HAMILTON – Five Raiders (13-17, 10-7 Patriot) scored in double figures, including eight players with at least seven points, in a balanced 81-73 victory over Holy Cross (13-17, 5-12 Patriot) on Wednesday evening at Cotterell Court. 

Woodward led the way with a double-double of 14 points and 13 points. He added five assists and two steals. Jalen Cox finished with 13 points along with eight rebounds, four steals, and three assists. Chandler Baker scored 11 points and Nicolas Louis-Jacques and Josh Ahayere each 10.

Colgate and Army are now tied for third in the Patriot League standings at 10-7 with one regular season game remaining. The Raiders, who have already clinched a first-round bye, can secure a home quarterfinal game with a win against American on Saturday. 

HOW IT HAPPENED
 

• Holy Cross opened an early 14-8 lead after Joe Nugent connected from long range six minutes into the game. Sam Wright provided strong minutes off the bench, and his trey capped a 5-0 personal run that tied the game 17-17 midway through the first stanza.
• Colgate turned defense into offense to find some rhythm offensively. Steals from Jones and Cox fueled an 11-0 burst for the Raiders, capped by a corner 3-pointer from Baker to put the Raiders in front 28-23 with 4:49 remaining in the first.
• Colgate extended its lead to 35-27 on a three-point play by Cox and then a two-handed slam from Woodward with 2:31 showing. The Crusaders hit a turnaround prayer at the buzzer to cut Colgate's lead to 37-36 at the intermission. 
• The lead traded hands five times in the first minutes of the second half. Louis-Jacques made two 3s in the second half, and the latter came in the midst of a 7-0 surge that gave Colgate the lead for good, 53-47, with 14:08 remaining. 
• The Raiders extended their lead to nine multiple times but could never get it to double-digits. A 3-pointer from Nugent trimmed the margin to 79-73 in the final minute but Colgate made its free throws down the stretch to seal the 81-73 bounce-back victory.

GAME NOTES
 

• Colgate as a team had 13 steals, its most in Patriot League play this season, led by a career-high five from Parker Jones. 
• Jeff Woodward's double-double was his fifth of the season. 
• Colgate's bench outscored Holy Cross 25-8, led by 11 from Chander Baker, 10 from Josh Ahayere, and eight from Kyle Carlesimo. 
• Colgate completes the regular season sweep of Holy Cross with its 20th consecutive head-to-head victory dating back to January 2017.
• The Raiders improved to 7-1 at home during Patriot League play. 

UP NEXT
Colgate wraps up the regular season at noon on Saturday when the Raiders host first-place American for a nationally-televised broadcast on CBS Sports Network. Chandler Baker and Nicolas Louis-Jacques will be recognized during a brief pregame Senior Day ceremony.