Army West Point Athletics
Army West Point
11-7, 4-3
Holy Cross
5-13, 2-5
Second-Half Rally Falls Short at Holy Cross
January 17, 2018 | Men's Basketball
WORCESTER, Mass. - The Army West Point men's basketball team dropped a 70-66 decision at Holy Cross here Wednesday night.
The Black Knights trailed by as many as 21 in the game but rallied back and held the slim 64-62 lead with 2:27 left to play. Unfortunately, Jacob Grandison drained back-to-back 3-pointers to ultimately hand the Crusaders the lead for good. Army cut the deficit to two thanks to a Matt Wilson dunk but after failing to register a steal with under 26 seconds remaining, the Cadets were forced to foul. Patrick Benzan then stepped up to the line and sunk both of his 1-and-1 free throw attempts to secure the win.
Wilson posted a team-high 17 points, which matched his season high. Jordan Fox chipped in 16 points, while Tommy Funk added 10. Wilson finished 8-of-13 from the floor and 1-of-2 at the charity stripe.
Fox and Funk both drained multiple 3-pointers in the game with Fox hitting three and Funk two. Also adding a few makes from behind-the-arc was senior Luke Morrison and rookie Lonnie Grayson. Morrison closed out his night 3-of-4 from downtown for nine points, while Grayson went 2-of-3 for six points.
Fox led the team on the boards compiling a game-high nine rebounds, all of which were on the defensive end on the court. That number matched his previously career high, which he achieved earlier this season in a game with Marist. Wilson also chipped in seven rebounds, including three on the offensive glass.
Funk and Fox handed out five and three assists, respectively, as well.
Holy Cross came out of the gate strong, shooting 64 percent (16-of-25) from the floor and 63.6 percent (7-of-11) from long range in the first half. Midway through that opening period, the home team was shooting 75 percent for the game and an impressive 85.7 percent from long range, converting on six of their seven attempts from behind-the-arc.
The Black Knights struggled in the opening frame shooting the ball but figured things out in the second half. Army shot 48.1 percent from the floor and 60 percent from downtown during the second half to finish the game shooting 42.1 percent (24-of-57) and 39.3 percent (11-of-28), respectively.
The Cadets held a hot-shooting first half Crusader team to marks of just 36 percent from the floor and 25 percent from behind-the-arc in the second 20 minutes of action.
ARMY HIGHLIGHTS AND GAME NOTES
- Army saw it's three-game winning streak halted with the loss.
- Three Black Knights reached double-digit scoring in the same game for the seventh time this season.
- Wilson and Fox led the team on the night with Wilson scoring 10 of his final 16 points in the opening frame and Fox 12 of his team-best 17 points in the first half.
- The Cadets outrebounded their host 34-26, including an 11-4 edge on the offensive glass.
- Holy Cross held the advantage on points in the paint (26-22) and points off turnovers (13-6).
- Army registered 11 second-chance points to just four for the Crusaders.
- After their strong shooting in the opening period, the home team finished the game shooting 50 percent (25-of-50) from the floor and 40.7 percent (11-of-27) from long range.
- Army converted on 7-of-9 attempts at the free throw line, while Holy Cross went 9-of-12.
- Army led for 3:19. Holy Cross was in front for 33:39. The game was tied for 3:02.
- There were four tie scores and six lead changes throughout the contest.
- The game was tied at 5-5 a little less than four minutes in when Holy Cross sparked an massive 20-3 run, which lasted six-and-a-half minutes to create a 25-8 gap between the teams.
- Black Knights saw their host extend that lead to a game-high 21 points with 6:25 remaining to make it a 34-13 ballgame. Army would not go away though, and responded with a 17-7 run of its own to cut the deficit to 11 at the break.
- That deficit matched Holy Cross' largest lead at the intermission this year, which it also achieved in a victory at Sacred Heart.
- The home team maintained that twin figure lead and held a 49-34 advantage with 14:28 remaining in the game.
- Over the next 11 minutes Army used a 28-11 run to get itself back in the game and take its first lead at 62-60 thanks to a jumper by Funk.
- Heading into the final two minutes the Cadets held that two-point advantage but weren't able to sustain it as Holy Cross drained back-to-back 3-pointers which awarded the Crusaders the advantage for good.
UP NEXT
- Army returns home to Christl Arena on Saturday to face Lehigh at 2 p.m.
- The Mountain Hawks hosted Colgate on Wednesday prior to their matchup with the Black Knights and dropped a 76-72 decision.
