Heroics Leads Men's Basketball to 57-55 Senior Night Victory Over BU

Sunday, February 28

West Point, NY

3:00 p.m. ET

Army West Point

11-8,7-7Patriot

Boston University

6-10,6-10Patriot

Boston U.

Army West Point

Heroics Leads Men's Basketball to 57-55 Senior Night Victory Over BU

February 28, 2021 | Men's Basketball

Box Score

WEST POINT, N.Y. – Army West Point men's basketball held on down the stretch and got a clutch basket with 1.1 seconds left on the clock from senior Alex King to solidify a 77-75 win over Boston University on Sunday afternoon at Christl Arena on Senior Day.

The Black Knights (11-8, 7-7 Patriot League) had a lead off 22 points at the half as they led 39-17 over the Terriers (6-10, 6-10 Patriot League), but they had to weather a late second-half onslaught by BU that made a buzzer-beating go-ahead shot necessary to secure the win for the Black Knights.

In the first half it was all Black Knights, as they took the energy and momentum of Senior Day, with all five seniors – Tucker Blackwell, Lonnie Grayson, Mark Madden, Nike Finke and Alex King started the game.

"It was a great win, just an awesome way to go out on Senior Day. We played well, we stuck to our game plan. We really needed to improve our defense from last game, especially the rotations on the weak side and we did that and it obviously paid off," said King, "We also had some guys step up and hit a lot of big shots. The coaches have full confidence in me to step up and hit that last shot so the credit really goes to them for having the confidence in me. When it went in, I was just thinking next play. I didn't know how much time was left or how many dribbles they could get up the court. Thankfully they had to take a three-fourths court shot. It was an incredible feeling to see it go down."

The Black Knights shot 57.1 percent from the field (16-for-28) and were 5-for-12 from the three-point line in the half. The team played lock-down defense, holding BU to just 25.9 shooting from the floor (7-for-27) and 2-for-10 from downtown. The Black Knights also forced eight Terrier turnovers in the half.

Senior King, the hero of the night, led the team with nine points in the half, while Grayson had eight. He finished the day with a team-leading 19 points.

In the second half, the Black Knights continued to lead in double digits until the 3:46 mark when Walter Whyte drilled a three-pointer for BU, pulling the Terriers within nine, 53-44. King made one free throw seconds later to push the lead back to 10, but they went on a 9-0 run to pull within one, 54-53 with 24 seconds left.

Grayson drilled a free throw to pull Army's lead back to two, 55-53 with 20 seconds left. The Terriers would tie things up on a second-chance layup in the paint for Javante McCoy, making it 55-55 with 7 seconds left.

The Black Knights had the ball with seven seconds left on the clock and game tied, 55-55. They were able to get the ball into the hot hand of the day, King, who finished with a team-high 19 points, and he backed down his defender and then delivered the fadeaway jumper from the top right corner of the key, banking it in with 1.1 seconds left on the board. The Terriers delivered a heaving shot attempt that did not count and the Black Knights secured the 57-55 victory.

NOTES

Four-of-five seniors scored a basketball on senior day.
Mark Madden scored a fastbreak layup with 19:03 left in the first half.
Alex King finished with 19 points to lead the team. His 19 points are his third-highest point total of the year. It was his second-straight game with a double-digit performance.
King was the only Black Knight in double digits on the day, but they spread the wealth, as eight of 10 who played on the day didn't' score.
Lonnie Grayson and Jalen Rucker each had nine points on the day.
Nick Finke led the team with 9 rebounds and finished with five points.
The Black Knights shot 57.1 percent from the field in the first half, but only 22.7 percent in the second half.
Black Knights led the way with 22 points off the bench.

WHAT'S NEXT

That Black Knights secured the No. 4 seed in the Patriot League Men's Basketball Tournament. With that seeding they will face the No. 5 seed, American, next Saturday, March 6 at 3 p.m. ET at Christl Arena.