ANNAPOLIS, Md. – The Army West Point men's basketball team bounced back from Saturday's defeat with an 87-78 victory over service academy rival Navy at Alumni Hall on Sunday.
"Today was a gut check for both teams," Head Coach Jimmy Allen said. "I am incredibly proud of how our team responded. When you have the emotional level of a game in this rivalry and you have to do this two days in a row, for our guys to come out the way they did says a lot about our team.”
The resilient Black Knights have showed a knack for responding thus far this season, as they are now 4-0 when coming off a loss. Four Army players reached double-digit points in the game, with Lonnie Grayson leading the team with 19 points. Freshman point guard Jalen Rucker had a career-high 18 points on the afternoon. The loss is Navy's first in the Patriot League this season.
"Being able to bounce back says a lot about our team," Allen said. "I have been incredibly impressed with the mental toughness of our team and how they've been able to respond. Their level of commitment to being a good basketball program really speaks for itself.”
Army's senior class is now 5-3 against Navy with two contests remaining between the sides on Feb. 20 and 21 in Christl Arena.
"It is always a very fun and emotional game when we play Navy," Grayson said. "We circle these games on our calendar every year. The game usually comes down to the wire and is a testament of wills. The unique schedule this year gave us a special opportunity to play against them in back-to-back games and fortunately we were able to come out on top today.”
After Army jumped out to a 7-0 lead to open the game, the Black Knights were able to stretch the lead to as much as 10 at the midway point of the first half. Navy fought back with a run of their own, evening the game at 26-26 with three minutes to go before Army took a six-point lead into the break. Rucker paced the Army offense in the first half, posting 10 points in the game's first 20.
"Jalen is special," Allen said. "He's just a clutch player who makes a lot of great plays and he really stepped up today on the biggest stage.”
The stretch of runs would continue throughout the second half, as Navy was able to fight back every time Army seemed to be pulling away. The Mids would even the game at 71-71 with just 11 seconds to go to send the game to overtime. Lonnie Grayson led Army with 11 points in the half.
Navy would take its first lead of the game at the midway point of overtime, but Army would charge right back, outscoring the Midshipmen 16-7 in the extra period to close out the victory.
HIGHLIGHTS AND NOTES
• Four different Black Knights reached double-digit scoring in the game, including senior Nick Finke who reached the 10-point marker for the first time in his career.Senior Alex King was a force on the boards, posting a career-high 11 rebounds.
• Rucker's 18 points were a career high. Rucker and Josh Caldwell are the only members of the team to start in every game this season.
• Six different cadets scored points in the five-minute overtime period.
• Army is now 4-0 on the season following a loss.
• The team's 9-4 start is Army's best since 2015-16 when the Black Knights opened 10-3.
UP NEXT: Army will return to Christl Arena for two games against Colgate on Jan. 30 and 31. The teams split their weekend series at Colgate earlier this month.