't play their best so it just seemed like they wanted the game a little bit more,” he added. “We need our guys to be efficient scorers. We are trying to teach our players to take what the defense gives us.”

The Raiders shot only 30 percent in the second half but still managed to make it a close game in the last couple minutes of play.

Cornell (4-5) saw three players in double digits. Shonn Miller tallied a double-double with 20 points and 14 rebounds. Johnathan Gray (10 points) and Errick Peck (14) also added to the Big Red scoring. Peck, who went 2-of-3 from long, also grabbed seven rebounds in the win.

After making the first 3-pointer of the game, giving Colgate the early 3-0 lead, Cornell hit the next three baskets, two of which were from behind the arc. The Big Red extended their lead to as much as 11 before the Raiders started chipping away at the deficit. 

Midway through the half James found Roh, who made a great cut behind his defender for the easy layup, pulling Colgate within nine with 11 minutes left to play.

Roh then came up big on the other end with a block, after Cornell broke on a fast break opportunity. He added to his scoring grabbing the next basket with 8:07 left in the half. 

The Raiders pulled to within one on two free throws from Burnatowski making it 37-36 in favor of the Big Red. Cornell would head into the locker room however with a three-point advantage after the first 20 minutes.

During the first five minutes of the second half, junior Pat Moore knocked down two key baskets to tie the game at 41-all. In a three-minute time span the scored was tied four times, after both teams were exchanging buckets. The Big Red then went on an 8-1 run, creating a 12-point margin with five minutes left to play. 

Each time the Raiders fought back it seemed as though the Big Red had the answer making most of their shots on their end of the court.

In last minute of play, Colgate started a little rally that pulled them within six. A good layup by Roh and James plus a 3-pointer by Burnatowski made it 69-63 with 30 seconds left. Unfortunately the deficit was just too big and the Raiders eventually fell to the Big Red.

Colgate will be back on the court Wednesday when they travel to Quinnipiac for a 7 p.m. tip-off. This will be the last road game of a six-game road trip in which the Raiders so far have gone 2-3.