Men’s Basketball Grinds Out Win Over Lafayette

Saturday, January 29

West Point, NY

1:00 PM

Army West Point

13-9,7-3Patriot

Lafayette College

5-13,2-5Patriot

Lafayette

Army West Point

Men’s Basketball Grinds Out Win Over Lafayette

January 29, 2022 | Men's Basketball

Box Score

Game 22
SCORE	Army Black Knights 60, Lafayette Leopards 56
RECORDS	Army (13-9, 7-3 Patriot) \| Lafayette (5-13, 2-5 Patriot)
LEADING SCORERS	Army – Aaron Duhart (18) \| Lafayette – Neal Quinn (16)
LOCATION	Christl Arena

WEST POINT, N.Y. – Aaron Duhart's go-ahead layup with 46 seconds remaining lifted the Army Black Knights to a 60-56 victory over the Lafayette Leopards on Saturday.

GAME SUMMARY
The Black Knights scored the final seven points to slip past Lafayette in a game that featured 15 lead changes and eight ties.

The Leopards led 56-53 with 2:54 left but Army held Lafayette scoreless for the rest of the game. Army scored with 2:25 on the clock with a layup by Chris Mann, but the score remained a one-point game heading into the final minute with the Black Knights having possession.

Duhart drove into the lane, created space with a pump fake, and banked in a floater to give the Black Knights a 57-56 lead with 46 seconds left for the 15^th and final lead change of the game. Lafayette turned over the ball on its next possession and the Black Knights added to their lead with a pair of free throws by Duhart.

Captain Duhart! #GoArmy pic.twitter.com/k04CUkLw50
— Army M.Basketball (@ArmyWP_MBB) January 29, 2022

The Leopards had chances to tie the game on their final possession but missed two 3-point attempts. Josh Caldwell sealed the game at the free-throw line with two seconds left.

The first half was played in a four-point window and neither team led by more than eight points in the entire game. Duhart drained consecutive 3-pointers to take a 19-16 lead with six minutes left in the first half. The Leopards answered with a 5-0 run, followed by four straight points by the Black Knights. After Lafayette went back in front, Duhart connected on another triple and was followed by a Caldwell layup for a 28-24 lead. The Black Knights went into halftime with a 28-24 lead.

The Leopards started the second half 0-for-8 and the Black Knights capitalized by taking 34-26 lead after the opening four minutes. Army led 42-35 with 11 minutes remaining before the Leopards outscored the Black Knights, 11-3, in the next 2:52 to regain the lead. A 3-pointer by Jalen Rucker immediately put Army back in the lead, but the Leopards took a 51-50 lead behind a 5-2 spurt. Duhart made his fourth 3-pointer of the game for a 53-51 lead with 3:55 on the clock before the Leopards scored five straight to take a 56-53 lead.

CADETS CAPSULES

Aaron Duhart led all scorers with 18 points including a career-high four 3-pointers. He grabbed seven rebounds and added three assists.
Jalen Rucker netted 14 points while adding to his conference 3-pointers total with four and dished out four assists to share team-high honors.
Charlie Peterson set a career-high in rebounds with 12 which are the most by a Cadet this season.
Josh Caldwell tied a career-high in rebounds with 11 which he also set versus Lafayette two seasons ago. He added four assists to share team-high honors.
Chris Mann finished with eight points and four rebounds.
Isaiah Caldwell scored a career-high eight points.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

Army tied its best start to league play with a 7-3 record.
The Black Knights improved to 9-1 at home, including a 5-0 record in league games, which ties their best home record through 10 games since the 2009-10 season.

POSTGAME PRESS CONFERENCE

UP NEXT

Army heads to Baltimore to play the Loyola Maryland Greyhounds on Wednesday, February 2 at 7 p.m.
Coverage will be provided by ESPN+ and by the Army Sports Network via the Varsity Sports Network and www.GoArmyWestPoint.com.

For complete coverage of Army West Point men's basketball, follow the Black Knights on Twitter, Instagram, and online at www.goarmywestpoint.com.