WASHINGTON – No. 2 American advanced to the 2025 PenFed Credit Union Patriot League Men’s Basketball Championship Game after a hot-shooting second half against No. 3 Colgate and will host No. 5 Navy after the Mids upset top-seeded Bucknell during the semifinal round.
 
The Eagles trailed by as many as eight points in the first half but shot 50 percent from the floor in the second, including 5-of-8 from beyond the arc to earn a 72-62 victory, snapping Colgate’s 13-game Patriot League Championship win streak. American advances to the Patriot League Men’s Basketball Championship Game for the first time since 2015 and will host the title game at Bender Arena for the first time since 2009.
 
No. 5 Navy advanced to the League title game for the first time since 2022 with an 83-77 victory over top-seeded Bucknell. Junior guard Austin Benigni scored a game-high 24 points, including a Patriot League Championship single-game record 20 made free throws.
 
Live coverage of the 2025 PenFed Credit Union Patriot League Men’s Basketball Championship Game will begin at 7 p.m. on CBS Sports Network. Jason Knapp will handle play-by-play, Mo Cassara will provide analysis and Keiana Martin will report from the sideline. Westwood One will also carry a national radio broadcast of the Championship Game with Pat McCarthy and Nick Bahe on the call.
 
CLICK HERE for more information on the 2025 PenFed Credit Union Patriot League Men’s Basketball Championship. To view the 2025 PenFed Credit Union Patriot League Championship Digital Program, CLICK HERE.
 

DATE	MEN’S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP | ROUND | COVERAGE	TIME/SCORE
Tuesday, March 4	No. 10 Holy Cross at No. 7 Lafayette | First Round | ESPN+	Lafayette, 69-68
Tuesday, March 4	No. 9 Lehigh at No. 8 Loyola Maryland | First Round | ESPN+	Loyola 77-73
Thursday, March 6	No. 8 Loyola Maryland at No. 1 Bucknell | Quarterfinals | ESPN+	Bucknell, 76-72 (OT)
Thursday, March 6	No. 7 Lafayette at No. 2 American | Quarterfinals | ESPN+	American, 71-69
Thursday, March 6	No. 6 Army West Point at No. 3 Colgate | Quarterfinals | ESPN+	Colgate, 84-55
Thursday, March 6	No. 5 Navy at No. 4 Boston University | Quarterfinals | ESPN+	Navy, 86-78
Sunday, March 9	No. 5 Navy at No. 1 Bucknell | Semifinals | CBSSN	Navy, 83-77
Sunday, March 9	No. 3 Colgate at No. 2 American | Semifinals | CBSSN	American, 72-62
Wednesday, March 12	No. 5 Navy at No. 2 American | Championship Game | CBSSN	7 p.m.

 
NO. 5 NAVY MIDSHIPMEN (15-18, 10-8 PL) 83, AT NO. 1 BUCKNELL BISON (18-15, 13-5 PL) 77
Sojka Pavilion/Lewisburg, Pa.                                         Noon (CBSSN)
BOX SCORE
LEWISBURG, Pa. – Junior guard Austin Benigni scored a game-high 24 points on 20 made free throws to lead No. 5 Navy to an 83-77 upset victory over top-seeded Bucknell in the Patriot League Men’s Basketball Championship semifinals.
*Beningi connected on 20-of-22 from the charity stripe, setting a single-game Patriot League Championship record. His 34 made free throws in two games is also a Patriot League Championship record.
*Benigni also dished out a game-high seven assists and pulled down four boards to send the Midshipmen to the League title game for the first time since 2022.
*Sophomore guards Jordan Pennick and Jinwoo Kim scored 10 of Navy’s first 14 points in the second half to help turn a three-point halftime lead into an 11-point lead five minutes into the final frame. Pennick and Kim finished with 15 and 13 points, respectively
*Navy junior forward Donovan Draper added 12 points on 3-of-6 shooting from deep, along with seven rebounds and three steals. Classmate Mike Woods came off the bench to add 11 points, seven boards and four steals.
*Bucknell junior center Noah Williamson, the Patriot League Player of the Year, led the Bison with 22 points, seven rebounds and four blocks, while junior guard Achile Spadone chipped 21 points, five rebounds and three steals.
*Senior guard Josh Bascoe posted 16 points, four rebounds, three assists and three steals. He scored eight points in the final six minutes, including a pair of free throws that put the Bison in front briefly at 60-59.
RECAPS: NAVY | BUCKNELL
 
AT NO. 2 AMERICAN EAGLES (21-12, 13-5 PL) 72, NO. 3 COLGATE RAIDERS (14-19, 10-8 PL) 62
Bender Arena/Washington, D.C.                                      2 p.m. (CBSSN)
BOX SCORE
WASHINGTON – Senior guard Elijah Stephens scored 12 of his team-high 16 points in the second half to lead No. 2 American to a 72-62 victory over No. 3 Colgate in the semifinal round of the Patriot League Men’s Basketball Championship.
*After trailing by as many as eight points in the first half, American came out hot after the break, shooting 50 percent from the field while making 5-of-8 from 3-point range in the final frame, including two early 3-pointers from Stephens to give AU its first lead of the game with 18:12 left in the game.
*Graduate student forward Matt Rogers also saw his production jump in the second half, scoring 10 of his 15 points after halftime to help outscore the four-time defending League champion Raiders 46-33 and advance to the League title game for the first time since 2015.
*Graduate students Colin Smalls and Lincoln Ball finished with 12 and 10 points, respectively, while sophomore forward Greg Jones added 11 points to give the Eagles five double-figure scorers.
*Colgate fifth-year forward Jeff Woodward recorded his seventh double-double of the season, finishing with 16 points and 12 rebounds.
*Sophomore guard Jalen Cox added 16 points for the Raiders on 7-of-9 shooting from the floor, and senior guard Chandler Baker chipped in 14 points and three steals.
*Colgate's record-breaking streak of 13 consecutive wins in the Patriot League Championship was snapped in the loss.
RECAPS: COLGATE | AMERICAN
 
ABOUT THE PATRIOT LEAGUE
The Patriot League is in its fourth decade of academic and athletic achievement, continually demonstrating that student-athletes can excel at both academics and athletics without sacrificing high standards. The Patriot League’s athletic success is achieved while its member institutions remain committed to its founding principle of admitting and graduating student-athletes who are academically representative of their class. Participation in athletics at Patriot League institutions is viewed as an important component of a well-rounded education.