PROVIDENCE, R.I. ––
John Carter Jr. (So., Spring Hill, Tenn.) and
Cam Davis (Jr., Battlefield, Mo.) accounted for 22 points during a game-closing 26-6 run by the Navy (4-3) men's basketball team that propelled the Mids to a 76-56 victory over Brown (4-3), Saturday afternoon at the Pizzitola Sports Center in Providence, R.I.
"That (second half) was our best offensive half of the season," said Navy head coach
Ed DeChellis. "I'm really proud of our kids. It was a tight ball game, and then we started to make some shots as the game went on. A 20-point road win is hard to come by."
Defense dominated the first half as neither team held more than a four-point lead during the opening 20 minutes of play that ended with the Mids in front, 27-26.
Brown opened the second stanza on a 9-2 run that have the Bears a 35-29 lead. Navy tied the game at 37-37, and the game would go on to be tied at 40-40, 42-42, 44-44, 45-45, 48-48 and 50-50.
Carter broke the tie with a triple then, after a Navy steal, drained another trey to give the Mids a 56-50 lead. After a Brown field goal, Navy missed a shot on its next time down the floor. Players from both teams claimed the rebound, which led to jump ball being called with the possession arrow pointing toward Navy. The under eight-minute media timeout was enforced prior to the inbounds pass. When play resumed,
Greg Summers (So., Ocoee, Fla.) inbounded the ball to Carter as he cut toward the basket. He scored the layup while being fouled, then made the foul shot to personally score nine-straight points and push the Navy advantage out to 59-52 with 5:51 showing on the clock.
Navy scored on three-straight possessions thanks to Carter. The Mids would score on each of their next seven possessions, as well, with Davis scoring on six of those seven trips down the court on two layups, a three-point field goal and a 6-of-6 effort from the foul line over three possessions. Davis would tally 13 points on his six scoring trips down the floor.
While Navy's offense went 10-for-10 starting with the Carter triple that broke the 50-50 tie, its defense allowed Brown to score on just two of its next 10 offensive possessions, including an 0-for-6 span that turned a 59-54 lead into a 74-54 advantage.
Navy shot just 29 percent (9-31) from the field in the first half, including a 27.3-percent (3-11) effort from three-point range. Conversely, the Mids made 57.1 percent (16-28) of their second half shots, including making 5-of-12 (41.7%) three-point attempts.
On the other end of the court, Brown was 10-of-27 (37%) from the field in each half and totaled six three-point field goals on 25 attempts (24%). The Mids also were 18-of-29 (62.1%) from the foul line and the Bears were 10-of-14 (71.4%) from the charity stripe.
"I thought we did a good job on the offensive end in the second half," said DeChellis, "and defensively, we gave up only 56 points for the game, so I'm really proud of our team."
Navy narrowly won the rebounding battle, 39-38, which included a 13-11 lead on the offensive glass. However, the Mids held a 20-11 edge in second chance points. Navy also came out on the positive end in turnovers as the Mids committed just eight turnovers and forced 15.
Carter and Davis each scored 24 points during Tuesday night's Navy win over Cornell. Today, Carter tied his career high with 26 points and Davis matched his career high with 24. Carter was 6-of-12 from three-point land and Davis was 10-of-12 from the foul line. Additionally, Carter totaled six rebounds, three steals and two blocks and Davis contributed four assists.
"They made baskets," said DeChellis of the effort this week by Carter and Davis. "It is an easier game to play when that happens, both defensively and on offense. I'm proud of those two kids. John has struggled on the road (this year). This is the first time he has played like John Carter. It is fun to see. We need him to play well, we need Cam to play well for us to have a chance to win."
Nearly joining Carter and Davis in double figures was Summers, who finished with nine points, six rebounds, four assists and two blocks.
Navy will remain in the Ocean State for a Monday game at Bryant.