Feb. 13, 2008
Box Score
BETHLEHEM, Pa. - Kaleo Kina scored 22 points with six rebounds and Navy made 25-of-29 free throws to defeat Lehigh, 80-75. The win moves Navy's overall record to 12-12 and 5-4 in the Patriot League. The Mids are at .500 overall for the first time since Nov. 11, and are above .500 in league play for the first time since January 2002.
The Mids also swept the season series against Lehigh and won for the second time in a row in league play. The win also moved Navy's Patriot League road record to 3-1.
"It's a sign for us that we are heading in the right direction," said Navy head coach Billy Lange. "We beat a team tonight in Lehigh that played very well. We won a game tonight when we didn't play our best basketball. I thought, however, that we played great together."
Navy started fast, jumping out to a 17-7 advantage with 13:04 to play, thanks to a balanced attack. Six different players scored in the opening seven minutes, led by Kaleo Kina (Phoenix, Ariz.) and Romeo Garcia (Cypress, Texas) with four points each.
Lehigh would respond with a 15-2 run over the next five minutes to take its first lead of the game at 22-19. Freshman Rob Keefer and Zahir Carrington scored 11 points combined in the run.
The two teams would trade baskets throughout the rest of the half, with Chris Harris (Mechanicsville, Va.) connecting on a three-pointer at the halftime buzzer to tie the game at 35.
Both teams made 13 field goals in the first half, three three-pointers and six free throws. In addition, both teams had nine turnovers and Navy had 21 rebounds to Lehigh's 20. Eight different players scored for Navy in the first half and 13 players saw action in the opening 20 minutes.
The Mids opened the second half with a 13-7 run to take a 48-42 advantage at the first media timeout. However, Lehigh used back-to-back three-pointers by Marquis Hall and Dave Buchberger to tie the game at 50 with 13:40 to play.
The two teams would trade baskets for the next six minutes. Navy would take a 67-63 on a conventional three-point play by Kina with four minutes to play, but Lehigh's Hall answered with five straight points to give Lehigh a 68-67 advantage.
Navy would again take a three-point lead on an Adam Teague (Hickory, N.C.) drive, but Hall again tied the contest at 71 with a three-pointer with 1:45 to play.
But Navy's Sprink would make seven-of-eight free throws down the stretch, and Navy held on for an 80-75 victory.
Kina scored 16 of his points during the second half, including several key shots with the score close.
"I think he can really sense when he gets on and when we need him to really produce," said Lange. "He played well within himself and does a great job getting to the hole."
The Mids got several key contributions, as four players scored in double figures. Greg Sprink scored 18 points, Harris added 12 and Teague scored 10, on 4-of-4 shooting. Romeo Garcia added eight points and five rebounds.
"We got a lot of great contributions tonight," said Lange. "Adam Teague played great defense. Romeo was all over the place. Ben Biles and Clif Colbert gave us great minutes."
The Mids dominated the glass, 47-38, including a 17-8 advantage on the offensive glass. The Mids scored 23 second-chance points, to just six for Lehigh. Navy also took care of the ball, turning it over just 14 times, while Lehigh committed 12 violations.
Navy shot just 36.4 percent, including 38.9 percent from three-point range. The Mountain Hawks shot 41.8 percent from the field.
The Mids will travel back to the Lehigh Valley for a Saturday contest at Lafayette in Easton, Pa. The game tips off at 2:00 pm and will be televised by CSTV.
# GO NAVY #
