Army West Point Athletics
Army West Point
14-14,8-7Patriot
Colgate University
20-8,14-1Patriot
Men's Basketball on Short End of Shootout at Colgate, 93-86
February 15, 2023 | Men's Basketball
HAMILTON, NY – Army West Point men's basketball (14-14. 8-7 Patriot League) rallied for 50 points in the second half, but could not catch up to Colgate (20-8, 14-1 Patriot League) as the Raiders secured a 93-86 victory to sweep the season series.
Colgate got out to a dream start playing in front of its home crowd, as Ryan Moffatt connected on three looks beyond the arc before the first media timeout as the Raiders got out to a 14-6 lead. Abe Johnson provided a spark off the bench to get Army back within three, as three straight baskets from the big man made it a 16-13 game with 13:13 to play in the half.
Colgate continued to bury looks from downtown to pull ahead, eventually connecting on 10 of 19 looks from three-point range in the first half. Jalen Rucker led Army in the first half, with 12 points on five of seven from the field. Colgate used a 4-0 run to get out to its biggest lead of the half, 49-36, into halftime.
The Raiders got out to quick start again in the second half, prompting an Army timeout with the score 61-43 with 15:43 to play. Coleton Benson connected on back-to-back triples on the two ensuing possessions, as the freshman caught fire for the Black Knights in the second half. He netted five straight baskets for Army, including four hits from downtown.
Colgate got out to its biggest lead with 8:52 to go, as Army saw itself facing. 20-point deficit at 81-61. Army responded, getting back into the game with a 10-0 run over the following 3:33 stretch. Jalen Rucker netted back-to-back steals and fast break buckets before Moffatt responded with another three for Colgate. Army scored 50 points total in the second half, led by Benson on his way to a career-high 22. However, the Colgate offense was able to keep pace, scoring 44 on the heels of 49 in the first half.
A final triple from Benson, his sixth hit of the night, got Army within six with under a minute to play. After the Raiders split a trip to the line, Rucker buried his second trey of the night to make it a four-point game with 33 seconds to work with. However, Colgate was able to get a stop after another one-point trip to the line, eventually scoring a final bucket to clinch the 93-86 victory.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- Coleton Benson scored a career-high 22 points including 19 in the second half. Benson's six makes from downtown also marked a career-best effort.
- Jalen Rucker paced the Black Knights with 23 points and six assists. Playing all 40 minutes, Rucker scored 10+ field goals for the second time this season.
- Chris Mann recorded 18 points on 7-10 from the field. He tied a career-high with three makes from three-point range.
- Abe Johnson added eight points on a perfect 4-4 shooting in 11 minutes of action off the bench.
- T.J. Small collected a career-high seven rebounds and career-high four assists while adding two points and a block.
UP NEXT
Army will host Lafayette this Saturday at 6:00 p.m. on CBS Sports Network.
