Box Score

HANOVER, N.H. (12/22/09) – Colgate's best defensive effort of the season led to its first win of the year, as the Raiders defeated Dartmouth 63-44 at Leede Arena on Tuesday night.

The Raiders' defense shined in the closing minutes of play. Dartmouth guard Ronnie Dixon nailed a jumper with 4:45 left that made the score 49-42 in Colgate's favor, but the Raiders allowed just one layup for the remainder of the game, going on a 14-2 run to close out the second half.

“I was really pleased with our defensive effort throughout,” stated head coach Emmett Davis. “We did a better job on the glass in the second half. I'm really happy for the players to get this win. They have been working very hard in practice and have not seen the results they deserve.”
   
The Raiders had not allowed 44 points or less to an opponent since they defeated Bucknell in the 2008 Patriot League Tournament semifinals at Cotterell Court. On that day, Colgate outscored the Bison 27-10 in the first half en route to a 54-40 victory.
   
Sophomore forward Yaw Gyawu (Lilburn, Ga.) scored a game-high 14 points on 6-of-10 shooting to go along with six rebounds. Senior guard Kyle Roemer (Martinez, Calif.) scored nine points, while senior forward Ben Jonson (Dallas, Texas), junior guard Joe Hoban (West Chester, Pa.), and sophomore guard Anthony Hill (Plano, Texas) each scored eight. Jonson also led Colgate with seven rebounds, while Hoban went a perfect 8-8 from the charity stripe.
   
Marlon Sanders was Dartmouth's only double-digit scorer with 13 points.
   
The first half was a defensive battle. Both teams went 4:12 without scoring in the middle of the first half before sophomore forward Sterling Melville (Plano, Texas) made a free throw with 7:30 left before intermission. Melville's free throw jumpstarted a 13-4 Colgate run that included scoring from six different Raiders, giving Colgate a 25-15 lead. Dartmouth responded with seven straight points to end the half, but Colgate retained a 25-22 advantage going into halftime.
   
Colgate led for the entirety of the second half, and went on 9-0 and 14-2 runs to effectively put the game away.

“Hopefully, we can build on this game and continue to improve after the holiday,” said Davis.
   
The Raiders (1-9) will now face the University of New Hampshire on Wednesday, December 30. This will be Colgate's last road contest before the Raiders return to Hamilton for a five-game home stand to start 2010, which includes two Patriot League contests on Saturday, January 9 and Wednesday, January 13.