Army West Point Athletics
Army West Point
(9-6, 2-2PL)
American
(3-12, 0-4PL)
Black Knights Escape D.C. with Victory
January 08, 2018 | Men's Basketball
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Turnovers nearly plague Army West Point men's basketball but the Black Knights squeeze by to defeat American here Monday night, 58-54.
Army registered a season-high 25 turnovers, in which the Eagles recorded 22 points. The home team compiled 15 steals, a season-high mark for them.
It was a low-scoring affair but an exciting one toward the end as American held a 54-53 lead with 5:33 remaining. Neither team was able to score over the next three-and-a-half minutes until a put-back layup from rookie Babacar Thiombane handed the visitors a 55-54 edge with 2:02 left to play.
The Eagles had four opportunities over the final two minutes to score the go-ahead bucket but strong Army defense denied any last-ditch efforts. None more important than after Tommy Funk converted on 1-of-2 shots at the free throw line to make it a two-point game, American called its final timeout to draw up what ended up being its last play. The Eagles handed the ball off to their leading scorer Sa'eed Nelson, where the sophomore drove to the bucket. Not today! Thiombane came up clutch again with his second block of the game to keep the Eagles from netting the tying score.
After a quick foul by American, fellow classmate Tucker Blackwell stepped up to the line and sunk both of his free throw attempts to secure the 58-54 road victory.
Matt Wilson was the lone Black Knight to tally double-digit scoring as he finished with a game-high 16 points. The sophomore finished 7-of-12 from the floor and 2-of-6 from the free throw line. He closed out his night with six rebounds.
Blackwell chipped in nine points and was an impressive 5-of 6 from the charity stripe, a career-best for him. Funk added seven points and handed out a team-best four assists. Thiombane had himself a strong defensive game, leading the Cadets on the boards with a career and game-high eight rebounds.
ARMY HIGHLIGHTS AND GAME NOTES
- The Black Knights finished the game shooting 44.7 percent (21-of-47) from the floor and 33.3 percent (5-of-15) from downtown. Army also converted on 11 of its 18 attempts at the free throw line for 61.1 percent shooting.
- American went 36.4 percent (20-of-55), 37.5 percent (6-of-16) and 50 percent (8-of-16), respectively, in the game.
- Army was held to its lowest first-half score at 25. This marked the second-straight game in which the Black Knights failed to score 30-plus points in the opening frame (29 points vs. Bucknell).
- The Cadets turned things around on their opponent in the second half, however, as they allowed just 24 points in the final 20 minutes. That was American's second-lowest second-half point total, slightly beating the 21 points the Eagles scored at Marquette on Dec. 21.
- The Black Knights tallied a season-low five makes from behind-the-arc.
- Wilson notched 10 of his final 16 points in the opening frame after going 5-of-9 from the floor in the first 20 minutes.
- Turnovers were an issues for Army as it notched 12 in first half and 13 in the second for a season high in that category.
- The game almost got away from the Cadets as American ended the half on 10-2 run. The home team then began the second half with five-straight points to create a 35-25 gap between the teams. That marked the largest advantage for either team in the contest.
- The Black Knights responded though with a 14-1 rally of their own to take over the lead at 39-36 with 13:17 left to play.
- All 10 cadet-athletes to get into the game for Army registered at least two points.
- Army outrebounded its host 41-29 and held the edge on points in the paint at 28-24.
- The Eagles outscored the Black Knights on points off turnovers (22-19), second-chance points (10-5) and on fast-break points (10-5).
- There were five tie scores and 10 lead changes.
- Army led for 13:49, while American was in front for 22:48. The game was tied for 3:02.
UP NEXT
- Army returns home to Christl Arena when it welcomes Lafayette on Thursday.
- Tipoff is schedule for noon as the Black Knights are running an education day promotion.
- The Leopards are coming off a tough 80-75 home loss in overtime to Bucknell on Monday night.
