Colgate rode the shooting of guard Mike Venezia and forward Sterling Melville to a 12-point halftime lead, then withstood a second-half rally by Binghamton for a 78-74 victory Saturday night in the season opener for both teams.
Venezia scored 22 points for the Raiders, going 6-for-6 at the foul line. From long range, Venezia was 4 of 8 on 3-pointers. Colgate led 39-27 at halftime. This, on a night when forward Yaw Gyawu, last season's leading scorer, finished with seven points.
In the second half, Binghamton rallied behind Ben Dickinson, a 6-foot-8 freshman forward and one of eight new players on the Bearcats' roster. Dickinson scored 27 points, sinking 11 of 11 from the line. Guard Rob Mansell had 24 points but was just 7 of 21 from the field, missing all four 3-point attempts.
For Colgate, Melville finished with 17 points on 6 of 9 shooting.
