Dec. 12, 2013
Gameday Information
Navy (5-3) at Bryant (6-5)
Saturday, December 14, 2013 | 12:30 PM (ET)
Smithfield, R.I. | Chace Athletic Center (2,600)
Navy Game Notes
TV: Ocean State Network/Cox Sports on Cox Cable
Live Internet Video | Live Statistics
Saturday's Game Basics
Playing just its second game in the last 18 days, the Navy men's basketball team (5-3) will play at Bryant (6-5) on Saturday at 12:30 PM in the Chace Athletic Center. Navy has won three straight games and is 5-1 over its last six contests. Navy is meeting Bryant for the second time in series history. Navy defeated Bryant, 69-59, in Annapolis on December 10, 2012.
A television broadcast of the Navy-Bryant game will be available on the Ocean State Network and Cox Sports on Cox Cable. Mike Mancuso will handle the play-by-play duties and Chris DeSano will serve as the analyst. A live internet video stream and live statistics will also be available on navysports.com.
Midshipmen Storylines
• Navy has won three-straight games and five of its last six.
• Navy's only loss in its last six games was at ACC-member Virginia.
• Navy is coming off a 79-74 win over The Citadel on December 4. Navy has been on a hiatus from games during the final exam period.
• Sophomore point guard Tilman Dunbar was named the Patriot League Offensive Player of the Week this past Monday for his performance against The Citadel.
• Dunbar scored a career-high 28 points in the win over The Citadel.
• Dunbar also had a career-high eight rebounds, seven assists, two steals and one block in 35 minutes.
• Dunbar was 7-of-12 from the floor and 14-of-17 from the free throw line. He made eight free throws in the final 74 seconds to seal the win.
• Junior forward Worth Smith was 8-of-12 from the floor for a season-high 17 points. Smith scored 10 points in the first four minutes of the game.
• Sophomore guard Kendall Knorr chipped in with 13 points as three Navy players scored in double figures.
• With his 28-point performance against The Citadel, Dunbar has taken over the team lead in scoring with 12.0 points per game.
• Smith is second at 10.9 and Knorr and junior guard Brandon Venturini are each averaging 7.8 points.
• Sophomore center Will Kelly is averaging 7.5 points and a team-best 6.3 rebounds per game.
• Dunbar, Venturini, Knorr, Smith and Kelly have started all eight games for Navy this season.
• The three players who have played the most off the bench this season are all freshmen.
• Forward James Hemphill is averaging 13.6 minutes, guard Grant Vermeer is averaging 10.1 minutes and guard Michael Brown is at 8.8 minutes.
• Kelly is tied for second in the conference in blocked shots (1.9) and is fourth in rebounding (6.3). Dunbar is fourth in assists (4.6) and Knorr is fourth in free-throw percentage (.895).
• Navy is ranked 16th in the NCAA in scoring defense (60.9) and has held five of its eight opponents to 60 points or less.
• Navy is leading the Patriot League in scoring margin (+5.2), field goal percentage defense (.391), rebounding (38.9) and rebounding margin (+5.1). The Mids rank second in the conference in scoring defense (60.9) and three-point field goal percentage defense (.288).
• Navy is 4-0 at home this season, which is the best start to its home schedule since 2008-09 when it won its first seven home games and posted a 12-3 home record.
• Navy has finished the home portion of its non-conference regular season schedule at 4-0 this season. Navy also accomplished this feat during the 2008-09 season (7-0).
• Navy is two games over .500 for the first time since November 13, 2011 when the team was 2-0.
• Navy has its best record (5-3) at this point in the season since being 7-1 in 2008-09.
• Navy has won three-straight games for the first time since Jan. 22-29 of 2011.
• Navy has made at least one three-pointer in 313 consecutive games.
• Navy has an all-time record of 1,311-967 (.576).
Bryant Storylines
• Bryant (6-5) will be playing its fourth game in the last eight days.
• The Bulldogs most recently fell at No. 3/2 Ohio State, 86-48, on Wednesday.
• Bryant opened the season at 6-2 but has lost three straight games.
• Bryant's leading scorer is junior guard Dyami Starks at 21.5 points per game. He has made 32 three-pointers.
• The Columbia transfer has scored at least 30 points three times this season and 20 points five times.
• Starks ranked eighth in scoring in the latest NCAA statistical report and is currently in the top 20.
• Senior forward Alex Francis is second on the team with 15.6 points and leads Bryant with 6.1 rebounds per game.
• Francis ranks in the top-10 of active NCAA players in career points (1,662) and career rebounds (795).
• The Bulldogs are in the midst of the Gotham Classic. Bryant is 0-3 so far in the tournament, falling to North Dakota State (66-62), Notre Dame (70-59) and Ohio State (86-48).
• The Bulldogs will conclude the Gotham Classic with a game at Madison Square Garden against Delaware on December 21.
• Bryant was 19-12 in 2012-13 and competed in the CBI postseason tournament.
• The Bulldogs were 12-6 in the Northeast Conference, tying for second place.
• The head coach of the Bulldogs is Tim O'Shea. He is in his sixth year at Bryant.
• One of O'Shea's assistant coaches is Al Skinner. Skinner was the head coach at Rhode Island from 1988 to 1997 and Boston College from 1997-2010 and has a career record of 385-291.
Series History vs. Bryant
• Navy owns a 1-0 lead in the all-time series against Bryant.
• The two teams met for the first time in Annapolis on December 10, 2012.
• Navy earned a 69-59 win in the series opener.
• Kendall Knorr's 15 points led four Navy players in double figures.
• Tilman Dunbar had 13 points and 10 assists, James Loupos had 11 points and Brandon Venturini added 10 points and four steals.
• Bryant led 29-28 at the half, but Navy outscored the visitors, 41-30, in the second half.
• Navy is 6-4 (.600) all-time against schools from the state of Rhode Island.
• Navy is 25-15 (.625) against schools from the Northeast Conference.
Looking Ahead
Navy will play its second of four-straight road games at Northern Kentucky (1-7) on Saturday, December 21 at 12:00 PM. It will be the second meeting in the series between the two schools. The Norse defeated the Mids, 55-46, on December 22, 2012. Navy will be seeking its first win against an Atlantic Sun program (0-6).
Dunbar Named Patriot League Player of the Week
• Sophomore point guard Tilman Dunbar was named the Patriot League Player of the Week on December 9 for his play in Navy's 79-74 win over The Citadel.
• Dunbar notched career-highs of 28 points and eight rebounds as Navy won its third game in a row and its fifth out of its last six last Wednesday.
• Dunbar also had seven assists, two steals and one block.
• Dunbar shot 7-of-12 from the floor and was 14-of-17 from the free throw line. The 14 made free throws are a career high and he made eight free throws in the final 74 seconds of the game to seal the win.
• Dunbar, a sophomore, earns his first player of the week award after claiming four rookie of the week accolades from the conference last season. He was also named to the Patriot League All-Rookie Team last year.
• This was Navy's first Patriot League Player of the Week honor since 2009-10.
