Army West Point Athletics
Army West Point
15-12, 6-10
American
14-14, 7-9PL
| Team | 1 | 2 | F |
|---|---|---|---|
| American | 29 | 34 | 63 |
| Army | 36 | 36 | 72 |
February 22, 2015 | Men's Basketball
Ferguson also led Army (15-12, 6-10 Patriot) with a career-best 12 rebounds for his fourth-career double-double as Army held a 35-27 rebounding advantage. Kyle Wilson scored 17, Tanner Plomb had 15 and Dylan Cox finished with nine for the Black Knights in a 52.3 percent shooting performance.
Charlie Jones netted a team-high 16 points for American, while Jesse Reed and John Schoof also scored in double figures, with 13 points and 12 points, respectively.
Army reached 15 victories for the third consecutive year, marking the first time the Black Knights have had three straight 15-win campaigns since Bob Knight's teams each won at least 15 from 1967-70.
"The real reason why those win numbers are what they are really has little to do with the coaching," head coach Zach Spiker said. "It has everything to do with the great players, from Mike Silliman, to Jim Oxley and Mike Krzyzewski who played for Coach Knight. And it has everything to do with the players we have on this team, the players who were in this building today and on this court. Those players are the reason for the victories."
Army opened the game on a 11-2 run that included a three-pointer on the first possession by senior Sean Billerman and a straightaway triple by Plomb. Army's defense held the Eagles to a 1-for-7 start before Schoof's corner three made it 11-5 with 14:15 on the clock.
"I think it set a tone for us." Spiker commented on Billerman's opening three. "There was never a doubt from the day the season started that was what our starting lineup was going to be on Senior Day. I'm really happy for all three of our seniors in their effort not just today, but over the past four years."
Five minutes later, American (14-14, 7-9 Patriot) pulled within three (17-14) with a three-point play by Jalen Rhea, then the Eagles scored again when Jones broke the Army press and slammed for two.
The pace began to pick up and American took its first lead on a three by Schoof (23-21), then Ferguson scored inside to tie the game. American's next trip down resulted in another Schoof three but Army crept back in front with buckets by Wilson and Ferguson.
Jones' backdoor cut and layup, plus a free throw from Reed had American up two with three minutes left in the half. Ferguson's elbow jumper, for two of his 15 first-half points, tied it again prior to senior Milton Washington's wide open three-pointer. A steal by Washington resulted in a runaway layup for Wilson and forced an Eagles timeout at 1:27. Army got another stop and Ferguson scored the final basket of the period underneath to help Army close the half on a 9-0 run.
"He was terrific." Spiker said of Ferguson's effort. "He didn't force anything against some of their smaller guys and was really the guy that we know he can be."
Army held a 36-29 lead at halftime and extended the lead to 44-31 when Plomb knocked down a triple less than four minutes into the second half. Two minutes later another Plomb triple punctuated an 11-2 stretch to open the period as American used a timeout at 14:26. The run helped Army to a 16-point lead, its largest of the game.
A layup by Wilson with less than seven minutes remaining helped Army maintain its double-digit lead, which stood at 15, before American drained consecutive threes to force an Army timeout. Rhea and Reed each connected from deep to pull American to a 55-46 deficit, and out of the stoppage the Eagles got a steal and a layup from Gardner to make it a seven-point contest with less than six minutes to go.
Ferguson added to his total with a pair of free throws, pushing the lead back to nine, but Jones sank two of his own. Wilson came back with a floater at 4:35, and then Army forced Gardner to miss at the rim before Cox missed the front end of his one-and-one opportunity.
Army's defense came up with two blocked shots on American's ensuing possession before Wilson drained an elbow jumper on the other end to push the lead back to 11 (61-50) with three minutes left.
Two three-point plays, one by Jones and another from Reed closed the gap to six (62-56) with 1:30 to play, but Wilson and Plomb each converted twice on trips to the line surrounding an American turnover and Army snapped its six-game losing streak with the eventual nine-point win.
The Black Knights shot 50 percent (6-for-12) from three-point range on the afternoon, while holding the Eagles to 34.3 percent from the field during the second half.
Army travels to Boston University on Wednesday night to take on the Terriers. Opening tip is scheduled for 7 p.m. and the game can be seen on the Patriot League Network.
Game Notes: Prior to the game, Army's senior class of Sean Billerman, Milton Washington and Mo Williams were honored in a pregame ceremony ... Army improved to 11-1 when leading at halftime ... Army moved to 9-3 on the year when outrebounding its opponent ... the Black Knights improved to 7-1 this season when holding its opponent under 70 points ... Ferguson finished with three blocks and has had at least two rejections in four straight games.
