ANNAPOLIS, Md. — Colgate’s Mitch Rolls hit a double-clutching three-pointer with 1.5 seconds left to give Colgate a 59-57 victory over the Navy men’s basketball team on Saturday night in Alumni Hall. The loss was yet another heartbreaking setback for the Mids, dropping Navy to 3-23 overall and 0-12 in the Patriot League. Colgate improved to 8-19 overall and 2-10 in the league standings.
Navy is now 0-6 in games this year decided by single-figures and Navy has lost four games this year in which opponents have hit shots in the final five seconds of the game to hand the Midshipmen a setback.
The game which was played in front of 4,122 fans — the fourth-longest non-Army crowd in Alumni Hall history and second-largest non-Army crowd in the regular season — was a seesaw affair back-and-forth. Colgate led 29-25 at halftime and held a 56-51 lead with 44 seconds left when Navy rallied. Isaiah Roberts (So. / Pennsauken, N.J.) buried a three-pointer with 32 seconds left to cut the Colgate lead to 56-54.
Navy then forced a turnover on the next possession and Thurgood Wynn (So. / Bethesda, Md.) connected on one-of-two free throws to trim the margin to 56-55 with 27 seconds left. Navy then forced another turnover, this time on Colgate’s inbounds pass, to get the ball back with a chance to take the lead.
Roberts, who was playing one day after the death of his grandmother, drove the lane and scored on a twisting lay-up in traffic with 8.2 seconds left to take 57-56 lead.
But Colgate’s Rolls, a junior who connected on a three-pointer in the first meeting with five seconds left to send the game into overtime where the Raiders eventually won, drove the length of the floor, got a screen, and swished home a double-pumping three-pointer over two defenders for the 59-57 lead. Worth Smith’s (Fr. / Mooresville, N.C.) three-quarter court shot was off the mark and Navy fell in heartbreaking fashion again, 59-57.
“I feel bad for our guys. The game was back-and-forth and we made some plays late in the game to get back into it. I was proud of our effort. We came out and tried to win the game and showed a lot of fight,” said Navy head coach Ed DeChellis. “But tonight was the same story as it has been all year. We were one play away again from winning the basketball game. We made the play on offense and didn’t get it done on defense on the final play. I feel horrible for our guys, but you have to go out and win games and not hope someone loses it.
“Sometimes the basketball gods just aren’t very friendly,” added DeChellis.
Colgate jumped out to a quick 13-7 lead after making five of its first six shots, but Navy countered with an 8-2 spurt to tie the game at 15 on a Jordan Brickman (Jr. / San Antonio, Texas) three-pointer with 9:49 left in the first half. Colgate would settle in for a 29-25 halftime lead.
Navy would grab a 34-33 lead early in the second half, but Colgate would go on a 7-0 run to take a 40-34 lead with 13:02 left. Colgate took its largest lead of the game at 51-43 with 6:34 to play when Pat Moore threw in a desparation 25-foot three-pointer in traffic with the shot clock winding down, before Navy started its rally.
Navy shot 18-of-46 (.391) from the field, 5-of-15 (.333) from three-point range and 16-of-23 (.696) from the free throw line. Navy was guilty of a season-low nine turnovers with just three of them coming in the second half.
Colgate was 17-of-29 (.586) from the field, 6-of-10 (.600) from three-point range and 19-of-24 (.792) from the free throw line. The Raiders made 9-of-13 (.692) field goal attempts in the second half. Colgate had 17 turnovers and outrebounded Navy by a 25-22 margin.
Jordan Sugars (Sr. / Winchester, Va.) led Navy with 20 points and seven rebounds and in the process, became the 15th Navy player to surpass 1,300 career points, now with 1,317 points.
Roberts added a career-high 18 points, 14 in the second half, with three assists on 6-of-10 field goals. Sugars and Roberts went a combined 12-of-20 from the field. The rest of the Midshipmen went 6-of-26 (.231) from the field.
“Isaiah played really well in the second half. He made some plays on both ends of the floor tonight,” said DeChellis. “I’m very proud of him. His grandmother passed away on Friday and he gutted it out and played one heck of a basketball game tonight.”
Mitch Rolls led Colgate with 13 points. Mike Venezia added 11, but nine of them came in the game’s first four minutes.
Navy closes out its home portion of the schedule on Wednesday night when it hosts Lehigh at 7:00 pm. Navy seniors Carlton Smith, Ted Connolly and Jordan Sugars will be honored before the game as part of Senior Night festivities.
# GO NAVY #
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