Nov. 22, 2008
Box Score
WILLIAMSBURG, Va. -- Kaleo Kina's three-pointer with 17 seconds left in the third overtime proved to be the difference to give the Mids a thrilling 102-99 victory over William & Mary on Saturday night. Navy, which won its third game in row, improved to 3-1 with the victory, while the Tribe falls to 1-3.
After playing just one triple-overtime game in its first 100-plus years of competitive basketball, the Navy basketball program has now played two triple-overtime contests in its last five games, dating back to last year.
"That was an outstanding basketball game and I am sure that it was pretty entertaining for the fans," said Navy head coach Billy Lange. "Both teams had kids just make plays. We had a lot of adversity in the first half, then had a lot of resiliency in the second half and overtimes. This team kept fighting, and could have gotten down after they kept coming back. That is very encouraging to see."
One of the big reasons for Navy's comeback win was the play of Kina. The Phoenix, Ariz., native scored all 26 points in the second half and overtimes, after picking up two fouls in the game's first four minutes. With Kina on the bench, Navy trailed by just three, 32-29, at the halftime break, thanks to Chris Harris' (Jr. / Mechanicsville, Va.) four three-pointers.
Kina played the last 33 minutes of the game with at least three fouls and the last two overtime sessions with four fouls. Nonetheless, 16 of his 26 points came in the three overtime sessions.
"Kaleo was obviously big for us down the stretch, but what I liked was that he didn't force anything. He let the game come to him," said Lange. "When he was on the bench in the first half, he stayed in the game emotionally and mentally, and was ready to play right off the bat in the second half."
"This was a great team effort and we were just looking to make some plays," said Kina. "They hit some huge shots, but we stayed with the plan and just tried to make the next play."
William & Mary led 32-22 behind the hot shooting of David Schneider moments before halftime, before Navy countered with a 7-0 run to trim the halftime lead to 32-29. Schneider made four three-pointers in the first 10 minutes of the game, but finished the half just one for his last four. The Tribe shot a sizzling 57.1 percent (12-of-21) in the first half, but made just one of the their last six shots as Navy made its run.
Navy took control midway through the second half, grabbing its largest lead of the game at 64-52 with just over five minutes to play. However, William & Mary closed the second half on a 14-2 run and Danny Sumner connected on a three-pointer with six seconds left to send the game into overtime, tied at 66.
In the first overtime, Navy led by as many as five at 72-67 on a pair of Chris Harris free throws, but the Tribe responded with an 8-2 run for a 75-74 advantage. Clif Colbert (Grand Prairie, Texas) made one-of-two free throws with 17 seconds left to tie the game at 75, and a Schneider three-pointer was off the mark with two seconds left to send the game into the second overtime.
Navy led for the majority of the second overtime, grabbing an 86-83 lead on two more free throws by Harris with 11 seconds left, but freshman Quinn McFadden's first three-pointer of the game tied the contest with four seconds left and moved the game into the third overtime, tied at 86.
"We had been there before. We knew what to expect," said Harris of playing in Navy's second triple-overtime game in the last five outings. "You just have to take each five minutes as a new game and execute. We handled the adversity well all game and we could draw on our last triple-overtime experience to help us out."
Down five in the third overtime at 91-86. Colbert's offensive rebound and putback cut the lead to 91-88 with 3:41 to play was as big of a play as any in a game filled with big moments.
"I thought Clif's play was a huge play. They had the stop and he had a great rebound and putback," said Lange. "That really stopped their momentum. It was a big play for us."
After Schneider hit another three to give William & Mary a 94-91 advantage, Adam Teague (Hickory, N.C.) connected on his sixth three-pointer of the game to tie it at 94, and Kina gave Navy the lead for good with a short pull-up jumper in the lane for a 98-96 advantage with just over a minute left.
William & Mary was still within three at 102-99 after a Kina free throw with eight seconds left, but Schneider's off-balance three-pointer was way off the mark and Navy held on for a thrilling 102-99 victory.
The Mids shot 45.3 percent (34-of-75) from the field, including 38.9 percent (14-of-36) from three-point range and 69.0 (20-of-29) from the free throw line. William & Mary shot 47.3 percent (35-of-74) from the field and 41.2 percent (14-of-34) from three-point distance. The Tribe made 15-of-22 (68.2 percent) free throws.
Navy outrebounded the Tribe, 50-40, holding them to just eight offensive rebounds. The Mids also had 19 assists to 18 turnovers, while the Tribe had 20 assists to 17 turnovers.
Kina scored 26 points with eight rebounds and four assists, while Harris, who set a school record with 55 minutes played. had 26 points with seven rebounds, three assists and two steals. Teague scored 18 points with four rebounds and five assists.
The Mids also got strong production from its center spot as Mark Veazey (Lilburn, Ga.) and Jeremy Wilson (Helotes, Texas) combined to shoot 8-of-10 from the field for 16 points and 10 rebounds between them. Veazey was 5-of-5 from the field for 10 points and six rebounds, while Wilson tied his career high with six points (3-of-5 shooting) and set career highs in rebounds (4) and minutes (15).
Schneider led William & Mary with 31 points, while Danny Sumner had 30 points and 11 rebounds.
Navy will be in action next on Tuesday night, when it hosts Maryland-Eastern Shore, beginning at 7:00 pm in Alumni Hall.
GAME NOTES:
*Navy scored 100 points in a game for the first time since Dec. 18, 2005, vs. Washington (Md.), a 106-80 win. It was the first time Navy scored over 100 against a Division I opponent since a 100-75 win over Lehigh on Jan. 29, 2000 ... Navy improved to 5-4 in overtime under Billy Lange and to 2-1 all-time in triple-overtime games ... Navy won its first game when allowing over 90 points since a 95-93 win over Colgate on Jan. 19, 2000 ... Chris Harris made a three-pointer in 25 straight games, an ongoing school record. Harris also moved into seventh place on the school's career three-pointers made list (127) ... Kaleo Kina's 26 points was one point off his career high ... Mark Veazey recorded his third career double-figure game and second in a row ... Jordan Sugars made his first three-point attempt of the game to run his streak of five straight three-pointers made to start his career. His streak ended later in the first half ... Adam Teague made his 123rd career three-pointer, good for eighth on the Navy career list. His 18 points was one off his career high, but his five assists tied a career high ... Harris, Teague and Kina combined to shoot 13-of-30 from three-point range and score 70 points with 19 rebounds and 12 assists.
# GO NAVY #
