ANNAPOLIS, Md. –– Lafayette (8-16, 5-8 Patriot League) made seven three-point field goals and connected on 55 percent of its field goal attempts in the second half to rally from the seven-point halftime deficit and defeat the Navy (8-16, 5-8) men's basketball team, 80-74, Wednesday night at Alumni Hall in Annapolis. The loss was the second in a row for the Mids and the win was the third straight for the Leopards.
"It was a very disappointing loss for us," said Navy head coach
Ed DeChellis. "I thought we started the game pretty well guarding them, then in the second half we didn't guard.
"We scored enough points tonight. We just didn't stop them."
Navy held several five-point leads midway through the first half before going on a 13-3 run to take a 31-18 advantage. Lafayette answered with six-straight points to close to within 31-24. The teams traded baskets over the remainder of the half, which ended with the Mids in front, 41-34.
Lafayette opened the second half on a 7-3 run to close to within three points at 44-41. Navy held a 53-48 lead when the Leopards went on an 8-0 run to take their first lead of the game, 56-53, with 11:38 remaining. The Mids tied the game at 58, but Lafayette tallied the ensuing five points to take a 63-58 advantage with 9:17 left to play. The teams went back to exchanging scoring possessions as the margin hovered between two (66-64) and seven (66-59) points for the next seven minutes.
Navy had two opportunities to either make it a one-point game or tie the score. The scoreboard read 73-70 with 2:07 remaining after an
Evan Wieck (Jr., Amarillo, Texas) field goal. Lafayette then missed a layup, with the rebounded grabbed by the Mids. Wieck was fouled on the other end, but missed the front end of the bonus free throw opportunity, with the Leopards snaring the board. Lafayette again misfired on its ensuing possession and the ball went back to the Mids. Navy was able to get two shots off on its next trip down the floor but came away without any points as the clock dipped below 60 seconds. The Leopards ended a two-minute scoring drought with a layup to take a five-point lead with 35.2 seconds remaining.
Navy responded with a layup by Can Davis (So., Battlefield, Mo.) to make the score 75-72 with 28.3 seconds left. After a Navy timeout, the Leopards scored with 22.4 seconds remaining to again make it a two-possession game (77-72).
Greg Summers (Fr., Ocoee, Fla.) was fouled on Navy's next trip down the floor and he made both free throws to close the Mids back to within three points at 77-74 with 10.7 seconds still to play. The Leopards made two free throws, the Mids turned the ball over and Lafayette made two more free throws to close out the game.
Lafayette was 16-29 (55.2%) from the field and made 7-15 (46.7%) three-point attempts after halftime. In contrast, Navy was 12-30 (30%) from the floor overall and 3-8 (37.5%) from beyond the arc in the second half.
"They were layups," said DeChellis on the high shooting percentage by the Leopards. "You try to take away the three-point shot, and we had some defensive breakdowns."
The Leopards also scored 25 points after 17 Navy turnovers while the Mids tallied 16 points after the 12 Lafayette turnovers. The second half alone saw Lafayette hold a 14-2 advantage in points after turnovers.
"The (difference in the) game was the points after turnovers," said DeChellis. "We gave them easy baskets in transition."
Lafayette held additional advantages over Navy in fastbreak points (10-2) and bench scoring (34-13).
Four Mids scored in double figures with Davis pacing the team with both 18 points and five assists.
Justin Jaworski scored 19 points to lead five Lafayette players with double digit points.
Both Navy teams will play host to Army on Saturday. The women's game will tip at noon and the men's game will follow at 2:30 p.m. Tickets remain on sale for the Star Games that will be aired on the CBS Sports Network. Call the Navy Ticket office at 1-800-US4-NAVY or click on TICKETS in the masthead of NavySports.com to purchase seats for the games.
