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Colgate and Lafayette are at the bottom of the Patriot League, having lost 15 of the 16 games the two teams have played in conference. While there is no way CBS Sports Network and the conference could have known that when the nationally televised game was scheduled, there still managed to be a few storylines to follow as the night went on, chief among them the return of Lafayette's star forward Seth Hinrichs from a 10-game layoff with a knee injury.
Hinrichs entered the game coming out of the first media timeout and slowly worked his way into the flow of the game, but never totally found it. He would finish 2-for-10 from the field with five points as the Leopards dropped their ninth conference game, 75-68.
If not for the hot shooting of Joey Ptasinski -- he made five of the six threes he attempted -- Lafayette may have fallen totally out of the game. But Colgate seemed content to let him fire uncontested threes from deep and just inside the line on his way to a game-high 21 points. Nick Linder (11 points), Bryce Scott (12 points), and Monty Boykins (10 points) joined Ptasinski in double figures.
Colgate managed to quiet Ptasinski for long enough down the stretch of the first half to open up an eight-point lead on the heels of a 14-2 run. That lead would get as low as three, but it seemed like every time Lafayette made a push one of Matt Lengal's veteran players -- or Austin Tillotson -- would make a play to keep the Raiders out in front.
This game wasn't about Colgate, though. It wasn't even about Joey Ptasinski. This one was all about Seth Hinrichs.
With Hinrichs back in the fold, Fran O'Hanlon's team is dangerous again. This is a guy who was averaging 20 points per game before he went out with a knee injury and the Leopards went into a tailspin. Getting him back gives them some much needed support on the offensive end of the court and some length on the defensive end. It didn't totally show up tonight, and it may not show up for a couple games, but when it does come through Lafayette is going to make some games very interesting as this Patriot League season heads down the back nine.
Welcome back, Seth Hinrichs, we all missed you.
