WORCESTER, Mass. – Colgate once again proved its poise in close games Wednesday night, grinding out a 74-70 road win over Holy Cross at the Hart Center.
Colgate leaned on balanced scoring to secure the regular-season sweep.
Sam Wright led the Raiders with 18 points,
Josh Ahayere added 15,
Andrew Alekseyenko posted 14 points and seven rebounds, and
Jalen Cox scored 13 behind a strong second half.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Holy Cross jumped out to a 5-0 lead, but baskets from Ahayere and three Crusader turnovers helped Colgate even the score at 10-10.
After a brief scoring lull, the Raiders surged. And-one finishes from
Ben Tweedy and Alekseyenko, along with a
Kyle Carlesimo 3-pointer, sparked a run that built a nine-point advantage.
The Crusaders answered with a 4-0 spurt to trim the deficit to 26-21 late in the half, but Colgate closed strong. A 7-2 run capped by an Ahayere triple sent the Raiders into the break with a 33-23 lead. Ahayere paced the first half with nine points as Holy Cross struggled from the field.
Colgate maintained control early in the second half, taking a 38-30 lead into the first media timeout. Strong minutes from
Cameron Brennan helped stretch the margin to 11 with 10 minutes to play.
Cox caught fire down the stretch, reaching double figures, which opened up back-to-back 3-pointers from Wright to push the lead to 15 with less than eight minutes remaining.
Holy Cross made one final push, cutting the deficit to 60-55 with three minutes left and later trimming it to 69-68 with 30 seconds to go. But Ahayere sealed the win at the free-throw line and delivered key defense on the final possession to secure the 74-70 victory.
GAME NOTES
- Colgate extended its winning streak against Holy Cross to 22 games dating back to 2017.
- Sam Wright scored 18, extending his double-digit scoring streak to nine games.
- Andrew Alekseyenko scored in double-digits for the 11th straight game. He leads the team with 23 double-figure scoring efforts.
- Josh Ahayere has scored 15 points, matching his career-high, in three of the last five games.Â
- Seven of Colgate's 10 Patriot League wins have been decided by eight points or less.Â
UP NEXT
The Raiders (16-10, 10-3 Patriot League) return to action on Saturday at noon as they look to chase down first-place Navy in a whiteout game at Cotterell Court. The game will air nationally on the CBS Sports Network.
