Feb. 16, 2008

CSTV Video Highlights

Box Score

EASTON, Pa. -- Clif Colbert hit an eight-foot jumper with 0.4 seconds left to lift Navy to a thrilling 82-80 victory over Lafayette on Saturday afternoon. The win moves Navy's record to 13-12 overall and 6-4 in the Patriot League, good for second alone in the league standings. Lafayette dropped to 14-11 overall and 5-5 in league play.

After a Lafayette three-pointer tied the game at 80, Lange called a time-out with 29 seconds left to set up a play for Greg Sprink. Sprink got into the lane, drew three defenders and dished out to Colbert, who calmly drilled the eight-footer for the win.

"We've shot that shot 10,000 times in practice. If Greg had the confidence to pass it to me, I had the confidence to shoot it. Fortunately, it went it," said Colbert.

"I saw three defenders coming at me. Clif had a better shot than I had and he knocked it down," said Sprink.

"I thought Sprink showed great development today and showed why he could be the Player of the Year," said Navy head coach Billy Lange. "We were in that same situation a month ago. He made a great read and Clif made a great play getting open."

The win was Navy's third in a row, its longest winning streak in league play since Jan. 12-19, 2002. It was also Navy's fourth straight Patriot League road win, its longest such streak since Jan. 23 to Feb. 26, 2000.

"First off, this was a great team and its a shame either team had to lose," said Lange. "I thought both teams played with great energy. We found a way to gut out a win when we didn't play great. Our attitude was incredible today, even when things didn't go great for us."

The first half was filled with runs for both teams. Navy trailed early, 15-12, but embarked on a 9-0 run capped off by Chris Harris' third three-pointer of the contest with 12:45 to play. The Mids still led 37-30 when Lafayette went on a 6-0 run to cut the lead to 37-36. Navy would respond with a 6-0 run of its own for a 43-36 cushion.

But Lafayette responded with an 8-0 run to take a 44-43 lead with just over a minute to play. Harris would stop the run with his fifth three-pointer of the first half to give Navy a 46-44 lead and the two teams would go into the locker rooms tied at 46.

Harris led the Mids in the first half with 15 points on 5-of-7 three-pointers while Greg Sprink scored 13 in the opening stanza. The Mids were plagued by fouls and turnovers in the opening 20 minutes, committing 14 personal fouls (to eight for Lafayette) and 12 turnovers (to just seven for Lafayette).

Lafayette would clamp down on defense, holding Navy without a field goal for the first eight minutes, but was only able to take a five-point lead at 57-52. The Mids then embarked on a 22-7 run to take a 71-64 advantage with 8:15 to play.

Lafayette then drew to within four at 76-72, before being forced to foul. The Mids struggled from the line down the stretch, making just 4-of-8 free throws in the final five minutes. Betley then tied the game at 80 with 32 seconds left, before Colbert's heroics.

"The difference today was that we focused on defense in the second half," said Sprink. "We saw things we needed to improve on from the first meeting and made the necessary adjustments."

Sprink led Navy with 24 points, 11 rebounds and four assists. Chris Harris tied the Navy single-season record with his 76th three-pointer and scored 22 points, including 7-of-10 from three-point range. Colbert came off the bench to score 18 points with four steals.

The Mids shot 44.6 percent from the field, including 39.3 percent from three-point range. Navy had 20 turnovers and outrebounded the Leopards, 36-30.

Betley led Lafayette with 15 points. Lafayette shot 46.0 percent from the field, and turned the ball over 19 times.

The Mids will host Holy Cross on Wednesday night at 7:00 pm in Alumni Hall. For ticket information, call 1-800-US4-NAVY.

# GO NAVY #