Army Falls in Patriot League Opener to Bucknell

Wednesday, January 2

West Point, NY

7 PM

Army West Point

5-9, 0-1PL

Bucknell

7-6, 1-0PL

BUCKNELL

ARMY

Lonnie Grayson looks to drive to the basket

Army Falls in Patriot League Opener to Bucknell

January 02, 2019 | Men's Basketball

Box Score

WEST POINT, N.Y. – Despite holding a 24-point halftime lead, the Army West Point men's basketball team was unable to halt a second-half Bucknell comeback as the Bison captured a nail-biting 64-63 victory on Wednesday night in the Patriot League opener at Christl Arena.

Matt Wilson paced the Black Knights (5-9, 0-1 Patriot League) with the fourth double-double of his career after posting 20 points and 15 rebounds against the Bison (7-6, 1-0 Patriot League). Tommy Funk was the primary facilitator and capped his night with a team-best six assists to go with seven boards and 10 points. John Emezie was the third Cadet to reach double-digit points, tallying 10 on 4-of-6 shooting.

Army led for over 36 minutes against the two-time defending Patriot League champions, but Bucknell got hot midway through the second half and capitalized in the closing seconds to secure the win.

ARMY HIGHLIGHTS AND GAME NOTES

The Army defense held Bucknell to 13 points, the fewest given up in a half by the Black Knights at Christl Arena in program history.
Wilson reached the 20-point threshold for the fourth time this season and the seventh time in his career.
The junior also set a career-high in rebounds.
He now ranks 10th all-time in defensive rebounds with 325.
Army knocked down five or more 3-pointers in a game for the 50th straight outing.
Funk extended his double-digit scoring streak to five games.
Lonnie Grayson drained multiple 3-pointers for the fourth straight contest.
Jordan Fox tied Tanner Plomb for seventh in all-time makes from long range with 184.
The senior also passed Alex Morris for 30th in all-time scoring with 1,050 points.
For the fourth time this season, the Cadets recorded single-digit turnovers.
The Cadets forced double-digit turnovers for the 16th straight contest.
Army scored 20 points off 15 Bucknell turnovers.
The Cadets scored 51 percent of their points from inside the paint.
52 percent of Army's made shots were assisted on.
The Black Knights and Bison played in a game that was decided by one point for the fourth time in 78 all-time meetings.

HOW IT HAPPENED

It was a slow start offensively from both sides, but particularly for the Bison as the second-best scoring offense in the Patriot League was held without a made field goal on 10 tries through the opening 6:17.
With just over 11 minutes remaining in the half, the Black Knights got hot. Over a span of 5:58, Army went 7-of-9 from the field, including a trio of treys, for a 17-0 run to take a 30-7 advantage.
The Black Knights turned in one of their best all-around first-half performances this season, holding the Bison to 13 points on 15-percent shooting. On the other side of the ball the Cadets connected on 47 percent of their shots, led by Wilson's 14 points on 6-of-9 shooting in 13 minutes of play.
The Bison came out after the halftime break trailing 37-13 and turned the Nate Sestina. The senior center went 7-for-7 from the field for 17 points to start the second stanza and help his team trim the deficit to nine, 43-34, following a 21-6 run.
Bucknell continued to put its foot on the gas and with 5:56 left on the clock, evened the score up at 57-57 following a Jimmy Sotos 3-pointer, before taking its first lead of the game two possessions later.
Army responded with a 6-2 run that was capped by a Wilson layup with 2:35 remaining on the clock to put the Cadets ahead 63-61, but Bucknell went to the line late with 1:18 left to play and made 1-of-2 to make it a one-point game. The two sides had their chances at a basket, but it was the Bison capitalizing on a transition play with a layup by Avi Toomer with three seconds remaining in the contest following an Army miss to come away with the road league win.

UP NEXT
The Cadets will remain at West Point and play host to Lafayette in a Patriot League matchup on Saturday with tip-off slated for 1 p.m.