SYRACASE, N.Y. – Fifty-five minutes were decided by one shot.
In a marathon game that went three overtime periods, Ryan Curry lofted a step back three-point shot with the game clock running out and the shot clock running out even quicker. In a moment frozen seemingly longer than the overall extra time added against the Le Moyne Dolphins, Curry's shot fell with six seconds to play, the home team couldn't respond, and Army walked away with a thrilling 103-100 win on Dec. 3 in Central New York.Army was outrebounded by one but won the battle for offensive rebounds by one. The fans in the Le Moyne Events Center saw 13 ties and eight lead changes. Both teams recorded 17 assists and 13 points off turnovers, and each squad had 95 total possessions. Most improbably, however, was the 40.2% from the field both teams shot, and the 0.2% from three-point range separating the teams.A pair of Blake Barker free throws gave Army a three-point lead in the first overtime, but an AJ Dancler three-pointer from Le Moyne tied the game with 23 seconds on the clock and long enough to force an additional five minutes. After Curry made it 92-90 Army with 20 seconds remaining in the ensuing overtime, a pair of Dolphins free throws from Zek Tekin with eight seconds on the game clock extended the contest yet again.Army led 100-96 with 1:40 in triple overtime before Tekin once again knocked down a pair from the stripe and Ocypher Owens tied the game at 100 for Le Moyne, leading to Curry's eventual game-winner. Curry totaled 24 in the marathon matchup, going 10-for-18 from the field and 4-for-10 from 3-point range. The output represents the second-highest career number of points in a game over the sophomore's career, behind his 28-point performance at Marist on Nov. 15. Jalen Rucker scored 34 points and pulled down a career-high 13 rebounds. Just one point short of his career-high, Rucker connected on five shots from 3-point range and had his first career double-double against the NEC foe.Josh Scovens meanwhile also added 24 points, a season-high for the sophomore. His 10 rebounds were a career-high and clinched him his first career double-double as well. AJ Allenspach had nine points and Barker added seven in Tuesday's win. After Army raced to a 5-0 lead in the matchup's opening moments, the Dolphins led by as much as 24-12 with just under seven minutes in the first half.Army however closed the half with a 19-9 run to go into the ahead 31-30. Rucker accounted for three field goals during this stretch as the Black Knights swiftly established momentum for the remainder of the evening.The Black Knights continued their extended run with a 14-2 scoring stretch across the first 4:36 in the second half to go ahead 45-32.Le Moyne regrouped and got within single digits with 12:41 to play, but Army counter punched back and took its largest lead of the game — 14 points — with 5:07 on the clock.It was the home team that got the last punch in regulation however, embarking on a 20-6 run to end initial 40 minutes. The Black Knights moved to 5-3 overall and claimed their first road win of the 2024-25 campaign. It also evens the team's overtime record to 1-1 this season after losing at Marist in an extra period earlier this year.