Army Nabs First Patriot League Victory Against Loyola

Sunday, January 8

West Point

1 p.m.

Army West Point

7-9 (1-3PL)

Loyola

8-7 (2-2PL)

LOYOLA

ARMY

Army Nabs First Patriot League Victory Against Loyola

January 08, 2017 | Men's Basketball

Box Score

WEST POINT, N.Y. – The Army West Point men's basketball team led wire-to-wire Sunday afternoon to register its first Patriot League victory of the early season.

Army started hot and never really looked back defeating a strong Loyola team, 66-57.

The Black Knights showcased solid defense in the opening period, holding the Greyhounds to just 19 points on 30.8 percent shooting. The Greyhounds' 19 points marked Army's best defensive effort in an opening period of play and second best defensive half overall this season.

Army held a slim 7-6 advantage just five minutes into the contest. The Black Knights added on using a 13-0 run to break the game open at 20-6. Army kept its visitor scoreless for a little less than seven and a half minutes during that span. The Cadets then continued to control the game, taking the 29-19 lead into the locker room.

Army pushed its advantage to the largest of the game at 37-21 early in the second period but Loyola would not go away. The Greyhounds slowly started to chip away at the deficit, pulling within 45-40 with 11:01 left on the clock. Unfortunately, that would be as close as the visitors would come as the Cadets answered with a 7-2 run to make it a 52-42 ballgame with less than nine minutes to play.

The Black Knights then maintained that edge for the remainder of the contest to secure their seventh victory of the year.

Three cadet-athletes registered double digits with Jordan Fox's 14 points leading the way. The sophomore finished 4-of-9 from the floor, 1-of-3 from 3-point range and 5-for-6 at the charity stripe. He also dished out a game-high five assists.

Joining Fox in twin figures was John Emezie and Luke Morrison, who posted 13 and 11 points, respectively. Emezie was a perfect 6-for-6 at the free throw line, while Morrison led all scorers with three makes from downtown.

Senior Mac Hoffman was one rebound shy of earning his third career double figure rebounding night. He posted nine boards to lead the Black Knights on the glass. Rookie Matt Wilson and senior Kennedy Edwards were a close second with eight rebounds each.

ARMY HIGHLIGHTS AND GAME NOTES

The Black Knights finished shooting 43.4 percent (23-for-53) from the floor and 36.8 percent (7-of-19) from long range. The Cadets also finished 13-of-14 from the free throw line for a season-best 92.9 percent shooting.
Loyola went 34.4 percent (22-of-64), 17.4 (4-of-23) and 75.0 (9-of-12), respectively.
Army outrebounded the Greyhounds 39-34 but the visitors held the 12-8 edge on the offensive glass.
Loyola recorded seven steals to Army's two but the Black Knights handed out 13 assists to the Greyhounds' 10.
The Cadets registered a slim 26-24 edge on points inside the paint.
The Greyhounds finished with 13 points off turnovers, while the Black Knights' tallied just five.
Army converted on 12 points off fast break opportunities to Loyola's six.
The Black Knights posted the 26-11 advantage on bench points as well.
Jacob Kessler chipped in seven points for Army and pulled down five rebounds.
Wilson closed out his night with six points and one block.
Tommy Funk notched four points, two rebounds, four assists and one steal in the game.
Army posted its largest lead at 37-21 (16 points) after Fox converted on a three-point play with 17:35 remaining in the contest.
The Black Knights led for 39:12. The game was tied for 48 seconds.
Army's defensive presence in the opening period of play forced Loyola into its second-worst first half scoring period since the Greyhounds recorded just 17 points at Towson on Dec. 7.
Loyola's final point total (57 points) was Army's third-best defensive effort all year (53 points to Mount Saint Mary (N.Y.) and 56 points to St. Francis Brooklyn).

TURNING POINT

Holding a slim 7-6 advantage five minutes into the contest, the Black Knights used a 13-0 run to break the game open at 20-6. Army kept its visitor scoreless for a little less than seven and a half minutes during that span.
Army then maintained a double-digit edge throughout the majority of the game.

HOW IT HAPPENED

Early in the game, the Black Knights held a one-point edge at 7-6 after Loyola's Cam Gregory converted on a jumper.
Unfortunately, the Greyhounds would not score for the next seven and a half minutes. The Black Knights used that time to spark a 13-0 run to create a 20-6 gap between the teams.
Army controlled much of the remaining minutes of the opening period and took a 10-point lead (29-19) into the break.
The Cadets started the second half on an 8-2 run to increase their edge to the largest of the game at 37-21 following a three-point play from Fox with 17:35 remaining.
The Greyhounds slowed started to chip away at the deficit, pulling to within 45-40 with 11:01 to play.
That rally was quickly halted though as the Black Knights extended their advantage back to double digits after a 7-2 run. Emezie scored all of Army's points during that stretch.
The Cadets then sustained their double-figure lead throughout much of the final minutes to secure their first conference victory of the season.

UP NEXT

The Black Knights remain home for another Patriot League contest against Colgate on Wednesday. That game is slated for a 7 p.m. tip in Christl Arena. The Raiders were at Navy on Sunday but dropped a 67-55 decision to the Midshipmen. Colgate currently sits with a 3-14 overall record and a 1-3 league mark heading into Wednesday's contest