WEST POINT, N.Y. – The Fairleigh Dickinson men's basketball team was unable to overcome a hot-shooting first half by Army West Point, falling 81-65 at Christl Arena on Monday night.
Four Knights scored in double figures in the loss, led by junior guard
Jahlil Jenkins and junior forward
Elyjah Williams, who tallied 15 points apiece. Senior forward
Kaleb Bishop amassed an 11-point, 12-rebound double-double, while freshman guard
Devon Dunn netted a season-best 12 points in the loss.
The Cadets (2-2) were led by Lonnie Grayson's 19 points, while senior forward Matt Wilson double-doubled with 16 points and 14 rebounds and Tommy Funk dished out 13 assists. The Knights, who were outrebounded 38-30 in the contest, shot 38.7 percent overall and surrendered a 54.2 percent clip to Army.
Army also shot 54.2 percent from behind the arc and drained 13 3-pointers in the contest. The Burgundy and Blue made nine 3-pointers in the loss and won the turnover battle 14-11.
"Hats off to Army tonight – they played on all cylinders from the beginning of the game to the end," said
Greg Herenda following the loss. "We were a step slow to everything tonight on defense and it seemed like every shot they put up went in. We made a great run to cut it to three in the middle of the second half but they came right back and drilled two threes to extend the lead. Funk really controlled the game and the rest of his team just played off of him. Army played a great game and we simply could not match them."
Army made 13 of their first 16 shots – including a 5-for-5 start from long range – as they led 31-21 at the under-eight media timeout. Dunn kept the Knights afloat by scoring all 12 of his points in the half.
The Black Knights would cool down but still posted a 65.5 percent shooting clip in the opening stanza, while the Burgundy and Blue shot 40 percent overall and made 5-of-16 from deep. Defensively, the Knights were able to force nine first-half turnovers.
Wilson was one of three Cadets to log 10 points in the half and made 5-of-7 from the floor as his team scored 26 first-half points in the paint. The Knights would weather the offensive barrage and entered halftime trailing by 10, 45-35.
Out of the locker room, the Knights cut the deficit to six, 52-46, before the host Army answered with a 7-0 run.
Jenkins found his stroke and delivered back-to-back 3-pointers, which would bring the Knights to within three, 59-56, and forced an Army timeout with 10 minutes to play.
Despite the Knights' momentum, they were unable to get any closer as the Cadets scored the next 11 points. The Army lead would eventually grow to 18 points after Jordan Coleman made a 3-pointer with 2:05 to play.
The Knights are back in action on Sunday, November 24 when they visit Easton, Pa. to take on Lafayette at 1:00 p.m.
