HAMILTON – Colgate is no stranger to close games, and Wednesday night's matchup against Army was tight early, but a season-best 22-0 run that stretched between halves removed all doubt, giving Colgate a massive 69-55 victory over Army at Cotterell Court.
Ben Tweedy led the team with 16 points, Andrew Alekseyenko continued his fantastic season, earning a double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds, Sam Wright scored 10, and Ethan Brown set a career-high in points (8) to help Colgate take home its eighth win of the Patriot League campaign.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Raiders trailed in the opening minutes, but behind some tight defense and a raucous Cotterell Court crowd, took a 9-8 lead going into the first media timeout of the evening.
However, in what proved to be an extremely physical game, Army refused to go away, and the game was knotted at 15 midway through the first half.
Colgate trailed 28-24 with just over three minutes left in the half, but the Raiders quickly caught fire. A 14-0 run to close the half, with Alekseyenko scoring seven of his team-leading 14, saw Colgate carry a 38-28 lead into halftime.
The momentum carried into the second half, as Colgate stretched its season-best scoring run to 22 and made it 46-28 before two Army free throws finally ended the surge.
Still, the Raiders refused to let up, holding a 17-point lead with under 11 minutes to go. From there, Colgate's firepower proved to be too much for the Black Knights to handle, and the Raiders stretched their lead to 20 with five minutes left.
Maintaining that lead proved to be no problem, and Colgate dribbled out the clock on a huge 69-55 win.
The Raiders shot 46.3 percent overall (25-54), 29.4 percent from behind the arc (5-17), and connected at a 73.7 percent clip from the free throw line (14-19).
Colgate's defense limited Army to 32.7 percent from the field (17-52), 31.0 percent from the perimeter (9-29), and 66.7 percent from the charity stripe (12-18).
Jalen Cox anchored the defense with three steals to go with six points and five assists.
NOTES
- Andrew Alekseyenko delivered his ninth straight double-digit scoring performance, tallying 15 in the win.
- Ethan Brown set career-highs in points (8) and rebounds (5).
- Colgate's 22-0 run was their longest of the season, eclipsing a 20-0 stretch against St. John Fisher back on Dec. 6.
- During Colgate's 22-0 explosion, Alekseyenko and Tweedy each scored seven.
- Army's 55 points were the fewest Colgate has allowed to a Patriot League opponent since last year's Patriot League quarterfinals, when the Raiders bested the Black Knights, 84-55 on March 6 at Cotterell Court.
UP NEXT
The Raiders (14-10, 8-3 Patriot League) will be back in action on Saturday at 5 p.m., heading to Lewisburg, Pa. to face Bucknell. Colgate defeated the Bison by 19 points in January. The game will air on ESPN+.
