SOUTH BEND, Ind. – The Colgate men's basketball team found itself within 10 points of No. 25/24 Notre Dame with four minutes to play, but couldn't get any closer as the nationally-ranked Fighting Irish picked up a 77-62 win Monday night at Purcell Pavilion.
 
Senior Nathan Harries and first-year Will Rayman combined for 31 of Colgate's 42 second-half points as the two Raiders helped Colgate hang tough with a Notre Dame team that has made back-to-back Elite Eight appearances. The Raiders shot 57.7 percent from the field in the second half, but were harmed by nine Notre Dame second-half three-pointers.
 
Rayman finished the game with a team-best 18 points, while Harries followed with 17. Sophomore Malcolm Regisford followed with 11 points and team-best six rebounds.
 
Notre Dame got out to an early 7-0 lead before five-straight points from junior Tom Rivard and a Rayman layup followed as Colgate tied the game at 7-7 at the 15:13 mark. The Fighting Irish pulled ahead 14-9 two minutes later, but a pair of free throws from junior Jordan Swopshire and a layup from classmate Sean O'Brien had Colgate back within one at 14-13 with 11:52 on the first-half clock.
 
Notre Dame answered with the next six points and held Colgate scoreless for over four minutes as the Fighting Irish pulled ahead 20-13 with under eight minutes on the clock. Junior Jordan Robertson then scored Colgate's final seven points of the half over the next three minutes before Notre Dame closed the opening term on a 9-0 run to take a 36-20 lead into the locker room.
 
Notre Dame scored five of the first seven points of the second half, but Colgate answered with a 7-2 run over the next minute and a half to put the score at 43-29 with under 16 minutes to play. Harries scored Colgate's next 10 points, but Notre Dame had an answer as the Fighting Irish found themselves up 64-43 with under eight minutes to play.
 
Colgate wouldn't go quietly, however, as the Raiders answered with a 12-1 run over the next three minutes. The streak saw eight points from Rayman and four from Regisford as Colgate was all of the sudden within 65-55 with 3:59 to play. The Fighting Irish were able to close out the game with 12 of the final 19 points to pick up the 77-62 victory.
 
BOTTOM LINE

• Notre Dame 77, Colgate 62

 
WON-LOST RECORDS

• Notre Dame improves to 10-2 on the season.
• Colgate drops to 2-10 overall.

 
KEY RAIDER INFO

• Rayman scored 16 of his 18 in the second frame. He was 7-for-11 from the field.
• Fifteen of Harries' 17 points came in the second half. He finished the night 6-for-10 from the field.
• Regisford's 11 points were aided by a 5-for-5 showing from the free throw line.

 
FACTS & FIGURES

• The Raiders finished the game with a 40.0 (20-for-50) field goal percentage, highlighted by a 57.7 (15-for-26) percent clip in the second half.
• The Raiders finished 31.6 percent (6-for-19) from three-point range and 88.9 percent (16-for-18) from the free throw line.
• Notre Dame shot 50 percent (28-for-56) from the field, 45.2 percent (14-for-31) from three-point range and 70 percent (7-for-10) from the charity stripe.

 
FROM THE SOURCE
Head Coach Matt Langel

•  "I was proud of our guys for how we battled, competed and stuck with what we were trying to do, especially in the second half. Nathan (Harries) and Will (Rayman) were great for us. Nathan has battled sickness throughout his entire career, and I was happy that he felt well enough tonight to show what type of player he can be."
• "We have a lot of connections to the Notre Dame basketball program and I'm happy we were able to make the trip out here. We turned the ball over too many times and that's going to hurt us when playing against the size and talent that a team like Notre Dame has. We played better in the second half, but gave up too many threes."
• "We schedule these kind of games for two reasons. We try to not only challenge our players, but also give them experiences and memories. When you play tough competition, it's a gut check to see what you're made of.  These experiences are experiences that our players will remember when they're doctors or lawyers or whatever their profession may be after basketball."

 
UP NEXT

• The Raiders close out non-league play at Duquesne Thursday afternoon.
• Tipoff from Pittsburgh is set for 2 p.m.
• Colgate then begins preparation for Patriot League play, which opens on Dec. 30 at Lafayette.
• All information on how to follow can be found at Game Central.