Army West Point Athletics
Army West Point
6-2
Bryant
2-5
Bryant Deals Men's Basketball Second Loss
December 09, 2014 | Men's Basketball
Army had four players score in double figures, led by Kyle Wilson's 19. Kevin Ferguson contributed 15, Dylan Cox had 14, and Tanner Plomb netted 12.
The loss dropped Army to 6-2, while Bryant improved to 2-5 on the year.
"They controlled the game in all of the important aspects of the game," head coach Zach Spiker said. "We allowed Bryant to get a number of offensive rebounds, take easy shots and they shot 50 percent from the floor. Truthfully, when you allow a team to achieve those numbers, you deserve to lose and tonight was no exception."
Both teams shot better than 50 percent in the contest, but Bryant was plus-five on the glass and held a 13-9 difference on the offensive boards.
Bryant got off to a great start offensively and led 25-12 midway through the first period on Hunter Ware's stepback three-pointer. The start featured nine points by Starks, who led all scorers with 13 points at intermission.
Army slashed the deficit to six and then made it a three-point game when Cox went coast to coast and finished a three-point play. Up 34-31 at that point, Joe O'Shea (10 points) answered Cox's drive by draining a contested three to help Bryant close the half on an 8-0 run. Ware hit another triple during the spurt to push his first-half total to 11 points and Bryant shot 51.6 percent (16-of-31) from the floor in the opening half. Army made 11 of its 22 first-half attempts, but turned the ball over eight times, while only forcing three Bryant turnovers and went into the locker room down 42-31.
Bryant continued to shoot the ball well in the second half and went up by 18 points with a 14-4 run seven minutes into the second half. Ware had a layup, O'Shea drilled a triple and Starks connected on a pullup trey, before Ware's jumper made punctuated the stretch and made it 58-40.
Army came back with six in a row, from Ferguson, Wilson and Cox in succession, but the 18-point cushion was quickly regained by Bryant on a three-point play by Andrew Scocca (11 points) and Starks' third three ball.
The visiting Bulldogs led by as many as 20 points with seven minutes remaining and the margin ended up being big enough to withstand Army's late push. A Wilson three trimmed the score to 75-66 with 1:15 left, but Ware converted four free throws in the final minute to keep Army at bay. Ware ended his night with 17 points on 5-of-10 from the floor, including 3-of-5 from distance.
"I think we got it to six or seven a couple times there late," Spiker added. "But, the truth is that when you dig yourselves that big of a hole, you spend a lot of energy getting out of it and there's not much left to get you over the hump. I thought the better team won the game tonight."
Army resumes action on Saturday evening when it travels to Los Angeles, Calif., for a matchup with USC. Opening tip is set for 10:30 p.m. ET and the game can be seen on Pac-12 Networks.
GAME NOTES: Army dipped to 5-2 all-time against Bryant, and 3-1 against the Bulldogs at Christl Arena ... 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 ... Mac Hoffman made his first appearance of the season for Army.
