HAMILTON – Four Raiders scored in double figures and Colgate led from start to finish in an 85-66 victory over Monmouth Monday night at Cotterell Court.
Chandler Baker scored a career-high 17 points in 12 minutes. He connected on 5-of-7 from the field and 4-of-5 from behind the arc to lead Colgate's offense. Ryan Moffatt had a big first half (13 points) and finished with 16 points, Tucker Richardson 15, and Keegan Records 10.
Defensively, Moffatt (5) and Richardson (3) combined for eight of Colgate's season-high 10 steals. Jeff Woodward recorded a season-high nine rebounds, including six on the offensive end, leading to 16 second-chance points.
Early 3-pointers from Richardson and Moffatt carried the Raiders out front from the opening tip. Baker swished his first trey and then sank three foul shots in an 8-2 scoring spurt that helped Colgate build a 16-9 lead eight minutes into the contest.
Monmouth's only true run came on the strength of two 3-pointers from Jack Holmstrom and Klemen Vuga, who keyed a 10-4 streak to help the visitors close within 24-21. It was still a three-point margin 30-27 when Colgate raced on a 9-0 surge, thanks to three straight 3-pointers from Richardson and Moffatt (2) to push the lead to double-digits at the break, 41-29.
Colgate turned inside for the second half's early stages, as Records and Woodward combined for the Raiders' first eight points. Colgate's first basket outside of the paint came seven minutes in when Baker swished his first of three triples in the second half.
Monmouth cut the deficit to 49-41 before another Baker 3-pointer pushed Colgate's lead back to double-digits for good. With the margin at 57-47, the Raiders took control with a 14-6 surge over the next two-plus minutes to establish a 71-53 advantage with 7:10 left in the game.
Back-to-back 3-pointers from Moffatt and Nicolas Louis-Jacques gave Colgate its largest lead of the game 81-58 with less than two minutes remaining. Braeden Smith scored the final four points from the free throw line to seal the 85-66 victory.
FROM THE SOURCE
Head Coach Matt Langel
"This was a quick turnaround for us to get ready for tonight's game after a long road trip to play Duquesne in Akron on Friday. Our guys were eager to get out there tonight – I don't know if we played our best but we did enough things for an experienced group to find a way to get the lead and then keep the lead.
"Chandler Baker had some key shots in the second half. Jeff Woodward gave us great energy on the defensive end, rebounding the ball, especially in the second half. We've got a lot of guys who can make plays with and for their teammates.
"Now we've got a chance to go down to Philadelphia for Thanksgiving and play three games in the Palestra. We're excited for the opportunity ahead against three challenging opponents."
UP NEXT
Colgate (4-2) has won four of its last five games and now heads to Philadelphia to play three games over the weekend in the Cathedral Classic, hosted by Penn at the Palestra. The Raiders face Delaware Friday at 2 p.m., Penn on Saturday at 4:30 p.m., and Hartford on Sunday at 2 p.m. All three games can be streamed live on ESPN+.
