Army West Point Athletics
Army Hosts Lafayette for Education Day
January 10, 2018 | Men's Basketball
WEST POINT, N.Y. – The Army West Point men's basketball team welcomes Lafayette on Thursday for Education Day. Tipoff is slated for noon and will be carried live on the Patriot League Network with Rich DeMarco on the call.
Army is coming off a thrilling 58-54 victory in our nation's captial on Monday night in which it overcame an early 10-point second-half deficit. Babacar Thiombane came up clutch with the go-ahead put-back layup with 2:02 remaining. The rookie then followed that up by swatting away the potential game-tying layup with three seconds left to help preserve the win.
Matt Wilson was one point shy of matching his season-best performance with a game-high 16 points in the contest. First-year Tucker Blackwell chipped in nine points, while Tommy Funk added seven to Army's final total. Thiombane had a strong defensive game, setting a career-mark in rebounds with eight to lead all players. He also finished with two blocks. Funk handed out a team-best four assists as well.
The Cadets have four averaging double-digit points on the year with Jordan Fox's 14.7 points per game leading the way. Wilson is registering 12.3 points per outing, while Funk and rookie Alex King are both helping with 10.3 points per contest, respectively. On the boards, Wilson is tops on the team and seventh in the Patriot League with 6.0 rebounds per game. Funk is tied for 17th in the nation and leads the conference with 6.3 helpers per outing. Fox's mark of .483 from behind-the-arc is second in the league, while his 2.8 3-pointers per game also has him second.
Lafayette is coming off a tough 80-75 overtime loss to the reigning Patriot League Champions Bucknell on Monday. Rookie Alex Petrie hit a buzzer-beating 3-pointer to send the game into an extra period. He finished with a game-high 26 points on 9-of-21 shooting from the floor. He also chipped in 4-of-9 makes from long range, while converting on four of his seven attempts at the free throw line. Junior Paulius Zalys and senior Matt Klinewski added 12 and 10 points, respectively, to the Leopards' final total.
For the season, Klinewski is third in the league with 18.1 points per game, while first-years Petrie (12.1 ppg) and Justin Jaworski (10.5 ppg) follow closely behind.
Over the last 10 meetings, Army holds the slim 6-4 edge. The Black Knights won the team's last matchup on Feb. 1 of last year when John Emezie and Jordan Fox both registered 18 points in the 80-73 victory at Christl Arena.
HOW TO FOLLOW
ONLINE • Patriot League Network
RADIO • Army West Point Sports Network
WBNR (1260 AM, Beacon, N.Y.)
WLNA (1420 AM, Peekskill, N.Y.)
AUDIO • Knight Vision
LIVE STATISTICS • www.goarmywestpoint.com
TICKETS • www.goarmywestpoint.com
TWITTER • @ArmyWP_MBB
GAME NOTES • Army | Lafayette
BRINGIN' DA FUNK
Sophomore guard Tommy Funk has led the Black Knights in helpers since joining the team last season, becoming the 11th member of the 250-assist club Monday night in our nation's capital with four in the victory over American. The Warrington, Pa., native has recorded three or more assists in Army's last 21 games, dating back to Feb. 11 of last season against the Eagles. During that stretch, he dished out seven or more helpers in nine of those contests. Through the first 47 games of his collegiate career, Funk is averaging 5.3 assists per game while adding 9.5 points per contest.
EFFICIENCY IS KEY
The Black Knights are among the best teams in the Patriot League in field goal percentage, both on the offensive and defensive ends of the court. Army leads the league in defensive field goal percentage, limiting its opponents to a 41.8 success rate. Additionally, the Cadets currently rank second in the front court, scoring on 46.6 percent of their shots behind only Bucknell (47.1 percent).
I GOTTA FIND BUBBA!
Rookie Babacar Thiombane, known as Bubba to his teammates, has been a defensive standout for the Black Knights of late. The 6-7, first-year has posted 16 rebounds and seven blocks in the last three games, including multiple blocks in two of those contests. On Monday, the Los Angeles, Calif., native collected a career and game-high eight rebounds while adding two blocks, including a key stop with five seconds left on American's leading scorer, Sa'eed Nelson, to preserve the victory.
GET AHEAD, STAY AHEAD
The Black Knights have started fast all season, earning a lead in eight of their 14 games on the year. Taking a lead into the break has been crucial for the Cadets who are 7-1 when outscoring the opposition in the first half, while going just 1-5 when Army is behind at halftime.
SWEEPING THE NATION
The Black Knights are among the nation's best in several statistical categories, both as a team and individually. Army currently sits fifth in 3-point field goal percentage, shooting at a clip of 42.7 percent, and is 25th in treys per game with 10.2 per contest. Additionally, the squad's 153 makes from behind-the-arc place them tied for 45th in Division I. Leading that effort is junior Jordan Fox, who ranks 11th nationally at 48.3 percent from long range.
That success from deep comes from sharing the ball, evident by Army's rank of ninth in the nation in assists per game with 18.5 and tied for 35th in total helpers with 278. Sophomore Tommy Funk has paced the team in that category. The Warrington, Pa., native has dished out 6.3 helpers per game and sports a total of 95 assists on the season, tying for 17th and 22nd, respectively.
Funk's classmate, Matt Wilson, is among the most efficient scorers in the nation, converting on 58.0 percent of the shots he takes with the 48th-best field goal percentage in the nation.
ABOUT THE LEOPARDS
Lafayette begun the Patriot League season by splitting its first four games after being selected last in the preseason poll. Despite dropping nine of their first 10 games of the season, the Leopards are 2-1 in the last three games. Lafayette earned back-to-back wins over Holy Cross (60-48) and Colgate (71-68) before suffering a five-point overtime setback to the reigning Patriot League champions, Bucknell. Rookie Alex Petrie beat the buzzer to force overtime as he posted a game-high 26 on Monday in his third 20-point effort.
Three Leopards are averaging double-digit points in Matt Klinewski (18.1 ppg), Petrie (12.1 ppg) and Justin Jaworski (10.5 ppg). Klinewski also leads the squad in rebounding at 5.9 per game, while Eric Stafford's 46 assists is the most on the team.
A WIN OVER LAFAYETTE WOULD…
Give Army its 10th win of the season, making them the second team in the Patriot League with double-digit victories. It would also be the Black Knights' second-straight victory over Lafayette. Lastly, it would be Army's seventh win in the last nine games at Christl Arena.
NEXT UP
Army eyes its second service-academy matchup of the season as the team travels to Navy on Sunday for a 2:30 p.m. tipoff against the Midshipmen. The game will be televised on CBS Sports Network with Jason Knapp and Mo Cassara on the call. Navy will square off against Holy Cross at Alumni Hall on Thursday at 7 p.m. prior to its game with the Black Knights.
