Junior forward Lenny Collins led the Red with 13 points on 5-of-11 shooting on the night, while senior Cody Toppert scored 11 and junior Ryan Rourke added 10. However, Cornell found itself playing catch-up all night long.
The Raiders took an early 10-5 lead on the strength of an 8-0 run over 1:15, while the Red shooters went cold. Despite good, crisp passing, the Red remained without a basket for a long stretch in the first half, missing eight straight shots.
Though the Red did tie the game at 10 midway through the half, Colgate jumped ahead once again, as Kyle Roemer scored four straight points.
After Cornell cut Colgate’s lead to 27-23 at halftime, the Red went on a 10-8 run over the first four minutes of the second half. However, Colgate surged ahead again as Cornell turned the ball over three times.
While the Red remained within reach of the lead for most of the second half, Colgate went on a 6-0 run with three minutes remaining to build a 10 point lead and never looked back en route to the 14-point victory.
Andrew Zidar led all scorers with 16 points for the Raiders, while Alvin Reed added 11 points. The Raiders won the rebounding battle, 39-31, including 23 boards on the offensive glass.
After taking some time to regroup over the holiday, Cornell will be looking for its first victory of the season today, when it plays host to Ithaca College at 8:00 p.m. It will the fourth all-time meeting between the cross-town rivals, with the Red having won each of the previous three meetings. Once again, this game will benefit Coaches vs. Cancer. Last season, the Red won, 69-32, on the strength of 17 points from Collins and 14 from Toppert. Throughout his career, Toppert has feasted on the Bombers, as he has averaged 19.0 points on 74 percent shooting in three career games.
Ithaca enters the game with a 1-0 record, after opening its season with a 62-54 season-opening win against Cortland on Nov. 20.
Archived article by Owen Bochner
Sun Sports Editor