Quick Start Propels Army Past Air Force at MSG

Sunday, December 17

New York, N.Y.

1:30 p.m.

Army West Point

7-4

Air Force

5-6

Army West Point

AIR FORCE

Quick Start Propels Army Past Air Force at MSG

December 17, 2017 | Men's Basketball

Box Score Postgame Quotes (PDF)

NEW YORK CITY – The Army West Point men's basketball team lead wire-to-wire in its 79-54 victory over service-academy rival Air Force in a Sunday matinee at Madison Square Garden.

The Black Knights were busy from behind-the-arc, setting a season high in makes (16) while shooting better than 50 percent from deep for the second time this season. Army shot at a clip of 52.4 percent (11-of-21) from downtown in the first half and finished at 51.6 (16-of-31) for the game. Additionally, the Cadets shot 42.6 percent from the floor (26-of-61) and 78.6 percent from the charity stripe (11-of-14).

Leading that effort was junior guard Jordan Fox, who finished 4-of-4 from long range and tied Tommy Funk for a team-high 16 points. Funk tied his career-high in points for the fourth time this season and sixth time overall. Tucker Blackwell (3-of-5), Luke Morrison (3-of-11), John Emezie (2-of-3) and Funk (3-of-6) also hit multiple treys in the contest for the Black Knights. Fox added a game-high four steals and four assists, while Funk tallied a game-high five helpers.

Jacob Kessler and Matt Wilson recorded a team-high six rebounds, with Wilson chipping in five on the offensive glass. Morrison also pulled down five rebounds.

Army limited the Falcons to 9-of-30 (30.0 percent) shooting from downtown and 14-of-57 (24.6 percent) in the game.

The Cadets jumped out to an early lead thanks to a pair of 11-2 runs in the first half. The initial rally came in the opening 2:06 as Army drained its first four shots of the afternoon, including a pair of treys by Fox. The next run came over a stretch of 5:13 to increase the Cadets' lead to 27-12 with 7:35 remaining in the opening period.

After leading by nine at the break, 40-31, Army went on a 10-1 run early in the second half to push its advantage to 50-35. The Black Knights were then able to increase their edge to 20 with a Kessler layup at the 10:41 mark before reaching a game-high 27-point lead at 79-52 with 1:39 remaining on the clock.

The Falcons were never able to recover.

ARMY HIGHLIGHTS AND GAME NOTES

The Black Knights defeated Air Force for the fourth time in-a-row.
Today was Army's seventh-straight victory over Air Force as an Academy this season.
The Cadets are now 19-16 all-time at Madison Square Garden.
It was the team's first win at 'The World's Most Famous Arena' since a 64-62 triumph over Manhattan during the 1976-77 season.
Army closed out its non-conference schedule with a record of 7-4, marking the seventh time in the last nine years with at least seven wins outside of Patriot League play.
This was the first time this season the Black Knights won when being outrebounded.
Army's 11 first half 3-pointers was the team's most in a single half this season.
Funk tied his career-high in points with 16.
Kessler collected his 150th-career defensive rebound in the game.
Rookie Babacar Thiombane scored a career-high five points.
Fox reached double-digit points for the 10th time this season.
First-year Alex King finished with two points, snapping a streak of five games with 10 or more points.