Army West Point Athletics
Army West Point
13-6, 4-4PL
American
11-9, 4-4PL
| Team | 1 | 2 | F |
|---|---|---|---|
| Army | 35 | 33 | 68 |
| American | 29 | 37 | 66 |
Cox's Late Bucket Drives Army Past American
January 26, 2015 | Men's Basketball
Facing a 66-61 hole with 1:45 left, Cox scored on a drive to pull Army (13-6, 4-4 Patriot) within one possession (66-63) of American (11-9, 4-4 Patriot). Mac Hoffman's hustle forced American into a backcourt violation, giving the ball back to Army with 1:24 left. Ten seconds later, Kyle Wilson, who poured in 16 points of his own, made the extra pass to Plomb for a three that tied the score at 66 apiece.
Marko Vasic had a layup attempt rim out with Kevin Ferguson attempting to block his shot from behind. Plomb pulled down the rebound and gave way to Cox, who held for Army's final shot. Cox went right at the top of the key and hesitated before putting up a contested shot off the glass for the game-winning bucket.
The Eagles took the ball out under the Army basket with 3.1 seconds left and Charlie Jones' 30-foot runner at the buzzer missed. Jones was one of four Eagles in double-figures with 12 points, as the team shot 54.5 percent from the floor in the loss. John Schoof had a team-high 17, Vasic finished with 11 and Jesse Reed scored 10. Pee Wee Gardner had nine points to go along with his team-leading seven assists. As a team, American had 19 assists on 24 made field goals.
"We found a way to win tonight, even though we have a lot of room to improve defensively," head coach Zach Spiker. "At the same time, we responded late in the game with our defensive pressure and got the stops when we needed to."
Army found a way to win, however, despite American's efficient shooting night. Army managed a 31-26 rebounding margin, connected on nine of 21 three-point attempts (42.9 percent), and limited American to 5-for-18 from beyond the arc.
Ferguson scored 10 of his 14 points after intermission and pulled down six rebounds, while Larry Toomey hauled in five boards and handed out three assists. Cox paced Army with six assists on the night.
Neither team was able to separate from the other in the first half and American had a 20-16 lead after a steal by Gardner led to a Reed triple at the seven-minute mark of the first half. Wilson, who opened the game by missing his first five shots, got things working offensively and knocked down three of his next four shots. All three of Wilson's makes came from beyond the arc to spark a 9-2 run that put Army up 25-22.
The run continued for Army and was capped at 19-6 after Plomb hit his fourth three-pointer and a tip in gave Army the lead at 35-26 with 30 seconds to play. Plomb started the half hot and put in 10 of Army's first 13 points, before closing the period with a pair of threes.
American used a timeout and inserted Gardner back into the contest for the final play of the half after he picked up his second foul at 1:22. Gardner made his way to the baseline before kicking to Schoof in the corner for an open three that sent the game to halftime with Army up 35-29. The lead was a result of holding a 14-7 advantage in points off turnovers and outrebounding American 17-9, despite the Eagles shooting 58.8 percent from the field (10-of-17). The Black Knights pulled down nine offensive boards in the first 20 minutes and scored six second-chance points.
American erased the deficit with a 7-2 run at the start of the second half and the game was tied at 37 apiece after a pair of Gardner free throws.
The Eagles broke Army's press and a layup by Vasic broke a 40-40 tie to start a miniature 6-0 spurt for the home side. A pullup by Schoof and Jones' layup made it 46-40 prior to Plomb's elbow turnaround at 11:21.
The lead was back to six moments later before Plomb came through again with his fifth three to slice the deficit to three. Plomb's foul-line jumper after Reed hit a free throw trimmed the AU lead to 49-47 prior to Jones hitting from the corner on a broken play.
Following Ferguson's bucket underneath, Gardner drained a three late in the shot clock to push American back up by six. The lead for American was five points after Cox made one-of-two with 4:30 to play, but American's backdoor cutting offense again resulted in a layup when Schoof fed Jones on the other end.
A three-point play from Wilson kept Army in the game with 3:46 to play. A foul put Kevin Panzer on the line for a one-and-one, which he missed, then Ferguson slammed for two and quickly Army was within a basket after forcing an American giveaway. The Black Knights gave the ball back with one of their own and again American used a backdoor feed for a Gardner layup to make it 63-59.
Plomb missed a three and then Vasic hit one of two at the stripe with two minutes left. Ferguson answered with a layup inside prior to Vasic's breakaway deuce, which was American's final basket of the night and made it 66-61 with 1:45 on the clock.
Army is back at home on Thursday evening when it hosts Boston University at Christl Arena. Opening tip is slated for 7 p.m. and the game can be seen on the Patriot League Network.
Game Notes: The Black Knights improved to 7-2 on the road this season and snapped a two-game losing streak to American ... Army won consecutive Patriot League games for the first time this season ... Army improved to 10-0 on the year when leading at halftime ... the Black Knights are 5-0 in games decided by three points or less ... Army moved to 8-0 when holding opponents under 70 points ... Army is now 9-0 when winning the turnover battle ... the Black Knights remained unbeaten (8-0) when outrebounding its opponent.
