EASTON, Pa. – Lafayette won its fourth straight game and held Colgate to its lowest scoring output in quite some time with a 55-39 decision here Wednesday night.
The Raiders in back-to-back trips to Pennsylvania have averaged exactly 41 points and shot just 27.3 percent from the field. Colgate lost 66-43 last Wednesday at first-place Bucknell.
Despite the setback, Colgate finishes the first half of Patriot League play at 6-3 and tied for second place alongside Holy Cross and Lafayette. The Raiders, now 14-6 overall, host Holy Cross this Saturday to start the second half.
Colgate never could find the range. The Raiders were 3-of-13 from the floor in the first quarter, 1-of-11 in the second, 5-of-14 in the third and finally a respectable 6-of-13 in the fourth.
Lafayette controlled the boards by a whopping 47-22 margin.
Colgate was outscored 24-3 over a 13:52 stretch that began with a 6-4 Raiders lead midway through the first quarter and ended with Lafayette in front 28-9 nearing the halftime horn. The Raiders trailed 30-13 at intermission.
The Raiders were within 34-18 midway in the third when Lafayette connected on three consecutive 3-pointers and claimed their largest lead of the game at 43-20. Colgate doubled its scoring output in the second half but never threatened.
The Leopards (10-9, 6-3 Patriot) entered the night third in the Patriot League in scoring defense at 58.3, and those numbers are shrinking mightily during this four game winning streak. Lafayette since losing 73-52 at Colgate two weeks ago has beaten Navy 79-52, Army 57-52 and Lehigh 61-53 before tonight.
Bottom Line
• Lafayette 55, Colgate 39
From the Sources
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Head Coach Bill Cleary (On the game) "You've got to tip your cap to Lafayette. They did a great job defending us and really kept us from getting into a flow. What they did really well was we forced 21 turnovers, but we scored only 10 points off those, so we weren't able to capitalize. They did a great job of limiting our runs, and that frustrated us.
"We couldn't make shots. The shots we took early were good ones but they just didn't fall. Then in the second quarter, when they weren't falling, we began to rush things. We played better in the second half but we were just too far behind."
Stats of the Game
• Colgate's 39 points were their fewest since falling 79-39 at Syracuse in December 2017, and their fewest in a conference game since a 55-38 defeat at Loyola in February 2016.
• The Raiders had no players score in double figures.
Alexa Brodie was the leader with 9, followed by
Abby Schubiger with 8 points and 6 rebounds.
• Lafayette guards Nicole Johnson tallied 13 and Sarah Agnello 12 to lead all scorers. Natalie Kucowski added 7 points and 19 rebounds.
• The previous rebounding high by a Colgate opponent this season was 12 on four occasions.
• This was Colgate's first loss when allowing fewer than 60 points (7-1).
Gate Grab Bag
• Attendance at Kirby Sports Center was 614.
• Among the Colgate contingent was Brodie's high school team from Central Bucks South.
Up Next
• Colgate is home Saturday to take on Holy Cross for the annual Pink Game and National Girls and Women in Sports Day.
• A pregame multisport clinic is schedule for Sanford Fieldhouse from 12:30 p.m. to 1:30 p.m.
• The Crusaders are 13-7 overall and 6-3 in the Patriot League after Wednesday's 57-43 home win over Navy.
• Tipoff from Cotterell Court is 2 p.m., with the Patriot League Network and 94 WKXZ-FM carrying all the action.
