DURHAM, N.C. – Jalen Rucker scored 19 points to share game-high honors as the Black Knights were defeated by the ninth-ranked Duke Blue Devils, 82-56, in the nightcap of the Duke Veterans Day Weekend Showcase presented by Ameritas on Friday night.
GAME SUMMARY
The Black Knights battled No. 9 Duke throughout the 15th all-time meeting between the programs. The Black Knights trailed by nine points with nine minutes remaining before the Blue Devils closed out the game on a 23-8 run. Duke, the preseason favorite to win the ACC, scored 15 straight points during the run to halt a comeback effort by Army.
Army answered several runs by Duke, beginning in the opening minutes. The Blue Devils, buoyed by playing in front of a home crowd for the first time in nearly two seasons, raced out to a 10-0 lead three minutes into the game. Aaron Duhart scored Army’s first points of the game with a driving layup, which started a 9-0 run by the Cadets. Josh Caldwell connected on a jumper and Jalen Rucker scored five straight.
Army had a window over the next two possessions to either tie or take the lead until Duke scored six straight points to build a 20-11 lead with nine minutes left in the first half. The Black Knights kept chipping away at the deficit. Charlie Peterson, coming off a career-high scoring output in the season opener, converted a 3-point play as Army trailed 27-21 with 2:52 left. Josh Caldwell connected on a step-back jumper as the Black Knights cut the lead to 30-25 with 1:26 remaining in the half. However, Duke closed the half on an 8-0 run.
Army remained in striking distance in the early stages of the second half. A 9-2 run four minutes into the half cut the deficit to 42-34. After Duke extended the lead to 14 points, baskets by Rucker and Peterson brought the lead down to 51-42 with 10:41 remaining. Army was outscoring Duke, 23-21, at the nine-minute mark until the Blue Devils pulled away with the run.
• Army Head Basketball Coach Jimmy Allen
CADETS CAPSULES
Jalen Rucker scored 19 points to share game-high honors. He went 7-for-17 from the field, including a career-high five 3-pointers which accounted for all of the 3-pointers made by the Cadets. He also had five rebounds.Josh Caldwell notched his 26thdouble-figures scoring game with 16 points. He grabbed a team-high seven rebounds, dished out three assists, and had two steals.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
Army held a 6-3 advantage in blocked shots.The Black Knights had season-highs in steals (7) and blocked shots (6).18 players recorded playing time for the second straight game.
COACH’S CORNER“That wasn’t the end result we wanted but I think our basketball team got better tonight. I have a ton of respect for how talented Duke is, how physical Duke is, how athletic Duke is and how hard they play. We asked our guys tonight to come out and be fearless and I thought our guys were fearless. We asked our guys to compete, and I thought our guys competed. We asked them to be tough and asked them to empty their tanks and I thought our guys emptied their tanks. We’re never going to be a team that is looking at something and saying we were right there. We certainly played this basketball game to a point that under the eight timeout the result was still in question. I was proud of how our guys responded and competed. I thought we got some open looks that, if we’re going to win this basketball game, we’ve got to make. But I thought they battled on the glass against a really good offensive rebounding team.” – Jimmy Allen
UP NEXT
The Black Knights conclude play at the Duke Veterans Day Weekend Showcase against Hartford on Saturday at 2:30 p.m.Coverage will be provided by the ACC Network Extra and by the Army Sports Network viawww.GoArmyWestPoint.com.
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