Photo Gallery

HAMILTON – Colgate's dream season ended in the Patriot League Semifinals on Sunday to sharp-shooting American, 73-62.
 
With the game tied at 11-all, the Eagles used a 20-8 run in the opening period to create a 12-point gap between the teams with four minutes remaining in the half.
 
Despite some Colgate chances at pulling even, American continued its impressive shooting and finished the half with the 38-21 edge.
 
During the first half, the visitor's shot 64 percent from the floor and 62.5 percent from behind the arc, compared to Colgate's 45 percent and 14.3 percent, respectively.
 
After the Eagles had pushed their advantage to the largest of the game at 50-28 five minutes into the second period, Colgate slowly started to fight its way back into the contest.
 
The Raiders got to within eight points, three times, in the final 1:35 but weren't able to get any closer as the Eagles finished the game from the free throw line hitting 4-of-6 to secure themselves the victory and a spot in the title game.
 
Overall, American shot a season-high 61.9 percent from the floor and was only slightly off their season-best (58.8%) from behind the arc, shooting 58.3 percent on 7-of-12 makes. Colgate finished the game shooting 45.3 percent, while hitting 5-of-22 shots from downtown.
 
The Raiders saw four players in double-figure scoring with Damon Sherman-Newsome leading the way with 16 points. Luke Roh, Matt McMullen and Austin Tillotson all reached double-digits as well with 13, 12 and 11 points, respectively. Roh earned his second double-double of the season after he also pulled down 14 rebounds to lead all players.
 
American placed all five starters in double-figures with John Schoof earning a game-high 17 points. Pee Wee Gardner, Jesse Reed, Charlie Jones and Marko Vasic all combined for the rest of the Eagles' final total points.
 
Colgate closes its season having posted a 12-6 mark in Patriot League play, which set a program record, while also earning its first top-two seed in the Patriot League Tournament since the 1996 season. The Raiders finished their year with a 16-17 overall record.
 
Bottom Line
• American 73, Colgate 62
• The Raiders are now 7-1 all-time in the Patriot League Tournament when playing on Cotterell Court and are 1-1 on their home court in semifinal contests.
 
Won-Lost Records
• Colgate finishes its season with a 16-17 overall mark, its best finish since the Raiders went 18-14 during the 2007-08 season.
• American improves to 17-15 on the year and will travel to meet Lafayette in the championship game on Wednesday at 7 p.m.   
 
Facts & Figures
• Sherman-Newsome tallied a team-best 16 points on 6-of-16 shooting.
• He finishes his senior campaign notching double-figure scoring in 28 of Colgate's 33 games.
• The Anchorage, Alaska, native posted 1,030 career points in a Colgate uniform to go along with his 51 career double-digit scoring games.
• Roh earned 13 points after going 5-of-8 from the floor and 3-of-4 from the free throw line.
• The Scottsdale, Arizona, native added a game-high 14 rebounds to give him his second double-double of the year.
• Roh finishes out his career fourth all-time in Colgate's records book with 339 assists, while also notching 681 career boards to place him eighth.
• McMullen posted 12 points and pulled down seven rebounds, while handing out a game-high four assists.
• He added two steals and one block during his 37 minutes of action.
• The Brick, New Jersey, native tallied a team-best three double-doubles during his final campaign and compiled 564 career points and 443 rebounds.
• Tillotson closed out the Raider scorers in double-figures with 11 points.  
• The junior went 4-of-9 from the floor, 2-for-4 from behind the arc and 1-for-1 from the charity stripe.  
• He tallied three assists and a game-high three steals on the day as well.
• Tillotson earned 134 assists on the year, which places him third all-time in season helpers. So far in his two years in the Maroon and White, he has posted 267 assists for seventh in Colgate's records book.
• Ethan Jacobs recorded eight points in Sunday's contest and pulled down three boards.
• He finishes his two-year Colgate career with 770 points, 281 rebounds and 59 blocks.
• The 6-11 center posted 44 career double-digit scoring contests, including 23 during this season alone.
• Colgate shot 45.3 percent from the floor and hit 5-of-22 from behind the arc. The Raiders also shot 64.3 percent from the free throw line.  
• The Raiders outrebounded the Eagles 32-21, with 12 of those coming on the offensive glass.
• Colgate notched a 34-32 advantage on points inside the paint, but a 22-11 Eagles edge on point off of turnovers was a big factor in the game.
• There were two tie scores and three lead changes in the game, all of which came in the opening 10 minutes of play.
• The Raiders held the edge for 4:12, while American was ahead for 31:42. The game was tied for 3:25.
• American had the game's largest lead at 22 with 15:21 remaining in the game after Gardner hit a jumper.
 
American's Numbers
• Schoof went 6-of-8 from the floor, 4-of-5 from 3-point range and 1-for-2 from the line for a game-high 17 points to lead the Eagles. He added a team-best six boards, three helpers, two blocks and one steal on his already impressive night.    
• All four of the other Eagles starters posted double-figures in Gardner (15 points), Reed (14 points), Jones (14 points), and Vasic (13 points).
• The Eagles shot a season-best 61.9 percent from the floor and hit 7-of-12 from long-range for 58.3 percent shooting, which was just shy of their season-high.

How It Happened
• The Raiders jumped out to a 4-0 edge after two quick buckets.
• American answered to knot the score at 11-11 seven minutes into the contest.
• The Eagles then used a 27-10 run to take a 38-21 lead into the break.
• Colgate saw the visitors extend their advantage to a game-high 22 points following a jumper five minutes into the second period.
• The Raiders would not let up though as they slowly started to chip away at the difference.
• Colgate would get the deficit down to eight, three times in the remaining 1:35 of the contest, but unfortunately that would be as close as the Raiders would come.
• In the final 90 seconds,  American hit 9-of-12 free throws to secure itself a spot in the title game for the second-straight year.
 
Seasons Notes
• Colgate posted its best Patriot League record ever, finishing the regular season with a 12-6 mark.  
• The Raiders also notched the second seed in the Patriot League Tournament for the first time since 1996. 
• Colgate had three starters finish the year averaging double-digit points per game, while the two others sat at 9.9 and 9.5.
• All five of the Raider starters had more than 300 points on the year, while four of the five have more than 100 rebounds. Colgate also had four of its five starters with 60 or more assists.
• The Raiders close out the year with a 10-5 mark on Cotterell Court and were 7-2 on home court during Patriot League play.
• Sherman-Newsome became Colgate's 30th men's basketball player to ever reach 1,000 career points in the Maroon and White.
• Tillotson finished third all-time in program history with 134 season assists, while Roh closes out his career with 339 assists for fourth place to go along with his 681 boards that earn him the eighth spot.
• Colgate dropped 13 of its 17 losses by seven or fewer points.
• The Raiders did not lose consecutive games at any point in Patriot League action, and were not swept by any League opponents.
• Three of the Raider starters earned postseason honors, with Roh (Defensive Player of the Year) earning Colgate's first major award since Mark Linebaugh '04 was named Rookie of the Year in 2001. Sherman-Newsome was tabbed to the first-team, while Jacobs was named to the second team.

Straight From The Source
• Colgate head coach Matt Langel: (on his overall thoughts from the game) "It's obviously a disappointing result. I give a lot of credit to the American staff and their players. They're reigning champions and they displayed that, not just tonight but I think over the last couple weeks. With the depleted roster they've had, they've pieced it together and found a way to make it really difficult for teams."
 
"I feel badly for my guys that I wasn't able to give them more of a concrete solution as to how to solve the puzzle of the way American was playing, especially on the defensive end."
 
"On the opposite side, I couldn't be more proud of our team and our program. For this group to come where they have and play in front of two packed houses and change the environment and expectations was something. And for the guys in the locker room to care as much as they do and realize the opportunities that they have in front of them says a lot to the character and personality of all of our seniors. Matty (McMullen), Luke (Roh) and Patrick (Moore) have been with the program all four years and have been through a lot. I'm really proud of what they stand for and how they leave the program significantly better than when they arrived."