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HAMILTON – Austin Tillotson and Alex Ramon had a Senior Day they will never forget.
 
After Loyola drained a 3-pointer with 2.9 seconds remaining to knot the score in overtime at 90-90, Tillotson threw up a heave from half-court that sailed in to lift Colgate Men's Basketball past the Greyhounds 93-90 in unbelievable fashion.
 
Let's backtrack for a second.
 
Colgate was in front 87-82 following a layup from Ramon with 1:19 left in overtime. On the next possession, Andre Walker converted on a long trey to make it 87-85. The Raiders then missed on the other end of the court but forced the Greyhounds to travel, awarding them the ball with 19 seconds to play. One second later, Loyola fouled Jordan Swopshire, who went to the line and finished off both free throw attempts, extending the Raiders' lead to 89-85.
 
Walker then quickly took the ball to the hoop and laid it in to cut the edge down to 89-87 with 11 ticks remaining. Again, the Greyhounds were forced to foul and this time it was Tillotson on the receiving end.
 
The senior stepped up and hit 1-of-2 to make it a 90-87 ballgame with 10 seconds to play. The Raiders nearly killed off the entire clock with great defense, until Walker found a small opening and threw up a shot from downtown that rattled home to tie the score at 90-all with 2.9 seconds remaining.
 
Matt Langel opted not to call a timeout and it surely paid off.
 
Colgate got the ball in quickly to Tillotson, who took a pair of dribbles before trying his luck from half-court. The ball swooshed through the basket and Tillotson was swamped by his teammates in the corner of the gym.
 
Tillotson was not the only senior to have an impressive night, though, as Ramon posted a career-high 18 points on 7-of-10 shooting -- making this one heck of a Senior Day for the two of them.
 
Also reaching twin figures was Sean O'Brien, Tom Rivard and Swopshire with 18, 17 and 10 points, respectively. Five different Raiders shared rebounding honors with four.
 
Tillotson recorded eight assists in the contest as well, which lifted him past Hasan Brown '94 for tops on Colgate's season assists chart. He currently has 141 on the year.
 
With the win, Colgate is now tied for fourth with Navy in the Patriot League standings at 9-7. The Raiders hold the tiebreaker over the Mids.
 
Colgate hosts Lehigh on Wednesday for its regular season finale in Cotterell Court. The tip is scheduled for 7 p.m. and will be carried live on Time Warner Cable Sports Network. Live stats will also be available.
 
Bottom Line
• Colgate 93, Loyola 90 -- OT
 
Won-Lost Records
• Colgate improves to 13-14 overall and 9-7 in Patriot League play.
• Loyola dips to 12-14 and 8-7, respectively.   
 
Facts & Figures
• Colgate moves to 8-2 when finishing with four or more players in double-figure scoring. The Raiders only two losses came in overtime affairs. Sunday's contest marked just the second time this season five players recorded double-digits.
• Tillotson earned his third straight double-figure scoring night with 20 points in the game. He went 8-for-18 from the floor, 2-for-6 from long range and 2-for-4 from the charity stripe to lead the team.
• The senior also pulled down four rebounds, while compiling a team-best three steals.
• His eight assists in the contest also helped him break Colgate's season assist record, which stood at 139. He currently has 141 on the year.
• O'Brien and Ramon notched 18 points a piece, which were both career bests. O'Brien went nearly perfect on the night shooting 8-of-9 from the floor and 2-of-2 from the downtown. Ramon added 7-of-10 makes to go along with his 2-for-4 buckets from behind-the-arc. He finished going 2-of-2 from the line.
• Rivard chipped in 17 points on 7-of-13 shooting, before Swopshire closed out the Raider players in double-digits with 10.
• Four other players joined Tillotson for team highs on the boards with four -- Rivard, Ramon, Swopshire and Dana Batt.
 
Inside The Numbers
• Colgate finished the night shooting 56.9 percent from the floor on 37-of-65 attempts. The Raiders also drained 10-of-20 from downtown to go along with their 9-of-12 makes at the line.
• Both teams shot very well from the floor. Here are the period breakdowns for field goals
         Colgate: 1st half – 48.3%, 2nd half – 65.6%, and OT – 57.1%
         Loyola:   1st half – 59.3%, 2nd half – 60.0%, and OT – 57.1%
• Loyola held the edge on rebounds at 32-25. But the Greyhounds committed 13 turnovers, while Colgate matched its season-low with just six.  
• The Raiders converted on 46 points inside the paint to Loyola's 38. Colgate also held the 16-11 edge on points off turnovers.
• The Greyhounds earned 20 second chance opportunities though to the Raiders' 11.
• The bench points stood at 16-11 in favor of Colgate.
• Both teams had their moments in the game. Loyola held a nine-point lead on four different occasions in the opening period, while Colgate was in front three times by seven points in the second half.
• The Raiders lead lasted 15:41, while the Greyhounds held the edge for 24:38. The game was tied for 4:41.  
• There were 15 lead changes and eight tie scores throughout the game.
 
Loyola's Numbers
• Eric Laster went for a career-best 26 points on 10-of-15 shooting from the floor. The senior also registered 5-of-6 makes from downtown to lead all scorers.
• Walker added 19 points, while Franz Rassman and Chancellor Barnard tallied 15 and 12 points, respectively.
• Barnard pulled down a game-high eight rebounds, while Walker handed out a team-best four assists.
• Loyola finished the night shooting 59.3 percent from the floor. The Greyhounds also tallied 9-of-15 makes from downtown to go along with their 11-of-15 attempts at the free throw line.
 
Raiders Were Due In Overtime
• Prior to Sunday's win, Colgate had lost its last six overtime affairs.
• The last Raider OT win was back on Jan. 23, 2013, when Colgate defeated Army West Point on Cotterell Court. Ironically, that game also ended 93-90.
 
Straight From The Source
• Colgate head coach Matt Langel: (on Sunday's magical win) "We've been talking the last couple weeks about how basketball is like life. And it often gives you what you deserve.
 
"I couldn't be more proud of Austin (Tillotson) and how he's gone about his business over the last four years with us. If there is anyone more deserving to make a desperation shot like that to win the game, I don't know who.
 
"I'm proud of the group for continuing to battle. (Eric) Laster is like the Colgate killer. He's an assassin against us and plays his best games. You think you've seen his best game until the next time he plays you. So I won't be sorry to see him go.
 
"But again I'm proud of the group. We gutted it out and had five guys in double-figures. Alex Ramon was terrific down the stretch and made a couple plays out of nothing. He got baskets when there was nothing there and he found a way to get it done.
 
"We have some things to work on for sure. We gave up way to many offensive rebounds and put-backs. I don't think you can win too many games when you let the opposition shoot 59 percent from the field but overall it's a great win.
 
"Sometimes it's just your day"
 
Gate Grab Bag
• Attendance at Cotterell Court was 943.
                                                                 
Next Up
• The Raiders close out their regular season home slate with a contest against Lehigh on Wednesday night.
• Game time is scheduled for a 7 p.m. tip in Cotterell Court.   
• The Mountain Hawks are coming off a 73-61 victory at nearby rival Lafayette on Sunday.  
• The all-time series with Lehigh stands at 51-36 in favor of Colgate
• Wednesday's game will be broadcast live on Time Warner Cable Sports Network.

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