HAMILTON – Ben Tweedy's go-ahead 3-pointer in the final minute of regulation right in front of Colgate's bench completed a memorable 64-62 comeback win over American on Wednesday night backed by a lively crowd at Cotterell Court.
Colgate trailed by as many as 11 in the second half and was down 62-55 with 3:43 remaining. Kyle Carlesimo sank two free throws to ignite Colgate's 9-0 closing surge. Andrew Alekseyenko and Tweedy then buried back-to-back triples – Colgate's only two treys in the second half – between stellar defensive stops to put the crowd in a frenzy with Colgate leading 63-62 with 18 ticks left.
Jalen Cox's defensive effort put the game away. He was locked on Madden Collins and nearly got a piece of his errant fadeaway shot from inside the paint on American's final possession.
Sam Wright corralled the rebound and was quickly fouled. He made the first free throw to extend the lead to 64-62, but he missed the second. Tweedy chased down the rebound and threw the ball high into the air as time expired with Colgate pulling off the 64-62 victory.
Tweedy and Alekseyenko were Colgate's leading scorers, finishing with 19 and 13, respectively. Wright scored nine and Josh Ahayere had eight.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Tweedy connected on Colgate's first 3-pointer early but defense set the tone for both teams in a low-scoring first 20 minutes. The back-and-forth start ended when American used a 10-0 run to turn a one-point game margin into a 25-16 lead with 6:50 remaining.
The Raiders started 0-for-4 from the free throw line until Ahayere sank a pair in a 6-0 spurt that brought Colgate within 25-22 with 5:29 remaining. Colgate hit another cold spell and didn't score for nearly five minutes. Tweedy ended the drought with a layup but the Eagles closed the half with a 35-24 advantage.
Both teams traded runs early in the second half. Colgate bursted out of the locker room with a 10-2 surge, led by four points apiece from Alekseyenko and Tweedy. Alekseyenko picked up his third foul, however, and American countered with a 9-2 blitz to lead 50-40 with 12:32 left.
Tweedy willed Colgate back in the game with five unanswered points, including a fadeaway three-point play that trimmed the deficit to 59-55. Geoff Sprouse answered with a 3-pointer on American's end to give the visitors a 62-55 lead, which was still their margin before Colgate's closing 9-0 run to flip the script.
Colgate shot 45.1 percent overall (23-51), 30.8 percent from the perimeter (4-13), and 60.9 percent from the free throw line (14-23).
NOTES
- Ben Tweedy's 19 points were his most since pouring in a season-high 27 against St. John Fisher on Dec. 6. He has now scored at least 17 in three of the last four.
- Matt Langel, already the program's winningest coach, picked up his 250th career win at the helm with the victory.
- The win is Colgate's first against American since January 2024, snapping a four-game losing skid to the Eagles.
- Colgate is 3-0 in Patriot League play for the first time since 2023.
- The Raiders improved to 3-2 at Cotterell Court and matched their longest winning streak of the season at three games.
UP NEXT
Colgate (9-7, 3-0 Patriot) continues Patriot League action by hosting Lehigh at 2 p.m. on Saturday.
