Army Black Knights Take Down Loyola Maryland for First Patriot League Win
Army West Point had fallen behind in the standings this season, but on Wednesday night, they rewrote their narrative and snatched their first Patriot League win of the season.
The Black Knights (7-8, 1-2 in Patriot) put on a show for their home crowd against Loyola Maryland in a 74-72 victory.
The Black Knights started the game off strong against Loyola Maryland (6-8, 1-2), jumping to a 20-9 lead in just the first few minutes of the game. The Greyhounds came into this matchup on level ground, not holding much advantage over the heads of Army's starting five.
Jalen Rucker, Blake Barker, Ryan Curry, AJ Allenspach, and Josh Scovens started for the Black Knights, with three of the five men in their senior year with Army.
Early turnovers posed a problem for the Greyhounds, giving momentum to Army for a sizable lead to close out the first half. Before halftime, the Black Knights shut down Loyola's offense with forced turnovers that turned into points.
Rucker was a steadfast and consistent member on both sides of the ball, leading his team in scoring for the night. He put up 26 points to fend off the Greyhounds, completely raising up the Army's offense. Rucker also managed to record three rebounds and two assists to help seal this victory.
Rucker is currently the Patriot League's leader in points per game, as he was averaging 18 points per game entering the contest. The senior guard played no differently on Wednesday night, and kept his team from losing its third conference game.
His teammate, Allenspach, leads the league in rebounds per game, and he kept up with tradition, recording seven rebounds against the Greyhounds. Allenspach also scored 12 points.
At times, the offensive rebounding effort on both sides was absent, allowing for multiple second-try shots. Army seemed to be overshadowed by its opponents' defensive rebounds, but their own defensive contributions closed that gap.
Throughout the second half, Loyola would hit scoring strides as they looked to catch Army on their heels. Ever so slowly, the Greyhounds inched closer to the Black Knights, managing to get within two points in the final nine seconds of regulation play. Despite those efforts, Loyola was never able to control the game after the 17-point deficit at the half.
Looking ahead, the Black Knights will attempt to keep their winning streak going as they face off against Lehigh for another Patriot League matchup on Saturday.