CHARLESTON, S.C. – The Colgate men's basketball team put together its first 100-plus point effort in 12 years, but couldn't stop a hot Citadel team as the Raiders fell to the Bulldogs 108-101 in the first game of the Holy City Hoops Classic Friday afternoon.
 
It marked Colgate's first 100-plus point effort since a 101-85 win over Hobart in 2004. It was the Raiders' first 100-plus point performance against a Division I opponent since 1997 when Colgate beat Army 104-79.
 
Five Raiders finished the game in double-figures as junior Sean O'Brien led the way with a career-high 26 points on a 10-for-12 effort from the field. First-year Will Rayman scored 22 points to go along with a team-best nine rebounds, just narrowly missing his first career double-double. Junior Jordan Swopshire tallied 15 points, while junior Tom Rivard (13) and sophomore Francisco Amiel (10) followed.
 
The Citadel hit a trio of three-pointers to jump out to an early 9-4 lead, but seven points from O'Brien aided an 11-2 Colgate run over the next 3:02 to put the Raiders in front 15-11 just over five minutes into the game.
 
Colgate held a 26-20 lead following a layup from sophomore Dave Krmpotich. The Bulldogs then rattled off a 16-4 run over the next three and a half minutes with the help of three three-pointers from Brian White as The Citadel turned their six-point deficit into a six-point lead at 36-30 with 5:42 left on the first-half clock.
 
The teams exchanged baskets for the rest of the opening period as O'Brien scored seven more for the Raiders, but The Citadel took a 54-47 lead into halftime. Colgate shot 52.6 percent (20-for38) from the field in the first half, but the Bulldogs drained 10 three-pointers and went 14-for-16 from the free throw line to claim the halftime lead.
 
Five points from Rayman helped Colgate score nine of the first 16 points of the second half to cut the Bulldog lead to five at 61-56 five minutes into the stanza.  The Citadel answered with a 15-2 streak that took four minutes off the clock and put the Bulldogs ahead 76-58 with just under 12 minutes to play.
 
The Citadel led 81-62 a few minutes later before Colgate put together a 21-11 run that brought the Raiders back within single digits at 92-83 with just under four minutes to play. The streak saw eight points from Rivard and five from senior Nathan Harries.
 
The Bulldogs worked their lead back to 13 at 101-88 with 1:13 to play, but Colgate wouldn't  go quietly as five points from Rayman and a pair of O'Brien free throws pulled Colgate within 101-95 with 50 seconds on the clock. The Raiders made baskets down the stretch, but The Citadel went 7-for-7 from the free throw line to cement the 108-101 victory.
 
 
BOTTOM LINE

• The Citadel 108, Colgate 101

 
WON-LOST RECORDS

• Colgate falls to 2-5 on the season.
• The Citadel improves to 5-3 overall.

 
KEY RAIDER INFO

• In addition to his career-high 26 points and 10 made field goals, O'Brien dished a season-best eight assists.
• Amiel's 10 points tied his career high that was set earlier this season at Cornell.
• Harries got his first career start and finished with a career-high eight assists to go along with seven points and three rebounds in a strong all-around effort.

 
FACTS & FIGURES

• The Raiders shot a season-best 57.5 percent (42-for-73) from the field, including a 62.9 percent (22-for-35) second-half clip.
• Colgate finished the game 37.5 percent (9-for-24) from downtown and 72.7 percent (8-for-11) from the charity stripe.
• The Citadel went 50.0 percent (31-for-62) from the field, 45.7 percent (16-for-35) from three-point range and 88.2 percent (30-for-34) from the free throw line.
• Colgate finished the game with a strong 37-28 rebounding edge.
• The Citadel's Zane Najdawi scored a game-high 30 points, 16 of which came from the free throw line.

 
FROM THE SOURCE
Head Coach Matt Langel

• "The Citadel got a lot of good shots in the first half, and we didn't react well enough to make them take more difficult shots. Our defense is not where it needs to be. We have a lot of guys who are great on offense, but make too many mistakes on defense and that kills us."
• "The good thing is we have two more games in the next two days against two different types of teams. Hopefully we can continue to improve and learn from our mistakes."

 
UP NEXT

• Colgate continues the Holy City Hoops Classic Saturday when the Raiders take on Campbell at 2 p.m.
• Audio coverage is available on 94WKXZ and all information on how to follow can be found at Game Central.