HAMILTON – Colgate battled back from an 18-point first-half deficit before falling to Navy in overtime, 84-80, Saturday afternoon at Cotterell Court.
The Patriot League frontrunners delivered as advertised. Jalen Cox poured in a game-high 30 points with seven assists, five rebounds, and three steals.
Andrew Alekseyenko recorded his fourth double-double with 19 points and 10 rebounds, hitting 5-of-6 from three-point range. Josh Ahayere added 12 points and five boards, while Kyle Carlesimo chipped in nine points on three triples.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Cox scored the final four points of regulation in the last 57 seconds, including two free throws with eight seconds remaining. He then forced an errant attempt on the potential game-winning shot by Austin Benigni at the buzzer to send the game to overtime tied at 77-77.
Overtime was a defensive grind, with the teams combining to shoot 1-for-10. Alekseyenko, perfect from deep in regulation, missed a potential go-ahead 3-pointer with 10 seconds left. Benigni sealed it at the line to secure the 84-80 win for Navy.
Colgate struggled early as Navy built a 36-18 lead on Jordan Pennick's third 3-pointer of the half. Back-to-back threes from Sam Wright and Alekseyenko finally got things going and helped trim the deficit to 48-28 at halftime.
Cox sparked the second-half rally, scoring or assisting on Colgate's first 17 points, including an alley-oop to Ayomi Odetoyinbo that cut the margin to 51-45 with 15:15 to play. Cox had 10 points inside the first five minutes of the second half.
Carlesimo was the next Raider to catch fire, swishing back-to-back triples in a 11-0 blitz. His second trifecta in transition tied the game at 55-55 before Alekseyenko's 3-pointer gave the Raiders their largest lead of the game, 61-59, with 8:47 remaining.
The teams traded baskets down the stretch. Navy led 77-73 in the final minute before Cox's late free throws forced overtime.
Colgate shot 48.1 percent from the field (26-54) and 47.8 percent from three-point range, finishing 17-of-26 at the line. Navy shot 49.1 percent overall, 38.1 percent from deep, and 69 percent from the foul line.
NOTES
- Andrew Alekseyenko now has four double-doubles on the season after posting 19 points and 10 rebounds. His five made 3-pointers were a career-high.
- Jalen Cox recorded his second 30-point performance of the season, finishing just shy of his career-high 34-point effort in another overtime defeat at Lehigh.
- The loss snapped Colgate's 13-game head-to-head win streak against Navy, with the Midshipmen picking up their first win at Cotterell Court since January 2016.
- Colgate has now lost four Patriot League games by a combined 10 points, dropping to 1-3 in overtime contests this season.
UP NEXT
Colgate (16-11, 10-4 Patriot) is back in action Monday night at Boston University (12-15, 7-7 Patriot), with tipoff from Case Gym set for 6 p.m. on CBS Sports Network. The Raiders pulled off an 80-79 overtime win against the Terriers at Cotterell Court on Jan. 24.
