Box Score

HAMILTON – Colgate senior Murphy Burnatowski tied his season-high 27 points on Wednesday but his game-high scoring night couldn't help lift the men's basketball team past first-place Boston University, as the Raiders dropped another heart-wrenching decision, 76-74.

"It's disappointing," head coach Matt Langel said. "We've proven that we are good enough to beat anyone in this league, we just haven't found a way. We are playing well enough to win the games overall, we just haven't been able to make the plays at the right times."

Burnatowski first reached his season-high 27 points when Colgate and BU met earlier in the season. He shot 11-of-20 from the floor and 5-of-10 from long in that game, while also pulling down five boards. His numbers were much of the same in Wednesday's game, going 8-of-15 from the floor and 6-of-11 from downtown. He also notched five boards in the contest.

The Waterloo, Ont., native's six made 3-pointers tied his career-high.

"He made some huge shots for us," Langel said. "He got a little fatigued late and maybe missed one or two open ones but he's playing within himself. We need him to play well, there are no if, ands, or buts about it. He's working hard and he's trying to take advantage of every opportunity he has left."

Despite BU holding the small advantage throughout much of the game and even pushing its lead up to a game-high 12 points in the second half, Colgate made a 17-4 run late to take over the edge at 69-68.

Unfortunately the Terriers answered to retake the lead by four points, but a steal from Damon Sherman-Newsome and layup by Luke Roh cut the deficit to two with 54 seconds remaining. 26 seconds later with the shot clock almost expired BU's John Papale hit a clutch jumper to make it a two-possession game. The Terriers were then able to hold on down the stretch, even with a Raiders' last-ditch effort from behind the arc, to snatch the two-point victory.

Colgate (9-15, 3-10 PL) was led by Burnatowski but saw Sherman-Newsome and Ethan Jacobs also register double-figures in the contest. Sherman-Newsome notched 15 points and went 3-of-6 from downtown while Jacobs earned 11 points on 4-of-5 shooting from the floor. Roh led the team on the boards pulling down six rebounds to go along with his three assists.

Overall the Raiders shot 55 percent from the floor and 46 percent from long. Colgate also hit 10 of its 13 attempts from the free throw line. The Raiders were slightly outrebounded 28-25 but recorded 26 points inside the paint and 13 points off of Terrier turnovers.

Colgate also recorded a season-low seven turnovers in the game.

BU (18-8, 11-2) shot an impressive 64 percent from the floor and 55 percent from behind the arc in the second half to turn a three-point halftime deficit into a two-point win. The Terriers finished the game hitting 31 of their 58 shots for 53 percent overall shooting.

Leading BU was Dom Morris with 16 points and a game-high eight boards. Papale added 13 points while Maurice Watson Jr. and Malik Thomas added 12 and 10 points, respectively. Watson Jr. went 5-of-10 from the floor and was a perfect 2-of-2 from long. Thomas hit four of his six attempts from the floor for his 10 points.

In the opening 20 minutes there were four lead changes and two ties.

After the Terriers opened the game on a 10-2 run, the Raiders answered midway through the first half going on a 7-0 run to take the edge at 24-23.

The Raiders and Terriers exchanged baskets until BU created an eight-point margin between the teams with less than six minutes to play in the first half.

Colgate would finish the half on a 13-2 run, however, to take the three-point lead into the break, at 39-36. Burnatowski had three treys during that stretch, including back-to-back makes.

BU started the second half on a run and used that to generate a 12-point lead, at 64-52 with less than nine minutes to play.

Over the next five minutes and 45 seconds, Colgate sparked a 17-4 run to come from behind to take the advantage at 69-68. Sherman-Newsome recorded six of those 17 points.

The Terriers ended the Raider run with two quick buckets, but a steal from Sherman-Newsome and layup from Roh cut the deficit to two with 54 second remaining.

Unfortunately, a clutch jumper from Papale and a good free throw from D.J. Irving created a five-point hole for the Raiders and despite a 3-pointer with one-second left Colgate was unable to finish its comeback.

The Raiders are back on the road Saturday when they travel to Navy for a matchup with the Mids at 7 p.m. These two teams faced each other earlier in the year with Colgate earning a 63-41 victory in Hamilton.

"We will lick our wounds for a day, recover and try and get healthy," Langel added. "Every game is going to be a war. This is what the league has proven for us and we've got to find a way to scratch, claw, and grab any win we can get here down the stretch to get ready for the post-season."

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