Black Knights Lead Wire-To-Wire Against Columbia

Tuesday, November 21

West Point

7 p.m.

Army West Point

3-1

Columbia

1-3

Columbia

Army West Point

Black Knights Lead Wire-To-Wire Against Columbia

November 21, 2017 | Men's Basketball

Box Score

WEST POINT, N.Y. – The Army West Point men's basketball team recorded its third-straight victory here Tuesday night after an 88-78 win over Columbia.

The Black Knights led wire-to-wire, but it was a close game on multiple occasions. Army started on a 10-0 run, sparked by back-to-back 3-pointers from Jordan Fox and Luke Morrison. The Cadets maintained that double-digit lead for much of the opening period until the Lions used a 12-5 run to pull within 49-44 at the break.

Army tried to pull away early in the second half, but another small 6-0 run by the visitors cut the Black Knights' lead to 59-57 with a little less than 15 minutes left to play. The Cadets extended their edge back to eight points on four different occasions over the next 12-and-a-half minutes, but the Lions would not go away. Columbia pulled within 79-75 following a layup by Mike Smith with 2:38 remaining. Army answered though with a 7-1 run of its own to create a double-figure lead with 58 seconds remaining, from which the Lions were never able to recover.

Fox led the Black Knights for the second-consecutive outing after notching a game-high 26 points. The junior finished 10-of-17 from the floor, 4-of-9 from long range and 2-of-2 at the free throw line. He added six rebounds, five assists and one steal to his solid performance.

Matt Wilson matched his season-high with 17 points, while also tying his career best in rebounds with 10. This marked Army's first double-double of the year and the second of Wilson's career. The Alexandria, Ky., native also posted a career-high two blocks.

Jacob Kessler closed out the Black Knights in double digits with 11 points in the contest. He finished 4-of-7 from the floor and a perfect 3-of-3 from the charity stripe.

ARMY HIGHLIGHTS AND GAME NOTES

Army has started 3-1 for the first time since the 2015-16 season.
The Black Knights shot 53.8 percent (35-of-65) from the floor and 45.5 percent (10-of-22) from long range. They added 8-of-11 makes at the free throw line.
The Lions finished 40.0 percent (28-of-70), 30.3 percent (10-of-33), and 60 percent (12-of-20), respectively.
Morrison chipped in seven points and seven rebounds before leaving the game with an injury.
Tommy Funk dished out a game-high nine assists, to go along with his five boards and eight points.
Rookie Alex King and Tucker Blackwell posed solid minutes and finished with nine and eight points, respectively. King's point total matched his career best, while Blackwell matched his career high in rebounds with two. King was one shy of matching his career-best effort on the glass with six in the game.
The Cadets outrebounded the Lions 47-34 and posted 22 assists to just 18 for Columbia.
The Black Knights scored 36 points from inside the paint compared to 34 for the Lions.
Both teams recorded 14 points off second-chance opportunities, while the visitors held the edge on points off turnovers (17-11) and fast-break points (8-6).
Army earned its largest lead in the game at 15 points on three different occasions with its most recent coming after a 3-pointer by Funk with 8:32 remaining in the opening half.

TURNING POINT

It was a 79-75 slim Black Knights advantage with 2:38 remaining in the game after Columbia's Mike Smith converted on a layup. Fox quickly answered on the opposite end of the court to spark a small 7-1 rally to put the home team back in front by double digits. Fox had four of those seven points during that stretch. Columbia was never able to recover.

UP NEXT

Army begins an eight-game road trip at Niagara on Monday. That contest is slated for a 7 p.m. tip and will be carried on the Niagara Sports Network.
The Purple Eagles are competing in the Barclay's Center Classic against BYU (Tuesday), Alabama A&M (Friday) and either Western Carolina or Texas Arlington (Saturday) prior to hosting the Black Knights next Monday.