The men’s basketball team split a pair of games this week, taking down Colgate University 76-61 on Saturday before falling 71-58 against Loyola Maryland University on Wednesday.
Beginning the week with action on the road at Colgate (6-5 Patriot League, 9-15 overall), the Leopards (4-7 Patriot League, 9-15 overall) controlled the game from start to finish. Shooting 50% from the field and leading for nearly the entire contest, the Maroon and White secured a key conference victory.
“I think we played really well together as a team,” junior guard Ryan Pettit said. “We were able to disrupt what they wanted to do offensively with our aggression and staying focused on the details defensively which allowed us to get out in transition and get easy baskets.”
Freshman guard Caleb Williams delivered a career-best performance with 20 points and nine rebounds, shooting 60% from both the field and beyond the arc. Freshman guard Alex Chaikin contributed 18 points, while sophomore guard Mark Butler (13 points) and sophomore forward Andrew Phillips (10 points) rounded out a balanced scoring attack.
“We had a ton of energy and focus going into Colgate,” Phillips said. “We feel like we deserved to win but know that there’s a lot of work to do and each game is going to be hard to win moving forward.”
The Maroon and White dominated the first half, capped off by an 11-1 scoring run to close out the frame and take a 46-27 lead into the locker room. The Leopards limited the Raiders to just one made 3-pointer in the opening half.
In the second half, the Leopards extended their lead to a game-high 25 points before Colgate responded with a 14-6 run, trimming the deficit to 17. The Raiders continued to chip away but never got within single digits, as the Maroon and White maintained their composure.
“It’s great to get a win against a team that has been at the top of the league for so long, we are just focused on staying consistent in our process,” Pettit said. “Collectively, we have to be able to show up every day and get better regardless of results that have happened prior.”
With the victory, the Leopards improved their conference standing and shifted their focus to the next matchup against Loyola Maryland (5-6 Patriot League, 10-12 overall) on Wednesday.
“We don’t look past any team and this year’s league is pretty even throughout, so every game is huge,” Pettit said.
However, the Leopards failed to stack up back-to-back wins, falling short in the absence of senior center Justin Vander Baan.
“We’re a little short-handed, but it’s no excuse,” Pettit said. “As much as we want Justin to be out there, we got to be able to find a way to win without him. I thought they did a really good disrupting us when the reality is, that’s what we want to do to other teams.”
The Maroon and White got off to a hot start, with Phillips notching the team’s first seven points on a trio of buckets. The Greyhounds hung in tough, going on a number of scoring runs in the first half, while the Leopards faltered from behind the arc, shooting 2-9 from downtown in the first half.
“I think we kind of underestimated them, came out flat,” Phillips said. “I think we got a lot to work on, especially little details, closing out the half, coming out with more energy second-half wise.”
The second half was more of the same, as Loyola kept the Leopards comfortably at arm’s length, and the Maroon and White could not muster a comeback and fell by a comfortable margin.
The Leopards return to action in a home matchup against Navy on Saturday afternoon.
“They’re very disciplined and we lost to them at the buzzer last time,” Phillips said. “We got to really regroup here quickly.”
