(Boxscore)
HAMILTON, N.Y (11/18/2005)—Colgate University junior guard Jon Simon (Phoenix, Ariz.) connected on 15-of-17 from the charity stripe, finishing with a team-high 22 points to lead the Raiders to a 78-74 victory over Florida Atlantic in men’s basketball action on Cotterell Court. The win was head coach Emmett Davis’s 100th career victory, making him just the fifth coach in school history to reach the 100-win plateau.
Colgate improved to 2-1 overall, while the Owls drop to 0-1 to start the 2005-06 campaign.
The two teams spent the early minutes of the opening half trading baskets and feeling each other out. The Raiders jumped in front 16-11 on a jumper by senior Alvin Reed (San Bernardino, Calif.) at the 12:59 mark. The Owls Paul Graham answered with a trifecta to make it 16-14, but it was all Colgate as the Raiders went on a 19-2 run to break open the game, 35-16.
Sophomore Kyle Roemer (Martinez, Calif.) sparked the run with eight points, including draining consecutive shots from long range to make it a 10-point Colgate advantage. Roemer finished the opening 20 minutes with 16 points on 6-of-7 shooting, including 4-of-5 from behind the arc.
As a team Colgate shot an amazing 76.2 percent from the field (16-of-21), including 71.4 percent (5-of-7) from behind the arc, taking a 48-34 lead into the half. Florida Atlantic shot 40 percent and was just 28.6 percent from the free throw line.
Florida Atlantic came out strong in the second half, forcing Colgate into costly turnovers. The Owls chipped away at the 14-point deficit with a 13-4 run in the opening six minutes, making it a 54-47 game at the 12:51 mark.
The Raiders pushed their advantage back to 11 with a Roemer trifecta with 7:42 on the clock. Florida Atlantic’s defense forced the Raiders into four turnovers over the next four minutes, cutting the lead to three, 69-66, with just 1:43 remaining. That was the smallest Colgate lead since the 12:40 mark of the first half.
It was all Simon in the final 1:43 as he knocked down six straight free throws to secure the four-point victory for the Raiders. Roemer finished the game with 21 points, while sophomore Kendall Chones (Cleveland, Ohio) and Reed chipped in 12 and 10 respectively. Roemer led the way on the glass as well, collecting a team-high six boards. Junior Todd Checovich (North Hampton, N.H.) dished out a game-high six assists for the Raiders.
Florida Atlantic was paced by Rodney Webb with a game-high 23 points and seven caroms, while Brent Crews and Quinton Young chipped in 11 and 10 points, respectively. Crews handed out six assists, while Ty McTyer made a game-high five steals.
The Raiders return to action on Nov. 22, traveling to Ithaca, N.Y. to take on Cornell University. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m., at Newman Arena.
