Wednesday, January 8
Hamilton, N.Y.
7:00 PM
Lehigh University
6-8,1-2Patriot
62
at
67
Colgate University
5-11,2-1Patriot
1
2
F
Lehigh
34
28
62
Colgate
31
36
67
Photo by: Clark Boinis
Late Comeback Pushes Colgate Past Lehigh 67-62
1/8/2025 10:17:00 PM | Men's Basketball
HAMILTON, N.Y. – Lehigh men's basketball played their third Patriot League game and second-straight road contest on Wednesday evening at Cotterell Court against the Colgate Raiders. Sophomore Nasir Whitlock had a career-night, but a double-double from fifth-year Jeff Woodward fueled the Raiders to a 67-62 second half comeback victory.
"Our guys battled and competed," said head coach Dr. Brett Reed. "If we produce and perform in some situations, we're probably walking out of here with a win because we had plenty of fight to be able to get us to the point where we could do so."
Wednesday's game was the first meeting of the season for Lehigh (6-8, 1-2 PL) and Colgate (5-11, 2-1 PL). The matchup was a rematch of last season's Patriot League Championship game, which was won by the Raiders 74-55. Colgate has now won their last eight contests against Lehigh dating back to the 2021-22 season.
Cam Gillus got the game's scoring started with a three on Lehigh's second possession of the game, but the Raiders were able to conduct a 9-0 run over the next four minutes to lead 9-3. The Mountain Hawks soon returned the favor, fueled by Whitlock off the bench. The sophomore went 4-4 to help fuel a 12-0 run that gave his team a 15-9 lead at the 9:34 mark in the half. Whitlock would start the game an absurd 7-7 from the field, guiding the Mountain Hawks to their largest lead of 11. Colgate mounted a late comeback to close out the frame on a 12-4, giving Lehigh a 37-34 advantage at halftime.
Colgate gained their first lead since 14:41 in the first half quickly off of a 7-3 run in the opening two minutes. However, a 5-0 personal swing from first-year Hank Alvey, which included his first career three-pointer, put Lehigh back in front. The Raiders kept the game within one possession but couldn't get back in front, trading buckets with the Mountain Hawks for the next 3:36. Lehigh's defense then began to take center stage, generating stop after stop to slowly build a nine-point advantage with under nine minutes to play. However, Colgate returned the favor, holding Lehigh to only three points over the next six minutes to take a 61-60 lead with under three minutes remaining. Efficiency from the free throw line allowed the Raiders to extend their lead and ultimately pull off the comeback win.
Lehigh shot 34.3% (23-67) from the floor and 33.3% (9-27) from distance while Colgate went 43.9% (25-57) from the floor and 23.8% (5-21) from three. The Raiders earned an advantage on the glass 43-32 while also outperforming the Mountain Hawks from the free throw line 92.3% (12-13) to 58.3% (7-12).
After reaching a career-high of 20 points last Thursday against Bucknell, Whitlock surpassed that mark with a 23-point performance on 10-17 from the field. The sophomore also tallied two assists, one rebound and went 7-8 from the floor in the first half.
"[Nasir] was getting to his spots, he was creating enough space for himself," said Reed. "He really stepped up and gave us a huge shot in the arm. The way they play defense, they kind of put guards on an island because their big man stays underneath the rim. If we can give him a little bit of space, that's always a good thing. Tonight, he was definitely using that space."
Gillus finished the night with 11 points, seven rebounds, five assists and two steals. Alvey tallied nine points, seven rebounds and two blocks while sophomore Joshua Ingram posted nine points, eight rebounds and three steals.
Woodward led the Raiders by recording a double-double of 20 points and 12 rebounds. Junior Brady Cummins scored 13 points while sophomore Parker Jones also nabbed a double-double with 11 points and 12 boards.
The Mountain Hawks return to Stabler Arena on Saturday, January 11 to take on Army West Point on Salute to Service Day presented by Weis Markets. Tip-off is scheduled for 2 p.m. in Bethlehem.
Like Lehigh men's basketball on Facebook, follow on X (formerly Twitter) and Instagram for continued updates on the Mountain Hawks.
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"Our guys battled and competed," said head coach Dr. Brett Reed. "If we produce and perform in some situations, we're probably walking out of here with a win because we had plenty of fight to be able to get us to the point where we could do so."
Wednesday's game was the first meeting of the season for Lehigh (6-8, 1-2 PL) and Colgate (5-11, 2-1 PL). The matchup was a rematch of last season's Patriot League Championship game, which was won by the Raiders 74-55. Colgate has now won their last eight contests against Lehigh dating back to the 2021-22 season.
Cam Gillus got the game's scoring started with a three on Lehigh's second possession of the game, but the Raiders were able to conduct a 9-0 run over the next four minutes to lead 9-3. The Mountain Hawks soon returned the favor, fueled by Whitlock off the bench. The sophomore went 4-4 to help fuel a 12-0 run that gave his team a 15-9 lead at the 9:34 mark in the half. Whitlock would start the game an absurd 7-7 from the field, guiding the Mountain Hawks to their largest lead of 11. Colgate mounted a late comeback to close out the frame on a 12-4, giving Lehigh a 37-34 advantage at halftime.
Colgate gained their first lead since 14:41 in the first half quickly off of a 7-3 run in the opening two minutes. However, a 5-0 personal swing from first-year Hank Alvey, which included his first career three-pointer, put Lehigh back in front. The Raiders kept the game within one possession but couldn't get back in front, trading buckets with the Mountain Hawks for the next 3:36. Lehigh's defense then began to take center stage, generating stop after stop to slowly build a nine-point advantage with under nine minutes to play. However, Colgate returned the favor, holding Lehigh to only three points over the next six minutes to take a 61-60 lead with under three minutes remaining. Efficiency from the free throw line allowed the Raiders to extend their lead and ultimately pull off the comeback win.
Lehigh shot 34.3% (23-67) from the floor and 33.3% (9-27) from distance while Colgate went 43.9% (25-57) from the floor and 23.8% (5-21) from three. The Raiders earned an advantage on the glass 43-32 while also outperforming the Mountain Hawks from the free throw line 92.3% (12-13) to 58.3% (7-12).
After reaching a career-high of 20 points last Thursday against Bucknell, Whitlock surpassed that mark with a 23-point performance on 10-17 from the field. The sophomore also tallied two assists, one rebound and went 7-8 from the floor in the first half.
"[Nasir] was getting to his spots, he was creating enough space for himself," said Reed. "He really stepped up and gave us a huge shot in the arm. The way they play defense, they kind of put guards on an island because their big man stays underneath the rim. If we can give him a little bit of space, that's always a good thing. Tonight, he was definitely using that space."
Gillus finished the night with 11 points, seven rebounds, five assists and two steals. Alvey tallied nine points, seven rebounds and two blocks while sophomore Joshua Ingram posted nine points, eight rebounds and three steals.
Woodward led the Raiders by recording a double-double of 20 points and 12 rebounds. Junior Brady Cummins scored 13 points while sophomore Parker Jones also nabbed a double-double with 11 points and 12 boards.
The Mountain Hawks return to Stabler Arena on Saturday, January 11 to take on Army West Point on Salute to Service Day presented by Weis Markets. Tip-off is scheduled for 2 p.m. in Bethlehem.
Like Lehigh men's basketball on Facebook, follow on X (formerly Twitter) and Instagram for continued updates on the Mountain Hawks.
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Team Stats
Lehigh
Colg
FG%
.343
.439
3FG%
.333
.238
FT%
.583
.923
RB
32
43
TO
7
14
STL
10
4
Game Leaders
Pts
23
FGM
10
3FGM
2
FTM
1
Pts
11
FGM
3
3FGM
2
FTM
3
Pts
9
FGM
3
3FGM
2
FTM
1
Pts
9
FGM
3
3FGM
1
FTM
2
Players Mentioned
F/C
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