Nov. 13, 2016
Box Score
ANNAPOLIS, Md. -- Senior guard Tim Abruzzo scored a career-high 21 points in leading the Navy men's basketball team (1-1) to a 74-47 win over Division III Washington College on Sunday afternoon at Alumni Hall. Junior point guard Nourse Fox came off the bench to add a career-best 13 points.
"We played pretty well against Ohio State, but you just want to get that first win out of the way, get in the win column and move on from there," said Abruzzo. "We played pretty well and we got that first win. At the end of the day, you just want to win games and that's what we did today."
Navy shot 51 percent in the game (26-of-51) and shot 78 percent from the free throw line (14-of-18). Navy also made the most of its size advantage against the Shoremen, outrebounding the visitors 44-17 and holding a 34-22 lead in points in the paint.
However, after committing just seven turnovers in a 10-point loss to Ohio State in the season-opening Veterans Classic on Friday, Navy turned the ball over 23 times on Sunday against the Shoremen, who pressed the Mids throughout the contest.
Navy had a fast start to the game as sophomore Ryan Pearson knocked down a 3-pointer on Navy's first possession and Abruzzo's 3-pointer at 17:26 put the Mids ahead 10-0.
Abruzzo scored seven straight points midway through the first half to push Navy's lead from 28-14 to 35-14. Senior Zach Fong found him for a fastbreak layup, then he made a 3-pointer on the next possession and then two trips later he put in another layup.
Navy extended its lead to 22 at the half when Fox drilled a 3-pointer and then freshman Evan Wieck added a free throw in the final two minutes of the period.
Abruzzo scored 17 points in the first half alone, shooting 6-of-6 from the field and 3-of-3 on 3-pointers.
Navy had a cold start to the second half, coming up empty on its first eight possessions until Fox hit a 3-pointer at the end of the shot clock. Washington College outscored Navy 7-0 to open the second frame. However, after the Fox trey, Navy continued to hold a comfortable cushion throughout the second half and then went on a late 15-5 run over 5:22 to push its lead to 29 before a Joey Shelton layup closed the game at 74-47.
"I thought we played pretty good in the first half, but we played pretty poorly in the second half," said head coach Ed DeChellis. "Timmy did some good things in the first half and Nourse Fox came off the bench and did a real nice job for us. In the second half, I was disappointed with our execution offensively."
Abruzzo's 21 points eclipsed his previous career-high of 16, which came in a win over Furman last season.
"I was trying to get to the basket early today," said Abruzzo. "I didn't shoot the ball that well against Ohio State, so I tried to get the ball to the basket early and get fouled and that would open up the outside jump shot. I was pretty happy to see a couple fall today."
Junior forward Tom Lacey just missed his third career double-double with nine points, 10 rebounds and four assists. Pearson scored eight points and senior center Edward Alade tallied six points and nine rebounds.
Navy used 13 players in the contest and 10 different Mids scored. Six different players have scored in double figures in Navy's two games this season.
Josh Porteous and James Drury each scored eight points for the Shoremen, who used 17 players in the contest.
Washington College is coached by Aaron Goodman, who spent nine seasons at Navy as an assistant (2007-15)
Pearson made his first career start on Sunday, filling in for usual starter Shawn Anderson.
Navy will next head to High Point, North Carolina for the three-game HPU Tournament from Friday to Sunday. Navy will face North Dakota State on Friday, High Point on Saturday and UNCG on Sunday.
