Black Knights Finish 4th in the London Basketball Classic

Saturday, November 26

London, England

9:30 AM ET

Army West Point

2-5,0-0Patriot

Manhattan College

2-3,0-0MAAC

Army West Point

Manhattan

Black Knights Finish 4th in the London Basketball Classic

November 26, 2022 | Men's Basketball

Box Score

LONDON, ENGLAND -The Army West Point men's basketball team (2-5, 0-0 PL) fell to the Manhattan College Jaspers (2-3, 0-0 MAAC) 71-72, Saturday morning. Army's Coleton Benson led the Black Knights with 20 points.

How It Happened
In a contest against the Manhattan College Jaspers, the Black Knights were defeated, 72-71. Army had three cadet-athletes with double digit points; Coleton Benson led the team with 20 points, followed by Ethan Roberts with 19, and Jalen Rucker with 11 points.

The Manhattan Jaspers struck first after being fouled, making their first two free throws. The Black Knights answered back with a 3-point shot from Benson. With a jumper from Chris Mann, as well as a three-pointer from Ethan Roberts, Army further extended their lead to six points. With 15 minutes of action left in the first half, Jalen Rucker scored, giving Army a 14-6 lead.

With nine minutes left in the first half, the Black Knights had a dominating 16-point lead, with the help of Benson striking from beyond the arch. However, the Jaspers were cutting at Army's lead. With a dunk by Ant Nelson with 8:03 on the clock, and a jumper from Manhattan's Logan Padgett, the Jaspers cut the Black Knights lead to 30-18. Manhattan continued penetrating Army's lead, getting within five points, yet again, Benson answered back with a jumper. With 40 seconds left in the first half and the Jaspers within three-points, Jared Cross answered with a layup, giving the Black Knights a 36-31 lead entering halftime.

In the second half, Manhattan struck first tying everything 36-36 with the help of a three-pointer from Samir Stewart and a dunk from Josh Roberts. With the Jaspers having a five-point lead at the 16-minute mark, Army's Chris Mann answered back with a jumper and an and one opportunity due to a foul by Raziel Hayun. Mann cut Army's deficit to two points. But Ant Nelson further extended their lead to six points with a shot from beyond the arch. At the 11-minute mark, Nelson made a jumper and a free throw in an and one opportunity advancing the Jaspers lead to nine-points, 55-46. Army again answered back with 11 minutes on the clock, making a jumper, reducing Manhattan's lead to 55-50.

With Manhattan getting their largest lead in the game with 11 points, Jalen Rucker drained a 3-point shot. Chris Mann followed suit immediately with a jumper, further cutting the lead to six points. With six minutes left on the clock, the Black Knights continued to fight back, Roberts made a jumper off a defensive rebound, cutting Army's deficit to four points.

With three minutes of action left in the game, Army tied everything up with two back-to-back threes from Ethan Roberts and Coleton Benson. However, Manhattan responded immediately with a three of their own by Stewart, again giving them a three-point, 70-67 lead. Free throws were the deciding factor in today's game. Manhattan made their final two of the day giving them a four-point lead. Benson answered back, after being fouled from beyond the arch, making all three free throw attempts. Army got within one point with 16 seconds left on the clock. The Manhattan Jaspers defeated the Black Knights 72-71 after Rucker's jump shot attempt missed.

Inside the Box

Coleton Benson led the team with 20 points. Benson also finished the day with 3 rebounds, and 2 assists.
Freshman Ethan Roberts concluded the day with 19 points and a season high of 8 rebounds.
Junior Jalen Rucker finished the day with 11 points, 3 rebounds, 4 assists, and 1 steal.
Benson and Roberts were both 3-6 from beyond the arch.
Chris Mann had 9 points, 9 rebounds, 2 assists, and 1 steal.
Army was 21-26 from the free throw line.

Up Next
The Black Knights return from London to face the United States Merchant Marine Academy at Christl Arena on Wednesday, November 30 at 6 p.m.

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