Colgate looked sharp after the tip, coming out to an early lead 7-4. The intensity of Colgate couldn’t be matched by the Crusaders. Holy Cross’ zone was useless against Simon because he was shooting well, hitting his first 3 attempts from beyond the arc. After going 0-for-5 from three against Bucknell last game, Simon looked like he was out to prove the offensive lull was only an aberration. Shooting 57.1 percent from the floor as a team in the opening minutes of this game, the rest of the Raiders were doing the same. Colgate led 15-7.The Crusaders got hot from the field, and put up a 6-0 run to close the deficit.

The momentum shift seemed to unravel the Raiders. Kyle Chones, unaware the shot clock was counting down, had to be reminded by a loud countdown from the Colgate bench. He was unable to get up a shot. Holy Cross tied up the game on the following possession, 15-15. Holy Cross’ Keith Simmons was able to get to the foul line early and often. Simon struck again, getting fouled from three by Torey Thomas with 5:38 to go, 18-16. Holy Cross put up a 4-0 run, followed by a 4-0 Colgate run of their own. Tim Pounds hit his first career three (he’s now1-of-9 lifetime) late in the first.

Tim Clifford, who led Holy Cross in scoring with 18 points, did most of his scoring in the low post. After 4 minutes of play in the second half, the game was 33-28 Holy Cross. Colgate’s Dan Gentile saw his first minutes in two games, but the layoff didn’t seem to effect him, because Gentile scored 5 straight Raider points to tie the game at 33-33. Gentile’s offensive flurry was part of a 12-0 run, as Holy Cross’ 2-3 zone couldn’t stop the hot Raider shooters. At 10:45 remaining, Colgate had a 10 point advantage. Alex Vander Baan was able to sink a three-pointer for Holy Cross to close the lead to 47-40. Holy Cross used Clifford in the low post to close the Colgate advantage to 47-44. After allowing the Crusaders to erode the 10 point lead and retake the lead by two, Simon hit his 5th triple to put Colgate back up 50-49. After trading baskets, a Vander Baan travel allowed Colgate to retake the ball with the game tied at 53. Simon missed his jumper. Holy Cross was able to score with 1:12 left in the game. After a timeout, Simon sunk his shot to tie the game, 55-55. With 35 seconds remaining, Holy Cross inbounded the ball. Simmons was able to get open on the wing and hit the clutch three to put the Crusaders up for good.