Whitlock's Game-Winner Lifts Lehigh Over Colgate 77-76 In Overtime

Saturday, January 31

Bethlehem, Pa.

2:00 PM

Lehigh University

10-13,6-4Patriot

Colgate University

13-10,7-3Patriot

OT 1

Colgate

Lehigh

Photo by: Olivia Link

Whitlock's Game-Winner Lifts Lehigh Over Colgate 77-76 In Overtime

1/31/2026 6:01:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

BETHLEHEM, Pa. – Junior captain Nasir Whitlock scored his 32nd point of the game on a game-winning jumper with 1.6 seconds remaining to defeat the Colgate Raiders 77-76 in overtime at Stabler Arena on Saturday afternoon. The Mountain Hawks have now swept the season series with the Raiders for the first time since 2017.

🔊 Head coach Brett Reed following today's 77-76 overtime win over Colgate!#GoLehigh pic.twitter.com/aWrARh95DO
— Lehigh Men's Basketball (@LehighMBB) January 31, 2026

Lehigh (10-13, 6-4 PL) has now beaten Colgate (13-10, 7-3 PL) twice this season after earning a narrow 78-77 victory in Hamilton on January 10. Head coach Brett Reed earned his 297th career victory, putting him three away from becoming only the second coach in Patriot League history to surpass 300 wins.

Early triples from Edouard Benoit and Whitlock gave Lehigh an early 8-4 lead, but the Raiders responded with 11 points unanswered to lead by seven at the first media timeout. Whitlock continued to stay hot out of the break, starting the game 3-3 from distance. Andrew Urosevic provided a spark off the bench, using a personal 8-0 run to put the Mountain Hawks up four with 8:20 to play.

Lehigh's three-point barrage continued down the stretch, shooting 9-14 from downtown to lead by seven with 4:45 remaining. The Raiders locked in defensively in the final few minutes, holding the Mountain Hawks without a field goal for the rest of the half. Lehigh held a 37-34 advantage after the first 20 minutes.

The Mountain Hawks and Raiders exchanged baskets to open the second half, with Lehigh holding a one-point edge at the first media timeout. Colgate's Jalen Cox found success attacking the paint, scoring seven inside and at the line to tie the game 47-47 at the 11:24 mark. Lehigh finally found some separation by way of a Whitlock triple that gave the Mountain Hawks a six-point lead with 8:53 to go.

The Raiders quickly erased their deficit, tying the game at 55-55 in just over a minute. Colgate then gained their first advantage since the 10:23 mark of the first half on a Sam Wright and-one to put the Raiders up three. Another Cox jumper gave the Raiders a five-point lead and forced a Lehigh timeout with under six minutes left in the game.

Whitlock got going for Lehigh out of the timeout, scoring seven straight to tie the game at 62-62. All tied up at 65 with 1:26 to play, Cox gave Colgate a two-point lead on a driving layup. The Mountain Hawks were unable to score on the next possession, putting Cox on the line with 38.5 seconds on the clock.

Cox split the pair at the line, putting Lehigh's deficit at three. Whitlock went 1-2 at the line the next possession to set the score at 68-66 in favor of Colgate. Hank Alvey stole Colgate's inbounds pass, and Whitlock tied the game by knocking down two free throws. Cox had an opportunity to win the game at the buzzer, but his shot did not fall, sending Lehigh to their NCAA-leading sixth overtime game of the season.

Joshua Ingram got the scoring started in overtime with a hook shot over Colgate's Josh Ahayere, but two Andrew Alekseyenko free throws tied the game on the next possession. An Ingram corner three gave the Mountain Hawks a three-point advantage with 3:17 to play before four answered from Cox put the Raiders back in front by one.

Down by one, Whitlock converted a turnaround jumper to put Lehigh back on top. After both teams turned the ball over on back-to-back possessions, Alekseyenko gave the Raiders a 76-75 lead on a layup with 19.9 to play. With the shot clock turned off, Whitlock dribbled up the court and let the clock run down. The junior captain pulled up for the win over Ahayere, nailing a long jumper with only 1.6 seconds remaining to secure the season sweep of Colgate.

NASIR WHITLOCK DOES IT AGAIN ‼️‼️ @ShiftyWhitlock

📺 https://t.co/9avz0N15Ln @PatriotLeague @espn pic.twitter.com/E6Tx1UKtzI
— Lehigh Men's Basketball (@LehighMBB) January 31, 2026

Lehigh had an efficient night offensively, shooting 50.9% (27-53) from the field, 52.0% (13-25) from three, and 76.9% (10-13) from the foul line. Colgate posted shooting splits of 49.1% (28-57) from the floor, 20.0% (3-15) from distance, and 85.0% (17-20) from the charity stripe. The Raiders won the battle on the boards 33-24, but Lehigh's bench outscored Colgate's 14-7.

Whitlock shined with 32 points on 11-18 shooting and a career-high 6-9 from three. The junior added three assists, three rebounds, and a steal. Whitlock has now surpassed 20+ points 12 times and 30+ points five times this season.

32 points, game-winning shot, and postgame towel shower for @ShiftyWhitlock! ⭐#GoLehigh pic.twitter.com/2nCC3o3954
— Lehigh Men's Basketball (@LehighMBB) January 31, 2026

Urosevic scored 11 points with three made triples in 35 minutes off the bench. Benoit added 11 points and a team-high nine rebounds. Alvey and Ingram each added eight points while Jalen Vazquez (4p) and Peter Kramer (3p) also scored for Lehigh.

Cox led the Raiders with a career-high 34 points in the loss. Alekseyenko provided a double-double of 20 points and ten rebounds while Wright also reached double-figures with 11 for Colgate.

The Mountain Hawks travel south to Baltimore on Wednesday, February 4 at 7 p.m. to take on the Loyola Maryland Greyhounds.

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