Men’s Basketball Handles Ferrum in Opener

Friday, November 13

West Point, NY

5 PM

Army West Point

1-0

Ferrum College

0-1

Ferrum College

Army West Point

Men’s Basketball Handles Ferrum in Opener

November 13, 2015 | Men's Basketball

Box Score

WEST POINT, N.Y. – The Army West Point men's basketball team built a 19-point halftime lead and never looked back in an eventual 93-54 victory over Ferrum College in its 2015-16 season opener on Friday night at Christl Arena.

Kevin Ferguson's 18 points led Army offensively on 9-of-11 shooting, while Tanner Plomb and Kyle Wilson contributed 17 and 15 points, respectively. Ferguson added eight rebounds and three blocks and as a team, Army shot 55.2 percent from the field (37-of-67).

"I thought we did a good job taking care of the basketball," head coach Zach Spiker said following the game. "A lot of the credit goes to Jordan Fox, who got his first opportunity to play and I thought he performed pretty well. I thought he did a good job pushing the tempo."

Fox had nine points, three rebounds, two assists and two steals at the point guard spot for the Black Knights.

"When we are able to get the ball to Kyle Wilson and Tanner Plomb, it is good for us" Spiker continued. "Another piece of the puzzle for us is getting high-percentage shots down low and crashing the offensive glass with Kevin Ferguson."

Army seized control with a 10-0 spurt and held a 23-13 lead by at 10:45 mark of the opening half. John Emezie's first-career bucket, a layup, started the stretch that ended with three consecutive baskets by Ferguson underneath.

Following a pair of field goals by Ferrum, Army's lead stretched to 13 following a corner three by Wilson after an offensive rebound by Larry Toomey. The Black Knights' 17-4 run officially lasted 6:31 and had Army ahead 30-17 with 7:32 left in the first half. Army pulled down 12 offensive rebounds in the half, which led to 15 second-chance points.

Toomey continued to find the open man and fed Plomb for a one-handed slam with five minutes on the clock as Wilson began to get going offensively. His jumper a minute later followed a three and pushed the cushion to 16 points.

Army took a 48-29 lead into the locker room after shooting 51.4 percent from the floor in the period. Ferguson had 14 points, seven rebounds and three blocks at the break, while Wilson added 10 points. The Black Knights had a 20-13 advantage on the glass and forced Ferrum into 10 turnovers.

Nine straight point, capped by a steal and a layup by Plomb extended Army's lead to 57-29 early in the second half.

Army's largest lead was the final 39-point margin. The Black Knights finished with a 38-29 rebounding advantage and were plus-10 in turnovers. Alek Ayer was Ferrum's leading scorer with 16 points on 7-for-15 shooting.

The Black Knights return to the court on Sunday afternoon when they play the first of four straight road games at Binghamton. Opening tip is set for 2 p.m.

Game Notes: Ferrum head coach Bill Tharp is a 1996 USMA graduate … Friday's game was the first meeting all-time between the two schools … Zach Spiker improved to 3-4 in season-opening games … Army won its season-opener for the second consecutive season … Ferguson's nine made field goals equaled a career high … Scott Mammel tied a career high with three assists … Jordan Fox made his first-collegiate start at point guard for the Black Knights … Army improved to 37-12 under Zach Spiker when holding opponents to less than 60 points ... Army's 37 made field goals were the most during the Spiker era.