Army West Point Athletics
Army West Point
11-6, 4-2PL
Navy
12-7, 3-3PL
Black Knights Hold On For Victory Over Navy
January 14, 2018 | Men's Basketball
WEST POINT, N.Y. – The Army West Point men's basketball team took the first meeting of the season against its rival here Sunday afternoon, defeating Navy 64-62.
The Midshipmen made things interesting late though, cutting a 10-point deficit with 36 seconds remaining down to a two-point one with two ticks left. Fortunately, the Black Knights were able to hold on for their third-straight win at Alumni Hall and six victory on the road in the last eight meetings with the Mids.
The Cadets held a 12-point lead at the break but quickly saw that dwindled down to six after the Mids started the second half on a 6-0 run. Army ended that rally with a Jordan Fox 3-pointer before sparking a small 8-0 run of its own to push the lead back to double digits at 43-29 with 16:20 left to play.
Army maintained that double-figure advantage for the next six minutes until Navy used a 14-6 run to pull within 54-48 with 4:15 remaining. 12 of those 14 points came from the free throw line, including six straight.
The Black Knights ended that rally with six consecutive points over a two-and-a-half-minute span to create a 60-48 gap between the teams with 1:02 on the clock. But Navy wasn't done just yet. The Mids closed the game on a 14-4 run to make things exciting late. During that stretch, Cam Davis hit a 3-pointer with two seconds left to cut a five-point deficit down to two. Army was then able to inbound the ball, avoiding the foul, to run out the clock and halt Navy's rally just shy.
Alex King registered a team-high 17 points after finishing 7-of-10 from the floor. The rookie added 3-of-4 makes from behind-the-arc to tie his career-best. He closed out his night with four rebounds.
Joining him in double digits was Tommy Funk and Fox with 12 and 11 points, respectively. On the boards it was first-year Babacar Thiombane, who pulled down a team-best six rebounds. Funk handed out a game-high five assists, while also matching Thiombane with a team-high two steals.
ARMY HIGHLIGHTS AND GAME NOTES
- Army led wire-to-wire in the contest.
- The Black Knights concluded their three-game week with a perfect 3-0 record.
- Army's three-straight wins marks the fourth time during head coach Jimmy Allen's two-year tenure that the Black Knights achieved that feat.
- Army held Navy to just 23 points in the opening half, which was the Black Knights' second-best defensive opening period of the year (20 points allowed vs. John Jay). Those 23 points also marked the Mids second-worst scoring half of the year (16 points scored against Pennsylvania).
- The Cadets finished shooting 52.3 percent (23-of-44) from the floor and 38.9 percent (7-of-18) from long range. The Black Knights struggled from the line a little converting on just 11-of-20 attempts from the charity stripe.
- The Mids closed out their night at 32.2 percent (19-of-59), 18.2 percent (4-of-22) and 90.9 percent (20-of-22), respectively.
- Matt Wilson finished the game with five points, which puts him at exactly 500 for his career.
- Navy outrebounded its opponent, 41-28, including a 19-5 edge on the offensive glass.
- Army recorded 28 points from inside the paint to 22 for Navy.
- Both teams notched 17 points from turnovers, while the Mids held the slim advantage on second-chance points (13-6) and fast-break points (6-5).
- The Army bench outscored the Navy bench, 31-23.
- Army posted its largest lead in the game at 33-18 with 1:18 remaining in the opening half after Luke Morrison drained his only points of the game from behind-the-arc.
- The Mids outscored the Cadets 39-29 in the second half.
A GAME OF RUNS
- There were multiple key runs throughout the contest.
- Just three-and-a-half minutes into the game, Army sparked an 18-8 run, 10 of those points coming from the hands of King, to create a 20-10 gap between the teams with 7:46 left to play in the opening period.
- The Mids answered with seven-straight of their own to pull within three but King and Fox ended that rally with back-to-back treys to spark another 13-1 run by the visitors to register the game's largest lead at 33-18.
- Navy then started the second half scoring six-straight points to cut a 12-point halftime deficit down to six early. Army would respond though netting the next eight points to push the lead back to twin figures.
- With it a 48-34 Army edge midway through the half, Navy rattled off a 14-6 run that pulled the home team within six with four minutes to play. 12 of those 14 points were scored at the free throw line.
- Six-straight then from the Black Knights made it a 60-48 ballgame with 1:02 remaining.
- Navy had one last rally in it, closing the game on a 14-4 run over the final minute.
UP NEXT
- Army stays on the road as the team heads to Worcester, Mass., for a meeting with Holy Cross on Wednesday.
- Tip is slated for 7 p.m. at the Hart Center.
- The Crusaders squared off with in-state foe Boston U. on Sunday and dropped a 54-40 decision to the Terriers.
