BETHLEHEM, Pa. – Nasir Whitlock's step-back jumper with 1.5 seconds left in overtime lifted Lehigh past Colgate 77-76 in a Patriot League tussle Saturday afternoon at Stabler Arena.
Andrew Alekseyenko's tough layup in the paint gave Colgate a 76-75 lead with 19 seconds remaining in overtime. Whitlock carried it up the court, dribbled to the baseline, and knocked down the game-winning shot over heavy defensive pressure. Colgate's ensuing inbound was intercepted to seal the one-point decision.
COACH LANGEL'S COMMENTS
"We preach the importance of execution and controlling what we can control. Our attention and execution was not where it needed to be, so that's what we'll focus on to learn and grow. Tip your cap to Lehigh. We have to keep working. It's on to the next game. We have to clean some things up and get ready for another tough team coming to Hamilton. We're working at the right things. I like our group. One game at a time for four more weeks and beyond."
HOW IT HAPPENED
Colgate was up by two and had possession with 22 seconds left in regulation, but an inbound turnover led to tying free throws from Whitlock with 13 seconds left. Jalen Cox's jumper at the buzzer didn't go, sending the game to OT.
Cox starred on the court despite the loss, finishing with a career-high 34 points, nine rebounds, two assists, a block, and two steals. Alekseyenko posted 20 points and 10 rebounds for his second career double-double. Sam Wright also scored in double-figures (11).
Colgate shot 49.1 percent from the field (28-57), 20 percent from behind the arc (3-15), and 85 percent from the free throw line (17-20). Lehigh finished with a 50.9 clip from the field (27-53), 52 percent from the perimeter (13-25), and 10-of-13 from the free throw line.
Colgate got off to a good start offensively, using an 11-0 burst thanks to seven points from Alekseyenko to build an early 15-8 lead. Lehigh burned a timeout and coming out of the break connected on five straight 3-pointers to pull in front 27-22 with 7:37 remaining.
The Mountain Hawks shot 9-of-15 from behind the arc in the first half. Whitlock was 4-of-6 on his own and he carried the home team to its largest lead of the half, 37-28, with his fourth trey of the stanza at the 3:26 mark of the first half.
After sluggish shooting through the middle stages of the half, Wright and Alekseyenko found buckets underneath to fuel a 6-0 run over the last three minutes to bring Colgate back within 37-34 at the intermission.
A back-and-forth second half saw nine lead changes and 10 tie scores. Colgate's largest lead was five points, which it maintained 60-55 with 6:05 remaining after Cox's jumper in the lane capped an 11-0 Raider burst.
Whitlock scored seven straight points for Lehigh to tie the game agian at 62-62 before Alekseyenko buried Colgate's lone triple of the second half to put the Raiders back in front.
A three-point play from Cox gave the Raiders the lead back once more, 68-65, with 25 seconds left. Colgate held the lead until the late inbound turnover set up free throws from Whitlock to send the game to an extra session.
UP NEXT
Colgate (13-10, 7-3 Patriot) returns home to complete the regular-season series against Army at 7 p.m. on Wednesday. The Raiders bested the Black Knights 76-69 on Jan. 3 in West Point.
