Men's Basketball Leads Late, But Falls to Colgate, 92-83

Sunday, February 14

West Point, NY

6:00 PM

Army West Point

9-6,5-5Patriot

Colgate University

9-1,9-1Patriot

Colgate

Army West Point

Men's Basketball Leads Late, But Falls to Colgate, 92-83

February 14, 2021 | Men's Basketball

Box Score

WEST POINT, N.Y. – The Black Knights fought back to take a lead late in the second half, but they couldn't put the pesky Colgate Raiders away, falling 92-83 on Sunday evening at Christl Arena.

The contest featured seven ties and 19 lead changes in what was truly a back-and-forth contest down the stretch in the second half.

The Black Knights (9-6, 5-5 Patriot League) jumped out to a 5-0 lead in the early goings of the first half, but they were answered by a 10-0 run by Colgate (9-1, 9-1 Patriot League) to make it 10-5 Raiders with 16:08 left in the first half. A Jalen Rucker layup and a Lonnie Grayson three-pointer, one of four on the day for the senior tied the game up at 10-10 with 15:21 left.

After some back-and-forth play, Colgate went on an 11-0 run over the next 2:26 to take a 35-23 lead. Jared Cross and Josh Caldwell hit big threes to cut into the Raiders' lead, 37-29 with 3:29 left in the first half. However, Tucker Richardson for Colgate hit back-to-back threes on possessions under two minutes to push their lead, 44-33 with 1:04 left.

Caldwell hit a buzzer-beating layup as the first half expired and the Black Knights trailed, 46-37 at the break.

The Black Knights came out firing in the second half, outscoring the Raiders 9-2 through the first two minutes of the second half, pulling within two, 48-46 with 17:38 left in the half.

Another 6-0 run from 16:50 to 13:14 gave the Black Knights a 52-51 lead. Rucker had four of the six points during that run. He finished with a team-high 18 points, tying his career high.

The Raiders and the Black Knights traded baskets down the stretch, and after a tied 61-61 ballgame with 10 minutes left, the Black Knights went on another 6-0 run, this one to balloon their lead to five points with 9:21 left, the most on the day.

Both sides traded baskets and leads through the final 10 minutes of regulation. After a Nick Finke layup with 1:58 to go, the Raiders went on a 6-0 run of their own to take an 88-80 lead with 29 seconds left of regulation. The Black Knights were forced to foul down the stretch and both Jordan Burns and Jack Ferguson converted on the other end, extending their lead to 92-83, the score that would hold through the final buzzer.

NOTES
-Black Knights shot 44.3 percent from the field, compared with 51.6 percent from Colgate.
-Colgate was 7-for-22 from three-point range, compared with 9-for-25 for Army.
-Colgate shot 25 free throws and was 19-for-25 from the charity stripe. Army was 12-for-15.
-Colgate had nine steals and 13 points off turnovers compared to six steals and 11 points off turnovers.
-Army outrebounded Colgate, 39-38, including gobbling up 13 offensive boards.
-Jalen Rucker tied his career high with 18 points (previously set at Navy 1/24/2021)
-Lonnie Grayson finished the day with a double-double (11 rebounds, 18 points)
-Grayson was 4-for-6 from three-point land.
-Josh Caldwell finished with 15 points, the third Black Knight in double figures on the night. He also had four steals to lead the team.
-Cross also finished with 11 points.

WHAT'S NEXT
The Black Knights will remain at home for a tilt vs. Holy Cross in Christl Arena on Feb. 20.