Game Information Bucknell (8-5, 0-0 PL) at Navy (5-7, 0-0 PL)
Friday, December 30, 2016 | 7:00 PM (ET)
Annapolis, Md. | Alumni Hall (5,710)
Radio: 1430 AM / 99.9 FM WNAV
Live Video | Live Stats | Game Notes
Buy Tickets | Promotions

ANNAPOLIS, Md. - The Navy men's basketball team (5-7, 0-0 PL) will begin its 26th season of Patriot League play on Friday against Bucknell (8-5, 0-0 PL) at 7:00 PM in Alumni Hall. Friday evening is the Patriot League opener for all 10 member schools. Live video of the game will be available for free on navysports.com and PatriotLeague.TV. The radio call will be on the Navy Basketball Radio Network on 1430 AM / 99.9 FM WNAV in Annapolis. Pete Medhurst and Michael Heary will handle the announcing duties for the live video and radio broadcasts. Live statistics will also be available.

Promotions
• The Air Elite Dunkers will put on an electrifying and high-flying performance at halftime.
• Following the game, fans can get autographs and photographs with the players in the annual Meet the Mids promotion.
• The first 100 kids in attendance will receive a free t-shirt.
• All USNA faculty and staff will receive $5 admission with ID at the ticket office.

Midshipmen Storylines
• Navy will begin its 26th season of Patriot League play on Friday against Bucknell.
• The Bucknell contest will be the first of 18 league games for the Mids.
• Navy's all-time Patriot League record is 159-191 (.454).
• Navy has won three Patriot League Tournament Championships (1994, 1997 and 1998) and has had at least a share of five regular season titles.
• Navy had its two-game winning streak snapped at Hartford (63-54) on Dec. 22.
• The Mids trailed by just four points and had possession of the ball with 1:12 remaining, but came up empty on its next four trips.
• Junior forward Tom Lacey posted his second double-double of the season with 12 points and 11 rebounds.
• Lacey ranks third in the Patriot League with 7.7 rebounds per game and is first in offensive rebounds per game (3.1).
• Including his 16-point, 17-rebound performance against Bryant on Dec. 6, Lacey is averaging 13.3 points and 11.7 rebounds in Navy's last three games.
• Sophomore forward George Kiernan scored in double-figures for the third straight game against Hartford, logging 10 points off the bench.
• As a team, Navy struggled offensively at Hartford, shooting season-low percentages from the floor (22-of-63; 34.9 percent) and from 3-pointers (3-of-23; 13.0 percent).
• Navy fell to a combined 0-6 in road and neutral-site games this season. Navy is 5-1 at home.
• Navy's struggles away from home come one year after setting a school record with 11 road wins last season.
• Junior guard Shawn Anderson is the lone Mid averaging double-figures this season with 12.4 points per game.
• However, five players are averaging between 7.2 and 9.2 points per game.
• Kiernan is second on the team in scoring with 9.2 points per game and senior Tim Abruzzo is third at 8.4.
• Lacey is averaging 8.3 points and 7.7 rebounds per game.
• Senior center Edward Alade played in his 100th career game at Hartford, while senior captain Zach Fong is sitting on 99 career games played.
• Fong is tied for 13th in program history with 121 career 3-pointers made.
• As a team, Navy ranks first in the Patriot League in rebounds allowed (30.3).
• The Mids rank second in the conference in scoring defense (67.2), second in rebounding margin (+3.6) and second in turnover margin (+0.67).
• Prior to the loss at Hartford, Navy won back-to-back games against Bryant (76-74) and Columbia (69-54).
• Anderson scored a game-high 21 points with five rebounds and three assists against Columbia.
• The win against Bryant featured a 25-point halftime comeback by Navy, which was the second-largest halftime deficit overcome for a victory in NCAA history.
• Lacey led Navy with 16 points and a career-high 17 rebounds in the win over Bryant and set a school record for most offensive rebounds in a game with 11.
• Navy has had 11 different players score in double figures in a game this season.
• Grant Vermeer has been nominated to the 2017 Allstate NABC Good Works Team.

Bucknell Storylines
• Bucknell enters conference play at 8-5.
• The Bison defeated Mount St. Mary's, 81-65, and fell to Princeton, 72-70, in their last two games.
• Bucknell is led by junior forward Zach Thomas, who is averaging 16.6 points and 6.4 rebounds. Thomas ranks second in the Patriot League in scoring.
• Junior center Nana Foulland averages 14.5 points, 8.0 rebounds and a Patriot League-best 2.2 blocks.
• Junior point guard Stephen Brown averages 9.9 points and 4.7 assists.
• Bucknell won at SEC-opponent Vanderbilt, 75-72, on Nov. 21 and defeated Atlantic 10-member Richmond, 73-68, on Nov. 30.
• Bucknell was the Patriot League Regular Season Champion in 2015-16 with a 14-4 conference record.
• Bucknell fell to No. 9 Holy Cross in the Patriot League Quarterfinals and later played in the NIT Tournament.
• Head coach Nathan Davis is in his second season at Bucknell.
• Davis came to Bucknell directly from Division III Randolph-Macon and had previously served as an assistant coach at both Bucknell (2004-08) and Navy (1998-2003) and he also had a one-year stint as an assistant at Colgate in 2008-09 under current Navy assistant and former Colgate head coach Emmett Davis.

Series History vs. Bucknell
• Bucknell leads the all-time series against Navy, 38-35.
• Bucknell swept the season series against the Mids last season.
• Bucknell defeated Navy, 88-58, in the league opener in Lewisburg on Dec. 30. Bucknell defeated Navy 77-73 in the league finale in Annapolis on Feb. 27.
• Zach Fong scored 17 points against Bucknell in the season finale last year.
• Bucknell has won five straight games against Navy.
• Navy is 18-11 all-time against Bucknell at home.
• Navy is 10-15 all-time in Patriot League openers and 7-6 in league openers at home. Navy is 6-7 against Bucknell in Patriot League openers.
• Navy's last win against Bucknell was a 62-61 victory on Jan. 15, 2014 in Annapolis. Brandon Venturini scored 14 points with four assists and Worth Smith tallied 13 points and seven rebounds. Navy made a defensive stand in the closing seconds to hold on to the one-point victory.
• It was Navy's only win against Bucknell in the last 14 meetings.
• Ed DeChellis is 1-11 against Bucknell while serving as Navy's head coach. He was 2-0 against Bucknell while serving as Penn State's head coach and has an overall record of 1-13 against the Bison.

Looking Ahead
• Navy will next play at reigning Patriot League Tournament Champion Holy Cross (6-7) on Monday, Jan. 2.
• Holy Cross won the Patriot League Tournament as the No. 9 seed last season and then defeated Southern, 59-55, in an NCAA First Four game.
• Navy and Holy Cross split the season series in 2015-16.
• Following the trip to Holy Cross, Navy will play back-to-back home games against Boston U. (Jan. 5) and Colgate (Jan. 8).

Parking / Shuttle Information
All fans attending the game are encouraged to park at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium. Fans can enter Gate 5 off Taylor Ave. and pay $5 for parking. The shuttle is free and the pick up and drop off spot is in front of the Blue Angel plane. The shuttle will run from one hour before the start of the game to one hour after the game concludes. Fans ages 18 and over need photo ID to enter the Academy. Parking at the stadium is the best option for fans attending the game. Due to Naval Academy security restrictions, the general public can not drive their vehicles on to the Yard. The pedestrian entries at Gate 1, Gate 3 and Gate 8, will be open.