Army Falls to Bucknell

Saturday, January 28

West Point

3 p.m.

Army West Point

8-14 (2-8PL)

Bucknell

17-6 (9-1PL)

Bucknell

Army West Point

January 28, 2017 | Men's Basketball

Box Score

WEST POINT, N.Y. – The Army West Point men's basketball team dropped a 96-75 decision to Patriot League frontrunner Bucknell here Saturday afternoon.

The Bison jumped out early and never looked back using hot shooting and strong defense to nab their fifth-straight victory and a league-best ninth win in conference play. The Black Knights fall to 2-8 in the league and 8-14 overall.

Three Cadets reached double digits with Tommy Funk's 14 point leading the way. Mac Hoffman and Jason Houle added 12 points apiece. Houle's mark was a career best for the sophomore. He finished 4-of-7 from downtown to tie Bucknell's Stephen Brown for a game high.

Kennedy Edwards led Army on the boards with seven rebounds, while Jordan Fox and Funk handed out a team-best six assists each.

ARMY HIGHLIGHTS AND GAME NOTES

Bucknell shot 58.3 percent (35-of-60) from the floor and 45 percent (9-of-20) from 3-point range. The Bison also converted on 17 of their 22 attempts at the free throw line for 77.3 percent shooting. In the first half alone, Bucknell shot 65.5 percent (19-of-29) from the floor and 66.7 (6-of-9) from downtown.
Army finished its day shooting 43.8 percent (28-of-64), 33.3 percent (9-of-27) and 52.6 percent (10-of-19), respectively.
Four Bison tallied twin figures with Kimbal Mackenzie's 23 points leading the way. Nana Foulland added 19 points, while Zach Thomas and Stephen Brown closed out the game with 17 and 14 points, respectively.
Bucknell scored 44 points from inside the paint compared to Army's 32.
The Bison also held the 10-7 edge on points off turnovers, the 12-9 advantage on second-chance points and the 12-6 lead on fast break points.
Army's bench did however manage to outscore Bucknell's 31-15.
The visitors slightly outrebounded the Black Knights 38-30, but the Cadets held the 11-9 edge on the offensive glass.
Bucknell's 52 points in the opening period were the most points allowed by Army in any half of play all year.
Houle and Gunther Klimes both played in the second game of their careers on Saturday.
Jacob Kessler added eight points on 3-of-4 shooting from the floor. He was also 2-of-2 from behind-the-arc.
Luke Morrison had his six-game double-digit scoring streak halted in the contest. He finished with five points.

HOW IT HAPPENED

Bucknell jumped out to a 10-2 lead to start the game.
After a John Emezie free throw cut the edge down to 11-5 a few minutes later, the Bison scored six straight to extend their advantage to 17-5 just 13:42 into the contest.
The Black Knights tried to answer with a 3-point play from Emezie at the eight-minute mark, but another 9-2 run from the visitors made it a 37-20 ballgame with 5:19 left in the half.
The Bison maintained that edge and took a 52-36 lead into the break.
Army recorded a 9-2 rally to begin the second half, cutting the deficit down to 54-45 with 17:16 left on the clock.
Unfortunately, Bucknell responded over a two-minute span with a 10-1 run of its own to push the lead back to double digits at 64-46.
The Bison increased their lead to a game-high 25 points at 80-55 with 10:09 to play following another big 12-0 run.
The visitors were then able to preserve that double-figure advantage throughout the remainder of the game to earn the win

UP NEXT

Army welcomes Lafayette on Wednesday for a 7 p.m. tip in Christl Arena. The contest will be streamed live on the Patriot League Network with Rich DeMarco on the call. The Leopards dropped a 70-62 decision to Loyola on Saturday. Lafayette is currently riding a seven-game losing skid with their last win a 79-74 victory over Army back on Jan. 5.