WEST POINT, N.Y –After back-to-back league wins, the Army West Point men's basketball team was defeated by league foe Holy Cross, 70-63, in Christl Arena on Sunday."I thought that Holy Cross got into us defensively," Army head coach Jimmy Allen said.

"I thought they were really physical defensively. I don't think that we responded with the kind of poise that we needed to respond with. We took some uncharacteristic shots. When we drive into the paint and draw a crowd that's the time we want to move it -- we want to share it. I think today we tried to make some tough shots down the stretch.”

In a back-and-forth battle that saw 11 lead changes, the Crusaders were able to pull away in the game's closing minutes in another weekend series split for the Black Knights. Senior Alex King built off his strong performance on Saturday with another big effort on Sunday. The forward led all scorers with a season-high 21 points, 15 of which came in the first 20 minutes of the game.”

The thing that I liked about Alex is that it's not just perimeter shooting with him right now," Allen said about his senior forward. "He's getting to the basket off of drives. He's making some tough plays around the hoop.”

In a pressure-packed, fast pace affair, the teams combined for 30 points on fast breaks and forced 28 combined turnovers. Holy Cross relied on their three-point shooting to pull away in the second half, going 8-12 from deep in the final 20. Army struggled from behind the arc in the half, going 0-9 from three.

The Black Knights will now head on the road over the next two weeks for back-to-back weekend series at Boston University and Navy.

· The Black Knights hold a 2-2 record in Patriot League play.

· Alex King posted a team-high 21 points, his second double digit performance of the weekend.

FIRST HALF

· Army set the pace right out the gate with a score off the opening tip-off. Jalen Rucker bullied his way into the paint on a feed from Lonnie Grayson for an and-one opportunity.

· Coming off a 19-point game on Saturday, Alex King added his first points of the day 2:30 into the game. The senior would go on to lead the Black Knights offensively through the first 20.

· After two minutes of scoreless play, Lonnie Grayson broke the stalemate with a three-point bucket from the far corner, giving Army a 7-6 lead.

· Holy Cross began to gain momentum on the Black Knights, but back-to-back scores from Rucker and Grayson turned the tide.

· Another layup combo from King and Caldwell improved Army's lead to eight, its largest lead of the half.

· Army found itself behind with 4:30 left in the half after a 7-0 run from the Crusaders, giving them a 26-24 advantage.

· King nailed his second three-point bucket of the day.

· Soon after, Caldwell helped the Black Knights regain the lead with a successful and-one layup within the final two minutes.

· King recorded a team-high 15 points, shooting 6-8 from the floor and 3-5 from behind the arc.

· Grayson was effective on both ends of the court, notching nine points, three rebounds, two assists and two steals.

· Despite the back-and-forth nature of the first half, Army was able to maintain the lead for 13:43 of the first 20 minutes

SECOND HALF

· Army started the second half in similar fashion with the first score of the half on a jumper from Caldwell.

· With a follow up layup from King, the Black Knights were able to secure a 10-point lead, their largest of the day.

· Holy Cross went on an 11-2 run to move the Crusaders back within one with 13:19 left to play.

· Charlie Peterson broke Holy Cross's run with a pair of free throws followed by a strong layup, his first points of the day.

· Turnovers proved to be an issue for the Black Knights in the final 10, allowing Holy Cross to take the lead on a 22-8 run.

· Layups by Nick Finke and Caldwell helped keep the Black Knights within two scores.

· Two threes by Holy Cross under three minutes improved the Crusaders lead to eight.

· Despite sinking 22 points in the second half, Army couldn't regain momentum, falling just short of the Crusaders 70-61.

UP NEXT: The Black Knights will head on the road for their next pair of conference matchups against Boston University.