Colgate Basketball faces Lehigh in Patriot League semifinals Sunday

Colgate basketball will have its season decided by a single road semifinal at Stabler Arena, where a win keeps the Raiders alive in the Patriot League Tournament and a loss ends the run. As of 11: 15 a. m. ET on Saturday, the matchup is set for Sunday in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, with Lehigh hosting Colgate in the Patriot League semifinals.

Stabler Arena sets a win-or-go-home road test for Colgate Basketball

The immediate change for Colgate is straightforward: the Raiders now have to win away from home to advance, with the semifinal stage putting maximum pressure on every possession. The game will be played at Stabler Arena in Bethlehem, PA, where Lehigh will face Colgate on Sunday in the Patriot League semifinals.

Colgate enters the semifinal with an 18-14 record, while Lehigh brings a 16-16 mark into the game. The setting also shifts the task from surviving an opening-round matchup to handling a higher-stakes tournament contest where there is no next game unless the Raiders take care of business in Bethlehem.

Ben Tweedy’s 28-point night raises the bar after Loyola win

Colgate’s most recent result provides the clearest blueprint for what has to travel with the team: efficient scoring and a steady flow of assists. The Raiders’ last contest ended in a 90-77 win over Loyola, a game in which Colgate shot 62. 7% from the field by going 32-for-51 and hit 8 of 19 attempts from three-point range.

Ben Tweedy led that performance with 28 points on 9-for-12 shooting while playing 35 minutes, adding five rebounds and two assists. Colgate also made 18 of 23 free throws (78. 3%) and recorded 19 assists, while committing six turnovers in the same game.

Yet the Loyola game also showed what can tighten margins in a semifinal. Colgate did not record a steal in that win, and Loyola still produced 10 made three-pointers on 28 attempts. If the Raiders can’t limit perimeter efficiency or create extra possessions, the road environment at Stabler Arena could magnify any defensive lapses.

Patriot League semifinal stakes: Colgate vs. Lehigh after tight Holy Cross finish

The semifinal opponent arrives after its own close call. Lehigh’s last outing ended with a 69-66 win over Holy Cross, a result that underscores how narrow the tournament path can get once teams reach this stage. In that game, Lehigh went 4-for-16 from three-point range (25. 0%) and made 20 of 22 shots at the free-throw line.

For Colgate, the matchup also puts season-long trends under immediate scrutiny. The Raiders average 76. 7 points per game while shooting 48. 1% from the field, and they have made 238 three-pointers on 653 attempts (36. 4%). Colgate averages 34. 2 rebounds per game and has totaled 471 assists this year, while turning the ball over 10. 2 times per contest.

On the other end, Colgate’s defense has allowed 74. 6 points per game and held opponents to 34. 0% shooting from beyond the arc, while forcing 10. 5 turnovers per game. The Raiders have also surrendered 452 assists on the season, a figure listed at 288th in Division I. Those numbers won’t decide the semifinal on their own, but they shape the reality of what must improve—or hold steady—when the Raiders step into a road tournament environment against Lehigh.

The next definitive milestone is the semifinal tip Sunday at Stabler Arena in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. If Colgate’s shot-making carries over from the Loyola win, the Raiders give themselves a clear path to extend the season with a win over Lehigh.