Army Powers Past USMMA, 80-43, in Home-Opening Win

Friday, November 8

West Point, NY

6 PM

Army West Point

1-1,0-0Patriot

USMMA

0-0,0-0Skyline

Merchant Marine

Army West Point

John Scully lines up for a 3-pointer vs. Villanova

Army Powers Past USMMA, 80-43, in Home-Opening Win

November 08, 2019 | Men's Basketball

Box Score

WEST POINT, N.Y. – The ball was moving, and shots were falling as four Cadets scored in double-figures to help the Army West Point men's basketball team claim an 80-43 win in its 2019-20 season opener against USMMA at Christl Arena on Friday night.

John Scully led the way with a career night as the sophomore sharpshooter knocked down six 3-pointers and finished with a career-best 20 points for the Black Knights (1-1). In his first game on the banks of the Hudson, Chris Mann put together a stellar outing, putting up 16 points on 6-of-9 shooting to pair with nine boards.

Tommy Funk and Lonnie Grayson got in on the scoring action as well after tallying 11 and 10, respectively. Funk was 4-of-4 from the field and reeled in seven boards to go with four assists and three steals against the Mariners (0-0).

ARMY HIGHLIGHTS AND GAME NOTES

Army won its sixth consecutive home opener.
Funk extended his games started streak to 96.
He took sole possession of sixth all-time in the Patriot League in career assists with 525.
The senior captain tied Alex Morris '97 for 32nd in points in program history with 1,044.
He tied his career-best mark of three steals.
Funk and Matt Wilson combined to shoot 7-of-7 from the floor.
Josh Caldwell was the team's top ball distributor, dishing out a career-best eight assists.
The Black Knights handed out 25 assists on 31 made shots.
Scully's six made 3-pointers were the most by a cadet in a game since Jordan Fox '19 knocked down nine opposite Marist on Nov. 18, 2017.
Army improved to a perfect 15-0 against USMMA.
Friday's result marked the 13th time that the Black Knights topped the Mariners by double-digit points.
The Black Knights' bench put up 48 of the team's 80 points.
Army scored 43 percent of its points from inside the paint.
The Cadets recorded 19 points off 12 USMMA turnovers.
Jordan Coleman, Nick Finke and Brendan Thiele scored their first career points.
Ben Jensen and Sam Parini made their collegiate debuts.

HOW IT HAPPENED

Grayson got the game going with a 3-pointer off a pass from Alex King and the Black Knights never surrendered the lead. With 6:24 left in the opening half, it was Grayson again knocking down a shot, but this time from midrange to put Army ahead, 31-19. That jumper sparked a 19-5 run that last until the halftime horn sounded.
The Black Knights' lead continued to grow and a 30-6 run that spanned nearly 11 minutes extended the advantage to 46 points, 78-32. Army went on to close out the contest and secure the home win.

UP NEXT
A service-academy rivalry game awaits the Black Knights as Air Force comes to Christl Arena on Tuesday for a matchup slated for 7 p.m.