Black Knights Nab First Patriot League Victory

WEST POINT – The Army West Point men’s basketball team led wire-to-wire Sunday afternoon to register its first Patriot League victory of the early season.

Army started hot and never really looked back defeating a strong Loyola team, 66-57.
The Black Knights showcased solid defense in the opening period, holding the Greyhounds to just 19 points on 30.8 percent shooting. The Greyhounds’ 19 points marked Army’s best defensive effort in an opening period of play and second best defensive half overall this season.

Army held a slim 7-6 advantage just five minutes into the contest. The Black Knights added on using a 13-0 run to break the game open at 20-6. Army kept its visitor scoreless for a little less than seven and a half minutes during that span. The Cadets then continued to control the game, taking the 29-19 lead into the locker room.

Army pushed its advantage to the largest of the game at 37-21 early in the second period but Loyola would not go away. The Greyhounds slowly started to chip away at the deficit, pulling within 45-40 with 11:01 left on the clock. Unfortunately, that would be as close as the visitors would come as the Cadets answered with a 7-2 run to make it a 52-42 ballgame with less than nine minutes to play.

The Black Knights then maintained that edge for the remainder of the contest to secure their seventh victory of the year.

Three cadet-athletes registered double digits with Jordan Fox’s 14 points leading the way. The sophomore finished 4-of-9 from the floor, 1-of-3 from 3-point range and 5-for-6 at the charity stripe. He also dished out a game-high five assists.

Joining Fox in twin figures was John Emezie and Luke Morrison, who posted 13 and 11 points, respectively. Emezie was a perfect 6-for-6 at the free throw line, while Morrison led all scorers with three makes from downtown.

Senior Mac Hoffman was one rebound shy of earning his third career double figure rebounding night. He posted nine boards to lead the Black Knights on the glass. Rookie Matt Wilson and senior Kennedy Edwards were a close second with eight rebounds each.