Army Black Knights Secure Crucial Victory Over Colgate in Patriot League Clash

A midweek matchup at West Point brought the Black Knights level with Colgate in the Patriot League standings.
Action from Wednesday's men's basketball game between Fairleigh Dickinson University and Army West Point on November 20, 2024.
Action from Wednesday's men's basketball game between Fairleigh Dickinson University and Army West Point on November 20, 2024. / Patrick Oehler/Poughkeepsie Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The Army West Point Black Knights men's basketball team is slowly climbing up the Patriot League ladder after their Wednesday night win against the Colgate Raiders. Prior to the start of the game, the Raiders were tied for first in the Patriot League with American University.

The Black Knights (12-9, 6-3 Patriot) took a hit in the conference standings with their loss against the Navy Midshipmen on Sunday night. Army turned that loss around with a commanding 84-72 win over Colgate.

In this home court takedown, Army's leading scorer came off the bench with 14 points. Freshman guard Kevin McCarthy was followed in scoring efforts by sophomore Josh Scovens, putting up 13 points and two rebounds for the Black Knights.

Colgate's (9-13, 6-3) Jeff Woodward led both teams in scoring with an incredible 22-point effort. The Raiders still fell short despite a solid starting lineup.

As a team, Army shot 32-for-61 in field goals, scoring 46 points in the paint. The Black Knights had a fairly spotless night with only five turnovers for the entire game.

Defensively, Army was able to shut down Colgate's offensive efforts. At the half, the Black Knights led by 11 points and maintained the lead throughout the second half.

The Raiders struggled to find their footing despite having a more experienced lineup. Colgate was unable to pull out the win against American just last week, and it seems they could be losing their grip on the conference.

Army's Jalen Rucker had an uncharacteristically low scoring night, only putting up seven points towards the Black Knights' victory. He leads Army in points per game for the 2024 season with an average of 18.4 points per game.

Army's AJ Allenspach had a break out game, showing off his skills on the breakaway. Allenspach put on a show for his home crowd in just the first few minutes of the game. Amazing defensive efforts by his teammates led to the highlight dunk of the night.

The Black Knights will look ahead to Saturday night for their matchup against American. Army will need to pull out all the stops to grab the road win. A win here could set them up for success in the Patriot League.


Published