Army Halted by American

Saturday, February 11

West Point

3 p.m.

Army West Point

9-17 (3-11PL)

American

6-19 (3-11PL)

AMERICAN

ARMY

February 11, 2017 | Men's Basketball

Box Score

WEST POINT, N.Y. – The Army West Point men's basketball team dropped a tough 61-58 decision here Saturday afternoon to American.

The Eagles had opened a 44-35 gap between the teams with 12:05 left to play. Army responded with a 14-8 run to pull within 52-49 eight minutes later. But a huge 3-pointer from American's Jalen Rhea handed the visitors back a six-point edge with a little more than two minutes to play. The Black Knights would not go away though, outscoring American 9-6 to make it a one-possession game with 14 ticks remaining.

After an Army foul and two missed free throws from Delante Jones, the Cadets quickly grabbed the rebound and dribbled up the court trying to catch the Eagles' off guard. But no open looks appeared and Army was forced to call a timeout with four seconds to play. With the ball at half court, Army passed it into Jason Houle, who then found Tommy Funk at the top of the key. The rookie had a little pressure but was able to get a shot off. His long range game-tying attempt however fell just shy.

Turnovers plagued Army as the home team matched their season high with 21. American scored 20 points off of those turnovers, which ultimately were the difference in the game.

The Black Knights dip to 9-17 overall and 3-11 in the Patriot League. American improves to 6-19 and 3-11, respectively.

Three cadet-athletes found double digits with Funk's game-high 14 points leading the way. The Warrington, Pa., native finished 5-of-10 from the floor and 4-of-5 at the free throw line. John Emezie and Luke Morrison added 13 and 11 points, respectively. Morrison went 3-of-5 from downtown, while Emezie closed out his night 3-of-3 at the charity stripe.

Jacob Kessler set a career best with a game-high eight rebounds. Morrison followed with six, while Jordan Fox handed out a team-best four assists.

ARMY HIGHLIGHTS AND GAME NOTES

The Black Knights slightly outscored their visitors 32-31 in the second half.
Army finished the game shooting 41.5 percent (22-of-53) from the floor, and 23.5 percent (4-of-17) from behind-the-arc. The Cadets also went 10-of-18 from the free throw line for just 55.6 percent shooting.
The Black Knights' 3-point shooting percentage in the game as well as their made 3-pointers were both season-lows.
American went 45.7 percent (21-of-46) from the floor, 50 percent (5-of-10) from behind-the-arc and 66.7 percent (14-of-21) from the charity stripe.
Army outscored American 34-18 on points in the paint, 15-3 on second-chance points, and 6-2 on fast break points.
The Cadets bench also notched 21 points to the Eagles' 11.
There were seven lead changes and three tie scores.
Army outrebounded American 37-30, including a 12-5 advantage on the offensive glass.
Fox added eight points, while Matt Wilson chipped in five.
The Eagles held the 10-6 edge on steals with four of their five starters notching two steals each.
American led for 29:10. Army was in front for 7:03. The game was tied for 3:47.

HOW IT HAPPENED

In the opening 20 minutes there were three tie scores and seven lead changes.
After a back-and-forth first half, American saw Lonnie Rivera convert on a jumper with 17 seconds left to send the Eagles into the break leading 30-26.
American maintained that lead early in the second half even increasing its edge to a game-high nine points at 44-35 with 12:05 remaining.
Army would not go away though cutting into the deficit and pulling to within 52-49 with 4:23 left to play.
Neither team scored over the next two-and-a-half minutes until American saw Rhea hit a key 3-pointer in the corner to hand the visitors a six-point lead.
The Black Knights continued to cut into the margin, getting the deficit down to 61-58 with 14 ticks remaining on the clock.
After an Army foul and two missed free throws from American, the Black Knights had one final chance to win or pull even.
The Cadets quickly moved the ball up the court and tried to find an open look but were forced to call a timeout with four seconds left.
Once the teams were back on the court, Army ran one last play. The Black Knights were able to get a good shot off from the top of the 3-point line but Funk's attempt fell just shy.

UP NEXT

Army heads back on the road for its second meeting with Holy Cross on Wednesday. The game is scheduled for a 7 p.m. tip in the Hart Center and will be an enhanced broadcast by Campus Insiders with Matt Martucci and Craig Esherick on the call. The Crusaders host Lehigh on Sunday at 12 p.m. before welcoming Army a few days later. Holy Cross brings a 12-14 overall record and 6-7 conference mark into Sunday's game with the Mountain Hawks.