Men's Hoops Downs NJIT at Christl, 75-65

Wednesday, December 4

West Point, NY

7:30 PM

Army West Point

4-3,0-0Patriot

NJIT

2-6,0-0ASUN

NJIT

Army West Point

Men's Hoops Downs NJIT at Christl, 75-65

December 04, 2019 | Men's Basketball

Box Score

WEST POINT, N.Y. – Three Cadets scored in double-figures for the Army West Point men's basketball team as the Black Knights claimed a 75-65 home win against NJIT on Wednesday night at Christl Arena.

Tommy Funk was electric for the Black Knights (4-3), finishing with a season-best 23 points which included a 4-for-5 shooting performance from long range. The senior point guard dictated the tempo from the start against the Highlanders (2-6) and dished out eight assists with just one turnover in over 36 minutes of action.

Matt Wilson turned in another solid performance, finishing one rebound shy of a double-double after putting up 14 points on 6-of-10 shooting to pair with nine boards. The Black Knights also got 14 points from Alex King as the third-year forward poured in 14 and reeled in five rebounds.

Off the bench, Josh Caldwell logged nine points on 3-of-4 shooting. His efforts were most notable on the defensive end though as the sophomore tallied a season-high five steals and recorded a block.

ARMY HIGHLIGHTS AND GAME NOTES

Funk moved into fourth in the Patriot League in career assists with 568.
The Warrington, Pa., native has now recorded five or more assists in six outings this season.
He tallied the 10th 20-point scoring performance of his career.
Wilson moved past Lee Sager '61 for 22nd in all-time points at Army with 1,184.
The senior extended his double-digit scoring streak to five games.
King put up double-figures in the scoring column for the second consecutive contest.
Caldwell's five steals tied his career-best mark set previously against UMass Lowell on Nov. 17, 2018.
The Black Knights assisted on 50 percent of their made shots.
It marked the seventh time this season that Army assisted on 50 percent or more of its made field goals in a game.
The Cadets scored 21 points off 16 NJIT turnovers.
Army ended a five-game losing skid to NJIT.
The Black Knights won consecutive games for the first time this season.
Army improved to 3-1 at Christl Arena for the 2019-20 campaign.

HOW IT HAPPENED

The Black Knights found themselves in a similar situation at the half as they did against Marist this past Saturday, tied 31-31. Funk was the lone player in the game with double-digits in the scoring column after he dropped 10 points.
Army shot 50 percent from deep in the opening 20 minutes. Meanwhile, the Highlanders struggled from long range as they knocked down just four treys on 14 attempts. However, NJIT stayed in the game with a strong rebounding performance. The Highlanders generated seven more shots in the stanza after outrebounding the Black Knights, 22-15, which included an 8-1 differential on the offensive glass.
The Cadets opened the second half with a 3-pointer by Tucker Blackwell to spark an 11-3 run that helped build an eight-point advantage, 42-34. Following an NJIT bucket, the Cadets extended their lead to double-digits after outscoring the Highlanders, 14-2, over a stretch that lasted nearly three minutes.
NJIT trimmed the deficit to five with a 12-2 run that began with 12:27 left on the clock and ended with 9:04 remaining. However, King put up seven points down the stretch to push the lead back to double-figures. From there, Army warded off any further damage and secured the 75-65 home win.

UP NEXT
Army will remain on the banks of the Hudson and welcome LIU on Saturday for a non-league tilt slated for 1 p.m.