Army West Point Athletics
Army West Point
16-14,10-8Patriot
Lehigh
11-18,6-12Patriot
Men's Basketball Falters in Senior Day Matchup Against Lehigh
March 01, 2025 | Men's Basketball
WEST POINT, N.Y. — Army West Point men's basketball (16-14, 10-8) saw a third straight loss on Saturday, falling to the Lehigh University Mountain Hawks (11-18, 6-12), 67-89.
The Black Knights' shooting and rebounding struggles continued in the final game of the regular season, with Army only shooting 36 percent from the floor and 13.6 percent from the three-point line. Meanwhile, Lehigh finished the game shooting 54.4 percent from the field and 27.3 percent from the three-point line. The Black Knights were also outrebounded 46-24.
Despite the loss, two of Army's seniors shined in the matchup. Senior Jalen Rucker led the Black Knights with 22 points, five rebounds and three steals. AJ Allenspach added 15 points while shooting 50 percent from the floor, tying Rucker with a team-high five rebounds in the game.
Ryan Curry also added 16 points with a team-high five assists. Jacen Holloway added seven points, Kevin McCarthy had three points and Jorn Everson plus senior Blake Barker added two points of their own.
How It Happened
To start the game, the Black Knights went away from their usual starting lineup, opting to start five seniors on Senior Day in West Point. The starting five included Jalen Rucker, Luke Benson, Blane St. Clair, JT Dougherty and Griff Lamb. Four of the five seniors, not including Jalen Rucker, received their first career start.
Initially, to start the game, the Black Knights fell to a 12-2 deficit, with Jalen Rucker scoring the lone bucket within the first four and a half minutes of the game.
After trailing early, the Black Knights came roaring back, going on a 13-0 run to take a 15-12 lead over Lehigh with 9:24 left in the first half.
The run was launched by Army's seniors, with Jalen Rucker scoring on a circus shot. AJ Allenspach got his first two points of the game and Blake Barker and Allenspach each added two free throws. Then Ryan Curry went on a personal 5-0 burst, giving Army the lead.
Lehigh responded out of a timeout with an 8-0 run of their own to take back the lead at 20-15 with 7:46 left in the first half. Army would respond with a 7-2 run in 26 seconds to tie the game back at 22-22 with 7:20 left to play.
The quick run was led by Jacen Holloway, who scored five points on a three-point play and layup, with Ryan Curry adding two points of his own.
Over the next four minutes, the Mountain Hawks started their final run of the first half, outscoring Army 16-2. Jalen Rucker earned the lone two points from the free throw line as Lehigh took a 38-24 lead with 2:25 left to play.
In the last two minutes, AJ Allenspach scored three points while Jacen Holloway added two points to eventually cut the lead to 13 points, with Army trailing 29-42 heading into the locker room.
Lehigh scored first in the second half to make it a 15-point game, but Army then slowly cutting into the Mountain Hawks lead. Over the next minute and a half, Jalen Rucker scored four points while AJ Allenspach added a layup to help make it a 35-48 game with 17:18 left to play.
Then, Army went on one final run to make it a two-point game at 48-50 with 13:02 left to play.
The 13-2 run was started by a made three-pointer from Jalen Rucker, with AJ Allenspach quickly chipping in a layup. Ryan Curry scored two points, followed by Jalen Rucker converting a three-point play and Kevin McCarthy adding a three-pointer to make the game the closest it had been since 7:20 in the first half.
Then Lehigh's hot shooting returned once again, outscoring Army 17-6 over four minutes to take a 67-54 lead with just under nine minutes left to play. Ryan Curry, Jalen Rucker and AJ Allenspach had the Black Knights' six points in the four minutes.
Over the next four minutes, Army would score 10 points while Lehigh scored 13. Ryan Curry had four points during that span, with AJ Allenspach, Jalen Rucker and Jorn Everson each adding two points.
In the final four minutes, the Black Knights were outscored 9-3 to bring the game to its final score of 67-89. Ryan Curry added a made free throw and Jalen Rucker scored the Black Knights final points of the regular season with a layup.
Up Next
With the loss, the Black Knights finished the regular season 16-14 overall, with a 10-8 record in league play, tied for the best record in Patriot League play in program history.
The Black Knights will now head into the Patriot League Tournament as the sixth seed. Army earned a first round by, and will head to Hamilton, New York to take on the three-seed, the Colgate Raiders.
The game is slated for a Thursday night tip-off with a time to be determined, with the matchup streaming on ESPN+ and the Varsity Network.
