Feb. 23, 2008
Box Score
WEST POINT, N.Y. - Navy outscored Army, 46-28, over the final 16 minutes to claim its sixth straight Star Game with a 71-63 victory over the host Black Knights on Saturday afternoon. The win moves Navy's record to 15-12 overall and 8-4 in the Patriot League. Navy moved within one game of idle American (9-3) for the Patriot League regular-season lead. Army fell to 11-15 overall and 4-8 in the Patriot League.
Adam Teague came off the bench to record his first career double-double with 18 points and 11 rebounds, while Clif Colbert added 17 points and six rebounds. Chris Harris scored 11 points and equaled a career high with seven rebounds.
"I'm proud of our effort today. Army made it a very tough game, and I think their defense is among the best in the country," said Navy head coach Billy Lange. "They get after you and make things tough on offense. I thought our guys really responded well in the second half. We had some upperclassmen step up. We keep talking about it being a race and one game at a time and we took another big step forward tonight in a hostile environment."
With the defenses geared to stopping the league's top two scorers, Navy's Greg Sprink and Army's Jarell Brown, the two teams struggled offensively. The Black Knights held the Mids scoreless for a four-minute stretch in the first half, and without a field goal for eight minutes, as Army erased a 14-13 deficit with an 11-0 run over almost nine minutes. Navy stopped the run with an Adam Teague putback with 2:53 to play to cut the lead to 24-16. However, Brown hit a deep three with 20 seconds left to give Army a 27-18 halftime cushion.
The Mids shot just 6-of-29 (.207) from the field in the opening 20 minutes, including just 1-of-12 (.083) from three-point range. Navy would make just one field goal in the final 11:41 of the opening half. The Mids' top three scorers, Sprink, Chris Harris and Kaleo Kina went a combined 2-of-16 (.125), including 0-of-8 from three-point range.
The Mids cut the lead to four early in the second half on a Harris three-pointer, but Army's Josh Miller hit back-to-back three-pointers, including one as the shot clock was winding down to give Army its biggest lead of the game at 35-25 with 16 minutes left.
Navy would rally thanks reserve Clif Colbert. The Mids embarked on a 21-8 run over eight-plus minutes, with Colbert scoring 11 of Navy's 21 points. Colbert would connect on a pair of three-pointers in the run, his first of the year, with the last one coming with just over eight minutes to play to give Navy a 46-43 lead, its first lead since 7:57 left in the first half.
The Mids would stretch their lead on a Chris Harris steal and layup to 59-53 with 3:29 to play.
Army cut the lead to 62-59 with 1:30 to play, but Adam Teague quieted the raucous Army crowd with a deep three-pointer with 1:20 to play to push the Navy lead back to six, 65-59. Moments later with Army within four at 65-61, Teague would hit another three-pointer, his fourth of the game for a 68-61 lead with 41 seconds left, before setting for the 71-63 victory.
Navy scored 53 points in the second half, thanks in large part to a blistering 58.6 percent from the field in the final 20 minutes. Navy connected on 10-of-17 three-point tries in the second half.
"The three is obviously a major part of our game, but a lot of the credit goes to driving the ball and getting offensive rebounds. They make you adjust defensively and we basically went to a five-guard lineup in the second half," said Lange.
Colbert scored 13 of his 17 points in the second half, while Teague scored 14 of his 18 in the final frame.
"I just try to bring hustle and energy everytime out and do what is asked for me," said Colbert.
"We just started moving the ball better in the second half and got good looks and they started to fall," said Teague. "They make it so difficult on offense. The shots just started to fall in the second half."
The Mids have now won five games in a row for the first time since the 1999-2000 season and have tied a school record with five Patriot League road wins.
The Mids shot 39.7 percent for the game and committed 19 turnovers to Army's 16. Navy dominated the glass, outrebounding the Black Knights, 45-31, including 14-8 on the offensive end. Senior Greg Sprink led the Mids with 12 rebounds, while Kaleo Kina tallied five assists.
Army was led by Jarell Brown with 18 points. The Black Knights shot 41.9 percent from the field, but just 23.1 percent from three-point range.
The win sets up a Wednesday night showdown for first place in the Patriot League. Navy enters the game at 8-4 in league play, while American is 9-3. Navy defeated American, 77-66, in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 30.
Navy is also guaranteed of a home game in the Patriot League Tournament, to be played on March 5, at 7:00 pm in Alumni Hall. For ticket information, call 1-800-US4-NAVY.
# GO NAVY #
