ANNAPOLIS, Md. – Leading by three with under a minute to play, the Navy men's basketball team (2-2) converted seven of eight free throws to secure an 83-79 victory over Bryant (1-3) on Sunday afternoon at Alumni Hall in Annapolis, Md.
 
Navy led by as many as 12 in the first half, but a second half run by Bryant knotted the score at 46-46. The Midshipmen regained the lead and pushed their advantage to as many as 10 on three occasions, but the Bulldogs refused to go quietly trimming the margin to as little as two down the stretch. The Mids converted seven of their final eight free throws in the final minute of the game, including four by George Kiernan (Hinsdale, Ill.) and two by Cam Davis (Battlefield, Mo.) to secure the victory.
 
"Down the stretch, George (Kiernan) came in and made his free throws and Hasan (Abdullah) came in and made a big one," head coach Ed DeChellis said after the game. "That was a difference in the game. It came down to us making our free throws and making some plays.
 
"Bryant is a talented team and they have talented players. We are a young team. We had three or four freshmen out there at a time and some sophomores. They are still learning. This team made runs at us and we were able to keep our poise and our composure and we were able to finish off the game and get the win. I am really proud of the team. We had a tough start, but now we are back to 2-2 with an opportunity on Tuesday night."
 
Navy finished the game with three players in double figures. Davis led the team with 19 points, finishing the day 7-for-11, including three triples. He was joined in double figures by Kiernan and Danny Ogele (Chicago, Ill.) who netted 14 and 11, respectively. Ogele led all scorers off the bench combining with Richard Njoku (Washington, D.C.) to scored 19 of the Mids' 29 points off the bench.
 
For Bryant, Adam Grant was one of five players in double figures, netting a game-high 21 points, including six three pointers. As a team, the Bulldogs finished with 10 treys, while adding 21 points at the charity stripe.
 
In the first half, Navy used a 10-0 run to take an early 15-3 lead. On the run, Kiernan drained a three and spun to complete a layup for the first five points of the run. John Carter Jr. (Spring Hill, Tenn.) followed with his first points of the game and Davis capped the run with a three. The two teams traded baskets with Bryant able to slowly chip away at the lead. Navy led by seven, 34-27, at halftime.
 
Coming out of halftime, Kiernan was fouled making a jumper and converted the old fashioned three-point play. Following a basket by the Bulldogs, Davis pushed the lead to 11 with his third three of the game, 40-29. Bryant answered with a 12-2 run that began with Grant hitting a pair of three pointers for the Bulldogs, cutting the Navy advantage to just one, 42-41. Evan Wieck (Amarillo, Texas) ended the run with a layup to push the lead back to three, but a pair of free throws by Bryant closed the gap to one. After a Carter basket, Grant once again hit a three pointer, tying the game at 46-46 with 15:24 remaining in the game.
 
Navy regained the lead with a triple by Carter, and extended the advantage back to five with a jumper by Luke Loeher (Inver Grove Heights, Minn.). Bryant would not go away cutting the deficit to two on three separate occasions over the next four minutes. The Midshipmen extended their lead to double digits on three separate occasions, ultimately leading 72-62 with 2:58 remaining in regulation. Five free throws by the Bulldogs helped cut the margin to six, 73-67, with two minutes to play.  
 
With just under a minute to play, Bryant used a three pointer from SaBastian Townes, who finished the game with 13 points, to pull to within three points, 74-71. Davis and Kiernan converted four free throws, but a triple by Grant once again closed the gap to three, 78-75, with 29 ticks on the clock.
 
Kiernan extended the lead back to five with two more baskets from the charity stripe, but the pesky Bulldogs used a jumper with 20 seconds remaining to close the margin to three, 80-77. Hasan Abdullah (Birmingham, Ala.) made the back end of a pair of free throws to extend the advantage to four, but a Grant layup trimmed the lead to just two, 81-79, with eight seconds remaining.
 
Navy inbounded the ball and pushed it ahead to Greg Summers (Ocoee, Fla.) who finished with a layup to close out the game and preserve the victory.
 
Navy returns to action on Tuesday, Nov. 20, as the Midshipmen travel to Baltimore for a nonconference game against Morgan State. Tipoff is slated for 7:00 p.m.