Box Score

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WASHINGTON, D.C. - Led by 25 points from John Schoof, American (15-14, 8-9 PL) defeated visiting Navy (11-18, 7-10 PL), 68-49, on Wednesday evening at Bender Arena. With one league game remaining, Navy is in a three-way tie for seventh place in the Patriot League standings with Loyola and Holy Cross.

Navy struggled on the offensive end, shooting 37 percent and committing 15 turnovers. Navy was also just 3-of-14 on 3-pointers. Meanwhile, American shot 56 percent from the floor and was 7-of-14 on 3-pointers.

"This was a disappointing loss and we didn't play well from start to finish," said head coach Ed DeChellis. "I thought Shawn Anderson played hard and Worth Smith made some shots for us offensively, but defensively we were not very good. There was no real focus. I thought it was our worst performance of the Patriot League season."

Freshman Shawn Anderson scored a season-high 14 points with four rebounds and senior Worth Smith also scored 14 points and grabbed five boards. Junior Will Kelly added eight points, eight rebounds and four blocked shots.

Schoof and Jesse Reed hit early 3-pointers to send the hosts off to an 8-2 lead. After Navy's Tilman Dunbar hit a jumper and Brandon Venturini hit a 3-pointer to cut the lead to 8-7, Schoof scored American's next nine points as the hosts started to pull away.

The Eagles took a 15-point lead at 28-13 after a Charlie Jones 3-pointer and American led by as many as 19 in the first half before taking a 34-17 lead into the break. Navy's 17 points were its lowest first-half output of the season.

After Schoof scored on American's first possession of the second half, the Mids began to come alive. Kelly had a block and then a dunk and Smith hit jumpers on back-to-back possessions. The run extended to 6-0 after Anderson made a fast-break layup, but Schoof snapped the spurt with a jumper on the other end.

American opened up a 17-point lead after a Reed 3-pointer, but Smith answered right back with a triple and Anderson made a jumper and shortly after converted two free throws. Smith knocked down another 3-pointer a minute later and then a layup by Dunbar brought the Mids within eight at 51-43 with 5:24 to play.

However, Navy fouled Pee Wee Gardner, who made two free throws, and after Navy missed two free throws of its own, Gardner hit a 3-pointer. Navy then turned the ball over and Schoof buried a trey to put American up by 16 at 59-43.

Navy started to foul to get back into the game and American scored its next seven points at the free throw line. A strong finish on a layup by Anderson cut the margin to 16, but American closed the game on a 6-0 run for the 68-49 final.

American only outscored Navy by two in the second half (34-32), but shot 65 percent in the critical first half when it built its 17-point halftime lead.

Navy outrebounded American 30-24, and had 16 offensive boards, but only managed 12 second-chance points.

In addition to Schoof's game-high 25 points, Reed and Marco Vasic each had 14 points for American.

Anderson's 14 points came on 5-of-7 shooting from the floor and he made 4-of-6 free throws. Anderson scored in double figures in back-to-back games for the first time in his collegiate career after scoring 13 points in Navy's win over Holy Cross on Sunday.

Navy and American split the season series, but the Eagles extended their winning streak in Bender Arena against the Mids to eight games.

Navy will close the regular season at Loyola on Saturday at 11:00 AM.