ALBANY, NY – Jalen Cox banked in a half court heave at the buzzer as perennial Patriot League power Colgate stunned Siena Basketball 72-69 at MVP Arena.
 
A Preseason All-Patriot League Team selection, Cox finished with a game-high 22 to points to lead Colgate (2-3) which has qualified for five of the past seven NCAA Tournaments. Andrew Alekseyenko added 17 points on 7-12 shooting for the Raiders which connected at a 54% clip from the field.
 
Freshman Francis Folefac finished with a personal-best 16 points on 6-7 shooting in 16 minutes off the bench to lead Siena (2-2).
 
The teams played to 14 lead changes and 12 ties in a game featuring a pair of squads expected to contend for their respective league titles. The Saints scored their first 11 points consecutively to take as much as an early seven-point lead, but trailed 30-28 at the break.
 
Colgate, which shot 63% (17-27) in the second half, scored six straight to claim their biggest lead of the evening, albeit at just that at 60-54 with 6:34 remaining.
 
The Raiders still led by five at 68-63 with 1:42 left, but Siena forced back-to-back turnovers to stay alive. After Josh Ahayere hit 1-2 at the line to give Colgate a 69-67 lead, the Saints called timeout in the frontcourt with 6.7 seconds remaining.
 
Brendan Coyle finished a baseline drive to draw Siena even with 2.7 seconds to go, but following a timeout, Cox received the final inbounds, took three dribbles, and banked home a prayer from a step behind the half court stripe to send the Raiders home a winner.
 
Gavin Doty tallied 14 points and Antonio Chandler added 11 points and seven rebounds for the Saints who now turn their attention to the Albany Cup. The annual battle between crosstown rivals Siena and UAlbany returns to MVP Arena Friday night at 7 p.m.