Second Half Rally Lifts Holy Cross Over Army

Wednesday, January 18

West Point

7 p.m.

Army West Point

8-11 (2-5PL)

Holy Cross

10-10 (4-3PL)

Holy Cross

ARMY

Second Half Rally Lifts Holy Cross Over Army

January 18, 2017 | Men's Basketball

Box Score

WEST POINT, N.Y. – The Army West Point men's basketball team dropped a tough 85-76 decision here Wednesday night to Holy Cross.

The Black Knights held the 45-35 edge at the break but saw their visitor outscore them 50-31 in the second period to steal the win. Holy Cross' 50 points in the second frame were a season high for the Crusaders in any half this season. It was also tied for the most points allowed by the Cadets in a half as they gave up 50 points to Air Force on Dec. 7 as well.

With the game's outcome, Army dips to 8-11 overall and 2-5 in Patriot League play. Holy Cross shifts to .500 on the year at 10-10 to go along with its 4-3 mark in conference action.

Back-to-back 3-pointers from Jacob Kessler and Jordan Fox handed Army its largest lead of the game 56-39 with 16:56 remaining. Unfortunately, the Crusaders used an 11-0 run to pull within 56-50 over the next three minutes. The Black Knights again pushed their edge to 60-50 with 13 minutes to play but another big 26-10 rally for Holy Cross over a 10-minute span handed the visitors their first lead of the game at 76-70.

Army was never able to recover in the final three-and-a-half minutes of action.

Senior Mac Hoffman posted a career-best 20 points on 9-of-10 shooting from the floor. He added 2-of-4 makes at the free throw line and pulled down a game-high eight rebounds.

Also reaching double digits was Luke Morrison (14 points), Fox (11 points) and Kessler (10 points). Rookie Tommy Funk handed out a career-high 12 assists, while Fox was two shy of matching his career best with eight helpers.

ARMY HIGHLIGHTS AND GAME NOTES

Both teams shot well in the game. Army finished shooting 51.7 percent (31-of-60) from the floor and 35.3 (12-of-34) from 3-point range. The Black Knights also converted on two of their five attempts at the free throw line.
Holy Cross closed out its night shooting 57.4 percent (31-of-54), 45.5 percent (10-of-22) and 81.3 percent (13-of-16), respectively.
The Cadets are now 2-2 when finishing with four players in double digits.
Hoffman went nearly perfect from the floor, finishing 9-of-10. The senior has now reached twin figures in three games this season.
Morrison was one 3-pointer away from matching his career-best effort, hitting 4-of-14 shots from downtown.
Funk's 12 assists broke his previous high of eight, which he set in a win against Fairleigh Dickinson on Nov. 30.
Fox had six turnovers in the contest, which was a season-high for the sophomore. He did however, finish with eight assists, which was two away from matching his career best.
Army outrebounded the Crusaders 32-25, including a 10-2 edge on the offensive glass.
The Black Knights committed 15 turnovers to Holy Cross' seven.
The visitors recorded a 10-2 advantage on steals.
Holy Cross scored 40 points inside the paint compared to Army's 36. The Crusaders also held the 23-12 edge on points off turnovers.
The Crusaders scored 16 points off fast breaks, and held the 31-19 advantage on bench points.
Army led for 33:23. Holy Cross was in front for 4:50. The game was tied for 1:47.

TURNING POINT

Black-to-back 3-pointers by Kessler and Fox handed Army its largest lead of the game at 56-39 with 16:56 remaining in the game. Unfortunately, that was the start of the end for the Black Knights as Holy Cross used an 11-0 run to pull itself within 56-50 three minutes later.
Things didn't stop there. After the Black Knights had pushed their edge back to 60-50, the Crusaders sparked another large run (26-10) to take over the lead for what would be the rest of the game.

HOW IT HAPPENED

Army started the contest on a 12-0 run to take the early lead five minutes in.
The Black Knights controlled much of the opening period and took their double digit lead into the break.
Just before the halftime buzzer Hoffman hit a fade-away long-range jumper to give him a game-high 11 points in the first half.
The Cadets continued that strong play early in the second period following back-to-back treys from Kessler and Fox with 16:56 remaining.
Holy Cross would not go away though, using an 11-0 run over the next three minutes to pull within 56-50.
Army didn't fret though quickly extending its advantage back to 60-50 with 13 minutes left on the clock.
Unfortunately, the Crusaders used a 26-10 run over a 10-minute span to take their first lead of the game at 76-70 with 3:20 remaining.
Despite some final attempts, Army was never able to recover.

UP NEXT

The Black Knights remain at home for the much anticipated matchup with Navy on Saturday. That contest is slated for 1:30 p.m. and will be part of a doubleheader with the women, who begin their contest against the Mids at 11 a.m. Both games will be played in Christl Arena and will be broadcast live on CBS Sports Network. The Mids defeated Lehigh at home on Wednesday night and come into Saturday's contest riding a four-game winning streak.