HAMILTON – Lehigh's Hank Alvey's floater in the lane with three seconds left in regulation stunned the Colgate men's basketball team 78-77 on Saturday afternoon at Cotterell Court.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Colgate led 75-70 after Jalen Cox converted a three-point play with 1:39 left in regulation. Lehigh answered with a deep 3-pointer from Nasir Whitlock, and after two free throws from Cox, Colgate went scoreless over the final minute of the contest.
Lehigh's Edouard Benoit was dominant with 27 points and banked in a three-point prayer that trimmed the Mountain Hawk deficit to 77-76. With a one-point lead in the final minute, Colgate missed two three-point attempts and two free-throw attempts allowing Lehigh to win it.
Cox raced the length of the floor in 3.2 seconds and sent a floater off the back of the iron as time expired and Colgate dropped its first Patriot League game, 78-77.
Cox led the team with 22 points and four assists. Andrew Alekseyenko scored 13 of his 16 in the first half to go with a team-best seven rebounds. Ben Tweedy (13) and Kyle Carlesimo (12) were also in double-figures.
Alekseyenko scored five early points including a 3-pointer to help Colgate build an 8-4 lead. Benoit was hurting the Raiders on both ends; he swished two treys and drew an offensive foul to guide the visitors to a 26-19 lead midway through the first half.
A three-point play from Alekseyenko led to a 5-0 spurt and cut Colgate's deficit to 28-26. Carlesimo and Tweedy connected from long range to offset seven first-half turnovers, and the Raiders trailed 41-38 at the intermission after two free throws from Lehigh's Whitlock.
The nip-and-tuck flow continued into the second half. Colgate got good minutes from Carlesimo, who cashed in from long range in a 7-0 spurt capped by a driving layup by Brady Cummins to push the Raiders in front 61-60 midway through the second stanza.
Colgate led by as many as five after Carlesimo stole a pass in the back court and drew a foul going to the rim. He sank both free throws to give the Raiders a 72-67 margin with 2:15 left.
The Raiders were still leading by four points, 77-73, when Lehigh answered with the game's final five points over the last minute of regulation.
Colgate shot 46.6 percent from the field (27-58), 41.2 percent from the perimeter (7-17), and 76.2 percent from the free throw line. Lehigh connected on 40.7 percent from the field (24-59), 52.6 percent from behind the arc (10-19), and 76.9 percent from the charity stripe (20-26).
NOTES
- Jalen Cox recorded his sixth 20-point game and second in conference play.
- Colgate has now held a lead in the second half in 15 of 17 games this season.
- Each of the last three head-to-head meetings in Hamilton have been decided by five points or fewer. Lehigh claimed its first win at Cotterell Court since February 2018.
UP NEXT
Colgate (9-8, 3-1 Patriot) will face Loyola at 7 p.m. next Wednesday inside Reitz Arena in Baltimore, Md.
