WEST POINT, N.Y. – The Colgate men's basketball team picked up its first overtime win of the season and first victory in Christl Arena since 2011 Wednesday night as the Raiders battled for a 79-76 win over Army West Point.
 
Army used a 13-2 run in the final two minutes of regulation to tie the game and force overtime. The Raiders outscored the Black Knights 14-11 in the extra-frame to pick up their first victory in West Point in six tries. The last time Colgate beat Army in Christl Arena was Feb. 5, 2011.
 
Five Raiders scored in double-figures, led by junior Sean O'Brien's 18 points. Sophomore Francisco Amiel followed with 15 points, first-year Will Rayman chipped in 13, while sophomore Malcolm Regisford (12) and junior Tom Rivard (11) followed.
 
The Black Knights held an early 5-2 lead, but back-to-back three-pointers from Amiel sparked a 10-1 Colgate run over the next two and a half minutes to give the Raiders an early 12-6 lead at the first media timeout.
 
Army pulled within four at 15-11 three minutes later, but a layup from junior Jordan Swopshire ignited a 16-4 Raider run that took 6:30 off the clock and gave Colgate a dominant 31-15 lead with 6:14 to play.  The streak saw five points from Rayman and Swopshire, four from Regisford and two from sophomore Dana Batt as the Raiders held Army to a 1-for-6 showing from the field during the stretch.
 
The Black Knights answered with a 7-0 streak to close the half as the Raiders were unable to score for the final 6:13. The Army run pulled the Black Knights within 31-22 heading into halftime.
 
Five points from Rayman and four from Regisford helped Colgate score nine of the first 11 points of the second half as the Raiders pulled ahead 40-24 less than two minutes into the term and forced another Army timeout.
 
The Black Knights scored eight-straight points in the next two minutes to trim Colgate's lead down to 40-32. A Rivard layup halted the Army streak at 15:17 before Amiel scored the next seven Raider points to put the score at 49-37 with under 12 minutes to play. Army was back within single digits following a Luke Morrison three-pointer at 11:15. Seven points from O'Brien and three from Rivard followed to put together a 10-5 Raider run that gave Colgate a 59-45 advantage with 5:32 on the clock.
 
Colgate held onto its double-digit lead until a conventional three-point play from Army's John Emezie trimmed the Raider advantage down to 61-52 with 3:21 to play. A Rivard layup followed, but the Black Knights rattled off the next 10 points to claw all the way within one at 63-62 with 30 seconds left. O'Brien was fouled on the next possession and hit both attempts from the free throw line to put Colgate ahead by three, but Emezie drained a game-tying trey on Army's ensuing possession. The Raiders had a last-second chance, but weren't able to convert as the game was sent to overtime tied at 65.
 
The teams exchanged baskets in the opening two minutes of the extra frame as Colgate clung to a one point lead at 70-69. Layups from Swopshire and O'Brien gave the Raiders a five-point cushion at 74-69 with 2:08 on the clock. An Army layup had the Black Knights back within three, but an emphatic Rayman dunk at the 1:13 mark and a pair of O'Brien free throws gave Colgate a 78-71 advantage with 23 seconds to play.
 
The Black Knights scored five-straight points to narrow the lead to 78-76 with under 10 seconds on the clock. Swopshire hit a free throw with eight seconds left that made it 79-76 and that proved to be the final point as Colgate walked away with their first overtime victory of the season.
 
BOTTOM LINE

• Colgate 79, Army 76 (OT)

 
WON-LOST RECORDS

• The Raiders improve to 2-3 in Patriot League play and 4-14 overall.
• Army falls to 1-4 in league action and 7-10 overall.

 
KEY RAIDER INFO

• The Raiders are now 2-1 in Patriot League road contests.
• O'Brien's 18 points were aided by an 8-for-8 showing from the free throw line. He finished 4-for-12 from the field.
• O'Brien also dished a team-best seven assists.
• Regisford narrowly missed his third double-double of the season as he added eight rebounds to go along with his 12 points. He was a perfect 6-for-6 from the field.
• Rayman registered his sixth-straight double-digit effort and 14th of the season.
• In addition to his 11 points, Rivard pulled down seven rebounds.
• Swopshire finished with a game-high 10 rebounds. He added eight points.

 
FACTS & FIGURES

• Colgate finished the game shooting 50 percent (30-for-60) from the field, including a 71.4 percent (5-for-7) mark in overtime.
• The Raiders shot 25.9 percent (7-for-27) from three-point range and 60 percent (12-for-20) from the free throw line.
• Colgate held Army to a 40.4 percent (23-for-57) clip from the field and a 34.5 percent (10-for-29) mark from downtown. The Black Knights finished at 69.0 percent (20-for-29) from the charity stripe.
• Colgate finished the game with a 37-35 rebound advantage.
• The Raiders scored 44 points in the paint compared to Army's 20.

 
FROM THE SOURCE
Head Coach Matt Langel

• "Our group has been through a lot. We had a lot of close, hard-fought losses as the beginning of the season. When that happens, sometimes young people have a tendency to question what their role is and what they're doing wrong. I've been proud of how this group has come to work every single day and how they're committed to one another and continue to work hard."
• "I thought we played well for large chunks of the game. We had a high-powered offense that played fast for a good portion of the game and we did a good job at limiting their looks. We stayed composed and got good shots. We can certainly learn some valuable game management lessons from this victory."
• "Toughness is part of the makeup of this team. A lot of that comes from Sean O'Brien who is a really tough-minded, hard-working individual. I believe that teams take on the personality of their leaders and I think the team is absorbing some of the traits that Sean possesses."

 
Junior guard Sean O'Brien

• "I think this game says a lot about our toughness as a team. We've been on the other side of a game like this – coming back from double-digit deficits and falling short. I think our team did a good job at coming out with and maintaining a lot of energy tonight."
• "We focused a lot on getting back in transition because they like to really push the ball on offense. We had a few mistakes getting back on defense and that helped them get back into the game. But overall, I thought we played pretty well. It feels a lot better to be able to take away lessons from a win rather than a loss."

 
UP NEXT

• The Raiders return home to host defending regular-season champion Bucknell Saturday.
• Tipoff from Cotterell Court is set for 2 p.m.
• All information about the game can be found at Game Central.