Box Score

ANNAPOLIS, Md. - Despite closing the game on a 10-2 run over the final 29 seconds, the Navy men's basketball team (12-7, 3-3 PL) came up just short in a 64-62 loss to rival Army West Point (11-6, 4-2 PL) in a sold-out Alumni Hall (5,710) on Sunday afternoon. Navy senior captain Shawn Anderson, who received nine stitches to his nose after taking a shot to the face late in the first half, scored a game-high 24 points.

The Mids struggled mightily from the field, shooting just 32 percent (19-of-59). Navy also turned the ball over 18 times. Navy grabbed a season-high 19 offensive rebounds, but turned those opportunities into just 13 second-chance points.

"We didn't play well offensively," said Navy head coach Ed DeChellis. "Defensively, we weren't horrible. You hold a team to 64 points you think you'd have a chance to win. But Army shot a high percentage. We just couldn't score. I give credit to (Army). They made open shots, they defended the ball, and they just beat us."

Army led for the entire 40 minutes on Sunday and shot 52 percent from the floor (23-of-44).

Navy was boosted by making 20-of-22 free throws (91 percent).

Anderson went 10-of-10 at the free throw line for his 24 points and he also had eight rebounds, three steals and two assists.

Anderson collided with an Army player and exited the game with four minutes left in the first half. After receiving the nine stitches, he started the second half and played a total of 31 minutes in the contest.

"I'm really proud of Shawn and what he has been through," said DeChellis. "He had a whale of a game. He really kept us in the game at the free throw line in the second half."

Navy junior forward George Kiernan added 13 points and nine rebounds. Kiernan was 7-of-8 at the free throw line. Senior forward Tom Lacey scored nine points to go along with nine rebounds.

Army freshman forward Alex King came off the bench to score 15 first-half points to help Army take a 35-23 lead at halftime. King would score just two points in the second half to finish with a team-high 17. Army's sophomore guard Tommy Funk scored 12 points with five assists, while junior guard Jordan Fox scored 11.

Funk made two free throws with 1:02 remaining in the second half to put Army ahead by 12 at 60-48. Anderson would then make two free throws after being fouled after an offensive rebound and then a steal by Hasan Abdullah led to a fastbreak layup by Kiernan.

Army's Funk would then make two free throws, before Anderson knocked down a jumper. Fox missed two free throws for Army and Anderson followed with a 3-pointer to cut the margin to just five points (62-57) with 19 seconds remaining.

Army's Tucker Blackwell then made two free throws before Kiernan grabbed an offensive rebound and was fouled. He made two free throws to cut margin back to five. Navy sent King to the free throw line and the freshman missed both attempts. That allowed Navy freshman Cam Davis' 3-pointer to cut the margin to just two points at 64-62 with 2.0 seconds remaining.

Navy attempted to foul Army on the following in-bounds pass and it appeared the Mids had done so before the final horn sounded. But the officiating crew signaled that the game was over.

Navy outscored Army in the second half, 39-29, and also outscored the Black Knights 10-2 over the final 29 seconds, but had dug itself too large of a hole to compete the comeback.

"I loved my team's grit down the stretch," said DeChellis. "We keep fighting and fighting."

Earlier in the second half, Navy went on a field goal drought that lasted 9:45, but actually outscored Army 12-9 during that stretch due to scoring 12 straight points at the free throw line.

Anderson's 24 points moved him into 20th place on Navy's all-time scoring list with 1,183 career points.

Abdullah finished with four points, five assists, four steals and three rebounds.

Navy leads the all-time series against Army, 78-50. However, Army did win its third straight game at Alumni Hall.

Navy will next play at Lafayette (4-13, 2-4 PL) on Wednesday at 7 pm.