First-Half Surge Lifts Army Past Lafayette

Wednesday, February 1

West Point

7 p.m.

Army West Point

9-14 (3-8PL)

Lafayette

6-16 (2-9PL)

Lafayette

Army West Point

First-Half Surge Lifts Army Past Lafayette

February 01, 2017 | Men's Basketball

Box Score

WEST POINT, N.Y. – The Army West Point men's basketball team got back in the win column here Wednesday night with a 80-73 triumph over Lafayette.

The Black Knights earned their third Patriot League victory of the season and ended a four-game slide, shifting their overall record to 9-14. The Leopards fall to 2-9 in the conference and 6-16 overall.

Lafayette jumped out to a quick 6-2 edge at the 17:15 mark of the opening period but the Cadets wasted little time trailing. The Black Knights used a 14-3 run to take over the lead at 16-9 with just under 12 minutes to play in the half. Army then extended its advantage to double digits following a good 3-pointer from Scott Mammel with 9:43 left before the break. The Cadets followed that up by using another 13-4 rally to create the game's largest lead at 36-15 with just under six minutes to play. The Black Knights hit that game-high 21-point edge one more time before taking a 46-26 advantage into the break.

The first 10 minutes of the second half was again all Army as the Black Knights maintained their twin figure lead. The Leopards wouldn't go away though sparking a 7-0 run of their own to cut the deficit to 65-57 with 9:15 remaining on the clock. The Cadets were held scoreless for a little more than three minutes during that rally. Fortunately for the home team, they were able to hold on down the stretch to secure the seven-point victory.

Three reached double figures for Army with Jordan Fox and John Emezie both tallying a team-high 18 points. Fox finished 7-of-15 from the floor, 2-of-5 from downtown and 2-of-4 at the free throw line. Emezie went 7-of-10 from the floor and nearly perfect from behind-the-arc at 4-of-5.

Mac Hoffman was the other Black Knight to notch twin figures as he registered 12 points, marking the third-straight game the senior has finished in double digits. Hoffman also led the team on the boards with seven rebounds. The Pleasanton, Calif., native closed out his night with a career-high three steals to lead all players.

Rookie Tommy Funk matched his career high on the glass, pulling down seven rebounds to go along with his game-high eight assists.

ARMY HIGHLIGHTS AND GAME NOTES

The Black Knights shot 47.7 percent (31-of-65) from the floor for the game and 29.4 percent (10-of-34) from long range. The Cadets also converted on just 50 percent of their free throws at 8-of-16.
Army finished the first half alone shooting 55.6 percent from the floor.
The Leopards went 43.1 percent (25-of-58), 35.3 percent (6-of-17) and 65.4 percent (17-of-26), respectively.
Lafayette turned the tables on its host shooting 54.8 percent from the floor in the second half.
With Army's 10 treys in the game it marked the 11th time this season the Black Knights drained 10-or-more 3-pointers in a contest.
Four reached twin figures for the Leopards with Paulius Zalys leading the way with 18 points.
Army outscored Lafayette 46-26 in the opening period but was outscored 47-34 in the second frame.
The Black Knights held the 41-36 rebounding edge and committed just 10 turnovers to the Leopards' 14.
The Cadets finished with a 38-32 advantage on points in the paint, a 7-0 edge on second-chance points and posted 14 points to the Leopards' six on fast break opportunities.
The two teams tied at 12 points each from points off turnovers.
Lafayette's bench slightly outscored Army's 33-30.
There were three lead changes and one tie score.
Army held the edge of 33:19. Lafayette was in front for 4:02. The game was tied for 2:10.
The Black Knights notched their largest lead of the game at 21 points on two different occasions with their most recent coming after Emezie converted on a layup with 5:03 remaining in the first half.
Funk finished with nine points, ending his three-game double-digit scoring streak one point shy.
Luke Morrison chipped in eight points and pulled down five rebounds.

HOW IT HAPPENED

After Lafayette took the early 6-2 lead just three minutes in, Army answered with a 14-3 run to pull in front 16-9 with 11:58 remaining in the opening period.
The Cadets then extended that advantage to double figures following a trey from Mammel with 9:43 left in the first half.
That 3-pointer sparked another 13-4 rally, which handed the Black Knights their largest lead of the game at 36-15 with just under six minutes to play.
Army maintained that double-double lead throughout the rest of the half to take a 46-26 edge into the break. That 20-point advantage marked the Black Knights' largest halftime lead of the year.
The Cadets continued to control much of the game early in the second period and held a 65-50 lead with 11:54 remaining following a 3-pointer from Jason Houle.
Lafayette wouldn't go away though using a 14-6 run to cut the deficit to 71-64 with 3:43 left on the clock.
Unfortunately for the visitors, they would never get any closer than seven down the stretch.

UP NEXT

Army is back on the road for its next two contests at Loyola on Saturday and at Colgate next Wednesday. The Greyhounds are coming off a 62-60 thrilling home victory over Lehigh on Wednesday, where Andre Walker scored the eventual game-winning layup with 27 seconds left. Loyola brings a 6-5 league mark into Saturday's contest and sits two games over .500 overall at 12-10.
Colgate hosts Navy on Saturday prior to welcoming Army four days later.