Kendall Chones was red hot from the tip off, going 3-for-3. Army was able to stay in the game because of Jarell Brown, who also went 4-for-4 in the opening minutes (2 from beyond the arc). Colgate seemed to shake off the offensive stupor they were in last game against Cornell, shooting 54.5 percent from the floor at one point in the first half. After a spilled cooler soaked the floor and suspended play for a few minutes, Colgate went on an 8-0 run. Dan Gentile scored for the first time in two games on a reverse lay-up. Colgate jumped out to a 18-12 lead. Army was careless with the ball in the opening minutes, turning the ball over seven times on errant passes and poor ball handling. Colgate held Army to 8 points from all players outside of Brown. Brown was 3-for-4 from downtown and 5-7 from the floor, scoring 14 of Army’s opening 24. Kyle Chones responded with a scoring flurry of his own, sinking three threes and racking up 14 points of his own off the bench. Colgate built a 33-24 lead with 2:59 remaining the opening frame. With two minutes left in the first half, no Army player other then Brown had scored more then two points. Colgate played man-to-man for most of the first half but switched to a zone in an attempt to slow Brown. Brown converted a last second three-point opportunity to lead all scoring in the first half with 17. Brown’s outburst wasn’t enough to close the deficit, and Colgate brought a 37-29 lead into the locker room.

Army shot around 50.0 percent most of the first half and continued to get it done on the offensive end after the break. A lay-up on the opening possession in the first half by Matt Bell opened a 6-0 Black Knights run. Colgate responded with lay-ups by Tim Pounds, Dan Gentile and Alex Woodhouse to give the Raiders a three possession lead with 10 minutes remaining.

Army again battled back on the strength of their guards. Matt Bell found his range, scoring 10 points in the first 10 minutes of the second half. Brown continued his torrid pace from three-point land, hitting his sixth of the game to bring Army within 1. Colgate and Army traded baskets most of the second half. Colgate switched back and forth from zone to man defense, but whatever was employed proved futile against Brown’s offensive onslaught. Defensively neither team could get a stop. With the game tied at 65-65 with 30 seconds remaining, Colgate had a chance to win the game on the last possession. Daniel Waddy’s foul line jumper went wide and the game went into overtime.

Colgate opened the overtime period on a 7-0 run, using two Kendall Chones lay-ups and a Waddy three-pointer from the baseline. Again, the guard play of the Black Knights kept Army in the game. Brown sank 2 timely foul shots after a Tim Pounds foul. Bell converted a lay-up opportunity to bring Army back to within 3 with a minute remaining. Bell mixed it up in the lane a sank another lay-up to close the lead to one. After a foul, Simon hit the second of his two foul shots. Colgate was able to survive a last ditch effort by Army when a Corban Bates three-pointer went in-and-out. The exciting finish was extended after a Kendall Chones foul on the rebound. Chris Walker missed his first foul shot, with less then a second remaining and it was over.

Coach Emmett Davis talked about the newfound urgency in the Patriot League opener: “I think each game is important, league play is a totally different intensity level. There is a carry over… each game is big. You want to protect your home court and go on the road and be successful. That’s how you win a championship.”

Colgate continues its Patriot League play against Lafayette at 7 pm Wednesday. Army travels to Holy Cross.