Box Score

WORCESTER, Mass – Sophomore Austin Tillotson led all scorers on Wednesday night with a game-high 20 points and six assists but the Colgate men's basketball team couldn't get past Holy Cross as they dropped a 73-64 decision to the Crusaders.

"Basketball is a game of momentum changes," Colgate head coach Matt Langel said. "Holy Cross did a great job in the first half of getting the lead and not looking back. I felt we had a few good looks close to the rim that we didn't convert that might have made the deficit less at the break.

"To our guys credit we were ready to go at the start of the second half and made our run to close the gap and get the lead. We made a few defensive plays that led to scores and a few jump shots. But almost every time Holy Cross answered at the other end and never allowed us to get any separation.

"For us to find a way to win, however, I think our improvement needs to come at the defensive end. There are countless examples of hustle plays and missed defensive assignments, that if we can correct, it will directly result in us finding ourselves on the winning end of these hard fought Patriot League games."

Tillotson's top performance was his fourth career 20-point game and fourth contest with five or more assists. He currently leads all Colgate players with 15.1 points per game. The York, Pa., native has also posted 11 double-figure scoring games this season, which is also a team-high.

"Austin has been a big part of this team from day one this season," Langel said. "He has the ball in his hands a lot in our offense, which results in a chance to make plays for his teammates and to score when the defense doesn't help off his teammates."

Colgate (6-8, 0-3) shot 45.3 percent from the floor and notched 5-of-16 from downtown for 31.3 overall shooting from long. The Raiders also shot 84.6 percent from the charity stripe, missing only two of their 13 attempts.

Damon Sherman-Newsome and Luke Roh added 10 points each to the Raiders' total while rookie Nathan Harries posted a career-high seven points throughout the contest. Roh led Colgate on the boards with six rebounds.

Holy Cross (7-8, 1-2) saw six players in double-figures with Dave Dudzinski leading the way with a team-high 16 points and eight rebounds. Malcolm Miller also grabbed eight boards while knocking down 11 points and Justin Burrell added 13 points and went 6-of-6 from the free throw line. Eric Green, Cullen Hamilton, and Anthony Thompson recorded 10 points each to close out the Crusaders' in double-digits.

The Crusaders finished slightly outrebounding the Raiders 31-28 but Colgate held the advantage on points in the paint, 32-26.

Holy Cross came out on fire hitting three 3-pointers to start the game, talking the early 9-0 lead. But Roh found Tillotson inside for a layup to end the Raider drought at the 14:47 mark of the first half.

Holy Cross continued its impressive shooting making another trey to earn its fourth make from downtown in its opening five baskets.

Colgate would fight back, however, taking its first lead of the game, at 17-16 following a Tillotson layup.

Late in the half, Holy Cross would go on a 10-2 run over a span of 4:10 to create a 11-point edge, at 34-23. But the Raiders' finished the half scoring the next four points to cut into the deficit to seven at the break.

Colgate continued it's pressure on the Crusaders, notching the first six points out of halftime to make it a one-point Holy Cross advantage with 18:26 left to play.

The two teams exchanged baskets until a Harries 3-pointer gave the Raiders their first lead of the second half at 44-42 with 12:17 remaining.

Holy Cross responded with two quick baskets but another trey from Sherman-Newsome put the Raiders back up by one, at 47-46

The Crusaders would then go on a 10-0 run at the 7:08 mark, to increase their advantage to 11-points at, 62-51. The Raiders were kept scoreless for almost six minutes until Tillotson found Roh for an easy layup.

Colgate got the deficit down to seven after a Tillotson 3-pointer but the margin proved to be too much as the Crusaders finished the game from the free throw line to secure their victory.

The Raiders are back on their home court Saturday when they welcome American at 2 p.m.