WEST POINT, N.Y. – Nelly Cummings scored a career-high 24 points and Colgate staged a second-half comeback to defeat Army 70-65 on Monday night at Christl Arena.
Colgate (11-4, 2-0 Patriot) extended its winning streak to five games with the win, while improving to 2-0 in Patriot League play for the second time in three years.
Cummings finished 7-of-13 from the field, was 4-of-6 from behind the arc, and went a perfect 6-of-6 from the free throw line.
Rapolas Ivanauskas secured his second straight double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds.
Jordan Burns scored 10 points and added five assists.
Will Rayman posted double-digit rebounds (10) for the third consecutive game in the win.
Army (5-8, 0-2 Patriot) came out with better momentum early on. Ivanauskas scored four of Colgate's first six points to tie things up 6-6, but Army's Tommy Funk and Alex King connected from long range in a 6-0 run to open a 12-6 lead.
Cummings drained his first 3-pointer to get the Raiders back within 16-12, but then a pair of layups from Funk and Matt Wilson sparked another 6-0 spurt for Army, and the Black Knights led by double digits 22-12 at the under-8 media timeout.
Colgate found its shot late in the first half.
Tucker Richardson hit his second trey in a two-minute span to spark a 13-3 run for the Raiders. Ivanauskas laid in a basket before back-to-back 3-pointers from Ivanauskas and
Jack Ferguson gave Colgate the lead, 25-24.
The lead was brief, however, as a 3-pointer from Lonnie Grayson started another 6-0 spurt for Army and the Black Knights jumped back out front 33-28 at the half.
Colgate's defense forced Army to an 0-of-5 start from the field in the second half. Burns, meanwhile, splashed a trey and sank two free throws for five straight points to tie the game 33-33 three minutes into the final stanza.
Burns then from the top of the key dropped in a pass to Ivanauskas, who went up for a loud one-handed slam.
Keegan Records followed that with another emphatic jam and the Raiders were off and running.
Cummings caught fire after that, scoring 10 straight points in a 12-2 burst for the Raiders, who opened the second half on a 21-7 run. The sophomore buried two triples and sank a floating runner in the paint to lead the Raiders to a 49-40 lead midway through the frame.
The Raiders led the rest of the way, but Army did not make it easy, using a late 8-0 run to cut the margin to 62-59 on a corner 3-pointer from Tucker Blackwell.
Another trey from Tommy Funk made it 66-64 with eight seconds left, but Cummings and Rayman were perfect from the line in the closing seconds to seal the 70-65 victory.
BOTTOM LINE
Colgate 70, Army 65
QUOTES
Head Coach Matt Langel
On winning on the road:
"Winning on the road in conference play is hard to do and that's never going to change, especially when you get down like we did. They established early it was going to be a hard-fought game. To go into the half only down five was pretty good for how we felt the game was going.
"I credit our guys for coming out and setting the tone in the second half. Our defense was much better overall. We did not let their main guys get the shots and we executed the game plan. With that being said, we have to close out the game better. This was one of those games where you have to close it out and we knew that."
On coming up big at the free throw line (made last eight to secure the win):
"Our guys are confident in themselves, particularly at the line. We have been in enough big moments that our players understand they have to concentrate. Army was throwing in a lot of shots and then they were going to foul. When that happens, especially on the road, you need to step up and make those free throws. We did a good job with that tonight."
On Nelly Cummings' career-high 24 points:
"Tonight was Nelly's night. He rose to the occasion. His preparation was really locked in on trying to limit Tommy Funk. He is a terrific player and Nelly did a great job for him to only have two assists. He was locked in on defense and it is no coincidence that turns to offense."
GAME NOTES
- The win matches Colgate's longest winning streak of the season at five games.
- Cummings' 24 points eclipsed his previous career-high 21 set at Binghamton.
- It marked his fifth straight game in double figures and second 20-point showing.
- Ivanauskas posted his third double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds.
- Colgate, one of the top free throw shooting teams in the country, finished 15-of-19 from the line, but went 8-of-8 in the final 23 seconds to close out the Black Knights.
- Cummings was a perfect 6-of-6 from the charity stripe.
- Burns had 10 points and five assists – seven points came from the free throw line.
- The Raiders finished with eight turnovers to Army's 11.
- Points off those turnovers finished 18-5 in favor of the Raiders.
UP NEXT
Colgate returns home to take on Loyola on Wednesday at Cotterell Court. Tip-off is slated for 7 p.m., with the Patriot League Network carrying the livestream.
