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HAMILTON, N.Y. (1/25/12) – Senior forward Sterling Melville scored a game-high 19 points, but it wasn't enough as the Colgate men's basketball team dropped a close Patriot League game 82-76 to Lafayette Wednesday night at Cotterell Court.

Melville finished the game shooting 8-of-10 from the floor, with three assists, two rebounds and two steals, while junior Brandon James shot a perfect 6-of-6 from the field, including 3-of-3 from downtown, for 15 points. Senior Nick Pascale also reached double-figures in scoring with 12 points to go along with four assists.

Colgate (6-14, 1-5) opened the game with a 15-6 run in the first five minutes of action, as James and Pascale both scored four points and Mitch Rolls drained a three-pointer, before the Leopards drained back-to-back trifectas to trim the lead to 15-12 with 12:36 left. Both teams then exchanged baskets for the next four minutes, before the Leopards scored four-straight points to tie the game 26-26 with 6:57 remaining. Colgate then answered back with a 16-8 run, as Melville scored nine-straight points, to give the Raiders a 42-34 lead with 1:28 left. But the Leopards made a pair of three-pointers including one from Tony Johnson as time expired to trim the Raiders lead to 42-40 at halftime. Melville shot a perfect 6-of-6 from the field in the first half to lead all scorers with 13 points.

Lafayette (9-12, 4-2) scored the first six points of the second half to take its first lead of the game 46-42 with 17:50 remaining in regulation. The Leopards would maintain their lead until the Raiders pieced together a 6-0 run to tie the game 57-57 with 9:45 left. Lafayette would answer back with a 15-6 run over the next six minutes to build its largest lead of the game 72-63. James then made back-to-back three pointers to spark a 10-5 run to make the score 77-73 with 50 seconds remaining. But that was, as close the score would get as the Leopards made 5-of-6 free throws down the stretch to grab their fourth league win.

Ryan Willen finished with a team-high 18 points to lead Lafayette, while Dan Trist and Joey Ptasinski each scored 13 points, respectively.

Colgate shot 55.4 percent from the floor, including 7-of-18 from beyond the arc, while Lafayette shot 56 percent overall and 8-of-21 from downtown. Lafayette won the battle on the boards 28-25, but Colgate distributed 17 assists while only turning the ball over a season low five times.

The Raiders will travel to Holy Cross on Saturday, Jan. 28. The game is scheduled to begin at 5:00 p.m. at the Hart Center and will be televised live on CBS Sports Network.