Men’s Basketball Trumps Arkansas – Pine Bluff

Friday, November 27

West Point, NY

7:30 PM

Army West Point

4-2

Arkansas - Pine Bluff

1-5

Arkansas - Pine Bluf

Army West Point

Men’s Basketball Trumps Arkansas – Pine Bluff

November 27, 2015 | Men's Basketball

Box Score

WEST POINT, N.Y. – Four players in double figures led the Army West Point men's basketball team to a convincing 81-60 victory over Arkansas – Pine Bluff in the Barclays Center Classic tournament on Friday evening at Christl Arena.

Kevin Ferguson posted a double-double with 14 points and a tied a career-best with 12 rebounds, Kennedy Edwards set a new career-high with 17 points, Kyle Wilson put in 15 points and Tanner Plomb scored 12. Army held a 50-39 rebounding advantage as Edwards hauled in a career-high nine boards.

The Black Knights improved to 4-2 in 2015-16, while Arkansas – Pine Bluff dropped to 1-5 on the year.

"It was a much better and improved defensive performance than what we have had the past two games," head coach Zach Spiker said. "I thought we did a good job guarding as a team, Pine Bluff has some talented individuals and it was a team effort in stopping them."

Arkansas – Pine Bluff claimed an early 8-4 advantage, but the Black Knights reeled off nine straight, including a pair of threes by Adam Roe and Plomb. The Lions countered and went back in front (14-13) with six straight points, four from Thaddeus Handley, midway through the period.

The Black Knights answered with another spurt, this time scoring eight consecutive points. Ferguson put Army in front with a layup, and then Edwards converted a backdoor cut off a bounce pass by John Emezie. Two at the line from Ferguson and a jumper by Plomb made it 21-14 in favor of the home team.

Army brought a 30-22 lead into the locker room and led by as many as 11 prior to intermission. The Black Knights turned 12 UAPB turnovers into 12 points and held the Lions to 25.9 percent shooting (7-for-27).

Army picked up where it left off to start the second half and opened up a 15-point lead four minutes into the second half. The Lions were forced to take a timeout after three turnovers turned into six more Army points as Larry Toomey found Plomb in transition for a three-ball and Edwards hit consecutive buckets to make it 39-28.

An Edwards three, a Ferguson free throw and Wilson's third triple increased the cushion to 20 and capped a 20-8 burst by the Black Knights to start the second half.

"Just attacking the holes in their defense," Edwards said of Army's halftime adjustments. "They were in a 2-3 zone that was stretched out, and we just told our team to settle down and look for the open spots, pump fake and find the open passes."

Jordan Fox got in on the three-point barrage halfway through the second by drilling a corner trey off a feed from Wilson. Army's 10th three-point field goal of the night gave it a 63-41 lead.

The Blacks Knights cruised from there and led by as many as 29 points in the 21-point triumph.

The Black Knights finished the night 11-for-25 from beyond the arc (39.7 percent) and forced 17 turnovers. Army had 20 assists as a team and 11 turnovers, including five dimes by Dylan Cox and four from Fox.

JoVaughn Love led the Lions with 15 points, but as a team, they were only able to shoot 33.8 percent against Army's defensive pressure.

The Black Knights will host Gardner-Webb on Saturday evening at 7:30 p.m. at Christl Arena and the game can be seen live on the Patriot League Network. That contest will follow the Southeastern Louisiana versus Arkansas – Pine Bluff matchup at 5 p.m.

Game Notes: Friday's game was the first-ever meeting between Army and Arkansas – Pine Bluff … it was also the first game for Army against a Southwestern Athletic Conference opponent … Wilson moved into sole possession of fifth place on the Academy's all-time scoring list with 1,600 career points. He entered the game tied with Ella Ellis '13 … the 22 first-half points by Arkansas – Pine Bluff were the lowest by an Army opponent before intermission since it held Lehigh to 19 on Feb. 5, 2014 … Army improved to 62-23 since 2009-10 when leading at halftime … the Black Knights are 4-0 in 2015-16 when leading at the break … Army improved to 39-12 during the Spiker era when holding opponents to 60 points or less … Ferguson registered his fifth-career double-double … Army has hit at least 10 three-pointers in five consecutive games … Wilson became the fifth player in Academy history to make 200 three-pointers.