Army Black Knights Fall to Colgate Raiders in Patriot League Opener

The Army West Point Black Knights men’s basketball team opened its Patriot League slate with a loss on the road to the Colgate Raiders.

Army's Josh Scovens goes for a layup against Fairleigh Dickinson University's Cameron Tweedy during the game on November 20, 2024. / Patrick Oehler/Poughkeepsie Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The Army West Point Black Knights men’s basketball team opened its 2024-25 Patriot League slate at Colgate but was unable to beat the Raiders, falling 71-59 on Thursday night in Hamilton, N.Y.

Army (6-7, 0-1 in Patriot) was shooting for its first win over Colgate (4-10, 1-0) since 2021. The Black Knights had some momentum going into the contest after a 78-75 win over UTSA last weekend.

Army also appeared to be catching Colgate at an opportune time, as the Patriot League preseason favorite had only won three games entering conference action.

But, after holding the lead for several minutes in the first half, that momentum disappeared in the second half for Army.

Down just six points going into the break, the Black Knights saw the Raiders slowly pull away, as they built a double-digit lead five minutes into the second half and then maintained it for the final 10 minutes of the game as Army furiously tried to cut into the lead.

Key to the win for Colgate was limiting Army’s Jalen Rucker. The reigning Patriot League Player of the week entered the contest leading the Patriot League in scoring at 18.9 points per game. He also scored 27 points in the win over UTSA.

The Raiders held him to eight points, as he shot 3-of-11 from the floor and only made one 3-pointer. He did pull down four rebounds and dish out five assists.

Colgate shot 48% from the floor, including 35% from the 3-point line, along with 75% from the free-throw line. Army couldn’t match it, with 41%, 26% and 66.7%, respectively. Colgate also held a 36-28 edge in rebounding and a 32-24 edge in points in the paint.

Josh Scovens, last year’s Patriot League freshman of the year, led the Black Knights with 16 points and three blocked shots. AJ Allenspach, who nearly averages a double-double, had 13 points and eight rebounds. Ryan Curry added 14 points.

Jeff Woodward led Colgate with 17 points, while Jalen Cox scored 15 points and Chandler Baker added 11 points.

Army’s inability to score was unexpected, considering it entered the game leading the Patriot League with 80.1 points per game and among the Top 85 teams in the country.

Colgate now leads the all-time series with Army, 77-64, and won its 10th straight game over the Black Knights.

Army will face Boston U. on the road on Sunday afternoon. The Black Knights hope to even their all-time series with the Terriers, which stands at 22-21 in favor of Boston U. Army has won the last three meetings.