WORCESTER, MA (3/3/06) – Bryan White made a pair of free throws with 2.2 seconds remaining to lift third-seeded Lehigh University (19-11) to a 48-44 win over sixth seeded Colgate (10-19) in the quarterfinal round of the Patriot League Tournament Friday night at Holy Cross’ Hart Center.
The Mountain Hawks advance to the semifinal round where they will face Holy Cross on Sunday at 1 p.m.
White finished with a double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds, while Kyle Neptune and Jose Olivero added 10 points apiece for Lehigh.
Colgate was led by Jon Simon with 12 points, including three 3-pointers. Jon Foss had eight points and five rebounds and Kyle Chones added seven points and five rebounds.
“This was a hard-fought defensive battle,” said a disappointed Colgate head coach Emmett Davis. “I’m especially proud of the fact that we were down 10 minutes with six minutes remaining and came back with a chance to win.”
Colgate’s Todd Checovich made a layup with 43 seconds left to bring the Raiders to within two points, 46-44. On Lehigh’s next possession, Foss stole the ball with seven seconds left to give the Raiders a chance to either tie or win the contest. After a timeout with 5.1 seconds remaining, the Raiders pushed the ball inside but a pass was intercepted by White, who sealed the outcome with his two free throws.
Lehigh jumped out to an 8-3 lead over the Raiders, before Colgate clawed its way back to tie the contest 10-10 on Jon Simon’s 3-pointer.
The Mountain Hawks took back the lead on back-to-back baskets by Olivero and led 16-12 with 8:10 left. Alvin Reed hit a 3-pointer followed by a layup by Foss and Kyle Chones’ 3-pointer to give the Raiders a 20-16 lead.
After Kyle Neptune made a pair of free throws to cut the deficit in half, Simon hit his second 3-pointer of the first half to give Colgate its biggest lead, 23-18. The Mountain Hawks came back with the final five points to knot the contest 23-23 at halftime.
After Foss opened the second half with a basket, Lehigh scored six straight points for a four-point lead. Colgate came right back on five straight points by Marc Daniels for a 30-29 advantage. Later with the score tied 34-34, the Mountain Hawks scored seven straight points for the lead.
That was part of a 12-2 run by Lehigh which gave the Mountain Hawks their biggest lead of the contest, 46-36, with 6:40 left. Colgate went over six minutes without scoring.
Colgate, however, came back with eight straight points to trail by two, 46-44, with 43 seconds left, before White iced the contest with his pair of free throws. His free throws were the only points Lehigh managed in the final 6:34 of the game.
GAME NOTES: Colgate played without its leading scorer Kyle Roemer, who missed his third straight game with a concussion … Reed missed the majority of the second half with leg cramps … he finished his career with 1,086 points – 21st all-time … Daniels was Colgate’s leading rebounder with seven.
