Army West Point Athletics
Army West Point
8-8,2-2Patriot
Lehigh
6-9,1-3Patriot
Men’s Basketball Takes Down Lehigh for Second Straight League Play Win
January 11, 2025 | Men's Basketball
BETHLEHEM, Pa. — Army West Point men's basketball (8-8, 2-2) earned its second straight Patriot League play win on the road on Saturday defeating the Lehigh Mountain Hawks (6-8, 1-3), 74-69.
With the win, the Black Knights became the first team in the Patriot League to earn a win on the road during league play. Heading into the game, home teams were 17-0 in Patriot League play.
Army finished the afternoon shooting 44 percent from the field and 26 percent from the three-point line. The Black Knights were able to hold the Mountain Hawks to 41 percent from the floor and 12.5 percent from behind the arch, the lowest Army has allowed a team to shoot from the three-point line all season.
Josh Scovens led the Black Knights with 22 points, two shy of his season high. Scovens also added four rebounds and three blocks in the win.
Jalen Rucker was the second Black Knight to score double-digits, finishing the afternoon with 14 points. He also grabbed a game-high nine rebounds while adding three assists.
Ryan Curry finished the game with a team-high five assists alongside eight points. Down in the paint, AJ Allenspach added nine points and Jorn Everson added eight points of his own.
How It Happened
Scoring started for the Black Knights courtesy of a three-pointer from Ryan Curry, and the two teams exchanged basket after basket for the first five and a half minutes of the game.
Then, Army gained its first lead courtesy of a personal 6-0 run by Jorn Everson in just over a minute. With the run, the Black Knights took a 13-9 lead with 12:46 left in the first half.
Lehigh would take a 20-17 lead with 8:04 left, but the lead did not last long.
Back-to-back layups from AJ Allenspach and Josh Scovens helped give the lead back. Then, Tate Laczkowski hit a three-pointer assisted by Scovens, with Scovens following quickly after with two three-pointers on consecutive possessions. Jalen Rucker hit a three-pointer to help Army take a narrow 33-31 lead into the locker room.
Josh Scovens got out to a fast start in the second half, scoring Army's first four points. Isaiah Caldwell and Jorn Everson also added two points within the first five minutes to help Army keep a small lead.
Yet, Lehigh stayed close with Army the entire second half. The Mountain Hawks took a two-point lead with 13:20 left, but the next possession, Josh Scovens converted a three-point play to put Army back up by one point. Lehigh would score on a layup the next possession, then Blake Barker hit a three-pointer to put Army back up by two.
That pattern continued for the majority of the second half up until the 5:17 mark. Ryan Curry scored on a driving layup then Josh Scovens connected on another three-point play to put the Black Knights up by three. The Mountain Hawks kept the lead at three points until right under two minutes.
The Mountain Hawks had a chance to cut it to one. Then on a driving layup, a block from Josh Scovens converted to a three-pointer from Ryan Curry courtesy of a deep pass from Jalen Rucker. The three-pointer put Army up six points, and the Black Knights were able to keep Lehigh at arm's length the rest of the game to secure the win.
Up Next
Army begins a two-game home stand on January 15, taking on the Lafayette Leopards. The Black Knights will be looking to earn their first win against the Leopards since 2023.
Tip-off is set for Wednesday at 6 p.m. with the game will stream live on ESPN+ and The Varsity Network.
