EASTON, Pa. – The Colgate men's basketball team fell victim to a hot-shooting Lafayette squad Wednesday night as the Leopards snapped the Raiders' four-game win streak with a 93-83 victory at the Kirby Sports Center.
Lafayette held a four-point lead at halftime, but went on to shoot 60.0 percent (18-for-30) from the field and 58.3 percent (7-for-12) from three-point range in the second half to pull away for the victory.
Sophomore
Will Rayman led Colgate with 20 points. Senior
Jordan Swopshire added 19, while classmate
Sean O'Brien chipped in 11.
The game was tied 6-6 through the first five minutes, but Lafayette answered with a 12-3 run over the next five minutes to take an 18-9 lead at the 10:58 mark. Six points from junior
Malcolm Regisford helped the Raiders put up 12 of the next 15 points to pull all the way back within one at 22-21 three minutes later.
The Leopards scored the next seven points to go back up by eight at 29-21. Three Swopshire free throws and a jumper from junior
Dana Batt trimmed the Leopard lead to 29-26 with 5:25 left in the term. Colgate stayed within striking distance for the remainder of the half as Swopshire hit an NBA-range three-pointer for the final basket of the stanza and Lafayette took a 42-38 lead into halftime.
Lafayette started the second half on a 13-2 run to force a Colgate timeout and stretch the Leopards advantage to 55-40. Junior
Francisco Amiel drained a big three-pointer to spark a 9-0 Colgate streak that brought the Raiders back within single digits at 55-49 with 14:20 to play.
The Leopards answered once again, going back up by 11 at 60-49. O'Brien then scored five points in a 10 second span and Regisford followed with a layup to string together seven unanswered Colgate points and trim the Lafayette lead down to 60-56 with 11:55 left on the clock.
Colgate slimmed down another lengthy Leopard lead to pull within five at 74-69 at the 5:16 mark, but Lafayette pulled away for good this time. The Leopards rattled off 14 of the game's next 19 points to give Lafayette the separation it would need to capture the 93-83 win.
BOTTOM LINE
WON-LOST RECORDS
- Colgate falls to 12-10 overall and 7-4 in the Patriot League.
- Lafayette improves to 6-16 on the season and 4-7 in league action.
KEY RAIDER INFO
- Rayman's 20-point effort marked his fourth 20-plus point performance of the season and 17th double-digit game. He finished 8-for-14 from the field.
- Swopshire was 4-for-9 from the field and 3-for-7 from downtown en route to his 19 points.
- In addition to his 11 points, O'Brien added a team-best four assists and six rebounds.
- Regisford chipped in eight points and six rebounds.
FACTS & FIGURES
- Colgate finished the game shooting 47.6 percent (30-for-63) from the field, 31.8 percent (7-for-22) from three-point range and 88.9 percent (16-for-18) from the free throw line.
- The Leopards were 52.5 percent (31-for-59) from the floor, 48.3 percent (14-for-29) from downtown and 81.0 percent (17-for-21) from the charity stripe.
- Lafayette finished the game with a 33-30 rebound edge.
UP NEXT
- The Raiders remain on the road to face Navy Sunday at noon.
- The game will be broadcast nationally on CBS Sports Network.
