The men's basketball team was forced to come from behind on Sunday afternoon, rallying from nine points down at the half to defeat Colgate 68-60 in Hamilton, N.Y. The game started out on a positive note for the Eagles, who took a 21-15 lead on a three-pointer by junior Brian Gilmore at the 9:39 mark of the first half after trading baskets back and forth with the Raiders during the opening minutes. However, this would be the last scoring AU would have for over seven minutes, as the team went from having a six-point advantage to finding itself in a nine-point deficit.
Junior Derrick Mercer's lay-up with 2:24 remaining in the half finally broke the scoring drought, but it was not enough to prevent the Eagles from entering the locker room with the second-highest halftime deficit of the season - the highest being down 10 points in the game against Georgetown.
Junior Bryce Simon hit a three-pointer to open the second half, and senior Travis Lay's three-point play cut the Raider lead to three only two minutes into the half. The Eagles finally retook the lead on a three-pointer by junior Garrison Carr, one of his six buckets from beyond the arc that day, to give AU a 42-40 lead.
Once they got the lead, the team went on a 26-20 run over the final 13 minutes of the game to take the eight-point win. Carr was the game's highest scorer, taking in 24 points, while teammate Mercer recorded 18 points of his own.
The win was the fifth in a row for the Eagles, who remain one and a half games ahead of second-place Navy for the top spot in the Patriot League with three games to go. The team returns home to Bender Arena on Wednesday for a game against Army. Tip-off is at 7:30 p.m.
