Army West Point Athletics
Army West Point
10-6 (3-2PL)
Lafayette
4-12 (2-3PL)
55-Point Second Half Sparks Comeback Win
January 11, 2018 | Men's Basketball
WEST POINT, N.Y. – The Army West Point men's basketball team rallied from a 19-point second-half deficit to defeat Lafayette, 81-71, here at Christl Arena on Thursday afternoon.
After trailing by a season-high 17 points at the break, the Black Knights outscored the Leopards 55-28 over the final 20 minutes. Head coach Jimmy Allen made the proper adjustments during halftime, instructing Army to its largest single-half point total of the season. It was also just the third time the Cadets scored 50 or more points in a half and the first time since Nov. 18 when they put up 53 in the second half against Marist.
After a slow start, the Black Knights finished the game shooting 26-of-67 (38.8 percent) from the floor and 12-of-33 (36.4 percent) from behind-the-arc. The home side added 17-of-26 (65.4 percent) makes from the free throw line as well. The Leopards shot 26-of-57 (45.6 percent) from the floor, while going 11-of-28 (39.3 percent) from long range. They closed out with 8-of-11 (72.7 percent) shots from the charity stripe.
The Leopards used a pair of runs in the first half to score a season-best 43 points in the opening 20 minutes of the game. Lafayette jumped out to an early 16-7 advantage at the 12:25 mark after a 13-2 run, led by Matt Klinewski starting 3-of-6 from the floor and 2-of-4 from 3-point range. The visitors later added an 11-3 run to lead Army, 43-26, at the break.
Army responded by scoring 10 unanswered during an 18-3 run early in the final stanza to pull within 48-44 with 13:23 remaining. The Black Knights shot 6-of-7 from the floor over the nearly five-and-a-half-minute stretch, including a perfect 3-of-3 from behind-the-arc.
A couple of free throws by Lafayette brought the lead back to seven before the Jordan Fox and Tommy Funk combined to score nine straight for the Black Knights to give them their first lead since the 18:25 mark in the first half. After trading baskets, Army managed to pull away in the final four minutes of the game with a 16-6 run thanks to contributions from five different cadet-athletes.
Four Black Knights reached double-digit points, highlighted by Fox's game-high 18. He was joined by Matt Wilson who contributed 15 points in the win, while John Emezie scored a season-high 12 off the bench. Rounding out the group was rookie Alex King, who also notched 12. Fox added six rebounds and four assists to his tally for the afternoon, while King collected a team-high eight rebounds. Wilson also contributed on the glass, picking up seven boards. The Alexandria, Ky., native added a career-high four assists. Funk finished with a team-high six helpers and scored eight points.
ARMY HIGHLIGHTS AND GAME NOTES
- Army has now won its last two games against Lafayette and seven of the last nine meetings between the two squads.
- The Black Knights struggled to get it going offensively in the first half, posting season-lows in field-goal percentage (28.2 percent) and 3-point field goal percentage (15.0 percent).
- After allowing Lafayette to shoot 54.9 percent (17-of-31) from the floor and 50 percent (7-of-14) from beyond-the-arc in the first half, Army's defense tightened up to only allow nine makes on 26 shots in the second half and 4-of-14 shooting from downtown.
- The Cadets dominated the turnover margin, 18-6, and points off turnovers, 26-4.
- Army finished with 29 points off the bench, all of which came in the second half.
- The Black Knights won their 10th game of the season, becoming the second team in the Patriot League with double-digit victories.
- Army won its first game of the season when shooting worse than the opponent.
- This was Army's third win when being outrebounded and when trailing at halftime.
- Fox passed Chris Spatola for eighth all-time in assists with four helpers in the game and has 292 for his career.
- The Jackson County, Ky., native is now three away from tying Babe Kwasniak's career mark of 295 assists for seventh all-time.
- Funk reached the 100-assist mark for the second-straight season.
- Wilson brought down his 250th-career rebound in the game.
- Kessler recorded his 50th-career offensive rebound in the first half.
UP NEXT
- Army eyes its second service-academy matchup of the season as the team travels to Navy on Sunday for a 2:30 p.m. tip off against the Midshipmen.
- Sunday's contest against the Mids is not the star game.
- The game will be televised on CBS Sports Network with Jason Knapp and Mo Cassara on the call.
- Navy will square off against Holy Cross at Alumni Hall on Thursday at 7 p.m. prior to its game with the Black Knights.
