The men’s basketball team went 1-1 in Patriot League action this week, with a 63-60 win on Saturday over Army West Point before falling in a 68-54 home loss to Loyola Maryland University.
Roaring out of the gates at West Point, New York, was the Leopards’ (5-8 Patriot League, 8-18 overall) offense, which jumped to an early 8-2 lead five minutes into the game. Sophomore guard Caleb Williams added five points over the next four minutes, giving the visitors a 15-6 advantage.
The Black Knights (4-9 Patriot League, 10-16 overall) didn’t shy away from the challenge, as they went on their own 8-2 run to get back within three points. Williams answered with a 3-pointer that stunted the hosts’ attacks and kept the Maroon and White ahead with eight minutes left in the half.
“We know it’s always a tough game playing military academies,” senior guard Ryan Pettit said. “They’re a hungry group. So are we, and it was gonna be a dogfight.”
On their final first-half possession, the Leopards surrendered a Black Knight steal, and a 3-pointer gave the hosts a 28-26 edge heading into the locker room.
Momentum carried over into the second half for Army, who opened with four points off turnovers, taking a 36-32 lead four minutes in. Over the course of the next three minutes, a jumper from junior guard Andrew Phillips and a 3-pointer from freshman forward Christian Humphrey-Rembert tied the score.
The Maroon and White sparked a 16-3 run to build a game-high 56-43 lead with six minutes left. The hosts attempted a comeback late, hitting a pair of 3-pointers to cut the lead to three with 15 seconds left. After the foul game failed, the Leopards held on to the victory.
“Being a junior captain, I’ve been here before,” Butler said. “There’s not a moment I really haven’t seen.”
Leading scorers for the Leopards were Phillips, Williams and Humphrey-Rembert, who recorded 15, 14 and 13, respectively.
Wednesday’s contest against Loyola (6-7 Patriot League, 10-16 overall) saw both teams neck-and-neck out of the gate, with the Greyhounds holding a narrow 16-14 lead. However, the visitors went on a 10-3 run that lasted until the 10-minute mark.
A slam dunk from junior center Misha Bednostin got the Maroon and White within five, which would prove to be the closest margin for the rest of the period. To wrap up the last six minutes of the half, the Greyhounds outscored the hosts 12-6 to grasp a 40-29 halftime lead.
Phillips capped off a 10-5 run to open the second half with a 3-pointer to bring the lead to 45-39. For the next three minutes, it was back-and-forth shooting, but the Greyhounds began to pull above a 10-point advantage with nine and a half minutes remaining. An 11-3 run put Loyola up 68-50 with a minute left, and two Maroon and White buckets cut the final damage to a 14-point differential.
Butler said the team needs to “work on the energy.” The Leopards host rival Lehigh University (7-6 Patriot League, 11-15 overall) on Saturday, where Butler said “the energy will be here.”
“It being a rivalry game, I don’t think we need to worry about that.”