Feb. 9, 2008
Box Score
ANNAPOLIS, Md. -- Kaleo Kina, Greg Sprink and Chris Harris combined for 68 points and all three players hit clutch shots down the stretch to lead Navy to a 78-72 victory over Bucknell. The win snapped a seven-game losing streak to the Bison and Navy improved to 11-12 overall and 4-4 in the Patriot League. Navy sits just one full game out of first place after tonight's action.
The game was played in front of 3,233 fans, the largest non-Army crowd at Alumni Hall since Nov. 18, 2005, vs. Georgetown.
"I, first off, want to give credit to our crowd tonight. They were just awesome tonight," said Navy head coach Billy Lange. "They have been very patient with our program and tonight, they helped us in some key stretches. They were a difference tonight."
Kina carried the Mids early by scoring 19 first-half points en route to a career-high 27 points. He was 7-of-11 from the field in the opening 20 minutes and finished the contest with four assists and three steals. He surpassed his career-high 24 points set earlier in the year against Bucknell.
In the first half of the two games against Bucknell, Kina scored a combined 36 points.
"I just want to win. It doesn't matter who we are playing," said Kina. "I was just the beneficiary of good ball movement tonight."
"Kaleo had a great floor game for us and was the recipient of our ball movement," said Lange. "Once our offense got going, our defense improved. The movement was the best we have had in quite some time."
The Mids fell behind early, 8-0, just two minutes into the contest. Bucknell would take its biggest lead of the game at 19-10 with 13:25 to play in the first half, but the Mids closed the half on a 29-13 run over the last 13 minutes, highlighted by a deep Harris three-pointer at the halftime buzzer to give Navy a 39-32 halftime lead.
Navy would lead the entire second half, fueled late in the game by three key plays in the final five minutes. With Navy holding a five-point lead (66-61) with three minutes to play, Kina hit a pull-up 18-footer to push the lead back to seven at 68-61.
Bucknell would score the next five points to trim the lead to 68-66, but Sprink connected on a three-pointer from the corner with 1:54 to play to push the lead back to five, 71-66.
Lastly, with Bucknell still within two at 73-71, Harris connected on a deep three-pointer to bump the lead back to five at 76-71. The Mids would close out the game by making a pair of free throws in the final 24 seconds.
"Those guys (Bucknell) know how to win. This is new to us. It was very encouraging that we made big plays down the stretch. When our moment comes, we needed to stay together and stay focused and we did that," said Lange. "We need maturity and knowing what it takes to get it done. Our defense was as good as it has been in a while tonight."
The win even further jumbles an already-jumbled Patriot League. Lafayette and American still lead the league (by percentage points) with a 5-3 record. Every team in the Patriot League is within two-and-a-half games of each other.
"There are good coaches and good players in the league. It is almost too competitive, because everyone knows each other so well," said Lange. "Programs are growing and gaining confidence and every game is a battle. We have been in tight games and I want this year's team to be the team to learn how to get through those."
Navy also kept its streak alive of alternating wins and losses in its eight Patriot League games.
"I don't know what it is. I think we get a little too excited and too pumped up," said Lange. "Whatever it is, we just have to know that every game is important and get ready to play again on Wednesday night."
Besides Kina's 27 points, Sprink scored 22 points and Harris added 19. The trio scored 68 of Navy's 78 points and took 48 of Navy's 57 shots from the field. With his 22 points, Sprink not only eclipsed the 1,600-point mark for his career, but moved into 10th place on the all-time Patriot League scoring list.
Meanwhile, Chris Harris' four three-pointers gave him 66 for the season, tied for the second most in school history.
Navy shot 27-of-57 (.474) from the field, including 10-of-24 (.417) from three-point range. Navy was just 14-of-25 (.560) from the free throw line. Navy entered the contest shooting 74.8 percent from the free throw line. The Mids turned the ball over just 12 times.
Bucknell was 21-of-48 (.436) from the field and 10-of-21 (.476) from three-point distance. Bucknell went 20-of-29 (.690) from the free throw line, but turned the ball over 22 times, leading to 24 Navy points off turnovers. Bucknell outrebounded the Mids, 39-32.
The Mids will look for their second win in a row on Wednesday night at Lehigh, tipping off at 7:00 pm. The game will be aired tape-delayed on MASN on Thursday at 10:00 am.
# GO NAVY #
