Army West Point Athletics
Army West Point
11-20,5-13Patriot
Lafayette
11-20,8-10Patriot
Men’s Basketball Concludes Regular Season in Road Battle at Lafayette
February 28, 2026 | Men's Basketball
EASTON, Pa. — Army West Point men's basketball (11-20, 5-13) concluded its 2025-26 regular season on the road on Saturday, heading to Kirby Sports Center to face the Lafayette College Leopards (11-20, 8-10), seeing a 77-83 loss.
With the loss, the Leopards sweep the regular season series with the Black Knights. Army will also finish the 2025-26 regular season ninth in the Patriot League standings, playing in the first round of the Patriot League Tournament, which starts on March 3. As the nine-seed, the Black Knights will start the tournament on the road against No. 8 Bucknell.
Two Black Knights finished the matchup in Kirby Sports Center, scoring 20 or more points: sophomore guard Jaxson Bell and sophomore forward Jacen Holloway.
Jaxson Bell led all scorers with 22 points on 8-of-12 shooting, including 3-of-5 from 3-point range, while adding a team-high eight rebounds and three assists in 38 minutes. The game marks his third 20+ point performance of the season and his career.
Jacen Holloway finished with 21 points on 6-of-10 shooting and 7-of-9 from the free-throw line, while contributing three rebounds, three assists and two steals. His 20+ point performance was the second of the season and his career, one point short of his career-best of 22 points that he earned on the road at Cornell on Nov. 18, 2025.
Two other Black Knights finished scoring in double figures. Kevin McCarthy added 13 points with five rebounds and two assists. Ryan Curry rounded out the group, adding 12 points, a team-high five assists plus two steals.
How It Happened
The Black Knights came out aggressively but cold from the field, missing their first three shots and committing an early turnover before Lafayette scored the game's first four points. Kevin McCarthy put Army on the board with a layup off a Ryan Curry assist to cut the deficit to 4-2, but Lafayette answered quickly to push the margin to 6-2.
Army generated defensive energy midway through the half. Tate Laczkowski and Joshua Eli each recorded steals, and Jaxson Bell converted inside after an offensive rebound to trim the lead to 6-4. After Lafayette stretched the advantage to 9-4 on a 3-pointer, Eli answered with a layup in transition off another Curry assist.
The Black Knights stayed within striking distance, thanks to timely shooting. Jacen Holloway knocked down a pair of free throws, McCarthy buried a 3-pointer from the wing, and Bell later connected from deep to cut the deficit to 23-14. Army continued to compete on the glass, and Jorn Everson provided a spark with a powerful putback dunk at the 5:52 mark to make it 26-16.
Curry fueled a brief surge, scoring five straight points, including a steal and fast-break layup, to pull Army within 26-21 with just over five minutes remaining. Bell followed with a 3-pointer, and Jackson Furman added a layup to narrow the gap to 28-26 with 4:23 left.
However, Lafayette responded with a late run, capitalizing on turnovers and converting from the perimeter. The Leopards closed the half on a 9-0 spurt, capped by a 3-pointer in the final seconds, to take an 11-point lead of 37-26 into the break.
The Black Knights struck first in the second half when Jacen Holloway drilled a 3-pointer off a Tate Laczkowski assist to make it 37-29. Army's defense followed with back-to-back stops, including blocks by Kevin McCarthy and Laczkowski, before Ryan Curry converted a fast-break layup to cut the margin to six.
After Lafayette answered from deep, McCarthy buried a 3-pointer of his own off a Jaxson Bell assist, and Curry added another layup to pull Army within 40-36. Moments later, Laczkowski knocked down a 3-pointer following a Curry steal to trim the deficit to 40-39 with 16:02 remaining.
Holloway gave Army its first lead of the half at 43-42 with a driving layup at the 14:14 mark, capping a 17-5 surge. The Black Knights continued to battle, with Bell hitting a 3-pointer to make it 48-46 and later converting an and-one opportunity to keep Army within striking distance.
However, turnovers proved costly during the middle stretch. Lafayette turned steals into transition points, including a dunk and several layups, pushing the lead to 57-46 and later 63-48. Army responded with perimeter shooting, as McCarthy and Holloway each connected from beyond the arc to cut the deficit to eight with just over five minutes left.
Bell and Holloway carried the scoring load down the stretch. Bell finished multiple drives inside, while Holloway attacked the rim for consecutive baskets to narrow the gap to 73-66 with 2:19 remaining. Curry later hit a clutch 3-pointer with 20 seconds left to bring Army within five at 80-75.
In the final minute, the Black Knights continued to fight. McCarthy tipped in a missed shot with six seconds remaining to make it 81-77, but Lafayette converted four free throws in the closing seconds to seal the win at 83-77.
Black Knight Bullet Points
- Jaxson Bell led Army with 22 points on 8-of-12 shooting, including 3-of-5 from 3-point range, while adding eight rebounds and three assists in 38 minutes. The game marks his third 20+ point performance of the season and his career.
- Jacen Holloway finished with 21 points on 6-of-10 shooting and 7-of-9 from the free-throw line, while contributing three rebounds, three assists and two steals. His 20+ point performance was the second of the season and his career, one point short of his career-best of 22 points.
- Kevin McCarthy added 13 points on 5-of-12 shooting, including three 3-pointers, and grabbed five rebounds with two assists.
- Ryan Curry scored 12 points on 5-of-10 shooting, dished out a team-high five assists and recorded two steals.
- Tate Laczkowski chipped in three points and three rebounds in 10 minutes as a starter.
- Off the bench, Jackson Furman totaled two points and three rebounds, Joshua Eli added two points and two rebounds, and Jorn Everson contributed two points and two rebounds.
- As a team, Army shot 28 of 59 (47.5%) from the field, 10 of 29 (34.5%) from 3-point range and 11 of 13 (84.6%) from the free-throw line.
- The Black Knights outrebounded Lafayette 30-32, including seven offensive rebounds, and finished with 16 assists and 15 turnovers.
- Army scored 36 points in the paint, eight fast-break points and eight second-chance points.
- Lafayette shot 27 of 55 (49.1%) from the field, 6 of 19 (31.6%) from 3-point range and 23 of 29 (79.3%) from the free-throw line.
- Lafayette was led by Mark Butler's 21 points and Andrew Phillips' 15 points, and the Leopards outscored Army 20-9 in points off turnovers and 16-6 in bench points.
Up Next
The Black Knights now enter the postseason and will head on the road as the No. 9 seed to take on the No. 8 seed Bucknell University Bison.
The two teams split the regular season series this season, with both teams winning on the road. In the last game in Lewisburg, the Black Knights earned an 87-84 overtime win against the Bison, winning on a buzzer-beater courtesy of Jackson Furman.
Tip-off time against the Bison will be determined on a later date, and the game on March 3 in Lewisburg will stream live on ESPN+.
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.
