Cadets Drop Non-League Tilt to LIU

Saturday, December 7

West Point, NY

1 PM

Army West Point

4-4,0-0Patriot

LIU

3-6,0-0NEC

LIU

Army West Point

Cadets Drop Non-League Tilt to LIU

December 07, 2019 | Men's Basketball

Box Score

WEST POINT, N.Y. – The Army West Point men's basketball team was defeated, 85-72, in its final home game of the non-league slate on Saturday afternoon at Christl Arena.

The Black Knights (4-4) ran into a sharpshooting Sharks (3-6) squad that shot 40 percent from long range while knocking down 18 three-pointers.

The starting five did most of the damage on the offensive end for the Black Knights as four different cadets recorded double-digit points. Alex King paced Army with a team-best 17 points on 7-of-11 shooting to pair with 10 boards for a double-double.

Tommy Funk and Matt Wilson combined for 28 points after putting up 14 apiece. Funk added six assists and five rebounds, while Wilson reeled in nine rebounds opposite the Sharks. On a 4-for-6 shooting performance, Lonnie Grayson also found his way into double-figures, tallying 12 points.

ARMY HIGHLIGHTS AND GAME NOTES

Saturday's game was the first-ever meeting between Army and LIU.
King recorded his first collegiate double-double.
The junior notched a season-high in points, while posting a career-high in rebounds.
He extended his double-digit scoring streak to three games.
Wilson tallied double-digit points for the sixth consecutive outing.
He passed Jordan Fox '19 for 21st in all-time points at Army with 1,198.
The Alexandria, Ky., native took sole possession of seventh in program history in career field goals made with 511.
Funk moved into 25th in program history in points scored with 1,128.
He reached double-digit points for the fourth straight outing.
The senior point guard has now dished out five or more assists in seven of eight games this season.
Army tied its season-best rebounding total of 47.
Josh Caldwell had a season-high seven boards.
Sixty-four of the Black Knights' points came from inside the paint.
Eighty-eight percent of Army's points came from its starting five.

HOW IT HAPPENED

The Black Knights got off to a hot shooting start, connecting on 80 percent of its first 10 attempts from the field to grab an 18-14 lead with 11:25 left in the half. However, LIU caught fire from long range and went on a 17-2 run with 15 of the points coming from deep. That shooting performance gave the Sharks an eight-point advantage, 28-20, with 6:38 on the clock.
LIU carried a 10-point advantage, 44-34, into the half after knocking down 11-of-22 from deep. Jermaine Jackson Jr. was responsible for five of the 11 makes as he went for 15 in the opening 20 minutes of play.
Army started the second half on a 6-0 run to pull within three, 44-41, but a 10-2 LIU run after four straight made shots brought the Sharks' advantage back into double-digits with 14:27 remaining.
Jackson Jr. was again causing problems as he buried four 3-pointers in a span of just over three minutes to give his team a 15-point lead, 66-51, with 9:25 on the clock. From that point forward, the Sharks were able to maintain their large lead the rest of the way en route to securing the 85-72 road win.

UP NEXT
The Black Knights will begin a four-game road trip beginning with a meeting with Merrimack in North Andover, Mass., on Wednesday at 7 p.m