BETHLEHEM, Pa. – Braeden Smith's career-high 24 points carried Colgate to a 76-60 victory over Lehigh on Monday afternoon inside Stabler Arena.
Smith's third 20-point game of the season was aided by a perfect 7-for-7 showing from the foul line. He finished 8-of-13 from the field and added two rebounds, two assists, and a steal.
Oliver Lynch-Daniels (14) and Tucker Richardson (11) both scored in double-figures, followed by Keegan Records and Jeff Woodward each with nine points.
The Raiders built an early 11-5 lead and never looked back thanks to five early points from Records. Hard work inside from Woodward and Sam Thomson created space on the perimeter, and Colgate nailed three straight to establish a 23-15 edge midway through the half.
Lynch-Daniels notched his first trey as part of five consecutive points during a 7-0 Raider run to push Colgate in front 30-18 with 6:42 showing in the half. That would be Colgate's margin at the break (43-31) after a back-and-forth final phase to the term.
The second half carried a similar pace with both teams making shots. Lehigh made 7 of its first 10 from the field, while the Raiders were 8-of-13 to keep the lead in double-digits. After that, Colgate's defense held the Mountain Hawks without a field goal for nearly eight minutes.
After Lehigh's Evan Taylor sliced Colgate's lead to 61-50 with 12:02 remaining, the Mountain Hawks didn't have another field goal until Tyler Whitney-Sidney's jumper with 4:25 left. Colgate used a 15-4 run during that time to build its largest lead to 76-54.
Smith's 10 points in the second half paced the Raiders, who kept their lead in double-digits for most of the afternoon and cruised to the 76-60 victory.
FROM THE SOURCE
Head Coach Matt Langel
"When you're on the road you have to be extremely focused, determined, and disciplined. Our guys did a good job on the defensive end, shared the ball on the offensive end, and made enough shots to establish and hold a lead. I'm really proud of the group for their efforts.
"We'll focus on Navy over the next couple of days, a team that got tripped up today. I have a lot of respect for Coach DeChellis and the program he's been able to build. Each game has its own identity and Thursday night at Cotterell Court will be no different."
NOTES
- Colgate is 2-0 in league play for the first time since the 2019-20 season.
- The Raiders extended their winning streak to 17 straight against conference opponents.
- Tucker Richardson is three assists away from tying Jordan Burns' all-time record (503) and needs nine points to become Colgate's 10th player to score 1,500 points.
- The Raiders have had a 20-point scorer in five consecutive games.
- Colgate came into the game ranking first nationally in effective field goal percentage, second in 3-point percentage, and third in field goal percentage.
UP NEXT
Colgate (8-7, 2-0 Patriot) is back home Thursday when the Raiders host Navy for a Patriot League championship rematch at Cotterell Court. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. on ESPN+.
