Patriot League First Round Recap: Army and Loyola (MD) prevail

The Patriot League Tournament began Monday night with the bottom-of-the-pack winnowing itself down to just a few members.

At West Point, No. 8 seed Army played No. 9 seed American, while No. 7 seed Loyola (MD) hosted No. 10 seed Lafayette. Here are quick recaps of those games on the tournament’s opening night:

Army 74, American 58

Though Army only led by one at halftime, a barrage of six second half three-pointers propelled the Black Knights over American. Jordan Fox poured in 23 points off of five made threes but will need to take better care of the ball (6 turnovers) against a feisty Bucknell team. Freshman guard Tommy Funk also chipped in 11 assists. To hang with the top-seeded Bison, it would certainly help if Luke Morrison got hot from three. The junior went 3-for-5 from deep against American, and is just a few games removed from a perfect 5-for-5 effort in a win over BU. For American, Delante Jones showed some promise for next year, as the sophomore ended the year with an efficient 14 points.

Lafayette 64, Loyola (MD) 67

Loyola survived a scare against Lafayette with a second half rally. The Greyhounds will struggle against BU if they replicate the 25 percent three-point performance (3-for-12) they put up against the Leopards. They’ll also need big nights once again from Jarred Jones and Cameron Gregory. Jones led the way with 21 points (10-18 FG) and nine rebounds, while Gregory pitched in a double-double with 11 points and 11 rebounds. Loyolas rebounding will be especially key against a guard-heavy BU team.