Colgate 63, Holy Cross 55

2/27/2008 9:28 PM

WORCESTER, Mass. (AP) -Kyle Roemer scored 20 points, including six down the stretch, as Colgate withstood a pair of late rallies to defeat Holy Cross 63-55 on Wednesday night.

The Raiders (15-13, 6-7 Patriot League) dominated early in the second half, breaking a 27-27 halftime tie by hitting 9 of their first 12 field goals. They surged to a 51-37 lead with 10:14 left as Daniel Waddy, Mike Venizia and Roemer all had 3-pointers in the run.

Holy Cross (15-12, 5-8) struck back with an 11-0 run keyed by Eric Meister and Pat Doherty and later on a desperate push paced by Colin Cunningham, who finished with 11 points and nine rebounds. Meister scored three points and then Doherty converted a three. The Crusaders forced a turnover and Meister again scored, cutting the lead to 51-48.

Woodhouse scored to give Colgate a 55-50 lead, then blocked a field goal attempt by Tim Clifford, who led Holy Cross with 14 points and six rebounds. Roemer scored again for what appeared to be a safe advantage, 57-50, with 1:24 left.

Holy Cross got two steals, and Cunningham scored a three and added a layup with :53 remaining.

Kendall Chones, who had 18 points for Colgate, scored off a long pass and the Crusaders were unable to score again.