Army West Point Athletics
Army West Point
13-12 (6-8PL)
Navy
17-10 (8-6PL)
Army Suffers Star Game Setback, 68-59
February 10, 2018 | Men's Basketball
WEST POINT, N.Y. - The Army West Point men's basketball team saw its rival Navy register a 68-59 victory here Saturday afternoon in the teams' annual Star game.
Army and Navy split their two regular season meetings with each team recording a win on their opponent's home court.
The Black Knights never led in this one, marking the first time all season the Cadets didn't have at least one advantage in a game.
The Mids jumped out to an early 12-5 edge seven minutes into the contest before increasing their lead to a game-high 15 points at 33-18 with just over two minutes remaining in the half. Navy used a 21-13 run during that stretch. The Cadets tried to rally but were only able to cut the deficit down to 35-23 at the break. Army's 23 points were a season-low for any half this season.
Ironically, the Mids completely flipped the script from the teams' previous meeting as the Black Knights held the 35-23 advantage down in Annapolis back on Jan. 14.
A small 8-2 run for the home squad to start the second period cut a 12-point lead down to six just three minutes in. The Black Knights kept it close at 41-35 with 13:07 remaining following an Alex King steal and dunk. Unfortunately, a 6-1 run for Navy quickly extended its advantage to 47-36 with just under 12 minutes left to play.
Army continued to battle and again made it a 49-43 ballgame with 8:22 on the clock but ultimately weren't able to get any closer. Five-straight from the Mids handed them back a double-digit lead and then they maintained that distance before going on to secure the nine-point victory.
Two reached twin-figure scoring for the Black Knights with Jordan Fox leading all scorers with 19 points. He finished 6-of-14 from the floor, 2-of-9 from downtown and 5-of-6 at the free throw line. He chipped in three rebounds and a team-best four assists as well.
Senior Luke Morrison tried to help from long range, draining four of his seven attempts. He closed out his night 6-of-9 from the floor for 16 points.
Rookie Babacar Thiombane notched a team-high five rebounds, while Morrison, Matt Wilson and Jacob Kessler added four each.
ARMY HIGHLIGHTS AND GAME NOTES
- Army finished 37.0 percent (20-of-54) from the floor and 26.9 percent (7-of-26) from behind-the-arc for its second-lowest shooting night in both categories. The Black Knights' 20 made field goals marked a season low as well.
- The Cadets also converted on just 12 of their 23 attempts at the free throw line for 52.2 percent shooting.
- Navy went 41.9 percent (18-of-43) and 33.3 percent (4-of-12), respectively, but their shooting from the charity stripe ultimately made the difference. The Mids closed out their night 28-of-33 for 84.8 percent shooting.
- The Black Knights fell to 1-9 when their opponent registered a higher field-goal percentage.
- The visitors held the edge on rebounds as well at 41-26. The Cadets are now 4-11 in games when they've been outrebounded.
- Army outscored Navy 26-24 on points in the paint, 19-10 on points off turnovers and 8-6 on fast-break points.
- The Mids scored 14 second-chance points to just six for the Cadets.
- Tommy Funk dished out three helpers in the game to reach the 300-career assist mark, which is good enough for eighth in program history. He also broke the 250-point plateau for the season after posting five in the contest.
- Morrison's four treys handed him 160 for his career, passing Josh Herbeck for ninth all-time.
- King matched his career-high in steals with two.
- Navy finished with four players in double digits with Shawn Anderson leading the way. The senior went just 1-of-4 from the floor but an impressive 11-of-13 at the charity stripe for his team-best 13 points.
- Evan Wieck (12 points), Hasan Abdullah (11 points), and Tom Lacey (10 points) closed out the Mids in twin figures.
- Lacey was one rebound shy of a double-double as he posted nine in the contest.
UP NEXT
- The Black Knights remain at home for a Wednesday night matchup with Holy Cross in the Cadets' second-to-last home game of the regular season.
- The Valentine's Day matchup is slated to tip off at 7 p.m. and will be broadcast live on the Patriot League Network.
- The Crusaders faced their inter-state rival Boston U. on the road Saturday and registered a 73-62 victory to shift to 6-8 in conference play.
