LAVAL, Quebec – Colgate rode a second-half scoring flurry to capture a thrilling 69-67 win against UAlbany Friday night in the Raiders' opening game of the 2025 Northern Classic at Place Bell.
Jalen Cox scored 17 points, Sam Wright dropped 16 and Kyle Carlesimo added five 3-pointers to fuel a strong second half performance for the Raiders, who did just enough to take home the win.
Colgate shot 28-60 (47%) from the field, including 10-27 (37%) from behind the arc, and won despite shooting 3-7 from the free throw line. Cox also added five rebounds and seven assists alongside his game-high 17 points.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Raiders struggled to slow down the UAlbany offense early, falling down 13-6 going into the first timeout of the game. However, two 3-pointers from Carlesimo immediately sparked an 8-0 run, giving the Raiders their first lead of the evening at 11:45.
At the midway point of the half, the teams were trading threes, with Carlesimo and Ben Tweedy both hitting from long range to put the Raiders up 20-19, though they trailed by one at the eight-minute media timeout.
The teams were tightly matched over the next stretch, but two deep threes by Amir Lindsey gave the Great Danes a 32-26 lead at the 3:24 mark, their biggest lead since the 13-6 opening run.
Coming out of the media timeout, Colgate's offense stalled in the final minutes of the first half to send them into the locker room with a 36-28 deficit.
Free throw shooting was a challenge for a Raider team that has been reliable at the line early this season. Colgate shot just 1-6 from the stripe in the opening 20 minutes. With nine points in the opening period, Carlesimo was Colgate's leading scorer going into the half.
The offense picked up early in the second half, but UAlbany increased its lead to nine at the first media timeout and held a 46-37 advantage with 15:28 left in the game.
Despite trailing by nine, Colgate showed characteristic grit, as a Josh Ahayere three-ball capped off an 11-2 run and gave the Raiders a 51-50 advantage with 12:16 remaining, their first lead since 14-13. The scoring slowed for both teams after this flurry, and Colgate maintained a slim 62-61 lead with under five minutes to go.
In the final stretch, Colgate looked to Carlesimo once again for a closing spark. His corner three extended the lead to four, before Andrew Alekseyenko's breakaway dunk made it 68-62 going into the final media timeout.
Holding on to a slim 69-67 lead with six seconds to go, the Raiders were forced to defend a final UAlbany possession, and strong defense from Ayomi Odetoyinbo on the buzzer-beating layup attempt secured another thrilling last-second win for Colgate.
GAME NOTES
- Kyle Carlesimo made five trifectas in the win, setting a new career high for the senior.
- Jalen Cox scored 17 points for the Raiders, his fifth game in a row with double-digit scoring.
- Sam Wright's seven made field goals led him to 16 points in the win.
- Ayomi Odetoyinbo picked up two more blocks in the win. The first-year leads the Raiders with 2.2 blocks per game.
- The win was Colgate's first against UAlbany since 2013, extending their all-time lead in the series to 15-9.
UP NEXT
The Raiders (3-4) look to pick up their second win of the weekend when they face Oneonta Saturday at 5 p.m. Watch the game here.
