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LEWISBURG, Pa. - Bucknell's John Azzinaro hit three 3-pointers in the final two-and-a-half minutes to rally the Bison (8-10, 3-2 PL) for a 65-63 win over visiting Navy (7-10, 3-2 PL) on Wednesday evening at Sojka Pavilion. Azzinaro was 5-of-5 from beyond the arc for a game-high 19 points.

"It was a disappointing loss," head coach Ed DeChellis said. "We had some major defensive lapses in the last two-and-a-half minutes and we weren't dialed in and guarding the way we needed to guard. Overall I didn't think we played our best game. We are coming off an emotional game at Army and we weren't very crisp tonight. But I give credit to Bucknell. They made three big shots when they had to make them."

Navy had led by six at 61-55 with 2:30 remaining before Azzinaro drilled three 3-pointers to spark the Bison rally. His first triple brought the Bison within three and his next tied the game at 61-61 with 1:08 left. The Bison defense created a loose ball on Navy's next possession and then the possession arrow following a tie-up gave the ball back to Bucknell.

Bucknell ran off some clock before Azzinaro got free yet again to drill a triple from the right side with 11.9 seconds left for a 64-61 lead. Bucknell fouled junior guard Tilman Dunbar with 7.4 seconds left and he missed the first foul shot and made the second. Navy then fouled Chris Hass with 6.4 seconds left and he made the first and missed the second to push Bucknell's lead to three again at 65-62.

The Bison then fouled Navy's Brandon Venturini before he could get up a game-tying 3-point field goal attempt with just 2.3 seconds to go. Venturini made the first and tried to intentionally miss the second, but the ball did not make contact with the rim. Bucknell was awarded the ball out of bounds and they were able to inbound and run off the final two seconds for a 65-63 win.

Bucknell was able to close the game on a 10-2 run in the final two-and-a-half minutes.

After a back-and-forth first half, Navy was able to piece together a couple of runs to take control of the game. Navy's subs keyed a 7-2 run midway through the second half to take a six-point lead at 47-41. Junior guard Earl McLaurin made a 3-pointer from the left side, freshman Shawn Anderson drove in for a layup and sophomore forward Michael Brown finished a put-back to give the Mids a 47-41 edge.

Navy got another spurt when senior forward Worth Smith scored eight straight points for Navy, with six coming at the free-throw line, as the Mids built a 57-51 lead. Navy's lead would go back to six at 61-55 when sophomore center Edward Alade threw down a two-handed dunk, but Azzinaro's 3-point barrage would soon swing the game to the Bison.

Smith scored a team-high 14 points for Navy and had six rebounds and two blocks.

Alade added 12 points, four rebounds and three blocks. Alade's 12 points were his highest output since scoring 12 in the the season-opener against Michigan State.

Knorr was the third Mid in double figures with 11 points, while Venturini had eight and Dunbar scored seven. Junior center Will Kelly posted four points, four rebounds and three blocks.

Smith is now just 17 points away from the 1,000-point mark for his career and Venturini made a 3-pointer for the 25th straight game, which is the third-longest streak in program history.

Both Knorr and Venturini were temporarily knocked out of the game with injuries, but both were able to return.

Azzinaro's 19 points paced Bucknell while freshman center Nana Foulland had 12 points, seven rebounds and four blocks.

Bucknell was 9-of-15 on 3-pointers, while Navy was just 2-of-10. Navy shot 45 percent from the floor (22-of-49) and Bucknell shot 41 percent (21-of-51). Navy was also 81 percent from the free-throw line (17-of-21).

The Mids will next host Colgate (4-1 in the Patriot League) on Saturday at 4:00 PM at Alumni Hall. The game will follow the annual Navy men's basketball Alumni Game, which will be played at 12:30 PM and is free and open to the public.