SYRACUSE, N.Y. – Murphy Burnatowski and Mitch Rolls drained 3-pointers to stake Colgate to an early lead against Syracuse. Then the long arms of the Orange clamped down on the Raiders.
James Southerland scored 18 points, Michael Carter-Williams had eight points and a career-high 13 assists, and No. 6 Syracuse beat Colgate 87-51 on Sunday.
"They left us open a few times and we made them pay, and we were shooting from pretty deep," said Rolls, who was wide open for his first basket of the game just 63 seconds after the opening tip. "They weren't falling in the second half, though."
It was the 165th meeting between the upstate New York foes, and the Orange (4-0) won their 46th straight in the series.
Colgate (3-4) shot 19 of 56 (33.9 percent), including a 9-for-28 performance from beyond the arc. The Raiders came in shooting 46.5 percent on 3-pointers.
"It is part of our identity as a group right now," Colgate coach Matt Langel said. "We've got some guys who can shoot the ball, and when those opportunities are there we need to take them. But you can't rely on that to be your only form of offense and your only ability to stay in the game."
Carter-Williams, who had six rebounds and just one turnover, missed the only shot he attempted in the first half. But he assisted on nine of the Orange's first 10 baskets, giving him a real shot at challenging the school record for assists in a game.
Sherman Douglas had 22 against Providence in January 1989. Pearl Washington had 18 against St. John's in February 1984, and Douglas is among five players to record 14 in a game.
Brandon Triche finished with 15 points, freshman Dajuan Coleman had a season-high 12 points, and Rakeem Christmas had 10 points and nine rebounds for the Orange.
Burnatowski, Pat Moore and John Brandenburg each had eight points for Colgate. Moore entered the game on a roll, making 14 of 17 3-pointers in his previous two outings. But he was 2 of 8 from behind the arc and 3 of 12 overall before fouling out with 6:02 left.
"I think in the second half Syracuse just made some significant adjustments," Langel said. "They really made a concerted effort to get the ball inside. They got to the foul line a lot. That makes a difference."
After Burnatowski banked in a 3 to tie it at 11, Syracuse turned up its defense. Colgate was 1 of 11 on 3-pointers the rest of the half, and Southerland got hot.
Carter-Williams set up Triche for a layup, then fed Southerland for a dunk that had the Carrier Dome crowd buzzing. Triche's 3 from the wing boosted the lead to 20-11, and back-to-back 3-pointers from Southerland made it 30-20 with 6:09 left.
Syracuse led 38-24 at the break, and the Raiders never got closer than that the rest of the game. The Orange made 17 straight free throws in the second half before Nolan Hart missed in the final 2 minutes. Syracuse finished 25 of 32 from the line, while Colgate was 4 of 4.
"They got in the paint a lot more in the second half and used their size," Rolls said. "That hurt us. On defense, it seemed they picked up their intensity a little bit."
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