ANNAPOLIS, Md. – It took a gutsy road performance and Colgate passed the test.
The Raiders proved they were battle tested by holding Navy scoreless over the final 2:17 of regulation to break away from a two-point lead and secure a 70-63 victory over the Midshipmen on Saturday in Alumni Hall.
Colgate (13-4, 4-0 Patriot) extended its winning streak to seven with the win. The Raiders are 4-0 in Patriot League play for the first time since the 1996-97 season.
Colgate led by as many as 10 points (49-39) in the second half after
Will Rayman sank two free throws with 11:11 showing. But Navy caught fire from behind the arc, scoring 12 straight points from long range. A trey from Greg Summers gave the Midshipmen a 56-55 lead with 6:27 left.
Trailing 56-55,
Nelly Cummings buried a go-ahead 3-pointer from the corner to silence the crowd with 6:02 left on the clock.
Rapolas Ivanauskas splashed another triple from the top of the key one minute later and Colgate was in front 63-58 at the final media timeout.
Navy (8-7, 2-2 Patriot) countered with a 3-pointer from Tyler Nelson to close the gap to 63-61. It was a two-point game again 65-63 and the Midshipmen brought back flashbacks of last year's 11-point second-half comeback in a 72-66 win over the Raiders at Alumni Hall last January.
But Colgate locked down on defense to force three off-target treys on Navy's final possessions. Rayman,
Tucker Richardson, and
Jordan Burns sank five of six free throws down the stretch and the Raiders pulled away with their fourth straight Patriot League triumph.
Cummings paced the Raiders with 20 points on 8-of-14 from the field and 4-of-7 from downtown. Ivanauskas (16) and Burns (13) both finished in double figures, while Rayman and Richardson led Colgate on the glass with eight boards apiece.
Colgate got off to a blazing hot start both offensively and defensively. Ivanauskas and Cummings splashed a pair of 3-pointers and Burns sent a bounce pass up the middle of the court for an easy fast break lay-in for Richardson to cap a 10-0 run to start the game.
Navy started 0-of-6 from the field, but overcame the slow start with a 7-0 run after a 3-pointer from John Carter Jr. cut Colgate's lead to three.
Jack Ferguson drained a trey and followed that up with a driving layup to stretch Colgate's advantage to 17-8 midway through the opening half.
The Raiders fell into a scoring drought that lasted over four minutes. Navy found its rhythm offensively and back-to-back 3-pointers from Cam Davis and Carter Jr. capped a 13-0 run that gave Navy a 21-17 lead with just over five minutes left in the stanza.
A two-handed slam by
Keegan Records and 3-pointer from Cummings handed Colgate a brief 22-21 edge, but Navy scored the next five points to reclaim the lead for good in the half. Burns beat the buzzer with a trey and the Raiders went into the locker room down 28-27.
Burns connected on a 3-pointer before a scoop and score from Cummings sparked a 7-0 spurt that put Colgate back in front 36-32 five minutes into the second half. The run eventually grew to 15-5 on a traditional three-point play from Burns and Colgate built up its lead to 49-39 with just over 11 minutes left in regulation.
Both teams traded blows down the stretch, but five straight points from Cummings gave the Raiders the lead for good. Colgate, which ranks fourth in the nation in free throw percentage, made its free throws when it mattered down the stretch to hold off Navy, 70-63.
BOTTOM LINE
Colgate 70, Navy 63
QUOTES
Head Coach Matt Langel
On the win:
"I am really proud of our group. I am proud of how we finished the game, and I am really proud of how we started the game. If we did not come out the way we did with a 10-0 run, we're playing from behind potentially and it's a totally different situation.
"We've talked about it before, but we're going to have a little bit of a target on our back and everyone is going to be gunning for us. On the road, especially, we have to be really sharp and pay attention to details. We were tonight. A lot of things were not going our way, but we have been through enough challenging situations that our guys believe in each other and trust one another. This is a big win for us and I am very proud of the group."
On Nelly's 20-point performance:
"The way we are playing, the group is comfortable with one another. Different guys just feel better on given nights. Nelly got to the basket and finished. Our defense led to a few breakout layups for him. He also took the most shots tonight. Hopefully the guy who shoots the ball the most also scores the most. We need him to keep playing this way as we move forward."
On closing out the final two minutes:
"We talked about both sides of the ball during the timeout. Navy's best players and leading scorers were going to take the shots, so we talked about not letting them get looks. We battled like crazy to come up with some rebounds and just did what we had to do to win this game."
GAME NOTES
- Colgate has won three games on the road during its seven-game win streak.
- This is Colgate's first 4-0 start to league play since 1996-97, when the Raiders won their first six conference contests that season.
- Ivanauskas finished in double figures for the sixth consecutive game.
- Burns dished out a game-high six assists and has recorded at least five assists in every conference game so far this season.
- Cummings has three career 20-point games, with two this week at Army and Navy.
- He tied his career high with four 3-pointers and finished 8-of-14 from the field.
- Navy outrebounded Colgate 26-15 in the first half, but the Raiders flipped the script in the second half and won the battle on the glass 25-16.
- The Midshipmen came in averaging 6.5 3-pointers per game and hit 11 in this game.
- Colgate outscored Navy in the paint, 24-16.
UP NEXT
Colgate heads to Easton, Pennsylvania, to take on Lafayette on Wednesday at 11 a.m. The Patriot League Network is providing the in-game coverage.
