Army Rally Falls Short Versus American

Wednesday, February 16

West Point, N.Y.

7 PM

Army West Point

American

Army Rally Falls Short Versus American

February 17, 2011 | Men's Basketball

WEST POINT, N.Y. – Army (11-15, 3-8 PL) rallied from an 11-point deficit to get within one point of visiting American (18-8, 8-3 PL), but fell short in its comeback attempt, losing to the Eagles, 65-59, on Wednesday night at Christl Arena.

The Eagles led 52-41, but a 12-2 run by the Black Knights pulled Army back to within one at 54-53. American was able to withstand the spurt and never relinquish the lead.

Senior F Jeremy Hence led the Black Knights with 17 points on 8-of-13 shooting. Sophomore F Ella Ellis scored 13 points and just missed a double-double with a team-high nine rebounds. Senior G Mitch McDonald and sophomore G Josh Herbeck each scored nine points. Herbeck made three of Army’s five three-pointers.

Nick Hendra paced four Eagles in double figures with a game-high 18 points and seven assists. Stephen Lumpkins scored 13 and completed the double-double with a game-high 15 boards. Troy Brewer added 12 and Vlad Moldoveanu chipped in with 11 points. 

For the second straight game, Army shot a season-low from three-point land. The Black Knights were only 5-for-24 (.208) from deep and have made only 10 of their last 45 three-point tries. Army shot 44.2 percent overall and committed only nine turnovers.

American connected on 46.3 percent overall and were 8-for-22 from behind the arc (.364). The Eagles held a 34-31 rebounding edge.

American scored the first four points before McDonald tallied the next five to give Army its first lead. The Eagles came back to take an 11-8 edge with 14:27 on the first-half clock, the Black Knights used a 12-0 run to take a 20-11 lead with 11:01 left. The Eagles answered with an 11-0 spurt to take a 22-20 lead at 7:26 mark of the opening half. Army missed all seven of its field goal tries, including six three-point attempts during American’s run.

A three-point play by Ellis stopped the bleeding and put Army back on top 23-22 with 5:07 left. The Black Knights led 25-24, but American scored the next six points to take their largest lead of the half at 30-25 with 1:24 to go. Hence finished the first-half scoring with an offensive rebound and stickback as the shot clock expired cut the deficit to 30-27 with 18 seconds left.

After a 7-for-12 start, Army made only four of its last 17 shots in the first half, including a run of 10 straight misses from three-point range. The Black Knights finished the half at 37.9 percent (11-29) and 7.1 percent (1-14) from deep. McDonald and Ellis led the squad with seven first-half points. Stephen Lumpkins paced the Eagles with seven points.

American opened the half on a 7-0 run, including the first five points by Brewer, to take a 37-27 lead. Herbeck snapped Army’s 0-3 start to the second half and a string of 12 straight misses from behind the three-point line to pull within seven at 37-30 with 16:52 left, but the Eagles came back with four in a row to open up a nine-point lead with 15:10 left in the contest.

McElrath three from the corner cut Army’s deficit to six points, but American extended its lead to 45-36 after a Lumpkins jumper with 12:04 to go. Army scored five of the next seven points, including a three-point play by Hence, to pull within six points again, but the Eagles fended off the rally with five straight points to reclaim a double-digit lead at 52-41 with 9:21 left in the game.

Army had one last gasp, spurred by two triples by Herbeck, to claw back within one point at 58-57 w/3:23 left. Hendra answered to push the lead back to three points, but Hence hit a driving basket to get the deficit back to 60-59 with 2:26 left on the clock.

Lumpkins answered for the Eagles to re-establish a three-point lead. Army had the ball twice with a chance to trim the deficit again, but two missed free throws and a turnover thwarted the attempt. American hit three of its four free throws down the stretch to set the final margin.

The game marked the final home appearance for Army’s three seniors, Nathan Hedgecock, Jeremy Hence and Mitch McDonald.

Army begins it season ending three game road trip on Saturday when it travels to arch-rival Navy for the annual “Star Game.” Tip-off is set for 2:30 p.m. The game will be televised live by CBS College Sports Network.

Game Notes: Jason Pancoe missed his second straight game with a toe injury … Army ended the regular season with a 4-8 overall record and a 1-6 Patriot League mark at home … Chris Welker snapped a two-game scoreless streak with a three-pointer in the first half … Army used 13 of its 15 players in uniform during the first half … Army has now been outscored 80-36 in the first five minutes of the second half in its last six losses … the Black Knights have led by at least seven points in the first half of each of its last seven games, but have trailed by double digits in the second half during six of those games, all losses … Julian Simmons was held scoreless (0-7) for the first time this season and only the eighth time in his 83 career games … Army’s 59 points marked its lowest scoring output in nine games … the Black Knights dropped to 13-38 in their last 61 games when scoring less than 60 points … Andrew Stire scored his first points in nine games with two first-half free throws … Army has lost its last three games versus the Eagles … Army will try to defend the Alumni Trophy at Navy on Saturday.