Army Comeback Falls Short At LIU

Sunday, December 19

Brooklyn, NY

4 PM

Army West Point

LIU Brooklyn

Army Comeback Falls Short At LIU

December 19, 2010 | Men's Basketball

BROOKLYN, N.Y. –  Army (5-6) cut a 17-point second-half deficit to just two points in the waning seconds, but Long Island (7-4) was able to hang on for a 91-85 win at the Wellness, Recreation and Athletic Center on Sunday evening.

With Army trailing, 70-53, a jumper by sophomore F Ella Ellis stopped the Black Knights’ five-minute, 21-second scoring drought and started a 7-2 Army run that made it 72-60 with 9:31 left. The Blackbirds scored the next four to extend back to a 16-point lead with 7:17 left.

Army clawed its way back into the game on the backs of Ellis, senior F Jeremy Hence and junior G Julian Simmons. Army went on a 25-11 run over the next six minutes, 51 seconds to pull within one possession.  Simmons’ three-pointer off a steal by senior G Mitch McDonald pulled the Black Knights within two points at 87-85 with 26 seconds remaining. Simmons scored all 11 of his points during the run with Hence adding seven and Ellis scoring four points.

LIU iced the game at the line, making its last four free throw attempts while Army could not find the bottom of the net for the remainder of the contest.

Army put four players in double figures led by Ellis’ 19 points. Hence added 15, while rookie G Josh Herbeck scored a career-best 15 points on five three pointers, four of which came in the second half. Ellis and senior Nate Hedgecock led the Black Knights with five rebounds, while McDonald handed out a career-best 10 assists and made six steals.

Seven of the eight LIU players that saw action scored in double figures. Michael Culpo paced the Blackbirds off the bench with 16 points, going 5 for 6 from long range.

Army shot 47.2 percent for the game, but hit only 31.4 percent from three-point range (11-35). The Blackbirds hit 54.5 percent from the floor, including 58.8 percent of its triples (10-17).  LIU outrebounded the Black Knights, 41-30, and held a 20-8 edge in second-chance points.

LIU held an early 6-5 lead, but the Black Knights scored the next nine points to take a 14-6 lead with 15:13 left in the first half. The Blackbirds cut their deficit to 16-15, but Army scored six of the next seven points, including back-to-back layups by McDonald to lead 22-16 with 10:21 left in the opening period.

Army led 28-23, but the Blackbirds scored 13 of the next 15 points to take a 36-30 lead with 4:07 left. Hedgecock hit a three-pointer to stop Army’s two-minute, 33-second scoreless drought and pull the Black Knights within three, but LIU ended the half on a 11-6 spurt, including a dunk by Julian Boyd on the final possession of the half, to go into the locker room with a 47-39 lead.

The Black Knights used a balanced attack in the first 20 minutes with five players scoring at least six points. Ellis led the team with nine, while Hence added eight. Hedgecock and McDonald scored seven and six points, respectively, while Springer netted six points, a career-high. Culpo led all scorers with 10 points, including three three-pointers.

Army shot a respectable 47.1 percent (16-34) in the first half, but struggled from deep. The Black Knights hit just three of their 14 three-point tries (.214). The Blackbirds, however, were nearly perfect from beyond the arc, connecting on six of their eight three-pointers (.750) en route to a 17 for 29 overall showing (.586).

The Blackbirds extended their lead to 53-43 with 18:21 left, but the Black Knights countered with a 10-1 run, including consecutive triples by Herbeck to claw back within a point at 54-53 with 15:48 remaining. The Blackbirds ripped off the next 16 points to take a 70-53 lead with 11:53 showing on the second-half clock, setting up Army’s final comeback try.

The loss dropped Army below the .500 mark for the first time this season.

Army wraps up its pre-holiday schedule on Tuesday, Dec. 21 when it travels to Brown. Tip-off at the Pizzitola Sports Center is set for 7 p.m.

Game Notes:  Freshman Brian Hornstein was in uniform for the first time this season … Army has now lost all four games in which it has trailed at the half … The Black Knights have given up an average of 79.0 points per game in its six losses … Mitch McDonald’s 10 assists were the most by an Army player since Josh Miller had 11 versus Brown on Jan. 2, 2008 … Army took 30 three-pointers in a game for the first time since the 2005-06 season … Ella Ellis had led Army in scoring three straight games … Jordan Springer scored a career-best eight points … Nate Hedgecock’s nine points were a season high … Josh Herbeck’s five three-pointers tied Army’s season high by an individual … Army remained winless at LIU (0-3).