Army West Point Athletics
Army West Point
8-2
Maine
1-9
| Team | 1 | 2 | OT 1 | F |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Maine | 29 | 31 | 9 | 69 |
| Army | 29 | 31 | 12 | 72 |
Army Outlasts Maine in Overtime
December 21, 2014 | Men's Basketball
Tanner Plomb registered his second career double-double with 20 points and a career-high 13 rebounds to help Army to the victory. Plomb was 8-for-15 from the field and led the Army offense, which lost Kyle Wilson to an injury late in the first half. Kevin Ferguson was the other Army player in double figures with 10 points. Ferguson blocked a season-high five shots and hauled in eight rebounds for the Black Knights, who held a 43-33 advantage on the glass.
Collectively, Army limited Maine to 33.9 percent from the floor (19-of-56) and forced the Black Bears (1-9) into 16 turnovers. Army improved to 8-2 despite a season-high 22 turnovers. Zarko Valjarevic led all scorers with 22 points and contributed six rebounds in a losing effort.
"I think a lot of credit should go to Maine and its coaching staff for what they are doing," head coach Zach Spiker said of Maine's zone defense. "That team played well today. It can be a little bit tricky and deceptive when you look at the records, but you have to also look at their schedule. They played three guarantee games and have been all over the country. At the end of the year I think they could be one of the top teams in the America East"
The contest got off to a sluggish start and Maine took an 8-2 lead after seven Army turnovers in the first five minutes. Toomey and Wilson (four points) each hit threes to tie the score before Valjarevic connected on his second triple.
Plomb made his presence known as Army went in front with a steal following a Wilson free throw, then he slammed home a feed from Wilson on the resulting possession. Moments later, Ferguson put back a Plomb miss and converted the bonus free throw after he was fouled. Wilson came up with a steal, found Milton Washington in transition and Maine used a timeout to stop Army's 14-4 spurt. The Black Knights were up 16-12 and had forced eight turnovers at that point.
The Army advantage stretched to as many as seven in the opening frame due to its defensive effort that pressured Maine into 11 giveaways and a 30.4 shooting percentage (7-of-23). However, it was Maine's 9-2 run to close the half that sent the two sides into the break tied at 29. The Black Bears forced Army into 13 turnovers before halftime.
With point guard Dylan Cox (six points, five assists) in foul trouble for a majority of the first half, Army received critical contributions from Milton Washington and Kennedy Edwards off the bench. Washington, who made his season debut, scored seven points and Edwards had five at intermission. Washington finished with nine points and Edwards contributed eight.
"It gives me a lot of confidence in our team to be able to win a game like today's," Williams said. "We suffered a lot of adversity today and a lot of different guys stepped up and pulled through. Anyone can step on the floor and help us win and that is the beauty of our team."
Army started the second half with buckets by Plomb and then Ferguson after he sent back his fourth Maine shot attempt of the day.
Maine trailed 35-32 after a dunk by Ferguson, but came back to score eight of the next 10 to go up 40-37 with 12:30 to play. Threes by Valjarevic and Little put the visitors ahead, before a free throw and a Cox steal led to a wide open Edwards three-pointer made Army the frontrunners.
By the nine-minute mark, Maine built a 48-43 lead after Valjarevic's floater, Kevin Little's layup and Aaron Calixte's jumper. A driving layup by Cox pulled Army back within a basket, then he drove and found Plomb wide open for three that gave Army a 51-50 edge.
The teams remained on the seesaw when Troy Reid-Knight connected on a three of his own for the Black Bears, then Cox scored inside off a touch pass from Ferguson.
Tied at 54 with 3:30 left, Cox found Larry Toomey open in the corner where he knocked down a deep two before a pair at the stripe by Valjarevic tied the score again a minute later.
After an Army miss Garet Beal made a pair at the line, Cox found a cutting Plomb and he slammed for two and Maine came back with a turnaround by Till Gloger. Maine led 60-58 with 90 seconds to play.
Plomb tied the game again with a wide open elbow jumper with 1:05 remaining and Valjarevic misfired on the other end on a deep three. Plomb tried to feed Ferguson, but his pass sailed out of bounds and Maine had the ball with 30 seconds left in regulation. The visitors used the entire clock and Shaun Lawton's three missed at the buzzer to send the game to overtime.
The contest featured 10 ties and 16 lead changes, including five in overtime before Williams hit the critical three-pointer.
Army returns to Christl Arena on Dec. 28 when it hosts Coast Guard in the final non-conference game of the season. Opening tip is slated for 3 p.m.
Game Notes: Army won consecutive overtime games for the first time since the 1984-85 season when it beat Fairfield and St. Peter's in back-to-back OT games ... the win marks Army's first 8-2 start since the 2009-10 campaign. That year, Army started 9-2 in Spiker's first season ... the Black Knights remained unbeaten (4-0) all-time against the Black Bears ... Army improved to 4-1 at Christl Arena this season ... Army moved to 27-16 all-time record against current America East Conference competition ... the victory was Army's ninth straight win against an America East Conference member.
