Army West Point Athletics
Army West Point
1-1,0-0Patriot
Stonehill College
1-2,0-0NEC
Men's Basketball Edged by Stonehill, 82-77
November 12, 2022 | Men's Basketball
WEST POINT, NY – Army West Point men's basketball (1-1, 0-0 PL) suffered its first loss of the season at the hands of Stonehill College (1-2, 0-0 NEC) on Saturday afternoon. The Black Knights fell 77-72 at Christl Arena in a contest in which the Skyhawks led throughout, and for over 37 minutes.
Jalen Rucker led the way for Army, posting 21 points with six rebounds and three assists while freshman Coleton Benson also posted a 20-point effort behind 3-of-6 shooting from three-point land.
Stonehill connected on their first three shots of the game to jump out to a 7-2 lead, with Benson later getting fouled on a three-pointer and sinking all three foul shots to put Army within one at 11-10 with 14:30 left in the half.
The Skyhawks continued to thrive offensively, en route to a 19-30 (63.3%) clip from the field in the first half. Benson connected on a three with 4:08 remaining which was followed up by a basket from Rucker to keep Army afloat late in the first half. Rucker went into the break with 13 points as the Black Knights trailed 44-34 through twenty minutes.
Stonehill got out to its largest lead with a 4-0 run to start the second half, with a pair of buckets from Jared Cross bookending two free throws from Jalen Rucker to bring Army back within eight. The Black Knights chipped away throughout the second half, with a dunk from Matt Dove making it a 55-51 game with 11:40 remaining.
Trailing by five with just under seven minutes remaining, Chris Mann began to take over with a three-pointer followed by a layup to tie the score at 66. A pair of Rucker free throws would give Army its first lead with 6:02 left in the ballgame.
With three minutes to go, Mann converted on an and-one opportunity to tie the score for Army. After a Stonehill basket to go ahead 73-71, it was Mann again to tie the score for the Black Knights as ten of his sixteen points came in the final seven minutes of the game.
After an Ethan Roberts three to go ahead by one with 1:06 on the clock, Stonehill scored on its next possession to go ahead with 50 seconds to play. After locking in defensively and getting a pair of stops, the Skyhawks converted on five of its six free throws down the stretch to seal the victory.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- Coleton Benson tabbed a career-high 20 points behind three triples and 5-5 from the charity stripe.
- Chris Mann scored in double-figures for the second game in a row to open the season.
- Jalen Rucker paced the Black Knights in points (21), rebounds (6), assists (3) and minutes (34).
- Army saw 29 points come off the bench compared to 13 for Stonehill.
- The Black Knights made good on 20 of 24 attempts (83.3%) from the free throw line.
Up Next
Army will hit the road to take on Siena College on Wednesday, Nov. 6 at 7:00 p.m.
