WASHINGTON, D.C. –– A season-best 20-point run early in the second half sparked the Navy men's basketball team (12-2, 9-1 Patriot League, 4-0 Patriot League South) to a 72-60 victory over American (2-3, 2-3, 2-3), Saturday afternoon at Bender Arena in Washington, D.C.
 
Today's win clinches the Patriot League South Division for the Mids. 
 
The game was Navy's first since Jan. 30 and American's first since Jan. 24.
 
American went on a 9-0 run midway through the first half to take a 24-14 lead with 9:23 left on the clock.  The advantage for the Eagles soon became 28-15 at the seven-minute mark.  American still was up by nine points, 34-25, before the Mids closed to within 34-28 at intermission.
 
American was 12-22 (54.5%) from the field in the first half.  In contrast, Navy was 11-37 (29.7%).  The Eagles were 7-10 from the foul line and the Mids were 2-3 from the charity stripe in the opening 20 minutes of the game.
 
"It took awhile for us to knock the rust off after being on pause," said Navy head coach Ed DeChellis.
 
After an extended halftime break due to needing to switch out the basket Navy would shoot at in the second half, Josh Alexander scored for the Eagles on the first possession of the stanza to give the home team a 36-28 lead.
 
Tyler Nelson (So., Monroe, N.C.) countered with a triple on Navy's first opportunity with the ball.  That trey started the 20-0 run that boosted the Mids to a 48-36 lead with 13:48 left on the clock.  Greg Summers (Jr., Ocoee, Fla.) scored the next six points following Nelson's basket, then Nelson scored again to make the score 39-36.  Summers was soon fouled and went to the foul line.  He missed the attempt, but Richard Njoku (Jr., Washington, D.C.) snared the offensive board and scored on a dunk to increase the lead. 
 
Summers scored again, Cam Davis (Sr., Battlefield, Mo.) converted one free throw attempt, Njoku made another inside shot and then Davis recorded a steal and sent a behind-the-back pass to Jaylen Walker (So., Allen, Texas) for a layup to close out the 20-0 spurt.
 
Navy's previous longest run was 14 points and it came when the Mids faced American on Jan. 17.
 
Navy's lead would grow to 53-49 before American started to chip away at the margin.  The Eagles winnowed the gap down to seven points at 62-55 after Alexander converted his second three-point play in as many possessions with 5:48 remaining.
 
Neither team scored again –– four-straight empty possessions for each –– until Patrick Dorsey (So., Raleigh, N.C.) made two free throw attempts with 3:42 remaining to make the score Navy 64, American 55.  One more minute of scoreless play was followed by Alexander making one free throw with 2:25 left.  Davis followed with a jumper to push the lead back to double figures, 66-56, with 2:11 left to play.
 
The Mids were 6-6 from the foul line over the rest of the game.
 
"I thought we played much better in the second half," said DeChellis.  "We played with great energy after halftime and we rebounded the ball well offensively.  We also scored off of our defense."
 
The six-point halftime deficit Navy overcame to win was the largest for the Mids since defeating East Carolina on Nov. 8, 2019, after trailing by an equal number of points.  The last time Navy overcame at least a six-point halftime deficit to win a league game was when the Mids defeated Army on Jan. 21, 2017, after trailing by seven points at the break.
 
Additionally, this is Navy's sixth win of the league season and seventh of the year in which the Mids trailed in the second half.
 
The shooting fortunes changed for the teams in the second half as the Mids were 14-28 (50%) from the floor and the Eagles were 10-32 (31.3%).
 
Summers scored 12 of his Navy-high 19 points in the second half.  He added 10 boards to register his second double-double of the year.  Dorsey added a career-best 15 points.  It is the fourth time this season Dorsey has established a new career high for points in a game.
 
Navy held a 17-6 advantage on the offensive glass –– the Mids led the Eagles, 15-5, in second-chance points –– and a 46-33 rebounding lead overall.  Navy also received 32 points from the bench.  American which was down two key players from when the teams first met, including Stacy Beckton Jr. who scored 30 points against the Mids on Jan. 16, had just eight points from the bench.
 
"Our bench was outstanding!  Everyone contributed.  I'm very happy for our team," said DeChellis. 
 
The teams will meet again Sunday at 6 p.m. in Washington, D.C.  The CBS Sports Network will televise the game nationally.