Army West Point Athletics
Army West Point
13-11,7-4Patriot
Lehigh University
13-9,8-3Patriot
Men’s Basketball Outlasts Lehigh for 71-69 Victory on Road
February 01, 2023 | Men's Basketball
BETHLEHEM, Pa – Army West Point men's basketball (13-11, 7-4 PL) used a game-winning layup from Jared Cross with 5.4 seconds left to take down Lehigh (13-9, 8-3 PL) and snap the Mountain Hawks eight-game winning streak.
Abe Johnson blocked Lehigh's attempt to force overtime at the buzzer to secure the win for Army. Jalen Rucker led all players in the game in points (23), rebounds (8) and assists (3).
Rucker got going early, connecting on a layup and three-pointer within the first 95 seconds of the game. The Black Knights jumped out to a 14-10 lead with 12:29 left in the half after Ethan Roberts hit on his first look from three-point range on the night.
Rucker had 16 points in the first half to lead all scorers, hitting on 6-10 looks from the field. Army held an advantage throughout the first half, but the largest lead only got out to five points (25-20) for the Black Knights. Rucker collected five more points in the final minute of the half, hitting a step-back jumper at the buzzer to give Army a 36-32 lead at the half.
Army got out to its biggest lead at 42-32 of the contest with a 6-0 spurt to begin the second half. However, Lehigh answered with an 11-0 run to retake the lead at 43-42 with 14:34 remaining. The teams went back and forth in the ensuing minutes, with Lehigh maintaining a one-point lead at 53-52 with 8:22 to play.
Benson caught fire soon after for Army, hitting on back-to-back looks from three including a four-point play conversion to give Army a 60-55 lead with 7:30 to play. Army went cold over the next four minutes, allowing Lehigh to retake the lead before an and-one conversion from Rucker made it a 65-63 Army lead with 3:36 left. Ethan Roberts and Isaiah Caldwell each knocked down free throws for Army, with a Roberts make from the line tying the score at 69 with 46 seconds remaining. Army was able to get a stop as Roberts collected the defensive rebound for the Black Knights and Jimmy Allen called timeout.
With the score tied and 12 seconds remaining, Charlie Peterson fed a cutting Jared Cross who gave Army a two-point lead with five seconds on the clock. With Lehigh having one chance to tie it or win the game, Abe Johnson made the biggest play of the night, blocking Ben Knostman's game-winner at the buzzer as Army secured the season-sweep over Lehigh.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- Jalen Rucker led all players in points (23), rebounds (8) and assists (3)
- Charlie Peterson logged 13 points on 5-6 shooting from the field
- Coleton Benson added 13 points, three rebounds and two assists
- Abe Johnson recorded four points, eight rebounds and two blocks which included the game-deciding block at the buzzer
- Jared Cross registered five points and six rebounds, scoring the game-winning layup with 5.4 seconds remaining
Up Next
Army will stay on the road to take on Bucknell this Saturday at 7:00 p.m. on ESPN+.
