Army advances to Patriot League Semifinal with 71-69 OT win over BU
WEST POINT, N.Y. – Army West Point men's basketball (17-15 10-8 PL) used a late comeback to force overtime and eventually take down Boston University (15-17, 8-10 PL) by a score of 71-69 in a Patriot League semifinal matchup.
Jalen Rucker caught fire to propel Army to the win, scoring the final 15 points of the game for the Black Knights, which featured a three-pointer to force overtime and all 12 of Army's points in overtime.
Army will travel to first-seeded Colgate on Sunday for a semifinal matchup tipping off at 2:00 p.m.
Coleton Benson caught fire to start, hitting back-to-back three-pointers early on, eventually scoring Army's first nine points to jump out to a 9-2 lead. With 16:01 in the first half, Army took a 10-point lead with a fast break layup by senior Chris Mann. Boston University cut the deficit to seven points with a three-point shot by Walter Whyte. The Terriers were able to take their first lead of the contest with 2:56 left in the half off a made three from Whyte, 32-31. A three-ball from Ethan Roberts and a pair of free throws from Benson eventually gave Army a 36-34 lead at the break. Benson led all scorers with 16 points at the half on 3-5 from downtown and 7-7 from the charity stripe.
After the break, the Terriers held the lead for the majority of the start of the half. Boston led by a score of 48-42 with 10:35 to play, as Rucker began to mount the comeback for Army. He scored six straight of three separate baskets to pull the game even at 48 with 7:24 left to play. A Terriers' three-pointer with 2:21 left brought it back to a seven-point lead, as Army quickly answered with an and-one conversion from Charlie Peterson to make it 59-55. After a pair of stops with a free throw from TJ Small in between, Army got the ball back with 54 seconds left and a three-point deficit.
Jimmy Allen called timeout with 34 seconds to play and 10 on the shot clock. Army got off a look from three as Roberts was off the mark, but Small secured the offensive board and kicked out to Rucker who drained the clutch three-pointer to tie the score at 59. Needing one more defensive stand to force overtime, Army got its third straight stop at the end of regulation to force the extra time.
Inside the Box
• Jalen Rucker scored 32 points on 11-21 shooting to lead all scorers, also registering a game-high three assists.
• Abe Johnson secured 11 rebounds off the bench.
• Coleton Benson scored 16 points through 7-7 shooting from the free throw line and three hits from downtown. Army shot 21-26 (.807) from the free-throw line.
Up Next Army travels to Colgate for a Patriot League semifinal matchup on Monday at 2:00.
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