Box Score

BETHLEHEM, Pa. (2/29/12) – Senior Sterling Melville scored a game-high 21 points but it wasn't enough as the Colgate men's basketball team fell to No. 2 Lehigh 70-57 Wednesday night in the Patriot League quarterfinals at Stabler Arena. The Raiders four seniors combined for 40 points in their final collegiate game.

Melville finished his final game shooting 6-of-11 from the field, including 7-of-9 from charity stripe, to lead the Raiders, while classmate Mike Venezia pitched in seven points, three assists and two steals. Sophomore Pat Moore also scored seven points, while seniors Nick Pascale and Yaw Gyawu scored six points apiece. Pascale also grabbed a game-high seven rebounds to go with one blocked shot.

Lehigh (24-7, 11-3) opened the game with a 6-2 run, before the Raiders responded with the next five points, including a three-pointer from Venezia to take a 7-6 lead with 14:25 remaining. But the Mountain Hawks quickly responded with a 7-0 run to take a 13-7 lead with 12:37 left, before Colgate responded with an 11-7 run over the next six minutes to trim the lead to 20-18. Both teams then exchanged baskets for the next four minutes until Lehigh closed the half with a 5-0 run to take a 33-26 lead into the locker room. Melville led the Raiders with eight points, while Venezia pitched in seven. The Raiders committed 11 turnovers in the half that resulted in 14 points for Lehigh.

The Mountain Hawks scored the first four points of the second half to build a 37-26 lead, before Colgate trimmed the lead to 40-33 with 14:53 remaining. But that was as close as the game would get as Lehigh answered back with a 15-0 run to take a 55-33 lead with 9:20 left. The Raiders tried to climb back into game with an 15-3 run to make the score 58-48 with 4:22 left, but Lehigh forced some key turnovers and made its free throws down the stretch to advance to the semifinals.

Colgate (8-22, 2-12) shot 41 percent (19-46) from the floor, while holding Lehigh to just 38 percent (24-63) overall. Colgate also won the battle on the boards 39-32 but committed 22 turnovers that resulted in 29 points. 

The Raiders senior class of Gyawu, Melville, Pascale and Venezia combined for 45 percent of the Colgate scoring this season along with 37 percent of the total rebounds. Through their career's the senior class amassed a total of 3,363 points and 1,436 rebounds.