ITHACA, N.Y. -- Colgate ruined the 2016-17 home opener for the Cornell men's basketball team and the debut of head coach Brian Earl in front of the Newman Arena crowd with a 67-63 victory on Wednesday evening. The Raiders picked up their first win (1-1), while the Big Red slipped to 0-3.

Sophomore Matt Morgan had a game-high 26 points and chipped in with six rebounds and three steals to lead three double figure scorers. Classmate Stone Gettings had 14 points, six boards and two steals and senior Robert Hatter notched 10 points, five rebounds and three steals. The Big Red shot just 31 percent from the floor after halftime and turned the ball over 14 times in the game, just enough to fall short in a game with 12 ties and 11 lead changes.

Cornell trailed by seven with two minutes to play, but the Big Red clawed back to within one point and had three possessions to tie or take the lead that came up empty in the final 79 seconds. Colgate made 5-of-6 free throws in the final 29 seconds to seal the win.

Sean O'Brien was credited with 18 points and five rebounds to lead four double figure scorers, while Will Rayman notched 12 points and a game-high nine rebounds. Both Francisco Amiel and Malcolm Regisford had 10 points in the win.

Cornell set the tone early, jumping out to an 11-2 lead behind seven straight points from Gettings before the Raiders methodically chipped away. Colgate took its first lead at 17-15 when Francisco drained a 3-pointer and the lead see-sawed back and forth throughout the rest of the first half with no team leading by more than two points over the final 12 minutes.

The second half was more of the same, with the lead changing three times and no one up by more than five points until a Sean O'Brien trey put the visitors up 60-53 with 2:06 remaining. Cornell scored on a quick duck-in for Gettings, then after a Colgate missed free throw, Morgan beat a defender on an inbounds play and was fouled while hitting an acrobatic shot. The completed three-point play made it 60-58. The inbounds looked to be disastrous for Colgate, as Morgan stole the ball in a backcourt trap and was fouled coming out of it, going to the line to try and tie the game. The sophomore missed the first and made the second to get within on at 60-59 with 75 seconds left.

Malcolm Regisford answered on the other end with a basket to push the Colgate lead back to three, but Morgan hit a pair of free throws with 50 seconds left to get back within one. Two Raider free throws on one end, a blocked shot on a layup attempt at the other and another two shots from the charity stripe gave Colgate some breathing room with 16 seconds remaining, and a Will Rayman free throw with 11 seconds made it a two-possession game and effectively gave the visitors their first victory of the young season.

Notes to Know
• Sophomore Matt Morgan posted his 20th consecutive game in double figures and his 13th career 20-point game.
• Senior Robert Hatter surpassed the 200-rebound mark for his career with his five on the night (203)
• After reaching double figures in scoring just once as a freshman, sophomore Stone Gettings has reached that mark in all three games this season.
• Gettings was 2-for-2 from 3-point range, but his teammates went a combined 1-for-11.
• The win snapped a three-game win streak against Patriot League opponents.
• Gettings, Hatter and Morgan have been in double figures in each of the team's three contests.
• Freshman Josh Warren had a career-high eight rebounds.
• Senior JoJo Fallas earned his second consecutive start.
• Cornell's 10 steals were a season high, while its six assists were a season low.
• The Big Red hit three 3-pointers to mark its 775th straight game with at least one made shot from beyond the arc dating back to 1988.

Next Up
• Cornell will return to the road for a pair of contests, starting with a visit to Lafayette on Sunday, Nov. 20 at 2 p.m. in Easton, Pa.
• The Big Red will then face Monmouth on Tuesday, Nov. 22 at 7 p.m. prior to the Thanksgiving holiday.