Army West Point Athletics
Army West Point
16-15,10-8Patriot
Colgate
14-18,10-8Patriot
Men’s Basketball Patriot League Championship Campaign Cut Short at Colgate
March 06, 2025 | Men's Basketball
HAMILTON, N.Y. — Army West Point men's basketball (16-15, 10-8) Patriot League Championship dreams were dashed on Thursday in a road loss against the Colgate University Raiders (14-18, 10-8), 55-84.
The Black Knights could not find their shooting rhythm on the road at Cotterell Court, with the Black Knights shooting 34.8 from the floor and 14.8 from the three-point line. On the other side, the home team finished the game shooting 52.5 percent from the floor and 46.2 percent from the three-point line.
Senior Jalen Rucker led the Black Knights in his final game against a Patriot League opponent, scoring a game-high 22 points while adding four rebounds, two assists and one steal.
Ryan Curry was the only other member of the Black Knights to score in double digits, scoring 10 points alongside a team-high five rebounds and three assists.
AJ Allenspach and Jacen Holloway each added seven points, Kevin McCarthy added five points in his first career start, Jackson Mayo added three points and Chanse Perkins added a point of his own to round out the scoring for Army.
How It Happened
The first few minutes stayed relatively even, with Colgate only gaining a 9-6 edge over the Black Knights. AJ Allenspach started scoring with a drive and slam then Jalen Rucker hit back-to-back shots.
Then the Raiders took control of the game, going on a 16-3 run over seven minutes that later extended to a 20-6 run over eight and a half minutes. With the run, Colgate took a 29-12 lead with 7:25 left in the first half.
Kevin McCarthy and Ryan Curry had the Black Knights six points in the stretch, both hitting three-pointers.
The Black Knights tried to close the gap with a 5-0 burst, with Jalen Rucker leading the run with four points with AJ Allenspach adding a made free-throw.
Then the Raiders went on another major run, outscoring Army 15-2 in just under five minutes to take a 44-19 with under a minute left in the first half. AJ Allenspach scored the two points in the run.
Jalen Rucker would add four more points to end the half, but the Raiders ultimately took a 46-23 advantage into the locker room.
Colgate's hot hand returned at the start of the second half, opening the next frame on the 10-3 run. Ryan Curry opened up the scoring for the Black Knights, but the Black Knights trailed 26-56 with 17:16 left to play.
Army then went on its first big run of the game, outscoring the Raiders 12-3, cutting it to a 38-59 game with under 14 minutes to play.
The run was started by two points from Jalen Rucker, then AJ Allenspach and Jacen Holloway each adding a driving layup. Jalen Rucker added four more points, and Ryan Curry added two points of his own.
Over the next four minutes, the Black Knights and Raiders each scored six points, with Jalen Rucker adding another four points and Kevin McCarthy adding two points of his own.
Over the next five minutes, the Raiders started on a small 6-0 run, which the Black Knights were able to contain and convert to only a 12-7 scoring advantage for the home team. Jacen Holloway scored five of his seven points in that stretch, with Ryan Curry adding his final two points of the game.
In the final four minutes, the Black Knights added four more points, with Chanse Perkins adding a made free throw and Jackson Mayo hitting the final shot of the game with a three-pointer, bringing the game to the final 55-84 score.
Up Next
The Black Knights finish the season 16-15 overall with a 10-8 Patriot League Record, tied for the most Patriot League wins in a regular season in program history.
