Army West Point Athletics
Army West Point
11-19,5-12Patriot
Bucknell
9-21,6-11Patriot
Laczkowski, McCarthy Tallies Career Days, Bell Earns Double-Double in Men’s Basketball Battle with Bucknell
February 25, 2026 | Men's Basketball
WEST POINT, N.Y. — Army West Point men's basketball (11-19, 5-12) played its final regular-season game inside Christl Arena on Wednesday, with a second-half comeback falling short, causing the Black Knights to fall to the Bucknell University Bison (9-21, 6-11), 73-75.
With the loss, the Black Knights split the regular season series with the Bison, with Army first getting an 87-84 overtime win inside Sojka Pavilion back in January.
Despite the loss, two Black Knights had career days, with Tate Laczkowski and Kevin McCarthy finishing with 21 points each, both career highs for the two, and the first 20-point games of their careers.
Tate Laczkowski finished the day with 21 points while shooting 8-9 from the floor and a perfect 3-3 from behind the arc. Laczkowski also added three rebounds, two steals, one assist and one block.
Kevin McCarthy finished the day shooting 50 percent (8-16) from the field and 5-12 from the three-point line, with the eight field goals and five made from deep both setting career-bests. McCarthy also added five rebounds and one block.
Jaxson Bell was the only other Black Knight to score in double figures, earning 11 points and 10 assists for his second career double-double, while also adding eight rebounds, nearing a triple-double. It is his first double-double with assists, plus the first time this season a Black Knight has earned a double-double using points and assists.
How It Happened
The Bison got out to a hot start in the first four minutes, outscoring Army 12-4 to take the lead with 16:04 left in the first half.
Kevin McCarthy got the Black Knights got the Army scoring started, scoring a layup off a second chance opportunity, with Jorn Everson getting the assist. Tate Laczkowski had Army's second bucket, receiving a perfectly placed pass in the paint from Jaxson Bell.
Army added another bucket in the next segment, but Bucknell continued to extend its lead to make it a 6-17 deficit with 11:21 left in the first half.
Jacen Holloway had the lone points for the Black Knights, getting a layup off a fast break from a behind-the-back pass from Jaxson Bell.
Jackson Furman got going from the three-point line in the next four minutes, hitting Army's first two three-pointers, but the Bison kept their lead at 27-12 with 7:55 on the first half clock.
Furman got his first bucket on a fast break, with Dylan Benner hitting the open freshman. Then Ryan Curry got his first assist of the day, using an out-of-rotation Bison defense to hit the shot from deep.
Army began to cut into the Bison's lead, outscoring the Bison 7-3 over two minutes to make it a 19-30 game with 3:39 left in the first half.
Tate Laczkowski added five points in the stretch, hitting a layup on a putback attempt and then hitting a three-pointer from a pass from Ryan Curry. Kevin McCarthy also added a driving layup in the span.
In the final four minutes of the first half, the Black Knights were able to make it a 10-point game, outpacing Bucknell 7-6. Tate Laczkowski added another layup on an assist from Jaxson Bell, Kevin McCarthy added a shot from deep from a pass from Jaxson Bell and Bell added a layup to make the score 26-36 at the half.
The Black Knights continued to cut into the Bison's lead to open the second half, adding eight points in the first four minutes to make it only a 34-42 deficit with 16:04 on the second half clock.
Jaxson Bell hit a three-pointer to open the second half, scoring from Army, receiving a pass from Jacen Holloway. Kevin McCarthy then hit another shot from deep, getting a pass from Bell. Then Ryan Curry got a steal on the defensive end and converted the fast break layup.
The Bison then shot out of a cannon, going on an 8-0 scoring run over one minute that expanded to a 12-3 run over three minutes to grow the lead back to double figures at 54-37 with 11:38 left on the clock.
Kevin McCarthy had the lone three points in the stretch, scoring from behind the arc on a pass from Jacen Holloway.
Over the next four minutes, the Back Knights came storming back, going on an 18-8 run to make it only a 55-62 game with 7:00 left to play.
Tate Laczkowski led the Black Knights during the stretch, scoring seven points during the stretch, hitting two free throws, a three-pointer, and a layup. Jacen Holloway also added seven points during the span, Kevin McCarthy added three points and Jaxson Bell added one point from the free-throw line.
The Black Knights continued to cut into the lead, making it a 64-68 game with 2:33 left to play.
Tate Laczkowski hit his third shot from behind the arc on the day, then Kevin McCarthy hit a three-pointer, both adding to their totals. Jaxson Bell also hit a shot from deep, receiving a pass from Jacen Holloway to make it a four-point game.
Both teams were held scoreless for a minute, then Bucknell added a layup to make it a six-point game with 1:17 left to play. Tate Laczkowski then hit a layup, bringing his total to 21 points to bring it back to a four-point game with 1:03 left to play. Bucknell then hit two free throws, and Jaxson Bell added two free throws of his own to make it a 68-72 game with 38 seconds left to play.
With 32 seconds left on the clock, Jackson Furman was able to cause Bucknell to create a turnover, giving Army an extra possession. Then, Ryan Curry hit his first three-pointer of the game with 19 seconds left to make it a one-point game.
Then Black Knights fouled, and Bucknell only hit one free throw, making it a 71-73 game with 17 seconds on the clock. Army brought the ball down the floor, but was unable to convert a basket, forcing the Black Knights to foul again. Then the Bison hit two more free throws to bring the score to 71-75 with seven seconds left.
Army would shoot one more time from deep but missed, allowing Kevin McCarthy to grab an offensive rebound and add two points to also hit a career-best 21 points, but it was not enough, causing Army to fall to Bucknell, 73-75.
Black Knight Bullet Points
- Kevin McCarthy led Army with a career-best 21 points, shooting 8-for-16 from the field and 5-for-12 from 3-point range, both career-high numbers, while adding five rebounds and one block.
- Tate Laczkowski also scored 21 points on an efficient 8-for-9 shooting performance, including 3-for-3 from beyond the arc and 2-for-2 from the free-throw line, and grabbed three rebounds with two steals.
- Jaxson Bell finished with 11 points, eight rebounds, a team-high 10 assists and five steals, producing a near triple-double performance. He did earn the second double-double of his career.
- Bell's double-double was his first double-double using points and assists, plus the first time this season a Black Knight has earned a double-double using points and assists, not rebounds.
- Jacen Holloway contributed nine points, a team-high nine rebounds and five assists off the bench, helping anchor Army's second unit.
- Jackson Furman added six points on two 3-pointers, while Ryan Curry scored five points and recorded four assists.
- Army shot 26-for-64 (40.6%) from the field and 14-for-45 (31.1%) from 3-point range, while converting 7 of 10 free throws (70%).
- The 45 attempts from behind the arc in the matchup ties the second-most attempts from three that Army has had in a game in program history; the most was 49 attempts against Duke on Nov. 11, 2025.
- The Black Knights outrebounded Bucknell 36–35 and held a 12–7 edge in offensive rebounds, but committed 16 turnovers.
- Army finished with 22 assists, 10 steals and two blocks, while scoring 15 bench points and 12 fast-break points.
- Bucknell shot 48.1% from the field and 40.9% from 3-point range, outperforming Army's shooting efficiency in the narrow victory.
- Army trailed 36–26 at halftime but outscored Bucknell 47–39 in the second half before falling 75–73.
Up Next
The Black Knights hit the road for the final game of the regular season on Saturday, heading to Easton, Pa., and the Kirby Sports Center to play Lafayette.
The two teams squared off on Feb. 7 inside Christl Arena during Army's Senior Day, with the Black Knights seeing a narrow 60-63 loss to the Leopards. Senior Jorn Everson finished the game leading the Black Knights with 14 points while shooting 54.5 percent from the floor, hitting two three-pointers. Everson also added two rebounds and one block.
The game will tip off at 1 p.m. ET and will stream live on ESPN+.
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.
