BROOKLYN HEIGHTS, N.Y. – The Army men’s basketball team held the St. Francis (N.Y.) Terriers without a field goal for an eight-minute, two-second stretch in the second half and pulled away for a 67-59 victory at the Pope Physical Education Center Tuesday night. The Black Knights have won three straight to improve to 3-1 on the season, while the Terriers fell to 1-2.
Army did not trail in the second half, but after the Terriers trimmed a nine-point Black Knights lead to just one at 45-44, sophomore guard Maxwell Lenox scored a driving layup against two defenders to spark a 12-2 run that put Army in control. Lenox scored all of his season-high eight points in the second half.
Senior forward Ella Ellis led the Black Knights with 15 points, while freshman Kyle Wilson added 13, his third double-digit outing in his first four collegiate games. Senior Jordan Springer and plebe Larry Toomey led a balanced rebounding effort with five boards each. Rookie Dylan Cox dished out a season-best six assists without committing a turnover in 23 minutes of work. Eleven of the 13 Army players that saw action scored against the Terriers.
The Terriers’ Jalen Cannon led all players with 23 points and completed the double-double with a game-high 10 rebounds. Kevin Douglas finished second on the SFC scoring list with 15 points.
Army outrebounded St. Francis, 39-38, and limited the Terriers to just 33.9 percent shooting for the game. The Black Knights shot 42.9 percent despite a seven-plus minute stretch in the second half without a field goal.
The Terriers scored first, but a three-pointer by junior Josh Herbeck gave Army their first lead of the game. The Black Knights led 5-4, but St. Francis scored the next seven points, capped by a three-point play by Cannon take an 11-5 lead with 17:48 to go in the first half. The Terriers scored on their first five possessions of the game.
A three-pointer by Wilson stopped the run and Army tied the game at 13-13 on an Ellis three-pointer. The Terriers were able to push their lead back to six points at 21-15 with 10:49 on the clock, but a basket by freshman Tanner Plomb started an 11-0 Army rally. Freshman Kyle Toth’s first career three-pointer put an exclamation mark on the run and gave Army a 26-21 advantage with 5:58 left.
The Terriers scored the next five points to tie the game, and neither team held more than a two-point advantage for the rest of the half. Wilson’s runner with just three seconds left sent the Black Knights into the locker room with a 31-30 advantage.
Wilson led the Black Knights with nine points in the first 20 minutes. Cannon and Douglas had 11 and 10 for the Terriers, respectively.
Army scored the first eight points of the second half to take a 39-30 lead and led 41-32 before St. Francis began to whittle away at the Black Knights’ lead. The Terriers scored 12 of the next 16 points to get within one point before Lenox’s layup started Army’s decisive run. Freshman center Kyle Ferguson highlighted the spurt with a blocked shot on the defensive end followed by an emphatic slam on the ensuing fast break that put Army up 54-44. An Ellis three-pointer gave the Black Knights its 12-point cushion that would remain at least six for the rest of the contest.
Army has now won two in a row against the Terriers, and owns a 7-2 mark in its last nine non-conference games.
The Black Knights continue their three-game road stretch on Saturday, Nov. 24 at Yale. Tip-off in New Haven, Conn., in set for 2 p.m.
Game Notes: Army has led at halftime in all four of its games this season … Army is now 45-23 since the start of 2007-08 when leading at intermission … the Black Knights forced two five-second calls in the first half … Zach Spiker won his 40th game at West Point … Army is now 25-9 since the start of 2008-09 when holding their opponents to 61 points or less … Ella Ellis moved into a tie for seventh place on Army’s career three-point list (Jamie Uptgraft, 130).
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