Men's Hoops Sings Second at Navy; Tops Mids, 73-66

Saturday, January 25

Annapolis, MD

1:30 PM

Army West Point

9-10, 4-4

Navy

11-8, 5-3

Army West Point

Navy

Men's Hoops Sings Second at Navy; Tops Mids, 73-66

January 25, 2020 | Men's Basketball

Box Score

ANNAPOLIS, Md. – Behind enemy lines, the Army West Point men's basketball team battled to a 73-66 road Patriot League victory against service academy rival Navy on Saturday afternoon at Alumni Hall.

The Black Knights (9-10, 4-4 Patriot League) not only extended their winning streak to a season-best four games, but also snapped the three-game win streak for the Midshipmen (11-8, 5-3 Patriot League).

Tommy Funk set the tone for the Army offense from the start and tied his career-high scoring output with 26 points. The senior also added three boards while tallying six assists with just one turnover. Fellow captain Matt Wilson was a force to be reckoned with in the low post, going 9-of-11 from the floor for 18 points to pair with five boards.

Josh Caldwell also had himself a day, finishing with a double-double after scoring 10 points and reeling in 10 rebounds. Tucker Blackwell, Lonnie Grayson and Chris Mann additionally provided big shots in some key moments and the trio combined for 18 points on the afternoon.

ARMY HIGHLIGHTS AND GAME NOTES

The senior class finished 3-1 at Alumni Hall during their four-year careers.
The 73 points were the most by an Army squad in a win in Annapolis, Md., since putting up 80 in a double-overtime victory on Feb. 20, 2016.
It was also the most points allowed at home by Navy this season.
Funk extended his double-digit scoring streak to 15 games.
It was his third 20-point scoring performance of the year and the 11th of his career.
Over the past four games, he has handed out 35 assists with just six turnovers.
He moved into 16th in all-time points in program history with 1,312.
The Warrington, Pa., native moved into a tie for 11th with Alex Morris '97 in all-time steals at West Point with 92.
Wilson recorded double-digit points for the seventh straight contest.
Caldwell posted the second double-double of his career, tying his career-best mark in rebounds with 10.
Army shot over 50 percent from the field as a team for the fourth consecutive outing.
The Cadets are 7-1 in games this season when accomplishing that feat.
Fifty-seven percent of Army's made shots were assisted on.
The Black Knights scored 55 percent of their points from inside the paint.
The four-game winning streak is the longest by an Army squad since claiming four straight victories during the 2018-19 campaign from Jan. 16-26.

HOW IT HAPPENED

The Black Knights, who have made a habit of shooting the ball with efficiency as of late, continued that trend on Saturday against Navy. In the opening stanza, Army connected on over 60 percent of its shots and carried a 40-32 lead into the half.
Funk was on the attack from the beginning and the senior point guard got the Black Knights off to a 7-3 start after he went 3-of-3 from the floor for all seven points over the opening three minutes.
In typical Army-Navy fashion, the Midshipmen quickly evened the score and the two sides began to battle on the hardwood. Navy struggled to contain Funk and Wilson, who were consistently generating quality looks at the basket and combined for 26 points at the half. Majority of those buckets came from inside the paint as the Black Knights scored 22 of their 40 points from down low.
Army began to build separation with 15:10 on the clock in the final stanza. Mann buried a shot from deep to spark a 12-2 run that put the Black Knights up by 16, 58-42. Navy fought to get back into the game and pulled within six, 59-53, following an 11-1 run that lasted until there was 4:31 left to play.
The Cadets responded by bringing the lead back to double figures, but the Midshipmen immediately countered with five unanswered points to make it a five-point contest, 63-58. That was as close as Navy would get though as Army iced the game at the charity stripe en route to securing the road win.

UP NEXT
The Black Knights will return to the banks of the Hudson on Wednesday and welcome Bucknell for an 11 a.m. league tilt at Christl Arena. It will be the annual Education Day game for the Cadets.