Jan. 22, 2008

• Navy Game Notes
• Holy Cross Game Notes
• Patriot League Notes
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ANNAPOLIS, Md. - The Navy men's basketball team heads north on Wednesday in search of its second Patriot League win of the year Wednesday night against Holy Cross. Tip-off is slated at 7:00 pm (ET) at the Hart Center in Worcester, Mass. Navy enters the contest with an 8-10 overall mark (1-2 PL), while preseason favorite Holy Cross is 9-7 overall (0-3 PL).

The game will be broadcast by WNAV (1430 AM) with Bob Socci calling the action, beginning with the Navy pregame show at 6:45 pm. The contest will also be streamed online at www.navysports.com and www.patriotleague.com as part of the Patriot League All-Access package.

Navy Looks to Rebound After Wild Game Against Lafayette on Saturday Night
Navy enters the contest with an 8-10 record (1-2 PL) following its wild 103-99 overtime loss against league-leader Lafayette on Saturday night. Not too many games in the Patriot League end up the way the contest with Lafayette did. The two teams combined for 143 shots, 36 offensive rebounds, 43 turnovers, 23 three-pointers made in 58 attempts and 33 fast-break points. Additionally, there were 176 possessions in the overtime contest.

Despite the loss, Navy continues to put up impressive numbers. Senior Greg Sprink is having a fantastic season, averaging a league-best 20.7 ppg and ranking tied for second in the Patriot League at 6.6 rpg. Despite shooting juts 37.2 percent from the field and 28.6 percent from the free throw line, Sprink has gotten to the line a remarkable 126 times already (7.0 fta per game), including 33 times (11.0 fta per game) in league play.

Junior Kaleo Kina has also had a strong season, averaging 14.5 ppg, 4.6 rpg and 3.6 apg. He recorded his second career double-double with an 18-point, 10-assist effort against the Leopards, but has struggled with turnovers lately. He coughed up the ball 10 times against Lafayette, and in three Patriot League games has recorded 19 turnovers.

Lastly, sophomore Chris Harris is the final Navy player in double-figures, averaging 12.4 ppg and 3.4 apg. He had a career-high 26 points with six assists against just one turnover in 42 minutes against Lafayette. He has been red-hot from long-distance, shooting 57.1 percent (12-of-21) in the Patriot League.

Navy leads the league in scoring margin (+2.1), three-point defense (.314), steals (9.00) and turnover margin (+1.11), while ranking second in three-pointers made per game (9.33).

The Book on Holy Cross
Holy Cross entered the season as the overwhelming favorite to repeat as Patriot League champs, but a rash of injuries has been a reason for Holy Cross' 0-3 start in league play. However, things are looking up for the Crusaders as several of the injured players returned in time for Friday's game against Bucknell. Holy Cross has lost four games in a row and six of its last eight.

Leading Holy Cross is 6-11 senior center Tim Clifford, who averages 16.4 ppg, good for fourth in the league, while shooting 55.6 percent from the field and blocking 33 shots on the defensive end. Alex Vander Baan is next at 9.3 ppg and leads the team at 6.6 rpg. Pat Doherty averages 9.1 ppg and 4.4 apg. Vander Baan missed three games with injury, while Doherty missed two. Both saw extensive action against Bucknell.

Two constants about Holy Cross teams are visible again this year: defense and rebounding. The Crusaders are allowing teams to score just 60.7 ppg while shooting 41.7 percent from the field, leading the league in scoring defense. Opponents are connecting on 37.2 percent of their three-point tries, ranking seventh in the league in that category. Holy Cross is outrebounding foes by almost six boards a game. However, Holy Cross is averaging almost two turnovers a game more than its foes.

Series History
The Crusaders lead the all-time series, 29-14, including 17 wins in a row, dating back to a 58-51 Crusaders' win on Feb. 19, 2000. The 17-game win streak is one of the longest in the country. During the streak, Holy Cross has outscored Navy by an average of 17.0 points per game (71.6 - 54.6). Just once in the 17 games (and none in the last 16) has Navy scored more than 70 points in a game and just six of the contests have been determined by 10 or fewer points.

Last Year's Meetings
Just like it had done for the previous six seasons, Holy Cross swept the season series last year. The Crusaders won the first meeting, 61-42, in Worcester on Jan. 17, and then topped Navy, 68-40, in Annapolis on Feb. 15.

In the first meeting, Holy Cross outscored the Mids, 41-23, in the second half to break open a tight game. Keith Simmons led Holy Cross with 22 points and seven rebounds, while Adam Teague scored 17 points off the bench for Navy. The Mids shot just 31.9 percent from the field and were outrebounded by 10, 35-25.

In the second meeting, Holy Cross blitzed Navy, 68-40. The Crusaders led 36-18 at halftime, after opening the game on a 23-4 run. Clifford torched Navy for 33 points and Navy shot just 25.0 percent from the field. The game was postponed from the previous day due to an icestorm that covered the area and wouldn't allow Holy Cross to arrive in time.

Lafayette Trips Navy in Overtime, 103-99
In one of the wildest games ever played in Alumni Hall, Lafayette overcame a 15-point halftime deficit and won an NCAA-record tying sixth overtime game with a thrilling 103-99 victory at Navy on Saturday night.

Navy led 60-45 with 13:06 to play, before Lafayette ended regulation on a 40-25 run to tie the game at 85. The Mids had their chances in regulation, leading 83-79 on an Adam Teague three-pointer with 57 seconds left, but Lafayette scored on a pair of conventional three-point plays and Kaleo Kina's runner at the buzzer rimmed out and the game went into overtime.

In the extra session, Navy led 94-93 on a Chris Harris jumper, but Andrew Brown connected on a three-pointer with 48 seconds left and then hit a layup off a Navy turnover with 11 seconds left to give the Leopards a four-point lead. Michael Gruner iced the game away with a pair of free throws with seven seconds left for the final margin.

It was an offensive showcase for the league's top two offenses. Lafayette's Bilal Abdullah and Navy's Greg Sprink waged a memorable scoring battle by tallying 34 and 33 points, respectively. Sprink would add 12 rebounds and five assists for his second double-double in a row. Harris added 26 and Kaleo Kina scored 18 for Navy. Brown contributed 18 for Lafayette.

Lafayette Post-Game Notes
• Navy allowed a foe to score 100 points for the first time since Jan. 22, 1992, when Lehigh topped Navy, 106-86. It was just the 12th time in school history that a foe scored 100 points, and the eighth most allowed in school history.

• The 202 combined points were the fifth most in a game in school history, and most since the 1991-92 season.

• Navy's 99 points were the third most scored by Navy in Patriot League play. It was also the most points scored by Navy against Lafayette.

• Navy's 99 points were the second most in a loss.

• Navy saw its four-game overtime winning streak end with the loss. Navy's last loss in overtime came on March 4, 2005, an 85-83 setback to American in the Patriot League Tournament. Navy is now 4-3 under Billy Lange in overtime sessions.

• Navy's 13 three-pointers tied for the fifth most in school history, while the 31 attempts tied for the eighth most in school history.

• Navy saw a 20-game winning streak end when leading with five minutes to play. It saw an 18-game winning streak end when leading with 10 minutes to play.

• The Mids lost for the first time in the last nine games when scoring 80 or more points (UMBC; Jan. 3, 2006).

• Navy has now lost 15 games in a row when allowing 90 or more points.

• Greg Sprink's 33 points were the most scored by a Navy player against Lafayette in 60 meetings. The previous high was 30 set twice before. With the 33 points, he went over 1,500 points in his career.

• Sprink played in his 100th career game.

• Sprink became the first player since Chris Williams against Northeastern (Nov. 20, 2000) to score 30 points with 10 rebounds in a game.

• Greg Sprink became the first player since Sitapha Savane (Dec. 2-23, 1999) to score 20 or more points in four straight games. The last player to reach 20 points in five straight games was the great David Robinson.

• Kaleo Kina became the first Navy player since Reggie Skipworth against Rice (Nov. 16, 1998) to dish out 10 assists in a game. He was the first player since Jehiel Lewis had 21 points and 12 steals against Bucknell on Jan. 12, 2002, to record a double-double with something other than rebounds.

• Kina became the first player since Chris Williams (2000-01 season) to score in double figures in 10 straight games. Williams did it in 21 straight games during that season.

• For the fourth time in the last eight games, Navy had two players score 20 or more points in a game. Sprink scored 33, while Harris scored 26 against the Leopards. Sprink and Harris also accomplished the feat against San Diego State (Sprink - 26, Harris - 22), while Sprink and Kina did that against both Bucknell (Sprink - 26, Kina - 24) and St. Francis (Sprink - 33, Kina - 23).

Mids Can't Finish The Job
Navy head coach Billy Lange has said that there are about five or six possessions in every game that is the difference in winning or losing. The statement rings true this year for the Navy basketball team.

Navy is just 2-8 this year in games decided by 10 or fewer points, including 1-4 in games decided by five or fewer points. Compare that to last year when Navy went 6-7 in games decided by 10 or fewer points and 4-1 in games decided by five points or less.

In addition, Navy is just 6-6 this year when leading at halftime, showing its struggles in the second half this year. In Navy's two Patriot League losses this year to Bucknell and Lafayette, the Mids held seven-point halftime leads. In the 12 games in which Navy has led, the combined margin of lead at halftime has been 84 total points. In those 12 games, Navy has gotten outscored by a combined 24 points in the second half.

Navy, however, when it wins is winning comfortably. Navy's average margin of victory in its eight wins is by 15.5 ppg and Navy is 6-2 in games decided by 11 or more points.

Mids Find Success at the Stripe
Navy has shown great improvement in free throw shooting under Billy Lange. Now, in year four, the improvement continues.

The Mids are shooting 73.6 percent from the charity stripe, ranking 43rd in the country in that category. However, in Patriot League play, the Mids are a sizzling 79.2 percent (61-of-77). In the loss to Lafayette, the Mids went 24-of-28 from the stripe.

Over the last 10 games, Navy is 155-of-202 (.767) from the charity stripe. In the first eight games, Navy was just 112-of-161 (.696).

Leading the resurgence is Greg Sprink and Kaleo Kina. Sprink is 42-of-47 (.894) from the stripe in the last five games, making 18 free throws in a row, and 26-of-27 (.963) in the last two games.

Kina is 20-of-21 (.952) over the last five games and has made 15 free throws in a row.

On Record Pace
The Navy basketball team is having an offensive year that it hasn't seen in quite some time.

• The Mids are on a pace (30-game regular season, plus one tournament game) for 2,359 points, which would rank as the sixth most in a season in school history, and the most since 1990-91 (2,438 points).

• Navy is averaging 76.1 points per game, on pace for the seventh most in school history and the most since the 1990-91 team set the school record at 84.1 ppg.

• The team has connected on 467 field goals, giving it a pace of 804, a total that would rank seventh on the single-season list.

• Navy has attempted 1,109 field goal attempts, a pace that would give it 1,910 attempts this year, which would rank third in school history.

• Lastly, foes are averaging 73.9 ppg, a total that ranks as the sixth most in school history. It comes one year after Navy allowed the sixth fewest points per game total.

Bombs Away
The Navy basketball team has rewritten the three-point record book under coach Billy Lange and year four is no different. Already this year, the squad has made 168 three-pointers, the ninth most in school history. The Mids are averaging 9.3 three-pointers a game, a pace that gives them 288 for the year. The current school record is 260 made last year.

In addition, Navy has attempted 467 three-pointers, a total that ranks tied for ninth on the list. The school record is the 726 shot last year. Navy is on pace for 804 three-point attempts this year.

In the single-game record books, Navy has made 13 or more three-pointers 15 times in school history. Ten of the times have come under Lange. It has attempted 31 or more three-pointers 10 times in a game in school history. Seven of the 10 occurrences have come under Lange.

Navy Trio Continues to Shine
The Navy trio of Greg Sprink, Kaleo Kina and Chris Harris continue to post remarkable numbers, leading the Mids on their turnaround.

Each member has been in double figures in each of the last five games. Over the last five games, they are averaging a combined 62.6 ppg, 16.0 rpg and 11.4 apg. In the last five contests, they have made 47 of Navy's 54 three-pointers. Sprink leads the way averaging 25.0 ppg, Kina averages 19.6 ppg and Harris is at 18.0.

Through three Patriot League games, the trio has scored 196 of Navy's 255 points.

Sprink Leads League in Scoring
Navy's Greg Sprink is attempting to become the first Navy player and sixth player in Patriot League history to lead the league in scoring two straight years. Sprink currently leads the Patriot League in scoring at 20.7 ppg, one year after tying for the league lead at 16.9 ppg. The other five players to accomplish the feat are Holy Cross' Rob Feaster (1994, 1995), Colgate's Adonal Foyle (1996, 1997), Lafayette's Brian Ehlers (1999, 2000), Army's Chris Spatola (2001, 2002) and Holy Cross' Kevin Hamilton (2005, 2006).

Last year, Sprink became the first Navy player in league history to lead the conference in scoring. He shared top honors with Holy Cross' Keith Simmons and Army's Jarell Brown at 16.9 ppg.

Sprink is trying to become the first Navy player to average 20.0 ppg in a season since Erik Harris (20.0 ppg) in 1991. No Patriot League player has averaged 20.0 ppg in a season since Lehigh's Brett Eppenheimer scored at a 24.7 ppg clip in 1997-98.

# GO NAVY #