HAMILTON – Colgate overcame a seven-point second-half deficit and made clutch free throws in the final minute to pull off a 65-60 victory over Vermont in a back-and-forth battle Sunday afternoon. 

Parker Jones stole a pass in the backcourt and then nailed the go-ahead 3-pointer in transition to give Colgate the lead for good, 52-50, with 7:10 left in regulation. Both teams traded shots down the stretch but the Raiders never relinquished the lead thanks to key free-throw shooting down the stretch.

First-year Josh Ahayere stepped to the line and connected on both free throws to make it 63-60 with 14 ticks left. Brady Cummins stole a pass in the back court and then made his two final free throws on the next possession to seal the victory for the Raiders.

Nicolas Louis-Jacques paced Colgate with 17 points on 7-of-13 from the field. Jalen Cox finished with 14 points and Brady Cummins 11 to give the Raiders three double-figure scorers. 

COACH LANGEL'S COMMENTS

"Neither team's record indicates the program's history but we've played Vermont four straight years now. These are two championship-level programs and that's internal expectations. In preparing for this game our guys worked really hard. It was a low-possession type of game today with runs, momentum swings, and lead changes. I'm proud of the group for making some shots. Our defense was great – we made some stops, caused some turnovers, and took care of the basketball on the offensive end."

HOW IT HAPPENED
 

• Back-to-back buckets for Cox pushed Colgate to an early 10-8 lead at the first timeout. Cox' second drive was the start of a 10-0 surge that carried the Raiders in front 16-8. Colgate connected on 4-for-5 during the run, including a wing trifecta from Chandler Baker. 
• Louis-Jacques hit Colgate's second 3-pointer of the half, and then finished a reverse layup off a Blake Forrest steal in transition to give Colgate its largest lead of the half, 21-10, with 8:55 remaining in the half. Colgate forced Vermont into eight first-half turnovers. 
• Vermont started to chip away late in the frame. The Catamounts got back-to-back triples from TJ Hurley and Nick Fiorillo to trim the margin to 26-24, which was Colgate's leading margin at halftime, 28-26, after a floating jumper in the waning moments from Cummins. 
• Colgate stretched its lead back out to 37-29 after back-to-back triples from Louis-Jacques and Cox, but Vermont found an answer on the offensive end to the tune of a 12-0 burst. Fiorillo scored eight of those points for the Catamounts who opened a 46-39 lead with 12:00 showing.
• Colgate's shots started falling from behind the arc and that's all it took. Forrest and Louis-Jacques connected on two straight, and then Jones nailed another in transition to give the Raiders the lead for good, 52-50, with 7:10 to go. 
• Sam Wright finished a three-point play to stretch the lead to 55-50 and both teams traded shots from there. Vermont cut the deficit to one point three separate times but Colgate came up with clutch free throws, including two from Ahayere with 14 ticks left to make it 63-60.
•  Vermont turned the ball over in the backcourt on the final possession, sealing the victory for Colgate. 

UP NEXT
Colgate (3-9) caps non-conference action next Sunday, Dec. 22, with a 1 p.m. tipoff against Iona at Cotterell Court.