Army West Point Athletics
Army West Point
Lafayette
Men's Basketball Hope to Continue Winning Streak Against Lafayette, Boston U
January 14, 2025 | Men's Basketball
WEST POINT, N.Y. — Army West Point men's basketball (8-8, 2-2) hope to lengthen its two-game winning streak this week as they return to Christl Arena for a home stand against Lafayette and Boston University.
The Black Knights are hoping to earn their first win against the Lafayette Leopards since 2023 on Wednesday. This will also be the first time these two teams will match up this season.
Meanwhile, Army will hope to avenge a loss from January 5 on Saturday as they face off against the Boston University Terriers. In the matchup in Boston earlier this season, the Terriers took a 71-63 win over the Black Knights.
Wednesday night's game against Lafayette is slated to begin at 6 p.m., while the rematch with Boston U is slated for a noon tip-off at Christl Arena. Both games will also stream live on ESPN+ and the Varsity Sports Network.
ARMY STORYLINES:
LAST GAME: The Black Knights earned its second straight Patriot League play win on the road on Saturday defeating the Lehigh Mountain Hawks, 74-69. With the win, the Black Knights became the first team in the Patriot League to earn a win on the road during league play. Josh Scovens led the Black Knights with 22 points, two shy of his season high. Scovens also added four rebounds and three blocks in the win. Jalen Rucker was the second Black Knight to score double-digits, finishing the afternoon with 14 points and also grabbed a game-high nine rebounds while adding three assists.
PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Senior Jalen Rucker earned Player of the Week honors for the third time this season on Monday. Rucker led the Black Knights last week with 20 points, 6.0 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game. He led the team with 26 points in the win against Loyola Maryland. Rucker nearly earned a double-double on Saturday, scoring 14 points and grabbing a game-high nine rebounds in the win on the road at Lehigh.
ROAD WARRIORS: With the win on the road at Lehigh on Saturday, the Black Knights earned their first win in Patriot League play on the road. The win also marked the first time this season that a visiting team has won a game on the road during league play this season. So far, visiting teams are 1-19 in Patriot League play.
HOME SWEET HOME: The Black Knights are 6-2 in games inside Christl Arena, and undefeated at home during league play. Army's only losses at home came against Cornell and Binghamton.
LEADING THE PATRIOT: Three Black Knights lead the Patriot League in three categories. Jalen Rucker leads the league scoring 18.3 points per game. Ryan Curry is among the best passers, averaging a league-best 4.1 assists per game. AJ Allenspach rounds out the group leading the league with a 72.0 shooting percentage this season.
STANDOUT SCOVENS: Josh Scovens played a huge role in the Black Knights win on the road at Lehigh on Saturday. Scovens finished the game with 22 points, two shy of his season high, four rebounds and three blocks in the win. He also finished the game shooting 70 percent from the floor and 67 from the three-point line.
History with Lafayette
- Lafayette leads the series, 48-35
- Current Streak: Lafayette, 2 wins
- Last Army win: Feb. 18, 2023, 53-43
- Last Lafayette win: Feb. 3, 2024, 64-56 (OT)
- Last Five Meetings: Loyola leads 3-2
- Feb. 3, 2024 (West Point): ARMY 56, LC 64 (OT)
- Jan. 3, 2024 (Easton): ARMY 47, LC 52
- Feb. 18, 2023 (West Point): ARMY 53, LC 43
- Jan. 2, 2023 (Easton): ARMY 82, LC 65
- Jan 29, 2022 (West Point) ARMY 60, LC 56
Scouting the Leopards
- Lafayette is 7-10 this season and 2-2 in league play. Most recently, they are going off a dominant 82-65 win at home against Holy Cross.
- The Leopards are led by third-year head coach Mike McGarvey, who currently holds a 20-34 record during his time in Easton. McGarvey holds a 73-70 record throughout his coaching career.
- Justin Vander Baan leads his squad with 11.9 points a game and also averaged a league-best 3.0 blocks per game.
- Alex Chaikin is the second Leopard averaging double-digits scoring 11.2 points per game, while also holding a league-best 52.1 three-point shooting percentage. Ryan Pettit also has a league-best 1.9 steals per game.
History with Boston U
- Boston U leads the series, 23-21
- Current Streak: Boston U, 1 win
- Last Army win: Feb. 14, 2024, 65-50
- Last BU win: Jan. 5, 2025, 71-63
- Last Five Meetings: Army leads 3-2
- Jan. 5, 2025 (Boston U): ARMY 63, BU 71
- Feb. 14, 2024 (West Point): ARMY 65, BU 50
- Jan. 24, 2024 (Boston): ARMY 69, BU 59
- March 2, 2023 (West Point): ARMY 61, BU 69 (OT)
- Feb. 22, 2023 (West Point): ARMY 67, BU 73
Scouting the Terriers
- Boston University is now 8-9 overall and 2-2 in league play. They finished last week 1-1, so far earning wins against the Black Knights and American.
- The Terriers took home the win the their first game against the Black Knights, 71-63.
- Kyrone Alexander leads the way for BU averaging 12.6 points a game. He also averages 4.9 rebounds per game and shoots 40 percent from the field.
- Michael McNair is second in scoring for the Terriers, averaging 10.8 points per game. Malcolm Chimezie leads the team with 5.7 rebounds a game and Ben Roy has a team-best 35 assists this season.
