Black Knights Fall Short in League Opener at Bucknell

Thursday, January 2

Lewisburg, PA

7 PM

Army West Point

5-7,0-1Patriot

Bucknell

5-9,1-0Patriot

Army West Point

Bucknell

Lonnie Grayson dribbles the ball at the top of the key

Black Knights Fall Short in League Opener at Bucknell

January 02, 2020 | Men's Basketball

Box Score

LEWISBURG, Pa. – In a back-and-forth Patriot League affair, the Army West Point men's basketball team was unable to come out victorious as Bucknell bested the Black Knights, 67-65, on Thursday night at Sojka Pavilion.

The Black Knights (5-7, 0-1 Patriot League) had a few chances in the closing minute to either tie the game up or take the lead, but Bucknell's (5-9, 1-0 Patriot League) defense stood tall to deny the Cadets. It marked the third consecutive meeting between Army and the Bison that was decided by two or fewer points.

Playing in his home state, Tommy Funk paced the Black Knights with a team-best 19 points to go along with a game-high eight assists. The Warrington, Pa., native also reeled in five boards opposite Bucknell.

Lonnie Grayson had a standout game, dropping 17 points on 7-of-13 shooting with four rebounds, three assists and two steals. Alex King was the third cadet to reach double-digit scoring as the third-year forward totaled 13 points after going 6-of-9 from the floor.

ARMY HIGHLIGHTS AND GAME NOTES

With five rebounds, Matt Wilson became just the eighth cadet all-time to record 700 career boards.
He is now just one of eight cadets in program history to score over 1,000 points and reel in 700 rebounds.
Funk extended his double-digit scoring streak to eight games.
The senior point guard's eight assists marked the ninth time this year that he handed out five or more helpers in a game.
Grayson reached double-figures in the scoring column for the third consecutive outing.
The starters accounted for 97 percent of Army's points.
The Black Knights scored 52 percent of their points from inside the paint.
Army had 15 assists on 24 made shots.
It marked the 10th time this season that the Black Knights assisted on 50 percent or more of their made baskets in a game.
Thursday night's tilt was the 80th all-time meeting between Army and Bucknell.

HOW IT HAPPENED

It was a first half of runs as the two sides battled back and forth. Trailing by one, 10-9, at the first media break, the Black Knights began to get into a groove on both ends of the floor. Funk scored six points to put Army ahead, 19-10, as part of a 10-0 run. Meanwhile, on the defensive end, Bucknell was held scoreless for nearly five minutes.
The Bison did not trail for long though as they went 3-for-3 from deep and used 15 unanswered points to go ahead, 25-19. The Black Knights would take a 36-31 lead into the break though after closing out the half on a 17-6 run.
Bucknell opened the second half with an 8-0 run to regain the advantage, but the Cadets countered with a 9-2 run to go up by four, 45-41, with 11:37 left to play.
Neither side was able to gain separation as it remained a four-point game or less for nearly the entire rest of the second stanza. It wasn't until there were 57 seconds remaining that Bucknell went up by five, 67-62, following scores on back-to-back possessions. However, Army charged right down the court and Grayson buried a trey to trim the deficit to two, 67-65.
Bucknell turned the ball over on its ensuing possession, but the Black Knights could not convert despite a pair of looks at the basket. The Bison were then fouled and went to the charity stripe with nine seconds remaining.
After Bucknell missed the front end of a 1-and-1, Grayson had the ball and drove to the basket. Despite finding a lane, his potential game-tying layup was blocked and Bucknell secured the win.

UP NEXT
The Black Knights will return to Christl Arena and play host to the defending Patriot League champs, Colgate, on Monday night. Tip-off is slated for 7 p.m. on CBS Sports Network with Jason Knapp and Mo Cassara providing the in-game coverage.