Army Escapes The Nation’s Capital With 53-49 Win

Saturday, January 14

Washington, D.C.

2 p.m.

Army West Point

8-10, 2-4PL

American

4-13, 1-5PL

Army West Point

AMERICAN

Army Escapes The Nation’s Capital With 53-49 Win

January 14, 2017 | Men's Basketball

Box Score

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Army West Point men's basketball team outlasted American here Saturday afternoon, 53-49.

The win marked the Black Knights second victory in Patriot League play and eighth overall as they now sit with a record of 2-4 and 8-10, respectively. American dips to 1-5 in the league and 4-13 overall.

American had whittled down an early first-half 17-point deficit to just 51-49 following a good 3-pointer from Jalen Rhea with 1:52 left to play. Neither team was able to net any points over the next one and a half minutes until a critical offensive board by Luke Morrison forced the Eagles to foul with nine seconds remaining. After a timeout, Scott Mammel stepped calmly to the free throw line and sank both ends of his 1-and-1 opportunity to ultimately put the game out of reach. The Eagles tried to quickly answer on the opposite end of the floor but both of Sa'eed Nelson's attempts fell short.

Matt Wilson tied for a game-high 13 points after going 6-for-8 from the floor and 1-for-2 at the free throw line. Luke Morrison and Jordan Fox followed closely with 11 points each to close out the Black Knights in double figures.

Morrison and Wilson collected eight rebounds each to lead the Cadets on the boards, while Fox handed out a game-high eight assists.

ARMY HIGHLIGHTS AND GAME NOTES

The Black Knights held American to just 16 points in the opening period, which was Army's best defensive half so far this season. This marked the second time in the last three games the Cadets held an opponent to less than 20 points in the first half (Loyola scored just 19 points on Jan. 8).
It was also American's worst scoring half of the year. The Eagles next lowest points scored came in a half vs. Western Illinois (17 points) and at Villanova (19 points).
The Eagles did however outscore the Black Knights 33-28 in the second period.
Army's bench outscored the Eagles' 21-0.
The home team scored 34 points inside the paint compared to 16 for Army.
American also notched the 20-5 edge on points off turnovers.
Army recorded a 35-29 advantage on rebounds but committed 16 turnovers to American's nine.
Mammel finished with eight points after going 2-for-2 from behind-the-arc and 2-for-2 at the charity stripe.
Jacob Kessler added six points and six rebounds, which was one board away from matching his career-best effort.
Army finished the game shooting 41.3 percent (22-of-57) from the floor and 44.4 percent (8-of-18) from long distance. The Cadets also converted on seven of their eight attempts from the free throw line.
American went 38.6 percent (22-for-57), 20 percent (4-for-20), and 25 percent (1-for-4), respectively.
The Black Knights held their largest lead of the game at 17 points twice throughout the contest with their most recent coming with 4:56 remaining in the opening half.
The Cadets were in front for 38:53. American led for 10 seconds. The game was tied for 57 seconds.

TURNING POINT

With it a 51-49 Army edge late in the contest, Morrison pulled down a key offensive rebound to keep the ball in the hands of the Black Knights and ultimately force the home team to start fouling.
A few seconds later Mammel stepped up and converted on both ends of his 1-and-1 opportunity to secure the victory.

HOW IT HAPPENED

Army started the game on a 14-4 run to quickly break the contest open at 14-4 midway through the opening period.
The Black Knights continued to add on pushing their advantage to 25-8 with 4:56 remaining in the half.
Unfortunately, the home team rattled off eight consecutive points to pull within 25-16 at the break.
Another five points in the opening minute of the second half extended the Eagles' rally to 13-0, cutting the Cadets deficit down to 25-21.
American maintained its strong shooting and even jumped in front by one on two different occasions throughout the next 10 minutes, taking its last edge of the game at 38-37 following a layup from Charlie Jones.
Two made free throws from Fox a couple seconds later, however, handed the Black Knights back a lead they would never relinquish.

UP NEXT

The Cadets return home to Christl Arena for a 7 p.m. midweek contest with Holy Cross on Wednesday at 7 p.m. The Crusaders dropped a 68-51 decision at Lehigh on Saturday afternoon. Holy Cross currently sits with an overall record of 9-10 with a 3-3 mark in the conference.