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HAMILTON, N.Y. (12/10/11) - The Colgate men's basketball team extend its home winning streak to three games as it topped St. Francis (NY) 65-63 Saturday afternoon at Cotterell Court. The win was also first-ever for Colgate in the series history against the Terriers.

The Raiders trailed 61-60 with just over two minutes remaining, but back-to-back baskets from senior Yaw Gyawu and junior Mitch Rolls gave Colgate a 64-61 lead in the closing minute. St. Francis forward Stefan Perunicic then made a layup with 28 ticks left to make the score 64-63. After Pat Moore split a pair of free throws the Terriers held the ball for the final shot, but Brent Jones missed a mid-range jumper and the buzzer sounded as the two teams battled on the ground for the rebound.

Rolls led the way for Colgate with a team-high 15 points on 4-of-6 shooting, while Gyawu and classmate Sterling Melville scored 14 apiece. Moore extended his double-figure scoring streak to seven games with 12 points, while also grabbing a team-high nine rebounds.

Colgate (4-5) opened the game with a 6-2 run off a pair of jumpers from Gyawu and a layup by Moore. But the Terriers responded with a 14-4 run to build a 16-10 lead with 13:16 remaining in the half. The Raiders then answered back with a 9-4 run to trim the lead to 20-19 with just under seven minutes left. The Raiders would eventually tie the game 26-26 with a minute left after a jumper by Rolls, but a turnover by the Raiders in the closing seconds led to a layup by Kevin Douglas as time expired to give St. Francis a 28-26 halftime lead. The Raiders forced 11 St. Francis turnovers, but committed 16 of their own in the first half.

The Raiders started the second half with a 14-6 run, thanks to six points from both Melville and Moore, to build a 40-34 lead with 13:49 remaining. The Terriers then tied the score 42-42 two minutes later, before Colgate reclaimed the lead 45-42 at the 10 minute mark. Both teams would then exchange baskets for the next eight minutes, as the Raiders led by no more than four points, before St. Francis took its first lead since halftime 61-60 with 2:29 remaining.

St. Francis (2-6) was led by Akeem Johnson who scored a game-high 18 points, while Jalen Cannon pitched in 14 points and eight rebounds.

Colgate won the battle on the boards 35-27 and shot 52.1 percent from the field, while holding the Terriers to 45.2 percent. The Raiders also out-shot St. Francis from the free throw line 17-6.

Colgate will play host to Dartmouth on Monday, Dec. 19. The game is scheduled to begin at 7:00 p.m. at Cotterell Court and will be streamed live by GateTV on Colgate All-Access.