HAMILTON – Colgate (12-16, 9-6 Patriot) saw its 15-point second half lead fade away late, but a strong final minute pushed the Raiders past Navy (10-18, 7-8 Patriot) 79-75 in a tale of two halves Wednesday night at Cotterell Court.

HOW THE GAME WAS DECIDED

• Navy trailed by as many as 15 in the second half and was still down by 12 after two free throws from Brady Cummins gave the Raiders a 73-61 lead with 4:53 remaining. Austin Benigni ensued with a three-point play, which sparked an 8-0 burst for the visitors who came back to tie the game 75-75 with 1:15 showing.
• The Midshipmen had a chance to take the lead but Donavan Draper's second free throw attempt was off the mark, which set the stage for Colgate to reclaim the lead for good on the next possession. Jeff Woodward sank two free throws to give him 23 points in the game and make it 77-75 with 58 ticks showing.
• The Raiders forced an errant layup on Navy's offensive possession and then Nicolas Louis-Jacques – who only scored four points in the game – had the biggest bucket of the contest when his tough left-handed layup in traffic gave Colgate a two-possession lead, 79-75, with just over 20 seconds remaining. 
• Navy got the final shot off but Benigni's attempt was off target and Colgate survived, 79-75. 

LEADING SCORERS & STATS

• Woodward scored a game-high 23 points along with 10 rebounds for his fourth double-double of the season. Jalen Cox scored 12 points with seven boards and four assists, while Chandler Baker and Sam Wright each had 11 points in strong reserve minutes for the Raiders who outscored Navy's bench 29-20.
• Colgate shot 64 percent in the first half and 55 percent for the game (28-51) including 40 percent from behind the arc (6-15). The Raiders were 81 percent from the free throw line (17-21). Navy went 6-of-13 from the line in the second half to finish 50 percent for the game (8-16). 

RAIDERS CONTROLLED THE FIRST HALF

• Navy led 12-8 when Colgate raced on a 15-2 burst capped by a three-point play from Wright to open a 23-14 lead with 12:27 showing in the first half. Woodward ensued with back-to-back buckets a 6-0 mini surge bookended by a driving layup by Cox to stretch the lead to double-digits 42-31 late in the frame.
• Colgate led by as many as 12 points in the opening stanza after a 3-pointer from Baker in the final minute. Benigni sank a tough fadeaway jumper at the buzzer to cut Colgate's lead to 45-35 at the break.
• The Raiders continued to hold a comfortable lead that ballooned to 15 points after back-to-back treys from Wright – who started 4-for-4 from the field. Navy kept chipping away and found a late surge to eventually tie the game 75-75 before Colgate scored the final four points in regulation to close out the home victory, 79-75.

GAME NOTES

• Jeff Woodward's streak of consecutive games in double figures reached 15 games with his fourth 20-point showing and fourth double-double of the season. 
• Colgate has now won 13 consecutive head-to-head games against Navy dating back to January 2019. The Raiders have won 10 straight against Navy at home dating back to 2016. 
• The Raiders, who improved to 5-1 at home during Patriot League play, complete their first Patriot League regular season sweep of the season. 
• Wednesday's contest was Colgate's annual Alzheimer's Awareness game. The Raiders strive to use their platform to raise funds and awareness for the care, support and research efforts of the Alzheimer's Association. The team wore purple shooting shirts during pre-game.

UP NEXT
Colgate visits Loyola at noon on Sunday for the final road trip of the regular season. The game will air on ESPN+.