BALTIMORE, Md. –– A late 7-0 run gave Loyola (10-18, 6-9 Patriot League) enough of a cushion to hold off the Navy (9-17, 6-9) men's basketball team, 79-70, Thursday afternoon at Reitz Arena in Baltimore.
 
"Give them (Loyola) some credit; they made plays when they had to," said Navy head coach Ed DeChellis.  "We had the opportunity to take the lead a few times and whether it was a loose ball we couldn't grab or a foul we committed, we gave them the opportunity to have the ball back and they were able to capitalize."
 
Loyola built a 22-12 lead midway through the first half, but the Mids closed the margin down to two points at 24-22.  The Greyhounds would go into halftime holding a 42-34 advantage.
 
George Kiernan (Sr., Hinsdale, Ill.) opened the second half with back-to-back three-point field goals to draw the Mids to within two points at 42-40.  The margin would balloon back up to eight points before being cut back down to two at 51-49 with 13 minutes left on the clock.  Kiernan would connect on his third triple of the second half a short while later to make the score Loyola 55, Navy 54 with 10:11 still to play.
 
Loyola scored on each of its next three possessions, which were wrapped around a missed Navy triple that would have tied the game and a turnover by the Mids.  That made the score 61-54 with just under seven minutes left on the clock.
 
The teams exchanged baskets on the next respective trip down the court for both squads to keep it a seven-point game.  Navy would soon winnow the margin back down to five points at 63-58 with 5:35 showing on the clock.  Each team came away with an empty possession on missed three-point field goal attempts, then a Loyola missed shot was followed by a Navy turnover.
 
Navy forced another Loyola missed shot, but Evan Wieck (Jr., Amarillo, Texas) was called for a flagrant one foul for a "hook and hold" –– grabbing and holding the arm of the Loyola player –– on the loose carom.  The Greyhounds made both free throw attempts, then scored on the ensuing bonus possession to stretch the gap out to 67-58 with 3:22 remaining.
 
The Mids could only draw to within seven points over the remainder of the game.
 
"They (Loyola) all made a basket at critical times and we missed baskets at critical times, so we could never get over the hump," said DeChellis.
 
Navy made more field goals than Loyola –– 30-29 –– and each team made six three-point field goals.  The Greyhounds would go 15-18 from the foul line –– 12-15 in the second half –– and the Mids were 4-5 from the free throw line for the game.
 
Loyola also outrebounded Navy, though by just a 30-29 count.  The Greyhounds scored 21 points off of 14 Navy turnovers and the Mids tallied 12 points following 13 Loyola turnovers.
 
"You can't give teams 21 points off of turnovers," said DeChellis.  "It is hard to make that up.  That has been our Achilles heel for most of the year.  We turn the ball over at crucial times, or we turn the ball over in live ball turnovers.  We missed a lot of easy shots ourselves that we can make and just haven't.
 
"We didn't play our best game tonight.  Defensively we didn't play well.  We didn't do a very good job of guarding the ball.  The ball was loose and they were driving us and we didn't do a very good job of guarding the ball.  That led them to the free throw line and to easier baskets."
 
Kierrnan scored 18 points to lead all players in the game.  He was joined in double figures by teammates Wieck and John Carter Jr. (Fr., Spring Hill, Tenn.) with 11 each and by Luke Loehr (So., Inver Grove Heights, Minn.) with 10. 
 
Loyola had five players score in double figures.  Andrew Kostecka and Jaylin Andrews each scored 17 points to lead the Greyhounds.
 
Navy now heads to Hamilton, N.Y., for a Saturday game at Colgate.  The 2 p.m. game will be aired nationally on the CBS Sports Network.
 
Patriot League Standings (3 games remaining)
11-4 Bucknell
11-4 Lehigh
10-5 Colgate
7-8 Army
7-8 Lafayette
7-8 American
6-9 Navy
6-9 Loyola
5-10 Boston U.
5-10 Holy Cross