Box Score

NEWARK, N.J. (2/1/12) – Senior Mike Venezia collected a team-high 15 points and five rebounds as the Colgate men's basketball team completed its non-conference schedule with a 76-73 win over NJIT Wednesday night at the Estelle and Zoom Fleisher Athletic Center. The win also snapped an 11-game road losing streak for the Raiders.

Colgate (7-15) held an 11-point lead 68-57 with just over five minutes remaining, before the Highlanders went on a 14-4 run to trim the lead to 72-71 with 2:50 left. Senior Yaw Gyawu then made a layup and added a free throw with six seconds remaining, before Isaiah Wilkerson missed a three pointer at the buzzer to give the Raiders the win.

Venezia, who scored 12 of his 15 points in the second half, finished the game shooting 5-of-7 from the floor including a perfect 4-of-4 from downtown to lead the Raiders. Senior Nick Pascale and sophomore Pat Moore also reached double-figures with 14 points apiece, while senior Sterling Melville pitched in nine. Junior guard Mitch Rolls led the team with a game-high five assists, while Melville dished out three helpers.  

Colgate opened the game with an 8-2 run in the first two minutes of action as Moore drained a three-pointer and Pascale scored five-straight points, before the Highlanders answered back with a 7-0 run to take their first lead of the game. NJIT (9-12) then extended its lead to 25-15 with 10 minutes left, before the Raiders closed the half with a 21-9 run, including a layup by Brandon James as time expired to put Colgate up 36-34 during intermission.

NJIT scored the first five points of the second half to reclaim the lead 39-36, but Venezia then made a three-pointer, and was fouled in the act of doing so to give Colgate a 40-39 lead. The Raiders then extended their lead to 61-48 with a 10:04 remaining and held a 68-57 lead with 5:07 left, before the Highlanders made things close down the stretch with a 16-8 run.

Chris Flores finished with a game-high 17 points to lead NJIT, while Wilkerson scored 14 and PJ Miller added 12.

Colgate shot 56.3 percent from the floor, including 58.3 percent (7-12) from beyond the arc, while NJIT shot 42.6 percent overall and just 35 percent (7-20) from downtown. Colgate also dominated the battle on the boards 36-22, but turned the ball over 18 times that resulted in 26 points for the Highlanders.

Colgate will resume Patriot League play when it hosts American on Saturday, Feb. 4. The game is scheduled to begin at 2:00 p.m. at Cotterell Court and will be streamed live on Patriot League All-Access.