Army Closes Out Season In League Quarterfinals

Thursday, March 2

Lewisburg, PA

7 p.m.

Army West Point

13-19

Bucknell (Quarterfinals)

24-8

Army West Point

Bucknell

Army Closes Out Season In League Quarterfinals

March 02, 2017 | Men's Basketball

Box Score

LEWISBURG, Pa. – The Army West Point men's basketball team wrapped up its season in the Patriot League Quarterfinals after dropping a 78-62 decision at top-seeded Bucknell here Thursday night.

Despite shooting over 50 percent from the floor and 60 percent from behind-the-arc in the second period, the Black Knights couldn't overcome a poor first half of shooting. Army posted season lows in points and shooting percentage during the opening 20 minutes, while going 0-for-10 from downtown, also a season low.

The Black Knights tried to make up for that with their solid shooting in the second half but their host nearly matched that feat finishing 50 percent from both the floor and 3-point range.

Bucknell jumped out to the early 11-0 edge four minutes into the contest. The Black Knights got the deficit down to 23-14 with 6:28 remaining but a 13-4 run to close out the half handed the Bison a 36-18 lead at the break. 124683

The home team extended their edge to a game-high 64-43 with 10:36 left on the clock, but the Cadets wouldn't go away. Army sparked a small 8-0 rally over the next minute to get the margin down to 62-51. Unfortunately, the Bison answered with eight straight to push the advantage back to 21 points.

Bucknell maintained that double digit edge throughout the remainder of the game.

Jordan Fox was Army's lone player with double figure scoring. He finished with 16 points on 5-of-17 shooting from the floor and 3-of-8 makes from downtown. The sophomore was also perfect at the free throw line going 3-of-3. He closes out his season riding a six-game twin figure scoring streak. That mark matches Luke Morrison's six-game streak (Jan. 8-25) for a team best.

Fox, Jacob Kessler and Mac Hoffman all led the Cadets on the boards with six rebounds each. Rookie Tommy Funk dished out a game-high eight assists, while chipping in nine points as well.

ARMY HIGHLIGHTS AND GAME NOTES

Head coach Jimmy Allen wrapped up his first year at the helm of Army men's basketball with an overall record of 13-19.
Funk finished second in program history with 155 season assists. Fox closed out his sophomore campaign notching the fourth spot, one shy of tying third, with 146 assists.
Fox was perfect from the free throw line 12 times this season, including going 3-of-3 in Thursday's game.
The Jackson County, Ky., native added six rebounds, which matched his career high.
In the final game of their careers, Scott Mammel, Hoffman and Edwards notched six, three and three points, respectively.
The Black Knights outrebounded the Bison 43-39 and held the 10-7 edge on the offensive glass.
Army scored 30 points from inside the paint compared to 28 for the home team.
Bucknell registered the advantage on points off turnovers (15-9) and on second chance points (7-2).
Both teams converted two points on fast break opportunities.
The Cadets bench outscored the Bison 21-12.
Four of Bucknell's five starters earned double digits with Stephen Brown's 20 points leading the way.

TURNING POINT

Bucknell jumped out to the 11-0 edge early and never really looked back. Army was hindered by poor shooting in the opening period, which created too big of a gap between the teams for the Cadets to recover from.

ADDITIONAL

The Black Knights were projected to finish last in the Patriot League preseason poll but concluded the regular season securing the eighth spot with a league mark of 6-2.
Army wrapped up its year with an overall record of 13-19 to go along with wins over Air Force and Navy. The Cadets also brought the Alumni Trophy back to West Point after a three-year hiatus in the Star Series with the Mids.
The Black Knights lose Hoffman, Mammel, Edwards and Richard Brown to graduation but return 80 percent of their scoring and 71 percent of their rebounding from this season.