ANNAPOLIS, Md. –– Four of the five starters for the Navy men's basketball team scored in double figures in a 78-71 victory by the Mids over George Washington, Wednesday afternoon at Alumni Hall in Annapolis.  The lone game played as part of seventh edition of the Veterans Classic was contested on the first day of the college basketball season.
 
The 78 points are the most for Navy in a season-opening game since also scoring 78 points at Longwood in the first game of the 2011-12 season.  Additionally, the win was the second in a row for the Mids in the Veterans Classic.
 
Navy's offense was clicking in the early part of the game.  The Mids scored on each of their first nine possessions of the game to build a 20-7 lead after a little more than five minutes of action.
 
"I thought we were going to play well today because of how we practiced the last few days," said Navy head coach Ed DeChellis.  "We made shots, we weren't tentative, we weren't playing on what I like to call ice skates with moving all over the place and slipping and sliding.  Guys were pretty confident and we have preached confidence the last few days."
 
Making an immediate impact during that span were first-time starters Tyler Nelson (So., Monroe, N.C.) and Richard Njoku (Jr., Washington, D.C.).  The duo combined for seven of Navy's 20 points at the beginning of the game.
 
"In the zone (offense), Richard was able to get free along the baseline and we were able to find him and he finished," said DeChellis.  "He is a better defensive center than an offensive scorer, but he scores at the basket.  Tyler can shoot the basketball.  He gets on the offensive glass and keeps possessions alive.  I think we have a pretty good athletic frontline with those two guys."
 
The remainder of the first half saw both teams put together solid stretches of play.  George Washington winnowed the margin down to three points at 24-21 only to see Navy answer with a 7-0 run to take a 31-21 advantage with 7:16 left in the half.  John Carter Jr. (Jr., Spring Hill, Tenn.) started the spurt with a three-point field goal, then Njoku threw down back-to-back two-handed dunks in a span of 35 seconds.
 
The Colonials cut the margin in half to close to within five points at 31-26 and 33-28.  Back came Navy with an 8-0 run to increase its cushion out to 41-28 with 2:11 remaining in the first stanza.  Sean Yoder (So., Dublin, Pa.) knocked in a three-ball, Carter made another triple and Luke Loehr (Sr., Inver Grove Heights, Minn.) scored on a layup to account for the scoring in the run.
 
Navy went into halftime holding a 41-30 lead.  The Mids held first-half advantages of 16-8 in points scored in the paint and 17-7 in points after turnovers, and also were credited with 14 assists on their 17 made field goals.
 
Carter paced the Mids with 10 first-half points, Njoku was 4-6 from the floor in scoring eight points and senior team captain Cam Davis (Battlefield, Mo.) accounted for seven points and five assists.
 
The Navy lead remained in double figures for all but 15 seconds of the first six minutes of the second half.  This includes 13-point cushion (51-38) after Loehr made a layup with 14:11 left on the clock.  It was at that point the Colonials made another run at the Mids as they slowly crept to within four points at 53-49 with 11:40 remaining. 
 
Davis promptly made back-to-back jumpers to push the lead out to 57-49, then the Mids were able to regain a double-digit advantage at 64-54 with 8:17 remaining after another Davis basket and a three-point field goal from Patrick Dorsey (So., Raleigh, N.C.).
 
"When the lights came on and we needed someone to make some shots, Cam certainly stepped up and got in that high post and made some baskets for us," said DeChellis.
 
The Mids were seemingly in control of the game as they led by 12 points at 68-56 (6:52), 70-58 (5:42) and 74-62 (3:42).  It was a 10-point game at 76-66 with 2:20 showing on the clock when George Washington tried to make one last surge.  After a three-point field goal by Jamison Battle (76-69, 2:00), the Colonials forced the Mids into a missed shot, a turnover and a missed free throw attempt over their next three possessions.  However, Navy's defense was equal to the task as George Washington was unable to score again until a layup by James Bishop with 24 seconds left that drew the visitors to within 76-71.
 
Forced to foul again, the Colonials sent Carter to the line with 20 seconds left and he made both attempts to close out the scoring.
 
"I'm really, really proud of the team," said DeChellis.  "We passed the ball well and made open shots, which was nice to see.  Offensively we played a really nice game.  I thought everybody contributed.  We made big shots when we needed to.  We attacked the zone in the middle.  I think defensively we were really concerned about the three perimeter players for George Washington. They all made shots and scored.  They are a hard team to guard because they take you off the dribble and have good one-on-one players and create for each other."
 
Navy was 31-64 (48.4%) from the field in the game –– 26 assists were recorded on those 31 made field goals –– to slightly edge the 46.2-percent (24-52) effort by George Washington.  The Colonials had the advantage at the foul line as they were 14-23 for the game in contrast to the 6-9 success rate of the Mids. 
 
Navy took very good care of the ball against the George Washington pressure.  The Mids turned the ball over only nine times –– three in the second half ­­­­–– and forced the Colonials into 16 turnovers. 
 
Carter paced the Navy offense with 17 points in the game.  Davis added 15 and a career-best seven assists, Nelson scored a career-high 12 points and Njoku tied a career-best with 12 points.
 
Battle and Bishop each scored 20 points for the Colonials, with Jameer Nelson Jr. contributing 18 points. Additionally, Bishop tied a Veterans Classic record with nine assists.
 
Navy will continue its season-opening stretch of three games in four days and four games in seven days Friday with a 3 p.m. game at Maryland.