Army West Point Athletics
Saturday, November 28
West Point, NY
7:30 PM
Army West Point
5-2
103
vs
98
Gardner-Webb
2-5
1
2
OT 1
F
Gardner-Webb
30
59
9
98
Army West Point
45
44
14
103
Plomb Leads Men’s Basketball To Tournament Crown
November 28, 2015 | Men's Basketball
WEST POINT, N.Y. – After a furious Gardner-Webb rally sent the game to overtime, the Army West Point men's basketball team made the critical plays in the extra session to claim the 2015 Barclays Center Classic championship crown on Saturday night at Christl Arena.
The 103-98 triumph for Army improved it to 5-2 on the season.
Tanner Plomb garnered most-valuable player honors and Kyle Wilson was also selected to the all-tournament team. The 6-7 senior forward poured in a career-high 31 points on an 11-for-17 shooting performance, with seven three-pointers, while Wilson added 20 points. Classmate Kevin Ferguson recorded his second straight double-double with 17 points and 10 rebounds and Dylan Cox contributed 10 points and nine assists.
Army was ahead by as many as 25 points in the first half, but Gardner-Webb erased a 10-point deficit with 1:13 left in regulation to send the game to overtime. The Runnin' Bulldogs received a 31-point effort from Harold McBride, Tyrell Nelson scored 20 points and Dylan Poston put in 18. McBride and Poston each hit five three-point field goals, and it was Poston's three at the end of regulation that sent the game to overtime.
"I thought this was a very hard-fought game tonight," head coach Zach Spiker said. "A lot of credit goes to Gardner-Webb, they are a terrific shooting team that had an OK shooting night last night and we knew they were going to be ready to play. They started off cold and certainly got very hot late. Credit also has to go to our seniors, who made plays down the stretch to allow us to get this win. We are going to be a better team because of what happened tonight."
Leading 9-8 in the game's opening minutes, Army reeled off 13 straight points to take a 22-8 lead. John Emezie ignited the run with a layup, Mac Hoffman had two buckets, Ferguson scored twice inside and Wilson buried a three-pointer off a feed by Cox. The Army point guard had four of Army's 14 first-half assists on 19 converted field goals.
Following a three-pointer by McBride, Army scored five more points, including a triple by Plomb, to extend its lead. Two free throws by McBride preceded another Emezie layup, before Plomb erupted for nine straight points for the Black Knights. A layup and two dunks, the second on a highlight-reel one-handed alley-oop off a lob by Larry Toomey, and a wide-open three put an exclamation point on Army's 29-5 run.
During the spurt, Army was 12-for-15 from the field and forced six Gardner-Webb turnovers, while holding the Bulldogs to 1-for-8 from the floor. Plomb scored 12 of his 15 first-half points during the 9:44 of game time and Army was up 38-13 with seven minutes to play as Gardner-Webb called its third timeout of the first half.
The visitors pulled back within 12 points late in the period, but Plomb came up big again with a late trifecta that put Army's halftime advantage at 45-30. The Black Knights made 57.6 percent of their shots before halftime and held a 9-3 advantage in turnovers.
A three-pointer by Isaiah Ivey cut Army's lead to 11 points at the 14:23 mark of the second half, but again Plomb had an answer. Back-to-back threes kept him perfect from distance to that point (6-for-6) before Ferguson made a layup to push the lead to 19.
Gardner-Webb was within 14 points with 11 minutes remaining, but Adam Roe continued his hot shooting start to the season with a three-pointer from the top of the key.
The Runnin' Bulldogs hung around and were able to cut Army's deficit to single digits (83-76) with a little more than two minutes to play. Plomb drained a three -pointer a minute later to push the lead back to 10.
With exactly a minute left, McBride went to the line and made two free throws. A turnover by Army led to a second-chance three-ball by McBride that quickly had Gardner-Webb within five (86-81) with 40 seconds on the clock. Plomb made one of two free throws before McBride got back to the line where he made two more to draw the visitors within four at 87-83 with 28 seconds to go. Another Army turnover led to an easy layup (87-85), before Wilson gave the ball away again and fouled LaQuincy Rideau with 11 seconds left.
Rideau had a chance to tie the game, but missed the second free throw and Ferguson was fouled with seven seconds on the clock. The senior center drained both of his foul shots and Gardner-Webb got the ball down by three. Wilson nearly stole a pass to end the game, but his momentum carried him out of play under the Army basket. After a brief discussion, one second was put on the clock and Gardner-Webb sent the game to overtime when Poston drained a deep three-pointer to tie the game at 89-89.
"It is definitely a huge win for us, it gives us some confidence, but we know we can't get comfortable." Plomb said. "We can't let leads slip away like that no matter how well a team is shooting, but we will learn from it and get better moving forward."
Poston connected on trey early in the overtime period to give Gardner-Webb its first lead since the 18:47 mark of the first half at 92-91. Army scored five of the next six points, including a three by Wilson (96-93) and never trailed from that point. Kennedy Edwards buried a gigantic corner three-pointer with 52 seconds left on a pass from Plomb after Gardner-Webb made it a two-point game on the previous possession.
Gardner-Webb fell to 2-5 on the season in the five-point decision. The Bulldogs connected on 15-of-32 three-point attempts (46.9 percent) on the night.
Army travels to Maine for its next game on Wednesday, Dec. 2. Opening tip against the Black Bears is scheduled for 7 p.m.
Game Notes: Plomb recorded his first-career 30-point game … the Black Knights improved to 5-6 in overtime games under Zach Spiker and Army has won four straight OT games overall … Army has made at least 10 three-pointers in five straight games … Ferguson recorded his sixth-career double-double … Ferguson became the 13th player in Academy history to reach 500 career rebounds ... Army reached the 100-point mark for the first time during the Spiker era and the 17th time in Academy history … the 201 combined points tied the Christl Arena record (Army 113, Bethany 88 - Jan. 8, 2001) … Army's 27 assists equaled the program record ,,, Saturday's game was the first meeting all-time between Army and Gardner-Webb ... Wilson reached the 20-point mark for the 34th time in his career ... Wilson moved past Colgate's Pat Campolioeta '02 into 15th on the Patriot League's all-time scoring list ... Plomb moved into a tie for 10th in Academy history with 130 career three-point field goals.
Tournament MVP
Tanner Plomb, Army West Point
All-Tournament Team
Tanner Plomb, Army West Point (MVP)
Kyle Wilson, Army West Point
Harold McBride, Gardner-Webb
JoVaughn Love, Arkansas – Pine Bluff
Keith Charleston, Southeastern Louisiana
The 103-98 triumph for Army improved it to 5-2 on the season.
Tanner Plomb garnered most-valuable player honors and Kyle Wilson was also selected to the all-tournament team. The 6-7 senior forward poured in a career-high 31 points on an 11-for-17 shooting performance, with seven three-pointers, while Wilson added 20 points. Classmate Kevin Ferguson recorded his second straight double-double with 17 points and 10 rebounds and Dylan Cox contributed 10 points and nine assists.
Army was ahead by as many as 25 points in the first half, but Gardner-Webb erased a 10-point deficit with 1:13 left in regulation to send the game to overtime. The Runnin' Bulldogs received a 31-point effort from Harold McBride, Tyrell Nelson scored 20 points and Dylan Poston put in 18. McBride and Poston each hit five three-point field goals, and it was Poston's three at the end of regulation that sent the game to overtime.
"I thought this was a very hard-fought game tonight," head coach Zach Spiker said. "A lot of credit goes to Gardner-Webb, they are a terrific shooting team that had an OK shooting night last night and we knew they were going to be ready to play. They started off cold and certainly got very hot late. Credit also has to go to our seniors, who made plays down the stretch to allow us to get this win. We are going to be a better team because of what happened tonight."
Leading 9-8 in the game's opening minutes, Army reeled off 13 straight points to take a 22-8 lead. John Emezie ignited the run with a layup, Mac Hoffman had two buckets, Ferguson scored twice inside and Wilson buried a three-pointer off a feed by Cox. The Army point guard had four of Army's 14 first-half assists on 19 converted field goals.
Following a three-pointer by McBride, Army scored five more points, including a triple by Plomb, to extend its lead. Two free throws by McBride preceded another Emezie layup, before Plomb erupted for nine straight points for the Black Knights. A layup and two dunks, the second on a highlight-reel one-handed alley-oop off a lob by Larry Toomey, and a wide-open three put an exclamation point on Army's 29-5 run.
During the spurt, Army was 12-for-15 from the field and forced six Gardner-Webb turnovers, while holding the Bulldogs to 1-for-8 from the floor. Plomb scored 12 of his 15 first-half points during the 9:44 of game time and Army was up 38-13 with seven minutes to play as Gardner-Webb called its third timeout of the first half.
The visitors pulled back within 12 points late in the period, but Plomb came up big again with a late trifecta that put Army's halftime advantage at 45-30. The Black Knights made 57.6 percent of their shots before halftime and held a 9-3 advantage in turnovers.
A three-pointer by Isaiah Ivey cut Army's lead to 11 points at the 14:23 mark of the second half, but again Plomb had an answer. Back-to-back threes kept him perfect from distance to that point (6-for-6) before Ferguson made a layup to push the lead to 19.
Gardner-Webb was within 14 points with 11 minutes remaining, but Adam Roe continued his hot shooting start to the season with a three-pointer from the top of the key.
The Runnin' Bulldogs hung around and were able to cut Army's deficit to single digits (83-76) with a little more than two minutes to play. Plomb drained a three -pointer a minute later to push the lead back to 10.
With exactly a minute left, McBride went to the line and made two free throws. A turnover by Army led to a second-chance three-ball by McBride that quickly had Gardner-Webb within five (86-81) with 40 seconds on the clock. Plomb made one of two free throws before McBride got back to the line where he made two more to draw the visitors within four at 87-83 with 28 seconds to go. Another Army turnover led to an easy layup (87-85), before Wilson gave the ball away again and fouled LaQuincy Rideau with 11 seconds left.
Rideau had a chance to tie the game, but missed the second free throw and Ferguson was fouled with seven seconds on the clock. The senior center drained both of his foul shots and Gardner-Webb got the ball down by three. Wilson nearly stole a pass to end the game, but his momentum carried him out of play under the Army basket. After a brief discussion, one second was put on the clock and Gardner-Webb sent the game to overtime when Poston drained a deep three-pointer to tie the game at 89-89.
"It is definitely a huge win for us, it gives us some confidence, but we know we can't get comfortable." Plomb said. "We can't let leads slip away like that no matter how well a team is shooting, but we will learn from it and get better moving forward."
Poston connected on trey early in the overtime period to give Gardner-Webb its first lead since the 18:47 mark of the first half at 92-91. Army scored five of the next six points, including a three by Wilson (96-93) and never trailed from that point. Kennedy Edwards buried a gigantic corner three-pointer with 52 seconds left on a pass from Plomb after Gardner-Webb made it a two-point game on the previous possession.
Gardner-Webb fell to 2-5 on the season in the five-point decision. The Bulldogs connected on 15-of-32 three-point attempts (46.9 percent) on the night.
Army travels to Maine for its next game on Wednesday, Dec. 2. Opening tip against the Black Bears is scheduled for 7 p.m.
Game Notes: Plomb recorded his first-career 30-point game … the Black Knights improved to 5-6 in overtime games under Zach Spiker and Army has won four straight OT games overall … Army has made at least 10 three-pointers in five straight games … Ferguson recorded his sixth-career double-double … Ferguson became the 13th player in Academy history to reach 500 career rebounds ... Army reached the 100-point mark for the first time during the Spiker era and the 17th time in Academy history … the 201 combined points tied the Christl Arena record (Army 113, Bethany 88 - Jan. 8, 2001) … Army's 27 assists equaled the program record ,,, Saturday's game was the first meeting all-time between Army and Gardner-Webb ... Wilson reached the 20-point mark for the 34th time in his career ... Wilson moved past Colgate's Pat Campolioeta '02 into 15th on the Patriot League's all-time scoring list ... Plomb moved into a tie for 10th in Academy history with 130 career three-point field goals.
Tournament MVP
Tanner Plomb, Army West Point
All-Tournament Team
Tanner Plomb, Army West Point (MVP)
Kyle Wilson, Army West Point
Harold McBride, Gardner-Webb
JoVaughn Love, Arkansas – Pine Bluff
Keith Charleston, Southeastern Louisiana
Team Stats
GWU
ARMY
FG%
.453
.563
3FG%
.469
.500
FT%
.600
.731
RB
37
40
TO
16
18
STL
10
6
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
31
FGM
11
3FGM
7
FTM
2
Pts
20
FGM
5
3FGM
3
FTM
7
Pts
17
FGM
7
3FGM
0
FTM
3
Players Mentioned
Forward
/ Men's Basketball
Guard/Forward
/ Men's BasketballCenter
/ Men's Basketball
Forward
/ Men's BasketballForward
/ Men's Basketball
Forward
/ Men's BasketballGuard/Forward
/ Men's Basketballvs. Air Force
Saturday, December 08
vs. UMass Lowell (Audio Only)
Saturday, November 17