Marywood Falls to Division I Army in Season Opener
Matt Lepri's (right) three gave Marywood an early lead but it was all host Army from there as the Pacers fell to the Division I Black Knights Wednesday

Marywood Falls to Division I Army in Season Opener

Men's Basketball - 11/16/2011 7:54:00 PM

Box Score

West Point, NY – After visiting Marywood University hit a three-pointer to open the game, Division I Army used a 14-0 run over the next six minutes and cruised from there to a 95-40 win over the Pacers Wednesday evening at Army's Christl Arena.  Brent Keyes matched the game-high with 14 points to lead Marywood, who fell to 0-1 on the year.  It was the Black Knight's first win of the 2011-12 season in three tries after consecutive losses in the Armed Forces Classic to Air Force and Citadel to open the season. 

Marywood's Matt Lepri hit a trey to give the Pacers a 3-0 lead after the opening tip, but the Black Knight's quickness on both ends of the court and sharp shooting the rest of the half doomed the Pacers.  Army stretched their lead to 26-7 with ten minutes left in the first half thanks to 45 percent shooting from the floor, which included a 36.4% mark from behind the arc (4 of 11).  The Pacers, meanwhile, managed just 3 of 11 shooting (27.3%) during that time which included a 1 of 5 mark from deep.

A three from Keyes ended Army's second run of the game (12-4) to cut the Black Knight's lead to 26-10 with 9:15 left in the opening stanza.  A traditional three-point play from Shane Kellaher continued to cut into the Pacers' deficit but Army answered with a three at the other end to go back up 16, 29-13 with 8:15 remaining. 

The hosts continued their dominance the remainder of the half, going into the locker room with a 24 point advantage, 47-23.  Army hit 14 of 28 shots from the floor in the opening stanza and connected on six of 15 attempts from three-point land.  Marywood was limited offensively in the opening half, hitting just 33.3% of their shots (7 of 21) and turning the ball over 13 times.  Keyes led the Pacers with nine first half points on four of six shooting from the floor with one three-pointer. Josh Herbeck led the Black Knights with ten first half points while Julian Simons and Jalen Harris each had eight points.  All three had two three pointers for Army.

Army would open the half on a 13-5 run to stretch their lead to 60-28 with 15 minutes to go.  A 20-10 run would extend the Black Knight's lead to 80-38 with 6:51 remaining.  Army continued to remain hot from the floor the rest of the way as the Black Knights hit six more three's in the second half.    

The Black Knights forced 29 turnovers on the night and hit a total of 12 three pointers.  For the game, Marywood hit 28.3% from the floor and connected on just 17 of 60 attempts from behind the arc.  Army placed three players in double figures, led by Herbeck's 14.  Tim Mullen added eight points for Marywood while Kellaher had seven.

Marywood returns to action this weekend at the Laurel Line tournament hosted by Misericordia University in Dallas.  Marywood will face Arcadia University in Friday's opening round action at 6:00 pm.  In the other game, the host Cougars will take on Baptist Bible College at 8:00 pm.  Winners of game one and two will meet in the Championship game Saturday at 8:00 pm while the consolation game is slated for a 6:00 pm tip-off.

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