Feb. 11, 2009
Box Score | Photo Gallery 
HAMILTON, N.Y. - Freshman forward Ryan Willen led the Leopards with 16 points, all scored in 13 minutes in the second half, in Lafayette's 71-54 loss at Colgate on Wednesday night. The performance was the rookie's sixth straight double-digit performance.
Colgate's sophomore guard Mike Venezia (20 points) and Patriot League Rookie of the Week Yaw Gyawu (16 points) led the Raiders in their offensive attack. The Raiders converted 58.7 percent from the field while the Leopards managed a 33.9 percent outing.
Venezia fired off back-to-back treys and a baseline jumper to help Colgate jut out to a 12-2 lead at 13:40. Forward Ben Jonson hit a three and swished two free throws, upping the score 17-2 by 12:52.
Lafayette was held scoreless for six-and-a-half minutes until Jeff Kari hit a long jumper just under the 12-minute mark. The Leopards converted just 6-of-28 (21.4 percent) from the field in the first half while the Raiders sank 12-of-22 (54.5 percent).
As their shots continued to fall, the Raiders increased their lead to 20 points with 7:12 remaining. Freshman Jim Mower made some noise with two consecutive treys in the six-minute mark. Still, Colgate headed into the locker room at the half with a 36-19 advantage.
After sitting on the bench in foul trouble for much of the first half, Willen exploded with two treys in the opening minutes of the second half. He went on to score 16 points on 6-of-9 from the field in 20 minutes of playing time.
But Colgate's comfortable lead in the first half was enough to hang on for the win.
The Leopards continue on the road to Annapolis, Md., for a 7 p.m. matchup on Saturday against Navy.
Game Notes
Colgate's Alex Woodhouse was fouled at 17:27 on a dunk, but he fell awkwardly and left the court. He did not return to the game.
The Leopards experimented with lineups in the second half. Ben Wheeler was joined by a quartet of freshmen twice (Willen, Rob Delaney, J.D. Pelham and Jim Mower with 10 minutes remaining; Willen, Mower, Alex Orchowski, Andy Moore with lessthan four minutes remaining). With less than seven minutes to go, five freshmen were on the floor: Orchowski, Moore, Delaney, Mower and Pelham.
