EASTON, Pa. (2/7/2007)—Colgate University sophomore Willie Morse (State College, Pa.) knocked down four consecutive free throws in the final 18 seconds to secure a 54-51 Raider win over Lafayette College in Patriot League men’s basketball action this evening. Senior Jon Simon (Phoenix, Ariz.) led the Raiders with a game-high 15 points, going 5-of-9 from long range.

 

Colgate improves to 9-14 overall and 4-6 in Patriot League play, while Lafayette drops to 8-16 and 2-7 against conference foes.

 

Junior Kyle Chones (Cleveland, Ohio) registered his first double-double of the season with 11 points and 11 rebounds, while Morse finished with six points. Kendall Chones (Cleveland, Ohio) added eight second-half points in the win.

 

Todd Detmer recorded a double-double for the Leopards with 12 points and 12 boards, while Bilal Abdullah led all Lafayette players with 14 points. Andrew Brown chipped in 10 points.

 

The Raiders led by two, 31-29, coming out of the break and held Lafayette without a field goal and to just two points in the opening 8:42. Colgate, however, was only able to build its lead to 40-32 during the Leopards’ cold stretch.

 

Colgate maintained that eight-point lead before hitting a cold streak of its own in the final five minutes. In front 50-41 at the 4:59 mark, Colgate struggled to score down the stretch as the Leopards climbed back within two, 50-48, with 21 ticks remaining on the clock.

 

That’s when Morse took over, stepping to the free throw line and knocking down a pair for a 52-48 advantage with 18 seconds left. Abdullah made things interesting when he hit a layup and an ensuing foul shot to make it a one-point game with seven seconds left.

 

Fouled on the inbounds pass, Morse stepped to the charity stripe once again and knocked down two more to ice the victory. The Leopards had one last good look at the basket to tie the game, but could not knock it down as Colgate won its third straight road game.

 

Colgate led for the majority of the first half, but Lafayette stayed close despite the Raiders’ attempt to pull away. The Leopards scored six straight points to go in front 11-10 at the 12:31 mark before the Raiders’ caught fire, going on an 11-0 run the next three minutes for a 21-11 lead. Simon had a pair of trifectas during the stretch.

 

Facing its largest deficit of the half, Lafayette started to chip away and cut the Colgate lead to two points, 31-29, at the half. Simon and Kyle Chones (Cleveland, Ohio) stole the show for the Raiders, combining for 22 of the team’s 31 points, including Colgate’s first 13 points.

 

Colgate shot 38 percent from the floor for the game and held Lafayette to 31 percent shooting for the game and just 26.9 percent in the second half. The Raiders held a slight 37-34 advantage on the glass.

 

Colgate returns home to Cotterell Court to host American University on Feb. 11 at 1 p.m. The game will be televised live by ESPNU.