ANNAPOLIS, Md. –– Another strong defensive effort coupled with just enough offense gave the Navy men's basketball team (6-4) a 59-48 victory over Mount St. Mary's (3-9), Friday afternoon at Alumni Hall in Annapolis.
The Mids held the Mountaineers 15 points below their season-long scoring average, which came against a slate that included road contests against Kentucky, Georgetown, Washington and UAB. Navy's defensive performance improved upon its Patriot League-best 58.8 points allowed a game this season.
"I thought defensively we were pretty good," said Navy head coach
Ed DeChellis. "You give a team 48 points and (let them) shoot 33 percent from the floor; I thought we were pretty good there. Offensively, we just ride the wave.
"These are hard games to play. Our guys haven't played a game for two weeks, they are studying for exams and we are trying to practice an hour a day. I was proud of our guys for their maturity and having the focus to get the win."
How the game started was not how it finished as the Mids began the matinee missing eight of their first 10 shots from the floor and soon falling behind, 14-9.
Evan Wieck (Sr., Amarillo, Texas) promptly scored on a basket and foul shot, then
Cam Davis (Jr., Battlefield, Mo.) drained a three-point shot to give Navy a 15-14 lead. That would be the start of a first-half closing 22-7 run that put the Mids in front, 31-21, at intermission.
Starting with the Davis triple, Navy was 5-8 from beyond the arc during its run leading up to halftime.
Mount St. Mary's made several charges at Navy during the second half, but the Mids were able to thwart the Mountaineers each time.
The first such run came right out of the locker room as The Mount scored the opening seven points of the second stanza to close to within 31-28 of the Mids. Davis drained a three-point shot on the ensuing Navy possession to allow for some breathing room, and eventually the Mids would regain their 10-point cushion at 40-30.
The visitors slowly chipped away at the deficit and it once again was a three-point game at 44-41 with just under eight minutes showing on the clock. Another three-point field goal on the next offensive opportunity for the Mids, this time by
John Carter Jr. (So., Spring Hill, Tenn.), started a 7-0 run for Navy that made the score 51-41 with just over six minutes remaining.
Mount St. Mary's had one more run left in it as the 10-point spread was sliced in half at 51-46 with 3:19 left on the clock. Navy came away scoreless on its next possession, then The Mount missed a pair of shots on their next time down the court. Carter snared the carom after the second miss, and that would lead to Davis hitting a jumper on the other end of the floor with two minutes still to play. A missed triple by the Mountaineers and a jumper by Carter gave Navy a 55-46 advantage with 91 seconds remaining.
"We're up 10, we have the ball and we throw the ball away into the post," said DeChellis. "Or we walk. We sometimes continue to stab ourselves in the foot. But we are young in spots. I am hoping we continue to mature and develop.
"As long as we keep defending and rebound, we are going to be in games. Now if we make some shots and do a little better offensively, then we will look a little better."
Following its 2-10 start from the floor, Navy shot 16-30 over the remainder of the game to end the contest with an overall mark of 45 percent. Defensively, the Mids held the Mountaineers to a 33.9-percent effort. Navy also shot 41.2 percent (7-17) from the three-point line and limited Mount St. Mary's to a 23.8-percent (5-21) performance from beyond the arc.
The difference in the game came at the foul line as Navy was 16-20 and Mount St. Mary's was 5-8.
Navy also held a 35-28 cushion on the glass.
Carter led Navy with 17 points and seven rebounds, Davis added 15 points and four assists and
Greg Summers (So., Ocoee, Fla.) registered 11 points and three assists.
Navy will close its pre-league slate of games Dec. 29 when it plays at 2019 NCAA Champion Virginia. That came will air on ESPN2.
