Army West Point Athletics
Army West Point
6-7,0-1Patriot
Colgate
4-10,1-0Patriot
Men’s Basketball Comes Up Short in League Play Opener At Colgate
January 02, 2025 | Men's Basketball
HAMILTON, N.Y. — Army West Point men's basketball (6-7, 0-1) opened up 2025 and Patriot League play on the road, where the team ultimately fell to the Colgate Raiders (4-10, 1-0), 71-59.
The Black Knights finished the game shooting 41 percent from the field and struggled shooting from the three-point line, only shooting 26 percent from behind the arch. The Raiders finished the game shooting 48 percent from the field and 35 percent from the three-point line, plus a 12-0 run late in the second half allowed Colgate to take the 12-point win over Army.
Josh Scovens led the way with 16 points while adding five rebounds, three blocks and two steals. Ryan Curry also finished the game in double-digits with 14 points and four rebounds.
AJ Allenspach rounded out the double-digit scorers with 13 points and a team-best eight rebounds. Jalen Rucker led the team with five assists while adding eight points.
How It Happened
Army got out to a fast start in the first few minutes of the game. The scoring started with a layup from AJ Allenspach, followed by back-to-back three-pointers from Ryan Curry, allowing the Black Knights to an early 7-2 lead.
The Black Knights were able to keep the early lead, but slowly Colgate crept back into the game. Then Raiders went on a 9-2 over three minutes and took a 21-16 lead with 9:35 left in the first half.
Colgate kept Army at arms-length up until the Black Knights scored six points in 30 seconds. A three-point play by Jalen Rucker and a three-pointer from Ryan Curry tied the game at 28-28 with 4:16 in the first half.
The Raiders would quickly rebuttal with a 10-2 run, but one more bucket from Army brought the score to 38-32 in Colgate's favor heading into halftime.
In the second half, the two teams exchanged buckets for the first few minutes of the first half. Army was able to cut the lead down to five with a 7-2 run lead by five points from Jalen Rucker and two points from Josh Scovens.
The Raiders responded with a 12-0 run over four minutes to allow them to take their biggest lead of the game. Colgate was able to take a 60-43 lead with 8:28 left with the help of three field goals and two back-to-back three-pointers.
Army was able to respond with a quick 6-0 run with three-pointers from JT Dougherty and Jacen Holloway. Colgate followed that with a six-point burst of its own, but the Black Knights gained some momentum back with a personal 7-0 run from Josh Scovens and strong defense of their own to cut the lead to 66-56 with 3:42 left on the clock.
The Black Knights comeback attempt was cut short in the final four minutes, with Colgate outscoring the Black Knights 6-4, allowing the Raiders to take the 71-59 win to open league play.
Up Next
Army stays on the road as they head east on Sunday to Boston to take on the Boston University Terriers, who were ranked third in the Patriot League Preseason Poll. The Black Knights and Terriers faced off twice during Patriot League play last season, while Army finished 2-0 against Boston U.
Tip-off is set for 1 p.m., and the game will stream live on ESPN+ and The Varsity Network.
