Army West Point Athletics
Army West Point
Navy
Men's Basketball Readies for Annual Star Game Against Navy
February 20, 2026 | Men's Basketball
WEST POINT, N.Y. — Army West Point men's basketball (11-17, 5-10) returns home to Christl Arena on Saturday for one of their biggest games of the 2025-26 season, hosting the Navy Midshipmen (22-6, 14-1) for the annual Star Game, a part of the Army-Navy Star Series presented by USAA.
Saturday's game will mark the 145th meeting of the two programs. The Midshipmen have won the last three games against the Black Knights, most recently earning an 84-56 victory inside Alumni Hall.
The last Army win in the series history came inside Christl Arena, the last time the Star Game was held at West Point, with the Black Knights claiming a 69-67 overtime win against the Midshipmen.
The Star Game is set for a 1:30 p.m. ET first tip, with the game broadcasting live on the CBS Sports Network and the Army Sports Network.
ARMY STORYLINES:
WHAT HAPPENED LAST GAME – Army got back in the win column on Wednesday night, defeating Loyola Maryland, 87-77. With the win, the Black Knights split the regular season series with the Greyhounds and have now won two straight games inside Reitz Arena, dating back to last season when Army earned a 64-60 victory over the Greyhounds. The Black Knights saw an offensive barrage, with five cadet-athletes scoring in double figures. Ryan Curry and Jacen Holloway led the way for Army, each scoring 17 points. Jaxson Bell finished with 14 points, Kevin McCarthy added 12 points and Jackson Forman added 12 points off the bench for the Black Knights.
THE SIXTH MEN – The Black Knights have received stellar support from their bench in the 2025-26 season, with the Army bench currently averaging 29.39 points a game. Those numbers stand as the best figures in the Patriot League and sit as the 40th-best margin in the country. The Black Knights have seen 20 games this season where their bench has outscored the opposing team's bench, earning 10 wins through those games. Most recently, Army's bench scored 37 points to defeat Loyola Maryland on the road.
CHEF (RYAN) CURRY – Ryan Curry directs the Black Knights as the starting point guard, averaging 14.0 points a game, 4.6 assists and 4.2 rebounds a game. During league play, Curry has averaged 14.3 points per game, finishing nine games in double figures and three games with 20 or more points. Most recently, Curry scored a team-high 17 points in Army's win at Loyola Maryland. He scored his season-high, 27 points, in Army's win against Holy Cross, tying his career-best with seven made three-pointers. He finished with 24 points and eight assists against Boston U and added 19 points against Loyola. In the first matchup against Colgate this season, Curry finished with a game-high 24 points with six made three-pointers. In Army's first win against Lehigh, Curry earned his first career double-double, finishing the game with a team-high 19 points alongside a career-high 14 rebounds. The junior has scored in double figures in 20 games this season and 20+ points in five total games, plus has added 5+ assists in 13 games this season.
THE BOOGEYMAN – Sophomore forward Jacen Holloway is currently third on the team in scoring efforts for Army, averaging 10.8 points a game while shooting 50.2 percent from the floor. Last week, he scored a team-high 19 points against Boston U and 10 points against American, coming off the bench for both games. He also finished with 17 points in Army's wins over Bucknell and Loyola Maryland. Back in January, the sophomore earned a team-high 21 points, a career high, with three steals against American. The game marked the second time in his young career that Holloway earned 20+ points in a single game. Holloway finished with 13 points in Army's win against Lehigh, 12 points against Loyola Maryland and 11 points at Holy Cross. On November 18, Holloway had a career performance, earning a career-best 22 points on the road against Cornell. He also added career-highs in field goals made (9) and three-pointers made (2). He has scored in double-digits in 16 games, the second most on the team, only behind Ryan Curry (19).
THE BELL TOLLS – Sophomore guard Jaxson Bell plays a crucial role for Army, now averaging 11.6 points and 4.7 rebounds a game, both the second-most on the team, while only playing 23.9 minutes per game. He scored team-highs with 18 points in Army's second matchup against Colgate, plus another 18 in Army's overtime win at Bucknell and 20 points at Holy Cross, his second 20+ point performance of his career. Bell also added 14 points in his debut in the Army-Navy rivalry and 15 points and nine rebounds against Lehigh in January. In Army's game against Binghamton, Bell earned a career-high 24 points while tying his career-best with six made field goals and five made three-pointers. Bell has finished 16 games in double figures and earned a double-double in Army's win at UMBC. He's earned the starting nod the past four games, scoring a team-high 13 points against American and 14 against Loyola Maryland in Army's last two games.
PLEBE PHENOM – Freshman guard Jackson Furman has made an immediate impact for the Black Knights, averaging 9.8 points while averaging 24.6 minutes a game. Furman has scored in double figures in seven games during league play, scoring 14 at Bucknell—including the game-winning three-pointer in overtime—18 at Holy Cross and 20 points, tying his career-high, at Boston U. He earned his first career double-double in his second career start, scoring 12 points and grabbing a career-high 10 rebounds against Loyola. In Army's first game against Lehigh, the plebe scored 15 points while earning career-highs in made free throws (7), rebounds (7) and assists (4). The plebe first set his career-best in scoring against Duke, scoring a game-high 20 points while shooting 53.8 percent from the floor and 55.5 percent from the three-point line. Over the past two weeks, Furman finished with 10 points and eight rebounds against Lafayette and 12 points against both American and Loyola.
THE WALLET – A key role player for Army, Kevin McCarthy averages 7.3 points a game. The sophomore sharpshooter finished with 16 points on a career-high four made three-pointers in Army's first matchup against Loyola Maryland, plus added another 12 against the Greyhounds in Army's win on Wednesday. McCarthy also added 12 points, matching his career-high of four made three-pointers against American and added another 12 against Lehigh. In Army's game against Gallaudet, he matched several career-highs, which encompassed points (18) with field goals made (7), three-pointers made (4) and assists (4). Now, he has scored 4+ three-pointers in six games this season, which also includes Army's matchups between Maritime, St. Thomas and East Texas A&M. He has finished nine games scoring in double figures.
TATE ON THE BOARDS – Junior forward Tate Laczkowski, the tallest player on Army's roster, averages a team-best 51.3 shooting percentage, plus adds a team-high 5.6 rebounds a game. Against American last Saturday, the junior forward pulled down a team-high eight rebounds. In Army's second matchup against Lehigh, Laczkowski led all scorers with a career-best 17 points while shooting 66.7 percent. He also added a team-high nine rebounds, three assists and two steals. Against Holy Cross, Laczkowski grabbed a career-high 13 rebounds and added two blocks, matching his career-best. The junior added a team-high seven rebounds at Bucknell, then another seven rebounds and eight points against American. To open league play at Lehigh, Laczkowski earned 11 points with eight rebounds and four assists. He also added 11 points and matched his career-high two blocks against Colgate on Jan. 3. He also leads the team with 13 blocks this season.
JORNADO WARNING – Jorn Everson played a key role off Army's bench last season and now serves as a key member of Army's lineup and currently averages 8.1 points a game. He has finished in double figures in two of the last four games, adding 12 points on the road at American and scored a team-high 14 points against Lafayette on Senior Day on Feb. 7. He also added 11 points against Holy Cross in their second matchup, plus 13 points at Boston U. During non-league play, the senior had a strong showing against Cornell on the road, finishing with a career-best and game-high 24 points, while tying his career-highs in made field goals (8) and three-pointers made (4). He also had a career-high four made free throws. The game marked the second game in which Everson has scored 20+ points in a single game.
HELD IN HIGH REGARD – Team captain, Jackson Mayo, was named USMA's Deputy Brigade Commander, the second-highest-ranked position in the Corps of Cadets, over the summer. The senior scored a career-high nine points off a career-best three made three-pointers, while also adding career-highs in assists (5) and rebounds (3) against Gallaudet and serves as a scoring threat off the bench for the Black Knights. Mayo joined the team in his freshman year as a walk-on and got his first start on Feb. 7.
FOR THE YOUNG GUNS – The Black Knights' roster has looked very different compared to last season. Now on the 18-man roster, there are five upperclassmen and 13 underclassmen, with nine sophomores and four freshmen. The new freshmen joining Army include Jackson Furman, Dillon Watt, Dylan Benner and Jahaan Green. Before joining the Academy, Furman, Benner and Green each played a year at the United States Military Academy Preparatory School (USMAPS). Of the returners, only one Army player averaged 10+ minutes last season (Ryan Curry).
History with Navy
- The Midshipmen lead the series, 88-56
- Current Streak: Navy, 3 wins
- Last Army win: Feb. 10, 2024, 69-67 (OT)
- Last Navy win: Jan. 24, 2026, 84-56
Scouting the Midshipmen
- Navy enters Saturday with a 22-6 overall record and a 14-1 record in Patriot League play. Their only loss was on the road at American, plus the Midshipmen clinched the Patriot League Regular Season Championship with their win over Lehigh.
- The Mids are led by Austin Benigni, averaging a team-high 17.8 points a game, which is the second-best scoring average in the Patriot League. He also adds a team-high 4.4 assists per game.
- Aidan Kehoe averages a double-double with 15.5 points and 10.8 rebounds a game. The senior averages the most rebounds in the league and holds the best shooting percentage in the league (73.5 percent). He also adds 1.1 blocks a game.
- Donovan Draper adds a team-high 2.1 steals per game while adding 9.2 points, 7.0 rebounds and 2.6 assists per game.
- Jinwoo Kim also plays a key role for Navy, adding 9.4 points a game, the third-highest scoring average on the team.
Follow Along
For complete coverage of Army West Point men's basketball, follow the Black Knights on X and Instagram at @ArmyWP_MBB and online at www.goarmywestpoint.com.
