BALTIMORE – Back-to-back three-pointers from juniors Sean O'Brien and Jordan Swopshire gave Colgate the lift it would need to pull away from Loyola in overtime Sunday afternoon as the Raiders captured a 66-56 win over the Greyhounds at Reitz Arena.
 
The victory secures the Raider's first-ever season sweep of Loyola as Colgate picks up its first win in Reitz Arena in program history.  
 
The Raiders carried a 31-23 lead into halftime before Loyola stormed back to take a 47-40 advantage with 7:25 left in regulation. Seven points from O'Brien helped Colgate close the second half on a 12-5 run and send the game to overtime tied at 52. The pair of Colgate three-pointers was followed by an 8-for-10 showing from the free throw line as the Raiders outscored the Greyhounds 14-4 in the extra frame and pick up the 66-56 victory.
 
O'Brien led the balanced Colgate attack with 18 points, 13 of which came in the final 12 minutes of play. Swopshire followed with 16 points, while first-year Will Rayman and junior Tom Rivard each chipped in eight.
 
Baskets from Rivard, Rayman and O'Brien got Colgate out to an early 7-2 lead just over three minutes into the game. The Greyhounds quickly tied the game at seven a minute later and the score was tied two mote times in the next six minutes before Loyola held a slim 16-15 lead at the 9:33 mark.
 
Four-straight points from Swopshire then sparked a 14-4 Colgate run that took five minutes off the clock and gave Colgate a 29-20 advantage at 3:29. Five different Raiders scored during the streak and 10 of the 14 points came in the paint.
 
The Greyhounds added three points from the free throw line, but a layup from O'Brien ended the half as Colgate carried a 31-23 lead into the locker room.
 
Loyola scored 11 of the second half's first 15 points as the Greyhounds suddenly cut the Colgate lead to 35-34 with 11:42 to play. A three-pointer from Francisco Amiel and jumper from sophomore Malcolm Regisford had Colgate back ahead by three at 40-37. Loyola then rattled off a 10-0 streak over the next three minutes as the Greyhounds took their first lead of the game and pulled ahead 47-40 with 7:25 left on the clock.  
 
O'Brien then took over as he followed a Regisford layup with Colgate's next seven points to string together a 9-2 Raider run that tied the game at 49 with 3:49 to play.
 
After a two-minute scoreless streak from both teams, Loyola's Andrew Kostecka drilled a key three-pointer with 1:26 left. With less than 30 seconds left on the clock, Rayman tossed in a layup and drew a foul for a shot at a conventional three-point play. He sank his free throw to tie the score at 52-52 with 20 seconds to play. The Raider defense then kept Loyola off the board in the final seconds to send the game to overtime tied at 52.
 
Neither team scored on their first three possessions of overtime until O'Brien swished a trey with 2:16 left in the extra term. After the Colgate defense kept Loyola from converting once again, Swopshire added a three-pointer of his own to give Colgate a 58-52 cushion with 1:29 on the clock.
 
Loyola's Chuck Champion made a pair of free throws to put the score at 58-54 with just under a minute to play. The Raiders came up with key defensive stops in the final minute and went 8-for-10 from the free throw line in the final minute to secure the 66-56 victory.
 
 
BOTTOM LINE

• Colgate 66, Loyola 56 (OT)

 
WON-LOST RECORDS

• The Raiders improve to 8-8 in Patriot League play and 10-19 on the season.
• Loyola drops to 8-8 in the league standings and 14-13 overall.

 
KEY RAIDER INFO

• Colgate completes the season sweep after claiming the season's first contest 52-49 in Hamilton on Jan. 21. It's the Raiders' first-ever sweep of the Greyhounds.
• The Raiders were previously 0-3 in Reitz Arena.
• Colgate earns its second overtime win of the season.
• O'Brien's 18 points came from a 6-for-10 effort from the field and 3-for-6 showing from downtown. It marks his 19th double-digit effort of the season.
• Swopshire shot 5-for-9 from the field en route to his 16 points and 16th double-figure performance.
• Regisford pulled down 12 big rebounds to go along with seven points.
• Amiel dished a team-best five assists.

 
FACTS & FIGURES

• Colgate finished the game shooting 50.0 percent (22-for-44) from the field, 53.8 percent (7-for-13) from three-point range and 68.2 percent (15-for-22) from the free throw line.
• The Raiders held Loyola to a 33.9 percent (21-for-62) clip from the floor, 23.8 percent (5-for-21) mark from downtown and 56.3 percent (9-for-16) showing from the charity stripe.
• Colgate held a 36-30 rebound advantage.

 
FROM THE SOURCE
Head Coach Matt Langel

• "We've been a tale of two teams for most of the Patriot League season and both teams were here at Loyola today. We played a great first half and were really locked in defensively. We got off to a little bit of a rocky start in the second half. We started to unravel a bit and I credit Loyola for their defensive play. The team that we want to be there all the time showed up again and finished strong."
• "I thought we did a great job to get it to overtime, especially on defense. We were really locked in on the offensive end in overtime and the defense was phenomenal."
• On Sean O'Brien's second half/OT performance: "He is absolutely the heart and soul of our team. He's been around the longest of the guys that play significant minutes. He made a huge three off a ball screen at the top of the key that was just really big. He's working on having the game come to him and keeping everybody else involved."

 
UP NEXT

• The Raiders remain on the road to take on Lehigh Wednesday.
• Tipoff from Bethlehem, Pa. is set for 7 p.m.
• All information on how to follow can be found at Game Central.