Dec. 31, 2009

Center Valley, Pa. - Three Patriot League men's basketball teams closed out the 2009 portion of the schedule in dramatic fashion on Wednesday, and were all on the positive end of the result. Navy knocked off Coppin State on a three-pointer by Jordan Sugars with 0.7 seconds remaining, while Bucknell and Lehigh won in overtime over Marist and Delaware State, respectively.

Sugars scored 27 points, including the game-winning three, to push the Mids over Coppin State, 78-75. Bucknell's Bryan Cohen hit a three-pointer with 20 seconds left in overtime and came up big on the other end to lift the Bison over Marist, 70-67. Lehigh rallied from a 10-point second-half deficit to force overtime and won at Delaware State, 73-66. Elsewhere, Army saw its four-game win streak come to an end with a 71-63 loss at SMU, and Colgate fell at New Hampshire, 63-55.

Navy (5-8) snapped a four-game losing streak behind Sugars' career night. The sophomore hit 7-of-15 three-point shots for the career-high 27 points, and also pulled down seven rebounds. Chris Harris totaled 20 points in the game, hitting 4-of-8 three-point shots to become Navy's all-time leader with 238. He also notched a season-high seven assists and four steals. The game was nip and tuck throughout, with 16 ties and 11 lead changes and neither team leading by more than six points at any time. Coppin State forced the last tie of the game on a three-pointer with seven seconds left to knot the score at 75. After a timeout, Harris moved up the floor and found Sugars open on the right wing for the winning basket.

Bucknell (5-9) ended its six-game losing skid with the overtime win over Marist. Similar to the Navy contest, the matchup featured 11 lead changes and ten ties and neither team led by more than six points. The action picked up in the final 30 seconds of regulation, with Cohen putting Bucknell up by two points on a shot with 22 seconds left and Marist sending it to the extra session on a bucket with 11 seconds to play. Marist took a two-point lead with 30 seconds to play in overtime, but Cohen put Bucknell up for good on a three-pointer 10 seconds later. Cohen forced a tough shot on Marist's next possession, then grabbed the rebound and hit a pair of free throws to seal the Bucknell win. Cohen had 16 points and 10 rebounds in the game. Mike Muscala led Bucknell with 18 points, including a game-tying three-pointer in the final minute of overtime. Darryl Shazier contributed 16 points and six assists as Bucknell earned its first win in December.

Lehigh (7-6) earned its third straight win by rallying at Delaware State. The Mountain Hawks trailed, 52-42, with 8:27 remaining before going on a 17-4 run to claim a 59-56 lead with 1:02 left. Delaware State hit a three-pointer with five seconds remaining to tie the score at 59 and send the game to overtime, but the Mountain Hawks still carried the momentum to the extra session. Lehigh went ahead for good on a layup by C.J. McCollum with 3:23 left, and got a huge three-point play by Zahir Carrington to go up, 70-66, with 23 seconds left to help seal the win. Marquis Hall led Lehigh with 20 points, while C.J. McCollum scored 16 and Dave Buchberger added 15. Carrington had six points and 11 rebounds, his third consecutive double-digit rebound game.

Army (9-3) had its four-game win streak snapped, as the Black Knights could not fight all the way back from a 16-point deficit at SMU. Army went on a 15-4 run to trim its gap to 61-56 with 1:38 to play, but could not get any closer. Josh Miller and Julian Simmons led Army with 14 points apiece, while Cleveland Richard scored 12.

Colgate (1-10) fell behind by nine points at halftime and by as many as 19 in the second half at New Hampshire. The Raiders cut the deficit all the way down to four in the final minute, but New Hampshire hit four free throws to seal the win. Ben Jonson led Colgate with 14 points, while Kyle Roemer scored 13.

Holy Cross closes out the 2009 schedule for the Patriot League when it visits Stony Brook on Thursday afternoon.

The Patriot League will provide a brief synopsis and links to school recaps and box scores on the men's basketball page every night during non-League play, and continue the expanded recaps once League action begins. School recap and box score links are also available on the men's basketball composite schedule, where any live stat, audio and video links are provided prior to each contest.

The scores from Wednesday are listed below, with the links on each school name going to the institution's recap and box score from the contest.

at Navy 78, Coppin State 75
at Bucknell 70, Marist 67 (OT)
Lehigh 73 at Delaware State 66 (OT)
at SMU 71, Army 63
at New Hampshire 63, Colgate 55