Hass Leads Bucknell Past Men’s Basketball

Saturday, January 2

West Point, NY

3 PM

Army West Point

10-4, 1-1PL

Bucknell

5-8, 2-0PL

Bucknell

Army West Point

Hass Leads Bucknell Past Men’s Basketball

January 02, 2016 | Men's Basketball

Box Score

WEST POINT, N.Y. – Chris Hass' 40-point effort led Bucknell to an 84-76 victory over the Army West Point men's basketball team on Saturday afternoon at Christl Arena.

Tanner Plomb led the Black Knights (10-4, 1-1 Patriot) with 23 points, Kyle Wilson scored 21 and Kevin Ferguson posted a double-double with 15 points and a career-high 14 rebounds in the loss.

Hass connected on 13-of-19 field goals, including 4-of-6 from distance, and went 10-for-12 at the free throw line. As a team, Bucknell shot 48.3 percent (28-for-58), including a 16-for-30 effort from three-point range, and made 22-of-28 at the line. The Bison improved to 2-0 in the Patriot League and 5-8 on the year.

The Black Knights were held to less than 10 three-pointers for the third time this season, going 8-for-23 (34.8 percent). Dylan Cox and Plomb each finished with four of Army's 15 assists on 28 made field goals (28-for-69, 40.6 percent).

"You have to give Chris Hass credit, he was very good early in the game," head coach Zach Spiker said. "He did a good job scoring the basketball and we did not have an answer in the first half. I thought we did a better job on him in the second half, but as a whole Bucknell did a great job making tough shots late in the shot clock as the game continued."

A slow offensive start for the top two offenses in the Patriot League saw Bucknell take an 8-2 lead on a three by Hass at the 14:47 mark. Army's next possession ended with a dunk by Plomb and the Black Knights scored seven straight as part of a 15-2 run. The Black Knights led 17-10 after forcing four turnovers and holding Bucknell without a field goal (0-for-4).

Army's lead was 25-15 before Hass exploded for 16 straight points to help Bucknell take a 31-27 lead. The 16-2 Bison run lasted 2:50 and Hass made his first 11 field goals, including five threes, en route to a 32-point first half.

Trailing by four with 3:47 left in the half, Army scored 9 of the next 11 points on back-to-back threes by Wilson and a Plomb triple, but Hass scored the last four points of the period and Bucknell took a 37-36 lead into the break.

Bucknell's lead stretched to nine (57-48) with a 12-4 run midway through the period following a bucket inside by Dom Hoffman. A Plomb three-pointer ended the spurt and moments later a reverse layup from Ferguson off a drive from Wilson pulled the Black Knights back within four.

The two sides continued to trade punches and Frazier's layup at 6:50 pushed the Bucknell lead back to six. A few possessions later, Plomb scored on an old-fashioned three-point play, but Hoffman answered with a wing three on the other end.

Following a pair of Wilson free throws, Army was back within three points (65-62) with four minutes remaining. Empty possessions by each side came before a Frazier three-pointer the doubled Bucknell's lead back to six.

Ferguson and Stephen Brown traded twos, then Cox and Nana Foulland alternated buckets, before Larry Toomey's putback made it 72-68 with 1:49 to play.

Hass' jumper late in the shot clock after a Bucknell timeout helped to seal the victory as the Bison forced a miss and made all 10 of their free throw attempts in the final minute of the eight-point win.

The Black Knights are back in action on Wednesday, Jan. 6, when they host Lafayette at 7 p.m. Opening tip is set for 7 p.m. and the game can be seen live on the Patriot League Network.

Game Notes: Tanner Plomb recorded his fourth straight 20-point game … it was the 20th 20-point performance in his career and ninth this season … Plomb has scored in double figures in 24 straight games dating back to last season … Kevin Ferguson posted the eighth double-double of his career … it was Ferguson's 12th career double digit rebounding performance … Ferguson is now Army's all-time leader in offensive rebounds (215) since they were officially recorded in 1994-95 … Kyle Wilson moved into fourth on Army's all-time three-point field goals list (231), passing Julian Simmons '12 … Wilson scored 20 points for the 36th time in his career and fifth time in 2015-16 … Wilson has made 14 threes over his last three games … Bucknell has won three straight games against the Black Knights and leads the all-time series 50-21 … Hass' 40 points were the most for an opposing player this season and set the Christl Arena record for an opposing player … Holy Cross' Rob Feaster held the previous high of 37 points (two occasions).