Jan. 25, 2006
Box Score
ANNAPOLIS // (AP) Greg Sprink scored 27 points Wednesday as Navy beat American for the first time in 15 years, 77-68.
Adam Teague added a career-high 19 points for Navy, which had lost 11 straight games to the Eagles and never beaten them in eight previous Patriot League games. The win also marked the first time American had lost on Navy's current home court, Alumni Hall, which opened in 1991.
Navy had not beaten AU in Annapolis since Jan. 17, 1987. Navy (8-10, 1-4) trailed American (6-13, 2-4) 37-31 at the half, but rallied to take the lead 49-48 with 12:04 to play when Kaleo Kina made three free throws.
During the Navy run to open the half, Sprink made three 3-pointers in a row and added two more to give Navy leads of 54-53 and 61-56. He made 7 of 10 three-point attempts.
Matt Fannin reinjured his left knee early in the second half, but returned to help the Mids down the stretch. He gave Navy the lead for good at 58-56 with a basket at 6:26 and finished with eight points, five assists and five rebounds. Corey Johnson added nine rebounds and six assists. Teague was 11 of 12 from the line as Navy made 19 of 23 free throws including eight in a row to close the game.
American was led by career-highs from Derrick Mercer with 17 points and Paulius Joneliunas with 15 points. Arvydas Eituavicus added 11 points for the Eagles. American shot just 40.3 percent from the floor and made just eight of 15 free throws. The Eagles shot 45 percent in the first half, but cooled off to just 35 percent after halftime.
