Army Halted in Patriot League Opener

Friday, December 30

West Point

7 p.m.

Army West Point

6-7 (0-1PL)

Lehigh

7-5 (1-0PL)

LEHIGH

ARMY

Army Halted in Patriot League Opener

December 30, 2016 | Men's Basketball

Box Score

WEST POINT, N.Y. – The Army West Point men's basketball team dropped its Patriot League opener to Lehigh, 66-59, Friday evening at Christl Arena.

The Mountain Hawks showcased why they were projected to finish at the top of the league's preseason poll by closing out the game with four players in double digits. Center Tim Kempton tallied a game-high 20 points and 14 rebounds to help guide the Mountain Hawks to their fifth win in six contests.

Army was led by Matt Wilson's 16 points. The rookie went nearly perfect from the floor finishing 7-of-8. He added 2-of-5 makes at the charity stripe for his ninth career double-digit scoring game.

Luke Morrison also tallied double figures with 12 points in the contest. He closed out the night with his first career double-double adding 10 rebounds to lead the Black Knights on the boards.

After a back-and-forth opening 20 minutes the visitors held onto a slim 35-31 edge at the break. Unfortunately, Lehigh used a 7-0 run to kick off the second half, which created a 42-31 gap between the teams just three minutes in. The Mountain Hawks then maintained that lead for much of the second period. The Cadets did try to rally, even pulling to within five in the closing seconds, but the deficit proved to be too much.

ARMY HIGHLIGHTS AND GAME NOTES

Attendance for Army's Patriot League opener was a season-best 1,558 for Christl Arena.
Wilson has now reached twin figures in three consecutive games.
Tommy Funk filled the stat sheet in his first collegiate league game, chipping in six points, six rebounds and five assists on the night.
Jordan Fox posted nine points and tied Funk with a team-best five helpers. Fox and Jacob Kessler also added two steals each to lead the Black Knights.
Army finished the night shooting 35.5 percent (22-of-62) from the floor and 34.4 percent (11-of-32) from long range. The Cadets converted on four of their nine attempts from the free throw line as well.
The Mountain Hawks closed out the night with marks of 44.6 percent (25-of-56), 20 percent (3-of-15) and 52 percent (13-of-25), respectively.
Both teams notched 40 rebounds each.
Lehigh scored 38 points from inside the paint, while Army recorded 18.
The Mountain Hawks also scored 13 points off turnovers to the Black Knights' 11.
Army's bench outscored Lehigh's 24-10 but the Mountain Hawks registered the 6-2 advantage on points off fast breaks.
Lehigh held its largest lead (12 points) on two different occasions with its most recent coming with 4:09 remaining on the clock.
Army was in front for 1:48, while the Mountain Hawks maintained the lead for 33:52. The game was tied for 4:20.

TURNING POINT

Lehigh held the slim 35-31 edge at the break, but quickly extended that advantage to 42-31 after using a 7-0 run to start the second half.

HOW IT HAPPENED

There were three tie scores in the opening four minutes of play before Lehigh went on an 8-2 run to create a 15-9 gap between the teams.
Army slowly started to chip away at the deficit and eventually got the lead down to 32-31 with 1:17 remaining in the opening period. Unfortunately, the Mountain Hawks converted on a 3-point play just before the break to send them into the locker room up 35-31.
Lehigh continued that strong play early in the second half, using a 7-0 rally to break the game open at 42-31.
The Mountain Hawks maintained that edge throughout much of the second 20 minutes until Army sparked a small rally with 2:26 left to play. The Black Knights used an 11-5 run to pull within 64-59 but unfortunately that would be as close as they would come as two made free throws late in the game sealed Lehigh's victory.

UP NEXT

Army will head on the road for its first conference road test of the year at Bucknell on Monday. The Bison are coming off a close 59-55 victory at Navy on Friday night. Bucknell trailed 32-23 at the break but managed to outscore the Mids 36-23 over the next 20 minutes of play to notch its first league win of the year.