RIVERSIDE, CA (12/21/06) – Junior forward Kendall Chones (Cleveland, OH) scored a career-high 23 points and grabbed six rebounds as Colgate (5-5) held off UC Riverside for a 59-56 win at the Student Recreation Center Thursday night.
The Raiders snap a two-game losing streak as they climb to 5-5 on the season, while the Highlanders fall to 3-8. Colgate is now 2-2 against teams out of the Big West Conference.
Kendall Chones received scoring help from sophomore guard Willie Morse (State College, PA), who came off the bench to score a career-high 14 points in the second half. Morse scored Colgate's final four points of the game to seal the victory including a clutch free throw with 9.5 seconds remaining.
Kyle Chones (Cleveland, OH) added eight points and four rebounds, while Alex Woodhouse (Alexandria, VA) hauled down six boards for the Raiders. Henrik Thomsen led UC Riverside with 17 points and seven rebounds, while Larry Cunningham had nine points and six boards.
Kendall Chones was the story of the first half as he scored 18 of Colgate's 24 points. He scored 12 of the first 14 points in the opening 20 minutes.
With score tied at 8-8, Colgate scored eight straight points behind Kendall Chones' six points and Jon Simon's (Phoenix, AZ) layup for a 16-8 lead with 11:02 remaining. The Highlanders came right back with a nine-point run for a one point advantage, 19-18, with 6:14 left.
Colgate scored the next six points en route to a 24-23 halftime lead.
After Colgate's Marc Daniels (Aurora, IL) and Thomsen exchanged baskets at the start of the second half, Morse came off the bench to score 10 straight points for the Raiders, who moved in front 36-27 with 15 minutes left.
Colgate was able to extend its lead to 11 points with 9:38 remaining, when Kendall Chones scored on a layup. UCR scored seven straight points to cut the deficit to four points, 46-42, with less than seven minutes remaining. The Raiders pushed the lead back to eight points on baskets by Kyle Chones and Simon, before the Highlanders rallied to take a 54-53 lead with 1:20 remaining.
Woodhouse put Colgate back in front with a dunk off a missed shot 55-54 with 1:02 left, and then Morse hit a long 3-pointer with 23 seconds remaining for four-point advantage.
Thomsen hit a jumper with 13 seconds left to put the Highlanders within one possession, 58-56. Morse was fouled with 9.5 seconds remaining, and made the first of his one-and-one opportunity. UCR's Cunningham missed a desperation 3-point attempt from the corner at the buzzer.
Colgate out-rebounded the Highlanders, 46-41. The Raiders will be back in action on Dec. 28 when they return to California to face Santa Clara in the opening round of the Cable Car Classic.