Epic Army Comeback Falls Shy in Overtime

Saturday, January 21

West Point

1:30 p.m.

Army West Point

8-12 (2-6PL)

Navy

10-10 (5-3PL)

OT 1

NAVY

ARMY

Epic Army Comeback Falls Shy in Overtime

January 21, 2017 | Men's Basketball

Box Score

WEST POINT, N.Y. – The Army West Point men's basketball team couldn't complete the full comeback here Saturday afternoon, dropping a 96-80 decision to service-academy rival Navy in overtime.

The Black Knights used a 15-5 run over the final 36 seconds to send the contest into overtime. What was even more impressive was that Army scored eight-straight points and forced two turnovers in the last 19 seconds to cut the Mids deficit to 74-73 with six seconds remaining. Navy's Shawn Anderson then made 1-of-2 free throws with four seconds left to make it a 75-73 ballgame. But on the ensuing play, Tommy Funk grabbed a quick pass from Jordan Fox and converted on a layup with no time remaining to stun the Mids and send Christl Arena into a frenzy.

Unfortunately, Navy outscored Army 21-5 in the extra period to hold on to the victory, marking five-straight wins for the Mids.

Army drops to 8-12 overall and 2-6 in Patriot League play. Navy shifts to .500 on the year at 10-10 to go along with its 5-3 conference mark.

Kennedy Edwards notched a season-high 20 points on 6-of-10 shooting from the floor. The senior went 2-of-4 from the 3-point line before finishing 6-of-8 at the charity stripe. The Northridge, Calif., native added nine rebounds to close out his impressive night.

Also reaching double digits and posting a career high was Funk, who registered 16 points, including the game-tying bucket with no time left in regulation. Luke Morrison chipped in 15 points and John Emezie recorded 12 points to close out the Black Knights in twin figures.

Mac Hoffman tallied a team-best 11 rebounds, including three on the offensive glass. Fox earned a game-high five assists, while Morrison and Jacob Kessler posted two steals each.

ARMY HIGHLIGHTS AND GAME NOTES

Army is now 0-2 on the season in overtime, with its last extra period victory coming in double overtime at Navy on Feb. 20, 2016 (W, 80-78).
Saturday's game also marked the second-straight meeting between the Black Knights and Mids that reached overtime.
The Black Knights saw four players in twin figures with Edwards' 20 points leading the way. This was the fourth time this year the senior tallied double digits and the first since scoring 10 points against St. Francis Brooklyn on Dec. 3.
Morrison extended his double-figure scoring streak to five consecutive games with 15 points in the contest.
Funk matched his career high in 3-pointers made with two.
Fox scored a season-low two points, but handed out a team-best five helpers. This marked the 16th time this season the sophomore has recorded four or more assists in a contest.
The Black Knights finished the night shooting 38.7 percent (29-of-75) from the floor and 27.6 percent (8-of-29) from downtown. The Cadets also converted on 14 of their 23 attempts from the free throw line.
Navy closed out the contest at 49.2 percent (30-of-61), 37.5 percent (6-of-16), and 66.7 percent (30-for-45), respectively.
The Mids' 30 makes at the charity stripe and 45 attempts were both a season high.
Army held the slim edge on points in the paint at 38-36, on points off turnovers at 18-12, and on second chance points at 9-8.
Navy scored six fast break points to Army's two.
The Cadets received 34 points from its bench compared to 13 points for the Mids.
Army was in front for 28:52. Navy led for 13:34. The game was tied for 2:34.
Navy finished the contest with its largest lead at 16 points. Army was in front by its largest margin at 24-16 following a layup from Funk with 7:04 left to play in the opening period.

TURNING POINT

Edwards converted on 1-of-2 free throws to kick off overtime and hand Army the 76-75 edge.
The Mids answered, however, with a 21-4 rally in the remaining minutes to ultimately hang onto the win. Navy used a 7-0 and 8-0 run during that stretch.

HOW IT HAPPENED

Army started the game on an 11-4 run to create an early gap between the teams.
The Mids knotted the score at the 10:23 mark of the opening period after Hasan Abdullah converted on a jumper.
The Cadets answered with an 8-2 run to take their largest lead of the game at 24-16 with seven minutes remaining on the clock.
Navy got the lead down to 31-28 after Abdullah again found the hoop with 2:26 left in the first 20 minutes but the Black Knights keyed a 6-2 run to close out the half to take a 37-30 edge into the break.
The visitors quickly erased any halftime deficit with eight-straight points to take their first edge in the game at 38-37. The Mids then completed a 13-2 run over the beginning five minutes of the second half to increase their lead to 43-39.
The Cadets rallied though and held a six-point lead at 56-50 with 10:05 left to play. Unfortunately, an 18-4 surge for the visitors handed them the 68-58 advantage with 1:16 remaining on the clock.
Army would not go away though, sparking a 17-7 rally of its own in the final 76 seconds, highlighted by back-to-back 3-pointers by Edwards 10 seconds apart. During that stretch the Black Knights scored eight straight and recorded two turnovers in a 19 seconds span to keep themselves alive.
After the Mids converted on 1-of-2 free throws with four seconds remaining, Fox found Funk in front of the bucket to tie the game with no time remaining.
The Black Knights then scored the first point of overtime after Edwards hit one of his two attempts at the charity stripe. But that would be the last lead the Cadets would hold as the Mids outscored them 20-4 in the remaining time to snag the victory and halt Army's massive comeback just shy.

UP NEXT

The Black Knights head back on the road Wednesday for a 7 p.m. contest with Boston University. That game is set for Case Gym and will be streamed on the Patriot League Network. The Terriers are coming off a 70-59 loss at Bucknell on Saturday. Boston U. will head into Wednesday's contest on a three-game losing skid after starting Patriot League play 5-0.