Army West Point Athletics
Bucknell Next for Army Hoops
January 27, 2017 | Men's Basketball
WEST POINT, N.Y. – Army welcomes Bucknell on Saturday for a 3 p.m. tip in Christl Arena.
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The contest will be carried live on the Patriot League Network with Rich DeMarco on the call.
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The Black Knights are coming off another heartbreaking loss on Wednesday at the hands of Boston University. The Terriers managed to sneak out the 90-89 overtime victory despite an interesting ending. Wednesday's overtime game marked Army's second consecutive one as the Cadets also took rival Navy into an extra period on Jan. 21 after outscoring the Mids 15-5 over the final 36 seconds. Unfortunately the Black Knights weren't able to pull that one out either and currently sit with a mark of 0-3 in overtime games this season. Overall, Army is on a three-game skid with its last win a 53-49 decision at American on Jan. 14.
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Bucknell brings its four-game winning streak into Saturday's contest after posting victories over Colgate, Loyola, Boston U., and Lafayette. The Bison currently sit tops in the conference with a league mark of 8-1. The only league contest they've dropped this season was at the hands of Lehigh on Jan. 11, which marked just their second home loss of the year. The Bison have strung together four-straight wins on two other occasions, but haven't been able to extend it past that.
HOW TO FOLLOWÂ
VIDEO • Patriot League Network
RADIO • Army West Point Sports Network
        WBNR (1260 AM, Beacon, N.Y.)
             WLNA (1420 AM, Peekskill, N.Y.)
AUDIO • Knight VisionÂ
LIVE STATISTICS • www.GoArmyWestPoint.com
TICKETS • www.GoArmyWestPoint.com
TWITTER • @ArmyWP_MBB
GAME NOTES • Army | Bucknell
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ABOUT THE BISON
   Bucknell is currently riding a four-game winning streak after defeating Lafayette 78-55 on the road Wednesday night. Four players reached double figures with Zach Thomas' and Kimbal Mackenzie's 14 points each leading the way. Stephen Brown and John Azzinaro both chipped in 11 points apiece. Thomas finished with a double double after posting a team-best 10 rebounds. Brown led the Bison with a game-high eight assists, while three compiled two steals each.
   On the season, Thomas leads the pack averaging 15.0 points per outing (5th in league). Nana Foulland is a close second with 14.7 points per contest (8th in league), while Mackenzie and Brown close out the Bison top performers with 10.7 and 10.4 points, respectively. Foulland is second in the conference with 8.1 rebounds per game, while Thomas comes in averaging 6.6, which is good enough for sixth in the league. Foulland's .637 field goal percentage is tops in the conference as well. Brown is third in the league in assists with 5.0, while his 2.5 assist-to-turnover ratio has him second.
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LAST TIME OUT
   Army dropped another nail-biter Wednesday night, falling at Boston University 90-89 in overtime. Not even one week removed from its devastating overtime loss to academy-rival Navy this past Saturday, the Black Knights had another hard one to swallow on Wednesday. Army had two solid opportunities to win the game. The first one came with 11.7 seconds remaining in regulation. The game was knotted at 77-77 with 11.7 seconds left and Army had one final attempt at the game-winner. John Emezie broke free at the free throw line and pulled up for a jumper in the paint. Unfortunately, his shot fell just short skimming the rim and forcing the contest into overtime. Then after a back-and-forth overtime period, the Terriers jumped in front 89-83 after Eric Fanning converted on two free throws with 16 seconds remaining.
   But just like in the Navy game, Army would not go away. Emezie was fouled with 13 seconds left and made both of his attempts at the charity stripe to pull the Cadets to within 89-85. Then after a huge defensive stop, Army saw Emezie drain a 3-pointer with four seconds left to make it a one point game at 89-88. The Black Knights couldn't come up with the steal and were forced to foul Fanning. The senior then stepped up and hit the front end of two shots at the line to extend the Terriers lead to 90-88. Army quickly grabbed the rebound and dished it over to Jacob Kessler on the wing at midcourt. The sophomore threw up one last-ditch 3-pointer but his attempt fell short. But that wasn't the end of the game. Kessler was fouled by Fanning while shooting, handing the Cadets an opportunity to tie or win the game. Unfortunately, the Richmond, Va., native only converted on one of his three attempts, ending the Black Knights' hopes of a comeback victory just shy.
   Six Cadets found double digits with Tommy Funk's 16 points leading the way. The first-year matched his career high after going 6-of-10 from the floor, 3-of-5 from long range and 1-of-4 from the line. Luke Morrison, Jordan Fox, and Emezie all added 14 points each, while Kessler and Mac Hoffman both finished with 11 points. Hoffman, Morrison and Kennedy Edwards led the team on the boards with seven rebounds, while Funk and Fox dished out a team-high five assists each.
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   Zach Thomas recorded a double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds, and Kimbal Mackenzie also tallied 14 to help Bucknell roll past Lafayette 78-55 on Wednesday evening. Stephen Brown added 11 points and eight assists, and John Azzinaro provided a big lift off the bench with 11 points, four rebounds and a steal in 12 minutes. The Bison have won four straight and eight of their last nine, and they are now 10 games over .500 for the first time since the end of the 2012-13 season. Lafayette threw two different zone defense looks at the Bison early in the game in an effort to collapse around red-hot center Nana Foulland. Bucknell made the Leopards pay by burying one open look after another from the 3-point arc. The team's first five field goals of the night came from long distance. Five different players hit treys in the first half alone. Bucknell went 9-for-21 from the 3-point arc in the first half – and just 3-for-14 on 2-point attempts – and led 40-23 at the break. They cruised home from there, leading by as many as 30 in the second half.
   In addition to the early 3-point flurry, defense and rebounding were major keys to victory for the Bison. They piled up a season-high 22 offensive rebounds, leading to 21 second-chance points, and finished with a 53-41 edge on the glass. Defensively, Bucknell forced 18 turnovers and held the Leopards to 34.4 percent shooting. Typically a dangerous 3-point shooting team, the Leopards finished 5-for-22 from long range in this one. All-Patriot League guard Nick Lindner, who was coming off a 23-point game against Lehigh on Saturday, was held to three points, while leading scorer Matt Klinewski was limited to 10, more than seven below his season average.
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STARTING FIVE
   Of Army's starting five, three are averaging a .443 field goal percentage or higher with Mac Hoffman's .553 leading the way. Four of the five are also averaging more than 3.4 rebounds, while two are handing out 4.3 assists per game.
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TWIN FIGURES
   Junior Luke Morrison is currently riding a six-game double-digit scoring streak dating back to Army's victory over Loyola on Jan. 8. Sophomores Jordan Fox and John Emezie, along with rookie Matt Wilson, have recorded five-game double-figure scoring streaks so far this year as well. During Fox's streak (Nov. 30 - Dec. 19), he led the Black Knights in scoring on three different occasions. Emezie's and Wilson's streak dated from Nov. 20 - Dec. 3. Wilson then skipped two games, but found twin figures again in Army's next five outings (Dec. 19 - Jan. 5).
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A WIN OVER BUCKNELL WOULD...
   Hand Army its ninth win of the season and end the Bison's five-game winning streak over the Black Knights. It would also hand the Cadets their third win of the Patriot League season, pulling them to 3-7 early in the second part of the conference season.
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SHARING THE ROCK
   Two names stand out on the Army team when it comes to sharing the basketball -- Jordan Fox and Tommy Funk. Fox currently leads the team and is second in the Patriot League with his 5.2 helpers per game. Funk isn't far behind though averaging 4.3 for sixth in the league, making him the only rookie in the league's top-10. As a team, the Black Knights are 38th in the nation in assists per contest with 16.5.
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EFFICIENCY IS KEY
   Strong shooting and the ability to spread the ball around are both keys to Army's success. The Black Knights' 1.2 assist-to-turnover ratio is second in the Patriot League, while their 16.5 assists per game and .361 percentage from long distance rank first and second, respectively. With no one truly dominating the ball offensively, it is helping to create open looks for shooters on the outside where the Cadets are first in the conference with 9.7 made 3-pointers per game. That mark also has them 17th in the NCAA.
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SOPHOMORE SWAG
   Jordan Fox has emerged as a leader for the Black Knights. He currently leads Army with 12.2 points per game. What's more impressive though is how he's scoring. The sophomore has converted on 90 of his 203 attempts from the floor. That's good enough for .443 percent shooting. Things don't stop there as Fox is among the leaders in the conference with a .380 mark from behind-the-arc. He is averaging 1.8 treys per outing, which is 11th in the league. In addition to that, Fox is first on the team with a .813 percentage from the charity stripe. The Jackson County, Ky., native is third in the conference with a 2.4 assists-to-turnover ratio, recording 110 assists to just 46 turnovers. And lastly, Fox has posted double figures in 14 of Army's 21 contests, including four games with 20-plus points.
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BY THE NUMBERS
   Army's current starting five have accounted for 922 points and 443 rebounds this season. They are averaging 58 percent of the Cadets scoring and 55 percent of the Black Knights' rebounding. Tommy Funk or Jordan Fox have led Army in assists in every game this season but one (Jacob Kessler - vs. Arkansas State). The Cadets have drained 10 or more 3-pointers on 10 different occasions throughout the season. All season, Army has allowed just one opponent to hit 10 or more treys (vs. Holy Cross).
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CARDIAC KIDS
   More often than not, Army's games seem to come down to the final few minutes. 14 of the Black Knights' 21 contests so far this season have been decided by single digits, including 10 of their 13 losses. Six of those 10 were by five or fewer points.
   According to Kenpom.com, the Black Knights are the third most unlucky team in the NCAA. This youthful Cadets' squad is 0-4 in games decided by three or fewer points and are 0-3 in overtime contests.
   The Black Knights have only lost by double digits in league play once to rival Navy after the Mids outscored them 21-5 in overtime.
   On the other side of things, Army is a team that has the ability to rally at any time, more importantly in the final few minutes. The best example of this was on Jan. 21 when the Black Knights overcame a 10-point deficit with 1:16 remaining on the clock to force an extra period. In those final 76 seconds, the Cadets sparked a 17-7 run, which was highlighted by back-to-back 3-pointers from Kennedy Edwards 10 seconds apart. During that stretch, the Black Knights scored eight straight and recorded two turnovers in a 19-second span to keep themselves alive.
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NEXT UP
   The Black Knights remain home to host Lafayette on Feb. 1. That contest is slated for a 7 p.m. tip in Christl Arena and will be streamed live on the Patriot League Network with Rich DeMarco on the call. The Leopards host Loyola on Saturday before traveling to West Point a few days later. Lafayette brings a six-game losing streak into Saturday's contest with the Greyhounds and sits with an overall record of 6-14.
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The contest will be carried live on the Patriot League Network with Rich DeMarco on the call.
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The Black Knights are coming off another heartbreaking loss on Wednesday at the hands of Boston University. The Terriers managed to sneak out the 90-89 overtime victory despite an interesting ending. Wednesday's overtime game marked Army's second consecutive one as the Cadets also took rival Navy into an extra period on Jan. 21 after outscoring the Mids 15-5 over the final 36 seconds. Unfortunately the Black Knights weren't able to pull that one out either and currently sit with a mark of 0-3 in overtime games this season. Overall, Army is on a three-game skid with its last win a 53-49 decision at American on Jan. 14.
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Bucknell brings its four-game winning streak into Saturday's contest after posting victories over Colgate, Loyola, Boston U., and Lafayette. The Bison currently sit tops in the conference with a league mark of 8-1. The only league contest they've dropped this season was at the hands of Lehigh on Jan. 11, which marked just their second home loss of the year. The Bison have strung together four-straight wins on two other occasions, but haven't been able to extend it past that.
VIDEO • Patriot League Network
RADIO • Army West Point Sports Network
        WBNR (1260 AM, Beacon, N.Y.)
             WLNA (1420 AM, Peekskill, N.Y.)
AUDIO • Knight VisionÂ
LIVE STATISTICS • www.GoArmyWestPoint.com
TICKETS • www.GoArmyWestPoint.com
TWITTER • @ArmyWP_MBB
GAME NOTES • Army | Bucknell
ABOUT THE BISON
   Bucknell is currently riding a four-game winning streak after defeating Lafayette 78-55 on the road Wednesday night. Four players reached double figures with Zach Thomas' and Kimbal Mackenzie's 14 points each leading the way. Stephen Brown and John Azzinaro both chipped in 11 points apiece. Thomas finished with a double double after posting a team-best 10 rebounds. Brown led the Bison with a game-high eight assists, while three compiled two steals each.
   On the season, Thomas leads the pack averaging 15.0 points per outing (5th in league). Nana Foulland is a close second with 14.7 points per contest (8th in league), while Mackenzie and Brown close out the Bison top performers with 10.7 and 10.4 points, respectively. Foulland is second in the conference with 8.1 rebounds per game, while Thomas comes in averaging 6.6, which is good enough for sixth in the league. Foulland's .637 field goal percentage is tops in the conference as well. Brown is third in the league in assists with 5.0, while his 2.5 assist-to-turnover ratio has him second.
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LAST TIME OUT
   Army dropped another nail-biter Wednesday night, falling at Boston University 90-89 in overtime. Not even one week removed from its devastating overtime loss to academy-rival Navy this past Saturday, the Black Knights had another hard one to swallow on Wednesday. Army had two solid opportunities to win the game. The first one came with 11.7 seconds remaining in regulation. The game was knotted at 77-77 with 11.7 seconds left and Army had one final attempt at the game-winner. John Emezie broke free at the free throw line and pulled up for a jumper in the paint. Unfortunately, his shot fell just short skimming the rim and forcing the contest into overtime. Then after a back-and-forth overtime period, the Terriers jumped in front 89-83 after Eric Fanning converted on two free throws with 16 seconds remaining.
   But just like in the Navy game, Army would not go away. Emezie was fouled with 13 seconds left and made both of his attempts at the charity stripe to pull the Cadets to within 89-85. Then after a huge defensive stop, Army saw Emezie drain a 3-pointer with four seconds left to make it a one point game at 89-88. The Black Knights couldn't come up with the steal and were forced to foul Fanning. The senior then stepped up and hit the front end of two shots at the line to extend the Terriers lead to 90-88. Army quickly grabbed the rebound and dished it over to Jacob Kessler on the wing at midcourt. The sophomore threw up one last-ditch 3-pointer but his attempt fell short. But that wasn't the end of the game. Kessler was fouled by Fanning while shooting, handing the Cadets an opportunity to tie or win the game. Unfortunately, the Richmond, Va., native only converted on one of his three attempts, ending the Black Knights' hopes of a comeback victory just shy.
   Six Cadets found double digits with Tommy Funk's 16 points leading the way. The first-year matched his career high after going 6-of-10 from the floor, 3-of-5 from long range and 1-of-4 from the line. Luke Morrison, Jordan Fox, and Emezie all added 14 points each, while Kessler and Mac Hoffman both finished with 11 points. Hoffman, Morrison and Kennedy Edwards led the team on the boards with seven rebounds, while Funk and Fox dished out a team-high five assists each.
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   Zach Thomas recorded a double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds, and Kimbal Mackenzie also tallied 14 to help Bucknell roll past Lafayette 78-55 on Wednesday evening. Stephen Brown added 11 points and eight assists, and John Azzinaro provided a big lift off the bench with 11 points, four rebounds and a steal in 12 minutes. The Bison have won four straight and eight of their last nine, and they are now 10 games over .500 for the first time since the end of the 2012-13 season. Lafayette threw two different zone defense looks at the Bison early in the game in an effort to collapse around red-hot center Nana Foulland. Bucknell made the Leopards pay by burying one open look after another from the 3-point arc. The team's first five field goals of the night came from long distance. Five different players hit treys in the first half alone. Bucknell went 9-for-21 from the 3-point arc in the first half – and just 3-for-14 on 2-point attempts – and led 40-23 at the break. They cruised home from there, leading by as many as 30 in the second half.
   In addition to the early 3-point flurry, defense and rebounding were major keys to victory for the Bison. They piled up a season-high 22 offensive rebounds, leading to 21 second-chance points, and finished with a 53-41 edge on the glass. Defensively, Bucknell forced 18 turnovers and held the Leopards to 34.4 percent shooting. Typically a dangerous 3-point shooting team, the Leopards finished 5-for-22 from long range in this one. All-Patriot League guard Nick Lindner, who was coming off a 23-point game against Lehigh on Saturday, was held to three points, while leading scorer Matt Klinewski was limited to 10, more than seven below his season average.
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STARTING FIVE
   Of Army's starting five, three are averaging a .443 field goal percentage or higher with Mac Hoffman's .553 leading the way. Four of the five are also averaging more than 3.4 rebounds, while two are handing out 4.3 assists per game.
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TWIN FIGURES
   Junior Luke Morrison is currently riding a six-game double-digit scoring streak dating back to Army's victory over Loyola on Jan. 8. Sophomores Jordan Fox and John Emezie, along with rookie Matt Wilson, have recorded five-game double-figure scoring streaks so far this year as well. During Fox's streak (Nov. 30 - Dec. 19), he led the Black Knights in scoring on three different occasions. Emezie's and Wilson's streak dated from Nov. 20 - Dec. 3. Wilson then skipped two games, but found twin figures again in Army's next five outings (Dec. 19 - Jan. 5).
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A WIN OVER BUCKNELL WOULD...
   Hand Army its ninth win of the season and end the Bison's five-game winning streak over the Black Knights. It would also hand the Cadets their third win of the Patriot League season, pulling them to 3-7 early in the second part of the conference season.
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SHARING THE ROCK
   Two names stand out on the Army team when it comes to sharing the basketball -- Jordan Fox and Tommy Funk. Fox currently leads the team and is second in the Patriot League with his 5.2 helpers per game. Funk isn't far behind though averaging 4.3 for sixth in the league, making him the only rookie in the league's top-10. As a team, the Black Knights are 38th in the nation in assists per contest with 16.5.
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EFFICIENCY IS KEY
   Strong shooting and the ability to spread the ball around are both keys to Army's success. The Black Knights' 1.2 assist-to-turnover ratio is second in the Patriot League, while their 16.5 assists per game and .361 percentage from long distance rank first and second, respectively. With no one truly dominating the ball offensively, it is helping to create open looks for shooters on the outside where the Cadets are first in the conference with 9.7 made 3-pointers per game. That mark also has them 17th in the NCAA.
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SOPHOMORE SWAG
   Jordan Fox has emerged as a leader for the Black Knights. He currently leads Army with 12.2 points per game. What's more impressive though is how he's scoring. The sophomore has converted on 90 of his 203 attempts from the floor. That's good enough for .443 percent shooting. Things don't stop there as Fox is among the leaders in the conference with a .380 mark from behind-the-arc. He is averaging 1.8 treys per outing, which is 11th in the league. In addition to that, Fox is first on the team with a .813 percentage from the charity stripe. The Jackson County, Ky., native is third in the conference with a 2.4 assists-to-turnover ratio, recording 110 assists to just 46 turnovers. And lastly, Fox has posted double figures in 14 of Army's 21 contests, including four games with 20-plus points.
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BY THE NUMBERS
   Army's current starting five have accounted for 922 points and 443 rebounds this season. They are averaging 58 percent of the Cadets scoring and 55 percent of the Black Knights' rebounding. Tommy Funk or Jordan Fox have led Army in assists in every game this season but one (Jacob Kessler - vs. Arkansas State). The Cadets have drained 10 or more 3-pointers on 10 different occasions throughout the season. All season, Army has allowed just one opponent to hit 10 or more treys (vs. Holy Cross).
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CARDIAC KIDS
   More often than not, Army's games seem to come down to the final few minutes. 14 of the Black Knights' 21 contests so far this season have been decided by single digits, including 10 of their 13 losses. Six of those 10 were by five or fewer points.
   According to Kenpom.com, the Black Knights are the third most unlucky team in the NCAA. This youthful Cadets' squad is 0-4 in games decided by three or fewer points and are 0-3 in overtime contests.
   The Black Knights have only lost by double digits in league play once to rival Navy after the Mids outscored them 21-5 in overtime.
   On the other side of things, Army is a team that has the ability to rally at any time, more importantly in the final few minutes. The best example of this was on Jan. 21 when the Black Knights overcame a 10-point deficit with 1:16 remaining on the clock to force an extra period. In those final 76 seconds, the Cadets sparked a 17-7 run, which was highlighted by back-to-back 3-pointers from Kennedy Edwards 10 seconds apart. During that stretch, the Black Knights scored eight straight and recorded two turnovers in a 19-second span to keep themselves alive.
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NEXT UP
   The Black Knights remain home to host Lafayette on Feb. 1. That contest is slated for a 7 p.m. tip in Christl Arena and will be streamed live on the Patriot League Network with Rich DeMarco on the call. The Leopards host Loyola on Saturday before traveling to West Point a few days later. Lafayette brings a six-game losing streak into Saturday's contest with the Greyhounds and sits with an overall record of 6-14.
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