Navy Midshipmen Fall to Colgate, Lose Third Straight Patriot League Game

Navy’s start to Patriot League play now seems like nothing more than a mirage, as the Midshipmen men’s basketball team lost its third straight game, this time to Colgate, 73-66, at Alumni Hall on Wednesday.

The Midshipmen (5-13, 2-3 in Patriot) started league action with two straight victories, but they’re now under-500 as the Raiders (7-11, 4-1) kept themselves at the top of the league standings.

Navy had a 37-36 lead with 17:53 left in the second half, but it was the final time the Midshipmen could say that. From there, the Raiders outscored them 37-29 the rest of the way.

Colgate’s Nicolas Louis-Jacques sparked the Raiders, as he made back-to-back 3-pointers to give them a 42-37 lead a minute later.

From there, the Midshipmen fought to try and make it a one-possession game, as they fell behind by nine points on two different occasions, the last coming at 9:35 left.

In one quick flurry the Midshipmen cut the lead to two points. Austin Benigni made a free throw, followed by a layup and free throw from Donovan Draper and a 3-pointer from Jordan Pennick. The run happened in the space of 24 seconds and made it a 57-55 game with 9:11 left.

Colgate answered and answered fast. The Raiders staggered the Midshipmen with an 8-0 run, including a pair of layups from Jeff Woodard and three free throws from Parker Jones. That made it a 67-57 game with 2:28 left.

Navy’s last lead of the game was early in the first half, as Draper’s lay-up gave the Midshipmen an 8-6 lead with 15:09 left. Jones gave Colgate the lead for good on a 3-pointer on the next possession.

Benigni had a huge game for Navy, as he scored 25 points, with four rebounds and a team-high eight assists. Cam Cole had 14 points off the bench, which included four 3-pointers. Draper had 11 points and 11 rebounds. Aidan Kehoe had six points and 13 rebounds, which snapped his streak of five double-doubles.

Woodward led four Raiders in double figures with 16 points. He also had eight rebounds and six assists. Louis-Jacques and Brady Cummings had 14 points each, while Jones added 13 points.

Colgate is now 48-30 all-time against Navy, with a 40-25 edge as members of the Patriot League.

Navy travels to Bucknell on Saturday at 4 p.m. to continue Patriot League action.