HAMILTON – A streak that was running five years strong came to an abrupt end Monday night as Colgate suffered its first home non-conference loss since 2016 with a 70-59 defeat to Niagara.
 
Colgate had won 16 consecutive non-conference games at Cotterell Court dating back to Dec. 10, 2016. The loss also marks Colgate's second straight loss, its first time losing back-to-back non-conference contests since falling to Syracuse and Auburn in November 2019.

Monday night was tough sledding for the Raiders, who shot just 33% from the field and 27% from behind the arc. Niagara on the other hand finished with a 55% clip and 41% from distance.
 
Both teams were testing the arc early as there were 11 combined 3-point field goal attempts inside the first five minutes. Each side netted one but Niagara opened 6-of-8 overall to build a 15-8 lead. Tucker Richardson netted Colgate's trey and he had another rattle out.
 
Colgate turned to its presence down low and Ryan Moffatt scored four points during a 6-0 Raider run to pull within 15-14 midway through the opening half. He had seven total in the first half on 3-of-3 shooting from the field, but the rest of the Raiders were a combined 4-of-23 in the opening stanza.
 
The Purple Eagles countered with seven straight points after Colgate missed five straight two-point attempts. A 3-point basket from Greg Kuakumensah made it 22-14 in favor of the visitors with 6:27 showing. Niagara went into the locker room at halftime with its largest lead of the game 39-26 after Marcus Hammond was fouled and sank one of two free throws with five seconds left.
 
Niagara only stretched its lead in the second half, scoring the first seven points out of the gates to open a 20-point lead, 53-33. Nicolas Louis-Jacques hit a couple big 3-pointers to get the Raiders within 64-54 late in the ballgame, but that was as close as they would get in the 70-59 final.
 
Hammond paced Niagara with 21 points on 7-of-11 from the field and 5-of-6 from downtown. Jeff Woodward (14) and Moffatt (11) were Colgate's double-figure scorers.
 
The Purple Eagles led this one from start to finish.

FROM THE SOURCE
Head Coach Matt Langel

"Credit to Niagara. They had a number of days to prepare for this game and they were extremely well prepared. They managed the game on offense very well and worked like crazy to guard us. I was impressed with how well they played and that was the difference. It was not our night for sure, but Niagara had a lot to do with it.
 
"We were not as ready as we needed to be and that ultimately falls on my shoulders. We've proven that we can be a good team, but we've got to do it every single day. We have to get back to the drawing board and get back to the principles that make us a good team."

UP NEXT
Colgate returns to the court on Friday, Dec. 3, at 7 p.m. for a rematch at Northeastern. The Raiders won the first meeting in Hamilton 65-58 on Nov. 9.