Army West Point Athletics
Black Knights Welcome Lehigh on Saturday
January 19, 2018 | Men's Basketball
WEST POINT, N.Y. – The Army West Point men's basketball team is back at Christl Arena on Saturday afternoon when it hosts Lehigh for the teams' eighth Patriot League contest of the year. The game will tip at 2 p.m. and will be carried live on the Patriot League Network with Rich DeMarco on the call.Â
    The Black Knights are coming off a tough 70-66 loss at Holy Cross on Wednesday, which halted their three-game winning streak. In that contest, the Cadets trailed by as many as 21 in the opening period before making a furious rally to take over the lead with three minutes remaining. Unfortunately, two minutes later the home team hit consecutive clutch 3-pointers to jump back in front and end Army's hopes of what would have been a season-high comeback victory.
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    In that game, sophomore Matt Wilson tied his season high with 17 points on 8-of-13 shooting from the floor. He chipped in 1-of-2 makes from the free throw line for his 13th twin figure scoring contest of the year. Joining him in double digits was Jordan Fox and Tommy Funk with 16 and 10 points, respectively. Fox also matched his career best in rebounds with nine boards, while Funk dished out a game-high five assists.Â
    For the season, four cadet-athletes are averaging double-figure scoring with Fox's 14.7 points per game leading the way. Wilson is adding 12.3 ppg, while Funk and rookie Alex King each have compiled 10.2 ppg. On the boards, Wilson is tops on the team with 6.0 rebounds per outing. Funk's team high mark of 6.2 assists per contest places him first in the conference and 19th in the nation.Â
    Lehigh has dropped three of its last four games, including its last outing against Colgate on Wednesday. The Raiders held a 50-32 advantage at the break but saw the Mountain Hawks rally in the second half to outscore their visitor 40-26 during the final 20 minutes. Unfortunately, that wasn't enough to complete the comeback as they dropped a close 76-72 decision. Lehigh saw three reach twin figures highlighted by sophomore Pat Andree's game-high 24 points, including 4-of-6 makes from downtown.
    Junior Lance Tejada is leading the team with 14.9 points per game, while Kahron Ross (12.2 ppg), Andree (12.1 ppg) and Kyle Leufroy (11.1 ppg) are also chipping in double-digit scoring.
    Lehigh is riding a three-game winning streak over the Black Knights with Army's last victory at 88-82 decision on Dec. 30, 2015. Over the last 10 outings, the Mountain Hawks hold a 7-3 advantage over the Cadets.
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 | Lehigh
SHORT MEMORY
The Black Knights sport an 11-7 record on the season, due in large part to their ability to have a short memory. Army is 5-1 in games after a loss and have only dropped back-to-back contests once during the 2017-18 campaign. Adversely, the Cadets have strung together multiple wins four times, including two three-game winning streaks.Â
STARTING FIVE
Of Army's starting five, four are sporting a field goal percentage of at least .419 with the quintet accounting for 64.8 percent of the team's offensive production. Three are averaging double-digit points with Jordan Fox at 14.7 points per game, Matt Wilson averaging 12.3 ppg and Tommy Funk going for 10.2 ppg.
    Wilson's .587 field goal percentage ranks second in the Patriot League. Three have averaged 4.0 or more rebounds per contest as well. Jordan Fox is shooting 51-of-111 from long range, with a percentage of .459 and an average of 2.8 per game that puts him second in the league in both categories. Luke Morrison has added 33-of-86 treys and Funk has contributed 21-of-50 makes from behind-the-arc.Â
THE 6TH MAN
The Black Knights bench has been a key part of the team's success in the 2017-18 season. The reserves are averaging more than 27 points per game, captained by rookies Alex King and Tucker Blackwell. King is going for 10.2 points per game in 18.9 minutes, while Blackwell adds 6.9 points per contest in 17-and-a-half-minutes of action. As a whole, the Army bench is outscoring its opponents by 7.17 points per game.
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 seventh in 3-point field goal percentage, shooting at a clip of 41.9 percent, and is tied for 23rd in treys per game with 10.2 per contest. Additionally, the squad's 183 makes from behind-the-arc place them tied for 32nd in Division I. Leading that effort is junior Jordan Fox, who ranks 22nd nationally at 45.9 percent from long range.
    That success from deep comes from sharing the ball, evident by Army's rank of tied for 15th in the nation in assists per game with 17.9 and tied for 23rd in total helpers with 323. Sophomore Tommy Funk has paced the team in that category. The Warrington, Pa., native has dished out 6.2 helpers per game and sports a total of 111 assists on the season, putting him at 19th in both.
    Funk's classmate, Matt Wilson, is among the most efficient scorers in the nation, converting on 58.7 percent of the shots he takes with the 38th-best field goal percentage in the nation.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
Army is averaging 31.2 points per game from inside the paint. That number outscores its opponents, who are registering just 27.3 per outing in that category. Another notable stat is that the Black Knights are converting on average 15.6 points per contest from their opponent's turnovers, nearly a two-point average better than the opposition.Â
ABOUT THE MOUNTAIN HAWKS
Lehigh enters Saturday's matchup with the Black Knights in sixth place in the Patriot League standings having dropped three of its last four contests. Most recently, the Mountain Hawks fell to Colgate, 76-72, at home on Wednesday.Â
    Four Mountain Hawks are averaging double-digit points with Lance Tejada leading the way with 14.9 points per game. Joining him in double figures are Kahron Ross (12.2 ppg), Pat Andree (12.1 ppg) and Kyle Leufroy (11.1 ppg). Leufroy is also among Lehigh's best in rebounding (5.9 rpg) and assists (2.8 apg). Ross sports a team-high 4.6 helpers per contest, while James Kamik averages 6.7 rebounds per game that leads the Mountain Hawks. Andree is also contributing 5.3 boards per game.Â
A WIN OVER LEHIGH WOULD…
Give Army just its fifth win over the Mountain Hawks in the last 18 meetings. It would also be head coach Jimmy Allen's 25th victory at the helm of the Black Knights. Finally, it would be Army's fifth league win of the year and could move the Cadets to third place in the league standings.Â
NEXT UP
Army remains at home to face Colgate on Wednesday at 7 p.m. It will be the Black Knights' final game of the first half of the Patriot League season. The Raiders welcome Loyola to Cotterell Court before traveling to West Point for the midweek matchup.Â
