Army Claims Papa John’s Bulldog Bash Title

Saturday, December 2

Charleston, S.C.

5 p.m.

Army West Point

5-1

Marist

1-7

Army

Marist

Army Claims Papa John’s Bulldog Bash Title

December 02, 2017 | Men's Basketball

Box Score

CHARLESTON, S.C. – The Army West Point men's basketball team earned the title of tournament champions after defeating Marist here Saturday afternoon, 82-75, at the Papa John's Bulldog Bash.

The Black Knights posted back-to-back wins in a two-day span to win their first tournament title since 2015 when the Cadets claimed the Barclays Center Classic crown.

Army was familiar with its opponent Saturday, having played the Red Foxes 14 days ago in Poughkeepsie, N.Y. Following that 94-73 road win and Saturday's win, the Cadets defeated a non-league opponent twice in the same season for the first time since the 2008-09 campaign when they did so against Dartmouth.

The Black Knights trailed two minutes into the contest but a layup from Matt Wilson on the fast break handed Army the 5-4 edge. The Cadets then maintained that advantage and even extended their lead to a game-high 16 points at 39-23 with seven minutes remaining in the opening period. Marist cut into the deficit but Army managed to take a double-digit lead into the break.

The Red Foxes slowly started to chip away at the advantage throughout the second half and pulled within 73-68 with just under three minutes to play. Four-straight points from Army over the course of the next two minutes though extended the lead to 77-68. Marist was never able to pull any closer than six in the final minute of play to ultimately hand the Cadets the victory.

Four reached double-digit scoring for the Black Knights with Tommy Funk's 16 points leading the way. The sophomore finished 3-of-6 from the floor, 1-of-2 from long range and a career-best 9-of-10 at the free throw line. He chipped in a game-best eight assists as well.

Joining him in double figures was Wilson and Tucker Blackwell with 15 points apiece and Alex King with 10 points. Wilson has now recorded double-digit scoring in Army's last five games, while Blackwell reached a career-best in scoring with King matching his.

Junior Jordan Fox added a career-high nine rebounds, while also dishing out three helpers. He did see his 12-game double-digit scoring streak come to a halt after notching just six points in the contest. That streak dated back to last season.

Funk was named the tournament's most valuable player, having averaged 16.0 points, 7.0 assists and 2.0 rebounds throughout the event. Wilson and Blackwell were also tabbed to the all-tournament team. Wilson averaged 13.0 points and 6.0 rebounds, while Blackwell chipped in 10.5 points per contest.

ARMY HIGHLIGHTS AND GAME NOTES

Army finished the night shooting 48.2 percent (27-of-56) from the floor and 39.1 percent (9-of-23) from downtown. The Black Knights also posted 19-of-26 makes from the free throw line for 73.1 percent shooting.
Marist closed out its night at 47.4 percent (27-of-57), 24 percent (6-of-25), and 78.9 percent (15-of-19), respectively.
Blackwell converted on 5-of-8 shots from the floor, 3-of-6 buckets from downtown and two of his three attempts from the charity stripe. His field goals made, 3-point field goals and his 15 points were all career-high marks.
King recorded his second career double-digit scoring game and both came at this weekend's tournament.
Wilson is riding a five-game twin-figure scoring streak after posting 15 points in the game. He also chipped in seven rebounds for a solid overall performance from the sophomore.
Army registered 37 rebounds to just 28 for the Red Foxes.
Marist held the edge on points in paint at 40-35 and on second-chance points at 7-6.
Army posted 15 points off turnovers compared to 10 for the Red Foxes.
The Black Knights also earned the 8-4 edge on fast-break points.
Marist led for 1:05, while Army was in front for 38:04. The game was tied for 51 seconds.
The Cadets held their largest lead at 39-23 with 7:05 remaining in the opening half.
Three Red Foxes reached double digits with Brian Parker leading the way with a game-high 19 points.

TURNING POINT

With the Black Knights holding a 63-52 advantage with 10:10 left to play, the Red Foxes sparked an 11-4 run over a little less than three minutes to cut the deficit down to 67-63. Army responded with a 10-5 run of its own to create a nine-point lead with just 44 seconds remaining. Marist was never able to recover.

TOURNAMENT INFO

All-Tournament Team
- Army - Tommy Funk (MVP)
- Army - Tucker Blackwell
- Army - Matt Wilson
- Marist - Aleksandar Dozic
- Marist - Brian Parker
- UMBC - K.J. Maura

UP NEXT

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 hosted Colgate on Saturday and defeated the Raiders 76-65 prior to hosting the Black Knights to the Events Center.
The Demon Deacons welcomed Richmond on Saturday and notched an 82-53 victory. Wake Forest squares off with UNC Charlotte on Tuesday prior to its game with Army.