Army West Point Athletics
Army West Point
7-2
USC
6-4
| Team | 1 | 2 | OT 1 | F |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Army | 36 | 29 | 20 | 85 |
| USC | 33 | 32 | 12 | 77 |
Army Completes Comeback in Overtime at USC
December 14, 2014 | Men's Basketball
Kyle Wilson scored 30 points for the second time in his career, Kevin Ferguson contributed 14, Larry Toomey scored 12 and Luke Morrison set new career-highs with 11 points and seven rebounds to help Army improve to 7-2 on the season. USC dropped to 6-4 overall with the result.
Trailing 63-54 with a little more than four minutes remaining, Wilson took the ball through the paint and made a contested floater that pulled Army within seven. Wilson scored again, this time on a layup, then Ferguson converted inside surrounding a Trojans' miss and Army was within three at 63-60 when USC called timeout at 2:37.
Katin Reinhardt, who put in 17 points for the Trojans, got a layup to drop after turnovers by each team and was fouled on the play with 1:22 to go. His bonus free throw rimmed out and USC was up by five. Army quickly found Toomey open in the corner for a critical three-pointer that pulled the visitors within two. Army was 5-for-30 from beyond the arc after Toomey connected.
Another empty USC possession gave the ball back to the Black Knights with less than 40 seconds remaining. Army got the ball to its leading scorer, Wilson, who maneuvered inside and used the glass to tie the score at 65 with 24 seconds left in regulation.
The final USC offensive possession led to a turnaround jumper in the paint by Nikola Jovanovic that was contested well by Ferguson and missed as time expired. Jovanovic finished with a double-double of 14 points and 13 rebounds for the Trojans.
"Lots of guys stepped up and made big plays," head coach Zach Spiker said. "We had great defense in the second half and overtime especially. We defended when we needed to."
The Black Knights took advantage of the situation in overtime as Ferguson won the tip and Army swung the ball around to Toomey for another crucial three that put Army in front for good. On the other end, Toomey came up with a loose ball that Ferguson deflected away and Army made USC pay for the mistake when Wilson buried a corner three that pushed the lead to six points a minute into the extra session.
"We are a good shooting team and we are not going to stop shooting," Toomey said of Army's three-point struggles in regulation. "If we are open, we are going to step up and believe we will knock it down."
The lead never shrunk below four points in the final five minutes as Army went 10-of-12 from the free throw line en route to its first overtime win since it beat Navy in double overtime on Feb. 11, 2012.
USC sprinted out to an 8-2 lead in the game's opening minutes, but Army got back into the contest with eight points, including a pair of threes from Morrison off the bench. The Trojans held a 12-10 edge at the first media stoppage.
Later in the first half, Army owned a 29-21 advantage after Ferguson muscled in a shot inside and completed the three-point play, but USC came back with eight of the next nine points, including a pair of fastbreak buckets by Jordan McLaughlin and Darion Clark. The Black Knights brought a 36-33 into the locker room despite shooting 3-for-17 from beyond the arc in the first 20 minutes.
The second half started similarly to the first, with a big USC push, and the Trojans put in the first 14 points to go up 47-36. Army burned two timeouts in the first 4:30 to try and stop the momentum which began with a Reinhardt floater. He and McLaughlin each had six points during the stretch.
After using its second timeout, Ferguson put Army on the board in the second frame with another three-point play to spark an 8-2 Black Knights' run. Wilson's deep three-pointer made it 49-44 before USC called for time at 13:30.
The visitors cut the deficit to three (53-50) on a follow by Toomey, but the Black Knights couldn't go over the hump as USC scored twice with a jumper by Elijah Stewart and Jovanovic's slam with nine minutes showing.
McLaughlin led USC with 24 points and had the Trojans ahead 63-54 with his three-point play with 5:24 left before Army mounted its comeback.
Army has a week off prior to its next game on Dec. 21 when the team hosts Maine at Christl Arena. Opening tip is scheduled for 1 p.m. and the game can be seen on Patriot League Network.
GAME NOTES: Army has its first 7-2 start since the 2009-10 campaign. That year, Army started 9-2 in Zach Spiker's first season ... Spiker earned his 75th career victory in 160 games. Bobby Knight won his 75th game in 107 tries and Leo Novak needed 110 contests to reach 75 wins ... Army improved to 2-11 all-time record against current Pac-12 Conference opponents ... the Black Knights collected their first win over a Pac-12 team since Dec. 29, 1964, when they defeated Washington State, 59-54 ... the Black Knights have used the same starting lineup in every game this season with Cox, Wilson, Plomb, Toomey and Ferguson on the floor first ... Wilson's 30 points moved him past Bill Hannon and Lee Sager into 19th on Army's all-time scoring list ... Kennedy Edwards had a career-high four rebounds.
