WORCESTER, Mass. – Freshman forward Aiden Disu scored a game-high 20 points as the Holy Cross men's basketball team almost roared back from a 15 point second half deficit falling to Patriot League foe Colgate 74-70 Wednesday evening on Bob Cousy '50 Court.
 
Holy Cross (9-17, 4-9 PL) trailed by 15, 58-43 with 7:36 left in the contest and went on a 25-11 scoring stretch to come within one point 69-68 following a Disu three on the wing off a sophomore guard Tyler Boston feed. The Crusaders fouled the Raiders and they went to the line hitting two to regain the three point edge until junior guard DeAndre Williams cleaned up a missed layup for two keeping his team within one with 14 seconds left. Colgate again made a pair at the line, however the Crusaders lost the ball out of bounds with one second left before they could get off a game-tying triple.
 
Disu secured eight rebounds with a steal and was 7-for-12 (58.3 [percent) from the field setting a career-high with a trio of three balls. Williams filled the box score with 17 points, seven rebounds and a season-best five assists with a personal-best nine free throw conversions.
 
For Colgate (16-10, 10-3 PL), Sam Wright tacked on 18 points with six rebounds, a block shooting 7-of-10 (70.0 percent) from the hardwood.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED:

• Junior guard/forward Gabe Warren began the scoring on the Crusaders first possession canning a three. Classmate, Declan Ryan used a nifty post move to push Holy Cross ahead 5-0 1:32 into the game. Down one, Colgate went on a 16-6 scoring stretch to lead by nine, 26-17 at the 6:35 mark.
• Warren scored a fast break bucket through traffic putting his team within two possessions, 26-21 with 4:05 left in the stanza. The Raiders led by 10 through the end of the first half.
• A second chance bucket for the guests reestablished the double-digit point lead at 52-42 with 8:44 to play. A 12-2 Crusader run brought them within five, 60-55 with 3:33 to play as Williams' seven points came all from free throw conversions during that stretch.
• Holding an eight point lead with 1:15 to play, Colgate let the Crusaders back in the game as Boston split free throws and Disu secured the rock on the miss and went up strong for two while being fouled. He converted the freebie completing the four point possession as Holy Cross was down 69-65 with 1:08 to go. 

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE:

• Disu is 28-for-30 (93.3 percent) from the line over his last nine games.
• 17 of Disu's 20 points and 15 of Williams' 17 came in the second half.
• The Crusaders held the edge on the boards, 41-to-30.
• Holy Cross shot 23.5 percent (8-of-34) from the field in the first half and 52.0 percent (13-of-25) from the field in the second half.

UP NEXT:

• Holy Cross hits the road on Sunday, Feb. 15 to battle Loyola (Md.) (10-16, 6-7 PL) at 1 p.m.
• Single-game tickets for Holy Cross men's basketball are on sale through the Holy Cross Ticket Office.

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