HAMILTON – Colgate grabbed a lead in all four quarters but couldn't hold off a late Boston University flourish in a 61-53 setback here Wednesday night.
 
The Raiders never led by more than two points the entire night but kept hanging around through eight ties and 12 lead changes. Finally, Boston U. knocked down its first 3-pointer of the evening, a killer from Katie Nelson with the shot clock winding down that made it 55-51 Terriers with 1:13 showing.
 
Ava Williams followed with a layup for the Raiders but then BU called timeout and advanced the ball. After the timeout, a quick restart had Colgate out of position and Nelson found Nia Irving for an easy layup that made it 57-53 with 30 seconds remaining.
 
Colgate didn't score again and Boston University had its fourth win in the last five.
 
The Raiders dropped their third straight in this tough stretch of games. Colgate is now in sixth place with front-running Bucknell next on the road Saturday before Lehigh visits midweek.
 
Bottom Line
• Boston University 61, Colgate 53
 
Won-Lost Records
• Colgate is now 9-13 overall and 5-7 in the Patriot League.
• Boston University improved to 12-10 and 8-4. The Terriers are alone in third place.
 
Stats of the Game
• Rachel Thompson scored 14 points and Mylah Chandler 10 to lead Colgate. Thompson also was tops with six boards, four assists and five steals.
• Boston University's 43-26 rebounding edge was Colgate's largest deficit of the season.
• Eighteen of those BU rebounds came on the offensive glass but resulted in only a 13-8 margin in second-chance points.
• After 15 turnovers in the first half, Colgate had just four in the second half including zero in the fourth quarter.
• Colgate's 13 steals matched their second-best number of the season. In addition to Thompson, Chandler and Ahart notched two apiece.
• The Terriers were just 1-of-15 from 3-point distance, making their last attempt of the game.
• Payton Hauck led all scorers with 22. Irving finished with 12 points and 14 rebounds.
 
From the Source
• Head Coach Bill Cleary (On the game) "We got the start we wanted. The first five minutes of the game, we were up 9-8 and doing some things well. I liked how we were playing defensively but there were a lot of turnovers and we were giving up a lot of offensive rebounds. Every time we got that lead, we just couldn't get that stop. We gave the lead right back. Credit Boston, obviously, for keeping that composure. They were getting shots to fall and getting stops at important times.
 
"We guarded well but then you've got to finish the play. We had the shot clock down multiple times only to give up an offensive rebound and an easy layup. It's a shame because we forced them into tough shots only to give up a layup at the end. Boston played desperate like they needed this win tonight. They understood what they were playing for and that was the difference in the game."
 
Gate Grab Bag
• Attendance at Cotterell Court was 271.
 
Up Next
• Colgate travels to first-place Bucknell this Saturday.
• The Bison are 11-1 in the Patriot League and 20-4 overall after Wednesday's 73-68 win at Lehigh. Bucknell knocked off Colgate 90-62 last month in Hamilton
• Tip time is 2 p.m. from Lewisburg, with the Patriot League Network carrying all the action.