LEXINGTON, Va. – Centre men's basketball was edged out by The College of New Jersey Saturday in the finale of the Washington & Lee Holiday Tournament, 69-65.
 
In a back-and-forth contest from the opening tip, the Colonels (10-2) erased a 10-point deficit in the second half before the Lions (7-5) closed out the victory.
 
HIGHLIGHTS
- Both sides were slow to start offensively, as the teams combined to have more turnovers (6) than field goals (5) in the first five minutes.
- A Tucker Sine 3-pointer near the 8-minute mark gave the Colonels a slight 17-14 lead, but a
late push from the Lions gave them a 30-29 advantage at the half. 
- TCNJ went on a short run near the beginning of the second half, and eventually took the game's first 10-point lead at 48-38.
- Centre stormed back, and consecutive layups from Jacob Bates erased the deficit and tied the game at 58-58 with under five minutes remaining.
- With TCNJ back on top, Bailey Rakes had a steal and assisted Perry Ayers on a 3-pointer that pulled Centre within 67-65 at the 1-minute mark. 
- The Lions would hold on and hit a pair of late freebies to seal the win.
 
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- Bates led the Colonels in scoring for the second straight game, earning All-Tournament honors with 16 points, eight rebounds and a pair of blocks.
- Ayers followed with 14 points and six boards, while Dawson Crump contributed nine points and a team-high four assists.
- As a team, Centre shot 20 of 55 (36.4%) overall and hit just six of its 20 3-pointers. TCNJ had similar shooting figures, going 23 of 59 (39%) overall while hitting nine of 30 from deep.
- Centre got to the free throw line 27 times, knocking down 19. Crump took 10 shots from the charity stripe. 
- The game featured eight ties and six lead changes.
 
UP NEXT
Centre returns to Southern Athletic Association action next Friday, Jan. 4, hosting Rhodes for an 8 p.m. ET tip inside Alumni Gym.