Army West Point Athletics
Army West Point
10-5 (1-3PL)
Navy
7-9 (3-1PL)
Navy Holds Off Men's Basketball at Christl Arena
January 10, 2015 | Men's Basketball
The result dropped Army to 10-5 on the season and 1-3 in conference games, while Navy improved to 7-9 overall and 3-1 in Patriot League contests.
Second-chance points proved to be the difference in the game as Navy held a 34-29 rebounding edge and a 13-9 mark on the offensive glass. The difference led to a 14-4 disparity in second-chance points for the visiting Midshipmen. Navy also forced Army into 14 turnovers and gave the ball away six times.
Four players scored in double figures for Navy, led by Kendall Knorr's 17-point effort. Brandon Venturini had 15 points, Worth Smith added 12 and Tilman Dunbar put in 10. Will Kelly scored eight points and led the Mids with six rebounds.
Kyle Wilson finished with 18 points to pace Army, while Tanner Plomb poured in 17 and grabbed eight rebounds. Dylan Cox joined Wilson and Plomb in double digits with 10.
Army put together the game's first run eight minutes in with a 9-0 spurt that began with Wilson's wing three-pointer. Milton Washington (six points) followed with his second bucket inside before Cox used glass on a foul line jumper to put Army up 15-10. The run ended with another Washington layup that made it 17-10 prior to Smith connecting on a three on the opposite end.
Consecutive Knorr jumpers, followed by a Kelly conversion on the inside tied the game at 19 and forced Army to use a timeout. The Black Knights continued to struggle and turned the ball over on five straight possessions as Navy capitalized with four points from Smith and a pair of Venturini deep jumpers that increased the Midshipmen lead to 28-19.
Navy capped the 16-0 run with a free throw by Shawn Anderson before Kevin Ferguson (six points, nine rebounds) made a layup for Army. Navy took a 33-24 lead into halftime after forcing Army into 10 first-half giveaways.
"We came out very well defensively and had a ton of energy," Wilson said. "Getting stops helps us get out in transition and get good looks, but during that stretch we were unable to get many stops and Navy was able to set its defense. Any time you are not getting stops it is tough to score and make a run yourself."
The Navy lead hovered around 10 points for the first six minutes of the second half until Wilson found Mo Williams open in the corner for his second three of the day. A Navy turnover led to Plomb's pullup jumper and Army was within five (43-38). Edward Alade and Ferguson traded layups and Navy was up five with 12 minutes to go.
Earl McLaurin hit a three late in the shot clock to push it to eight points, but Plomb answered the call with one of his own. Moments later it was Wilson connecting from deep in transition when Army cut the deficit to two.
"A big reason why we chipped away at them was because we got stops and rebounds," head coach Zach Spiker stated. "We went down and got the right looks for the right guys and during that stretch we knocked them down."
Army was unable to take the lead, however, as Dunbar used the window to increase Navy's lead to 50-46 with under six minutes remaining, before Wilson made a layup and Knorr banked in a three for the Mids. Navy sent the cushion to six with a pair of critical offensive rebounds that led to a Kelly left-handed layup with 3:38 to play.
Cox went to the line on Army's next trip down the floor and made 1-of-2, but Navy broke the press and Smith leaked out for a dunk (56-49). Army was unable to convert after three straight offensive rebounds and the Black Knights never got any closer than eight points the rest of the way in the 75-66 final.
Army's next game is scheduled for Jan. 14 when it travels to Worcester, Mass. to play Holy Cross. Opening tip is scheduled for 8 p.m. and the game can be seen on the American Sports Network and Patriot League Network.
Game Notes: The crowd of 5,291 was the largest in Christl Arena history.
