Army West Point Athletics
Army West Point
Lehigh
Army Bounces Back for 93-81 Victory Over Lehigh
January 20, 2018 | Men's Basketball
WEST POINT, N.Y. - The Army West Point men's basketball team shifted to 5-3 in the Patriot League after a 93-81 victory over Lehigh here Saturday afternoon.
The Black Knights rebounded nicely after a tough four-point loss on Wednesday to hand head coach Jimmy Allen his 25th victory at the helm. Four Cadets found double-digit scoring in the contest, led by Luke Morrison's career-high 21 points.
The senior matched his career-best effort from behind-the-arc with five makes and finished his night 7-of-9 overall. He also converted on both of his free throw attempts.
Matt Wilson chipped in with a season-high 18 points, missing just one of his shots from the floor at 7-of-8. The sophomore closed out his night 4-of-8 from the charity stripe for his 14th twin figure scoring game of the year.
Jordan Fox and Tommy Funk added 15 and 13 points, respectively, to close out the Black Knights with double-figure scoring.
On the boards, rookie Alex King posted a game-high eight rebounds, while also accounting for eight points. Fox and Funk dished out multiple assists in the game with Fox notching a game-high eight and Funk seven.
The Cadets jumped in front early and never really looked back. Army increased its lead to a game-high 24 points after one of Morrison's treys made it a 39-15 ballgame with six minutes remaining in the opening period.
The Black Knights then took a 50-31 edge into the break but that 19-point lead was dwindled down to just eight midway through the second half. The Mountain Hawks used a 27-16 run during that stretch to pull within 66-58. Six-straight from the Cadets, however, extended the Black Knights advantage back to twin figures.
Lehigh wouldn't go away though cutting the deficit down to seven on two different occasions throughout the final four minutes but Army was able to hold on down the stretch for the 12-point win.
ARMY HIGHLIGHTS AND GAME NOTES
- Everyone that saw action in the game for Army tallied at least two points.
- The Black Knights finished the game shooting 58.6 percent (34-of-58) and 44.4 percent (12-of-27) from long range. They also added 13-of-20 makes from the charity stripe.
- The Mountain Hawks went 42.2 percent (27-of-64), 42.4 percent (14-of-33), and 65 percent (13-of-20), respectively.
- Lehigh saw Lance Tejada (25 points) and Marques Wilson (20 points) reach twin figures to lead the Mountain Hawks.
- Tejada was one point shy of his career-best effort, while Wilson notched a career high in the game. Both hit multiple 3-pointers with Tejada converting on six of his nine attempts and Wilson four of his six.
- Babacar Thiombane and Fox both chipped in five rebounds each, while Wilson and Jacob Kessler added four.
- John Emezie drained 2-of-3 shots from downtown for his six points.
- The Cadets outrebounded their visitors, 37-30.
- Army also held the edge on points in the paint (34-20) and points off turnovers (13-8).
- Lehigh posted 12 points off second-chance opportunities to just eight for the Black Knights.
- The Cadets led for 39:25, while the Mountain Hawks were in front for 20 seconds. The game was tied for 14 seconds.
UP NEXT
- Army remains at home to face Colgate on Wednesday at 7 p.m.
- That game will be an enhanced Patriot League Network broadcast.
- Wednesday's game will mark the Black Knights' final game of the first half of the Patriot League season.
- The Raiders welcomed Loyola to Cotterell Court on Saturday and posted a 77-72 comeback win after outscoring the Greyhounds 48-36 in the second half.
