Ferguson Sends Men’s Basketball Past Holy Cross

Wednesday, February 17

West Point, NY

7 PM

Army West Point

16-11, 7-8PL

Holy Cross

10-16, 5-10PL

Holy Cross

Army West Point

Ferguson Sends Men’s Basketball Past Holy Cross

February 17, 2016 | Men's Basketball

Box Score

WEST POINT, N.Y. - A career-high 25 points and 13 rebounds by Kevin Ferguson lifted the Army West Point men's basketball team to its third straight win and a 72-68 triumph over Holy Cross on Wednesday evening at Christl Arena.

The win improved Army to 16-11 on the season, including a 7-8 mark in Patriot League play, and clinched a winning regular season for the program. Kyle Wilson scored 19 points on the strength of five three-pointers and Dylan Cox put in 10 points to go along with five assists. Jordan Fox also added five assists for the Black Knights in a 49.1 percent shooting performance (28-of-57).

Army outrebounded Holy Cross (10-16, 5-10 Patriot League) 39-28 in the contest as Ferguson recorded his fifth consecutive double-double. Malachi Alexander and Cullen Hamilton each scored 17 points for the Crusaders, while Anthony Thompson added nine.

"We are playing with a lot of energy right now," Ferguson said. "I think that has been the difference for us and we have to keep that up. I think we are playing our best basketball of the season so far, but I definitely think we have room for improvement."

"We are improving," head coach Zach Spiker continued. "From game-to-game we have improved and I would like to see us continue to improve in practice and play better on Saturday."

Ferguson's perfect start (5-for-5) sparked a run of 10 consecutive points for the Black Knights as they jumped out to a 12-3 lead to start the game. Holy Cross scored the next six points, including Thompson's second three-pointer, to make it 12-9 nine minutes in.

Army pushed its lead to seven (20-13) as Ferguson continued to have his way underneath with an offensive rebound and putback to give him 14 points with just under seven minutes left in the first half. A little more than a minute later, Wilson got on the board with a three off a drive and kick by John Emezie.

The visiting Crusaders used a pair of baskets by Hamilton and a runout dunk by Alexander to force an Army timeout with 2:52 to play in the half. The 6-0 spurt trimmed the Army lead to 27-23, but Army scored off a broken play as Wilson connected from deep to halt the run.

The Black Knights took a 34-29 lead into the break after Ferguson's 16-point effort. He pulled down six rebounds to help Army to a 20-12 rebounding advantage in the first 20 minutes.

Wilson caught fire to start the second half with three consecutive threes as part of an 11-2 thrust that prompted Holy Cross to call timeout. The Black Knights led 45-34 following a transition layup by Tanner Plomb, who finished with eight points.

Alexander and Fox traded layups before a 9-2 Holy Cross run closed Army's lead to four. Thompson hit a three to start the run, which ended with four straight Hamilton points. Plomb's stickback at 12:43 had Army in front 51-45.

Army's edge was 56-49 before a run of seven straight points tied the game as the Black Knights called a timeout with 8:05 to play. Pat Benzan had back-to-back buckets before Alexander rattled in an open three to level the score.

The two teams went on the seesaw with Cox scoring five straight Army points, two free throws and a three-point play that gave Army a 61-59 lead with four minutes to go. A couple possessions later, after a block by Ferguson, Cox scored again on a drive to put Army up four.

Free throws on the other end and an easy Ferguson layup off a pass from Cox had Army up 65-61 with 2:30 remaining. A jumper by Plomb a minute later added to Army's lead (67-61), but Holy Cross refused to go away.

The Army lead was cut to two when Alexander hit a three with 36 seconds left, but Wilson was fouled and made both his free throw attempts as Army went ahead 70-66 six seconds later. Alexander then quickly scored on a putback with 20 seconds on the clock and Wilson was fouled again.

He made one of his two free throws to put Army up by three and Thompson's potential tying three was off with 10 seconds to go. Army secured the rebound and Wilson added a free throw to complete the four-point win.

"We are more than a team of five seniors," Spiker added. "We are a complete team and we are getting contributions from everyone. Obviously these guys are playing very well right now, but we have guys making contributions that don't show up on the box score."

The Black Knights return to action on Saturday afternoon when they take on Navy in Annapolis, Md. Opening tip for the contest is 1:30 p.m. and the game will be broadcast on CBS Sports Network.

Game Notes: Ferguson registered his fifth consecutive double-double and the 13th of his career ... it was the 17th double-digit rebounding performance of his career ... Ferguson scored 20 points for the third straight game and reached the mark for the seventh time in his career ... the Black Knights improved to 14-1 when leading at halftime this season ... Army reached the 16-win mark for the first time since 2012-13 ... the program reached 16 wins for the third time since the 1984-85 campaign.