HAMILTON, N.Y. – Despite hitting a season-tying 11 3-pointers and committing a season-low four turnovers, the Boston University men's basketball team dropped a hard-fought 79-70 decision at defending Patriot League champion Colgate on Saturday afternoon.
 
Claiming sole possession of first place in the conference standings, the Raiders (14-5, 5-1 PL) improved to 23-1 in their last 24 home games, as the Terriers (10-9, 4-2 PL) saw their three-game win streak snapped.
 
Junior Javante McCoy tallied a team-high 16 points and six assists, while sophomore Jack Hemphill earned his second career double-double with 12 points and 10 boards. Freshman Ethan Brittain-Watts joined Hemphill off the bench with a season-high 10 points, just two behind sophomore Walter Whyte's total. The Terriers were without sophomore Alex Vilarino (7.9 ppg) due to injury and also saw leading scorer Max Mahoney (15.4 ppg) limited to just two field goal attempts and 10:32 of action by injury.
 
All five Colgate starters entered the matchup averaging double figures and delivered again with Will Rayman shooting a perfect 4-of-4 in 3-point territory en route to 21 points and 13 boards. Jordan Burns tallied 11 points and seven helpers, while reigning PL Player of the Year Rapolas Ivanauskas had 10 points.
 
DOWN THE STRETCH

• After Rayman's 3-point play extended Colgate's lead to 67-57 with 7:06 remaining, Brittain-Watts hit a jumper and 3-pointer before Whyte added a layup at 4:44 for the 7-0 spurt.
• Ivanauskas responded with a floater, and Nelly Cummings added a 3-pointer at 3:54 to help the Raiders create distance between the two squads.
• The Terriers were unable to mount a rally, shooting 3-of-13 the rest of the way.

THE SETUP

• The Raiders jumped out to 11-0 lead with three different individuals hitting a 3-pointer to prompt a BU timeout at 18:09.
• McCoy flushed a trey in response to spark a 14-5 run that ended with 3-pointers from Hemphill (12:48) and junior Andrew Petcash (12:02).
• Nelly Cummings continued the 3-point barrage with a bomb at 8:40 to extend Colgate's lead to 26-17.
• The Terriers chipped away and scored the half's final basket on McCoy's layup at 2:08 to put the deficit at 36-32.
• After Burns opened the second half with a jumper, Whyte and sophomore Jonas Harper flushed back-to-back treys to tie the game.
• Ivanauskas scored on the next possession to give Colgate the lead for good, as the Raiders went on a 10-0 run and extended their advantage to as high as 12 (53-41) on a pair of free throws by Cummings at 15:23.
• Hemphill hit a 3-pointer on the next possession to help keep the deficit at single digits for the next eight minutes, as sophomore Fletcher Tynen finished off a beautiful feed from McCoy with a slam dunk and the bonus free throw.

GAME NOTES

• BU drained double-digit 3-pointers for just the third time this season after hitting 11 against SUNY Poly and 10 against UT Martin.
• Brittain-Watts became the ninth Terrier to reach double figures in points this season.
• Hemphill became the fourth Terrier to earn a double-double this season, as he claimed his first against a Division I opponent following a 14-point, 12-rebound performance against Emerson in 2018.
• Colgate has hosted BU in three straight meetings now following a 76-68 loss last Feb. 2 and 81-69 win in the PL quarterfinals.
• The Raiders edged BU in rebounds, 42-39, and owned a 12-5 advantage in second-chance points.
• Colgate finished 28-of-60 (.467) and held BU to 27-of-70 (.386).

NEXT UP: NAVY

• BU returns home to host Navy on Wednesday (Jan. 22) with the NESN broadcast set to begin at 7 p.m.
• The Terriers are riding a six-game home win streak, longest since 2012-13.
• The road team has won each of the last eight meetings between the two schools.
• Last season, BU prevailed on the road, 75-69, but was edged at home, 79-74.