Black Knights Advance to Semifinals of Patriot League Tournament with Win Over American

Saturday, March 6

West Point, NY

3:00 p.m. ET

Army West Point

12-8,8-7Patriot

American University

4-6,4-6Patriot

American

Army West Point

Black Knights Advance to Semifinals of Patriot League Tournament with Win Over American

March 06, 2021 | Men's Basketball

Box Score

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – The No. 4-seeded Army West Point men's basketball team defeated No. 5-seeded American Eagles, 89-66 on Saturday afternoon at Christl Arena in the quarterfinal round of the Pen Fed Credit Union Patriot League Tournament.

With the victory, the Black Knights advance to the semifinals of the tournament and will face No. 9-seeded Loyola at 5:30 p.m. ET on Wednesday, March 10 at Christl Arena.

"I thought we had great balance in offense and defense from the get go," explained head coach Jimmy Allen. "I thought we set the tone in transition from the beginning. I believe we played the toughest schedule in the Patriot League and it prepared us well for this game."

The Black Knights shot a white-hot 63.3 percent from the field on the day. The Black Knights also shot 41.2 percent from behind the arc and were 12-for-15 from the free throw line.

The Black Knights won on the boards, outrebounding the Eagles, 30-23 on the day. The Black Knights also won the battle of the turnovers, only giving the rock up 10 times to the Eagles' 15. Army capitalized on those turnovers too, outscoring the Eagles, 24-9 on points off turnovers.

Early in the game we wanted to focus on defense and rebounds because that is our identity. If we worked hard and take care of that then the offense will come, explained co-captain Lonnie Grayson.

For the second-straight game, Alex King led the Black Knights in scoring, tallying 20 points, while also leading the team with nine boards. Josh Caldwell was also in double figures, finishing with 17 points, while Nick Finke had 14 points.

Caldwell led an Army bench that collected 34 points on the day, compared to American's 14 points.

"Alex King and Josh Caldwell and Nick Finke made some big contributions today," said Grayson. "Alex King has always been a matchup problem for any team in the Patriot League, so it is exciting to see him make plays throughout the entire game."

American jumped out to an early lead in the first half, leading by as much as five on the day, 8-3 with 17:55 left into the first half, but the Black Knights closed in quickly. They took the lead at the 15-minute mark, on a Caldwell lay up and never trailed for the rest of the game.

The Black Knights led by as many as 25, 62-37, with 14:09 left in the second half.

NOTES

The Black Knights are in the semifinals of the Patriot League Tournament for the first time since 2016.
King's 20 points was one point shy of his season high mark of 21.
Caldwell finished with 17 points, three shy of his season-high mark of 20 vs. Holy Cross.
Nick Finke had 14 points, a season and career high mark for the senior.

WHAT'S NEXT

The Black Knights will host Loyola in the semifinal of the Patriot League Tournament on Wednesday, March 10 at 5:30 p.m. ET at Christl Arena. The game will be televised live on CBS Sports Net.