HAMILTON, N.Y. – Junior forward Gerrale Gates posted his first double-double of the season with 22 points and 11 rebounds, but the Holy Cross men's basketball team was defeated by Colgate 96-87 at Cotterell Court. The Crusaders fall to 2-4 overall and 2-4 in the Patriot League with the loss, while the Raiders improve to 5-1 on the season and 5-1 in the conference. 

Senior forward Matt Faw gave Holy Cross a pair of 20-point scorers, finishing with 20 points, four rebounds and two blocks. Senior guard Austin Butler added his eighth career double-double with 10 points and a season-best 15 rebounds. Colgate was led by Jack Ferguson with 24 points.

The Raiders opened the game by jumping out to an early 17-9 lead after the first six minutes of action. The Crusaders responded by scoring the next 13 points to claim a 22-17 lead with 10:56 left before the break. Neither team would lead by more than five for the remainder of the half, before Holy Cross took a 40-37 advantage into the locker room.

Colgate opened the second half with a 10-3 run to pull back in front, and would hold onto a small lead for several minutes. The Raiders were later up 66-61, before using an 11-2 spurt to claim a 14-point lead (77-63) with 6:54 left to play. The Crusaders continued to fight but were not able to get any closer than nine points down the stretch, as Colgate went on to post a 96-87 victory.

Holy Cross hit 49.2 percent of its field goal attempts and 73.3 percent of its free throws on the day, while posting a 36-32 rebounding advantage. The Raiders were able to connect on 48.3 percent of their shots from the floor and 52.4 percent of their three-pointers, in addition to holding a 40-30 advantage in free throw attempts.

The Crusaders return to action on Saturday, Jan. 23, when they play host to Lehigh at 2:00 p.m.