Men’s Basketball Ends Road Trip With Loss

Tuesday, November 24

Knoxville, Tenn

7 PM

Army West Point

3-2

Tennessee

4-1

Army West Point

Tennessee

Men’s Basketball Ends Road Trip With Loss

November 24, 2015 | Men's Basketball

Box Score

KNOXVILLE – The Army West Point men's basketball team led for a majority of the first half, but Tennessee's combination of Armani Moore and Kevin Punter were too much to handle in a 95-80 final on Tuesday night at Thompson-Boling Arena.

The result was Army's second road loss in three nights and dropped the Black Knights to 3-2 on the year, while Tennessee improved to 4-1.

Moore (29) and Punter (26) combined for 55 points on 20-for-35 shooting. Moore filled up the stat sheet with eight rebounds, six assists, four blocks and a steal, while Punter added four assists and three steals. Robert Hubbs III joined them in double figures with 14 points and Derek Reese added nine.

Tanner Plomb led the Black Knights with 24 points and collected seven rebounds, while Kyle Wilson scored 21 on 8-of-16 shooting and a 5-for-11 effort from beyond the arc. Kevin Ferguson grabbed 12 rebounds to equal his career high.

"I thought Tennessee did a good job moving the ball up and down the court from an offensive standpoint," head coach Zach Spiker said. "It just came down to the timely plays they made. We missed some opportunities to extend the lead in the first half."

As a team, the Vols shot 52.9 percent from the floor (37-for-70) and hit 10-of-22 three-point attempts after missing their first eight from downtown. Army held a 44-37 rebounding edge, but turned the ball over twice as much as Tennessee (14-7).

Army used an early 10-4 run to break a 6-6 tie that included a three-point play by Plomb and a layup in traffic moments later. A floater off glass by Jordan Fox made it 16-10 in favor of the visiting Black Knights and ended the stretch.

Army's lead remained at six (24-18) thanks to a 4-for-7 start from beyond the arc, but Tennessee closed the gap to two with consecutive baskets by Shembari Phillips and Moore. The Volunteers eventually tied the score at 26-26 with a lay-in by Admiral Schofield.

The Black Knights led for most of the opening 20 minutes, but Tennessee made its final three shots of the period, including a three by Hubbs at the buzzer that made it 40-36 in favor of the Vols. Hubs and Punter each scored 11 points in the first half, while Plomb had 11 to lead Army. Tennessee turned eight Army turnovers into 10 points and shot 48.6 percent from the floor (18-for-37), while holding the Black Knights to 40.6 percent (13-of-32).

Tennessee opened up its largest lead by the first media timeout of the second half with a three-pointer by Phillips to make it 53-44. A runner in the paint by Wilson briefly interrupted the run for Tennessee, which officially ended at 15-3 following a three by Hubbs and a pair at the line from Punter, to increase the advantage to 58-46.

A layup by Cox and an open three by Wilson trimmed the deficit to seven (61-54), but Punter continued to find space with back-to-back jumpers to push the lead back to double digits with under 12 minutes to go.

The Black Knights continuously cut the deficit under 10 points, but every time they looked to make a run, the Vols had an answer on the other end. Tennessee took its largest lead of the night on a corner triple by Reese that made it 87-69 and the home side eventually claimed the 15-point victory.

The Black Knights return to action on Friday evening when they host Arkansas – Pine Bluff as part of the Barclays Center Classic Tournament at Christl Arena. Opening tip is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. and will follow the game between Gardner-Webb and Southeastern Louisiana.

Game Notes: Tennessee leads the all-time series against Army 5-0 … Army closed its four-game road trip with a 2-2 record … Kyle Wilson moved into a tie with Ella Ellis '13 for fifth on Army's all-time scoring list (1,585 points) … Army used the same starting lineup for the second consecutive game with Cox, Wilson, Toomey, Plomb and Ferguson on the floor first.