Second-Half Surge Puts Bucknell Past Black Knights

Saturday, March 2

Lewisburg, PA

12 PM

Army West Point

13-17

Bucknell

18-11

Army West Point

Bucknell

Second-Half Surge Puts Bucknell Past Black Knights

March 02, 2019 | Men's Basketball

Box Score

LEWISBURG, Pa. – A double-digit second-half lead proved not to be enough to hold off the second-best scoring team in the Patriot League as the Army West Point men's basketball team ultimately fell to Bucknell, 62-61, in Lewisburg, Pa., on Saturday.

The Black Knights (13-18, 8-10 Patriot League) built a double-digit advantage in the second half, but could not hold off a late run by the Bison (19-11, 13-5 Patriot League), who locked up the second seed in the league tournament after the win on their senior day.

Despite the loss, Army still secured up a first-round bye in the tournament and will be the sixth seed heading into Thursday's quarterfinal matchup with Lehigh in Bethlehem, Pa.

Matt Wilson was dynamic in the low post opposite the Bison, throwing a slew of post moves at the Bucknell forwards to get several easy scores. The junior finished his afternoon with 21 points to pair with eight rebounds.

In the backcourt, it was Tommy Funk leading the way and the Warrington, Pa., native was all over the place. He capped his day with 10 points, six rebounds and five assists. Jacob Kessler added eight points off the bench, while Jordan Fox and Cayne Edwards chipped in with six apiece. Alex King was solid on the glass, tying his career-high with nine boards.

ARMY HIGHLIGHTS AND GAME NOTES

Wilson recorded his sixth 20-point performance of the season.
The Alexandria, Ky., native catapulted his way all the way to 27th on the all-time scoring list at the Academy with 1,078 points.
He additionally passed George Tatum for ninth in all-time rebounds with 601.
The junior is just the ninth cadet in program history to reach the 600-rebound threshold.
Fox's four assists helped him pass Randy Cozzens for third in all-time helpers with 433.
Funk handed out five or more assists in a game for the 23rd time this season.
Army committed only 10 turnovers.
It marks the 13th time this year that the Cadets had 10 or less turnovers in a game.
The Black Knights scored 59 percent of their points from inside the paint.
Army turned seven offensive rebounds into 15 second-chance points.
Fifty percent of the Cadets' made shots were assisted on.

HOW IT HAPPENED

The Black Knights went into Sojka Pavilion and brought the fight to the one of the top scoring offenses in the Patriot League. The first half was a back-and-forth battle with neither side able to gain much separation. The Black Knights' early six-point lead, 10-4, tied the largest of the frame.
Bucknell tried to do their damage from beyond-the-arc but struggled after only knocking down six on 21 tries. The Cadets took the approach of attacking the basket early and often, which resulted in 24 first-half points in the paint.
It was a one-point contest at the four-minute mark before the Black Knights closed out the half on an 8-3 run to carry a 37-31 lead into the break. Wilson and Funk combined for 17 points to lead the offensive charge in the stanza.
Bucknell opened the new half by outscoring Army, 10-5, in the first few minutes. However, beginning with 14:44 on the clock, the Black Knights got into a rhythm offensively and a 15-2 run put them ahead by 14, 57-43. During that stretch , Wilson went 4-for-4 from the field for eight points to give him 19 at the time.
The Bison did not back away and countered with a 17-4 run that started at the 8:04 mark and lasted until there was 1:40 left to play. Following that offensive outburst, Bucknell made it a one-point game, 61-60. Each side had a couple of offensive possessions down the stretch, but came up short.
With 10 second left to play, Bucknell was fouled and made both foul shots to take a one-point lead. Those free throws ended up being the difference as the Bison did not allow the Black Knights to get a final shot off, which allowed Bucknell to secure the home win.

UP NEXT
Army will head into the Patriot League Tournament as the No. 6 seed and take on No. 3 Lehigh in the quarterfinals on Thursday in Bethlehem, Pa.