WEST POINT, N.Y. — Army West Point men’s basketball (11-9, 5-3) winning streak was snapped inside Christl Arena on Sunday, falling to the Navy Midshipmen (7-14, 4-4), 53-66.
The Black Knights finished the game shooting 31.1 percent from the field and 23.3 percent from the three-point line. On the other side of the ball, the Midshipmen finished the afternoon shooting 35.9 percent from the floor and 24.2 percent from the three-point line.
One of the biggest areas where the Black Knights struggled was rebounding. The Midshipmen outrebounded the Black Knights, 57-35. Nineteen of the 57 rebounds came from the offensive glass, scoring 11 second-chance points.
Despite the loss, the Black Knights finished the afternoon causing Navy to have 11 turnovers while only having five turnovers of their own. The Black Knights also saw several contributions coming off the bench, earning 13 bench points.
Josh Scovens finished the afternoon scoring a team-high 12 points, with Ryan Curry adding 11 points. AJ Allenspachand Jorn Everson also added nine points of their own, while Jalen Rucker led the team with five rebounds.
How It Happened
The Black Knights took their first lead of the game when Josh Scovens drained a hook shot to give Army a 2-0 lead. Then Navy followed on a quick 6-0 run to take a 6-2 lead.
Army quickly followed with a 7-2 run, starting with a Blake Barker three-pointer, then back-to-back points in the paint for AJ Allenspach. Army gained a 98 lead with 15:28 left in the first half.
Over the next ten minutes, the Midshipmen outscored the Black Knights 14-5, with Navy gaining their biggest lead of the first half, holding a 24-16 lead with 4:28 left in the first half.
Then the Black Knights came storming back, going on an 8-0 run over two and a half minutes.
The run was spearheaded by Josh Scovens, who scored five straight points on a layup and a three-pointer. Off the bench, Jorn Everson hit a three-pointer to tie the game at 24-24 with 50 seconds left in the half. Navy would go on to score once more in the first half, giving the Midshipmen a 26-24 lead heading to the locker room.
The first 10 minutes of the second half was a battle, with each team exchanging blows and staying within a couple of points of each other. Army grabbed its final lead of the game in a quick 6-0 burst, with Josh Scovens having four points and Isaiah Caldwell having a pull-up jumper.
The game was tied with 9:37 left to play, but then the Midshipmen hit three straight three-pointers to take a nine-point lead with 7:32 left in the game.
Army was able to cut the lead to four points with just six minutes left to play, but the Midshipmen gained more distance outscoring the Black Knights 18-5 in four and a half minutes. Despite outscoring Navy 7-3 in the final minute, the Black Knights ultimately fell to the Navy Midshipmen.
Up Next
The Black Knights hope to bounce back in their second straight game at home, this time matching up with the Colgate Raiders.
The two teams faced off once this season, with the Raiders taking a 71-59 win over the Black Knights in Hamilton, New York on January 2.
The game is slated for a 6 p.m. Wednesday tip-off, with the matchup streaming on ESPN+ and the Varsity Network.
