11 November, 2006
by Elliot Smilowitz
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1st |
2nd |
Final |
| Army (1-0) |
41 |
39 |
80 |
| Stetson (0-1) |
27 |
41 |
68 |
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In an unexpected show of offensive force, the Army Black Knights rolled over the Stetson Hatters 80-68. Matt Bell scored 12 of his 20 in the first half as Army staked a 14-point halftime lead.
The Black Knights hit 7 first-half three-pointers, including 2 each from Bell and Jarell Brown. Meanwhile, Stetson could not buy a basket, going 9-of-23 from the floor in the first half. Brown finished with 16 points, and Cory Sinning added 9 points, 5 assists, 5 rebounds and 2 steals.
Stetson staked an early 10-4 lead, but Army went on a 22-4 run to take control of the game. The Hatters never again closed within 9 points. Army led by as much as 22 in the second half, before a late run made the final score close.
Army plays the Missouri Tigers, host of the John Thompson Foundation Classic, Saturday afternoon.
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| Keys to the Game |
| Key sequence |
With 14:14 left in the first half, a Stetson bucket made the score 13-12 Army. Jarell Brown hit a trey, and after a Hatter miss Matt Bell scored a lay-up. After the Hatters turned the ball over, Bell hit a three-pointer, then stole the ball, was fouled in transition, and hit two free throws. Sheldon Oliver hit a jumper to stop the run at 12:17, but Grant Carter hit another trey for the Black Knights on the next possession. In just over two minutes, Army ran off a 13-2 run to take a firm grasp on this game that they would never relinquish.
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| Key sign it was over |
After Stetson made a big run to cut their deficit to 12 with 1:27 to go, Cory Sinning and Matt Bell combined to go 5-of-6 from the line the rest of the way to kill any thoughts of a full comeback.
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| Key performance |
Bell scored a game-high 20, hit both of his three-point attempts, went 8-of-9 from the line, and grabbed 4 steals. He was simply everywhere for the Black Knights.
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| Key statistic |
Army hit 9 of 12 three-pointers, and 16 of 32 two-pointers. They shot the lights out to get a lead, and they padded it with good interior offense. If the Black Knights can find this kind of balance all year, they will turn some heads.
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| Notes |
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Freshman Cleveland Richard was in Army’s starting lineup rather than Jarell Brown. However, Brown scored 16 points in 17 minutes, and Richard played just 9 minutes.
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Freshman Chris Walker also started for the Black Knights. He scored 6 points in 21 minutes, and picked up 4 fouls.
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Army drew fouls well all night. Garfield Blair finished with 4 fouls, and three other Stetson starters had 3. Bench player A.J. Smith fouled out in 10 minutes of play.
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Corban Bates led the Black Knights with 7 rebounds off the bench. No Army starter grabbed more than 5 boards.
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Army’s 41 first-half points were the most in almost a year. The Black Knights posted 45 first-half points against Polytechnic Nov. 18, 2005.
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