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HAMILTON – Junior Pat Moore went 4-of-7 from behind the arc for 12 of his 14 points, as the Colgate men's basketball team fell to NJIT 77-58 Wednesday night.

“We've been a tale of two teams really lately,” head coach Matt Langel said. “I thought tonight we were going to be ready to play. We stayed in our rhythm, we had a couple good days of practice, but it just wasn't meant to be. When you give up 36 points in the paint to a team that really doesn't ever throw the ball into the post, and then 24 points off  turnovers when, again, the other team doesn't pressure -- is a little bit hard to wrap your hands around.”

Colgate (9-15) saw three players find double digits. Moore led the way with 14 points, while John Brandenburg's 13 points and Murphy Burnatowski's 11 points added to the Raiders scoring. Luke Roh pulled down a team-high six rebounds, and Matt McMullen added five.

The Raiders shot 41.2 percent in the second half and 38.3 percent overall, hitting 18 of their 47 shots. Led by Moore with four, the Raiders hit eight from downtown for a shooting percentage of 40 from long range. Colgate added nine points off fast break opportunities.

“We are still in the process of learning and growing together, even though it's late in the season," Langel added. "And sometimes things start to snowball and, obviously, it got a little out of hand tonight."

NJIT (12-11) was led by Ryan Woods, who grabbed a career-high 26 points in the win. He knocked in 17 of his 26 points in the second half alone finishing, 10-of-12 from the floor. Woods also went 6-of-7 from deep to add to the Highlanders eight overall from behind the arc.

Chris Flores chipped in 12 points and PJ Miller scored 10 points to add to the final total. The Highlanders shot 55.6 percent in the first half and 52.6 percent overall, making 30 of their 57 shots throughout the game. Ky Howard and Daquan Holiday both grabbed a team-high six boards. NJIT also outrebounded the Raiders 32-29 and scored 36 of their 77 points in the paint.

After hitting the first two baskets of the game, the Raiders fell into a slump and allowed NJIT to grab the next eight points to take the early 8-4 lead. On the next play Moore ended the Colgate drought by draining a 3-pointer to cut the lead to only one, 8-7.

The Highlanders extended their lead to as much as five, but a jumper by Moore and a three from downtown by Burnatowski tied the game at 15-all. Flores added a layup on the next possession to regain the lead for NJIT. The Highlanders would then create an eight-point cushion for themselves at 31-23.

The Raiders pulled within four after Damon Sherman-Newsome hit both free throws with two minutes to play before halftime. But the Highlanders would make the last two buckets of the half, one of which was from behind the arc to send them into the locker room with a nine point lead, 40-31.

NJIT would go on an 18-5 run midway through the second half, hitting two 3-pointers in that time span to open their lead to 20 points, 58-38. Colgate tried rallying back but the deficit proved to be too much, as the Highlanders extended their advantage to 24 off a Wood's 3-pointer with under eight minutes to play.

In the remaining minutes, the Raiders would get the lead down to 18 twice from baskets by Brandenburg. NJIT would ultimately finish out the game with the 19-point advantage to tie the all-time series with Colgate at 1-1.

The Raiders head down to Washington, D.C., Saturday to start the second half of league play against American. The game is set for a 3 p.m. tip and can be watched live on Patriot League All-Access.

“Our guys know very well that the Patriot League is still somewhat still up for grabs,” Langel said. “There are a couple teams who have really faired well in the first half of league play, and then a couple like ourselves with three or four wins and one with two -- so the opportunities are there.

"It's going to be up to us whether we can seize hold of them and take advantage of those chances. We have to work relentlessly to try and find a way to play better than we did tonight.”