1/26/2002 - Men's Basketball
Navy Men's Basketball Wins 13th-Consecutive Against Army

Links associated with this release:
0
0
0

ANNAPOLIS, Md. - The Navy men's basketball team extended its winning streak to 13 in a row over Army Saturday with a 79-61 victory over the Black Knights at Alumni Hall. The Mids own a 60-35 series advantage and haven't lost a game against their arch rival since March 4, 1996. Meanwhile, head coach Don DeVoe collected his 498th-career victory, while improving his record against Army to 23-1 over the last 10 years.

"This was a remarkable performance coming off of what I thought was our worst defensive performance," said DeVoe. "The early run we made set the pace for the game. We kept them without second shots and we also became a good rebounding team again today."

The Midshipmen opened the game on a 12-0 run, as four different players tossed in buckets for Navy. Army didn't get on the board until the 15:24 mark on a lay-up by senior forward Charles Woodruff, followed by a three-pointer by guard J.P. Spatola. Navy, though, went on another run, out-scoring the Black Knights 21-8 and opened up a 20-point, 33-13 lead with five-and-a-half remaining in the opening stanza. Army was able to get within 14, but back-to-back buckets by Scott Long (Newbury Park, Calif.) and a pair of free throws by junior forward Francis Ebong (Omaha, Neb.) gave Navy a comfortable 43-23 lead at the half.

Not only did Navy have a comfortable lead in the scoring column, but owned a decisive 28-5 advantage on the boards, including 12-0 in offensive rebounds. The Mids converted on their offensive caroms, out-scoring Army, 17-0, on second-chance points.

Navy pushed the lead to its largest margin, 53-27, by the 18-minute mark in the second half on three-consecutive baskets by Jason Jeanpierre (Clifton Park, N.Y.). That's when Army's leading scorer on the season Chris Spatola got the hot hand. The elder Spatola, who was held scoreless in the first half thanks to Demond Shepard's (Albany, N.Y.) stifling defense, scored 13 points down the stretch for the Black Knights. The closest Army would get, however, was 17, which it achieved three times, including a 73-56 deficit with 3:21 remaining in the game.

"All my teammates helped me out on him (Chris Spatola)," said Shepard. "They were hedging which gave me time to recover off screens. I wanted to make him take some tough shots. He's a very good player, so that was my only job - not to give him good looks at the basket."

For the game, the Mids out-rebounded Army by 22 and finished with a 20-9 edge in second-chance points.

"Our seniors really stepped it up," said DeVoe. "Mitch did a fantastic job with his post defense and his ability to get inside shots was an asset. Demond did a great job defensively against the league's best scorer, Chris Spatola. And Jehiel did a job on the boards."

Jeanpierre led the Mids with 19 points which included three triples. Shepard not only contributed to the defense, but Navy's offense, as he scored 16 points and added four offensive rebounds. Ebong picked up his fourth double-double of the year with 12 points and 10 boards, while senior Jehiel Lewis (Houston, Texas) was just shy of a double-double with nine points and career-high 16 rebounds. Junior center Mitch Moore (Fairborn, Ohio) was strong in the paint for the Mids, scoring nine points and adding seven rebounds.

For Army, the Spatola brothers accounted for 27 of Army's 61 points. J.P. Spatola scored 14 points, while Chris Spatola tossed in 13. Woodruff chipped in 10 for the Black Knights.

With 4,340 fans in attendance, it marked the eighth-largest crowd to witness a game at Navy's Alumni Hall. Not a surprising note, however, is seven of the eight largest crowds have been Army-Navy contests.

"I don't know how many people were here today, but it felt like it was packed," said Moore of the crowd. "To feel the energy was just amazing. It's been a big boost for us to have our classmates here backing us this year."

Navy returns to action Wednesday night when it travels to nearby Bender Arena on the campus of American University. While Navy owns a 33-18 series advantage, the two teams have not met since 1991 when both teams were members of the Colonial Athletic Association. Game time is slated for 7 p.m. and will be aired by Comcast SportsNet.

League standings following Jan. 26 games-

1. American, 4-2

Navy, 4-2

Bucknell, 4-2

4. Lafayette, 3-3

Army, 3-3

Holy Cross, 3-3

7. Colgate, 2-4

8. Lehigh, 1-5

G-o N-a-v-y