Army West Point Athletics
Monday, March 22
Daytona Beach, Fla.
8:30 p.m. ET
Army West Point
12-10,8-7Patriot
67
vs
77
Bellarmine
14-7,10-3ASUN
1
2
F
Bellarmine
31
46
77
Army West Point
40
27
67
Men's Basketball's Stellar Season Ends in CBI Quarterfinal Loss to Bellarmine
March 22, 2021 | Men's Basketball
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – The Army West Point men's basketball team battled and led by as many as nine points at the half, but just couldn't match Bellarmine's second half run, falling 77-67 in the quarterfinals of the Collegiate Basketball Invitational on Monday evening at the Ocean Center.
Alex King led the Black Knights in his final game, finishing with a double-double as he had 14 points and 10 rebounds on the day. Josh Caldwell also finished with 12 points. Overall, all 11 Black Knights that saw the floor vs. Bellarmine scored two or more points.
The Black Knights (12-10, 7-7 Patriot League) were up by nine points at the half, coming back from an 8-0 deficit to start the game. 10 different Black Knights scored in the first half, led by King with eight and Caldwell with nine. The Black Knights shot 46.9 percent from the field in the first half, compared to 34.4 percent for Bellarmine.
I thought early on in the game, it took us a little bit to get used to their style of game. They post everyone, and as different as anyone that we have played in the 11 years I have been here," said head coach Jimmy Allen. "They hardly dribble the basketball the first 20 seconds of the possession, we knew that coming in, but it's something you don't really see every day. They don't really set ball screens, and I thought in the second half we came out, I thought we had some unforced errors, didn't take care of the ball and we missed some opportunities that we needed to make and obviously they got a little bit of momentum and their best players are really hard matchups because they are both guys who can put it on the floor and they can score around the basket."
In a tale of two different halves, the Knights made a run at the Black Knights in the second half, riding a hot-shooting had as they shot 64.0 percent from the field in the second half to just 31.0 percent for the Black Knights.
Bellarmine jumped out to a 9-2 run to open the second half, cutting it to two, 40-42 with 16:16 left. The Black Knights brought it back up to four on a made jumper by Tucker Blackwell, 46-42, but Bellarmine cut it to one on a three on their next possession and eventually tied it up, 48-48 with 14:21 left and took their first lead of the second half with 13:58 to go, 49-48. Their lead grew to 10 with 11:01 left, 61-51 and eventually 12, 70-58 with 4:43 left.
The Black Knights battled down the stretch, cutting it to six with 1:38 left, 73-67 on a free throw by Nick Finke, and had a chance with three offensive rebounds and three-straight shots, including two three point attempts to cut the lead even further, but just couldn't hit. They had another shot after Bellarmine was called for the travel, giving the Black Knights the ball back with 59 seconds left, but just couldn't hit the big shot.
"Basketball is a game of runs and they made a run in the second half and we just weren't able to match their run or contain them in the second half. They are a very gritty team, hard-nosed team and very well-respected on our end. They had a great second half," explained Grayson."
Pedro Bradshaw scored 31 to lead Bellarmine, while CJ Fleming finished with 17 and Dylan Penn with 15.
"I thought it was a hell of a basketball game between two really good teams. It was a game of runs, I was really excited and impressed with how we played down the stretch. I thought we had every opportunity to win the basketball game, multiple possessions. We missed some layups and open threes, kept getting rebounds and extra possessions. I was really proud of our guys and their execution," said Allen."
NOTES
Alex King led the Black Knights in his final game, finishing with a double-double as he had 14 points and 10 rebounds on the day. Josh Caldwell also finished with 12 points. Overall, all 11 Black Knights that saw the floor vs. Bellarmine scored two or more points.
The Black Knights (12-10, 7-7 Patriot League) were up by nine points at the half, coming back from an 8-0 deficit to start the game. 10 different Black Knights scored in the first half, led by King with eight and Caldwell with nine. The Black Knights shot 46.9 percent from the field in the first half, compared to 34.4 percent for Bellarmine.
I thought early on in the game, it took us a little bit to get used to their style of game. They post everyone, and as different as anyone that we have played in the 11 years I have been here," said head coach Jimmy Allen. "They hardly dribble the basketball the first 20 seconds of the possession, we knew that coming in, but it's something you don't really see every day. They don't really set ball screens, and I thought in the second half we came out, I thought we had some unforced errors, didn't take care of the ball and we missed some opportunities that we needed to make and obviously they got a little bit of momentum and their best players are really hard matchups because they are both guys who can put it on the floor and they can score around the basket."
In a tale of two different halves, the Knights made a run at the Black Knights in the second half, riding a hot-shooting had as they shot 64.0 percent from the field in the second half to just 31.0 percent for the Black Knights.
Bellarmine jumped out to a 9-2 run to open the second half, cutting it to two, 40-42 with 16:16 left. The Black Knights brought it back up to four on a made jumper by Tucker Blackwell, 46-42, but Bellarmine cut it to one on a three on their next possession and eventually tied it up, 48-48 with 14:21 left and took their first lead of the second half with 13:58 to go, 49-48. Their lead grew to 10 with 11:01 left, 61-51 and eventually 12, 70-58 with 4:43 left.
The Black Knights battled down the stretch, cutting it to six with 1:38 left, 73-67 on a free throw by Nick Finke, and had a chance with three offensive rebounds and three-straight shots, including two three point attempts to cut the lead even further, but just couldn't hit. They had another shot after Bellarmine was called for the travel, giving the Black Knights the ball back with 59 seconds left, but just couldn't hit the big shot.
"Basketball is a game of runs and they made a run in the second half and we just weren't able to match their run or contain them in the second half. They are a very gritty team, hard-nosed team and very well-respected on our end. They had a great second half," explained Grayson."
Pedro Bradshaw scored 31 to lead Bellarmine, while CJ Fleming finished with 17 and Dylan Penn with 15.
"I thought it was a hell of a basketball game between two really good teams. It was a game of runs, I was really excited and impressed with how we played down the stretch. I thought we had every opportunity to win the basketball game, multiple possessions. We missed some layups and open threes, kept getting rebounds and extra possessions. I was really proud of our guys and their execution," said Allen."
NOTES
- Both Bellarmine and Army had 12 turnovers on the day, but Bellarmine had 18 points off those turnovers to just 10 by the Black Knights.
- Army shot 24 percent from three, compared to 35 percent for Bellarmine.
- Army shot 39 percent on the day to 47 percent for Bellarmine.
- King finished with a double-double in his final collegiate game.
- Seniors King, Grayson, Nick Finke, Tucker Blackwell and Mark Madden played in their final collegiate game.
Team Stats
BU
ARM
FG%
.474
.393
3FG%
.353
.240
FT%
.850
.684
RB
34
33
TO
12
12
STL
8
5
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
12
FGM
4
3FGM
0
FTM
4
Pts
9
FGM
2
3FGM
1
FTM
4
Pts
7
FGM
3
3FGM
1
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
Guard
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