POUGHKEEPSIE, N.Y. –– A big first half provided just enough of a cushion for the Navy (7-3) men's basketball team to hold off Marist (4-5), 67-61, Sunday afternoon at McCann Arena in Poughkeepsie, N.Y.
"We played well both offensively and defensively in the first half," said Navy head coach
Ed DeChellis. "Marist made a run at us in the second half, but we withstood it and made plays to win the game.
"I am proud of our guys for putting together a 7-3 record heading into finals!"
Navy's seven non-league wins are the most since it produced a 9-4 record during the 2015-16 season. The Mids also posted a 7-3 record through 10 games that year.
Navy produced a very effective first half on both ends of the floor to build a 41-22 lead at the break.
The Mids first went on a 10-0 run to take a 22-9 lead with 9:40 remaining. The opening two baskets of that spurt were three-point field goals made by
Austin Inge. The cushion would grow to be 25-14 before Marist made a run that closed the margin down to 25-20.
Richard Njoku was fouled on the other end of the floor and he made both foul shots to start what was a 14-0 run that kept the Red Foxes scoreless for 5:19.
John Carter Jr., Navy's leading scorer this season, followed with his first basket of the game,
Tyler Nelson scored five points sandwiched around a
Sean Yoder bucket, then
Daniel Deaver closed the run with a layup that made the score 39-20 with 1:29 left on the clock.
Navy shot 50 percent from the field, was 6-10 from three-point range and converted all but one of 10 free throw attempts in the first half. Defensively, Marist was held to 33-percent shooting, a 3-10 effort from three-point land and missed all but one of eight foul shots. Additionally, Navy held a 25-12 advantage on the glass.
Nelson paced the Mids with a 3-4 effort from three-point range on his way to totaling 11 first-half points.
Navy would take 22-point leads at 44-22 and 46-24 in the opening minutes of the second half, but then the game shifted dramatically. The Mids turned the ball over four times and committed four turnovers as Marist went on a 14-0 run over the next five minutes to pull to within 46-38. Yoder stopped the drought with a basket, then Carter made back-to-back three-point baskets to give Navy some breathing room at 54-38 with just under 12 minutes still to play.
The cushion was whittled down to six points over the next two minutes as Jao Ituka scored the ensuing seven points for the Red Foxes to pull them to within 54-48 with 9:33 remaining. Marist had two possessions to cut into the deficit even more, but the team failed on both of those to begin a four minute scoring drought. Navy would score the next six points on two free throws by Nelson and two-straight baskets by
Greg Summers to build a 60-48 lead with 6:23 showing on the clock.
The margin hovered between nine and 12 points until Marist went on a 5-0 run to make it a 65-58 game with 19.8 seconds left. Summers was quickly fouled and made two free throws to stretch the difference out to 67-58 with 15.1 seconds still to play. Ituka made a basket and foul shot with 7.0 seconds remaining to account for the final points in the contest.
Navy recorded a higher field goal percentage than Marist in the second half (43%-33%), but the Red Foxes made 13 field goals to eight for the Mids. Marist also had a 4-3 edge in three-point field goals made and had better success at the foul line than it did in the first half. The Red Foxes were 9-11 from the charity stripe after halftime while Navy was 7-10 from the line in the final 20 minutes of the game. Marist also had a 20-16 advantage in rebounding and forced six turnovers while committing just four.
Summers scored 10 points and grabbed five rebounds in the second half to end the game with 12 points and six boards to go along with three assists. Nelson led all Navy players in scoring with 13 points, Yoder scored 11 points and Carter ended the game with 10 points. Walker very nearly made it five Mids in double figures as he posted eight points and also contributed six rebounds.
Navy will now take a break in its season for end-of-the-semester exams. The Mids will be back on the court for a game Dec. 22 at home against Towson. It will be Navy's last game in the 2021 calendar year and also the team's last game prior to the start of the Patriot League season.
