1/16/2002 - Men's Basketball
Navy Basketball Survives Double Overtime Scare At Home Versus Lehigh
Links associated with this release:
0
0
0
ANNAPOLIS, Md. - The Navy men's basketball team out-scored Lehigh, 9-2, in the second overtime, surviving the scare, 92-85 at Alumni Hall Wednesday evening. With the win, the Mids improved to 7-11 overall and 2-1 in the Patriot League, while Lehigh's (4-12 overall, 1-2 Patriot League) road woes continued, losing its eighth on the road. The last time Navy played in a double overtime contest was Don DeVoe's first season - a 65-62 win over Loyola (J11, 93) in one of the last games played at Halsey Fieldhouse.
While Navy held the lead for nearly the entire game, Lehigh went on an 8-0 run with 10 minutes remaining in regulation to knot the score at 61. Meanwhile, the Mountain Hawks took a 65-63 lead on a pair of Matt Logie free throws with 6:41 to go in regulation, their first lead since the 13:30 mark in the first half (15-13). Lehigh was up by as many as five (70-65) with 4:45 to go in regulation when Navy's Jason Jeanpierre (Clifton Park, N.Y.) and Jehiel Lewis (Houston, Texas) scored Navy's final nine points. A tip in by Lehigh point guard Ra Tiah gave the Mountain Hawks a one-point, 74-73 lead with 41 seconds to go. Logie, however, got tangled up with Lewis, sending him to the line for two shots. Lewis missed the front end of the two shot foul, but knotted the score with 33 seconds. Neither team was able to get off a shot in the final seconds, sending the game to its first overtime tied at 74.
The first overtime period saw Navy's Francis Ebong (Omaha, Neb.) come alive. The starting center had been sidelined most of the game because of foul trouble. Ebong scored the first bucket of overtime and along the way made two free throws to give Navy a 78-77 advantage. Jeanpierre extended the Mids' lead to 81-77 with 3:26 to go on a three-pointer. Lehigh, though, came back as Alex Jensen made the second of a two-shot foul, followed by a fast break lay-up by Scott Taylor to close the deficit to one (81-80) with 2:12 to go. Jensen fouled Navy forward Quintrell McCreary (Atlanta, Ga.), who was unable to pad Navy's lead, missing both tosses. Navy team captain Demond Shepard (Albany, N.Y.) came up with a big turnover and drove the length of the court to put Navy up, 83-80, with just 15 seconds to go. A 30-second timeout by Lehigh gave it time to design a play. While the play wasn't designed for Tiah to shoot the three, he was forced to take it with Shepard all over him. Tiah drained the three with two seconds remaining and sent the game into its second overtime.
Navy's pressure defense and aggressive offense allowed the Mids eight trips to the free throw line in the final overtime period. The Mids connected on seven of the eight en route to out-scoring the Mountain Hawks 9-2 in the final stanza. Included in the free throw shooting extravaganza was Ebong (3-for-4), hitting just 55.2 percent of his free throws going into the game.
"We can attribute this win to a lot of hustle and determination," said Shepard . "We tried to keep pressing them and be in the right position defensively."
"This was just a good game tonight," said Jeanpierre, who turned in a 19-point effort that included three triples. "You've gotta give him (Tiah) credit for hitting that three-pointer to send the game into the final overtime."
Lewis led all scorers in the game with 21 points, while adding eight rebounds and five assists. Ebong finished with 11 points and five boards. And for the second game in a row, McCreary came off the bench to score a career-high eight points and also bettered his career high in rebounds with 12.
Four Lehigh players finished in double digits, led by Logie and Taylor. Taylor had a fine performance, adding 10 boards and a pair of steals in the game. Tiah added 17 points and nine assists, while center Matt Crawford pitched in 15 points and eight boards.
"This was a great game tonight," said Lehigh head coach Sal Mentesana. "All those people telling me that Navy isn't the same team are wrong. I think they are pretty good. They were successful in getting us to play at their speed."
Navy returns to action Saturday afternoon when it travels to Hamilton, N.Y., to face Colgate. The Red Raiders are fresh off a win over Holy Cross in Worcester Wednesday night, while the Mids will be searching for their first road win of the 2001-02 season.
"In order to be successful at any level, you have to be able to win on the road," said Shepard.
"We need to mature and find a way to win away from Alumni Hall," said Navy head coach Don DeVoe.
Game time is slated for 3:15 p.m. and will be carried live by 1430 WNAV.
G-o N-a-v-y
