ANNAPOLIS, Md. –– Loyola (10-13, 2-8 Patriot League) made seven three-point field goals in the first half and 23 free throws in the second half to hold off a rally by the Navy (12-9, 6-4) men's basketball team, 79-73, Saturday evening at Reitz Arena in Baltimore.
 
The Greyhounds went on a 14-0 run midway through the first half to open up a 25-15 advantage.  A late layup gave Loyola its largest lead of the frame of 42-30 at halftime.
 
Loyola entered the game averaging 6.9 three-point field goals made a game this year, but was 7-9 from beyond the arc in the first half.  That was part of an overall shooting half of 65.2 percent (15-23) for the Greyhounds.  Navy shot 52 percent (13-25) from the floor, but was just 2-11 from three-point range.
 
"We ran into a team that shot the ball extremely well tonight," said Navy head coach Ed DeChellis.  "We had been working on running three-point shooters off the line; we didn't do it well in practice and didn't do it well today."
 
Loyola stretched its lead to as many as 14 points (46-32) early in the second half and maintained a 10-point lead as late as 51-41.  Navy then started to chip away at the margin.
 
John Carter Jr. (So., Spring Hill, Tenn.) made a layup to make the score 53-49 with 9:36 left, then a layup by Evan Wieck (Sr., Amarillo, Texas) made it a three-point game at 54-51 30 seconds later.  An empty possession for the Greyhounds was followed by Cam Davis (Jr., Battlefield, Mo.) making two free throws to cut the lead down to 54-53 with eight minutes still to play.
 
The teams traded three-point field goals on their next respective possessions, then an old fashion three-point play on the next Loyola offensive opportunity made it a four-point game.  Luke Loehr (Jr., Inver Grove Heights, Minn.) made one free throw on Navy's next chance with the ball (60-57), then Loyola made two foul shots and a three-point field goal on possessions sandwiched around a missed triple by the Mids.  That made the score 65-57 with 5:20 remaining.
 
Navy was able to close to within three points at 65-62, but Loyola was 5-6 from the foul line over the next few possessions to take a 70-62 lead with 2:36 left.
 
Davis soon made two free throws of his own and added a three-point field goal to close the Mids to within three-points at 70-67 with 100 seconds still to play.
 
Loyola missed two free throw attempts on its next possession, then Wieck missed a challenged layup on the other end with 1:22 left to play.  The Greyhounds were 9-10 from the foul line over the rest of the game to seal the victory.
 
Navy ended the game 28-62 (45.2%) from the field, but was only 5-27 (18.5%) from three-point range and 12-15 (80%) from the foul line.  Loyola was 21-42 (50%) from the floor, 9-17 (52.9%) from three-point land and 28-35 (80%) from the charity stripe.
 
"We can't overcome a team shooting 28-35 from the free throw line," said DeChellis.  "That's really, really challenging.  I thought we had our chances and we couldn't make a big shot to try and get them sideways a bit.  Give credit to them; they made all of their free throws and made some big shots. 
 
"We had guys not play real well.  It was hard for our bench tonight.  We win these games when we get some more off our bench and make the big shot.  We didn't guard anyone in the first half.  In the second half we guarded them better, but they just kept getting to the free throw line and making them."
 
Davis led Navy with 25 points and Wieck scored 21 points.
 
Navy will be back in Alumni Hall Wednesday for a 7 p.m. game against American.