Photo Gallery

HAMILTON – The Colgate men's basketball team nearly pulled off a stunning comeback, but fell just short Thursday night at Cotterell Court as the Raiders fell 67-61 to visiting Holy Cross. The Crusaders led by as much as 19 and Colgate pulled within as close as four in the final minute, but couldn't complete the comeback.
 
First-year Will Rayman led Colgate with 16 points, while senior Nathan Harries followed with 14. Sophomore Malcolm Regisford scored 11 points on a perfect 5-for-5 effort from the field.
 
The Crusaders got out to a quick 17-0 lead throughout the first six of the game as Holy Cross started the game 7-for-9 from the field. A layup from Harries finally put the Raiders on the board with 13:30 on the clock. A three-pointer from junior Sean O'Brien followed, but the Crusaders eventually held a 19-point lead at 23-5 with 9:42 left in the opening term.
 
A layup from junior Tom Rivard and eight points from Rayman helped Colgate string together a 10-3 run over the next four and a half minutes as the Raiders pulled within 26-15 with 4:33 to play. Holy Cross' Anthony Thompson drained a three-pointer at the 4:07 mark to put the Crusaders ahead by 14, but a Rayman trey and O'Brien conventional three-point play followed with bring the Raiders within single digits for the first time since Holy Cross' fast start at 29-21.
 
After a Holy Cross trey, Colgate drained three treys of its own to string together a 9-1 run. The final two three-pointers came from Harries as Colgate dwindled the Crusader advantage all the way down to 33-30 with 22 seconds to play. Holy Cross added a pair of free throws in the final seconds to take a 35-30 lead into halftime.
 
The Crusaders opened the second half on an 8-2 run to go back up by 11 at 43-32 less than four minutes into the stanza. Regisford scored Colgate's next nine points, but Holy Cross had an answer for nearly every baskets as the Crusaders took a 51-41 lead into the under-12 media timeout.
 
Holy Cross held onto a 13-point lead at 60-47 with 6:52 on the clock. A pair of Colgate free throws were followed by treys from Rayman and sophomore Francisco Amiel as the Raiders surged within five at 60-55 with 4:22 to play. A pair of O'Brien free throws had Colgate within four at 63-59 two and a half minutes later. Following a Holy Cross jumper, senior Andrew Bargmann brought Colgate back within four with 57 seconds to play. The Crusaders were then able to lock down defensively and add two points from the free throw line to walk away with the 67-61 win.
 
BOTTOM LINE

• Holy Cross 67, Colgate 61

 
WON-LOST RECORDS

• Colgate falls to 3-13 overall and 1-2 in the Patriot League.
• The Crusaders improve to 8-8 overall and 2-1 in league action.

 
KEY RAIDER INFO

• Rayman, the reigning Patriot League Rookie of the Week, tallied his fifth-straight double-digit effort and 12th of the season.
• Harries scored in double figures for the fourth time this season.
• In addition to his 11 points, Regisford added nine rebounds, just narrowly missing his third double-double of the season.
• O'Brien led Colgate with six assists.

 
FACTS & FIGURES

• The Raiders finished the game shooting 52.4 percent (22-for-42) from the field, 47.4 percent (9-for-19) from three-point range and 88.9 percent (8-for-9) from the charity stripe.
• Holy Cross shot 50.0 percent (23-for-46) from the floor, 45.8 percent (11-for-24) from downtown and 47.6 percent (10-for-21) from the free throw line.
• The Raiders held a 27-24 rebound advantage.

 
UP NEXT

• The Raiders hit the road for their next two games, beginning with a Sunday trip to Navy.
• Tipoff from Annapolis, Md. is set for 2 p.m.
• All information on how to follow can be found at Game Central.