Army West Point Athletics
Army West Point
17-16,10-8Patriot
FGCU
19-14,13-5ASUN
Men’s Basketball's Historic Run Comes to an End in CBI Quarterfinals Against FGCU
March 24, 2025 | Men's Basketball
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Army West Point men's basketball (17-16, 10-8) historic run came to a close on Monday, falling in a back-and-forth battle against the Florida Gulf Coast Eagles (19-14, 13-5) in the quarterfinal round of the College Basketball Invitational, 65-68.
The Black Knights finished the game shooting 39.3 percent from the floor and 36 percent from the three-point line. On the other side, the Eagles finished the game shooting 42.4 percent from the floor and 32.0 percent from the three-point line. What also proved costly for the Black Knights was their free throw shooting, finishing the game 8-16 while the Eagles finished 10-15.
Army also struggled with rebounding against the much larger FGCU team, being outrebounded 35-42, and facing an 11-3 second chance points deficit. Meanwhile, the Black Knights made up for it in the turnover battle, having seven turnovers to FGCU's nine and scoring 13 points off of turnovers while the Eagle only scored three points.
In his final game in an Army uniform, Jalen Rucker led all scorers with 25 points alongside five rebounds, three steals and two assists.
Ryan Curry added 12 points and added a game-high five assists alongside four rebounds. AJ Allenspach, another senior, was the final Black Knight in double digits with 10 points while also adding five rebounds, one assist and one steal.
Senior Blake Barker led the team in rebounding with six rebounds alongside adding four points. Josh Scovens also saw his return to the floor after battling an injury, finishing the game with eight points.
Senior Isaiah Caldwell added three points, Jorn Everson added two points and Tate Laczkowski added one point alongside tying the team-high six rebounds.
How It Happened
The Black Knights were able to take an early 4-0, with both AJ Allenspach and Ryan Curry each getting a layup early. FGCU responded with a 7-0 run, taking a 7-4 lead with 17:14 left in the first half.
Over the next three minutes, the two teams exchanged points. Jorn Everson added a made free throw with Jalen Rucker and Ryan Curry each adding a three-pointer. The Eagles added 12 points in that stretch, taking a 12-17 lead with 12:08 left in the first half.
Then the Black Knights took over, going on an 8-0 run to retake the lead for the first time since the beginning of the game. Ryan Curry led the run with six points while Jalen Rucker added another three-pointer to take a 20-17 lead either 8:12 left in the first half.
FCGU came storming back, going on a 10-2 run to retake the lead at 27-22 with 6:15 left in the first half. AJ Allenspach had the lone two points in that stretch.
Then for the rest of the half, the Black Knights and Eagles exchanged buckets, keeping it a one to two-possession game. Blake Barker ended the run with a three-pointer, with AJ Allenspach adding another jumper. Josh Scovens added his first points of the game, and then Jalen Rucker converted a three-point play.
Ultimately heading into the locker room at halftime, the Black Knights faced a 31-38 deficit.
Over the first four minutes of the second half, the Eagles were able to stretch their lead to an 8-10 point lead, but the Black Knights kept place. Isaiah Caldwell started the scoring in the second half with a three-pointer. Then Jalen Rucker and AJ Allenspach both added layups, and the game sat at a 38-46 game in FGCU's favor with 16:48 left to play.
Both teams held each other scoreless for two minutes, then Ryan Curry added his final points in the game with a made layup. FGCU added three points, then Jalen Rucker added two points. FGCU responded with a made three-pointer, making it a 52-42 deficit for Army.
Then, Army responded with a 7-0 run to make it a 49-52 game with 9:39 left to play. Jalen Rucker had four points in the run, with Josh Scovens adding his first made three-pointer of the game.
FGCU responded with a quick 5-0 burst, extending the game back to an eight-point deficit with 8:25 left to play.
Over the next four minutes, the two teams exchanged blows as FGCU kept it a three-possession game. During the stretch, AJ Allenspach had a made layup, Jalen Rucker added a made three-pointer, Black Barker connected on a free throw and Josh Scovens added a layup. Heading into the final for minutes of play, it was still an eight-point game.
Then Army was able to get to work offensively and get stops defensively in a 5-0 burst over two minutes to make it a three-point game at 62-65 with 2:15 left to play. Jalen Rucker and Josh Scovens both added layups, and Tate Laczkowski connected on one of two free throws.
Then with 59 seconds left on the clock, FGCU hit a layup to make it a five-point game. Army responded, with Jalen Rucker hitting a timely three-pointer to make it a two-point game with 48 seconds left to play.
The Black Knights then were able to get a stop on the defensive end. On the offensive side, the Black Knights were ultimately fouled on a shooting attempt by Tate Laczkowski, having a chance to tie the game. Both attempts came up short, and Army fouled immediately.
FGCU made their first free throw attempt but missed the second, giving the chance for Army to tie the game with seven seconds left on the clock with no timeouts.
The Black Knights raced down the floor, with leading scorer Jalen Rucker ultimately getting a look from deep, but the shot came up just short, bringing an end to Army's historic run in the CBI.
Up Next
With the loss, the Black Knights's historic 2024-25 season comes to a close Army finishing with a 17-16 overall record and a 10-8 Patriot League play.
The historic season under second-year head coach Kevin Kuwik included many highlights. The 10-8 finish in Patriot League play tied for the program's best finish in League play in program history.
The Black Knights were also the only team in the Patriot League this season to earn a win over a Group of Five school in the 2024-25 season. They earned a 78-75 win over the UTSA Roadrunners (American Conference) on December 29 to close out non-league play.
Army also earned wins this season over the Patriot League Regular Season Co-Champions, Bucknell and American. The win against the Bison was a double overtime thriller, with Army winning 116-110, with the 116 points being the most points scored in a game in program history. The win against American came at home in West Point, 76-69.
Two Black Knights also finished the regular season with Patriot League All-League Honors. Jalen Rucker was named to the Patriot League All-League First Team, and Josh Scovens was named to the Patriot League All-League Second Team.
Jalen Rucker also earned All-American honors, being named on the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) Division I North Atlantic All-District First Team. Rucker was the only player in the Patriot League to be named to a NABC All-District First Team.
The appearance in the CBI was also the Black Knights' first postseason appearance under second-year head coach Kevin Kuwik. Then, in the opening round of play, the Black Knights got their biggest win of the year, shocking the Elon University Phoenix, 83-78.
The win in the opening round of the Purple College Basketball Invitational (CBI) broke the program's 55-year postseason tournament win drought. Before the win against Elon, the last postseason win for the program in the postseason coming in the 1970 National Invitational Tournament (NIT) with three wins from Bob Knight and his squad.
