WEST POINT, N.Y. — Army West Point men’s basketball kicked off the 2025-26 season with a commanding 73-49 victory over SUNY Maritime on Monday night at Christl Arena, extending their winning streak over the Privateers to seven games.
The Black Knights (1-0) overcame a sluggish start to dominate the final 30 minutes, led by a breakout performance from freshman guard Jackson Furman, who scored 17 points off the bench in his collegiate debut.
Freshman Furman Shines in Historic Debut
Furman’s 17-point performance marked the highest-scoring Army freshman debut in 11 seasons, matching a feat last accomplished by Tanner Omlid, who scored 18 points against Air Force on November 8, 2013. The freshman guard shot an efficient 6-11 from the field, including 5-10 from three-point range, providing the spark Army needed after a flat first-half start.
“All credit goes to all the people in this program,” Furman said after the game. “The coaching staff just really prepared us since we started practicing, and all the guys around me just brought great energy and passion off the bench.”
When asked about choosing a military academy for his basketball career, Furman emphasized the bigger picture. “It’s definitely an amazing opportunity, and it’s just about doing something bigger than myself. I love playing basketball, and I got a great opportunity to come here and play basketball and further my academics as well.”
Balanced Attack Powers Black Knights
Sophomore guard Kevin McCarthy led all scorers with a career-high 18 points on 7-18 shooting, including four three-pointers and three steals. Sophomore forward Jacen Holloway added a career-best 13 points on 5-11 shooting, contributing three rebounds, four assists, and two steals in a well-rounded performance.
Nine Black Knights contributed to the scoring effort, with four players making their collegiate debuts. Dillon Watt, Dylan Benner, and Jahaan Green all scored in their first appearances in an Army uniform, with Green punctuating the victory with a thunderous dunk in the final seconds.
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Slow Start, Strong Finish
Army head coach Kevin Kuwik acknowledged his team’s early struggles, particularly without key player Ryan Curry in the lineup.
“We got off to a little bit of a flat start, to be honest,” Kuwik said. “We didn’t have Ryan Curry, so we were a little bit on the inexperienced side for sure. Credit to them, they came at us pretty hard early on, and our threes didn’t go and knocked us back.”
The Privateers jumped out to an early lead with an 8-0 run, but Army responded with a 7-2 burst to tie the game at 12-12. The teams traded baskets for much of the first half before Holloway’s personal 5-0 run gave Army a 28-23 advantage.
The Black Knights closed the first half on an 8-0 run, featuring three-pointers from McCarthy and Furman, to take a 36-27 lead into the break.
Second-Half Dominance
Army took control in the second half with a 9-0 run to extend their lead to 47-31 with 15:44 remaining. Furman added six points during the surge, while McCarthy contributed another three-pointer.
After Maritime briefly cut into the deficit, the Black Knights responded with an 11-0 run over four minutes to push their advantage to 60-42 with 7:03 left. McCarthy scored five points during the stretch, while Dayon Polk, Jorn Everson, and Tate Laczkowski each added buckets.
Army outscored the Privateers 13-4 in the final five minutes, with Holloway leading the charge with a personal 6-0 run that included a dunk and back-to-back driving layups.
Defense and Rebounding Key to Victory
Despite his concerns about the team’s early defensive effort, Kuwik saw improvement as the game progressed.
“It starts with our defense and rebounding,” Kuwik said. “We were down on the glass for the whole first half, pretty much. That can’t happen. Everyone’s got to do their job, got to make a miss, got to have a little grittiness on defense, and that’ll hopefully give our offense a little bit of a spark.”
Army finished with a 45-40 rebounding advantage, including 18 offensive boards that led to 13 second-chance points. The Black Knights also dominated in the paint with 34 points and capitalized on turnovers, scoring 28 points off 19 Maritime giveaways. Army recorded 12 steals and three blocks on the defensive end.
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Building Chemistry and Looking Ahead
With several new faces in the rotation, Kuwik emphasized that his team is still learning to play together.
“We’re still learning how to play with each other, to be honest with you,” the head coach said. “But I thought after the first, actually basically when this young man [Furman] checked in the game, we made a few buckets, got a little bit of a spark. For the most part, over the last 30 minutes, I liked how we fought and what we did.”
For Furman, the transition to West Point has taught him valuable lessons beyond basketball.
“One word is resilience,” Furman said. “We go through a lot of things that people at other colleges don’t have to go through—the classes and all the rigors that go along here with the military stuff as well. Just having that resilience to get through it every day.”
By the Numbers
- Field Goal Percentage: Army shot 39.2% (29-74) compared to Maritime’s 26.5% (13-49)
- Three-Point Shooting: Army made 11-41 (26.8%) from beyond the arc, while Maritime shot 5-20 (25.0%)
- Assists: Army dished out 17 assists compared to Maritime’s 8
- Points in the Paint: Army dominated 34-14
- Points Off Turnovers: Army capitalized with 28 points off 19 Maritime turnovers
What’s Next
Army hits the road for the first time this season, traveling to St. Paul, Minnesota, to face the St. Thomas Tommies on Saturday, November 8, at 8 p.m. ET. The game will mark the first-ever meeting between the two programs and the first basketball game played in the newly named Lee & Penny Anderson Arena.
The arena is named after Lee Anderson, a Minnesota native and USMA Class of 1961 graduate who was an outstanding cadet and men’s basketball player. Anderson played an integral role in the paint for Army and helped lead the program to its first three appearances in the National Invitational Tournament (NIT).
The game will stream live on the Summit League Network.
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