EASTON, Pa. - Lafayette men's basketball opened the Patriot League slate with a last-minute loss against Colgate, 85-77, on Wednesday at Kirby Sports Center. The afternoon matinee saw 20 lead changes and 14 ties.

Sophomore Mark Butler paced five Leopards in double figures with 19 points, five rebounds and two steals. Freshman Shareef Jackson grabbed a team-high eight rebounds while senior Ryan Pettit dished a team-high four assists in his first game back from injury since Nov. 30.

Overall, Lafayette (48.1) outshot the Raiders (47.4) from the floor. The opponents held out for one more 3-pointer compared to the hosts (7-6). The Leopards gave up 17 fast break points.

Junior Andrew Phillips put up five points in two minutes to give the Leopards the initial 5-4 advantage to start the first half.

Lafayette used a 3-pointer by Caleb Williams at 13:33 to keep the lead, 11-9.

Colgate overtook the Leopards at the 10-minute mark, 17-14, with a pair of free throws by Ben Tweedy and a shot beyond the arc by Kyle Carlesimo.

Butler retaliated with six points in 64 seconds to put the Maroon and White back on top, 21-17, at 8:18.

In a 16-10 Raider stretch to 3:01, the opponents earned a slim advantage, 33-31. Butler knocked down both of his free throws directly afterwards to tie the game for the fifth time.

Colgate junior Jalen Cox shot a near-half court 3-pointer at the buzzer to give his team the 41-37 halftime lead.

Butler and Williams combined for 10 points to begin the second period trailing by two, 51-49. The pair hit 4-of-7 from the floor, including one 3-pointer, by 15:47.

As the teams were vying for the lead, Jackson's back-to-back hook shots gave the Leopards an edge at 11:34, 60-58.

Pettit netted a corner 3-pointer to keep the hosts hovering above a two-point gap over the next three minutes, 67-65.

Heading into the final five minutes of play, Colgate jolted awake for a 12-3 run by the two-minute mark. Sam Wright put up seven points in the spurt for a 77-70 lead.

Pettit added three points thereafter to go with Williams' two free throws to get as close as 80-75 with 50 seconds left in regulation.

Phillips muscled in a driving layup with 25 seconds on the clock for an 82-77 deficit.

The Leopards then fouled Cox and Carlesimo to regain possession and plan out a handful of last-ditch 3-point efforts for Christian Humphrey-Rembert and Pettit in the last 10 seconds. Both shots were tipped away by the defense in the 85-77 final.

In total, Cox led Colgate with 29 points, comprised of 10-for-13 from the floor and a perfect 7-of-7 from the charity stripe in 37 minutes of court time.

Next up, the Leopards travel to Loyola Maryland on Saturday for a 5 p.m. tip-off.
 
 
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