Army West Point Athletics
Army West Point
Bucknell
Men's Basketball Heads to Bucknell, Lafayette for Final Road Games of Regular Season
February 22, 2025 | Men's Basketball
WEST POINT, N.Y. — Army West Point men's basketball (16-11, 10-5) hit the road for the final time this regular season on Sunday and Tuesday, as they head to Pennsylvania to take on the Bucknell Bison (14-14, 10-5) and the Lafayette Leopards (10-18, 5-10).
Sunday's matchup against Bucknell follows a historic game when the last two teams faced off last. The Black Knights saw a 116-110 double-overtime victory over the Bison, led by a career-high 30 points from Ryan Curry, and two 20-point performances from Jalen Rucker and Josh Scovens. The game also broke a single-game record for most points scored, and the combined score broke a Patriot League record for most combined points in a game.
Tuesday's rematch against Lafayette will be the first time the two teams have played each other since January 15. That game was a tight one down the stretch until Jalen Rucker hit a buzzer-beater to lift the Black Knights over the Leopards in a 70-68 win.
The Sunday matchup against Bucknell will have a 12 p.m. tip-off, with the game broadcasting on the national stage on the CBS Sports Network. Tuesday evening's matchup at Lafayette is slated for a 7 p.m. start and will stream on ESPN+. Both games will also be streaming live on the Varsity Sports Network.
ARMY STORYLINES:
LAST GAME: The Black Knights shocked the top team in the Patriot League, taking down American in Christl Arena on Wednesday, 76-69. Army finished the day shooting 48.1 percent from the floor and 47.1 percent from the three-point line. Sophomore sharpshooter Ryan Curry led all scorers with 25 points, with AJ Allenspach adding 16 points shooting a perfect 6-6 from the floor.
A CHANCE AT HISTORY: With one more win in Patriot League play, the Black Knights will officially break the record for most wins in league play in program history. The program's record currently sits at ten wins in Patriot League play, which including this season, has happened four times in program history (2013-14, 2019-20, 2022-23, 2024-25).
PATRIOT LEAGUE STANDINGS: With the Patriot League Tournament starting in less than a month, every league game matters more than ever. Currently, the Black Knights sit in second place in the standings, being tied in second place with Bucknell and only one game back from league-leading American. The Black Knights can clinch a top-four seed and a quarterfinal-round home game with a win against Bucknell AND a Boston U. loss against American.
OFFENSIVE FORCE: The Black Knights still have one of the top offenses in the Patriot League, holding the best scoring offense in the Patriot League (75.1 ppg). The Black Knights also average a league-best scoring margin (+1.4 ppg) and average league-high in assists per game (14.9 apg).
HANDLE WITH CARE: In terms of turnovers, the Black Knights are among the best in limiting their turnovers and forcing other teams to commit turnovers. Army leads the league in turnover margin (+1.19), least turnovers per game (10.2) and assist-to-turnover ratio (+1.46).
CURRY COOKING: Ryan Curry is first on the team and fifth in the league in assists a game, averaging 3.7 assists per game. He is also third on the team and tenth in the league in points per game, averaging 12.9 points a game. He scored a team-high 25 points in Army's win over American on Wednesday.
SENIOR STATUS: Jalen Rucker has had a historic senior season. Rucker now sits sixth all-time on Army's scoring list, as well as sits in 26th on the NCAA Div. I active career scoring list (15.7 ppg). Rucker earned 10 points, seven rebounds and a team-high seven assists on Wednesday against American.
STELLAR SOPHOMORE: Josh Scovens has made his impact felt his sophomore season, averaging 16.0 points per game, good for second on the team and fifth in the Patriot League. Also, Scovens is second in the league in blocks per game, averaging 1.4 a game. Scovens scored 14 points and earned a career-high six blocked shots in Army's win on Wednesday.
PAINT PRESENCE: AJ Allenspach has also had a strong senior campaign. In his first year as a starter, Allenspach averages 10.6 points a game and a team-high 7.3 rebounds a game, also good for second in the Patriot League. Allenspach also averages a league-high 70.3 percent shooting percentage.
FAST START: The Black Knights are 14-1 when they take a lead into the locker room. Their only loss when having a lead was at Navy, when they held a 28-26 lead at the half.
History with Bucknell
- Bucknell leads the series, 63-22
- Current Streak: Army, 1 win
- Last Army win: Feb. 8, 2025, 116-110 (2OT)
- Last Bucknell win: Feb. 24, 2024, 54-41
- Last Five Meetings: Bucknell leads, 4-1
- Feb. 8, 2025 (West Point): ARMY 116, BU 110 (2OT)
- Feb. 25, 2024 (Lewisburg): ARMY 41, BU 54
- Jan. 27, 2024 (West Point): ARMY 56, BU, 66
- Feb. 4, 2023 (Lewisburg): ARMY 67, BU 73
- Jan. 18, 2023 (West Point): ARMY 66, BU 68
Scouting the Bison
- Bucknell is 14-14 overall this season and holds a 10-5 league play record. Currently, in the standings, they sit tied for second with the Black Knights.
- Since their last matchup against Army, the Bison are 3-0, with a win at home against Boston U and two wins on the road at Lafayette and at Lehigh.
- Noah Williamson leads the Bison averaging 17.2 points a game while also averaging a team-high 7.6 rebounds a game.
- Josh Boscoe averages 15.1 points a game while also averaging a league-high 4.4 assists a game. Ian Motta also averages 10.1 points a game.
History with Lafayette
- Lafayette leads the series, 48-36
- Current Streak: Army, 1 win
- Last Army win: Jan. 15, 2025, 70-68
- Last Lafayette win: Feb. 3, 2024, 64–56 (OT)
- Last Five Meetings: Army leads, 3-2
- Jan. 15, 2025 (West Point): ARMY 70, LC 68
- Feb. 3, 2024 (West Point): ARMY 56, LC 64 (OT)
- Jan. 3, 2024 (Easton): ARMY 47, LC 52
- Feb. 18, 2023 (West Point) ARMY 53, LC 43
- Jan. 2, 2023 (Easton): ARMY 82, LC 65
Scouting the Leopards
- Lafayette has a 10-18 overall record and a 5-10 record in league play. The Leopards are in a four-way tie for the bottom league with Lehigh, Holy Cross and Loyola Maryland.
- Heading into the weekend, the Leopards have lost their last three games, two games on the road (American and Holy Cross) and a game at home against Bucknell.
- Alex Chaikin leads the Leopards with 12.5 points a game. Justin Vander Baan also averages 12.0 and a league-best 3.0 blocks a game plus a team-best 6.6 blocks a game.
- Caleb Williams adds 10.5 points a game, while Andrew Phillips scores 9.4 while averaging a league-high 47.7 percent from the three-point line.
