The Raiders scored a dominant 63-45 win against Holy Cross at home on Saturday, February 2.

The Raiders’ performance on Saturday demonstrates the potential of the team after a disappointing season thus far. Each player posted great performances and shut down a Patriot League foe in assertive fashion.

The highlight of the Raiders’ play is on the defensive end. The Raiders held the Crusaders to 45 points, the lowest point total by an opposing team since 2010.

Sophomore guard Luke Roh stood out with his

defensive performance. Out of his 14 rebounds, 11 were defensive rebounds. He led all players in that

statistical category.

The Raiders forced 15 turnovers and

capitalized on those turnovers scoring 17 points.

Holy Cross attempted to match Colgate’s defensive intensity but could not contain an overall stellar performance by the Raiders. However, the game remained close throughout the first half as both teams struggled to

drain shots.

The second half was a different story. Holy Cross continued to struggle to successfully convert its shots while Colgate dramatically improved. Colgate increased its overall shooting by 14.52 percent banking 50

percent of its shots in the second half.

Junior forward Murphy Burnatowski led all scorers with a 19-point barrage including three outstanding dunks, showing that Colgate is a serious competitor in the Patriot League this season.

Senior center John Brandenburg and senior guard Mitch Rolls added to the offensive success with a

combined 17 points.

Holy Cross struggled to find its rhythm offensively and to consistently score throughout the game. The team made a mere 37.8 percent of its total shots. The second half was even more frustrating as the Crusaders made only 12.5 percent of their three-point shot attempts. However, Holy Cross

junior forward Dave Dudzinski looked to bring home a win with  15-points scored and eight additional rebounds. Still, his notable play could not spark the Crusaders’ offense

or defense.

Crusaders senior center Phil Beans had a solid game in the paint to give Colgate a run for its money. However, his 10 points and three rebounds were not enough to

compensate for the Raiders’ explosive offense

and defense.

The win gives Colgate a 3-4 record in conference play, which is its best conference record through seven games since the 2008 season. Colgate seems to be on the rebound and looks to improve even further.

The Raiders will play their next conference matchup against American University on Saturday at 3 p.m. in Washington, D.C.. American currently shares the same conference record with Colgate and defeated Colgate earlier this season.

Contact Matt Washuta at [email protected].