ANNAPOLIS, Md. -- A Sean Yoder (Jr., Dublin, Pa.) steal and three-quarter court layup with 2.2 seconds left proved to be the deciding points in a 52-50 victory by the Navy (19-9, 12-5 Patriot League) men's basketball team over Loyola (14-14, 8-9), Wednesday night at Alumni Hall in Annapolis.

The victory by the Mids on Senior Night secures them the No. 2 seed in the upcoming Patriot League Tournament.  Navy will close its regular season Saturday at Colgate, which has earned the top seed in the tournament, then will play host to the quarterfinal round of the tournament on March 3 against the winner of the No. 7 vs. No. 10 first round game.

"I am really proud of the team," said Navy head coach Ed DeChellis.  "You take two cogs out of the wheel -- neither Greg Summers (Sr., Ocoee, Fla.) nor Patrick Dorsey (Jr., Raleigh, N.C.) -- and we were a little sideways.  I thought defensively we were pretty good, and we scored just enough baskets.

"We have 19 wins, and we haven't played our best game yet.  One of these nights we are all going to play really well at the same time and we are going to be fun to watch.  That's what gives me excitement."

Tonight, Navy had slowly edged its way out to a 20-14 lead only to see Loyola go on a 9-0 run to take a 23-20 advantage.  A late basket by Jaylen Walker (Jr., Allen, Texas) brought the Mids to within 23-22 at intermission.

Loyola took a 23-24 lead 65 seconds into the second half, then Navy answered with a 6-0 run to take a 30-26 advantage.  It was a 32-30 Navy lead when the Mids endured a five-minuet scoring drought that allowed Loyola to take a 38-32 lead.  

It was soon a 40-35 Loyola lead with 8:52 remaining when Walker scored on a basket and foul shot to start a 9-0 and 12-1 run that boosted the Mids to a 47-41 advantage with 4:40 showing on the clock.  John Carter Jr. (Sr., Spring Hill, Tenn.) followed Walker's old-fashioned three-point play with a bucket, then Daniel Deaver (Jr., Falls Church, Va.) made two foul shots.  Carter quickly hit another basket to make the score 44-40.  A Loyola free throw ensued, but Carter drilled his second triple of the night to close the run.

"We kept searching for someone to make some shots," said DeChellis, "and he (Carter) was the guy."

The Greyhounds wasted no time in clawing back into the game as it soon was just a 47-46 lead for the Mids with 3:39 left on the clock.  Yoder answered by making his first basket of the night, a three-point shot that gave Navy a 50-46 lead with 3:15 remaining.

Kenneth Jones, who ended the game with 20 points on 7-10 shooting from the field, sliced the lead in half (50-48) with a basket at the 2:50 mark.  A Navy turnover followed, then Loyola had two shots on its next possession before Carter grabbed the defensive carom with just over two minutes left.  The Greyhounds fouled Richard Njoku (Sr., Washington, D.C.) at the top of the key and he missed the front end of the bonus with 1:55 still to play.  Loyola snared the carom, which led to Jones scoring on a jumper on the other end to tie the game at 50-50 with 1:29 remaining.

Navy called timeout, then Yoder had a pass stolen.  The Greyhounds rushed the ball over the timeline and called timeout with 1:20 left.  When play resumed, a combination of good Loyola patience and good Navy defense took up much of the shot clock.  Eventually, center Veljko Ilic tried a three-point shot from the top of the key that missed its mark.  Walker corralled the rebound with 59 seconds remaining.  

The same type of possession ensued on the other end, and Carter was forced to try a rushed three-point shot deep in the shot clock.  It also missed and went out of bounds with 28.2 seconds still to play.  The Greyhounds advanced the ball over halfcourt and called timeout with 21.8 seconds left and the shot clock off.

Loyola made several short passes with the ball after it was inbounded.  Jones waited until there was less than seven seconds remaining when he started to make a move down the left side of the lane.  Yoder picked the ball off of Jones' dribble at the free throw line extended.  He then led a pack of players as he raced to the other end of the court and scored with scant seconds remaining.  

"This time of year," said DeChellis, "it is a player here and a play there (deciding games)."

The game clock did not stop immediately, which sent both teams to their benches and the officials to the monitor to review the footage.  They placed 2.2 seconds on the clock and Loyola prepared to inbound the ball under the Navy basket.  Before the Greyhounds could do so, the Mids called timeout.  When the players returned to the court, David Brown III prepared to inbound the ball.  Jones was the only Loyola player on that side of the court and he was guarded.  Brown instead threw to Cam Spencer who had just crossed over to the Navy offensive side of the court to accept the pass.  He took several dribbles from the middle of the court to the right side.  Spencer was able to launch a contested three-point shot that hit the backboard and bounced wide of the rim as time expired.

Navy shot 40.8 percent from the field for the game, but made 46.2 percent of its shots after halftime.  The Mids made 12 of their 20 field goals in the final 20 minutes of play.  Defensively, Navy held Loyola to a 33.3-percent shooting night and 17 made field goals in the game.

Navy held a 37-30 edge on the glass, which included a 13-11 lead in offensive boards.  However, the Mids produced an 11-5 advantage in second-chance points scored.  Navy did end up on the short end of the turnover contest, but the 17 turnovers by the Mids led to just nine Loyola points.  The Greyhounds committed 11 turnovers.

Jones was the lone Loyola player to reach double figures, and Carter was the only Navy player to score more than 10 points as he finished with 19.  Deaver scored eight points, Njoku had seven rebounds and five points and Christian Silva (Sr., Miami, Fla.) recorded six points and five rebounds.

"I thought P.J. Roach (Jr., Virginia Beach, Va.) did a real good job coming off the bench and getting us in the offense," said DeChellis. "We had guys step up.  Christian Silva made some big shots for us. It was just a total team effort."

Saturday's game will be televised on the CBS Sports Network.