Army West Point Athletics
Army West Point
9-13,3-6Patriot
Lehigh
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Tate Laczkowski’s Career Day Fuels Men’s Basketball to Victory Over Lehigh
January 28, 2026 | Men's Basketball
WEST POINT, N.Y. — Army West Point men's basketball (9-13, 3-6) gained its first Patriot League win inside Christl Arena on Wednesday, defeating the Lehigh University Mountain Hawks (9-13, 5-4), 67-64.
The win not only marks Army's first Patriot League victory inside Christl Arena this season, but also the first time since the 2022-23 season that the Black Knights have swept the regular season series against the Mountain Hawks. The first win against Lehigh this season was an 85-78 overtime victory at Stabler Arena on Dec. 31, 2025.
Army finished with four players in double figures. Leading all scorers for the first time in his career was Tate Laczkowski, who finished with a game-high and career-best 17 points. The junior forward also added a team-high nine rebounds, three assists, and two steals.
Ryan Curry was second in scoring, adding 16 points while dishing out a team-high six assists and collecting four rebounds.
Jaxson Bell contributed 15 points off the bench, shooting 3-for-4 from three-point range and pulling down nine rebounds.
Kevin McCarthy rounds out the players in double figures for Army, finishing with 12 points, four assists and four rebounds while making three three-pointers.
How It Happened
In the first four minutes, scoring was scarce, with Lehigh adding five points and Army only adding two to give Lehigh an early 5-2 lead. Tate Laczkowski had the first bucket for Army with a layup assisted by Ryan Curry.
Then it started raining three-pointers for the Black Knights, with Army hitting three unanswered threes to go on a 9-0 run to take an 11-5 lead with 14:55 left to play. Jorn Everson hit the first three, followed by Kevin McCarthy, then Tate Laczkowski.
Over the next three minutes, the Mountain Hawks outscored Army 8-6, but the Black Knights kept the lead at 17-13. During that span, Jaxson Bell had all of Army's points off the bench.
The two teams exchanged points for the next four minutes, each scoring ten points, as Army maintained a 27-23 lead with 7:47 remaining in the first half.
Tate Laczkowski added four points, each being points in the paint, assisted by Ryan Curry and Jorn Everson. Kevin McCarthy and Ryan Curry also added three-pointers.
In the final seven minutes of the first half, the Black Knights maintained their lead, scoring six points to take a 34-29 lead into the locker room.
Kevin McCarthy added his third three-pointer in the half, finishing the half shooting 3-3 from behind the arc. Tate Laczkowski added another layup with a pass from Ryan Curry to finish with 11 first-half points. Ryan Curry wrapped up the scoring for Army with a teardrop in the lane.
To start the second half, the Black Knights outpaced Lehigh 9-7 to hold onto a 43-36 lead with 15:45 left to play. Ryan Curry added five points, plus Tate Laczkowski and Jorn Everson also added points in the paint.
Lehigh started to come back, going on a 9-2 run over three minutes to knot the game at 45-45 with 12:59 left to play. Jaxson Bell had the lone points for Army in the stretch.
The Black Knights responded with a 7-0 run to build their lead back to 52-45 with 10:29 left on the clock. Jackson Furman started the run with a layup, then Kevin McCarthy converted a three-point play after getting an offensive rebound, then Jaxson Bell added a layup off a fast break opportunity.
Over the next five minutes, the two teams exchanged blows, with Army adding nine points to hold onto a 61-53 lead with 5:03 left on the clock.
Ryan Curry added a jumper, Tate Laczkowski added two buckets in the paint from passes from Ryan Curry, and Jaxson Bell added another made three-pointer.
In the final five minutes, the Mountain Hawks inched their way closer, cutting into Army's deficit. They outscored Army 6-2 in the first four minutes, with Jaxson Bell having the only bucket, making it a 63-59 game with 57 seconds left.
In the final seconds, Ryan Curry hit three free throws to make it a 66-59 game with 36 seconds left. Lehigh responded with five straight points in 12 seconds, making it a 66-64 lead.
Ryan Curry would hit one more free throw, then the Mountain Hawks could not score on their final possession, allowing Army to get the 67-64 win and sweep the regular season series against Lehigh.
Black Knight Bullet Points
- With the win, Army sweeps the regular season series against the Mountain Hawks for the first time since the 2022-23 season.
- Tate Laczkowski led Army with a career-best 17 points on 8-of-12 shooting and added a team-high nine rebounds, three assists and two steals.
- Ryan Curry scored 16 points while dishing out a team-high six assists and collecting four rebounds.
- Jaxson Bell contributed 15 points off the bench, shooting 3-for-4 from three-point range and pulling down nine rebounds.
- Kevin McCarthy finished with 12 points, four assists, and four rebounds while making three three-pointers.
- Jorn Everson added five points and four rebounds in 24 minutes of action.
- Army shot 41.3 percent from the field and made three more three-pointers than Lehigh, finishing 10-for-26 compared to Lehigh's 7-for-19.
- The Black Knights outrebounded Lehigh 40–38, including 11 offensive rebounds.
- The Black Knights finished with 15 bench points and scored 28 points in the paint.
- Army forced 12 turnovers and scored 10 points off those turnovers. They also scored more second-chance points, finishing with 10 compared to Lehigh's seven.
Up Next
The Black Knights will host the Holy Cross Crusaders on Saturday, Dec. 31, at 1 p.m. ET.
The Crusaders bested the Black Knights in the first matchup this season, taking an 82-75 win inside the Hart Center on Jan. 14.
Despite the loss, Jaxson Bell led the way in scoring for Army, finishing with 20 points, the second 20+ point performance of his career. It was also a historic night for Ryan Curry, finishing with 14 points, allowing him to reach over 1,000 career points at Army.
For fans who cannot attend either game at Christl Arena on Saturday, the game will stream live on ESPN+ and the Army Sports Network.
Follow Along
For complete coverage of Army West Point men's basketball, follow the Black Knights on X and Instagram at @ArmyWP_MBB and online at www.goarmywestpoint.com.
