Taishi Ito

WEST POINT, N.Y. --- Senior Jarell Brown scored 23 points to lead the Army Black Knights to a 70-66 victory over the Portland Pilots Saturday afternoon at Christl Arena. Portland (5-10) falls to 1-6 on the road with the loss, while the Black Knights (7-6) improve to 6-1 in games decided by five points or less.

For the second consecutive game, Portland’s opponent shot 50 percent from the field. Army finished 24-for-48 from the floor, three days after Yale shot an opponent season high of 63 percent.

"After Yale I was really concerned about our defense,” head coach Eric Reveno said. “I was more encouraged by our energy level on defense today and how we forced them to make adjustments. But Army did make the necessary adjustments and made a few more plays down the stretch and that was the difference."

Senior Sherrard Watson led three Pilots in double figures with 17 points on 6-for-9 shooting. Sophomore point guard Taishi Ito added 13 points, while sophomore forward Robin Smeulders had his second straight solid effort off the bench with 10 points and nine rebounds.

"Offensively I was disappointed with our execution,” added Reveno. “Give Army credit for being disciplined and taking us out of our offensive rhythm. You are not going to get a lot of good shots against a team like that, but we were able to get an advantage on the offensive glass. Unfortunately, we didn't capitalize on our second chance opportunities as much as we would have liked."

Brown, who came in averaging 20.7 points, had just five at the half before erupting for 18 second half points to propel the Cadets.

After trailing by five at the half, Portland took control of the game early in the second half. The Pilots opened the stanza on a 11-3 burst to take a three-point lead. Kramer Knutson’s tip-in on a missed shot gave Portland a 36-33 lead with 13:24 remaining. The three-point cushion would be UP’s biggest lead.

Army regained the lead minutes later, but Watson then drilled a jumper to give the lead back to Portland at 40-39 with 10 minutes showing on the clock. The Black Knights then embarked on 21-10 run to gain control of the game. UP never let the game get out of reach, but Army would hold on for the win.

Portland held a 35-27 advantage in rebounds, but Army was able to register 20 points in the paint and scored 17 second chance points. The Black Knights committed just 11 turnovers, while scoring 20 points on 16 UP mishaps.

The Pilots shot 42.3 percent (22-for-52) for the game and hit seven three-pointers. Army connected on six shots from behind the three-point arc. 

The Pilots got off to rocky start allowing numerous point blank baskets in the first half. The Black Knights led by as much as 10 in the period, but Portland used a long three-pointer at the halftime buzzer by Jared Stohl to cut the deficit to 30-25.

"It’s (the loss) definitely disappointing, but now we need to focus on league play,” Watson said after the game. “You obviously want momentum going into conference play, but I know that we're excited about the stretch run."