Army West Point Athletics
Black Knights Depart For Papa John's Bulldog Bash
November 30, 2017 | Men's Basketball
WEST POINT, N.Y. – The Army West Point men's basketball team continues its road swing this weekend at the Papa John's Bulldog Bash, hosted by the Citadel.
   The Black Knights are coming off a tough 77-71 loss at Niagara on Monday in which they saw the Purple Eagles erase an early 12-point second-half deficit to steal the win. On the year, Jordan Fox and Matt Wilson are the only two averaging double-figure scoring with 20.6 and 14.0 points per contest, respectively. Wilson is also chipping in on the boards with 8.2 rebounds per game. Sophomore Tommy Funk is leading the Patriot League and is tied for 12th nationally with 7.0 assists per outing, while his six steals on the year is tops on the team.
   Marist and the Citadel are both coming off losses, while UMBC is riding a three-game winning streak after wins over Chicago State, Nicholls State and Shenandoah.
HOW TO FOLLOW
ONLINE • ESPN3 (In games vs. the Citadel only)
RADIO • Army West Point Sports Network
WBNR (1260 AM, Beacon, N.Y.)
WLNA (1420 AM, Peekskill, N.Y.)
AUDIO • Knight Vision
LIVE STATISTICS • www.citadelsports.com
TICKETS • www.citadelsports.com
TWITTER • @ArmyWP_MBB
GAME NOTES • Army | UMBC | The Citadel | Marist
20-20 VISION
Junior guard Jordan Fox is the only cadet-athlete to eclipse the 20-point plateau during the 2017-18 season, having accomplished the feat in each of Army's last three games. The Jackson County, Ky., native scored a career-high 33 points in the team's 94-73 road victory over Marist before tying his previous best of 26 against Columbia three days later at Christl Arena. For his career, Fox has documented nine 20+ scoring efforts, having done so six times last season. He is also the only player in the Patriot League to average at least 20.0 points and 4.0 assists per game.Â
CHASING HISTORY
Fox is on the verge of etching his name into the Army records book. He needs just eight more assists to surpass Matt Bell's career mark of 250 to crack into the program's top-10. He currently has 243 and is averaging 4.4 per contest this season.Â
LIVIN' LA VIDA LONG RANGE
Army has made at least one 3-point bucket in each of its last 230 games, dating back to Dec. 19, 2009. The last time the Black Knights did not hit a trey was when they went 0-of-7 from behind-the-arc in a 59-46 win at Dartmouth.Â
SWEEPING THE NATION
The Black Knights are among the nation's best in several statistical categories, both as a team and individually. Army currently sits sixth in assists per game (19.8) and 36th in its assist-to-turnover ratio (1.39). The Cadets are led by sophomore guard Tommy Funk's pace of 7.0 helpers per contest, which puts him tied for 12th nationally. The Black Knights have been taking care of the rock early in the season as well, tying for 45th in fewest turnovers with a mark of 71.Â
    The squad also finds itself sixth in defensive rebounds per game with 32.0. Sophomore forward Matt Wilson contributes 6.6 per matchup, tying for 58th in that category. The Black Knights are bringing down a total of 44.4 boards per game (9th) at a rate of 8.2 more than their opponent to rank 41st in rebound margin.
    Offensively, Army is one of the most efficient teams in terms of 3-pointers, shooting at a clip of 43.7 percent to rank 11th in the country. Junior guard Jordan Fox has been the catalyst from beyond-the-arc, owning the 21st-highest shooting percentage at 54.1. His four treys per game earns him a spot in the top-10, while the team's average of 11 per game is tied for 21st-best. Fox is scoring at a rate of 20.6 points per game (44th), while Wilson's 61.8 field goal percentage also cracks the top-50 nationwide (T-45th).
    On the other end of the court, the Black Knights have been defended the basket well by holding teams to the 29th-lowest field goal percentage at 37.4. Army has also limited its opponents at the charity stripe as one of the most disciplined teams across the land. Army is one of 36 teams who have committed fewer than 100 founds on the season, ranking tied for 27th with 96.Â
LAST TIME OUT
Army saw its three-game winning streak halted Monday night at Niagara after the Purple Eagles earned a come-from-behind, 77-71, victory. The Cadets led 53-43 with 14:18 remaining after Alex King converted on a layup. Unfortunately, the home team used an 11-0 run over the next six minutes to pull ahead, 54-53. A Jordan Fox layup a few minutes later though handed Army a slim 57-55 advantage with 6:34 left to play. But again, the Purple Eagles responded with another huge rally to ultimately put the game out of reach. Niagara's 22-14 run over the final six-and-a-half minutes was highlighted by back-to-back 3-pointers from James Towns and Marvin Prochet.
    The final rally by the Purple Eagles capped an overall 34-18 run over the final 14 minutes as the home team outscored Army 44-31 in the second half. Army led by as many as 12 in the second period and held a 40-33 advantage at the break.Â
    Fox led the Black Knights with a team-best 21 points on 9-of-16 shooting from the floor. He also finished 3-of-6 from downtown. This marked the third consecutive contest in which the Jackson County, Ky., native recorded 20 or more points. Matt Wilson notched his second-straight double-double after registering 16 points and a career-high 12 rebounds, including five on the offensive glass. Tommy Funk handed out a game-high seven assists, while Fox, Funk and Babacar Thiombane posted one steal each.Â
ABOUT THE RETRIEVERSÂ
UMBC enters the two-day tournament with a record of 4-3, including wins in its last three games. The Retrievers opened the Battle 4 Atlantis Mainland Tournament last Thursday with an 84-73 win over Chicago State before edging Nicholls State, 89-88, on Saturday. Despite the quick turnaround, UMBC cruised to an 88-59 win over Shenandoah on Monday. UMBC's offensive charge has been sparked by graduate student Jarius Lyles (19.7 ppg, 5.7 rpg) and sophomore Arkel Lamar (16.3 ppg, 7.0 rpg). The Retrievers have also gotten some help offensively from seniors K.J. Maura and Jourdan Grant who are averaging 6.3 and 5.1 assists per game, respectively.
ABOUT THE BULLDOGS
The Citadel sits at an even 3-3 heading into the weekend with wins in two of its last three contests. Prior to dropping a 113-78 decision at Florida State on Black Friday, the Bulldogs topped High Point, 79-77, on Nov. 18, before taking down Trinity Baptist, 116-66, on the 21st. They have eclipsed the 90-point mark on three occasions this season. Tariq Simmons has been the focal point of the offense, scoring 14.3 points per game while shooting 40.5 percent from the floor and 45.8 percent from deep. Preston Parks (13.8 ppg) and Matt Frierson (11.7 ppg) are also averaging double digits for The Citadel. Rob Johnson (4.3 rpg) and Quayson Williams (4.0 rpg) have led the squad in rebounding, while Parks and Simmons have the most helpers per contest at 4.2 and 3.2, respectively.Â
ABOUT THE RED FOXES
Marist continues the search for its first win of the 2017-18 campaign, having dropped its first six contests. In their most recent outing, the Red Foxes played three games at the Advocare Invitational in Orlando, Fla., over Thanksgiving. They opened against West Virginia on Thursday (L, 84-78), before facing Nebraska on Friday (L, 84-59). Marist closed out the tournament Sunday in a low-scoring affair with Oregon State (L, 65-46). Brian Parker (16.3 ppg, 4.3 rpg) and David Knudsen (12.2 ppg) are key pieces for the Red Foxes offensively, as both are averaging more than 30 minutes per game. Aleksandar Dozic is crashing the glass for a team-high five rebounds per game, while also leading the squad with 2.5 assists per contest.Â
TWO WINS AT THE PAPA JOHN'S BULLDOG BASH WOULD…
Put the Black Knights back in the win column after seeing their three-game winning streak snapped earlier this week. If Army meets Marist in the second game of the tournament, it will be the first time since the 2010-11 season the Black Knights will face a non-league opponent multiple times. The last time the Black Knights defeated a non-league opponent twice in the same season was opposite the Dartmouth during the 2008-09 campaign. Army opened its season at home that year on Nov. 15, 2008 with a 63-48 victory over the Big Green before later adding a 61-54 win on Jan. 3, 2009 in Hanover, N.H.
NEXT UP
Army continues its eight-game road trip with a stretch of two games in three days next weekend. The Black Knights first head up to Binghamton for a Wednesday matchup, followed by a contest at ACC foe Wake Forest two days later on Dec. 8. Both games are scheduled to tip off at 7 p.m. The Bearcats are set to host Colgate on Saturday before welcoming the Black Knights to the Events Center, while the Demon Deacons welcome Richmond on Saturday. Wake will also square off with UNC Charlotte on Tuesday prior to its game with Army.Â
