Box Score

DURHAM, N.H. (12/31/11) – Three Raiders scored in double-figures but it wasn't enough as the Colgate men's basketball team dropped its third-straight game with a 71-64 loss to New Hampshire Saturday afternoon at Lundholm Gymnasium.

Senior Mike Venezia led the Raiders with 15 points on 6-of-9 shooting from the floor, including 3-of-4 from downtown, while junior Mitch Rolls scored 14 points and senior Sterling Melville pitched in 10. Senior Nick Pascale also contributed with six points; five rebounds and one blocked shot, while junior Brandon James led the team with seven rebounds.

Colgate (5-8) scored the first five points of the game off a layup by Melville and a three pointer from Venezia, but the Wildcats responded with seven-straight points to take their first lead of the game 7-5 with 17:37 left. The Raiders then tied the score after a jumper by Rolls, but the Wildcats reclaimed the lead with a 4-0 run, before back-to-back three-pointers from Pat Moore and Venezia gave the Raiders a 13-11 with 12:09 left. Colgate then extended its lead to 17-11 with 9:40 remaining and maintained a six point lead for the next three minutes, until the Wildcats closed the half with a 15-3 run to take a 31-25 lead into the locker room. 

New Hampshire (5-6) opened the second half with a 7-4 run to extend its lead to 38-29 with 16:54 remaining in regulation. The Raiders then pieced together a 6-0 run to trim the lead to 38-35, but that was as close as the score would get as the Wildcats responded with a 7-0 run to lead 45-35 with 12 minutes left. Colgate wouldn't go down easy as it put together a 5-0 run to make the score 45-40 with 10:22 remaining, but New Hampshire answered back with a 15-7 run to build its largest lead of the game 60-47 with 4:55 left. Colgate finished the game with a 17-11 run, but is wasn't enough as it dropped it third-straight game.

The Wildcats were led by Jordon Bronner who scored a game-high 24 points, while Alvin Abreu pitched in 14 and Chandler Rhoads scored 10.

New Hampshire shot 48.9 percent from the floor, including 44.4 percent from three-point range, while Colgate shot 43.3 percent overall and 35.3 percent from downtown. Both teams finished with 34 rebounds and turnovers were nearly even (13-12), but the game was decided at the charity stripe where the Wildcats made 17-of-27 attempts, while the Raiders only made 6-of-14.

Colgate will host Columbia on Wednesday, Jan. 4. The game is scheduled to begin at 7:00 p.m. at Cotterell Court and will be streamed live on Colgate All-Access.