Army Basketball Drops Road Matchup at Bucknell

LEWISBURG, Pa. — Army West Point men’s basketball (16-12, 10-6) saw a tough loss on the road on Sunday, falling to the Bucknell Bison (15-14, 11-5), 53-84.

The Black Knights struggled shooting, finishing the game with a 38.9 shooting percentage from the floor and only shooting 18.5 percent from the three-point line. On the other side, Bucknell finished the game shooting 56.9 percent from the floor and 56 percent from behind the arch.

Seniors Jalen Rucker and AJ Allenspach both finished the game with a team-high 13 points and four rebounds each.

Isaiah Caldwell added eight points and tied his career-high with four steals. Jacen Holloway earned a career-high seven points in his first career start alongside three rebounds.

Jackson Mayo added a season-high six points off the bench shooting 2-3 from the three-point line in the final four minutes of the game.

In the first two minutes of the game, the Black Knights saw a 6-8 deficit to start the game.

In that stretch, Jacen Holloway earned the Black Knights’ first bucket with a three-pointer, with Jalen Rucker also adding a three-pointer of his own.

Then over the next three minutes, the Bucknell Bison went on a 10-0 run to take a demanding lead. The lead grew to 18-6 with 14:07 left in the first half.

The Bison were able to stretch the lead to 26-11 with 10:05 left in the first frame. Jalen Rucker added three points and AJ Allenspach added two points.

The Black Knights were able to narrow the lead with a 7-0 run, making it only an eight-point game with 8:20 left in the first half. Jalen Rucker scored another five points with a three-pointer and driving layup and Isaiah Caldwell added a pull-up jumper.

AJ Allenspach and Jalen Rucker each added a bucket over the next four minutes, but Bucknell ultimately outscored Army 12-4 to make it a 38-22 game with 4:49 left in the first half.

In the final four minutes of the first half, the Black Knights outscored Bucknell 8-6, making it a 30-44 game heading into the locker room.

In that stretch, AJ Allenspach had four points plus Isaiah Caldwell and Jacen Holloway each added a bucket.

To start the second half, the Black Knights were the benefactors of a 6-2 swing, making it a 10-point game with 18:08 left to play. Jacen Holloway started scoring, with Ryan Curry adding his first bucket of the game and Isaiah Caldwell benefiting from a steal he created with a driving layup.

Bucknell then went on its first big run of the first half, outscoring Army 12-2 to take a 58-38 lead with 13:51 left to play. Isaiah Caldwell had the lone bucker for the Black Knights, creating the opportunity off his own steal.

The Black Knights would chip into the lead with a 7-3 swing led by AJ Allenspach. He led the run with five points, with Blake Barker adding two points courtesy of an assist from Kevin McCarthy.

Then in the next four minutes, the Black Knights were on the receiving end of a 17-0 run. During that stretch, Army shot 0-4 from the floor, 0-3 from the three-point line and had five turnovers.

In the final four minutes, the Black Knights scored eight points, with two made three-pointers from Jackson Mayo and two made free-throws from JT Dougherty, bringing the game to the final score of 84-53 in Bucknell’s favor.