ANNAPOLIS, Md. –– After a close first half, the Navy (6-2) men's basketball team scored the first 12 points of the second half to build a double-digit lead it would not relinquish in a 75-56 victory over William & Mary (1-7), Wednesday night at Alumni Hall in Annapolis.

The victory was the fifth in a row by the Mids.

"I have been here while," said Ed DeChellis, who is in his 11th season as the head coach of the Mids.  "Most coaches would be happy by winning five in a row and winning by 19 at home.  We can play better.

"I am happy we have won five (straight) games, sure.  I'm trying to improve every game.  We have a chance to be a really good basketball team long term.  That's why I am pushing these guys."

William & Mary started the game shooting 5-7 from the field in taking an early 12-7 lead.  The Mids tied the score at 12, but didn't take their first lead of the game until a 5-0 run gave them a 19-17 advantage.  That lead lasted just one possession before the Tribe tied the game again at 19.

A Tyler Nelson (Jr., Monroe, N.C.) three-point play followed by a triple from John Carter Jr. (Sr., Spring Hill, Tenn.) boosted the Mids to a 25-19 lead.  Back came the Tribe and in no time it was down to a 25-24 Navy advantage.  The Mids soon led 30-28 when Jaylen Walker (Jr., Allen, Texas) scored the next six points for the Mids on a jumper, a three-point basket and a free throw that allowed Navy to take a 36-30 lead at intermission.

Navy scored 18 of its 36 points following the 10 William & Mary turnovers it forced.  The Tribe scored just eight points after the eight turnovers committed by the Mids.  However, William & Mary held a 21-17 edge on the glass including a 10-5 lead in offensive boards.

Navy was 6-18 from three-point range in the first half and 6-10 in its two-point shots.  Conversely, William & Mary was 9-22 in two-point attempts and 2-9 from three-point land.

The Mids turned to their defense at the start of the second half as the Tribe began the second 20 minutes 0-4 from the field –– plus 0-4 from the foul line –– with four turnovers.  On the other end of the floor, Navy was 6-12 from the field and to extend its lead to 48-30 with 13:40 showing on the clock. The first points of the second half for the Tribe came with 12:38 left in the game, which meant the Mids held them scoreless for 8:06 going back to the end of the first half.  

"There was that stretch," said DeChellis of the start of the second half, "of turnover, steal, turnover, steal, (we) knocked the ball loose, (we) challenged shots, which is important."

The 12-0 run to start the second half –– it was a 13-0 run overall, going back to Walker's free throw late in the first half –– began when Sean Yoder (Jr., Dublin, Ohio) scored on a layup following his theft of the ball.  The ensuing William & Mary possession also ended with a turnover, and Greg Summers (Sr., Ocoee, Fla.) turned that into a layup to make the score 40-30 with 17:16 still to play.  Daniel Deaver (Jr., Falls Church, Va.) scored on a shot inside of the paint about 90 seconds later, then Carter soon scored on another attempt from inside of the free throw lane.  Eventually, Walker snared a defensive board on one end, then scored on a short jumper on the other end.  The run ended after Walker fed Summers for a layup.

Navy would build a 53-35 lead before William & Mary scored six quick points to slice the margin down to 53-41 with 9:36 still to play.  The Mids answered with a basket by Richard Njoku (Sr., Washington, D.C.), then Walker stole the ball and converted on a layup to push the lead back out to 16 points at 57-41. The margin between the teams would be at least 13 points over the remainder of the contest.

William & Mary shot slightly better percentage wise in the second half (38.1%) than it did in the first (35.5%).  However, the Tribe made just eight field goals after halftime following 11 made baskets in the first half.  

"The seniors have done a really good job of buying into it," said DeChellis of the defensive effort of this year's team.  "Not that they didn't last year or the years before.  We have had some success with it and I think they see what we can be defensively.  It is a credit to them (the players).  We haven't taught it differently."

"One of the keys coach (DeChellis) has been focusing on is defense," said Walker.  "Some games our three ball is not going in and sometimes we have stretches where we might struggle to score, but we can always come back to our defense.  We don't let our offense dictate our defense.  We pride ourselves on our defense anchoring us."

On the other end of the floor, Navy improved upon its 12 made field goals and 44.4-percent shooting in the first half to 16 baskets and a 51.6-percent effort in the second half.  

Navy held a 19-14 edge in rebounding in the second half and held advantages in both turnovers (8-4) and points scored after turnovers (11-5).  Combined with the first half stats, Navy won the rebounding column (36-35), the turnover contest (18-12), and the points scored following turnovers statistic (29-13).  The Mids also held a 28-1 advantage in bench points.

Individually, Carter totaled 16 points, six rebounds and three steals, Walker posted 15 points (his career high is 17) and seven rebounds (his career high is eight) and Summers contributed 12 points, seven rebounds and six assists (his career high is seven).

Navy will next be in action Tuesday night when the Mids play at George Mason.