WASHINGTON – Jalen Cox poured in a game-high 21 points on 8-of-12 from the field, but it wasn't enough to overcome timely second-half shots from American in a 70-66 loss Wednesday evening inside Bender Arena.
COACH LANGEL'S COMMENTS
"American is a physical hard-nosed team. They fight tooth and nail for every inch. We battled, but they took advantage of a few of our breakdowns and made big shots in big moments. We got to a foul line, but we weren't able to capitalize. We got a lot of clean looks from the perimeter again, and if some of those go, it's a different game. You have to win when you don't make shots too, so then it comes down to toughness and a few rebounds that we didn't come up with. It's hard, we lost, but no one, no one feels bad for you. We gotta get right back up and get ready for Saturday afternoon against Boston University."
HOW IT HAPPENED
Colgate maintained a 49-48 edge midway through the second half, but the fifth and final lead change of the stanza came in an 8-0 flurry for American when 3-pointers from Geoff Sprouse and Greg Jones gave the home team a 56-49 lead with 7:47 remaining.
Five unanswered points for Josh Ahayere, including Colgate's lone trey of the second, cut the margin to 63-60 with 2:19 left. It was still a three-point game, 65-62, after Cox sank a runner in the lane, but American's three-point play on the next possession put the game out of reach.
Colgate was just 1-of-6 from behind the arc in the second half and shot 44.2 percent overall (23-52) including 27.8 percent from the perimeter (5-18). The Raiders also struggled from the free throw line, shooting 65.2 percent (15-23).
The first half was a defensive battle with shots hard to find. Colgate held American scoreless for nearly seven minutes, forcing five turnovers during that stretch, but could only capitalize with a 9-0 surge sparked by a 3-pointer from Ahayere to open an early 11-6 lead.
Both teams heated up later in the half, and American briefly jumped in front 24-23 on Sprouse's third 3-pointer. Andrew Alekseyenko answered with a trey of his own, and a layup from Sam Wright pushed the Raiders to a 34-31 advantage at the intermission.
Colgate couldn't cling to its three-point halftime lead, eventually dropping its third straight game at Bender Arena, 70-66. Cox led the team with 21 points, while Ahayere (14), Alekseyenko (13), and Wright (11) also reached double-figures for the Raiders.
UP NEXT
Colgate (11-9, 5-2 Patriot) is back home Saturday to host Boston University (8-12, 3-4 Patriot) at 2 p.m.
