Ellis Leads Army To Road Win At New Hampshire

Thursday, December 9

Durham, NH

7 PM

Army West Point

New Hampshire

Ellis Leads Army To Road Win At New Hampshire

December 10, 2010 | Men's Basketball

DURHAM, N.H. – Sophomore F Ella Ellis registered his first career double-double with career-best totals of 21 points and 10 rebounds to lead the Army men’s basketball team (5-4) to a road win at New Hampshire (5-3) on Thursday night. The victory snapped the Black Knights’ three-game losing streak.

Army led by 12 points with 5:35 to go, but saw its lead shrink to just three points with less than a minute left. The Black Knights knocked down five of their six foul shots, including three makes in four tries by Ellis, in the closing seconds to hold on for the victory. 

Ellis was one of four players in double figures for the Black Knights.  Junior G Julian Simmons tallied 15 points, while freshman F Chris Welker contributed a career-high 11 points. It was the rookie’s first career double-digit scoring game. Senior G Mitch McDonald also reached double figures for the first time in his career with 13 points in 22 minutes. McDonald also chipped in four rebounds, four assists and tied his career best with four steals.

Jeremy Hence had his string of eight straight games scoring at least 10 points come to an end, but the senior forward still managed to just miss his second double-double with a nine-point, nine-rebound performance. Hence took only five shots and knocked down three, including two three-pointers.

Ferg Myrick led four New Hampshire players in double figures with 13 points. Dane DiLiegro registered a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds. Tyrone Conley and Chandler Rhoads added 12 and 10 points, respectively.

The Black Knights were able to overcome 18 turnovers and a 36-34 rebounding deficit by limiting the Wildcats to only 37 percent shooting. Army hit 53 percent of its field goal tries (24-45), including a 7-for-15 effort from long range (47 percent).

The Black Knights scored first, but the Wildcats controlled play for most of the first 10 minutes. After its early deficit, UNH scored 17 of the next 25 points to take their largest lead of the half at 17-10 with 10:39 left. Myrick hit three three-pointers during the run to pace the Wildcats, while Army made just three of its eight field goal tries.

Army started its first-half comeback with an old-fashioned three-point play by McDonald that kickstarted a 9-0 spurt that gave the Black Knights a 19-17 lead with 9:11 left. Ellis scored four points during the run. The Wildcats countered with the next five points to reclaim a three-point edge. New Hampshire led 25-22 with 5:35 left on the first-half clock, but the Black Knights outscored the Wildcats 11-5 for the remainder of the half to go into the locker room with a 33-30 edge.

McDonald scored nine of his 13 points in the first 20 minutes to lead the Black Knights. Hence added seven first-half markers.

Simmons made a three-pointer to start the second half as the Black Knights built a 47-39 edge. The Wildcats cut the lead to four points, but Army went on a 9-2 run to claim its first double-digit lead at 56-45 with 10:14 remaining. 

The Wildcats scored the next five points, but the Black Knights scored six straight on a three-pointer by Welker, a basket by junior Josh Johnson and a free throw by Simmons to take its largest lead of the game at 62-50 with 5:35 left.

UNH started their comeback with a 7-0 run to trim its deficit to five points with 3:25 left on the second-half clock.  Hence ended the Army drought and pushed lead back to seven, but a three-point play by James Valladares made it 64-60 with 2:23 left.

Simmons scored to put Army back on top by six, but the Wildcats got another three-point opportunity. Rhoads missed the free throw that would have made it a one-possession game, however, keeping the Black Knights lead at 66-62 with 1:17 left.

Rhoads was fouled again and hit one of his two freebies to pull the Wildcats within three with 56 seconds remaining. Army turned the ball over with 26 seconds left, but the Black Knights drew an offensive foul on UNH’s next possession, and the Wildcats would not score again. Ellis drained three foul shots and Welker hit both of his attempts to set the final margin.

The win improved the Black Knights’ road record to 3-1. Army is in the midst of a stretch of seven consecutive games away from West Point, including the final six on its opponents’ home floors.

The Black Knights continue their swing through the Granite State on Saturday, Dec. 11 when they travel to Dartmouth. Tip-off in Hanover, N.H. is set for 7 p.m.

Game Notes: Army head coach Zach Spiker and his wife, Jen, celebrated the birth of their second son at 11:17 p.m. on Wednesday night … Tucker Liston Spiker weighed in at nine pounds, three ounces … Spiker traveled to Durham to join the team on Thursday afternoon …  Army’s 71 points snapped a two-game string of scoring less than 60 points (53.0 ppg) … the Black Knights avoided dropping below the .500 mark for the first time this season … Army has now won two straight against UNH and leads the all-time series, 6-3 … Army has now ensured its fourth 5-5 or better start in the last five seasons … the Black Knights are 15-9 in their last 24 non-conference games …  Spiker evened his Army record a 19-19 to become the first Black Knight boss to have a .500-or-better record through his first 38 games since Mike Krzyzewski (22-16) … the Black Knights are now 20-8 in their last 28 games scoring 70 points … Army has led at the half in all five of its wins (5-1).