Army Makes it Three Straight With Win Over Air Force

Wednesday, December 7

West Point

7 p.m.

Army West Point

5-4

Air Force

6-4

Air Force

ARMY

Army Makes it Three Straight With Win Over Air Force

December 07, 2016 | Men's Basketball

Box Score

WEST POINT, N.Y. – The Army West Point men's basketball team controlled much of Wednesday night's contest against service-academy rival Air Force, defeating the Falcons 79-71.

Army's third-straight win also marked its third consecutive victory over Air Force.

The Falcons led 9-7 just five minutes into the game but that would be the only time the visitors would hold the advantage. Army answered with 11-straight to pull in front, 18-9, at the 11:48 mark of the opening period. Over the next seven-and-a-half minutes, the Black Knights used another 18-4 run to increase their edge to the largest of the game at 36-13.

Army maintained that double-digit lead until the Falcons sparked a small rally with 3:44 remaining in the contest. A good free throw from Air Force's Zach Kocur cut the Black Knights' margin down to 71-64 but the Falcons wouldn't get any closer than that, as Army held on down the stretch for the eight-point victory.

Three Cadets reached double digits with Jordan Fox leading the way with a team-best 20 points. He went 7-of-12 from the floor, 1-of-5 from behind-the-arc, and an impressive 5-for-5 at the charity stripe. The sophomore added four assists, which was tied with rookie Tommy Funk for tops on the team.

Funk had himself a nice little night as well, scoring a career-best 13 points. The first-year went 3-of-8 from the floor, 1-of-2 from long range and 6-of-9 from the free throw line. He closed out the night with five rebounds and a career-best three steals.

Jacob Kessler also tallied twin figures with 12 points in the contest. All of his buckets were from downtown as he finished 4-of-7 on the night. His four made treys matched his career-best effort from behind-the-arc.

Leading the team on the boards was Mac Hoffman with nine rebounds. Luke Morrison was a close second after he matched his career high with seven rebounds. Morrison chipped in eight points and was perfect from the floor, finishing 3-of-3 with 2-of-2 makes from downtown.

ARMY HIGHLIGHTS AND GAME NOTES

The Black Knights sit with an overall record of 5-4, having won their last three games and four of their last five. Their only loss was at Fairfield on a last-second tip-in to hand the Stags a one-point victory.
For the third straight game, Army shot over 50 percent from the floor. The Black Knights finished 25-of-49 (51.0%) from the floor, 12-of-26 from long range (46.2%) and 17-of-22 (77.3%) from the charity stripe.
Army held the Falcons, a team that averages 43.8 percentage from 3-point range (5th nationally), to a mark of only 39.1 percent on the night. Air Force converted on just nine of its 23 attempts from long range.
With three in double digits on Wednesday, the Black Knights have now finished with three or more Cadets in twin figures in each of the last six games.
Air Force outscored Army 28-16 in points in the paint and held the 20-8 edge on points off turnovers.
The Black Knights outscored the Falcons in bench points though at 23-12.
Army outrebounded its visitor at 39-31.
Air Force led for 29 seconds, while Army was in front for 37:21. The game was tied for 2:10.
There were two tie scores and two lead changes through the contest.
Army held its largest lead of the game at 36-13 following a made trey from Kennedy Edwards with 4:22 left to play in the first half.
John Emezie played brilliant defensive on Wednesday, earning a career-best three steals and three blocks, while also matching his career high in assists with three.

TURNING POINT

The Black Knights trailed Air Force 9-7 just four-and-a-half minutes into the game. Army then used a 29-4 run over the next 10 minutes to break the game open at 36-13. During that span, the Black Knights recorded 11-0 and 16-0 runs, which ultimately sparked the rally.

UP NEXT

The Black Knights head back on the road for two-straight road contests at Monmouth and St. Bonaventure. Army will face the Hawks on Saturday at 7 p.m. before traveling to Olean, N.Y., to face off with the Bonnies on Dec. 19 at 7 p.m.