WORCESTER, Mass. – Colgate Men's Basketball saw Holy Cross match its best scoring half of the year to complete a come-from-behind victory here Wednesday night, 65-63.
 
The Raiders had a 29-20 lead at the break but watched their host outscore them 45-34 in the second period to shift both teams Patriot League mark to 2-1.
 
Colgate added onto its nine-point halftime lead with a 3-pointer from Sean O'Brien early in the second half to create its largest margin of the game at 32-20.
 
Over the next four minutes, Holy Cross erased any Colgate lead by using a 16-7 run to pull within 39-36.
 
The Raiders then extended their lead back to 46-40 at the 10:38 mark, but again the Crusaders went on an 8-0 run to take their first lead in the game at 48-46 with under 7 ½ remaining.
 
The teams then went back and forth taking turns holding the lead and watching three tie scores over the next 90 seconds. But six straight from Holy Cross with 2:31 left handed the hosts the 61-55 edge.
 
Tom Rivard, who was playing in front of his hometown crowd, answered with a trey to cut the lead in half with two minutes left. Colgate got some stops and had two good looks from behind-the-arc to knot the score but both bounced in-and-out forcing Colgate to start fouling.
 
After a couple more ticks off the clock and two made free throws from Cullen Hamilton handed Holy Cross a 64-60 advantage with eight seconds remaining, Austin Tillotson drained a 3-pointer to make it a one-point game again.
 
The Raiders then quickly fouled the Crusaders with 3.3 seconds remaining, sending them to the charity stripe. Holy Cross converted on 1-of-2 and Colgate had one final attempt at the bucket but it was broken up, handing the Raiders a devastating loss.
 
Three Colgate players found double-digit scoring with Tillotson leading the way with 18 points. He added six rebounds, eight assists and a steal in just under 40 complete minutes of action.
 
O'Brien and Alex Ramon each registered 11 points each, while Jordan Swopshire led Colgate on the boards with seven rebounds.
 
Colgate has its next two games in the comfy confines of Cotterell Court, hosting the league's two military academies in Navy and Army West Point. The Raiders welcome the Mids on Saturday for a 2 p.m. tilt followed by a visit from the Black Knights on Wednesday at 7 p.m.
 
Bottom Line
• Holy Cross 65, Colgate 63
 
Won-Lost Records
• Holy Cross slides to 7-7 on the season and 2-1 in Patriot League play.
• Colgate dips to 6-8 and 2-1, respectively.
 
How It Happened
• Colgate jumped on the Crusaders early and created a 4-0 gap between the teams.
• After the hosts had cut into the lead, five straight from the Raiders with 8:47 remaining in the half, handed them the 11-5 edge.
• Holy Cross would not go away, making it a three-point Colgate edge at 18-15 with less than 5 ½ to play. Colgate answered though with an 11-3 run, creating its largest lead of the half at 29-18 with just 33 seconds remaining.
• The Crusaders saw Karl Charles converted on two free throws to end the half and send the Raiders into the break only up 29-20.
• A 3-pointer from O'Brien to start the half gave Colgate its largest advantage in the game at 32-20.
• Holy Cross would come roaring back, however, using a 16-7 run over four minutes to cut the Raider lead down to 39-36. The Crusaders went on a 6-0 run during that stretch as well.
• A couple minutes later Ramon gave Colgate back a 46-40 edge following a made shot from downtown with 10:38 remaining on the clock.
• From there though the hosts went on an 8-0 run to grab their first lead of the game at 48-46. During that time, Colgate rode nearly a 3 ½ minute scoring drought.
• A 3-pointer from Swopshire finally got Colgate back on the scoreboard. The teams then went on to be tied on three different occasions over the next two minutes until Holy Cross sparked a 6-0 run that handed the Crusaders some breathing room.  
• It was a 61-55 ballgame with 2:31 left to play when Rivard hit a 3-pointer to cut the lead in half.
• The Raiders then forced some needed stops and had two great looks from long range to knot the score but both rattled in-and-out, forcing Colgate to start fouling with 23 seconds remaining.
• Over the next 15 seconds Holy Cross converted on 3-of-4 attempts from the charity stripe to create a 64-60 deficit between the teams with eight seconds to play.
• Colgate would make it interesting a couple seconds later when Tillotson drained a 3-pointer with 3.3 second remaining to make it a one-possession game.
• The Raiders quickly fouled and after the Crusaders hit just 1-of-2 from the free throw line, Colgate had one final attempt to knot the score.
• Unfortunately, Colgate's play was broken up, handing the Raiders their first loss in league play.
 
Facts & Figures
• Tillotson continued his four-game double-digit scoring streak with 18 points in the contest. This marked the seventh time this season the York, Pennsylvania, native led the team in scoring.    
• He added six rebounds, eight assists and one steal to his already impressive night.
• O'Brien and Ramon chipped in 11 apiece with both hitting three from behind-the-arc.   
• O'Brien also handed out three helpers, while Ramon pulled down three rebounds.
• On the boards it was Swopshire, who finished with seven to match his career-high.
• Rookie Dave Krmpotich was one block shy of tying his career-best and finished with two in the game.
• On the night, Colgate hit 22-of-60 attempts from the floor for 36.7 percent shooting. They also hit 12 from long, while converting on 7-of-8 from the charity stripe.
• Holy Cross outscored Colgate 26-14 from inside the paint after Colgate held the 10-6 edge in that category at the break.  
• The Raider bench outscored their host 23-11  
• The game saw four tie scores and three lead changes.
• Colgate led for 32:04, while Holy Cross was in front for just 6:47. The game was tied for 1:09.
• The Raiders created their largest lead of the game immediately following halftime when O'Brien's 3-pointer handed Colgate a 32-20 advantage. With the game tied for the final time at 55-all, Holy Cross used a 6-0 run to generate its largest lead of the game with 2:31 remaining.
 
Records Watch
• With Tillotson's eight assists in the game, he surpassed former teammate Luke Roh '15 for fourth all-time in career helpers and now sits with 344.
• The senior is also slowly chipping away at reaching 1,000 career points during his time at Colgate. He currently has 926, which makes him just 74 shy of reaching 1,000 points in his three-year tenure in the Maroon and White.
 
Holy Cross' Numbers
• Two Crusaders reached 20+ points in the game with rookie Karl Charles leading all scorers with a career-high 21 points. He finished 4-of-7 from the floor, 3-of-5 from long and 10-of-11 from the free throw line.
• Also reaching double-digits was Hamilton with 20 points on 7-of-9 shooting. He added 2-of-3 makes from downtown and 4-of-5 from the charity stripe.
• Charles and Champion led Holy Cross on the boards with eight each. Charles also compiled a team-best three steals, four blocks, and handed out five helpers.
• Charles had 14 of his 21 points in the opening half, while Hamilton recorded 18 of his 20 in the second period.
• The Crusaders finished the game shooting 43.5 percent (20-of-46) from the floor. They hit six from long range and converted 19-of-29 from the free throw line.
 
Gate Grab Bag
• Attendance at the Hart Center was 1,256.

Straight From The Source
• Colgate head coach Matt Langel: (on his thoughts from the game) "I was really proud of how we played for large portions of the game. We had a great opportunity to win another league road game, but weren't able to take full advantage of the position we put ourselves in. That part is certainly disappointing.
 
"Credit to Holy Cross though, I thought (Karl) Charles and (Cullen) Hamilton played really well and their zone defense certainly affected the rhythm of the game. There is much for us to learn from tonight and I am sure our guys will be committed to the hard work necessary to prepare for the home games on the horizon."
                                                                 
Next Up
• Colgate is back in the comfy confines of Cotterell Court for its next two Patriot League matchups. The Raiders welcome both military academies hosting Navy on Saturday followed by Army West Point on Wednesday.
• The Mids are coming off an 83-67 victory over Boston University on Saturday.
• Live stats and video will be available at the start.