Dec. 29, 2013
Gameday Information
Navy (5-5) at UMBC (3-9)
Monday, December 30, 2013 | 7:00 PM
Baltimore, Md. | RAC Arena (4,024)
Navy Game Notes | UMBC Game Notes
Live Internet Video | Live Statistics
ANNAPOLIS, Md. - Navy (5-5) and UMBC (3-9) will meet for the second time this season on Monday at the RAC Arena in Baltimore. Navy defeated UMBC, 73-58, in Annapolis on November 23 in the first leg of the rare non-conference home-and-home series. This is Navy's final non-conference game before beginning Patriot League play at Loyola on Thursday. Monday's game will feature free live streaming video and live statistics on navysports.com. Joe Miller will handle play-by-play duties on WNAV 1430 AM / 99.9 FM in Annapolis and on www.wnav.com.
Midshipmen Storylines
• Navy is coming off a 72-65 loss at Northern Kentucky on Saturday, December 21.
• Junior guard Brandon Venturini scored 20 points at Northern Kentucky on 7-of-11 shooting.
• Navy has had eight days off and will be playing just its fourth game in the month of December.
• The schedule will get much busier for Navy as the team plays three games this week and has four games in a nine-day span.
• Navy will begin Patriot League play at Loyola on Thursday and will host Lafayette on Sunday afternoon. The Mids will then travel to take on Boston University on Tuesday evening.
• Navy gave up late leads in each of its last two losses at Northern Kentucky (72-65) and at Bryant (90-80 OT).
• Navy led by six with under eight minutes to go at Bryant and led by seven with 8:25 to go at Northern Kentucky.
• Junior guard Brandon Venturini led Navy with 20 points on 7-of-11 shooting at Northern Kentucky.
• Junior forward Worth Smith chipped in with 15 points and sophomore guard Kendall Knorr had 13 points.
• Smith has scored in double figures seven times this season and in each of the last five games.
• Freshman Zach Fong set a Navy freshmen record with seven three pointers made against Bryant.
• Fong was 7-of-10 on three pointers and scored a season-best 21 points.
• Sophomore center Will Kelly leads the team in rebounding (6.5), while ranking fourth in the conference. He is also second in the Patriot League in blocked shots per game (1.8).
• Navy leads the Patriot League in total rebounds per game (37.1) and rebounding margin (+2.9).
• 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 made at least one three-pointer in 315 consecutive games.
• Navy has an all-time record of 1,311-969 (.575).
UMBC Storylines
• UMBC enters the game at 3-9 and is on a four-game losing streak.
• The Retrievers have dropped their last four games to Duquesne (94-88), Lehigh (70-68), Coppin State (91-71) and George Washington (74-61).
• UMBC's last win was at home on December 2 over UMES, 64-59.
• Freshman guard Rodney Elliott leads UMBC with 13.8 points per game and 3.7 assists per game.
• Senior forward Chase Plummer is second with 12.2 points per game and leads the team with 6.2 rebounds per game.
• UMBC is 3-1 at home but hasn't played a home game since December 2. The Retrievers are 0-8 on the road.
Series History vs. UMBC
• Navy and UMBC are meeting for the second time this season. Navy defeated UMBC in Annapolis on November 23, 73-58.
• Navy opened up a 22-point halftime lead on its way to a 15-point win.
• Junior forward Worth Smith scored 11 of his game-high 15 points in the first half.
• Navy leads the all-time series against UMBC, 9-4.
• Navy is 2-1 in games played at UMBC.
• Navy's last win at UMBC was on December 23, 1998 with a 72-69 overtime win.
• Navy is 16-11 all-time against America East schools and 2-0 this season.
Looking Ahead
• Navy will play open Patriot League play at Loyola on Thursday at 7:30 PM.
• The game will be Loyola's first game in the Patriot League after joining the conference in the summer of 2013.
• Navy will be playing a fourth straight road game, but the second straight game in nearby Baltimore.
• Navy is 20-4 all-time against Loyola and 3-2 all-time in Baltimore. Navy has won three straight games in the series.
• Following the Navy-Loyola contest, the Mids will host Lafayette on Sunday at 2:00 PM in their conference opener.
