BLACK KNIGHTS BOUNCE BACK TO BEAT COLGATE (HAMILTON, N.Y) – The Army West Point basketball bounced back from Saturday's loss to top Patriot League foe Colgate, 75-73, at Cotterell Court on Sunday.
"I have been fortunate to be a part of teams that have won championships and those are great feelings, but I'm not sure that I have been part of a tougher win than we saw today," Army Head Coach Jimmy Allen said. "I can't say enough about the character that our team showed after coming back from the way we got beat yesterday to win today. We got knocked out and got off the mat and played some inspired basketball.”
After falling handily to the Patriot League's preseason top-ranked team in the league opener, the Black Knights stormed out of the gate in this one, jumping out to a 10-point lead in the game's first five minutes. Senior Tucker Blackwell was a key catalyst of the offense early on, knocking down three of his four three-point attempts to give Army an 11-point advantage at halftime. Army stretched the lead to as much as 14 in the opening minutes of the second half before Colgate fought back into the contest, riding a 10-0 run to even the game at the midway point of the half. The Black Knights stood strong, as the teams traded buckets throughout the final minutes of the contest before Army was able to put the game away.
"What we lacked in energy on Saturday, we made up for in a big way today," Blackwell said. "Every player, especially on the bench, was locked in until the end. This is a big team win for us today.”
Senior Lonnie Grayson led the Cadets with 13 points on the day. Fellow senior Nick Finke put together a huge performance off the bench, going 3-3 from the field and leading the team with 11 rebounds.
"We are a team that has to win in different ways, and you have to fight to find a way to win," Allen said. "We did enough good things today and stuck to the things we know we have to do to pull out a victory.”
The Black Knights will now turn their attention to Holy Cross for a home-and-home series against the Crusaders on Jan. 9 and 10. The series will begin on Saturday at 2 p.m. in Worcester, Mass.
HIGHLIGHTS AND NOTES
• Army's victory in Hamilton snaps a 7-game losing streak on the road at Colgate. The team's last win at Colgate came on Jan. 22, 2014.
• Colgate entered the contest 31-3 at home in its previous 34 tilts.
• After a streak of four consecutive games with three different double-digit scorers ended on Saturday, the balance of the Black Knights offense returned on Sunday with Lonnie Grayson (13), Tucker Blackwell (12) andJalenRucker (11) reaching the mark.
• Finke reached double-digit rebounds for the second time in his Army career, setting a new career-best with 11 on the day.
First Half
• Army jumped out to an 11-2 lead.
• The Cadets led by as much as 11 in the half, 21-10 with 13:24 left in the first quarter after a jumper from Caldwell.
• The Black Knights started the game 5-of-10 from the 3-point line
• Colgate went on a 15-5 run from 13:02 to 8:31 to pull within one, 26-25.
• The Black Knights built their lead back up to eight, 37-29 capped off by a Grayson fast break layup with 3:21 left.
• Army built the lead back up to 12 after Grayson scored eight-straight points for the Black Knights, making it a 45-33 game with 1:33 left.
• The score at the half was 46-35, giving the Black Knights an 11-point lead.
Second Half
• The teams traded baskets to open the second half.
• Black Knights built their lead back up to a game-high 14 points after a three-point play byFinkeand a free throw from Peterson with 14:58 left.
• Colgate then went on a 14-3 run from 14:20 to the 10:58 mark, pulling within three, 61-58.
• King came up with a huge steal with the score 66-63 after a Blackwell three-pointer and Rucker added a layup to push the lead to five, 68-63.
• Colgate pulled within one off a Burns' free throw at 2:15, 69-68, but that was as close as they would get.
• With 20 seconds left,Duhartmade one free throw to push the Black Knights' lead to two, 75-73.
• With a chance to tie the game, Tucker Richardson was called for the offensive foul to give the ball back to Army.
• With 11 seconds left, Alex King missed a free throw, but Nelly Cummings turned the ball over for Colgate.
• Aaron Duhart took the game over down the stretch, scoring all six of the Black Knights' final points in the game.
UP NEXT: Army will return to action in the front half of a home-and-home series with Holy Cross next weekend. The series will begin on Jan. 9 at 2 p.m. in Worcester, Mass.
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